See You Again

-𝕃𝕏-

Humming to himself as he walked through the halls of St. Mungo's, Alphard made his way to Orion's supposed room. Nodding in kindness with a small smirk as he passed a gaggle of nurses, he finally entered Orion's room with a nice twirl showcasing his arrival. Though his eyes widened in shock seeing the girl sleeping next to Orion as he slowly ate his breakfast. 'Bloody hell! A bit young for you, ain't she?' He sputtered out in disbelief. Orion sent him an irritated glare, which he smiled back cheekily in return. Quickly he plucked a grape off Orion's tray as he took a seat in the chair next to the bed, before leaning back and folding his arms behind his head and resting his feet on the edge of the mattress. Orion, once again shot him an irritated glare before huffing out, 'Considering I'm still breathing... She's obviously not what you're insinuating.' Alphard smirked back at him mischievously, 'Ah, that's right! The loyalty stipulation! Then who is the beautiful sleeping lass? Looks like she had a rough night!' Orion picked up a grape and tossed it at Alphard with, yet again, another glare. 'Her name is Adhara. She is my ward.' Alphard choked on air as he suddenly bolted upright in his seat. 'When the bloody hell did you get a ward!?' Orion smirked back at him, 'The 23rd of September.' Alphard sent him a glare this time, 'But today's the 3rd of October! Why didn't you tell me sooner!?' He huffed out. Orion's smirk grew wider, 'Because then I wouldn't get the pleasure of seeing you throw a tantrum at not knowing.' Alphard opened his mouth to retort but quickly closed it, as he pointedly looked away. 'Hurry up and eat, so I can fill out your papers to go home...' he mumbled out annoyed.

Barty sat on the window seat in the library at Potter Manor, staring at the gloomy sky that matched his mood. He couldn't stop thinking about her. Every waking moment she occupied his thoughts... He missed her enchanting laugh, her captivating smile, her mismatched eyes that glowed beautifully and the way they'd talk for hours about everything and nothing. He leaned his head against the window, letting out a long sigh as he reminisced...

They sat side by side on the dock at the Black Lake as the setting sun painted the sky with hues of orange and pink, Barty casually skipping stones.

Ara glanced at Barty with a playful smile, 'You know, if you keep skipping stones like that, the giant squid might mistake them for an invitation to a game of catch.'

Barty let out a snort, 'Well, that wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it? I'd finally get to see how good my Quidditch skills are against an opponent of that size.'

Ara raised her brow, 'Confident, are we? I'd love to see you try to outfly the Giant Squid. It could be quite the spectacle.'

'Maybe you'd be up for a little competition too? You know, just to see who can impress the Giant Squid more.' Barty replied, cheekily.

Ara rolled her eyes, as she let out a little laugh, 'Oh, is that what you're after? The admiration of magical sea creatures? Quite the unique goal, I must say.'

Barty looked at Ara, with a small smile. 'Well, I must admit. Impressing a certain little lion would be more of a triumph.'

She turned to look back at him with a beaming smile, 'First squids, now lions, whatever is next? Should I warn the centaurs!'

A few moments passed as they stared at one another, before they both burst into laughter. Calming down, they both locked eyes and slowly began leaning closer and closer... -

'Barty!' Regulus yelled in his ear, scaring him out of his memories. 'Bloody hell! What!?' Barty yelled back as he rubbed his ear with a grimace. 'My Father's about to return and Mrs. Pott- Ephy, wants us to all help with preparing breakfast. Come on!' Barty let out a little groan as he followed Regulus, sullenly, to the kitchen.

'You ready?' Orion whispered from behind Ara. She anxiously tapped her fingers against her leg as she let out a puff of air, 'As I'll ever be...' Alphard let out a snort, 'Well, isn't she just cheerful!' he mumbled to himself, though it wasn't quite as low as he thought, as Orion whacked him upside the head. Ara let out a laugh at Alphard's dramatic reaction, as he began cursing in very colorful language. Alphard suddenly stopped his cursing with a smirk, seeing her laughing. 'Excellent! Now we can go!' And he swiftly made his way to the Floo. 'Is he always like that?' Ara asked Orion, smiling at Alphard's back in disbelief. 'Unfortunately...' Orion mumbled back to her, suppressing his own smirk. 'Where to?' Alphard called. 'Potter Manor.' 'I'm sorry what!? Since when are you chummy with the Potter's? What else don't I know?' Alphard ranted at him in bewilderment, and Ara failed to suppress her snort (Boy, was his mine gonna be blown at just how much he didn't know!). 'We'll talk when we get there.' Orion spoke, putting an end to his second round of ranting before it began.