meeting the ``f u t u r e <3, james. hehe.

[Alexandra Walsh]

but you, turn me toward the light and you're one with me
will you run with me? i'll stay with you
the walls will fall before we do take my hand now
we'll run forever, i can feel the storm inside you
----------------------------------------------------------

Alexandra walked into the store, a bright smile on her face. She had her mind set on one thing, and that was some of that sweet milk chocolate, especially the big bars. James adored it, and if he adored it then she would get him some. She was supposed to meet him here, but a little surprise (as in a stupidly large amount of sweets) could never hurt, right? She had enough money to get whatever she wanted, thanks to her dad. The thought of her father made a soft sigh leave her lips but she pushed his memory and focused on what was happening now.

She hadn't seen James in a really long time. It had been about a month, mostly because he was busy with work and she had NEWTs coming up and everything. She sighed deeply and her feet drug across the ground. Things had been totally different without him in school. She had been even more reserved, even quieter than before. He had been that one person who knew about everything and when he had graduated she had been scared that she would lose that confidence that he'd given her. In a way she had.

Walking down the isle, she looked around, a debating on what to select. She had picked up a bag at the entrance and she already had a large selection of the blood candy, different sizes clinging together. She knew that her mother, as loathsome as the woman was, was endeared to Chocolate Frogs, so Alex reluctantly plucked one from the shelf and dropped it in the basket carelessly.

Again she wandered, looking at the high stores of chocolates and sweets that would give a toddler toothache for months on end. She had learned that from personal experience and that, even now, she knew that regulatory actions needed to be put in place when you were in this store. She was a werewolf and her teeth were extra sensitive, so she worried fairly often about what she should buy.

Unfortunately, Alexandra really liked Sugar Quills. She walked to where they were, resting on a shelf, and plucked some down as though taking them from a sugared bird and smiled to herself, placing them in a little paper bag and putting them in her basket. She was far too picky, and she sighed, brushing her hair behind her ears. Where was James? Walking through, she approached the Fudge Flies. "Disgusting," She muttered to herself, shaking her head. She hated fudge, and that was why her mother persisted in buying fudge for her at Christmas. Uncaring woman. Alex moved over to the ice mice and picked some up, dropping them in a bag and smiling to herself. She knew a few people that would enjoy these at school.

[James Perkins]

oh i want to be that complete
i want to touch the light
the heat i see in your eyes
-------------------------------

There were few that would venture to argue against classifying James Perkins as a brilliant young man. Had he been a muggle, it was likely he would have been one of the top scientists in England before he had finished university. The fact that he was a wizard, however, complicated this matter and perhaps had led him to the point where he could currently be found. Either way, it was a Saturday and he was poured over charts and graphs that few would claim to understand, an underlying and burning hope fueling him more than food or water ever could. That he was the closest he had ever been, in his short time at the Ministry, to finding a cure for the ailment that had effected his girlfriend throughout her eighteen years was enough to engulf him and keep him going hours past when he should have retired for the evening. Or was it afternoon? He had truly lost track and had it not been for the reminder from a colleague, James was quite certain he would have forgotten completely about the plans that he and Alex had made.

To say that he was absentminded was an understatement. Shortly after his appointment to the position which he currently filled James had taken to leaving notes on his desk to remind him of coming events. He had notes for the birthdays of all his siblings and one to remind him to visit his mother. There was another to keep track of his various meetings with heads of this department or that and one to inform him that it was the correct day to water the plant that his mother had sent to the office. (She claimed it would make it feel more like home, but perhaps had worked too well since he rarely left.) He had so many notes, in fact, that they had spilled from the desk to begin coating the other surfaces of his office until it looked as if he had attempted to paper his walls with parchment pieces. After a time, James had taken to asking colleagues and acquaintances to remind him of the more important things in life like when to eat and when to simply go home and pretend to rest. Though one might expect him to remember, he had even tasked them with keeping track of the days he was supposed to see Alex.

James frowned as he glanced down at the clothes that likely hadn't been changed since the day before. He knew that his hair was likely a tangled mess of waves atop his head and had he been someone else he would have been sure to find a week-old stubble on his chin. Thankfully, however, he had been gifted with a baby face that seemed to lack the ability to produce hair in large amounts despite his annoyance at the fact that it truly made him feel like a child. He was, after all, the youngest of his family so really he got that feeling often enough anyway. He sighed, standing up and running a hand through his hair in hopes of taming at least a few of the stuck-up strands. There wasn't time to change, not if he intended to actually make it to Honeydukes before she gave up on him and he hoped that she would understand. The truth was that he was quite sure that she would. Work had become a bit of an obsession for him, but Alex, of all people, knew that it was at least for a good cause. He had high hopes, stupidly high some would say, that he would be the one to make a difference. He would be the one to give Alex the opportunity to live without the fear of persecution.

James took another quick glance around before flicking the lights and shutting the door. It was a pause, or at least that's the way he preferred to classify it. The idea of simply stopping was foreign and rarely crossed the mind of the young man in any aspect of his life, but especially not in his work. He'd been told he would kill himself this way and that he was missing out on life, but James was quite sure it would still be waiting for him in a few years. After all, he was confident that would be all it would take to get a grasp on things and produce life-changing research. He had mapped it all out ages ago and the thought that perhaps it would not go as according to plan had never crossed his mind. He hesitated for just a moment, though, before turning his back on the entrance and making his way to the designated spot for disapparating. He would go directly into Hogsmeade, no point in stopping anywhere else along the way, and simply pray that his girlfriend was as tolerant as she usually was of his own brand of madness. She had, against all reason, seemed to find it appealing enough to claim him as her own, so he doubted one little slip-up would be enough to truly ruin it.

The streets were full of students and it made James smile a bit at the memories that even only a year later seemed so distant and faded. So much had changed since he had walked the path from Hogwarts to the village in his uniform that sported the colours of Ravenclaw house. He, especially, had changed and he hoped that it was in only good ways though he doubted that could be entirely true. No change came without negative consequences and the fact that he was more mature and serious had clearly come at the expense of any humour that he had once possessed. It was not, however, that he missed that particualr trait when in fact he could not clearly remember its existence. The fact was, however, that it was the only logical way that he could rationalize things, so it simply had to be true. If not, well, he was not sure what to think.

James found the building he sought quickly though making his way through the door was a bit more of a challenge. A crowd of students, young from the looks of it, had formed in the usual spot just outside as they swapped sweets and giggled at something that James was sure he would never understand. For all his genius the expense seemed to have been his ease at interacting with other individuals. He was quite sure that it was not something he would have missed, however, had he ever possessed it in the first place. He excused himself and pushed through, tossing a nervous smile at whomever glanced his way as he opened the door and stumbled in. His eyes quickly surveyed his surroundings, his mind analyzing the little bits of information that pushed their way through to his senses. He had always been fond of the store and the emotional responses it could illicit from a person by mere smell alone. The scent of chocolate had always had a calming effect on James, though he could not venture to explain why, and he appreciated that mystery more than he would ever admit. Perhaps when he had free time after discovering a cure for lycanthropy he would give that explanation a shot?

"Alex!" James called out, an excited smile spreading across his typically serious exterior. Since the pair had started officially dating, he had never been able to resist the urge to reach out and touch her. It was almost as if he was testing to be sure that she was truly there after all. When he found himself close enough, James's hand settled gently on her arm and he leaned in to place a light kiss on her forehead. They had discovered early on that he was too tall for a quick and convenient kiss on the cheek and though the forehead had always felt awkwardly paternal to him it could not be helped in even the best of times unless he was seated and she was not. "I'm sorry for the delay. Work... of course," he said off-handedly, though he doubted an explanation was truly necessary. He tried to return his face to some semblance of his normal expression but found it quite hard as his eyes settled on hers. "It's so wonderful to finally see you again," he added. As much as he was bursting to tell her, he would save the news of his research for later... when things were more definite. False hope was never a good thing in the first place, but he had never been able to bring himself to place it in his girlfriend if things did not seem close to guaranteed. No, it would wait. For now, he would just enjoy the day like a normal person would, if he could sort out exactly how that was done, of course. There were, after all, some downfalls to being a genius.

[Alexandra Walsh]

but you, turn me toward the light and you're one with me
will you run with me? i'll stay with you
the walls will fall before we do take my hand now
we'll run forever, i can feel the storm inside you
----------------------------------------------------------

It had been a long time since Alex had felt safe. At Hogwarts she was a wallflower, the type of person who never tried to make friends. It wasn't because she didn't want friends to care for her, it was because she didn't trust herself with them. If someone found out about her little secret she would have to suffer through hiding her secret from them for the rest of her life, and she wouldn't be able to bear that. She truly couldn't bear it, not anymore. And so, without James, her life had seemed even bleaker and darker than it had been when he was at school. She missed walking down the halls and shocking her classmates with her bright laughter or her sudden talkative nature, she missed holding his hand and she missed the sound of his voice. Her whole life felt empty without him and, in a way, it was a little bit worrying.

Her mother had never trusted Alex, not since her father's death. In fact Alex doubted that her mom had even trusted her father. The fact that her dad hadn't even told her mom that he was a werewolf before they got married might be why the poor muggle woman didn't trust her. A small frown marred Alexandra's face as she recalled all the things her mother had ever said to her. They hurt, the scarred her deeply and she wondered why she bothered. Why did she even try going home and pretending that she loved her mother, the woman who gave birth to her, when the truth was that every second she stayed in that house she wanted to go back to school where she was at least a little safer from torment and the other dangers that that stupid woman forced upon her daughter. She had never been physically hurt, but the emotional scarring was more than enough to convince Alex that she would never be wanted.

Alexandra never minded if James was late. She understood exactly what he was doing. He was the sweetest and most amazing guy she had ever met and she didn't want to lose him. She was a patient and calm girl and she never minded if work overran or if he was stuck in a meeting or whatever. What mattered to her was that he still came. As long as she was able to see him she would let him do whatever he wanted. His work was based around researching werewolves and that in itself gave Alex a deep sense of hope. Perhaps not because she thought that the research could help her, being only half a werewolf in all technicality, but because there were so many people in the world that could be helped by the chance of getting a little freedom from their inner demon. Alexandra knew the feeling of being haunted by that little beast too well for her own liking and at times she felt sick. It was like another voice in your head telling you to hurt people when what you wanted to do was save them. It ruined her.

Alexandra moved along the shelves again, peeking through at the other students who looked back at her with wary eyes. She wasn't popular and her general, shy nature made people think she was up to something a lot of the time. She was just a little Hufflepuff! Alex didn't want them all to think that she was some kind of strange girl who wandered around and tried to infiltrate their friendship groups. The only friends she needed were Eddie and Addie, and the only guy she would ever want to be close with was James. He was her best friend and everything that she worked for. As soon as she graduated her mother was abandoning the cottage that she was living in and giving to Alex. Lucy was a strange, distrustful woman and didn't want to have to live permanently with her daughter, so she was moving to live with her sister and brother-in-law. Alex didn't mind as all it meant was she would be living as usual in a house filled with no one. She was used to it - plus her mother had bought the land behind the house, a small forest, for her to roam in, She would be totally fine and relaxed.

The main reason Alexandra had picked Honeydukes for a meeting spot was because of the fact it wasn't that crowded. Normally the students rushed in their on their way back, so she would hide in there until that time where she would rush off back to the castle and be the first back in the safety of it's walls. A small blush crossed her cheeks at her cowardice, but she knew it was the only logical way for her to escape her feelings of shyness and fear - fear that she could hurt someone. She was so used to having that negative feeling deep inside her stomach that she just repelled people. She was sick of having the thought of her cutting them or breaking their arm with her added strength - it was one of the world feelings in the world, knowing you could hurt someone just my squeezing a little too hard with one hand. It was awful.

Another reason for asking to meet here was because Alexandra knew that James had a fondness for the smell of chocolate. She turned and picked some more up and placed it in the bag she had been carrying and turn again before her eyes caught sight of the person she had been waiting for. Her heart seemed to stop in her chest at the sight of him and a firm blush pressed across her face. She always acted this way when she saw him and she wondered if her obvious reactions ever bored him - the truth was that she wouldn't be shocked. She was a plain, simple girl and James was smart, handsome, adorable and so perfect in uncountable ways. She just wanted to cling to him until he was tired of her and her childish stupidity. But she loved him - she had been in love with him since the moment she met him and spluttered out a request for him to go to the ball with her. Biting her lip as she moved forward to greet him she tried to stop her heart from beating so rapidly in her chest. She was almost certain he'd be able to hear it.

The sound of her name on his lips was beautiful to her heads. "Hey, James," Alexandra replied, her voice soft and gentle as he walked over to her. His smile so so infectious and so very handsome... As his hand touched her arm she moved close, the feeling of his lips on her forehead something more than she had ever imagined. It was so amazing to actually feel him again after missing him for as long as she had. She moved back and then stood on her tiptoes, pressing her lips against his briefly. A firm blush spread across his cheeks, but that didn't matter. James didn't mind. "It's fine, I know work's all over the place right now." Smiling, Alex beamed at him. She didn't care how late he was - it was the fact that he could find the time that thrilled her. "It's wonderful to see you again as well! I missed you a lot. I hope you've been okay and not working yourself to the bone..." Why did she always fret over him? She supposed she couldn't help it. Her nature commanded that she protect the things that she loved... And she loved James a great deal. "I got some chocolate, your favourite. I just need to go and pay for it."