Dust Won't Kill You [Open]

[Calyx Abendroth]

Apparently, time doesn't change much. Calyx, fresh from his arrival to Hogwarts was standing just inside the ground floor. The boyish grin, and travel weary hair almost belied the eight years that had passed since Calyx Abendroth had stepped foot inside the castle. This time was different, Calyx wasn't back as a student, he was now apart of the staff. Disbelief still clouded his acceptance that he'd been granted the position. After seven years of working in the Muggle world, Calyx still felt a bit awkward in the magical realm. But that was done now. In the past, where it needed to stay. A flicker of emotion crossed his features, but just as suddenly as they appeared, they were gone. Calyx wouldn't think of her. Not yet anyway. There would be time for that later.

Calyx shook himself from the memory, and finished the few steps to where his office now stood. Filch, and the other previous caretakers had occupied this very same office. Calyx wondered who the last occupant was. Not that it mattered. He reached for the door, and found that it was locked. Unlocking it, a bit awkwardly, Calyx stepped foot inside his office. He replaced his wand inside his robes, then stood to admire the room. The previous tenant must of taken everything, as the room was quiet bare. Oh well, he thought as he took from his pocket a piece of parchment. Calyx glanced at his list, made up of things he'd need to do. He decided that getting furniture definitely qualified to be at the top of his list.

At least there was a desk, set in the center and a forlorn bookshelf. Calyx shuffled towards the desk, and traced a finger along the surface. A thin layer of dust coated almost everything in the room. He definitely had his work cut out for him. If the caretaker's office looked like this, then what must the rest of the school look like? Perhaps he'd take a tour later this evening about the castle, taking notes on what needed done. But for right now, dusting was his first official task, and getting his office set right. Everything else could come later. Calyx retrieved his wand, and a determined look appeared in his blue eyes. After all, he was Hogwarts new caretaker. Dusting wasn't going to kill him.

Calyx removed his wand from his robes, and hold it firmly in his left hand, he fixed the surface of the desk with a do or die trying look. With a simple flick of his wand, the dust disappeared and the surface sparkled. Satisfied, Calyx went to work on the other corners of the room. De-dusting was so much easier with a wand, too bad the muggles were missing out!

[Felicity Hjort]

What a mess.

Down the corridor a bit Felicity had caught a few students playing with something or other and they knocked over some things, a few students, and created a gaping hole in the wall that left a mess everywhere. Thankfully another students fixed the hole so she wouldn't have to go and find someone capable of such a task, but she was left to clean the mess since everyone else took off. At least she didn't have a class right then.

Somewhere around the area she knew there was a broom closet, she'd seen Professor's go there before and saw them get out brooms. The problem was pinpointing the exact location of said closet.

Walking down the corridor, Felicity opened random doors, tried to open others that wouldn't budge and one more than started laughing heartily at her when she touched the doorknob. Rolling her eyes out of frustration, the blonde took hold of another doorknob, determined that this would be the correct room. The brooms had to be hidden in there somewhere or else she would have to leave the mess for another. With her spell casting, she wasn't fond of trying it in such an open area. If it had been in a room, she would've gone ahead and given it a shot, but not when anyone could be peering around the corner to see her fail at a simple charm.

A number of people knew she was muggle born, though she was trying her hardest to hide it lately it just wasn't working out well. Instead, she had to take it in stride and just do her best to keep her mouth shut around new people. And besides, some witches had to use brooms, it just wouldn't be right if they didn't.

So, turning the knob and pushing the door open rather easily, the Gryffindor Prefect entered and jumped. Not realizing there was even an office in the area, the blonde's brown eyes widened.

"I'm sorry," she quickly apologized to the man. "I didn't realize there was an office here..." In fact, she didn't even recognize the man. She just hoped he belonged there...

[Calyx Abendroth]

"Aha!"

It was more a statment than expression. Calyx grinned, examining the now orantely clean corner. Too bad he didn't hear the door open, or he wouldn't of been so surprised to find that he wasn't alone anymore. He couldn't help the jolt of shock he was given when he heard a voice. It's funny how when you think you are alone and suddenly a voice speaks, your fight or flight response kicks into action. Calyx pivoted on the spot, wand aimed deadly straight and his once jovial expression, replaced by one of cold meanace.

Several seconds passed before he registered that perhaps this girl was just as surprised as he was. He lowered his wand, and a blush began to creep up from his toes to his ears. His mind raced and he felt his pulse pounding in his ears. For a moment he had been afraid that they'd found him, finally tracked him down. Who was he kidding? He was at Hogwarts, for merlins sake! Right now, this was the safest place to be. No one knew he was here -- well no one outside of Hogwarts that is. Calyx exhaled, and lowered his wand entirely. "Sorry about that. You caught me unawares. I get startled easily." he began, trying to make himself at ease. He wondered if the girl didn't now think him totally off his rocker.

Calyx attempted a grin, hoping to make light of an awkward situation. "So you are a student?" he could of kicked himself, but it was too late to take it back. Calyx was definitely making this awkward. "I'm not making this easy, am I? My name is Calyx Abendroth. I'm the new Caretaker." and he offered his hand, hoping that he hadn't entirely weirded this girl out. Besides the brief conversation he'd had with the witch down in Hogsmeade, this was the first person he'd met as caretaker. Calyx wondered what the blonde was doing down here, shouldn't she be in class?

[Felicity Hjort]

With the man's wand pointed at her Felicity was completely frozen. Did she try to move? Or was it best to stay right where she was? Last time a wand had been pointed at her like that she'd tried to move and got into a whole mess of trouble, then again, things were said too. However, despite those facts, Felicity remained where she was and try not to shake uncontrollably about the fact there was once more a man with a wand pointed at her. Was January not bad enough? It was Raynor's fault, she knew it. Had Raynor and Brady not been sure to appoint her Prefect she wouldn't have bothered with trying to clean up the mess in the corridor, in fact she likely would've been the one to be helping make the mess. But no, instead her duty calls for her to clean up and find a man with a wand.

What could she do? Stand there and shake and pray he wasn't about to use it against her, that was her only choice at the moment.

The second he put the wand down, Felicity tried taking an unnoticeable step backwards. She needed to leave. But of course, that option was made unavailable when he started speaking to her about how he was jumpy. Who wasn't jumpy since the events of January? Well a number of people weren't, but she didn't even know this man, didn't recognize him at all. It was a set-up by Raynor. Yes, that woman really was horrible to the Gryffindor.

Nodding slowly, Felicity made sure to watch the man and his wand as closely as possible. She was indeed a student. And before she knew it, her head was bobbing the other way to reply that he really wasn't making this easy. The fact that she startled him and he startled her and that he brought out his wand was enough to show that things were not easy right then.

"Felicity Hjort," she replied automatically, taking hold of his hand. She didn't like being so close to him, especially knowing he'd first brought his wand out on her, but if she played along things would be well, right? At least she could believe he was a caretaker, their new groundskeeper was awfully young looking as well. And though she wasn't aware of there being a new caretaker as the blonde had left the Sorting Feast before introductions of the new staff were made. "I didn't mean to startle you," she apologized quickly. "I was just looking for a broom to clean a mess, I didn't realize this wasn't the right room..."

[Calyx Abendroth]

The tension in the room was paramount, Calyx cursed under his breath. The last few weeks had seriously wigged him out, and now here he was almost attacking a student. The subtle movement of Felicity almost passed unnoticed by Calyx, except he had grown trained to slight movements. However the caretaker said nothing and made no notion of seeing the girl retreat. You wouldn't think that a former employee for a muggle company would be so on edge, but no one really knew the truth about why Calyx left. They could never know, especially the headmistress. Calyx wondered if Felicity would run and warn Raynor that the new caretaker was deranged. That he should probably be fired and thrown out.

"I was just looking for a broom to clean a mess, I didn't realize this wasn't the right room..."

Yes, well she had come to the right place then. Whether or not she'd been aware of this office or not, Merlin had decided that these two path's would cross today. Calyx ran his free hand through his hair, and a rush of air escaped his mouth. A look of weary frustration exerted itself over his features. He pocketed his wand, and hung his head. "I apologize Miss Hjort, for any worry I've caused you or distress. I reacted quickly and for that I won't apologize for. You need to be ready, at all times. Especially now, yes even more so..." the last of his words trailed off, as Calyx fought the memories that wouldn't stay buried.

Ignoring the pang of emotions, Calyx turned and headed to the desk. "I believe I may have an extra broom somewhere." and he opened his trunk. The trunks had now been moved to lay in proximity to the desk. Calyx bent over the large red trunk, and in a few minutes had found the compact mess kit he carried. "You must excuse the lack of office. I don't have my things yet." Why he was making small talk, Calyx couldn't say. But something about the girl made him want to make amends. The kit he held was about seven inches in width and about one inch in height. The box opened, with the tap of a wand and revealed a compact broom, mop and bucket for those accidental messes one always seemed to come across. "Here. This is a mess kit, a to go kinda deal. You just need to give it a tap, and it'll unfold into a full size broom." and he held the box out to Felicity. He doubted she' take it, she might think he'd cursed it or something. "It's all I have at the moment." as a way of an apology. Calyx inclined his head at an angle, and smiled.

[Felicity Hjort]

Light, honey brown eyes on the man, every movement he made was noted by the Gryffindor. She didn't know who he was and the last new staff member she'd had a run in with had turned out to be the madman of the century. But this man seemed polite, he wasn't yelling at her nor was he flipping out on her when she'd done nothing to him. He seemed to be all right, then again, some of the worst could turn to be some of nicest at first. That's what her dad told her at least, part of the reason why he didn't want to like Drew too much.

However, the man was talking about being ready, but ready for what exactly? Was he talking about the events that occurred in January? She knew to be ready for anything like that again, Drew had warned her multiple times, he was helping her with her charms for such occasions, but what exactly did the man mean? And for a moment, the blonde wondered if he'd tell her what he meant without prompting, but his words stopped slowly, as though what he was going to say could never be said aloud. All she could do was nod. These times, according to many were not ones to take lightly.

Raising an eyebrow as he fiddled around looking for a broom for her, she wondered who he was. She knew his name, but why was he there at Hogwarts? A new caretaker, sure, but why so young? Or maybe he was one of those so called lucky people who just looked youthful? It was possible, but she didn't think that was what it was. He just looked young. Without another word, the sixteen year old stood by and watched as the man moved things around, looking for what she needed. It was awfully nice of him to be willing to help her and not send her off on a fools search for something, but her nerves kept her body jittery all the same.

Walking closer, carefully choosing her footing, Felicity held out her hand for the broom thinking she would just have to use it the way it was, or else risk making it not come back in the same condition to the man. And for a moment, she thought over his name. It was odd sounding, nice, but odd all the same; much like his smile.

"Thank you Mr Abendroth." Staring at the new possession in her hand, she was curious about who he was. And if there was new staff, then why didn't the Prefects at least know a head of time? Were they not there to protect students, not that she could really do anything about the History of Magic professor and he was downright scary.

"May I ask a question?" she inquired suddenly, hoping he wasn't the kind to close his life off from people. She was curious and her curiosity often got her into much unneeded trouble when her questions weren't answered right away.

[Calyx Abendroth]

"I don't believe you need permission to ask anything. But, yes, you may ask a question." Calyx thought it funny that Felicity had asked. Maybe he didn't think twice about questioning things, or perhaps the young girl had just thought he'd not want to be bothered.

Either way it didn't matter. He was kind of relieved for the company. It was one thing to have brooms and mops as your only companions, and another entirely to actually have a civilized and human conversation. The man frowned, he realized that he'd not offered the girl a seat. Of course, not that he had anything to sit on. Oh well, that was another bullet he'd add to his list of needed furniture.

Since he'd left in a hurry from his previous tenant, he'd pretty much left behind most of his belongings. Time hadn't allowed him to collect much, and he'd only just left before the place had been attacked. The only reason Calyx had known was the owl he'd received from Avery, explaining that everything was alright, that Annie was safe, but his apartment had been ransacked shortly after his departure. It hadn't been a moment to soon either. Annie, she was the one innocent in all this. Guilt flooded through him every time he thought of his sister. Where was she now? He could only hope that she had found refuge, and could remain hidden, long enough until he could arrange for her to come and live with him. But today wasn't that day, and for now, Annie had to remain at the back of his mind.

[Felicity Hjort]

Relaxing enough to smile, Felicity made sure to keep her eyes on the man the entire time. She didn't want anything to happen, but she wasn't very appreciative of his wand being held out against her in the beginning either. On her guard she would remain, but her curiosity just wouldn't let her up and leave right then. She wanted to know a few things, but where to start? When was he hired? Why he was so jumpy? Or maybe why being so young, and kind of a good looking man, would he want to be hired at a school as a caretaker? When she thought of the word caretaker, Felicity didn't think of a younger man with kind of good looks, she thought of an old man, scraggly beard, deep lines, and kind of kooky, and while this man might have been kooky, he wasn't anything else on that last list.

"Why are you here?" she asked finally after a moment's pause. Silence was golden with some people, but for Felicity it was awfully hard to keep that silence.

Was that too forward of a question? Well, he did tell her she could ask a question, he never said he'd answer it and she didn't right think he likely would. It was probably one of those things that she should've left to her own wonders rather than asking aloud, but she wanted to know. Why not a job at another place? Or maybe he liked cleaning?

[Calyx Abendroth]

Why was he here? Calyx himself really couldn't answer that question, but Felicity seemed to be looking for some sort of answer. He brought his hand through his hair, and glanced at the floor. How could he explain that he was a coward, a man who had turned his back on people that needed him? "I am here to escape a past that keeps haunting my every moment."

Whether or not it was what the girl expected, he could only guess. But it was the truth, and the only explanation he had to offer. Becoming a caretaker seemed an opportunity he couldn't refuse. He would be one of the endless props in the background, one to draw no attention to or from. Time. It would provide time to heal and perhaps formulate a plan. His guilt still seared, it was like a brand, a mark he could never wash off.

[Felicity Hjort]

"You're hiding?" she asked curiously, alarmed, frightened. What was he hiding from? Would he be bringing something to them there at the castle by running and escaping? Did the castle really provide a magicians trick of hiding what was visible, running, and hiding? This man was visible to all who looked, he was hiding behind the protection of the thick, stable castle walls, and he was escaping something from his past. That wasn't good and even without knowing what he was hiding from, she knew it wasn't good. It just could be.

But she knew what a haunt felt like, and not in the sense of ghosts. She knew what the great hall felt like to her when she entered it, she hid behind Drew's protection when possible, and she still jumped at some small shadows that didn't make sense to the young girl. Life as she was used to it was gone, things were different, and she didn't know how to feel about it all. The fact was, she loved that it was so different, but at the same time she was unsure of what to make of this man.

"...From what?"