Burying the hatchet. [Heinrich, Professor Wright] on At Home

Evelyn Stones

August 18, 2020 1:14 PM

Burying the hatchet. [Heinrich, Professor Wright] by Evelyn Stones

Sitting between Heinrich and Professor Wright, wearing a black dress and coat, listening to people talk about how great her father had been, was surreal for Evelyn. She was the only close family present, and the only extended family were a few older cousins she'd never met, born to her father's uncle who she'd also never met. None of those who spoke were family. CJ wasn't here by Evelyn's request, an idea which Marijke and Fionn had supported.

She had to imagine that Heinrich and Professor Wright felt awkward. Heck, she herself felt awkward. But it had to be worse to attend a funeral of a man about whom you had many fewer mixed feelings than did Evelyn. Guilt hung heavy in her chest when she thought about how nice it was to sit between the two of them, feeling very safe. Safe, with her father's cold body a dozen feet away in a box about to be shoved into a hole in the ground.

There were drinks and things outside to encourage socializing, which Evelyn was distinctly hoping to avoid getting caught up in, but that wasn't the worst of it. A man in a fancy suit stood up to close the ceremony and Evelyn recognised Mr. Carmichael. Her heart pounded in her throat and she reached instinctively to take Heinrich's arm, shrinking into the pew as she did so. On the other side, she tugged a bit at Professor Wright's sleeve, doing her best not to make even a small peep.

"We have gathered to mourn the loss of a great man," Mr. Carmichael began. "I worked with him for most of the past fifteen years and he was always a hard worker, prepared to do whatever it took to move up." His eyes settled on Evelyn for a moment and she wondered if she imagined the dark twinkling there. He continued, looking around the room at everyone gathered. "We mourn the loss of a great employee, a great friend, and the end of a great bloodline of wizards."

Evelyn's heart thudded to a stop, she was sure. She didn't hear the end of whatever Mr. Carmichael said. In a moment, everyone was standing up and she followed suit. All around, people tried to push their way out of the room, towards the drinks, or else towards each other. To her horror, they were also pushing themselves towards her, apparently interested in pushing their condolences on her, despite the two men on either side.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," one woman told her glibly before smiling with wicked pleasure at Professor Wright. She slipped a business card out of a small purse she carried and tucked it into the professor's pocket before walking away.

Evelyn wanted to apologise for the hyenas that were the employees of the company her father had worked for, but there was another person there before she could. And then another. And another. A dozen condolences and a dozen well wishes, a few more looks to either Professor Wright or to Heinrich, a few pitying, curious once-overs of Evelyn herself, and then there was Mr. Carmichael.

"Hi, pretty girl," he greeted her with a grin that was too wide, just as he'd done when she was little, before anything had ever happened. He leaned forward and wrapped her in a hug before she could do anything but screw her face up and wait for him to go away.

22 Evelyn Stones Burying the hatchet. [Heinrich, Professor Wright] 1422 1 5

Grayson Wright

August 18, 2020 3:06 PM

Ah, but in what location? by Grayson Wright

Gray was sure he had been more uncomfortable before in his life than he was as he hovered protectively near Evelyn and Heinrich, but he really couldn't remember when it might have been. He hoped his expression looked more like that of a bodyguard for the young people than like that of someone as anxious as he really was, but considering how very comfortable some woman he had never laid eyes on before in his life had seemed to feel getting far enough into his personal space to interact with one of his pockets....

He hadn't even realized at first what in the world she had been playing at, and it had only been a solid minute later, reflecting on how strange it was and how he wished she had not done that, that he had realized that the odd grimace she had contorted her face into had had a purpose. Then he had wished to go crawl in a grave himself, all while hoping against hope that his students either hadn't seen that or were as clueless as he was generally, though somehow he doubted the latter was the case.

It was nearly over, though. Surely. It had to be nearly over, didn't it? The bizarre (what kind of company authorized a supervisor to speak that warmly about a former employee who had just died in prison for being a child abusing scumbag? Gray understood not speaking ill of the dead - however much, he thought, the dead might deserve it - or even sending a flower arrangement or note of condolence to Evelyn, if Stones had worked there for a long time before being placed in his proper environment, but openly praising him in public? Reflected badly on the whole organization) speeches were over. The people were moving along. Surely, it could not be long until he could leave Evelyn and Heinrich with the McLeods, then go do grading in a hotel room to hopefully drive out the things he had seen and heard from his brain.

First, though, there were more people. One of whom he watched very warily as said person approached his charges, as this was the man who had spoken so warmly of Stones, and who also had claimed Stones was the last of his bloodline when Evelyn was very clearly right there, and who Evelyn had seemed frightened of, if the way she had shrunk toward Heinrich and tugged on his sleeve was anything to by, when he had stood up to eulogize the person he had had the poor taste to retain a high opinion of.

He didn't know for sure that he would have deemed the man's comment inappropriate if he hadn't known all that about him, but since he did, he did not like the comment at all, and somehow liked the expression even less, and the hugging least of all. He cleared his throat.

"Evelyn, do you know this person?" he asked, perhaps a shade louder than a natural speaking voice, and a tad more pointed, hoping the man would get the hint. He contorted his own expression into something that was technically a bland smile at the individual in question. "You'll forgive me of course," he said to him directly. "It's, er, surprising, you being quite so, er, familiar with Miss Stones now, when you appeared not to know about her during your eulogy."

16 Grayson Wright Ah, but in what location? 113 0 5

Heinrich Hexenmeister

August 18, 2020 5:25 PM

Let us do the burying and then go by Heinrich Hexenmeister

Heinrich was not comfortable with this funeral. In the first place, he thought the person being eulogized was a bad wolf, a worse human, and a terrible excuse for a father. For another, the method of death (fortunately not mentioned too much amid the overly glorious praise for the life of a man who died in prison) still left him feeling vaguely guilty, both for thinking ill of his uncle and for wondering if this whole funeral actually was his fault for explaining Evelyn's impossible situation to Karl over midterm. They couldn't both be right, but one of them was, and whichever it was, he felt bad for it.

Thirdly, his black robes were too many shades darker than what he normally wore (which were, admittedly, dark, but recognizably blue or green most of the time) that he felt like he must look like a dark wizard assassin. (Given his resemblance to his father, this was true any day of the week, but now he felt one didn't need to know what Stefan Hexenmeister looked like to know that.)

And finally, he didn't like it here because someone in this place had done unspeakable things to his girlfriend. Her reaction to the last man to speak gave Heinrich a pretty good idea of which one that individual was.

Later, after a horrendous series of people coming to talk to Evelyn - and did that lady flirt with Professor Wright? Surely he was misreading . . . that individual arrived close up and in person and had the gall to wrap his arms around her when she clearly had not invited him to do anything of the sort.

He wanted to shove the man away, but this was a memorial shrine and while Heinrich was not particularly religious, nor inclined to treat this particular example of the deceased with respect, it still seemed disrespectful to the other people who were buried nearby to start any kind of physical row. And he wasn't sure if Professor Wright would report him to the school if he did.

Instead, as Professor Wright dealt with the situation verbally, Heinrich simply placed a hand on the individual's left bicep and gave him a very dour and disapproving look. For the first time, he kind of hoped he did look recognizably like a dark wizard. "Miss Stones has not given consent to touch her. Kindly refrain," he added when Professor Wright was done. He tried to minimize his German accent as much as possible, but his tongue wasn't quite able to manage it as well as he would have liked.

1 Heinrich Hexenmeister Let us do the burying and then go 1414 0 5

Evelyn Stones

August 18, 2020 6:14 PM

Can we wield the hatchet instead? by Evelyn Stones

Something about having people on your side was very empowering. Evelyn pulled back out of Mr. Carmichael's embrace as the man let go. Between Professor Wright's questioning, Heinrich's hand on him, and the reminder about consent, she couldn't blame him. She'd never seen Heinrich look so scary. It was surprisingly attractive, which felt like a thing she shouldn't be thinking right now. She brushed the back of his hand with hers, grateful for him.

The moment was short-lived, as Mr. Carmichael pulled a face. He wasn't a particularly tall man and Evelyn was pretty sure she saw him balk for a moment before adjusting his expression to something more confident. He looked up at Heinrich for a moment before turning silently to Professor Wright. "Of course she knows me," he said, eyeing Evelyn as he did so.

Evelyn swallowed and nodded, withdrawing some . "My dad's boss," she said softly. "He . . . used to come over sometimes."

Mr. Carmichael nodded. "She didn't really count for the speech, did she?" he added, glancing nervously back at Heinrich again before going on to answer Professor Wright's question. "Mother was a squib. And if I remember right, she's not got a lot of her own magic either." He grinned widely again, although it dimmed when he sent yet another glance toward Heinrich. He took a half step towards Professor Wright, although seemed to change his mind when he had to look up at him too. Evelyn was used to being smaller than everyone and it amused her to see someone she had once thought was so large feel so small.

Evelyn glared at him, feeling like she would have loved to catch something on fire just then. Instead, she looked up at Professor Wright. "I don't know him very well, Professor," she told him. Then, to Heinrich, she confirmed: "I don't want him to touch me."

22 Evelyn Stones Can we wield the hatchet instead? 1422 0 5

Grayson Wright

August 18, 2020 8:17 PM

They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but I'm not sure about the hatchet. by Grayson Wright

There was nothing particularly – or at all, if he was doing it right – friendly about the technical smile Gray had contorted his face into. It was purely a nod to social niceties. He stopped making that nod abruptly as Carmichael continued to speak, showing an astonishing lack of positive traits in the process. Instead, he allowed his face to do what it willed, which involved falling into a look of contempt even as his jaw tightened briefly with anger.

“I see he doesn’t know you at all,” he said when Evelyn disclaimed close acquaintanceship. “You see,” he added coldly, re-addressing himself to the other adult, “I’m one of her teachers, and think she’s an exceptional young person all around – fine mind, and an incredible work ethic. Anyone with sense would be proud to have her as a daughter, or as any other kind of relative. As for her mother – well. Personally I’m of the opinion that we ought to evaluate everyone on their own merits, but if my mother – “ his tone sharpened slightly on the word ‘my’, involuntarily, he thought – “and I make up a typical example of a certain kind, well, then in a few years, Miss Stones should be quite as capable of permanently turning you an interesting shade of chartreuse as I am.”

As far as threats went, this one was the sort of thing that someone would typically make as a joke and see responded to with laughter. Not something which was going to get the man taken seriously if he went about claiming to have been threatened. At the moment, however, Gray was rather tempted to demonstrate and then let this jackass see how well he did in business while his entire body, from the bottom of his toes to the hairs on his head to what could currently be described as the whites of his eyes, was one of the world’s least attractive shades of green.

In his old life, there had been more than one occasion when colleagues had happened to find themselves in some different angle of proximity to him than usual, and they had all noted with surprise that he was taller than they thought. As a rule, Gray didn’t think much about his own height these days. He’d been one of the shorter students in his first year class, but while height had turned out to be convenient after he’d abruptly acquired some in his mid-to-late teens, it still seemed a ridiculous thing to take pride in. It was just a circumstance of life. Add into this a lack of desire to draw much attention to himself as a rule, and spending most of his life bent over some book or notebook, and he had never really learned to loom properly. He rather hoped he was doing it properly as he added, “I suggest you go now, and in future, don’t assume people you haven’t met before will share your prejudices, hm?”

16 Grayson Wright They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but I'm not sure about the hatchet. 113 0 5

Evelyn Stones

August 18, 2020 9:35 PM

If you're the one with the pen, I think you might still be mightier! by Evelyn Stones

CW for seriously a despicable human being. Also reference to assault against a child.

First, Professor Wright was not the staff member Evelyn would have called scary. There were a number of them she thought were maybe just waiting for the opportunity to hex someone, but Professor Wright was not one of them. Now she knew that she should not have underestimated the man's ability to intimidate. Second, chartreuse was a gross color - and a weirdly specific one - and Evelyn didn't at all doubt that Professor Wright could do exactly what he was suggesting he could. Third, Evelyn had never in her life felt so good about herself. She was pretty sure Professor Wright was suggesting that his mother was a squib too and she found herself beaming at him, both for their shared heritage and for his compliments. He really believed that of her?

Mr. Carmichael, for his part, seemed like he was trying to decide just how uncomfortable he was. Before he could say one thing or another, however, Professor Wright continued. Evelyn had to assume the charms professor didn't know what a zinger was, but dang, 50 points to Aladren for that one. Her eyes were wide with surprise and she had to resist the urge to grin, immensely enjoying the fact that she had chosen exactly the right adult to ask for chaperoning to this event.

Mr. Carmichael seemed to wilt a bit, stepping back away from the professor and back towards Heinrich, which he also seemed to prefer not to do as he followed the move with another step back away from him, centering himself in front of Evelyn. Finally, he looked down at her with a scowl that couldn't quite hide how hard he was compensating for a less ferocious emotion.

"My apologies," he said sarcastically. "I didn't realize my little tramp brought her new daddy," he said, nodding toward Professor Wright before he glanced at Heinrich and then back to Evelyn. "And sleeping abroad now I see." Evelyn's cheeks burned and her mouth opened in shock. She felt very small and very angry, as if she were a little girl in a dark room again, all whilst full of the rage her sixteen-year-old self felt about everything. Ness' voice in the back of her head was screaming to punch him in the face but she couldn't seem to do more than resist crying, and even that was an only semi-successful effort. Mr. Carmichael leaned toward her to continue but was interrupted when Heinrich moved first.

OOC: Edited to reflect Heinrich's interruption and movement.

22 Evelyn Stones If you're the one with the pen, I think you might still be mightier! 1422 0 5

Heinrich Hexenmeister

August 21, 2020 5:38 AM

Gary gave me a sword, so I'll back up your pen with that. Evelyn, you've got the hatchet. by Heinrich Hexenmeister

Heinrich had not thought Evelyn wanted this individual to touch her, but when she said explicitly that she did not, his eyes narrowed and his lips thinned as he stared down the bad wolf who had invaded Evelyn's space, channeling every bit of menace he was capable of expressing without saying a word. He left the words to Professor Wright. He was better at them. Heinrich, for instance, could not have said whatever it was Professor Wright said, because there were words in there he did not know and undertones he could not follow to a sensible understanding, but if the cold tone was anything to go by, Heinrich agreed with whatever the Charms Professor was saying completely.

He did understand that the professor was telling the bad wolf to go, and he tried his best to support that recommendation with a scowl at the individual in question.

The bad wolf did not go. The bad wolf spoke. He did not completely understand what those words meant either. Professor Wright was not her foster father. Mr. McLeod was. But the tone suggested that wasn't even what he meant anyway, though what he did mean escaped Heinrich's English capabilities.

The comment about sleeping abroad, however, he did understand. And tramp was a derogatory word.

He understood that Evelyn was being disrespected. And he saw the dark creature moving closer and Heinrich side stepped swiftly to get in between them before the bad wolf could bite further.

Heirnich did not remember drawing his wand, but it was in his hand as he stood directly between the monster and Evelyn. He spoke softly, pitching his words so that nobody further away than Professor Wright could hear them. "My father will die in prison as hers did. He is in for casting Unforgivable magic. Do not make me continue the family tradition. Get away from my girlfriend. She does not want you here."

1 Heinrich Hexenmeister Gary gave me a sword, so I'll back up your pen with that. Evelyn, you've got the hatchet. 1414 0 5

Evelyn Stones

August 21, 2020 8:47 AM

Chop chop!!! by Evelyn Stones

Everything happened very fast. Heinrich was in front of her and she tucked instinctively toward him, recognizing a protective presence and putting a hand on the back of his robes. The latter movement may have been a response to her shock at what he said. Heinrich was a good wolf. He didn't threaten people. Not like that. However, both he and Professor Wright had drawn their wands and Evelyn couldn't help acknowledging that even a good wolf would bark, or even bite, if its pack was attacked. Which made Evelyn their pack. She meant something to these two who meant so much to her. And she was so so sick of not meaning anything.

Mr. Carmichael blanched, nearly achieving the chartreuse color Professor Wright had threatened. His hand was halfway to his own wand before he seemed to think better of it and put his hands up in retreat. The room was, at this point, mostly empty, and Evelyn found herself glad for that fact for the sake of avoiding a duel when others noticed wands drawn. She suspected Mr. Carmichael, who was thoroughly left to fend for himself at this point, did not find the lack of crowd cover so appealing.

Something in Heinrich's expression must have impressed upon Mr. Carmichael that he was serious because he didn't even try to get a last word in, nor did he turn his back until he was far enough away to dip out of sight through a doorway leading outside.

When it was done, Evelyn looked up at Heinrich with searching eyes. She wanted to say a lot of things but none of them had any words attached. "I could kiss you, Hexenmeister," she told him in a low voice that she hoped didn't carry because Professor Wright probably didn't want to hear that. Then, to the both of them, she continued. "Thank you. I'm... I'm so sorry."

The adrenaline wore off quickly and everything that Mr. Carmichael had said began to sink in, as did everything that Heinrich and Professor Wright had had to do for her. She looked down at her hands and realized they were empty. Even in the middle of all this, she hadn't drawn her wand. Perhaps it was because she'd felt safe enough not to need to with the other two there. Perhaps because she knew it was illegal to use magic anyway. Or perhaps because she was exactly as bad a witch as Mr. Carmichael said.

She blinked rapidly as tears spilled out and she wiped them away with her fingers. "I'm sorry," she sniffed brusquely. "Thank you both so much for coming. I... I don't know what would have happened without you."

22 Evelyn Stones Chop chop!!! 1422 0 5

Grayson Wright

August 21, 2020 12:33 PM

Hopefully that will dispatch him properly. by Grayson Wright

Later, Gray would wonder why it had taken a solid second or two for the implications of Carmichael’s statement to sink in with him. Had he been puzzled by why an adult would refer to a child as a ‘tramp’ – and more specifically, use the term in a way that implied possession – because he was asexual himself, or because the mere idea of what Carmichael was suggesting was repulsive to any decent person, regardless of inclinations?

Once the meaning did hit, though, he blanched with shock and startled himself by reaching for his wand.

Later, he’d assure himself, it had been quite a reasonable thing to do. He was responsible for Heinrich and Evelyn’s well-being, which meant that if Carmichael didn’t back off, it would be reasonable to interpret him as a threat to their well-being and to use magic – in a restrained, deliberate way – to prevent him from disturbing them further. Surely, he wouldn’t have actually cursed someone in public, at a funeral no less. Surely not. He was not the sort of person who did such things.

Still, he was secretly glad that Heinrich was apparently just as appalled, as hearing one of his prefects threatening to use the Unforgivable Curses on someone was something that startled him in the other direction. He therefore caught himself short of actually pointing his wand at anyone. He just sort of…had it. In case. Because he could not allow a student to get into a duel at an off-campus function where Gray was expected to act in loco parentis to said student. That was all.

He continued to maintain a straight face and stern look until Carmichael actually left the room, whereupon he blinked several times rapidly, adjusting his glasses anxiously and absent-mindedly running a hand through his hair. Had that just happened? He did not do things like that. He did not. And he especially did not do so in front of students! What had he been thinking?

The students were still here, though, and one of them was now crying. He could finish processing this later.

“The only people who ought to be apologizing for things,” he said, “are that – individual – “ this with a jerk of his head in the direction of the door – “and, perhaps, me.” He removed his glasses for a moment, peered at them as though he could actually see more than a vague, blurry outline in his hand, and then put them back on. “Shouldn’t have lost my temper – escalated the situation – I apologize for that. Well. Are you both all right?” he asked, looking between them, including Heinrich in the question. Gray had, of course, not heard Heinrich say anything at all just now, but in theory, he imagined that the boy’s parents were a sore spot for him, and that the whole matter of Evelyn’s father dying in prison might have brought up unpleasant thoughts more often than usual, now that he thought of it – not, of course, that anything in particular might have just drawn his attention to the fact Heinrich's father was likely to meet the same embarrassing end, more or less a few details, as Evelyn's. Just a coincidental thought which had risen in his mind with no stimulus at all.

16 Grayson Wright Hopefully that will dispatch him properly. 113 0 5

Heinrich Hexenmeister

August 21, 2020 6:33 PM

'Good riddance' now makes sense as a saying by Heinrich Hexenmeister

The bad wolf left. Heinrich kept his wand in hand and his eyes on the being until he was gone. Then he let out a breath. He turned back to Evelyn who was looking up at him . . . and offering to kiss him. He blinked in surprise. That . . . wasn't quite the reaction he had been expecting. He didn't know what he had been expecting, honestly, but that wasn't it.

Then she was crying and talking to both him and Professor Wright - without kissing him, which was probably for the best given the venue, though vaguely disappointing; he settled for wrapping an arm around Evelyn to hopefully help reassure her - oh, and Professor Wright was here. This had not been the foremost thought going through Heinrich's mind when he'd spoken to the bad wolf. Now he became acutely aware of it.

"I, I do not know how to do anything Unforgivable," he stated truthfully. Which point did not change that his check had been one of intimidation rather than deception. He had not been lying or bluffing. He may have already contributed to killing Evelyn's father, and after meeting the fellow that Mr. Stones had inflicted upon Evelyn not once but twice . . . he couldn't say he was remotely sorry for it if he had. The more accurate statement, had it come down to it, was that Heinrich did not know how to do anything Unforgivable yet.

A nice clean killing curse against that particular individual would be a boon to the world, in Heinrich's opinion. He was still a minor. He'd probably get off with just a broken wand, and that was a fair price to pay.

This, however, was not something he wanted to discuss in depth with Professor Wright at this precise moment.

Fortunately, the professor seemed willing to overlook it and just asked after their well being. Heinrich glanced down at Evelyn, as she was clearly the more upset, but answered quickly and succinctly so as to get the focus off of himself quickly. "This is not my best day. But I am mostly right." He could not say he was all right, because there were many things not right about today, but he was not arrested, and neither was Karl, and the bad wolf was gone, so he was taking all of those things as a win.

1 Heinrich Hexenmeister 'Good riddance' now makes sense as a saying 1414 0 5

Evelyn Stones

August 21, 2020 8:45 PM

Our group XP has gone up. by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn accepted Heinrich's arm and was glad that he still felt like the same Heinrich, the same big friendly giant, as usual. And was it her imagination or had he maybe not looked like her comment would have been all that bad? Evelyn wrinkled her nose at Professor Wright, doing her best to stop crying, though. "Please don't Apologise," she told him. "Not for that." She didn't know how to explain that it felt like he was apologising for standing up to someone he'd been trying to help her learn to stand up too, or that he was sorry for helping at all. She knew that's not what he was saying, but she didn't like it anyway.

He asked how they were and Evelyn looked up at Heinrich, figuring her own state of wellness was pretty clear already. Between cowering, crying, and cringing, she was a mixed bag of a bad time right now. At the same time, she'd never had an encounter with Mr. Carmichael go that well.

She wondered as she looked at Heinrich whether he could still be upset with his uncle if he had indeed had anything to do with her father's death. If maybe, just maybe, there was a grey area where good wolves sometimes bit too, but it was not the same. This, she knew naturally, was not the same. She hugged him a little closer and took a deep steadying breath, just glad he was okay.

"I'm okay," she said. When the words were out of her mouth, though, she knew that they weren't all the way true. "I'm . . . safe. So that makes me okay," she amended. There were other things that weren't so okay, like her own self-doubt over her magic use and such, and the bad memories that had come rapidly flooding back, leaving her to feel very much like she was reliving things she'd prefer not to have lived the first time. The conversations she was undoubtedly going to have to have with Dr. Greene came to mind but she didn't want to think about that right now. She wanted fries and a milkshake and a hamburger. She wanted a nap, somewhere safe and warm where she knew that she wouldn't be hurt. Curling up on the sofa at the McLeods' with Heinrich sounded perfect. Maybe even with CJ. "Can we go now?" she asked them both, glancing out the doors towards the food. "I don't want to stay for that. We can go now?"

22 Evelyn Stones Our group XP has gone up. 1422 0 5

Grayson Wright

August 22, 2020 4:48 PM

Experience is a hard teacher, but you do learn. by Grayson Wright

Gray gave Heinrich a quick, appraising look, his dark eyes momentarily sharp behind his rectangular glasses, when the boy felt the need to clarify that he didn’t actually know how to cast the Unforgivable Curses. After a second, though, he nodded.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “Though I’m afraid that I went momentarily deaf just before – “ his expression momentarily slipped back into disgust – “Mr. Stones’ employer left, so I have no idea why you’d bring that up right now. Still. Good to know.”

He almost smiled at Heinrich’s answer to the question about whether he was ‘all right’ – no doubt it was a quirk of understanding, rather than a deliberate effort to draw attention to the literal meaning of a colloquialism he’d used without thinking, but it still did amuse him a bit – but he nodded instead. “Fair enough,” he agreed, and then looked to Evelyn to see how she would answer.

“I think that’s a good idea,” he agreed when she asked to go, secretly relieved that she had made the suggestion. He wanted her to have all the time she needed to mourn publicly, or accept that her father was dead, or whatever she needed to do, but he was also worried about what the consequences of staying any longer might be. Perhaps he’d do it if he needed to, but he’d really rather not lie to law enforcement’s face if that man went babbling about foreigners threatening to kill him after the man in glasses had threatened to turn him permanently green. Most likely anyone would assume the man was merely insane, but…. “Let’s move along.”

Evelyn’s remarks about the apologizing, however, had stuck with him, and after lunch, before leaving them with the McLeods, he paused for a moment, deliberately not fidgeting with his glasses even though he rather wanted to. “Ah – you might recall, I mentioned, er, my mother, earlier,” he said. “Something my father used to say – if anyone thought less of Mother because of how she was, or less of me because of how she was, then whoever did the thinking was likely no more worth concerning ourselves with than…moldly owl droppings, actually.” Not the most repeatable of images, now that he thought of it…. “A bit blunt, I suppose – he might not speak very much, but he says what he means when he does,” he concluded. “Which is to say – perhaps the, er, antagonism might not have materialized otherwise, but what I said – I meant what I said.” Uncomfortable to get into, but he felt it ought to be said, somehow. “Well then. Have a good evening, I’ll be around to collect you both in the morning after breakfast.”

16 Grayson Wright Experience is a hard teacher, but you do learn. 113 0 5

Evelyn Stones

August 22, 2020 7:41 PM

You're a great teacher. by Evelyn Stones

Lunch felt normal. Evelyn got a chocolate shake and fries and a burger and she got to show Heinrich how delicious it was to dip fries in a chocolate shake. It was odd that such a small thing could feel normal, because going out to lunch with her favorite professor and her boyfriend were not 'normal' things for Evelyn. She did hope they would be though. It felt like a glimpse into the future that she and Gary had talked some about, where she would drag Professor Wright to lunch because otherwise he probably wouldn't think of going, and she and Heinrich would spend time together, and everything would be okay.

When they arrived to-- home, Professor Wright spoke up and it seemed very hard for him. That seemed fair; Evelyn herself was given to expressing herself but she had found that basically everyone else in her life was not. It was, however, very much like the charms professor to use a lot of words to say a thing and to say it in a very roundabout way. Evelyn smiled at him, feeling very much less alone in her heritage than she once had. "Thank you, sir," she said softly before stepping towards him - carefully gauging his reaction to such things - and wrapping her arms around him in a hug when she was sure he was consenting. At some point, she had probably hugged her father, but it had been a very long time. Sometimes she hugged the McLeods, and she hugged Ness, Heinrich, and Gary fairly often, but there was something very important and healing about hugging an adult who cared about you. "Thank you for being there today," she added before stepping away from him and nodding, agreeing to the timetable he offered. "See you in the morning, sir."

Upon the professor's disappearance, Evelyn looked up at Heinrich and took a sigh. "Thank you for being there, too," she said softly. "I don't know what I would do without you."

22 Evelyn Stones You're a great teacher. 1422 0 5