↪ In which , two friends chance upon each other again after five years.
or ,
⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟIn which , Amaya Shafiq encounters the boy she hated to love.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆
ⓒ orphicmoon2021
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"N-NICHOLAS FLAMEL ? As in the Nicholas Flamel ?", Amaya spluttered , hands trembling uncontrollably , heart beating wildly inside her ribs. The insides of her palm were suddenly dotted with beads of sweat , and wiping them on her skirt , she quickly cracked open the golden seal she hadn't been able to recognise earlier.
Peter scoffed. "I wasn't aware becoming a temporary teacher impaired your hearing."
"Oh shut up", The girl murmured as her eyes swiftly scanned the words scrawled across the parchment , elegant curls of melanoid , and her soft brown pupils dilated as she took in it's contents.
"Apparently , he had been on business to North America for the last year or so , and he had sent a letter once to the Shafiq Manor last month since he didn't know you shifted. He sent the letter to Dumbledore three days ago , and I was meeting him yesterday so he handed it to me", The boy opposite to her explained slowly.
"And what were you doing with Dumbledore ?"
"Job prospects."
Amaya's lips curled sideways , and she scrunched her nose before she let out a gasp. "Runes ? You are going to be Professor Vyatkin's replacement ?"
"Well , I am wounded. Am I that incompetent ?", Peter questioned , placing a hand over his heart as though he were severely injured.
"Exactly , which I worry for the children who will be assigned under you."
Peter simply rolled his eyes , and she smiled a little before saying ,"All jokes aside , are you serious ?"
"It's in the works", Peter assured , although she could see how he twiddled with his thumbs - a habit he had developed at Hogwarts whenever he felt nervous.
"I hope it works out. Having you away is difficult." Her words made him smile , and he brushed away a few strands of sun-drained hair that had fallen to his eyes.
"What does he say ?", He prompted , and Amaya finished reading the letter , a spritely smile alighting her features as she hurried to explain ,"He wants me to take up apprenticeship under him , just as I had requested. He feels I will be well-suited and my passion will help me make a good career out of it."
She looked up , folding the parchment before placing it gently inside the envelope. A proud smile graced Peter's lips
"And ?", He urged her to continued , excitement gleaming in his eyes.
"And he wants me to write back to him within the next month. If I say yes , then he wants to take me on tour with three other of his apprentices."
"Where to ?"
"Europe first , and then Asia and Africa , perhaps", Amaya answered , her smile becoming slightly bitter. What was the use of finally having Peter around if she was going to leave , in case she accepted Nicholas Flamel's author ? During her time at Hogwarts , Potions and Alchemy had been two subjects that had fascinated her the most. Despite him being the creator of the Philosopher's Stone , a renowned alchemist - Amaya was well aware that he was even famed to be a great Potioneer in his early career days. Out of a whim , she had decided to write an application letter to be an apprentice under him - after which she would be under practice and supervision in the care of an established Potioneer , which would inevitably come easy after her apprenticeship , and then she could finally join the laboratories at St. Mungos.
But the war had shattered her hopes , and she had to work as an active Death-Eater , after which only Dumbledore was willing to give her a job that would keep her head out of the gutter and force her to not idle away for the rest of her life. The application had rotten away in her desk drawer at the Manor , before she had finally mustered the courage to send it almost two years ago.
And now , suddenly , there she was - just standing on the verge of this cliff she had been too weary and afraid to cross and move on to achieve something greater.
Peter understood the chaos her mind wrecked inside of her , and he only held her hand comfortingly until she said ,"But you all will be here. You , Andy and Cissa - and I will be two continents away if I accept his offer."
"Well , you have time on your hands until you have to go , and you can always visit on holidays", He assured , his voice firm and reassuring , although he felt the same way. Having lived in Greece - far away from most of his friends for for more than a year - he could quite feasibly feel the reluctance.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Amaya had forced herself to not give in to the temptation that one of the reasons the acceptance letter had been bundled up inside one of her novels was her repairing relations with James. She couldn't say that they didn't share occasional awkward glances , or uncomfortable silences that lingered when they ran out of things to talk about without infiltrating the other's comfort space - but , the least of all , they had both managed to look past what once had been - and the initially jarring boundaries had slowly begun to erase. And leaving them on that uncertain page , standing still at the bend in the road - without any surety about what was to come - would be unfair to both James and herself.
Where once there had been love , there now was a tightness , a choking sensation , an undefined loneliness. And yet underneath the vines of despair Amaya was beginning to find hope. Albeit , a very tiny percentage.
"Galleon for your thoughts ?" , James enquired - bringing her out of her reverie , as Amaya found that she had halted in her steps and James stood a few feet ahead of her. She observed his cheekbones , dusted with some kind of cherry dust ; hands fluttering about like golden doves , sunlit eyes gleaming with some emotion she failed to recognise ; his sanguine lips and his locks of midnight curls.
A flurry of emotions passed through her stomach as though loitering about a meadow. It washed ashore her heart at first in the form of an intuition , an unfamiliar quiver rushing through the edges of her bones.
"My thoughts are worth way more than that , Potter", Amaya shuffled along , falling into step beside him as she looked ahead , hearing him follow her along as they traipsed through the corridor. Silently , she willed the tumbling waves inside of her to come to a standstill. And the butterflies disappeared. But she did not know how long she would have a control over them. The vehement fire inside of her felt all-consuming , as though someone had drawn out an arrow from a quiver , and launched it unprecedented , aimlessly.
Shaking it away , Amaya focused on the present , continuing to look ahead as the duo's pointless chattered vanished into the calling zephyr.
[ a'n : pretty short chapter. about three or four more chapters to go :') ]
