A Chance Meeting PV Simon Kincaid closed

Although school had just begun, there were a few people that he had been hoping to see immediately. One was Alexa Mackenzie. She hadn't been to the Summer Camp that Hogwarts had provided over the Summer the previous month and he knew, through letters, that she had been going through the most unfortunate of times. He her world was changing and her heart was probably aching.

But despite being both Hufflepuffs, he didn't see her that first day back at the Hufflepuff Table during the Welcoming Feast. He didn't see her in the Hufflepuff Common Room before classes began. Certainly, he wasn't allowed entrance into the Hufflepuff Girls' Dormitory!

Red hair caught his attention quite well these days. Whether it was because of his dear friend Alexa or the fact that his girlfriend Haley Rose was also a ginger. The probably too there was that Hogwarts seemed to have the largest population of redheaded students, far beyond any other normal school. It was everywhere!

In fact, as he found himself there at the Courtyard, his eyes were already sort of downcast to avoid the sun as much as possible when outdoors but the nice day made him wish he could stay. That's when he glanced up and noticed a shady spot at the far end of the area and he perked up, heading over and making himself at home. He placed his bag down and pulled out a notebook, opening it up to a page that he had stopped upon. It was just his general notebook for writing out ideas for possible new lyrics or melodies. Writing music helped him collect his thoughts and there was plenty going through his mind right now.

His head was tilted down as the quill rested in his hands but was not moving across the page. He didn't NEED to write anything right now and it was nice to be out in the fresh air. Maybe he needed to come out there more often, especially when the later day created shadows for him to huddle in such as this day provided. It was then that he thought he heard his name. Through the other conversations in the Courtyard, he glanced up and his eyes squinted a little at the bright light and there he saw the red hair. He knew immediately it wasn't Haley because that meant Haley would actually WANT to approach him and talk to him. There were many others it could have been, but somehow he knew quickly it was his friend Alexa. He placed his things down without hesitation and met her in the light, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a long, warm, embrace. "I've missed you," he whispered. He had, and he also knew she could use some love right now after all she had been through.

The Best of Hugs

When Simon pulled her in for a hug, Alexa thought it would only be a brief one in the sunshine of the Courtyard. But as he pulled her close, she felt the weight drop off her shoulders that she had been caring for so long it seemed, and then she was clinging to Simon as though to a life preserver and she was drowning. Finally, embarrassed with herself, she pulled back. Tears glinted in the corners of her eyes as she looked up into his face. She knew she hadn't grown much over the summer (she was already tall for her age) but it seemed like Simon certainly had! She now had to look up to make eye contact.

Pulling an arm free, she smiled shakily and hastily wiped her eyes. "Sorry about that," she muttered, not sure if she was referring to the long hug or the tears. But she didn't feel terribly uncomfortable and she might've with others. Simon had that effect on her: she always felt relaxed around him.

"I've missed you too, more than you know," she said quietly, finally able to smile a real smile, if a small one. It was so good to see him, more than she had realized. "I'm sorry I stopped writing you over the summer. Honestly, I stopped writing everyone. Things just went a little… Crazy," she trailed off at the end of her sentence, waving her hand indistinctly, as though that would somehow explain better what she meant. She looked back at him after glancing at her hand. "I really have a lot to tell you, if you have a minute." She desperately hoped that he did. For all that she had not spoken to him very often, every time she had spoken to him, it had made her feel better. She needed to tell him what had happened this summer, and part of her dreaded the telling, but another part of her felt that it might feel better to tell this friend, this person the truth. Because maybe he would understand…

So she stood in the sunlight in front of her friend, waiting for his answer, somehow still holding his hand after they have broken apart from their hug. His hand was cool in hers, as his skin was always cooler, even in the warm sunlight. So wrapped up that she was in her own thoughts, she never had time to think that this might be a little strange. It was just Simon, is all, and Simon was great.

"I'd make a minute for you if needed," he smiled to her and squeezed her hand before giving it a gentle tug, silently asking her to follow him. He led her over to one of the benches and while it was outside still in the courtyard, some of the archways of the castle did give it a bit of shade there. It would be a nice place for both of them to sit.

"Rascal doing well?" he asked, and was pretty sure the fellow Hufflepuff had her pet with her. She usually did. It was good though, especially now he figured, to have someone you cared about close. Maybe Alexa hadn't told him yet what her 'a lot to tell him' was, but he was pretty certain he already knew.

He was pretty certain he knew back when she was writing him that it was going to happen and he was pretty certain that he could see it in her eyes. While still beautiful, they had sadness in them. Maybe, not that any of this was a good thing, but if any good would come of this, perhaps she could establish a closer bond with her father.

A slight breeze blew as the sat down on the bench, his hand still holding hers. Maybe it had been a long time since his own mother passed away, but he could relate to one shared experience from it all - the emptiness. Some people had a warm feeling when they thought of their mum, or they could turn to her when they needed help for advice. He didn't have that. Sure, he had other great people in his life, but there was still that bit of emptiness and sadly, now Alexa would experience that - along with a lot of other heartaches from the passing of her mother.