Now and then. [Heinrich] on At Home

Evelyn Stones

December 13, 2020 6:09 PM

Now and then. [Heinrich] by Evelyn Stones

As it turned out, being an adult was actually pretty okay. School was going fine, things with Ness had gotten back to a good normal, and Evelyn had the freedom to go visit Heinrich over the break. Of course, the McLeods had never stopped her before either, but it was nice to be able to just do it. She had given her hugs and kisses and "see you soons" to her new family - and to her blood family, since CJ was there too - and stepped into the hearth before disappearing into a swirl of green and arriving at the Hexenmeisters' Utah home. So far, the time she'd been able to spend with Heinrich and his family had been perfect and wonderful, if a little awkward at times. She was pretty sure Uncle Karl was always at least a little awkward, and although Hilda's English was improving, it was clear she wasn't too keen on long conversation in her second language. Hans was the most sociable of the Hexenmeisters but he was also small. Truth be told, Evelyn didn't mind at all because it meant she got to spend her time primarily in Heinrich's company, even if Uncle Karl's gaze kept them from getting up to anything too private. Not that it stopped them entirely.

It was a particularly lovely, snowy day, and Evelyn had bundled up a heavy coat, hat, and scarf for a walk with Heinrich. She loved walking in the snow. She loved the snow in general. It wasn't something she'd seen much of growing up, although Oregon as a whole certainly got a dusting - and sometimes much more than a dusting - every winter. The coast was less likely to see a white Christmas (or white winter at all for that matter) and she associated the happy crunch under her feet with her new life in Vermont, and the perfect cleansing that the snow seemed to bring. She'd left her gloves behind as they only got in the way of holding Heinrich's hand, or clutching at her wand if necessary - she'd been working on actually carrying the thing around and being ready to use it since the funeral mishap - and her pockets could keep her hands warm enough if Heinrich didn't want to hold hands.

It was perfect moments like these - wintry days with her favorite human - when Evelyn couldn't help thinking about all the rest of the moments she'd get to have. To think that next Christmas break, she'd be coming home from school and Heinrich . . . might not be. The future, it seemed, was stepping into the hearth with them these days.

They'd been chatting and laughing, but conversation had faded into companionable silence when Evelyn spoke up again. "I was thinking about life after school . . . I was talking to a student this term about some stuff going on at home, and then seeing CJ . . . " She sighed, not sure how to make words happen. "I keep telling myself I want to be a lawyer or a social worker or something and fix the systems that screwed me over, but I don't know if I want that now. I don't want my whole entire life to be based in the bad stuff. And . . . well, if it's okay with you, I'd like to be close to you after school. But . . . I don't want to push myself on you either." Her throat felt thick and she took another breath. "I dunno. School is going to end soon, and I keep wondering how the heck we're supposed to get into whatever comes next, yknow?"

OOC: General assessment of the Hexenmeisters' behavior and the trip so far approved by their author.

22 Evelyn Stones Now and then. [Heinrich] 1422 1 5

Heinrich Hexenmeister

December 28, 2020 6:16 PM

Then and Now by Heinrich Hexenmeister

Heinrich looked around at snow falling on the Utah desert around them and thought - probably for the first time - that his new home could be pretty. It being a desert, it didn't snow often, so this was a pretty special occasion and by no means the norm. He was still more than a little eager to leave this place and call it Uncle Karl's home and not his own. Heinrich wasn't entirely sure he wanted to graduate Sonora without Evelyn also ready to be graduated, but he was pretty excited about the prospect of college and independent living. He didn't expect he would break off entirely from Uncle Karl's support, not yet, but he could at least enjoy the illusion of self-sufficiency.

If nothing else, he was a legal adult wizard now, and when he noticed Evelyn wasn't wearing her gloves, when her fingers brushed against his, it was entirely legal for him to pull out his wand and cast a light warming charm at their now clasped hands, and then tuck his wand and wand hand back into his warm pocket, because he wasn't wearing any either. He had a pair inside his winter cloak pockets, in case he needed them, but so far they weren't quite necessary.

Evelyn broke the subject Heinrich had been meaning to bring up for most of the fall term, but hadn't ever actually breached.

"You can and should do whatever it is that you want to do," he recommended. "If you do not want to do law or social work, then do something else. There are many ways to help others that are not attacking the system or putting yourself in a position to see the worst of people." He smiled at her, "I would like to be close to you, too. You would not be pushing."

"I have applied to three colleges," he shared. He had mentioned each one individually after sending each application, but he hadn't really summarized his plans in any way that might have let her conclude those were the only applications he had sent nor even why those three had made his short list. "One is MENTAL - that is where Gary and Parker are going," and that had been the main reason he had applied there. The academic program looked fine and respectable (Gary wouldn't have chosen it if it wasn't), but the main pull really was that he already knew people there. "That school specializes in Magical Engineering, Nature, and Technology." Which was the main reason he wasn't especially enthusiastic about its course selection, as he was more a Brooding-Hawthorne sort of person with his interests being more focused on DADA and potions. "I applied undecided on a course of study, but I was kind of looking at the Dragon Refuge major."

"The other two schools have good auror programs," he admitted, shrugging. "I am not sure I actually want to be an auror myself, not with my parents being who they are, but usually schools with auror programs also have programs for related fields like social work or law, which is what I had thought you wanted to do, and strong DADA departments. I applied as a general DADA major, and planned to go for a more specialized Masters degree once I figured out what specific field of study I wanted to go into. But if you don't want to be a social worker or lawyer now . . . what is it that you do want?"

1 Heinrich Hexenmeister Then and Now 1414 0 5

Evelyn Stones

December 28, 2020 10:50 PM

You'll be there for both? by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn smiled because Heinrich made it easy to smile. She lightly bumped against him, feeling all sorts of dorky and gooey when he assured her she wouldn't be pushing to want to be close to him. With their shared hands magically warmed, it was easy to feel like having him there was what made everything else better. The snow would have been less beautiful and more dangerous had she been alone, but she wasn't. She was with Heinrich. "I'm glad," she said, in case her body language hadn't said that for her.

As he explained his choices in schools, Evelyn couldn't help feeling like having befriended an Aladren, and dating an Aladren, were the best things she could have done for her future. Neither Ness nor Heinrich would probably push her to attend college if she didn't want to, but she had no doubt that they'd help her get there if she wanted and they'd have a color-coded spreadsheet (with snarky comments in the margins from Ness) as soon as she decided to go for it. Heinrich's spreadsheet for himself seemed to be in his head, although she wouldn't have put it past him to have taken some notes in a journal somewhere either.

She nodded along with his explanation of MENTAL, remembering Gary having told her a bit about the school himself, until he got to his major, when she raised an eyebrow with surprise. Care of Magical Creatures was one of her preferred subjects and she supposed it made sense that Heinrich would have a passing interest considering the ranch he'd lived on the last several years, but it was interesting nonetheless. And surprisingly attractive. She had a hard time pushing away a very sweaty mental image of Heinrich helping some dragon eggs stay warm to incubate. Still, he didn't sound thrilled about the school, and had applied to two others, so she paid attention instead of getting into that train of thought with him.

"It's really sweet that you thought of me. That you don't mind me coming with you," she said quietly, feeling like she'd won some sort of bananas lottery for otherwise unlucky people. She'd heard people say that life balanced out and that's why one should never wish for too much good because then they'd get the same amount of bad. She'd laughed when she first read it since that certainly didn't seem to pan out in her case, but if Heinrich was her make-up for a bad start, and if Ness and Gary and Parker and Morgan and all these people were her way of getting things balanced . . . well, she couldn't hate the theory then. She wasn't sure what life would look like if she followed Heinrich off to school - or what Ness would have to say about that - and this didn't seem like the moment to let herself go down the rabbit hole of thinking about dorms and off campus housing and jobs and . . . no. Not the moment.

"I looked into the colleges when you applied to them," she admitted with a blush. "A couple of them had programs that stood out to me but I don't know if it's far-fetched. You know Professor Wright has been helping me get my magic figured out, and I really like charms theory and magic theory. Some of those schools have Occupational Therapy programs that specialize in helping kids who are having a hard time getting a grasp on their magic before they get to school, or older kids, and even adults, who are having a hard time activating their magic once they learn."

Professor Wright had, of course, been amazing, but it was his capacity to learn new things that had gotten them where they were more than his innate knowledge of how to help a fledgling half-squib. The plethora of Aladrens in Evelyn's life included the head of the house himself and Evelyn had developed a deeper appreciation for continuing education and personal development than even her own Aladren-esque streak would have gone in for.

"Do you think that's silly?" she asked seriously, grimacing a bit at the thought. "I can do stuff pretty alright now but I'm not great and it takes me time. Do you think anyone would want me to help their kids?"

22 Evelyn Stones You'll be there for both? 1422 0 5