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Post by viola on Apr 20, 2008 22:14:28 GMT -5
She couldn’t believe him! Alexander Griffiths, a professor at Hogwarts? It was almost as if her world was yet again being turned upside down without her having any way of stopping it. Annemarie couldn’t even concentrate, let alone feel at ease with all of the turmoil that was going around inside her head. Feelings she had long since buried rising to the surface when she knew them only to be the young fantasies and hopes of a broken child were presenting themselves, and Annemarie kept swearing to herself that she wouldn’t allow such things like this to happen. But how could she have known? No. How could he have gotten a job?! At HOGWARTS?!
Annemarie stormed into her office, closing the door behind her. A slight sob escaped her as she felt safe enough to let out all the frustrations and embarrassments. Oh, how could he?! And in front of another…How degraded she felt. Annemarie had never been more embarrassed in her life, and as she made her way over to her chair behind her desk, she slumped down, laying her face within her arms and just let everything flow freely out of her.
Fifteen years of pent up heartache for she had believed that she knew who she was. She thought she had everything under control in her life. Alfonz Jedynak couldn’t have even hurt her or insulted her worse than what Xander had just done. But why? Why did she allow it from even him?! He was an old…flame? Love? What could he have been when she was only seventeen? A child if anything, inexperienced in the world and far from being the woman she was then, Annemarie couldn’t believe that she was still there in her office crying her eyes out. How could he have gotten to her?
He kept the lock of hair?
Again she sobbed slightly, trying to keep the noise down to a bare minimum. She didn’t want to hear herself wasting away by just the image of a man she was supposed to be…what? Be with? Annemarie shook her head mentally and disagreed. If they were meant to be together it would have happened, would it have not? And then he comes to her and carries around a sentimental…artifact? Sentimental? This was getting weirder by the moment and Annemarie didn’t know how she could handle it. And above all else…she didn’t know if emotionally she could. Not with everything that had happened…
Sitting up, her face tear streaked and eyes red and puffy, she began to look for her lesson book. She had to prepare for her classes and nothing was going to stop her. Unfortunately, as she continued to look, she found nothing. Beginning to panic, she didn’t know where she could have left it, and as she opened and slammed drawers shut she began to whimper through her tears, almost as if she was on the brink of throwing a fit. She was thirty two years old….she tried to convince herself. She needed control…
Not finding it, she began to throw papers this way and that, all of which ended up on the floor. Annemarie couldn’t believe it…she had lost her lesson plan. The only real plan she had left to whatever kind of life that had become more of a chore…then an actual life…
((David))
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David Pierce
Hogwarts Staff
LoA Professor Ancient Runes
Who needs wands? I've got magic stones.
Posts: 56
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Post by David Pierce on Apr 20, 2008 22:33:44 GMT -5
Damn, he'd lost her. He was far enough behind her that she had made two consecutive turns by the time he had rounded that first corner, and now he had no idea what direction to go. He stood there for a long moment, racking his brain for places a distraught professor might go. The library? No, that was too public. The grounds? No, it was far too late and professors were expected to remain indoors to keep an eye on students wandering the halls after curfew. She couldn't have gone to her quarters, because he had followed her out into the corridor. There was that room he had heard about while he was in school, the one that appeared only when you needed it the most. David, however, had no idea where to find it or how to get in, so that was pretty much pointless. Besides, he'd seen her heading toward the stairs, which meant she was heading down. Taking a chance, he decided to check her office on the second floor. If she wasn't there, he could always just leave the book with a note and hope she'd forgive him for whatever offense he'd committed.
He made his way down the staircase to the second floor, not nearly as quickly as he had been moving before, and then rounded several corners until he found himself outside the door with the elegant green lettering that read 'Professor Annemarie Van Aller, Muggle Studies'. He heard rustling from within and sighed in relief, glad that he had found her. He ran a hand through his hair quickly and checked to make sure his shirt was tucked in, trying to be as presentable as possible. She was a Head of House, after all.
He knocked lightly, brow furrowing as he heard what sounded like a sob coming from within, followed by what sounded like a hurricane. "Annemarie?" he called, just loud enough to be heard through the door. Normally he would follow protocol call her 'Professor' considering he was out in the hallway, however it was past curfew and the students should all be in their common rooms, so he figured it was safe.
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Post by viola on Apr 20, 2008 22:59:13 GMT -5
Through the door a voice was heard and Annemarie stopped throwing her papers around. Her eyes were wide as she vaguely recognized the voice through the door and hoped that it was not Alexander chasing after her. All she needed was for a run in with him multiple times that night.
Walking up to the door, she rubbed her eyes trying to clear the water and the streaks away from her face that her tears had left behind. She didn’t want anyone to see her how much of a mess the man had made her just by one simple conversation with him. It was incredible, and not in the most pleasant of ways at all. She let out a small, but tear free sob/hiccup as she neared the door, placing her hand briefly on the handle, hesitating to even open the door.
Could she even? No… her mind, nor body would allow her to. “Yes?” she called back through the door, leaning on it just slightly. “Who is it?” she asked sheepishly, hoping and praying that it wasn’t Alexander. She would probably speak to him again…but not soon if she could help it.
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David Pierce
Hogwarts Staff
LoA Professor Ancient Runes
Who needs wands? I've got magic stones.
Posts: 56
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Post by David Pierce on Apr 20, 2008 23:06:15 GMT -5
"It's David," he called back, concerned by another small sound that came from the other side of the door. "David Pierce." She couldn't be crying, could she? Bloody hell, what had he done to warrant crying?! He mentally ran through the entire conversation they'd had in the staff lounge, looking for the mistake he had made. "Are you alright?" he asked after a moment, concern evident in his tone of voice.
Looking down, he noticed he was still clutching her lesson plan. "I have your book." He said, trying to sound casual and hoping that maybe that would get her to open the door.
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Post by viola on Apr 20, 2008 23:20:44 GMT -5
It’s David…David Pierce. Annemarie exhaled a sigh of thanks, Thanking God that he hadn’t sent Alexander to follow her. At this moment, Annemarie was in her stage of blaming God for Alexander being there at the school. Against what she believed in? Blaming God? Possibly, but after all that had happened, who really could blame the former nun in training. It wasn’t as if she had never faltered in her faith before…
Are you alright?
Annemarie waited a few moments, turning the knob to the door as he was mentioning the fact that he had the lesson plan that she had been looking for. Making sure the door was opened just enough for her to stand in the way of him looking in, for she didn’t want him to see the mess she had created, Annemarie tried to smile kindly and hoped that her eyes were still not as puffy as they had been.
“Oh,” Annemarie said holding out her hand slowly. “Thank you so much, I definitely left.” She paused looking for any excuse her mind could come up with. “I’m so tired and all, I must have completely forgot it.” Again she tried to smile and she nodded. “And I’m alright…never better,” she lied.
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David Pierce
Hogwarts Staff
LoA Professor Ancient Runes
Who needs wands? I've got magic stones.
Posts: 56
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Post by David Pierce on Apr 20, 2008 23:38:14 GMT -5
David placed the book in her outstretched hand slowly, his mind whirling at speeds that would make a Snitch dizzy. He didn't believe for a second that she had disappeared so quickly because of being tired, nor did he believe that a woman like her would merely forget something as important as her lesson plan so easily. No, something was going on here. He hesitated a long moment, hands still holding the edges of the book even though he had placed it in her hands. What should he do? He could call her out on her lie, but his experience with women reminded him that they usually didn't like that. On the other hand, he was the kind of guy who wanted to help others, a real bleeding heart. Besides, he figured, it was his fault she was upset anyway!
"Annemarie," he began, taking his hands away from the book and sticking them in the pockets of his trousers for lack of anything better to do with them. "Look, I know there's more to it than simply fatigue. I just.. I wanted to apologize for earlier. I didn't mean to upset you, and I certainly didn't mean to cause you distress." He blurted the last part out before his mind could caution him otherwise, and his face flushed despite his best efforts to stop it from doing so.
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Post by viola on Apr 20, 2008 23:47:06 GMT -5
His hand lingered on the book as he placed it gently in her hand. Annemarie tilted her head slightly, almost as if to ask him without saying anything if he was going to let go of the book or not. When he began to speak again, however, her face turned as she was embarrassed of the whole incident to begin with, and then the fact that he was taking the blame for something not even he had done…well, it just made everything ten times worse.
“No, David,” she said softly brining her eyes back to the man’s face and sighing, annoyed at herself for everything that Xander had done. Should she have acted so rash? Maybe David hadn’t even noticed what the other man was saying or showing her. Had she over reacted? “You did nothing. I was…well, it’s a long story. But I promise, it wasn’t anything you had done. I enjoyed our conversation greatly,” she nodded her head, a expression of concern washed over her face.
She smiled lightly as if David looked just as embarrassed as she had, for his face flushed lightly. The light from within her office showed it off only slightly, but Annemarie could see it there. Taking her book, she hugged it into her chest and sighed. “Give me a minute?” she asked of him. “And maybe we can finish our tea or something in my office?” Annemarie didn’t know if David would want to or not, but she felt bad for leaving so abruptly, especially, since it wasn’t David whom had done anything to begin with.
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David Pierce
Hogwarts Staff
LoA Professor Ancient Runes
Who needs wands? I've got magic stones.
Posts: 56
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Post by David Pierce on Apr 20, 2008 23:54:03 GMT -5
Relief washed over David as if he had slipped into a soothing bath, and the tension he felt disappeared as his body visibly relaxed. It wasn't his fault, that was wonderful. She wasn't upset with him, that was even better. She was, however, upset over something, and that struck a chord within him. Maybe he could help.
"Sure," he replied to her proposal for tea, his face lighting up in a boyish manner that made him look younger than his thirty or so odd years. "I'd love to." He wasn't sure what she was hiding in her office, but he wasn't about to pry. He was just happy she had invited him in at all.
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Post by viola on Apr 21, 2008 0:18:02 GMT -5
Annemarie nodded, smiling genuinely as she shut the door, calling quickly “Ok, then. One moment.” Taking her wand out from the sleeve of her dress where her wand’s carrier was normally attached she quickly tidy up her office from the fallen papers and the scattered documents that were all over the place. She was such a slob and she could only shake her head as she cleaned up the room. Finally, when everything was spic and span to the point where everything sparkled clean, she turned back to the door and opened it.
“Here we go,” she said to David, completely opening the door this time, waving her want to summon some tea and teacups on her newly cleaned desks (all of the papers and such had gone into filing cabinets that were located behind her desk.) “I’m sorry about the wait, I made a bit of a mess earlier. Knocked some papers off the desk trying to do something.” At least that wasn’t a lie, it wasn’t the whole truth..but still. She sighed and gestured to a chair that was opposite of her own chair behind her desk. “Please sit,” she said, taking her own chair as well.
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David Pierce
Hogwarts Staff
LoA Professor Ancient Runes
Who needs wands? I've got magic stones.
Posts: 56
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Post by David Pierce on Apr 21, 2008 0:29:07 GMT -5
David stepped into the office, admiring the place. It was certainly bigger than his own meager space on the seventh floor, and it was definitely a lot cleaner. Smiling as he passed Annemarie, he sat in one of the chairs opposite her desk and picked up one of the tea cups. Taking a small sip, his eyes closed for a moment as he savored the taste. He'd always loved tea, another trait from his mother, and considered it the best way to wind down after a long day.
"A mess, you say?" he questioned, looking back to her and smiling again. "What were you trying to do? Because from outside it sounded like you were trying to tame a hurricane." It was a joke, and he was hoping to lighten the mood, maybe even make her smile.
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Post by viola on Apr 21, 2008 0:35:39 GMT -5
Annemarie loved the feeling she got behind her desk as she sat in front of another person. Almost as if she had power and control over the situation at hand, though she was finding that to be as untrue as ever those days. As David jested with her about the room, Annemarie laughed slightly, a slight heat rising in her face as she just shook her head. “I had thought I lost my Lesson book and was looking for it…” she said shrugging picking up her own glass of tea.
She sipped it slowly and as she did so thought about why the papers would be on the ground. When she finished drinking her tea, Annemarie sighed again shrugged as if it were a nervous twitch or something. “I knocked the papers off my desk on accident lifted them up to search under them for the book. I had completely forgotten that I left it in the lounge. Thank you again,” she smiled nodding her head at the man.
“You really saved me a lot of heartache...er...headache with that one.”
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David Pierce
Hogwarts Staff
LoA Professor Ancient Runes
Who needs wands? I've got magic stones.
Posts: 56
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Post by David Pierce on Apr 21, 2008 0:45:30 GMT -5
David smiled as she thanked him for returning the book, waving it off as a non-issue. "Not a problem," he replied. "One of my hobbies is assisting beautiful women in distress." He joked again, chuckling behind his tea glass as he took another sip. Why was he making so many jokes? Well, he was nervous, that's why. Humor always seemed to make him feel more at ease, and he was falling back on that now.
"Heartache?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow at her slip up. "I wasn't aware you were so attached to it." There was that humor again.
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Post by viola on Apr 21, 2008 0:57:21 GMT -5
One of my hobbies is assisting beautiful women in distress.
Annemaire laughed, but her smile was somewhat fake as she did so. Tucking a loose piece of her loosely curled brown hair behind her ear, Annemarie went back to focusing on the tea cup in her hand. She never really knew what to do with compliments, so for the most part she hoped them man was joking. She smirked figuring that that was all it was and she laughed again. Yes, it was just a joke and that was that. There was not back behind it.
And then her slip up occurred, and Annemarie’s eyes grew wider than they had been before. “I mean, headache…that’s what I meant to say,” but he questioned her on it any ways and it made her flinch slightly. Was that what it was? A heartache? Maybe for the seventeen year old whom she had left in her past, but Annemarie felt no heartache. How could a horrible professor feel anything for anything?
She laughed half heartedly again at his next joke, but then sighed shaking her head. Looking up at David slightly she gave him a half smile and shrugged. “I’m sure my tongue has run away from me as well. For if you ask any of our students, and most of our staff, they’ll tell you….a person can only have a heartache if they have a heart.” Her tone was defeated as if she had pondered her last day so many times, what she did had become machine like. And then Alexander came back…and all the bolts and screws came lose again…
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David Pierce
Hogwarts Staff
LoA Professor Ancient Runes
Who needs wands? I've got magic stones.
Posts: 56
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Post by David Pierce on Apr 21, 2008 1:05:25 GMT -5
David's brow furrowed as she spoke, and he set his glass down on the desk. Did she really believe she had no heart? What a preposterous thing to think; she'd been nothing but kind to him, she even laughed at his poor attempt at humor. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean someone had a heart, but it was definitely a good sign. He'd seen her smile and laugh with Alex as well...
Suddenly the thought struck him that perhaps this had something to do with the History of Magic professor. After all, he was there with them earlier and David even remembered thinking it odd how they were acting around each other. As a matter of fact, Annemarie left after Alex had said something about artifacts... David shook his head slightly to clear these thoughts. It was none of his business, he reminded himself.
"Of course you have a heart," he told her seriously. "What could make you think otherwise?"
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Post by viola on Apr 21, 2008 1:16:57 GMT -5
Her face crinkled slightly as she looked away from David again. The list was incredibly long, and though she could give him the details to every time she felt as if she were being tried and tested on having a heart, others seemed to go against her. “It’s not that I think I do or do not have a heart. For I think what functions beneath my bosoms works just the same as everyone else’s…and yet, I try to keep order and try to run a smooth class and all I get in return are students hoping that the next time I fall it will be my last…or…” she stopped not wanting to think of things anymore. Annemarie remembered when Morey had approached her, concerned about her well being because of what had been said bout her in one of his divinations classes by some of the students….
“Maybe I’m just too old fashioned and what I believe to be worthy of teaching isn’t anymore. Respect seems to be of little value to most and I just…I can’t figure it out any more…and then I have other dramas going on which I can hardly handle….old ghosts I guess.” She took a sip of her tea and thought about that. Old ghosts haunting her from the past that kept reminders of her…
“I gave up something really great to come here….” Annemarie said leaning back in her chair and sighing as she looked at David again and smiled. “I thought I heard my calling here…”
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