So We Meet Again (Hunter)

Miranda had a busy day, and really had learned a lot about memory and obliviating peoples minds, and the subject fascinated her even more. She was given a practice dummy, and a book of spells that she was supposed to practice on. The fun part would be hiding it from Alek and Phin. She still hadn't told them, and was extremely flat out scared about their reactions. She had told Alek that she needed to take a couple days off for "personal reasons" but really it was so she could train at her new job. She really loved it. She loved the people, and the entire atmosphere of the ministry.

It was lunch time when she stepped into the atrium for a break. She wondered what Phin and Alek would be doing right about now. She hoped Alek didn't just leave Phin in charge of the store by himself. The kid was only 15 and didn't need that kind of responsibility on his shoulders even though she knew for sure he could do it, he needed the chance to be a child. And she was 100% sure Alek was aware of that because she had told him. She wouldn't want him in charge of a store by himself.

She had her dummy head in hand, and when she was looking around for a place to eat, she backed into somebody and dropped all her shit. She turned around and said, "Oh, I'm so-sorry." Then she realized who it was. She had forgotten his name as he wasn't that important, but it was that kid who had lost his brother in Hogsmeade and then they had a "Dead People's Society" or something like that. She had grown an instant dislike to him then, and something in her had suggested that he had changed. She said, "Um... Hi." She remembered his name, It was Hunter. She continued, "Hunter right? I think we met at Hogwarts." She was positive they had met at Hogwarts, but she didn't want this situation to be any more awkward than it needed to be.

Distracted. That was probably the best way to describe Hunter since he’d seen Ariel - and that had been two weeks ago. Two weeks since Ariel had decided to drop the world’s biggest bombshell on him. And he’d told her no – of course did, he’d had to. He and Ariel would never work. Hunter was hardly the world’s most trustworthy boyfriend, and he cared about Ariel far too much to put himself in a position to hurt her. And he didn’t feel like that about her anyway. Of course not. Only problem was, ever since then, he hadn’t been able to concentrate on anything without Ariel butting into his mind and distracting him.  Confusing him. It was maddening, and every time, he shoved her out of his head.

Apparently – unsurprisingly – Ariel didn’t like to be pushed out, and she always came back. Like right now, while he was crossing the atrium toward the elevators with nothing better to think about. At least this was a convenient time to be distracted. Better than in the middle of training or studying at least. Though, maybe crossing a busy atrium with a cup of coffee in your hand took more concentration than one might think, because Hunter hadn’t even made it a few yards from the café when he slammed into somebody, his coffee falling and bursting open on the floor. "Ah shit."

Truthfully, if the girl hadn’t started apologizing, Hunter wouldn’t have known that it had been her fault. Really, it was probably both of their faults, but Hunter didn’t apologize back. ”Don’t worry about it,” he said lightly, bending down to pick up his coffee cup from the puddle on the floor. He muttered a quick spell to clean the liquid before finally looking over at the person he’d collided with. It was Miranda Cunningham. He’d met her in school – he hadn’t liked her. But he didn’t know her that well, and ordinarily this would be the point where he’d flash her a grin and say something subtly suggestive. Because it was normally the easiest path into a conversation that wouldn’t involve anything deep. He normally would’ve. But he didn’t, because as if she knew, Ariel flashed through his mind and that obnoxious, uncalled for wave of guilt washed through him. As though it belonged there. As though he had any reason to feel guilty. In any case, it worked, and he only nodded in reply. ”Miranda Cunningham,” Hunter answered, the corner of his mouth turning up. ”We did. We couldn’t stand each other, remember?” Not enough for Hunter to completely snub her, though. ”Er – what are you doing here? I thought you worked at Ollivanders?”

Miranda nodded when he got her name right. She didn't really know what to say after that, and was glad when he brought up the fact that they couldn't stand each other back in school. She ran her hand threw her hair and said, "Sorry about that. I was in a bad place when I was at Hogwarts..." Which was true. Right after her parents died, she was shipped to a different country. Suddenly what was acceptable in America, wasn't acceptable in England. She had to learn a completely different way of life, after leaving the one she had been living at for 16 years. She said, "I'm doing much better now though. How about you?" Miranda knew how bad it felt to loose somebody you where close too. The kid seemed like he was doing alright, but she knew better. People can hide emotions, as she was one of them once. Maybe this was her chance to make something right.

Miranda now felt a little guilty about lying to Alek about her wear abouts. Well, technically she wasn't lying, just not telling the complete truth. Alek had opened his home to her, and changed her life completely. She owed him. And with the shit she had been pulling lately, it was time he deserved some honesty. She said, "Yeah, haven't told him I quit yet. Wanted to see if I liked this Oblivator job first. And I really do. And if he kicks me out, I can just erase his memory and he won't know any difference." She laughed at the thought. This memory thing would come in handy after all.

Miranda didn't really have anything else to say, which was really sad because she was sure Hunter seemed like a cool kid, and would eventually turn into a good and loyal friend. She needed friends right now. Especially since she adopted Phin. She needed somebody she could rant to. Phin wasn't a terrible kid, he just put so much responsibility on his shoulders, and others saw that and take advantage of that, and it hurt her heart just thinking about it. She asked, "Hey, did you know Phineas Button? Probably not, he was a couple years younger than you, but just curious." If there was a slight chance that Hunter did know Phin, maybe Hunter could help her get Phin to realize that he no longer has to grow up so fast. He can finally be a kid.

Truthfully, Hunter hadn’t expected an apology. Not for the way they’d treated each other in school – the idea of apologizing to Miranda hadn’t even crossed his mind. That wasn’t why he’d brought it up. ”So was I,” he responded, his tone neither apologetic nor forgiving. It just… was. And though he didn’t care whether or not Miranda would understand, he had a feeling that she would. What he’d gone through – and what he could guess she’d gone through – neither warranted an apology, or sympathy. It wasn’t fair to judge someone for how they acted at the lowest part of their life, and it also wasn’t fair to have to put up with their shit. Hunter realized that now, although he hadn’t at the time. He hesitated when Miranda said she was doing better. Because there was always a part of himself that, for some ridiculous reason, wanted to hang onto that time. As though admitting that things were getting easier was an insult to his dead brother. But after a moment, he nodded and replied, ”Me too.”

Hunter raised an eyebrow at the realization that Miranda hadn’t even told her boss that she was quitting. Though, the way she spoke about him made it seem a bit like he wasn’t just her boss, but Hunter didn’t bring it up. ”Sounds useful – maybe I’ll learn a few memory charms in my spare time,” Hunter replied with a grin. ”Oh, did I say spare time? I almost forgot – I don’t have any,” he added as the thought hit him. ”When did you start?” It must not have been too long ago, because Hunter hadn’t seen her around before. Although, it was a hell of a lot easier to miss someone in the ministry than in Hogwarts, as it was way bigger.

Phineas Button. Hunter forced himself not to make a face. ”I know him,” he replied simply. ”He was madly in love with my girlfriend in school, so you could say he doesn’t like me much. Guess it’s a common theme, actually.” Miranda didn’t like Hunter. Phin didn’t like Hunter. He wasn’t the greatest at not making enemies, but since he had enough friends to make up for it, it didn’t matter. ”I also know about the weird adoption thing you two have going on – he mentioned it. I was in Ollivanders a few weeks ago, remember? When my dog destroyed my wand.” He only brought it up as way of explanation, because Miranda obviously didn’t remember that he’d been in. Which was fine, she really shouldn’t. They weren’t friends – or even acquaintances. Once he’d left the shop, his face had probably blended with dozens of others she’d waited on that day.

Miranda never apologized. Alek new that as well as anyone. A lot of things had been his fault lately that she knew she had complete blame over. So why was she apologizing to VanDerberg? Maybe it was because he wasn't Alek. Yes, that was it. He wasn't Alek, so it was okay to admit something that was completely her fault to him Admitting she was wrong to Alek, was like him stealing away her entire dignity. The man had seen her cry, but she would NOT apologize to him. Ever. And that was a promise to herself. She knew he would be pissed about her getting this job, but he would get over it. Once he realized that it was for the better for her and Phin. But in reality, Miranda was glad to hear that Hunter was doing better since Hogwarts. It was nice to see that there really was hope for their kind.

She laughed at him when he said that he should learn some memory spells. She said, "They really are useful though. And I've gotten quiet good." It was true. Her trainer had said so himself. She wasn't the top of her group, but she was one of the top three, and that was impressive for not having any knowledge of memory spells to begin with. She wasn't one to brag or anything. She replied, "I started about a month ago. I'm surprised I haven't ran into you before now." In truth the Ministry was a gigantic place. So it was possible to see one person one day, and then not see them again. She truly liked the wand shop, but she figured with herself taking care of a fifteen year old, that it would do them both some good to bring in a few extra galleons here and there.

Her face lit up when Hunter had said that he knew Phin. But she literally facepalmed when he said how. She said, "You're that Hunter. I thought the name sounded familiar." Phin had told Miranda all about Aoife. How he had fallen in love, and how Aoife had rejected him and still wanted to be best friends with the poor kid. It must of been torture. Miranda looked up when Hunter mentioned their "weird adoption thing". It may be weird but he had no right to comment on it. It wasn't his life. Miranda was just starting to like the kid until now. She said, "It maybe weird, but it works. I had to get him out of that house. Things were getting bad... And he was living with Alek anyways." She stopped. She wanted Phin to realize that dropping out was stupid. That he should go back to school. She wanted him to stop worrying about not having a place to go back to over the holidays. She wanted... She wanted a lot of things for him, and she couldn't do it alone. She was hoping that Hunter could help.

She asked, "I was asking because, I think he needs somebody like you...Alek and I aren't the greatest influence on him, I'm trying because I adopted him and everything. But you seem like an alright kid. Would you maybe become friends with him?" Maybe this was stepping out of line. Asking somebody that she knew Phin despised Hunter but maybe Phin has grown up a little bit to know that he can forgive the past. Miranda knew that she now could, and maybe teaching Phin this lesson would be one step up to her "adoptive mother" role. Hunter and Alek had said it was weird, but Miranda and Phin knew that it worked, and that was all that mattered.

Useful was definitely the right word. Though, useful for what was debatable. Sure, they could be used for the good of all mankind and to protect the wizarding world and all that shit. Or, they could help someone get away with murder. Hunter was pretty sure his uses for them would fall somewhere in between the two. Right now, he’d probably go back and make Ariel forget she’d ever had feelings for him, because being able to do that would make his entire life simpler. Now if only he could just convince himself that that was really what he wanted to do. As usual, now that he’d thought of her, she lingered in his mind for a moment before he could push her out. ”Yeah, well, you weren’t exactly looking for me or anything,” he replied, shrugging. It was easy to run into someone with a familiar face. Miranda Cunningham, while not a stranger, wasn’t familiar enough to stand out to him in a crowd. ”And anyway, this place is huge. Way bigger than Hogwarts – and way more boring. Our departments aren’t on the same floor. It’s not that surprising.”

Hunter raised an eyebrow when Miranda brought a hand to her face. He was that Hunter? ”How many other Hunters do you know, Miranda?” he asked her, a bit of amusement creeping into his voice. ”But yes, I’m that Hunter, I guess.” He wasn’t the slightest bit curious what Phineas had said about him, because he was pretty sure he could guess without having to ask. His amused expression fell a bit when Miranda brought up Phin’s home life. ”Yeah, I know about that, too. It’s shit. But at the same time, we all have to go through hell one way or another, don’t we?” Well, this got somewhat deep, somewhat quickly. ”I’m not saying you shouldn’t have helped him – I’m just saying it seems like he’s learned that running away from his problems is the best strategy. Helping him run away hardly seems like the answer to me.” In Hunter’s experience at least, the only way to come out of something traumatic stronger was to fight your way out yourself.

Okay, all of a sudden, this conversation took a bad turn. Because Miranda was asking him to be Phin’s friend. Because apparently, she thought Hunter was a good influence, whereas she wasn’t. It took everything he had not to burst into laughter at the suggestion. ”First of all, if you can’t suck it up and be a good influence on someone, maybe you shouldn’t adopt them,” he pointed out, giving Miranda a pointed look. ”Second of all, define good influence. Because I take no shame in admitting that I’m most likely not it.” Unless she wanted someone to show Phin how to be a conceited git, solve his problems with violence, and sleep with the entire female population. Not that he could sleep with the entire female population, with Ariel infiltrating his mind. ”Besides, like I said, he hates me. So you might want to look elsewhere.” Not to mention that Hunter wasn’t exactly the type to become friends with someone as an act of charity. He wasn’t really the type to become friends with anyone at all.