All I Want for Christmas..[FoY]

[Brandon Blaze]

Brandon shot another dirty look at Theo as Es started to wake up again. His expression quickly turned to one of pain as the girl held onto him tightly to pull herself up again. Once she was standing, Brandon rested her against the side of the building they were in front of before rounding on his brother. Theo knew what was coming and braced himself for whatever his brother was about to throw at him. Grabbing Theo's shirt, Brandon pushed him up against the wall, using his forearm to hold his throat and the other hand as his wand pointed at Theo.
"Brandon!" Theo gasped, trying to get a breath in, "You're...ch-choking me.."
"Give me a reason not to!" Brandon snarled back at him, pushing harder, "Now you listen to me. You don't touch her. You don't go near her, you don't talk to her, you don't even look at her unless she talks to you first, do you understand me?" Theo struggled against Brandon but he only pushed him down harder until he gave in.
"Yes.." Theo answered in a breath voice. Brandon finally let him go and stepped away. But now Theo was free to retaliate.

Brandon was knocked over when Theo tackled him down, ramming his head into Brandon's stomach. They both landed in the snow and Brandon's wand flew out of his hand. He reached up and punched Theo in the face, but it barely even phased him. Theo punched back, hitting Brandon's nose and causing it to bleed. He pulled his hand back, seeing his brother's blood on his fist and his eyes flashed an angry red. But Brandon rolled his over and sat on Theo, pinning him down again. He grabbed for his wand and pointed it in Theo's face once again.
"I know you're close to changing, but so help me God, if you don't get yourself under control, it's gonna be me who drives a stake through your heart!" Brandon yelled right into Theo's face. He stood up and let his brother go, walking back over to Es to check on her.

"I'm sorry," he told her softly once he'd reached her side, "This is just how we are. I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"

[Esmerelda Mizart]

Es let her head hang as he placed her against the wall. She felt ashamed. She was supposed to be strong. For seven years she had been building that wall where she could be durable in any situation that was brought up. And then suddenly, Brandon comes along and introduces her to his Werewolf brother. Perhaps the reason he hugged her was why she fainted. She could deal with a Werewolf attacking her, she had all the right spells and she had almost killed Nic the other day for being a jerk. Maybe she just didn't know how to respond. Or perhaps she was just a wimp hidden behind a wall that was crumbling. She didn't know.

Suddenly, Es heard a crash and she looked up to find Brandon's wand at Theo's throat. She gasped a "No!!" and attempted to get over there to get in between them but found that she was definitely too weak. She hadn't fainted since Brandon told her his brother was a Werewolf and it was strange for her. She gave a small cry and leaned against the wall, not happy about the situationn. She didn't want them to kill eachother because of her. Es looked up to watch the fight that she knew would end badly. When Brandon headed back towards herand Theo rounded on him, she let out a cry of warning.

She gave a gasp, pushing hair out of her face so she could watch the fight. She was so scared, she saw and felt the wounds Theo had givin Brandon, he could easily beat him in a fist-fight. Es used the wall to walk slowly towards them. When Brandon rammed the wand towards Theo's throat she cried out.

"No!! Brandon, don't!"

But he was soon finished and walked back to her side. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked up at him.

"I don't want you guys fighting because of me.. I can learn to deal.. I think.."

She told him, grabbing onto his waist for support for both her and him.

[Brandon Blaze]

"I'm sorry," Brandon apologized again, finding Es' eyes and letting his own lock onto hers. He pushed her hair back again, leaning down to kiss her lips softly. Despite the aching pain he was in now, the kiss suddenly made him feel a lot better. Turning to face Theo again, he watched as his brother struggled to his feet, wiping Brandon's blood off his hand so he wouldn't be tempted by it. Theo looked up at his brother, guilt and remorse in his eyes now. With a sigh, Brandon let go of Es for a second and went back over to Theo.

"I'm sorry, brother," Theo said into Brandon's ear when the Slytherin boy wrapped Theo into a quick hug. Brandon just nodded.
"I know," he replied. Letting go of Theo, he brushed the snow and dirt off his brother and turned back to Esmerelda. Brandon knew he was putting her through a lot and they just needed to go somewhere warm and get passed all this.
"Let's just go inside, alright?" Brandon suggested again, reaching for Es' hand as Theo followed along behind him.

[Esmerelda Mizart]

Es nodded looking up at him as her eyes dried. She was so darn emotional. But why wouldn't she be? She'd been through a lot. And so had Brandon. He'd risked his life by his brother just to tell her his secretest secret. And she told him her secret, giving him her heart in return. It was so intense it almost knocked the air out of her. She leaned up and kissed him back, ignoring the dizziness she felt. She closed her eyes and that made the kiss that much sweeter. She pulled away from the kiss as he turned to his brother and she looked at him with pain in her eyes. Not only pain from her side, but pain for him as well. She couldn't imagine what he was going through, and although he was a Werewolf, she still felt sympathy for him.

Es steadied herself against the wall again when Brandon left her side to apologize to his brother. It made her feel ten times better. She wasn't sure she could be around the two of them with all that tension in the air, even if that was just how their relationship was. Her eyes locked with Brandon's again as he turned and she nodded, a hint of a smile on her face. She took his hand and began walking, knowing she'd be satisfired with almost any place to be than outside in this freezing weather.

[Brandon Blaze]

Brandon couldn't help but smile at Es when she took his hand, and he twirled his fingers with hers, locking them together. He kissed her again, lingering a little while longer this time. The Slyherin boy pushed Esmerelda's hair back again, tucking it behind her ear and he grinned into the kiss.
"I missed you so much," he spoke to her, his lips not leaving hers. Theo looked on in disgust and turned away from the sappy happy couple and directed his attention to a shop across the way. He mumbled to himself and the noise drifted to Brandon's ears but he ignored it, too wrapped up in the kiss with Es to care.

[Esmerelda Mizart]

Es kissed him back happily, leaning into him. She forgot all about his Werewolf brother and the cold that nipped so bitterly at their faces. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a natural place to rest. She started grinning when she felt his grin and felt chills along her arms as he said that he missed her so much. She gave him a small kiss.

"I missed you more than you will ever know.."

She breathed against him. Then they locked lips again and for a moment, the world had truly disappeared. It didn't matter that she thought she would never see him again. It didn't matter that they both had a bajillion issues they had to deal with. It didn't matter that she would be graduating in a year. All that matter was them, here and now. And then she heard Theo's grumbling and she pulled away from the kiss slightly.

Es kissed him for a moment longer and then pulled away. She grinned and took his hand, pulling him towards Theo and the shop across from them that was brightly lit. Though as they got closer to him she slowed down and hid slightly behind Brandon. She trusted him but, it still freaked the heck out of her.

[Brandon Blaze]

Brandon noticed Es go behind him slightly, as did Theo and and guilt flashed in Theo's eyes again. He rubbed at the scars underneath his shirt, not intentionally of course, it was just a habit now. Brandon squeezed Es' hand, trying to let her know it was OK and that Theo wasn't going to hurt her. The Slytherin knew how hard it was for the girl, but he wanted her to at least try and be OK with Theo.
"It's alright, Es," Brandon muttered to the girl, leading her off in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron that was just 'round the corner, "Everyone up for a drink?" Theo was game for it and grunted his response, waiting for Es to voice her opinion.

[Esmerelda Mizart]

Es glanced down as she saw the guilt flash in Theo's eyes. A wave of guilt ran through her body and she forced the tears from coming. She would not cry! She'd already fainted, how much more was there for her to do without looking like a totally idiotic DID? [Damsel in Distress, XD] Her eyes went up to Brandon as he squeezed her hand. She nodded and a slight smile flickered across her face. She was so glad Brandon was here. Then again, if he wasn't, she would have killed Theo by now. Or have been killed.

They started walking and she brushed hair out of her eyes, holding tightly to Brandon's hand. She felt like a little girl among grown-ups, unsure what to say or what to do. She nodded and then realized since she was behind them a tad that they probably wouldn't be able to see her.

"Yes.."

She agreed softly. Es decided not to be such a wimp and so she let go of Brandon's hand to instantly wrap it around his waist. Now she was walking step in step with him and a bit closer to Theo. Now she didn't feel so foolish, but her racing heart told her to take it easy.

[Brandon Blaze]

Brandon's arm immediately slid around Esmerelda's waist as her arm did to his. He walked along with her, jerking his head for Theo to follow. The other boy tucked his hands into his pockets and walked behind Brandon and Es, his head down and his eyes on his shoes as they strolled. Brandon looked over his shoulder at his brother, but said nothing. Instead, he turned back to Es, kissing the top of her head and holding her body close to his.
"So what did you do all break until now?" he asked her.

[Esmerelda Mizart]

She glanced back at Theo as Brandon did and another wave of guilt washed over her. She knew he was an actual person, not just a Werewolf, and felt bad about that. She didn't want to ignore him, she wanted to treat him like a human being. Well, he wasn't. He was more than that. So she'd just have to figure out how to act around him. Es closed her eyes for a moment when Brandon kissed her on the head, relief washing through her. It was amazing the way he could make her feel better in such a short amount of time. She looked up at him at his question, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Uhm...mourning.."

She let out a little teasing laugh and shook her head.

"That's what it felt like anyways, not knowing whether I was ever going to see you again. But I also hung out with Nic a lot. He's pretty cool. I almost killed him once, you know."

She let out a louder laugh this time and glanced back at Theo, throwing him an uneasy smile. This was weird. She didn't want him to feel like the third wheel, that wouldn't be nice and all. And can you say, awkward? No, that wouldn't do.

[Brandon Blaze]

Brandon didn't really find it all that funny. He looked at Es with a frown, his forehead creased.
"I told you I was going to come back," Brandon pointed out, sounding a little matter-of-factly, "Why did you almost kill him?" Now the Slytherin was getting a little anxious. If Nic had done something to hurt Es, Brandon would be the one beating the boy, instead. At the mention of killing, Theo's eyes flicked up and he looked at Es curiously, sensing that Brandon was getting irritated now. Reaching out, he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, knowing what he was thinking. Brandon turned his head and looked at Theo again, their eyes meeting for a moment. Brandon took a deep breath, knowing his brother was just trying to calm him down. His eyes glanced back over to Es, still waiting for her answer.

[Esmerelda Mizart]

She looked up at him, sensing his irritation as well. The smile slowly disappeared from her lips and was replaced with a frown of her own, almost giving him a soft glare. Es tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I know, but one can never be certain. I didn't know how long it would take you to find your brother.."

She said, gesturing with her head towards Theo. She continued.

"It might have taken months, perhaps years and I might not have been at Hogwarts when you got back. And if it had taken that long, you wouldn't go back either because it wouldn't have mattered because you wouldn't have been a student anymore. Besides, just cause you said don't worry, doesn't mean I didn't. Take a walk in my shoes and think about how I felt. You would have been worried to death too. At least, I hope you would have.."

Opps. Why'd she mention almost killing Nic? Because she was getting more relaxed and thought they could actually talk about nice things and not make everything so dramatic. She paused, still walking with him.

"Well..we were kind of pranking eachother and then we called a truce but he pranked me again so I got really angry and almost killed him with a tickling spell.."

That was the truth without getting into the whole story. Good enough, she thought.

[Brandon Blaze]

"Of course I'd be worried about you, Es," Brandon told her with an exasperated sigh, but grinned as well, "But I said I'd be back and now I am, so it doesn't matter anymore." He flashed her a smile and squeezed her a little tighter, kissing her head again. When she continued onto the story of why she nearly killed Nic, Brandon couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't anything really serious, and actually a bit funny. He sighed deeply, shaking his head at her and chuckling softly.
"Only you, Es," Brandon joked with a sly grin.

Reaching the pub, Theo made a quick move from behind them and pulled the door open for Brandon and Esmerelda. Brandon looked at his brother and gave him a curt nod before entering the pub, reaching her Es' hand to pull her along behind him with Theo close behind.

[Esmerelda Mizart]

Es couldn't help but grin as the tension abrubtly left the conversation. She was relieved, not wanting to get into a fight with him and especially not infront of his brother. Heck, their fights would look wussy compared to the ones Brandon and Theo had. But that's because they'd only be verbal, with maybe a small, angry push from herself. She nodded.

"Yeah, it doesn't matter anymore."

Es repeated with a grin that lit up her face. She let out a relieved laugh as they came upon the pub.

"Yeah, it was hilarious though, no one has seen me that angry except for Nic, and he doesn't want to see it ever again. I seriously almost killed him. But then I saved his life two times later that day. Kinda ironic, huh?"

She continued with another laugh as Theo opened the door and she was ushered inside. Es felt bad that Theo couldn't be more involved with their group. She wanted to learn about him, eventually. But if not now, at least he could walk alongside them, on Brandon's side.

[Brandon Blaze]

Brandon snorted slightly as Es told him she "saved Nic's life". He could only imagine what the entailed but he didn't dare ask. As they entered the pub, Brandon led to way to a table that was near the back of the place, pulling out a chair for Es to sit down and kicking one in Theo's direction. Theo pulled the chair out, subtly sliding it away from Es. It wasn't that he didn't want to sit closer, he just assumed she didn't want to sit close to him. He could deal with that. He understood where she was coming from. If he'd been in her position, he wouldn't want to be next to himself either.

"What would you like?" Brandon asked the girl. Glancing sideways, Brandon caught Theo's eye and they both answered "Butterbeer" at the same time. Brandon rolled his eyes, knowing perfectly well thats what Theo would ask for and he punched him playfully on the shoulder.
"Jinx, you owe me a Firewhiskey," Brandon teased before looking back at Es, "Can I get you anything?"