Too High A Cost? (Zelda)

[zelda]

”Hmph,” said Zelda, leaning back into the chair and crossing her arms over her chest. She had a feeling that Oliver was being a little too kind towards the men that had threatened to beat him up and do…something to her as well. If it were her, she wouldn’t have been nearly as forgiving. Sure, those men may have been Oliver’s friends and colleagues at one point, but they obviously had thrown that relationship out of the window when Oliver quit playing Quidditch. They were willing to beat him up for as long and as hard as they wanted. Scots or not, they didn’t seem very much like quality individuals to her. She of course understood their being upset with him. Professional Quidditch was very much like a business, and he left them lacking a member. They obviously took it too far, though.

“Oh, I quite agree,” she said, shaking her head, closing her eyes and resting her chin in her hand as she leaned on the table in front of her. “I need to forget the feeling of-well, I would just like to forget what just happened,” she said, pausing in motioning to her face where the man had grabbed her. It wasn’t so much the man himself that had sent chills up her spine, but it was the fact that only a few nights ago Fenrir Greyback had touched her in the exact same way. The only difference was that he had clawed her cheek. She still feared what he might do to her or her brother, Alex.

Zelda sighed and folded her hands on the table once again. “Mhm, I’ve heard about it, certainly,” she said, nodding and looking down at his wand. “So in other words there seemed to be something missing from your life?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. Zelda could understand that, but she couldn’t relate to it. Ever since she was very young, she had been working towards something that would better the world. The cure would certainly make lives much better for so many people. “Do you feel more satisfied with your current employment?”

[Deleted]

There was so much you could say in one small sound of disapproval. Just like with Zelda’s rather adorable ‘Hmph’, it probably contained a lot of unsaid things and her reasons why she would not be satisfied with his explanations, but she kept them to herself, which was perfectly alright. Was he maybe too forgiving? But then he had been living with blinkers attached to his face for most his life, and he wanted to escape from that so badly, he probably now put too much credit on the other side of things rather than too little. It was like walking a tightrope, he realized, and he hadn’t quite found the right technique yet.“You disagree, do you?” he asked softly, thoughtfully. “Maybe nationality clashing with Quidditch obsession doesn’t explain all of it. Maybe I’m being too understanding. But… what would you do in my place? I think I still need some time to get to terms with it all. My life has been taking a 180 degree turn in the last few weeks, and I never would have expected for it to be so… radical.”

Oliver couldn’t help it, his eyes wandered towards her chin. Was he imagining it, or was there already a slight bruise forming? Merlin help, had Carson’s grip really been that tight?! He felt an echo of that unfamiliar anger rise up inside him once more, as he thought of the man’s sneering face and what he might have done to Zelda given half the chance. He really had never seen it in him, not like that. This guy must have a family that loved him, he might even have a girl waiting for him when he came home – and yet he was behaving in that brutish manne. Had they been drinking? But he hadn’t detected any alcohol on their breath, and Merlin knew he had been close enough! “I could have killed him right there, you know”, his voice was still soft, but tinted with the anger that he tried so hard to hold back. “I’ll never let him touch you again. I never knew he could be such a brute, and I can just say again how sorry I am. Though that probably will not help you much.”
It was a peculiar promise to make, and one he didn’t even know how to keep. He couldn’t always be around Zelda after all. But he would try to protect her for as long as he was able to, that was for sure. She had no qualms with them, and all of this had been his fault. He could not let her pay for his own mistakes.

Something missing in his life… he had never really though about it that way, but perhaps Zelda was right. Maybe what had been mising in his life had been a clear purpose. He wasn’t one who had high ambitions of making the world a better place, but he just hadn’t found dedicating his life to playing Quidditch as satisfying as he would have thought. In that one night where he had been brooding over his life, the thought of: ‘what was all your school time for, if you’re going to just play a game for the rest of your life’ had repeatedly entered his mind. Until many of his thoughts had pointed straight to Hogwarts.
“Maybe it was more me being on the wrong path and not seeing it”, he mused. “In my life, there has scarcely been anything else worth mentioning than Quidditch. But I realized while it is a great thing to do, I don’t think I can spend the rest of my life doing just that. So I guess, yes… something was missing, though I still don’t know if I have found the missing link yet.” Was he satisfied? More satisfied than before, that was for sure. But how long would it last?

“I have only just get started, but I hope the expectations I have for it will be met. I always liked the position Madame Hooch had. She was involved into Quidditch and she could find new talents for the teams. I like the idea of somehow helping the next generation of Quidditch players to find their way.” Leaning forward, he smiled. “And what about you? Have you found your purpose in life yet, Zelda? I don’t even know what you’re doing right now.”

[zelda]

Zelda sighed as she thought about how to reply. "Well, obviously," she said, flipping her dark brown hair over her shoulder. "There was absolutely no excuse for them to act like that," she said, shaking her head disapprovingly,"They were acting like nothing better than neanderthals or some sort of common thug. That is no way for grown men to act."

She grew up in a fairly rich family, and she and her family often attended high society type of events, so she was more accustomed to people expressing themselves in a much more elegant manner. It always completely revolted her when people could not keep themselves under control and resorted to physical fighting.

"Thank you," she said to the waitress as the young woman came and set down their drinks. Zelda took a delicate sip and rested the drink back down.

Zelda carefully ran her finger around the lip of the glass as she contemplated Oliver's question. "What would I do? Well, I wouldn't give them another thought. They're obviously bad news, whether they were originally good men or not. I'd throw myself into my work, I suppose," she said with a light shrug.

She was very aware that Oliver had glanced down and was staring at her chin, where the man had grabbed her only moments ago. Not wanting him to see anything that she didn't want him to, she rested her chin in her hand to hide anything that might be seen. Zelda couldn't help but smile at how protective Oliver was being. How endearing. "I appreciate that, Oliver," she said, patting his hand,"but it's not as bad as it could have been, you know."

Zelda always felt a bit bad for the people that didn't know what they wanted out of life. She had known what she wanted when she was very young. Research, research, research was all she was focused on. "Well, you know, being a professor or anything close is a very admirable job. You get to help form future minds and talents of future generations," she said, raising her eyebrows and taking another sip of her drink.

She tilted her head to the side, unsure if she should tell Oliver the complete truth. How did he feel about werewolves? If he had any negative feelings towards them, she wouldn't give him a second thought. "Hmm, well. I'm currently the main secretary for the beast section for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in the Ministry. A good way to put my organizational skills to good use," she said with a light laugh.

ooc: So sorry I've taken so long, but I think my muse is good now!

[Deleted]

A quick smirk flickered over Oliver’s face as she named the three Quidditch players neanderthals and thugs. Don’t let them hear that, he mused with an amused shaking of his head. Zelda truly was a force to be reckoned with, since she seemed to have absolutely no problem in stating her opinion, regardless if others might end up offended by it. Quite outspoken indeed. Tactless, some would say, but after what had just come to pass, Oliver had to admit he didn’t mind it that much. She was right after all, they had been acting in an inexcuseable manner, no matter how much he liked to excuse them, since he knew them to be different. They could be if they wanted to… but that only made it worse in his eyes. They had deliberately chosen to be jerks not only towards him, but also towards Zelda, and that was the one thing he would never excuse.

„I hope they realize“, was all he said, though he didn’t quite believe it himself. „Even if something has to happen to make them see how wrong they had been.“ Whatever that would be he had absolutely no idea, and in any way, they had occupied his thoughts far too long now. They didn’t deserve that kind of attention, clearly. Part of the reason why he had wanted to make things up for Zelda was that he’d like her to brush it off, not get even more worked up about it. And just as he had reached that conclusion, Zelda was practically mirroring it with her own comment. He nodded thoughtfully, putting a finger to his chin.
„I might just do that. After all, it’s not like I expected to cross their path in the first place. This trip to Hogsmeade was the absolute exception from my usual work, and since we’ll be now restacked for Quidditch supplies for hopefully the rest of the year, I don’t think I’ll be coming back here soon.“ For lesser chances of meeting Jamie and Co, he felt glad. But he wasn’t so sure how he felt about it being at Hogwarts the better part of the year. He loved it there, of course, but sometimes it still felt like going back to schooltime.

When she patted his hand, he felt a mixture of surprise and slight irritation flicker through him. It was not an altogether unpleasant sensation to be touched by her, it was rather the means she used. Patting his hand… it had a tint of patronizing to it, however much it probably was unintentional. Oliver was at least one year older, and yet right in this moment she made him feel like a little boy who needed to be reassured. He didn’t like that one bit. Wasn’t he supposed to bet he strong one here? „Of course it wasn’t, thank Merlin!“ he remarked, a frown reappearing on his face. „I dearly hope it was the heat of the moment that made him say such… detestable things. I should have broken his jaw when I had the chance.“

He then raised his drink in a mocking toast and gave her a small wink. „Alright then, here’s to us, for not letting ourselves being pushed around by bullies. And true… that’s exactly the idea I had in mind. To see to it the next generation of witches and wizards discover the beauty of flying and Quidditch… but I also want them to not make the same mistake I did, putting it above everything. It makes you a little… solitary.“

Resting his head in his propped up hand, he listened with interest to what he said about her own job. The beast section in the Magical Creatures Department? He would have been lying if he said he ever had thought twice about this kind of job, since he never had been one of Care of Magical Creatures even in Hogwarts. But he didn’t want to end up being the uninterested, blinkers-on kind of guy, so he would try to find new interests in his life. After all, nothing was better than solid general education and knowledge. „Oh?“ he asked therefore. „What exactly would the Ministry count under the beast section? For muggles I guess most of them would be beasts. Dragons? Thestrals? Hippogriffs and the sort? Or also centaurs and any kind of hybrids?“