Closed Walking a Different Path

[Odette Madison]

Odette didn't often head to Obsidian Harbour anymore, mostly because things could get uncomfortable if someone recognized her from playing for one of New Zealand's national teams. But without her Quidditch robes on and with her hair loose instead of in a ponytail, she could often get away with just a few curious glances as people wondered where they knew her from. She also often wore sunglasses if the weather remotely permitted it, which it did today. She had just needed a few things and now she was heading to the nearest floo spot to go home again. Odette stubbornly ignored the voice in the back of her mind reminding her that it would be much more convenient if she just learned how to apparate. That was never going to happen. As Odette passed someone, she paused almost automatically and looked behind her to see who it was. "Sapphire?" She asked, recognizing the girl she had gone to school with a long time ago. She had definitely grown up.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire was running a few errands, lost in her own thoughts as she moved through the crowd. She had picked up a few things already and was thinking over what to do for dinner, when she heard her name. She paused, startled, and turned to look. A woman stood near her, hair down and sunglasses on. Sapphire tilted her head, furrowing her brow. "Yes?" She asked, trying to place where she knew this woman from. It only took a moment for it to click in her mind. Her eyes widened and lit up, a bright smile crossing her face. "Wait, Odette?" Sapphire asked, running a hand through her hair.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette had forgotten she had tried to seem unrecognizable, but it made sense that it took Sapphire a moment to recognize her. She smiled back at the younger woman. "Yeah." She said, pushing her sunglasses up to meet Sapphire's eyes. "You must have graduated by now, right?" She asked, doing the mental math. "It's been ages." She said a fond smile on her face at the memory of the old Quidditch team. Sapphire had been the closest thing Odette had had to a protegée. She had been a good beater.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire smiled as Odette pushed her sunglasses up. "Yeah, last year. How have you been?" She asked, holding out a hand to shake. Sapphire had never been much of a hugger. "Rocking out that professional team?" She asked, smiling softly. It was good to see the older girl again. Sapphire remembered the night with Harley and brushed it aside.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette nodded when Sapphire said she had graduated last year. She had been a year below Charlie, she remembered now. "I've been good." She said truthfully. She smiled sligtly. "Yes, I'm still on the Macaws." She said, running a hand through her hair. "A lot of my colleagues there are actually old Slytherin players." She said. "like Rory." Odette wasn't really sure if Sapphire had known him that well. "Am I likely to run into you in a match someday, then?" She asked, wondering if Sapphire had tried her hand at going professional too.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire's brow furrowed a bit at the mention of Rory, before remembering he had been on the team a bit before her. She snapped her fingers, nodding in recognition. "That's right, yeah," she smiled at the memory. She chuckled at Odette's question and shook her head. "I've thought of it, but no, I'm a photographer," she explained. "Do you want to sit somewhere and catch up for a bit?" she asked, eager to spend time with the old captain.

 

[Odette Madison]

I completely lost track of this thread sorry!

Odette wasn't too surprised to hear Sapphire hadn't tried her hand at being a professional Quidditch player, but she was a bit disappointed. She knew Sapphire had what it took to get far, but also figured it wasn't for everyone. "A photographer? I had no idea you were into that." She said, frowning a bit. "Were you on the paper?" She asked, trying to recall. Odette nodded at her question. "Sure, that sounds nice." She said with a slight smile.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire smiled softly, starting towards a nearby shop. "I wasn't too open about it," she replied easily. She hadn't been open about much while they were in school. "I wasn't, I was only on the team." She told Odette. "I mostly just practiced at home." She brushed her hair back. "I can buy you lunch, if you want," she smiled.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette nodded as Sapphire explained she hadn’t been very open about liking photography at Hogwarts. It made sense, and Odette hadn’t really known the younger students on the team that well outside of the context of the team. “Ah, I see.” She said, nodding. Odette smiled slightly. “You don’t have to pay, but lunch does sound nice.” She admitted.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire chuckled, shaking her head. "Sure, I don't have to, but I want to," she looked around, spotting a nearby restaurant and starting that way. "So outside of Quidditch, how have you been?" She asked, flipping her hair behind her shoulder. She was feeling hungry now.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette shrugged. She considered bringing up that she likely made more money than Sapphire, but felt like that wouldn’t change Sapphire’s mind. She was pretty stubborn if Odette remembered correctly. She shrugged, following the younger woman. “Things are fine.” She said though she wasn’t sure if that was entirely true. But Odette wasn’t going to talk about her relationship problems with someone she hadn’t seen in years. "How about you?"

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire walked inside, waiting till they were seated and had ordered drinks before turning back to Odette with a smile. "Things are alright, I suppose. I'm not sure if you heard about the attack," Sapphire mused, sipping her drink. "But Onyx is recovering well, he's gone and found himself a pretty Frenchman and they're getting married, building a house together out by the ocean in France or something," She waved dismissively. "My younger brother, Jordie, he's a chaser on the Hufflepuff team, though. I hear that Hufflepuff actually beat Slytherin now that Blake's left," She was still torn on being proud of them and feeling loyalty to the Slytherin team.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette blinked as Sapphire mentioned an attack, she shook her head. Apparently, it had something to do with Sapphire's brother, who Odette had barely known. Though it seemed like things were okay now, judging by Sapphire's words and tone. "I didn't know you had a younger brother." She said as Sapphire mentioned him. As she mentioned the Hufflepuff team beat Slytherin, Odette frowned a bit. She hadn't thought much about Hogwarts games in years. "Weird to think that's still going on." She said with a slight shake of her head. "My younger brother is still at Hogwarts too, he's on the Ravenclaw team." She said. "I don't think that team has had much luck, though." She added with a slight smile. Ravenclaw had never been that great, in her opinion. Though she liked that Finn was on the team and following in her footsteps.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire nodded. "Yes, my twin brother Onyx and my younger brother Jordan. Jordie," she told the woman. She smiled as the drinks appeared and took a sip of her own. "According to my sources, it's going to be Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff, then they'll face off against Ilvermorny." Sapphire smirked a bit. "Apparently Quidditch is a draw for my family. My brothers fiancé? Jamie Derouin. Ex-captain of the Beauxbatons team and current chaser for the French Nationals. You and I actually played him once. I think they won, I can't recall," she shrugged, but chuckled at the coincidences. "Jamie's younger cousin writes to Jordie, and is an alternate seeker for the Beauxbatons team. From what I hear, she's better than the current seeker." She gossiped idly, sipping on her drink again.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette nodded as Sapphire talked about her family. She felt a little bad for not knowing, but she also figured Sapphire didn't know the specifics of her own family, as it was pretty intricate and confusing. Odette had gone from being an only child to having five siblings in one way or another. "I see." She said when Sapphire spoke about the Hogwarts Quidditch cup. She talked about her brother's fiancé and Odette nodded, trying to remember if she knew the guy. There were a lot of professional players, and Odette wasn't all that familiar with the French team. Odette laughed softly. "You're very informed on... everything, it seems." She said. To Odette, this all felt very far away. She remembered how this was once the most important thing in her life, but right now she didn't really care all that much about house teams. Though it was a bit sad to hear the Slytherin streak had finally come to an end.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire smiled, sipping her drink. "Well, I'm still a bit new out of it," she told Odette. "And my brother comes to me often for the Quidditch in school, so I haven't grown that far away from it yet," She shrugged. "I've been talking a lot, though. What about you?" She turned the conversation to Odette, wanting to know more about her friend. Sapphire noted idly that Odette was a lot prettier than she remembered, and she was tempted to try and take her home. But Sapphire wasn't in the mood to try and flirt with the other girl tonight. She liked the company of a friend instead.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette smiled when Sapphire said she wasn't out of school for as long, that was true. "My brother plays Quidditch but we don't talk about it a ton, I don't think he's that into it." She admitted, as she had a sneaking suspicion Finn mostly joined the team to impress her. It was sweet, but she doubted she would see him play for one of the professional teams after Hogwarts. Odette sipped her own drink, shrugging at the question Sapphire gave her. "What do you want to know?" She asked with a slight smile. "I'm afraid my life is rather boring. Lots of training, not a lot of time for other things." She said with a shrug.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire chuckled. "Whereas my little brother lives for the team. He runs twice a day, swears he's going to be head boy and team captain. If he will, I have no idea," she shrugged. "If he makes it to the big leagues, try not to kill him," she teased Odette with a wink. She sipped her drink, considering the womans' words. "Weren't you seeing someone?" She asked, unsure. "Maybe? How's that?" She set her drink down.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette couldn't help laughing slightly. "Head boy and team captain? You're sure he's not a Slytherin with that ambition?" She asked jokingly. "Those are some lofty goals." She added. She had only ever achieved her position for Quidditch captain, she hadn't even made prefect back in the day. Odette laughed softly when Sapphire asked her not to kill her brother if he made it professionally. "I'll try." She said with a smile. Her smile faded when Sapphire asked about her relationship. "Yes, that's going fine." She said though it was a lie. But talking about how her relationship was failing with someone she hadn't seen in years seemed silly. "Margo, if you remember her." She said though she didn't think Sapphire had met her. "What about you?"

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire chuckled. "Did you ever meet Onyx?" She asked. "Jordie picked up his personality from both of us. He's got that soft cuddly side of Onyx's, and he has my drive," She sipped her drink. "I'm honestly surprised Onyx wasn't a Hufflepuff. He's so soft," she smiled softly and shook her head.

She sipped her drink, deciding not to comment on how Odette was obviously lying to her. She shook her head. She hadn't met Margo, she didn't think. She shrugged as the question was returned to her. "Oh, you know me. I never stay anywhere for long. I spend time here and there, enjoy a bit of company, and then take off again." Sapphire smiled a bit. "I've found there are plenty of beautiful women in the world, occasionally a handsome man." She winked playfully. "But no, no one currently. I was seeing someone recently but I ended it." She sipped her drink.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette shrugged when Sapphire mentioned her brother. "I vaguely remember him," Odette said. He had been in a different house and in a lower year, so she hadn't had much to do with him. She had also been very busy with her own drama usually while at school. But if he was soft and cuddly, Odette didn't think they would have gotten along when Odette was in school. "My siblings are all very different." Was all she said. She thought briefly of Charlotte, who was most like her or at least like how she used to be. But she hadn't seen her biological sister in years.

She was glad when Sapphire didn't ask too many questions about her relationship with Margo. She listened as Sapphire said she never stayed anywhere long. Odette smiled a bit when she mentioned beautiful women and the occasional handsome man. She could relate to that. "I see." She said, not sure what else to say on the subject. As Sapphire had just ended a relationship, it seemed like a dangerous subject to poke at too much. "Do you live in New Zealand now?" Odette asked, remembering how Sapphire had said she never stayed anywhere for long. Odette had settled down here now, and couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire sipped at her drink. Odette was harder to read. Maybe Sapphire was losing her touch. Or Odette had just grown up more. She was certainly just as beautiful as Sapphire remembered. "Yes and no," she shrugged. "I technically have an apartment here, but I use it mostly as storage. I stay with my uncle every other weekend and mostly just travel around for work." She smiled a bit at Odette. "I could bring by some of my work sometime if you were interested." She mused. She wasn't sure if Odette would be open to meeting again, but Sapphire thought it could be nice.