Five Years & Two Days

[Caio Vieiros]

New Orleans​

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New Orleans looked like no other place in United States. The French Quarter was a unique place with blocks of townhouses and cottages standing side-by-side, up against the sidewalk. The hotel he was staying wasn't far from there and Caio had already walked around the district the previous day. There was such a melange of people moving at all hours of the day and night in the very center of the city where the bars have no closing hour and that the food was spicy. At least that was what he had found out just for the twenty four hours he was already there. The clouds boasted with mystical colors that afternoon as the sun descended the sky. Caio had left the hotel to meet an old friend and classmate at a restaurant. As he was early to meet his friend, he decided to have a stroll around the city. Dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, he walked down Bourbon Street where music was pulsating everywhere.

Caio admired the colonnaded houses of different colors. He could catch a whiff of jasmine blossoms, possibly coming from the pots of the narrow balconies above him and he could distinguish the lilt of Spanish spoken around him. Soul food restaurants were really prominent in the area but Caio was looking for a particular Chinese restaurant that evening. It was the topic of many long conversations by the fireplace with the friend he was going to meet and he was looking forward to see it from close up. It wasn't hard for him to find it. It was the only building with dragon architrave and Chinese lanterns swinging at the touch of the warm breeze. Caio smiled when he read the neon sign. "So this is the Red Dragon." he murmured to himself with his exotic accent. He was still a bit early but he decided to get inside and opened the door.

The interior of the Red Dragon was showered with a warm, dim light from the lanterns hanging from the wooden ceiling. A lot of plants and particularly bamboos were used as a decoration and were giving the impression that you had just stepped inside the a lush jungle. "Good evening. A table for two, please." he greeted the maitre and he was taken to a table by the window, past a small dragon fountain. Caio was asked if he wanted to drink something while waiting. "Yes, please. A red lotus would be great." he ordered a cocktail he had tried before at another Chinese restaurant and the waiter left. Caio took the time he was left alone to observe better the interior. There were both families enjoying their time with their children and couples on a date, chatting under the dim light. Outside the large window, people were meeting with friends for a night out and they were entering the many bars along the street. Caio was so absorbed in observing the passing by people that he was startled when his iphone vibrated in his pocket.

A notification was flashing on the touch screen, reminding him of an email he had to send to his foreman. He started composing a message as the waiter returned with his drink. Deep inside him he hoped that he wasn't going to be bombarded with emails tonight. It was supposed to be a classmates' reunion, not a business meal like the ones he used to have a lot the past few years. Being the son of the owner of one of the largest geothermal energy companies of South America, was instantly putting an unbearable weight on his shoulders. Any aspiration of a career in the wizardry world was eliminated from the time he graduated from Salem Institute. Caio was very close to his muggle father and always wanted to make him proud. In his head, there was no other choice but to work at his father's company, eventually become its manager and continue his father's legacy. Meetings weren't exactly the kind of thing he had been dreaming of but he was doing well for the past five years.

Still, he was finding himself sometimes reminiscing his school years when he was carefree and he was able to play Quidditch, his favorite sport, more often. This reunion was something he was really looking forward to, despite that he was going to see just one of his old classmates. His lips touched the rim of the cocktail glass and took a sip. An interesting play of flavors tickled his taste buds. It was both intensely sweet and delicately refreshing with the distinct flavor of lychee accented with the lighter taste of cranberry. His cellphone vibrated on the table and he grabbed it to read the response to his previous email.

 

[Leixia Kang]

Leixia was so happy to be back in New Orleans for many reasons. All her childhood memories were from this mutlicultural city. The muggle school she studied before she learnt she was a witch and was invited to attend the Salem Institute. Her whole family, immigrants from China, were residing and working there. The Chinese restaurant named The Red Dragon was the Kang's family pride and one of the biggest draw of the French Square. After her graduation, Leixia Kang prolonged her stay at Salem Institute by becoming the Potion Master. Teaching to the next generations of wizards and witches was a really fulfilling job but she couldn't deny that she was missing student life a lot. Especially her best friends. It had been five years ever since they had graduated. Jobs and their distinct lives had forced them choose different paths but Leixia decided that five years were enough time for a much anticipated reunion. Three owls had flown out of her room's window with invitations for her friends to visit New Orleans and The Red Dragon. A great opportunity for her to see her family during her holidays and her old friends.

Despite receiving only one reply out of the three friends she had invited, her excitement was not inflicted the slightest. She liked to believe that all four of them were going to meet tonight. This was Leixia Kang. An ever-lasting ray of positiveness. She left her room wearing a dark berry purple dress, with a flowery fringe at the neck. The sleeves hung gently around her elbows and the bottom of the dress pooled near her knees. The sash ribbon in the middle was held with a tiny flower pin, and her neck held a beautiful, diamond necklace. She went downstairs at the restaurant but this time not to help at the kitchen. Her friends should had been there already. Leixia had the tendency to be late when she was preparing for a night out. Although this wasn't exactly a night out, it was no exception. Her outfit wasn't really matching the dress code of the restaurant. Most people were dressed casually and inevitably she received a few glances as she passed by tables. When she spotted one of her friends, a bright smile flashed on her face. It was Caio, the boy who had defended her against the school's bullies and who she had a secret crush on ever since. Her smile remained on her porcelain face but her almond shaped eyes rolled when she realized where was drawn her friend's attention.
"It's been five years but your cellphone is still an extension of your hand." She commented with a warm smile, really feeling the urge to take it off his hands and hug him.

 

[Caio Vieiros]

Caio read through the newly received email carefully. It was a kind of addiction he had with muggle technology and having muggle parents meant that he was always familiar with devices such as cell phones and computers. When he finished reading it, he began composing a reply and started feverishly tapping his fingers on the touch screen. He grew so absorbed in his reply that he didn't initially perceived that someone was standing next to him until they talked. The voice was familiar and his eyes instantly shifted from the luminous screen to the young woman standing next to him. "Leixia!" he beamed and stood up when his dark brown eyes recognized his old friend and classmate. He squeezed her in his arms and kissed her on the cheek while they drew the attention of several people in the restaurant. He knew that there was a cultural gap between the effusive way of greeting someone in his country and the more reserved and undemonstrative one of hers. Yet he was so excited to see again one of his childhood's friends that he couldn't care less about the excessively curious glances they were receiving. "Look at you! One beautiful potion master you've become." he complimented and twirled her around once to have a better look of her. Leixia was always elegantly dressed no matter the occasion. It was something that hadn't changed ever since their school years at Salem. They had so many things to say that as they both had a seat, Caio was unable to decide from where to start. "How long has it been since the last time we met?" he wondered as his phone on the table vibrated again, notifying him of a new message or email.

 

[Leixia Kang]

"Cai!" Leixia responded excited to see him before she got lost in his arms. His scent sent shivers of delight down her spine and her heart mush have paused beating when he kissed her cheek. It was strange how this old, school crush was just rejuvenated. While Caio Vieiros was her best friend at school, a guy who had stood up for her when she was bullied by purebloods despite being himself a muggleborn like her. Leixia never confessed how attracted she was to Caio. She loved everything on him. From his wavy/curly hair, to his sexy, Brazilian accent he never managed to shuffle off and she was glad for that. "Oh! Stop it!" She giggled and blushed when he praised her looks. "You look great as well, mr. businessman." She complimented back as they both had a seat. It was indeed a long time since they had last met. Not just the two of them but the whole old school gang. "A lot." She replied and narrowed her eyes on his cell phone. She took it before he was able to grab it and start replying to emails and messages. "I'll keep this for now. You're grounded. You'll take it at the end of the night." She turned it off and put it in her purse. Leixia then summoned one of the waiters who happened to be a cousin of hers and ordered the best of the dishes the restaurant had to offer. "How do you like the Red Dragon?" She asked him. She had been talking a lot about her family's restaurants when they were back to school but Caio had never visited it before. Leixia's cousin returned with her own red lotus and she raised her glass. "Cheers! To the Four Elements!" She referred to how they used to call themselves back at school, although they were just the two of them with the other two possibly not showing up tonight. "Do you remember? How simple life was back then. I was Sylph and you were Heliopath. I missed those times." She sighed and reminisced their childhood. "How is life as an adult now?" She asked Caio and tried some of her drink. Caio had made a nice choice. She had ordered just because he had. She usually didn't drink alcohol.

 

[Caio Vieiros]

Caio was about to take his phone and check out the reply but Leixia took it and he responded with a cheeky smile to her stern look. "Alright, I'm sorry. I should actually thank you for taking it away from me." he apologized for constantly being over his phone. It was a bad habit he had developed after school but working for his father was a demanding job. Caio had another look of the restaurant's interior before answering. "I love it!" he nodded and his eyes pinned on the red dragon statue towering at the center of the room. "Do you work here as well?" his attention returned back to her and he stirred his drink with the straw. He remembered that she used to work during school breaks but now that she was a full time professor, her time must have been really limited. Caio smiled when she made the toast as she evoked him the best memories he had from school years. "To the memories" he raised his glass and his lips stretched into a smile. As she mentioned the aliases they had picked for them, he nodded several times in agreement. "Sometimes I wish I had a time-turner and get back to our secret meetings." he reminisced with a longing look. Caio and Leixia, along with two more friends, were sharing the same keen interest about the art of elemental magic. When the four of them discovered that they were natural in one of the four elements, they formed some kind of coven, meeting, practicing and sharing knowledge.

They were all four muggleborns and it was their defense against the marginalization of their blood status. Caio was the first to stand up against the purebloods who had been finding pleasure in turning against muggleborns and this was how the four of them eventually became the best of friends. "Speaking of the four elements, where are the other two?" he asked her, remembering in her letter stating that she had sent owls to the others for this meeting. They had been all busy but once someone had decided to bring all of them together, Caio did everything he could to include this nice detour from his every day routine. He was one of those people who absolutely loved his routine but it had been a long time since he had vacations and this was already revitalizing. "It's great!" he replied and took a sip from his cocktail. "I mean, it is great for me. Other people would have turned mad after a week." he cleared this up for her as his every day routine was really hectic. "Meetings, trips, responsibilities. I'm now the marketing manager and I try to do credit for my father. So far, so good. Until someone snatched my cellphone." he teased her with a chuckle but he didn't really want it back right now. He was feeling carefree for once and this was thanks to Leixia. "How about you? How's the academy?" he asked and leaned his elbows on the table.

 

[Leixia Kang]

Leixia was never going to understand her friend's obsession over muggle technology. She was a muggleborn as well but ever since she was introduced to the wizarding world, technology grew too insignificant when magic proved to be more efficient. She was even keeping in touch with her family by sending owls or using two-ways mirrors. Her family were very intrigued about magic and they were enthusiastic over receiving owls or using those pieces of magical mirror. "Good. Try to act like the wizard you are Cai." She commented with a devious smile and kept her purse away from his reach in case he couldn't resist anymore and got tempted to steal it and read his messages.

She had a look around them as he checked the interior of the restaurant and she nodded. "Whenever I can, yes." She replied and looked back at him. "I visit at weekends when we I don't have classes. When we are fully booked I can't just sit and watch. A potion master on weekdays and a waitress at weekends." She chuckled with her double life but she absolutely loved it. She loved her family and she would do everything possible to help them. It was the same with her friends. The close ones. Caio, Nara and Scott were to her a second family. The one she got to choose. However, they had grew away from each other. She didn't necessary want to turn back at the days when they all were students of Salem Academy, like Caio wished, but seeing her friends now and then would have been more than nice. Sadness clearly showed on her face and the edges of her inexhaustible smile pulled down causing a heart wrenching frown at the thought of her other two friends. "Scott wrote back. He has a match tomorrow and he's busy training but he really wanted to come. He sent his greetings for you too and invited us to visit him in Canada when we have time." She told him about their Canadian friend who was having a career as a professional ice hockey player. "I don't know about Nara." Leixia continued looking highly concerned. "We've been exchanging owls, communicating regularly but it's been months ever since my owls return back with my unread letters. I don't know what is going on. In her last letter she wrote me that she was travelling around Africa, volunteering, helping local tribes and she was suspicious about some people following her." She worried, feeling helpless ever since she couldn't communicate with her friend. "She had a thing for getting into trouble when we were at school. What if she got involved into something dangerous?" She expressed her concern. She felt somewhat relieved for sharing this with Caio but she knew there was nothing they could do right now.

Shortly, the waiter interrupted their conversation as the first dishes arrived. A variety of the best appetizers were placed on their table. Spring rolls, fried wontons, potshickers dumplings, crab rangoons and prawn crackers were some of them, along with the sour-sweet dip. She requested a fork and a knife for Caio, to make it easier for him who wasn't used to chopsticks. "I can show you how to use them if you like." She offered but it wasn't necessary for him to eat with them. She ably used her chopsticks to pick a couple of dumplings and a crab rangoon and placed them in her empty dish. She dipped one of the dumplings and into the sauce as he was telling her about his job and responsibilities. He sounded content with what he was doing and she was happy for him. "So your relationship with your father is getting better." She mused, remembering that Caio's father wanted him to go back in Brazil and work for their family business. Sometimes Leixia was wondering if Caio had followed this prearranged path just for his father's sake but he seemed perfectly conscious of his choice and he also looked like enjoying it.

"I wouldn't last a day." She joked as she could imagine how demanding his job sounded. She wouldn't survive a day in his daily life. "The academy hasn't changed much. A few of the professors we had when we were students, have been replaced. Along with our potion professor obviously." She referred to herself who had now taken the post. "Educating children is really fulfilling job. I couldn't imagine doing anything else." She admitted and her smile was now back on her face, wide and contegious. "I might also become the head of our house. Seems that professor Gentry is going to retire after all." She added about the charms professor the two of them used to have. "You were good with charms, remember? I reckon you wouldn't like to teach. Would you?" she inquired, already doubting the case of Caio becoming a professor at the academy. Leixia would love that. She was going to be able to see him everyday but she knew that her friend wasn't made to become a professor.

 

[Caio Vieiros]

Caio had missed talking like that with her. They used to find the coziest spots around the academy and chat for hours. About their families, about their ambitions, about their dreams and fears. Caio would have wished for all four of them to be talking at that table tonight but they could arrange it better next time. He was glad to hear that his best friend Scott was doing good with his ice hockey career. He didn't want to lose touch with him but they were both leading a hectic life. Thankfully for all of them, Leixia was the type of person who was keeping in touch regardless of how busy she was. "I've missed that obnoxious b*stard. We should definitely visit him then if he's that busy." he admitted and agreed with her idea of visiting him in Canada. Caio discerned Leixia's concern as she talked about the fourth of their party but he didn't really share the same apprehension. "The last person you should be worrying about, is Nara." he tried to relieve her uneasiness. "Africa is a large continent and you can't expect her to stay close to settlements when we both know how much she enjoys the wilderness." he pointed out. "I'm sure she's on the move. She was never capable of staying at the same location for a long time. Also don't forget that if there's one person who can really take care of themselves, well that would be Nara." he added, proving that her worries were unsubstantial. "You'll see. She will write you when she'll have the time." he flashed a confident smile.

Caio realized how much he was starving at the time the appetizers arrived on their table. He didn't really use to eat Chinese food but when he did, he preferred to use a fork instead of the chopsticks. This time he followed Leixia's lead and picked the chopsticks but he failed miserably to used them in the same flawless way she did. "Yes please or I'll starve to death." he chuckled and tried to hold them the way she did. Even when his friend was kind enough to show him, he couldn't really manage so after a while he gave and used instead the fork. Caio tried all of them, sour-sweet flavors tickled pleasantly his taste buds and at the same time he listened to her life as the new potions professor. "I never understood your love about potions." he said and picked another wonton. She was right about being good with the wand instead with the phials and cauldrons but the possibility of him teaching charms was out of the questions. "I don't think I have the patience to teach to children." he said already imagining a chaotic situation in a classroom, with students rampaging around the room and random jets of light flying to every direction. "You on the other hand, you are a children whisperer. Besides, it is legal to let the fumes of Draught of Peace to waft around the classroom and calm down the little monsters you teach. I can't say the same about the Imperius Curse." he clearly joked but he was sure that Leixia was going to disapprove even the thought of it. "Talking about children, any progress on finding the right kind of guy to get married and have a bunch of Chinky Kangletts?" he mocked her for constantly saying how much she wanted to get married and have a family of her own.

 

[Leixia Kang]

The young professor decided not to bother her head tonight with unpleasant thoughts. Caio had a way to calm her whatever was troubling her. At least there was something that hadn't changed since their school days. Caio's banters were exactly what she had missed and wanted hear again. Especially those intended for her. Leixia was about to take a sip of her drink when he made her laugh. "Forget what I said and please never become a professor. Stay away from children in general." She chuckled at the educational methods he had just let loose. Then his teasing focused mainly on her openly admitted aspiration to have a big family one day. "Not yet." She told him when he asked her if she had found the father of her children. "Certainly won't be you after what I heard." She tried to joke but she wasn't sure how that sounded. She felt her face and ears warming up so he lowered her eyes on her food. She quickly changed the subject back to the old days.

...

They dined, they clinked several more glasses of cocktails and they laughed their hearts out. Leixia didn't want the night to end. As it was getting late, the crowd in the restaurant started to disperse. In the end they were the only people left there, except from the staff that was coming and going to clear the tables. "How about a walk?" She suggested. "You have to see the city at night. Come." She didn't really wait for his response and stood up. "Get your wallet back in your pocket or I'll hex you." She narrowed her eyes when she saw him going for his wallet. "The dinner is on me." She stated and waved at the waiter who happened to be her cousin, that they were about to leave. "Come on brasileiro! I know a great place where we can grab some ice cream." She tempted him with a cheeky smile.