Not the catch up I imagined

[Charles Fera]

Charles was pretty much in a daze after he walked away from talking to Luna. When he apparated to New Zealand today this was not what he had expected to happen. Then again, how many 18 year olds expected to hear that they were going to be a father after one stupid drunken night with one of his friends. That night had stuck in his head for a while after it happened, especially everything he thought about Luna after it. He felt bad about what had happened, they both had a little too much to drink that night and something happened that clearly shouldn’t have happened. At the time Charles had no obligations to it whatsoever and neither did Luna if memory served him correctly – which it did. Everything had changed now due to the fact that they were going to parents in a matter of months. With everything happening he had almost forgotten that he had planned to meet up with Miriah, someone that he hadn’t seen in a while and was looking forward to seeing. He was hoping that Miriah would be able to bring some sort of normality into his day, just two friends catching up. After Miriah transferred to Hogwarts, he hadn’t seen much of her or talked to her an awful lot so he was planning on making up for lost time today. As he approached where they were to be meeting it slowly dawned on him. Miriah was in that Ravenclaw house if he remembered correctly – so was Luna. They were in the same house and the same year so Miriah was bound to know Luna, he wondered just how well Miriah knew her – if she knew her at all. Then if she did know Luna how would she react when she found out that Miriah was pregnant with his child.

“My child.” He muttered under his breath as he dragged his hands through his hair. This was not what he needed. He was so close to graduating and then going right into a promising career with The Thundelarra Thunderers. His eyes widened as he thought of his career, what the hell were Luna’s sister going to say or do to him? They were practically the only reason he got on the team and he probably went and ruined it by getting their sister pregnant. He let out a groan he leaned against the wall and waited for Miriah.

 

[Miriah Vlahovic]

Miriah walked down the streets of Brightstone slowly. Glancing around every so often for a familiar face to pop up somewhere. Today she was meeting with an old friend from Durmstrang that she hadn’t seen since she transferred to Hogwarts New Zealand. At first she wasn’t sure if this was a good idea, to meet Charles in Brightstone at all because she always felt really weird being around another guy without Aiden being with her, as weird as it sounded because of their recent past, Miriah was indeed attached to Aiden. Once the fighting had ended between them things were actually quite nice when she was around him. They still teased one another like they had always done but now there was moments were they also acted like best friends and like a couple. It was really nice and Miriah didn’t want to lose the fact that she was actually happy for once because of something stupid. She had been miserable for such a long time that it was such a change to actually be happy. Miriah also liked that she was able to see a different side of Aiden now. Usually he flirted with any female he could. But she had yet to even see him glance in the direction of another girl, how nice it was to rub in the face of the other girls he dated that he was with her now and seemed to like her much more than he did them. She had never had a boy like her before but she liked the feeling and wanted to keep dating Aiden in general because well, she liked him. Miriah stepped around a couple of men conversing with one another in the middle of the street. She had spent all of her break with him, one thing she discovered was that her boyfriend had quite the sexual appetite. Not that she really minded all that much, she should have expected it actually. Up ahead she finally spotted the familiar face of the person who wanted her to come here to meet up with him. Miriah extended a hand and waved to Charles as she carefully weaved her way through the crowd and towards him.

”Hey Charles! What’s with the face? You look like you just lost your puppy or something awkward like that.” She gave him a friendly hug once she reached him. A subtle smile was on her face as she pushed some of her hair back behind her face. It may be a little obvious that she looked happier than she was before she left Durmstrang. If he asked she would tell him about her relationship with Aiden and how her life had changed a lot during the past year. She had a boyfriend, given up her innocence, mended things with Aiden, even made it as a Chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. But first she would see what’s up because he looked a little bit depressed.

 

[Charles Fera]

Charles stared at the ground in front of him, a glazed over look coming across his icy blue eyes. He had gone into a state of shock almost where he allowed himself to get into a daze as he tried to come to terms with everything that had happened him, although it wasn’t just today but everything that had happened him lately. He was currently in his last year of Durmstrang, a time he never thought would come, but Durmstrang had been good to him, getting Prefect and Quidditch Captain were just two of his main highlights. Then he got the opportunity of a life time to try out with The Thundelarra Thunderers and out of everyone else that had tried out he got it, he had gotten on to the team and was due to start not long after Graduation. He was estacic about it, of course. He was already all set to move to New Zealand, having looked a few decent apartments and getting the ‘okay’ from his parents to help him get settled in – which wouldn’t really be all that long. He had wanted this for so long he was sure as hell going to make sure that he was ready and that nothing stood in his way of him making it in the World as a famous Quidditch Player. Well that was until today when his World started to crash down around him. How was he supposed to become a famous Quidditch Player when he was going to be a father? Babies needed time, care, attention, 4AM feedings and a lot of other things that he had heard his nanny talk about that he just didn’t want to have to experience at the age of 18. He knew that he had the better end of the deal as Luna was the one who had to carry the child for 9 months and other things that he really couldn’t do – but it was still hard on him.

So much was going through his head that he almost didn’t hear Miriah greet him. He looked up, a look on his face of a man that hadn’t slept in weeks, a face of a man much older than he actually was. He snorted lightly as he returned Miriah’s hug – it was good to see a friendly face again. “You wouldn’t believe it.” he said as he pulled away to look at Miriah. He quirked his eyebrows slightly as he looked at her, she had changed but it hadn’t been that long that anything major had changed but it was noticeable to him. “Speaking of faces, what’s with yours?” he asked with a small laugh. “You look...happy or something. Definitely not the Miriah I remember.” he said, curious as to what had happened since he saw her last.

 

[Miriah Vlahovic]

Miriah’s eyes hardened for a moment before she rolled them softly. It had become obvious to her by that point that something was indeed going on with Charles to make him look so depressed. She knew it had to be something serious because nothing bad ever seemed to happen to this boy, ever. He seemed to live a very good life and never let anything get to him as far as she could see. ”Wanna bet? Tell me what’s up Charles, maybe I can help you or something.” Miriah placed a hand on his shoulder for a moment. She was trying to convince him that she would be open to listen to anything he had to say. During the past year she had been through so much herself she was pretty sure there wasn’t much more she could got through to make it any more stranger. The top of her list had to be that she had slept with Aiden. Even though that wasn’t the most important, it was something she had never expected to go through. Especially with the way they had fought with one another while in school Would Charles remember all the fighting that was done? Miriah wondered what he would say if she had told him that she had gotten drunk and slept with Aiden. Would he laugh at her or get really mad because he thought she could do better than that, Well to be honest Miriah didn’t want anyone else so he could bite her butt if he didn’t like it, she was finally happy and if that meant being with Aiden then so fricken be it! A reassuring smile left her mouth as she urged Charles to speak whatever was on his mind, he needed to let it out so he wouldn’t pop. ”It can’t be that bad can it?” She cocked her head to the side as her ruby orbs glanced around her. For some reason she wasn’t sure why, but she was feeling like she needed to watch around herself carefully. There was a lot of people that didn’t like her and some that didn’t like Charles but that didn’t seem to be the problem. It was probably still the whole fact that she felt like she shouldn’t be around another guy while she was with Aiden. Faithful for not she felt bad about it and didn’t know how he would feel about it. What if he got mad at her? A questioned directed at her made Miriah shifted her gaze and thoughts back to Charles.

”Well, I’m dating someone now, and I really like him too. So I guess that has made me happier. To actually have someone show some interest in me to begin with.” Miriah’s cheeks were dusted with a faint red blush. It was probably weird for someone to hear that Miriah actually liked someone and someone actually liked her. Most of her school years if not all, boys seemed to avoid her like she was the plague or something. She was not the prettiest girl in the word and she wasn’t the most interesting so it wasn’t like she had much to offer. But then again Aiden was someone who seemed to go outside the box anyways. Miriah really liked him and he made her happy whether people thought he was an idiot or not.

 

[Charles Fera]

It felt good to get talking to an old friend again, one that he hoped wouldn’t judge him for what he had done and what the outcome of it had been. He hadn’t talked to Miriah in sometime so this was a big catch up for both of them, but neither knew just how much they had missed in each other’s lives over the past few years that they hadn’t talked. Charles averted his gaze from Miriah and dropped it to his feet; he didn’t even know if he could say what was wrong. By him admitting it to someone it only made it true and he was 18, he didn’t know if he wanted to admit the truth even to him. Feeling Miriah’s touch on his shoulder he brought his face up again looked into her ruby eyes. He shook his head softly. This was something that no-one could help with, it was up to Luna and himself for now. He didn’t even know if Luna was telling anyone else, sure it wouldn’t take long to get around because Luna could only keep it hid for so long before it became obvious. He didn’t know much about Hogwarts but he knew that if that got around Durmstrang the person would get the biggest amount of ridicule known to man, and it was teenagers that alone was bad enough. He snorted lightly when Miriah said it couldn’t be that bad, it was pretty bad to Charles. This was the sort of thing that ruined a teenagers life and it was happening to him. Things had been going so well as of late and now everything was going to be turned upside down – he just knew it. “Well..” he started off, lowering his gaze again. “It started on Christmas Day. I went to a friend’s flat, you might know her she’s a Ravenclaw seventh year as well – Luna Paramore.” he added, waiting to see if the name rang a bell with Miriah, he was pretty sure he got the right house but the year was definitely the same. “Well we hung out for a while, had a few drinks...and ended up sleeping together. We were both drunk and it wasn’t meant to happen, it was a stupid mistake.” he added in quickly, more so for himself than Miriah. “Anyway I just met up with her and...well...” Looking back up at Miriah he took in a deep breath. His silvery blue, almost grey eyes, were full of confusion and fear. He was afraid of this, he wasn’t ready to be a father. “She’s pregnant, Miriah.” He dropped his head into his hands, he couldn’t bring himself to cry, sure his life had gotten pretty low at the moment but he would never go so far as to cry.

Despite all the crap that was going on in his life he was glad to know that things were looking up for other people in his life. It immediately surprised Charles a bit when Miriah told him that she was dating someone. He knew he shouldn’t have been that surprised, she really was a lovely girl so it was only a matter of time before someone saw that. It only surprised him because the Miriah he remembered cared more about books than boys and never seemed to really have any interest in ever dating anyone. “Wow! That’s great Miriah. Congrats!” he said with some happiness for his friend in his voice, giving her another quick hug. “So, who’s the lucky guy then?” he asked with a cheeky grin on his lips. He knew that they really was no point asking who it was because chances are the guy was from Hogwarts and Charles only knew Miriah and Luna but it was the sort of thing that a friend asked so he stuck to the norm for the sake of it.

 

[Miriah Vlahovic]

It all started with Christmas and Luna Paramore eventually. This already made Miriah raise an eyebrow and wonder exactly what Charles had done this time. Sure his reputation wasn't as bad as Aiden was but he was still pretty bad, thankfully she had never been a victim though, just a friend. "Yeah I know her." Miriah responded plainly. Her voice showing no happiness and now disgust either. The girl kept to herself so she wasn't an issue but that didn't mean Miriah was particularly fond of her or anything. And right now she was questioning on whether that girl was truly a Ravenclaw or not. But what happened between Charles and Luna made her mouth drop just a little bit. How in the world could it be so similar to what happened to her and Aiden? They probably didn't drink for the same reason and Miriah didn't end up actually pregnant, but the whole getting drunk and sleeping together. Miriah could honestly admit that she knew exactly what Charles was going through right now. Once a soft gasp left her lips she let her ruby eyes avert from Charles and glancing down the street. He dropped his head into his hands and she sighed before she pat his back softly. She needed to have him chill out a little before he turned the situation into something worse like she and Aiden had. "Okay you both are idiots for one. But Charles, I'm really sorry. I kind of know what your going through but, do you have any idea what your going to do yet? Like have you and Luna come up with a plan?" Having another pregnant chick roaming the hallways of Hogwarts was just fantastic sounding. Well not really but there was nothing Miriah could do to stop it. She was sure that Theodore who was like anti-baby would throw enough of a fit for her. But one thing she knew Charles would need was someone to hear him out and a plan. If Luna truly was pregnant then they needed to first figure out whether to adopt or keep the baby and stuff. When Miriah thought she was pregnant she hadn't made any plans because she was so confused. Plus she made sure Aiden had no say and no way of getting into her or the baby's life.

Miriah was thrilled that Charles actually seemed happy for her and didn't tease her. She blushed ever so lightly and tucked a strand of hair before her ears. "Actually you do know him. It's Aiden Lorka, well he changed his last name. But the one that went to school with us and everything? It probably sounds weird too but I really like him." Miriah figured that the first thing Charles would think of was how much of a pain in the butt Aiden used to be. Or how many girls he went around with. But if need be Miriah would try to defend him as much as she could. There were just some things that were hard to cover up about anyone. Miriah almost felt like saying that he was at the castle right now but she was tempted to head back later and see if Aiden wanted to hang out with her.

 

[Charles Fera]

Charles didn’t know if it was a good or a bad thing that Miriah knew Luna. He didn’t know just how well they knew each other, be it just for being in the same house and year together or maybe they were good friends, he didn’t know but he figured they weren’t all that close or Miriah would be telling him off about it already. Either that or she was just waiting for him to tell her for her to make her move. The words weren’t all the easy to come but they came and Charles awaited Miriah’s reaction. The mouth drop, that one was typical but expected. Then came the gasp, now he just had to wait for the shouting and hitting to commence. Instead came a pat on the back. He raised his head and gave Miriah a funny look – she was taking it awfully well. He gave a small snort and rolled his eyes at her opening statement, it was definitely a Miriah one which was why he was glad he had asked her to meet with him because he knew that she would be able to help, even if it was just to cheer him up even a little because, frankly he needed it. With his NEWTs looming really soon having the added pressure of becoming a dad was not something he needed. He frowned his eyebrows when Miriah said that she knew what he was going though, from what he could see she wasn’t pregnant and he would like to think to know if she had had a baby. Although he knew Miriah wasn’t that type of person, unless Hogwarts had really changed her – then again she did have a boyfriend so something’s had definitely changed with her. “How?” he asked her. Maybe if they had/were, whatever her situation was she could give him some pointers. When she asked what their plan was, if they even had one, he sighed again. “Well seeing as I only just found out I’m still a little fuzzy on the details myself, I know she’s definitely keeping the baby which I am happy. I’m not going to be one of those dad’s that run at the first sign of trouble. I’m going to help Luna out as much as I can and I’m moving here after Graduation so I’ll be closer as well.” he told her. Charles wasn’t happy about the idea but he wasn’t going to be an absent father that he knew people his age that found themselves in this situation became, he was better than that and had been raised as such. “Plus I got signed as Beater for The Thundelarra Thunderers, so I have a source of income at least.” he added. The one thing that was good in his life at the moment and now it sounded more like a chore than anything. He wanted his job for as long as he could remember and now he needed it to help fend for a small innocent baby that was going to become practically his responsibility – he wasn’t ready for that.

Charles figured that this Mr Mysterious was something else as, one – he was able to grab Miriah’s attention and two – he made her blush! In all the time he knew Miriah he had never seen her blush, whoever this guy was Charles would have to meet him and congratulate him on making one of his closest friends this happy – at least someone was having a good time. He raised his eyebrows slightly when Miriah confirmed that he did know this guy, the narrowed the numbers down greatly. If Charles had had a drink in his mouth at that moment in time he probably would have spat it out. With his eyes widened he looked at Miriah as if she had two heads. Aiden Lorka, of all people was the one that Miriah had been blushing over. Out of all the people that had crossed Charles’ path in past Aiden Lorka was one that he couldn’t stand the most – everything about him was something that Charles hated. After remaining in a silent shock for a few moments Charles shook his head as if he was coming out of a daze. “Sorry I think I just freaked out of something, because I thought you said Aiden Lorka.” he said to her, hoping that he had heard her wrong.

 

[Miriah Vlahovic]

Even though Miriah thought of Charles as someone she didn't mind talking to every now and again, she suddenly wanted to hit him for asking how she knew. Her eyes drifted downward and she turned a little red from the thought of what had happened between her and Aiden during the past year or so. And it was all because they had pent up feelings and poor control when they were under the influence of alcohol. Miriah was thankful that it brought her and Aiden together but she honestly hoped that there wouldn't be a baby in her cards anytime soon. "Well, I ended up getting drunk over the summer and ended up sleeping with Aiden. I thought it was a mistake and to make matters even worse I thought I was pregnant. I was so scared but thankfully it was just a false alarm. So yeah, I know how you feel..sort of." Miriah answered her face softening a little. She figured that Charles would get onto her about either her decision to get drunk or that she had slept with Aiden and everything. She sort of guessed that Charles probably didn't get along with him since no one ever really got along with Aiden except for the girls he dated. Too bad for Charles though because Miriah was happy. He said he didn't plan to run away and she smiled softly. He was probably going to be a good dad to that baby. It did make Miriah think about whether or not they may possibly get married. She couldn't imagine Luna and him together for some reason but then again, who really saw Aiden and her together either? "Charles that's really sweet, helping her out. Just be careful not to screw up so early, perhaps write her and discuss everything out carefully. The biggest thing I can advise is to make sure she is comfortable and everything. Congrats on getting signed though. Maybe if I get signed we can be rivals." Miriah winked softly before she glanced down and eyed Honeydukes sweet shop. Oh she was so heading there before she went home today. All the cauldron cakes and sugary sweets she had purchased a few weeks ago were gone by this point and she needed some to last her the remainder of the school year. Which wasn't too long but she wouldn't hold out without some sugar in her system during the NEWT's.

It seemed that he was either not listening to her or he was in shock at her reply. Her ruby red eyes rolled before she grinned softly. "Yes I said Aiden Lorka. I know it's a bit of a shock but I really like him. We've been through a lot this year and it brought us closer. This year in general...well it's been really rough for me. I almost transfered back to Durmstrang and stuff, I was....miserable for awhile." Miriah was speaking fondly of Aiden and smiling for a moment but that faded as she started to think about how bad the year had gone as well. Sure a lot of it faded when her and Aiden mended things but it was still rough. Her head dropped a little and she sighed. She remembered when her sister was mad at her, and when Aiden had called her sl*t. Both were horrible memories that were all in the past but she never wanted to relive again.

 

[Charles Fera]

Charles became very curious now when he saw Miriah go a lot redder. Of course he was already curious as to how she knew what he was going through because it’s not something that maybe people their age experienced, well at least it shouldn’t be. Charles knew now that it was not something that he would wish on his worst enemy. Granted he had only just found out that he was going to become a dad and wasn’t technically one yet until the child was born but it was still the idea of it that worried him the most. Then again he knew there was nothing that could be done about it, this child was going to be his own flesh and blood and if it was only thing that he held dear it was his family and the baby would be no exception that rule. Frowning his eyebrows slightly he watched Miriah as she explained how she knew what he was going through. His face contorted into a mixture of shock and mild disgust. It was bad enough for Charles to know that Miriah was dating Aiden but to know that…well that they had done it was almost too much for him to take. Charles couldn’t stand Aiden and the fact that the sleaze-ball had been with Miriah, someone that he cared for enough to feel sorry for her that Aiden had gotten to her. He had seen it before, Aiden would charm a girl until the point that if he said ‘jump’ she would say ‘how high?’ Well that may have been an exaggeration but girls just thought he was everything when he was really nothing – in Charles’ opinion anyway. Although Miriah was happy so he had to keep the majority of his thoughts to himself for he didn’t want to upset Miriah. He was however surprised that Miriah had had a pregnancy scare. She was lucky however that she hadn’t ended up like Luna and actually getting pregnant. He thought the idea of Aiden as a father would be rather hilarious, would be great comeback for everything that he’s done in the past few years with going after anything on two legs. He let a small laugh escape his lips when he had visions of Aiden trying to juggle a baby and changing diapers and all the things that came with newborn babies. Then again that would be him in a matter of months. “I could never imagine Aiden as a father. I’m sure his expression when he found out was hilarious.” he said with a small laugh lacing his words.

Charles listened to Miriah say how sweet it was that he was going to help Luna through the whole thing. There really was no other option for Charles, the child was his and he was going to take responsibility for his actions – he was an adult now and as such he was going to act like it. He nodded his head at her suggestions, they made sense he just hoped they were as easily done as they were said. He tried to cheer up a bit and smile when Miriah congratulated him on getting signed. It really was one of his proudest moments in his life and he couldn’t wait to get started in the new season, maybe it was be a form of release for him through the whole ‘becoming a daddy’ thing that he was going through. His eyes widened slightly when she mentioned about herself getting signed. “You’ve been trying to get signed?” he asked, surprised about Miriah’s choice of career. “Since when and by whom?” he asked, really interested now. He had never took Miriah to be someone overly interested in Quidditch. He wondered just how much had changed about her and if she was any good – and if she was any good just how much of a rival would she be. Charles figured Hogwarts must have changed everyone because the fact that Aiden seemed to have changed to an extent where Miriah liked there must be something in the water there. He frowned lightly when Miriah talked about the year being a bit rough for her, no one – especially Miriah, deserved to have a rough time. Stepping forward he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. “I may not like him at all but if he makes you happy then I’m happy for you.” he told her in a calm voice.

 

[Aiden Mauven]

Aiden was looking forward to the break from school for the weekend and get into the Village near-by, Brightstone, so even for the short time he didn’t have to worry about schoolwork as much and relax a bit before the last hurdle that was exams, and not just any exams but NEWTs which were seemingly the hardest known to man, and then after that came Graduation. It didn’t seem all that long ago that Aiden had started Hogwarts New Zealand and was sorted into Gryffindor as a small eleven year old. Although in a matter of a few short weeks he would be graduating from Gryffindor as an adult of 18 years old, it seemed strange to think about leaving school as it was all he had known for the past seven years of his life and no matter how much he hated it and where it was he went, be it Durmstrang or Hogwarts New Zealand, there was probably going to be a part of him that missed it as a form of normality in his life where he didn’t have to fend for himself in the World by himself. Well maybe not completely by himself. Things had been going well with Miriah as of late and after what they went through to finally get together Aiden had no intentions of ever trying to ruin it. He really did care about her and while he was still too young to think about ‘forever’ but he knew that what he had with Miriah was a lot different than what he with any of his past girlfriends. For now though he was just going to enjoy, if that was even possible, his remaining time at Hogwarts New Zealand and try his best at his upcoming exams and somewhere among that try and set his mind on a career for after Hogwarts – there was only so much time that the money his father left him could last him for. He had been toying with the idea of going into Professional Quidditch, another thing that he and Miriah had been considering. He knew it would be a difficult career to get into but he had been getting his name out a lot and going for whatever try-outs he could get, it was only a matter of time before he started to get word back from teams that he had contacted. Although now wasn’t the time for worrying about all of that stuff, today he just wanted to spent some time with his girlfriend away from school and everything that came with it and just have a relaxing day.

Entering the small village Aiden made his way around easily, after the amount of years he had spent here he knew it quite well by now almost to the point where it was sorta boring, the same shops, same faces. It was the usual but with him graduating soon the place almost had a sort of new feel to it but he waved the idea off and made the way to where he and Miriah had planned to meet up. It didn’t take long for Aiden to reach the destination the he and Miriah had decided to meet up, he was a little early for a change but Miriah was always on time so it was no surprise to see that she was already there – although she wasn’t alone. Aiden didn’t approach his girlfriend just yet as he wanted to watch what was happening first. Normally Aiden wouldn’t jump to conclusions like he was now but when he saw that Miriah was talking to none other than Charles Fera – Aiden instantaneously became angered. It was no secret that Charles and Aiden hated each other from their time at Durmstrang. They were always in constant competition with each other and one thing that they competed about was girls. They never liked to see the other one with a girl so they would always try to steal the girl from each other. Although now, now Charles was taking it too far. He never cared about any of the other girls that he tried to steal from him but Miriah was different and he wasn’t going to let him take her away from him. He watched the two talk for a few moments but when he saw Charles touch Miriah, even if it was only a ‘friendly’ hug, he couldn’t stand it any longer and made his way over to them. He gently pulled Miriah away from Charles and narrowing his eyes at him he made his hand into a fist and punched Charles on the face, not caring where he made contact – just as long as he made contact. “Never touch my girlfriend again! Understood?!” he shouted at Charles as he tried to regain his composure after the punch.

 

[Charles Fera]

Charles was glad that he had decided to meet up Miriah today and he was even more glad that she had agreed to meet up with him. It had been too long since they had talked and they both clearly had missed on a lot in each others lives but today had made up for that. Charles felt lucky that he had a friend that he could talk to about this stuff and have her give him some sort of advice. And that’s all Charles saw Miriah as, just a friend – nothing more and nothing less. There was a time when Charles found out that Aiden had a new girl on the go he would try and steal her away from him but he knew how happy he made Miriah (for some strange reason beyond Charles) and he didn’t want to hurt Miriah like that. Plus any feelings he felt towards Miriah were that of a good friendship and a protectiveness that came over him with any of his friends. He enjoyed the small hug but was surprised when Miriah seemed to back away quite quickly and abruptly. Looking up he saw that they weren’t alone anymore and his icy blue eyes widened for a moment as he saw Aiden’s fist coming towards him. He cowered away for a moment, bringing his hands up to his face where Aiden had hit him. “What is your f*cking problem?!” he shouted through the pain before trying to bring himself up to full height. When he heard Aiden mention about touching his girlfriend he rolled his eyes. “Dude it was just a hug! Stop getting so over reactive!” He exclaimed. Aiden had some serious problems if he couldn’t tell the difference between a hug and trying to ‘steal’ his girlfriend from him. He also clearly didn’t seem to trust his girlfriend either, if they cared for each other like they clearly did then Aiden should at least trust Miriah to not let herself be stole from him.

 

[Miriah Vlahovic]

Miriah narrowed her ruby red eyes at Charles for a moment when he laughed and started to make some fun of her boyfriend about the whole father thing, whether it was true or not she didn't like hearing it from another persons mouth. Her hand went out as she flicked him on the shoulder softly but enough to cause a little pain. "Stop making fun of him!" In Miriah's mind he couldn't have been any worse than she would probably end up being. One of the biggest reasons she was scared to ever have a baby was that she was terrified that she would end up being a bad mother. She didn't really get to witness how her own mother acted towards them as children so she didn't really have anything to go by either. They both would have probably been bad parents but that still didn't mean they should be laughed at. It was funny to think that a year ago she would have gladly laughed and made fun of Aiden, but now here she was getting angry when anyone spoke badly of him. Once a moment or so passed and their conversation switched over to Quidditch she was able to relax a little. A small smile returned to her face as she thought about how she learned how to play Quidditch so well. "Since about a year ago, as for who there's so many teams. Woolongong Warriors, Falmouth Falcons, or Vratsa Vultures are the ones I'm highly looking at." There was also the Holyhead Harpies but she wasn't all that interested on being on an All girls team right now. Aiden had been talking about Quidditch too so perhaps he would join her on the same team so they could travel around together. Miriah had always been a huge fan and this didn't really require any academics which she was good at, but she was also a very good athlete. Before anything else could be said she was being given a hug by Charles when he heard about how bad her year had been. It felt good to have another feel actually somewhat concerned for her. Miriah was about to thank Charles too, but instead she was gently pulled back by someone.

Aiden punched Charles in the face right after pulling her away from him and she gasped softly as her eyes widened. The words said between the two barely registered in her mind as she stared in shock and horror. Miriah had never seen Aiden with with someone like that and it was almost a little scary to see it happen now. "Oh my god! Aiden what hell are you doing?!" She glanced at Charles as if to say let it be before Aiden got even more upset. Her hand reached out to grab Aiden's arm as she tried to make sure he wouldn't go back at him. Her eyes were commanding an answer from him as her shock faded into her usual plain self. Aiden didn't seriously think she would cheat on him did he?

 

[Charles Fera]

Despite Miriah not being happy with his comment Charles still couldn’t help but chuckle a bit when she hit him, telling him to stop making fun of him. No matter how much he cared for Miriah and was glad that she was happy – even if was with Aiden Lorka, Charles wasn’t going to be able to change his ways and completely stop making fun of him or hating him in some shape or form. Rubbing his shoulder where Miriah had hit him he glared playfully at her, “Heeey, no need for violence.” he said, his smile showing that he wasn’t serious. Miriah didn’t even hurt him, it only stung a little but he had received much worse on the Quidditch pitch so it didn’t even faze him in the slightest. When Miriah mentioned the teams that she had been trying to get signed by he couldn’t help but think that if she was successful that at one stage or another – they would be rivals. Of course it would only be rivals on the Quidditch Pitch because he knew that a Professional Quidditch Player never let off the pitch relationships effect their game. It was a sure fire way to get you in trouble one way or the other. He wasn’t sure what position Miriah played in but as Beater he had to try and knock out all members of the opposing team while protecting his own team members, so no doubt he would have to hit a few bludgers in Miriah direction. “Well I wish you all the best with that. I would be lots of fun to meet you on the pitch.” he said with a bit of a sly smirk forming on his lips. He just hoped that Miriah wasn’t one of those people who took what happened on the pitch seriously when off the pitch because then it would just be no fun because she sure as hell wouldn’t be his biggest fan after sending a few bludgers her way.

Normally Charles wouldn’t let himself get so fazed by a punch to the face but Aiden had caught him off guard so it took him a few extra moments to compose himself but when he did it didn’t take him long to retaliate. He and Aiden hadn’t seen each other in some while and Charles had missed his favourite punching bag. Before he made a go at him he caught Miriah’s stare and wouldn’t dare go near the Gryffindor ass with Miriah so close to him for fear of getting her instead. “Isn’t it clear?! He’s jealous because he’s never been able to keep a girl before she realised just how low down he was and came running to something better; me.” he said, his voice rather uppity, but it was only because he knew how it was annoy Aiden so.

 

[Aiden Mauven]

Aiden began to breathe heavily; he could feel his heart racing in his chest and the adrenaline pumping around his veins. He hadn’t been this riled up in so long that the adrenaline rush was something that was going to take him a few moments to get used to again. He was about to have another go at Charles as he seemed a weaker than before and couldn’t gather himself after the contact. The Durmstrangs words were only going to cause him more pain in a matter of moments and Aiden was going to have pleasure in causing that pain. “A hug?!” she scoffed. “That’s how it always starts with you Fera, and it never is just a hug. It’s always more and you never know when to stop.” he shouted, anger starting to become clear in his words. Taking a step forward he felt Miriah’s hand on his arm. He stopped for a moment and looked down at her. She clearly didn’t understand why the two hated each other so much. It was never plain to many apart from the two and Aiden for one, was glad to keep it that way. Taking a breath to try and calm himself down a bit he was about to reply to Miriah but Charles interjected where his opinion wasn’t welcome. He narrowed his sapphire orbs at the boy and his blood started to pump faster once again, that was the final straw. “You’re dead Fera!” Releasing himself from Miriah he advanced towards Charles again and began to punch him again. Of course Charles was ready for Aiden this time and was able to fight back this time. Aiden hated Charles because he always had to go one better than Aiden and was almost always one better than him. Although this time Aiden thought he was the winner, because he had Miriah – but then Charles had to show himself. Aiden wasn’t fully aware that the two were close during Durmstrang but even if they had never talked and Charles found out that Aiden was dating Miriah he would have found some way take Miriah from him and didn’t know what he’d do if he lost Miriah.

After some intensive fighting for only a few minutes, while it seemed like longer, Aiden found himself flying across the ground. He had a bloody nose, scrapes, busted lip and a few bumps and bruises. He slowly pushed himself up off the ground again. This was a feeling that Aiden had experienced before but not one that he let people know, the side of him that wasn’t the popular guy that got all the girls – the weak side, the part of him that was lame and pathetic. What made it worse was the fact that his girlfriend had seen the whole thing; that was she even wanted to be his girlfriend after this. Aiden was never one to show anyone his weak side yet Miriah had seen it more than most people had in his whole life – the night after Giselle was taken from him and now. Despite this he couldn’t get the thought away that Miriah wouldn’t like him the same anymore after showing his weak side so much. “You win.” he said with poison in words as he spoke to Charles. “If you dare hurt her though.” he warned him, looking at Miriah before turning to walk away.

 

[Charles Fera]

While with it came pain, Charles found the fight exhilarating. He hadn’t been in a hand to hand combat fight in sometime now and it was something that he often enjoyed because the adrenaline rush was something completely different to that of the one that he got on the Quidditch Pitch but it was still pretty darn good. The fight didn’t last as long as one between himself and Aiden would normally last as Aiden found himself on the ground, pretty quickly. Aiden was pretty badly beaten up and Charles wasn’t left completely without injury; with a bloody nose and a few bruises that would soon show on his skin – it was clear who had won the battle. “Hogwarts made you weak, Lorka!” he said after Aiden even declared Charles the winner. Charles was still didn’t know his new last name so stuck with what he knew instead. When Aiden mentioned something about hurting her, he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Hurting who? He thought to himself. He saw where he was looking before looking away and realised that Aiden must have thought that Charles was really trying to steal Miriah from him. “Oh catch yourself on. Normally I would but I don’t want to take Miriah away from you. As much as I hate you, I like Miriah and she’s happy with you so I’m not going to jeopardise that happiness just to get one more up on you.” he told him. Even though people wouldn’t consider it so, it was probably some of the most civil words that Charles had even said to Aiden but it was all true. Aiden must be really stupid if he couldn’t see how much Miriah cared for him, because if he did know that then he’d know that she wouldn’t be stupid enough to have some other guy steal her away from him – it wasn’t going to happen.

 

[Miriah Vlahovic]

Miriah was a little annoyed that Charles was egging Aiden on when the poor boy was already having a hard enough time seeing Miriah and Charles within even eyesight of one another. Especially his last comment that had really set Aiden off, it made her mouth drop a little. "CHARLES!!" Miriah's voice came out angry and scolding. He was a good friend of hers still, but now she could see why Aiden was getting so angry. Whether it was true or not didn't really matter to her because she liked Aiden and didn't want him getting bothered by people like that. What was in the past was in the past and that was it. Then things got ten times as worse as Aiden released himself from her grip and started to go after to Charles with the full intent to cause harm. She hated watching them fight too. Sometimes girls would find it so cute and flattering to have two men duke it out over her well-being, but not Miriah. Having anyone fight over her expense made her feel horrible. On top of that she didn't even think they were fighting over her, they were more or less fighting over male pride. Calling out she tried to separate the fight several times but they kept on. Miriah was pissed at Charles for egging Aiden on and she was pissed at Aiden for coming over and starting the whole brawl in the first place. He should have known better than to go around trying to pick fights with another guy, especially when he should be able to trust her over these things. The fight only lasted a few minute's before Aiden flew across the ground. He was really banged up and he even lost the fight. The smallest fraction of sorry rose up for him in her heart but now she was going to have to speak to him privately. See what his problem was. "I'll see you later Charles okay?" Miriah told him under her breath before she turned after Aiden and grabbed his upper arm. Instead of talking to him here she walked down the street a little before she pulled him into an empty ally. Once in there her eyes met with his before she sighed and flicked him on the shoulder. That could be considered as his punishment for now.

Reaching into her bag that she had with her she reached for a bottle of water and some tissue, he had some cuts that she wanted to take care of. Her bag was set on the ground and even though it was a little dim in the ally she could still see his face perfectly fine, he still looked handsome even with those battle wounds. "Okay,what the hell were you thinking? Why did you do that?" Miriah asked as she opened the bottle of water and wet the tissue. She stepped close to Aiden and started to work on cleaning the blood from his nose and face. Soon she would need to start in his busted lip but she figured cleaning what she could now would help. They were so close that she could smell his breath and everything. But she didn't dare kiss him or anything. He was in trouble and his lips were all bloody. She would wait for his answer about what his problem was and and everything. He didn't have to go around hitting people.

 

[Aiden Mauven]

Aiden started to the feel the pain as he turned to walk away, except it wasn’t the pain from the fight it was more the pain that he had lost the one good thing that he had in his life. Miriah had been the one thing that was constant in his life, even when they had been enemies and hated each other, or thought they hated each other. The time that they had spent together had been the best few months that Aiden had had in his life, spending time with someone that he knew he could be himself around and not have to worry about being judged or anything. So why did it all have to change now, just when things were going well? Aiden felt his blood starting to boil more as his hatred for Charles only increased in the space of a few quick moments. He felt that he was giving up too easily; he knew that he was giving up too easily and Aiden Mauven wasn’t one to give up – he never gave up and wasn’t going to start now. Just as he was about to turn around his felt a hand on his upper arm and lowering his head he saw Miriah. Almost instantly he calmed down and felt relaxed. He wrapped his arm around her waist as she led him off down the street. He expected her to just take him up to the hospital wing or something and then leave him there for being stupid and fighting with Charles. Instead he saw himself being taken into an empty ally, this put him off as he wasn’t quite sure what Miriah was thinking but just went with it because, frankly, he didn’t have the energy to fight back with her. Stopping he turned to face her, curiosity filling his sapphire eyes as he searched her ruby reds, trying to figure out what she was doing. Feeling the flick on his shoulder, which hurt a little than it should, he laughed slightly as he rubbed the pain away. “Alright, I deserved that.” he said, cringing only slightly as he talked with the pain.

He watched her as she dug into that bag of hers that always seemed to be full of things that he never thought people would care around on a day to day basis; but that’s what made Miriah so wonderful to him, she wasn’t like normal people. He flinched slightly as she started to clean his cuts but it was more so out of gut reaction as Miriah’s touch was as soft as ever and it didn’t even hurt. Sighing at her question he knew she deserved an answer. “It’s just Charles. We’ve hated each other since the first day we met at Durmstrang. He always tried to do better at everything than me and he sunk so low as to steal any girls I liked away from me.” he told her, trying not to get worked up again as he so often did with any talk of Charles Fera. “Then when I saw him today with you I don’t know...I just couldn’t stand the thought of him stealing you from me. You’re the best thing I have going now Miriah and I don’t want to lose you – especially not to some prick like Charles Fera.” he said as he grabbed her hand for a moment and looked at her in the eyes to show how serious he was about what he was saying as not a word of it was a lie.

 

[Miriah Vlahovic]

Miriah let out a subtle breath. She had figured that there was something serious going on between Aiden and Charles but she didn't think it was going to be over something so small. Then again there was a point where she knew that Aiden took the harem of girls he had very seriously. But that was long gone and now he appeared to have his heart settled on her. Which Miriah hoped would stay this way because she had such strong feelings for him and she wasn't sure what she would do without him to be around and keep her company. A gentle sigh left her lips as she shook her head and tried to think of something to say that wasn't too scolding but didn't let him off too easily either. Miriah understood his reasonings but she didn't agree with the way he handled it. "You shouldn't have let him get to you like that though. Particularly because it would have just made him look like an idiot and a jackass, but instead you both made fools of yourself. Plus..I'm not really allowed to say but Charles is kind of going through a rough time." Miriah told him. Her voice was soft though so it didn't really sound like she was upset or anything. Just offering him a little advice that may save him from getting beaten up in the future. If she needed to she would talk to Charles herself about the way he had treated Aiden today. Then again she might just avoid talking to him period for a little while. He needed to focus on preparing things for Luna and the baby and it seemed that Aiden didn't really like her hanging out with him, so if to avoid some serious drama she would keep her ground. Chances are that she wouldn't like it if he spent a lot of time with some girl that she didn't trust. Fingers twitching lightly she resisted the urge to smile and kept cleaning up his wounds and such. He started to say something else that made Miriah have to resist the urge to smile. Oh how she loved it when he spoke sometimes, he was so precious.

"Aiden your such a loser, do you honestly think I'd leave you for him? I like you, thus...why I'm with you. Why else would I be here right now if I didn't have feelings for you?" Miriah leaned in and kissed his forehead softly before she pulled back and started to clean the wound on his lip. Which was by far the worst of his injuries it seemed. But it wouldn't take long to clean and then maybe the two of them could go to Honeydukes or something. Maybe she would take him out to eat or something. Someplace where they could spend some time together. Maybe that would help him relax about her still having feelings about him. Then again if he wanted to just hang out in the ally way then they could do that too. Although she wan't accustomed to being so caring for someone, particularly a boy, she was starting to learn how to bare her heart out to Aiden more. Bare her heart but still tease him when she could.

 

[Aiden Mauven]

Aiden wasn’t happy with himself at all right now, he had tried so hard to become a changed man and not allow his past to take over him because he liked the person he had become – the man Miriah had made him become. Sure he knew that that sounded so ‘fruity’ or whatever, and made him sound like less of a man but anyone that thought that clearly wasn’t half the man that Aiden was because they were too scared to let their emotions show. Some people may have thought it as a sign of weakness and at one point he was that kind of guy but every since he found Miriah he knew that they were no point being that type of person; hence changing for the better. Although today he had regressed into his old self and even though it was only for a short period of time he hated himself for it and he hoped that today was the last he’s ever see of Charles Fera again because he always seemed to bring out the worst in him and he hated the guy for it – especially in front of his girlfriend. Aiden let out a small sigh when Miriah reminded him that he shouldn’t have let Charles get to him like that because he knew that Miriah was right – she was always right. “I know, I know. He just really gets under my skin and he can do it so easily – it annoys me.” he said with a bit of anger in his words but he managed to keep himself composed. When Miriah mentioned that Charles was going through a bit of a rough time he quirked his eyebrows slightly. Aiden had always known everything to go right for Charles and for him to get anything and everything he always wanted so for him to be going through a rough time was a bit of a silver lining for Aiden – sure that might sound cruel but he didn’t care, he hated the guy. Scoffing slightly he asked, “What, did he break a nail or something?” Charles seemed like the kind of guy that would make the World’s biggest fuss over the smallest thing if it wasn’t what he wanted. Maybe breaking a nail wasn’t really something that Charles would make a fuss about but Aiden really couldn’t think of anything that would make Miriah think that Charles was ’kind of going through a rough time.’ Unless he got some girl pregnant or something but Aiden rubbed that suggestion off as soon as he thought of it. Then again after everything that happened between him and Miriah last year he wasn’t really sure if he would wish that fate on even his worst enemy.

Aiden couldn’t help but smile a goofy big grin as Miriah talked. He knew that he was stupid today and after everything they went through he should have given Miriah some credit and not run off with some prick like Charles Fera. Although hearing the reassurance come out of her mouth made him feel calm and relaxed, for a moment he couldn’t even feel the pain anymore that was spread all over his body. “You’re wonderful.” he whispered softly before giving her a soft but caring kiss on the lips before the pain became a little too much for him to bare – but it was a good pain. “I know I was a prick today but I want to make it up to you.” he told her as he grabbed her hands, leaning against the wall. As he looked into her eyes he knew what he wanted to do to make it up to her, but whether she agreed to it or not was a completely different thing. “Move in with me. Not right now but after Graduation.” he explained, as right now would be kind of impossible. “I mean it makes sense, you’ll be spending most of your time at mine anyway considering Hadan made it pretty clear that I’m not to set foot in your flat again and surely she and Raff will be wanting all the alone time they can get.” he said to her. It sounded like the perfect idea – he just hoped she felt the same way.