First Meetings (ALEK/Phin)

Miranda didn't quiet understand. But ALEK was the boss, so she had to trust that what he was doing was best for the wand shop and not for himself. Taking in a 15 year old she wasn't sure about, but it wasn't had place to say anything. It was aleks life, and he could do what he wanted. ALEK thought it was time for her and Phin to meet. Since it was still school time, they had to do it in Hogsmeade, a place Miranda hoped she'd never see again. As she walked out of the station, she could see Hogwarts. Another place she never wanted to see. But reflecting now, she realized how much she had grown, and how much of a stupid child she was just merely a year ago. Back then, she didn't like to associate with people, and liked to keep to herself. But for some odd reason, people seemed to want to be near her, which pissed her off. Miranda pulled her shoulder length brown hair into a pony tail, and started walking towards the Three Broomsticks. She didn't understand why ALEK didn't just come with her, but she chose to stay out of his business.

Today she dressed in capris pants, with black flats, a green tank with a white shrug over it. She didn't really pay attention to how she looked, it was just what was easy to grab in her closet. As she rounded the corner, Hogwarts came into full view. She saw kids from third year up on their hogsmeade adventure. She smiled at them and some how pittied them. They weren't prepared for the real world. Apparently Hogwarts was all for real life experiences, but Miranda didn't learn shit. She had learned what she already knew from Salem. And that was disappointing to her. She entered the three broomsticks and looked around for a fifteen year old sitting by himself. And there he was. ALEK had said something about him dropping out the next school year and coming to work for him full time. Miranda had been in his position before. When she heard about the Professor Wilcox's deaths, she was sad. That was the only useful information she got. Professor Chad Wilcox had convinced her to stay in school. And without him, she didn't think she would be where she was today.

Miranda saw the boy, and walked over. She said, "I'm Miranda. I work at the wand shop with ALEK." The boy nodded and shook her hand. He said, "Phineas Button. But my friends call me Phin." Miranda smiled at the boy. He seemed so sweet and innocent. But at the same time, he could tell there was a lot of hurt there. Hurt that Miranda could relate too. She had lost her parents and Phin has lost his guardian, and an uncle, and from what ALEK had said, his parents where dicks and disowned him. Miranda could relate to him a lot. She hoped to be able to convince him that education was important. That dropping out would be a big mistake. Maybe he would like to know that his uncle made a difference in her life. That he had an impact in her life decisions. Maybe, just maybe, she could impact Phin like Professor Wilcox had impacted her. And it was then Miranda knew what she wanted to do with her life. She smiled at the boy and said, "ALEK will be along shortly. We came separately." She sat down next to him. She asked, "would you fancy a butter beer?"?

Alek knew Miranda didn't understand. Not at the moment, anyway. She would eventually understand why he had taken Phineas in. She would eventually understand that the boy didn't have much to go on from, and Alek wasn't always a shit. She was a girl, after all, and he had his moments of humane compassion, and helping this boy was better than giving away all his money to become a missionary monk. Alek actually laughed at that thought. He had never cared much for the religious aspect of the Muggle world, but he still loved making jokes about it. He had to admit, half of his reasoning for giving Phineas a place to stay was purely selfish. With him around, Alek would have more freedom. Not to mention, he could win points with Miranda, making her see that he wasn't so bad after all. Chasing Miranda was going to be a life-long goal, he knew that. He had sort of arranged for Phineas and Miranda to meet, and by 'sort of' it meant that he had told the boy to meet her at a certain place, but wasn't exactly sure whether to go himself or not.

Originally, he had decided to not go. Giving them time to get to know basics seemed like a better idea than having to listen to more than necessary about Phineas' life and hearing Miranda join in with many fucks and shits. Sometimes Alek wondered if the girl knew of any other words aside from those two, and that was saying something considering English wasn't his first language. He walked through the streets of London, a cigarette in hand, and made his way to the Muggle train station, right into the magical one. Visiting Rudi had changed his perspective; of course he had told his brother of the previous events, how he had met the boy at the station, then had been taken care of by the kid after a terrible night of alcohol among other things. But Alek had been specially excited about telling him how Phineas was coming to live and work with him, because being around Miranda got tiring. It seemed nice to have another male perspective at their place. When the train for Hogsmeade arrived, Alek almost regretted his decision. Almost.

He got off, lit another cigarette, and headed down to the Three Broomsticks. He wasn't wearing anything spectacularly visible, just some sweatpants and a T-shirt, because who wanted to dress up for breakfast with Rudi and boyfriend only to go meet the new roommate? Nobody. It was far too much effort, and Alek wasn't in the mood for it. The funny thing would be the possible look of disapproval he hoped Miranda would show. Just as he landed on the streets, he almost pulled himself closer to the walls. There were too many tweens around. Too many. They all walked around with their greasy hair and acne and Alek began to subconsciously walk faster as to avoid direct contact with any of them. Alek was definitely glad to be out of that stage of life. He swung open the door, looking for either Phineas or Miranda, and wasn't the least but surprised to find that she had arrived before him. Slipping into the seat next to her, he winked at her. For entertainment rather than any real purpose. "Hey." he greeted both of them. He reached across the booth for the ashtray, Alek put out his cigarette and focused on the two. "Have you ordered yet? Or do you want me to get you something?" he asked them, already standing up again, ready to get himself something fun to drink.