A Few Days Later

Bran heard Chase sit next to him. She spoke and he snorted. She thought mooncalves were pretty? He hoped she was being sarcastic, because he certainly did not feel the same. These pale gray, gangly creatures looked nothing like real calves. How they got that part of the name he did not know. The moon part was obvious though. He glanced over at the book that Chase was reading. It was about healing underwater creatures. He supposed that that would be much more difficult, as you wouldn't be able to take them out of the water to inspect them else they could suffocate. It seemed odd to him, suffocating because you were in the air. Well, all creatures were different, especially the magical ones. He heard Chase start speaking and closed his book to listen.

Chase's words surprised him. Bran turned to look at her, and jumped again when she slammed a book. He was startled to easily. He did his best to pretend that it didn't happen. Chase had said that she hated water, that running water was horrid. She was afraid of it. That was just silly. Without water, everyone and everything would die. How could she hate it, fear it? It did occasionally cause death, but drowning wasn't too common, especially among wizards. Even so, hating and fearing it did nothing to help the situation, so why bother? "Why do you hate water?" he asked, truly concerned that something had happened to make her loath it so.

Perhaps someone she knew had drowned. If so, there went his "uncommon" theory. He hoped that wasn't the case. Something else popped into his mind. It was better, but could still explain her irrational feelings toward water. She herself may have had a near-death experience involving water. She could have almost drowned. That was still horrible, but in his opinion, it was better to almost drown that to have loved ones actually drown. He didn't quite look at her as he waited for a response.

Chase glanced at him when he asked why she was afraid of water. "At the end of my sixth year at Hogwarts." She started, and stared at the book, unable to meet his gaze. "It had just begun summer.. and... I was at home, it had been raining a lot that year, and we had servants.. that lived down by the water.. and they needed to go and make sure their families were okay.. so I told them they could go for the night.. and if they needed place to stay to come up to the house.." She frowned and ran her hand through her hair. It wasn't often she spoke about it.. but she trusted Bran. "They all left.. and.. I was sitting there reading.. but I got tired, and I got up to go to bed... but as I passed the front doors.. my dog... Dragon.." She frowned and sighed. "Stopped at the door and started to sniff... so I glanced out and saw a man.. standing out in the rain... I was so worried, wondering if his car had broken down.. or something like that.. I lived pretty far out in the middle of nowhere, and it had been raining so much.. I didn't even think about it.." Chase stopped, and her hands clenched on her book, gripping the hard bound cover.

"I let him into the house..." She shook her head and sighed. "If I had just.. walked on past.. I wouldn't be here right now.." she said softly, glancing over at him. "He came in.. and after a bit of small chat.. he asked if my parents were around.. and then.. he grabbed me.. and pushed me against the door... which was still open slightly.. and.. and... he threatened me.. told me if I didn't call my parents I would die..." She shuddered and found herself shaking with he own memories. "I ended up calling my parents.. and... he went into the living room with them.. closing the door behind him... after that it was all quiet.. except my siblings came down.. and.. and... suddenly I heard screaming.. it was my mom." Chase's eyes were closed, and she had her head bent slightly. "Then the door opened.. and he came out.. and I confronted him.. nearly got him too... had him frozen on the spot, but my sister.. Clara had gone into the room.. and it had locked behind him.. and.. my little brother.. Max.. kept trying to get my attention..." Chase was shivering, and she slowly looked up at him. "He was telling me the room was full of water.." She whispered and looked at him. "Then the door broke open... mind you these were large doors.. HUGE doors... tall wooden double doors, both into the den, and to outside.. so one of them was open to outside.. and one of the ones into the den broke open... and the water.. it all came flowing out.."

Chase tore her gaze away from him and sighed. "Me and the man were knocked backwards... I blacked out.. when I woke up.. he was gone.. and my family... my parents had both drowned... along with my sister... and my little brother had been hit up against a suit of armor.. and I was the only one left.." She shuddered and laid her head against the book in front of her. "They were there still... and... I don't remember much of what happened after that.. besides sobbing, and being found by my best friend who had come over to visit...." She said hiding her face from him. "I hate running water to the point where I have to take baths... and that was over a year ago." She said hiding her face as well as she could, staring at the cover of the book.

Bran was horrified. No wonder she was afraid of water. He felt the urge to cry, but fought back the tears, leaving himself only a little watery-eyed. What had happened was terrible. Chase's parents and sister had drowned. Apparently Bran didn't know as much as he thought he did. And her brother.... Her brother had been killed by a suit of armor. He had been crushed to death. It was absolutely horrible. He felt anger as well as sorrow. This man had murdered her entire family.

Bran was suddenly frightened, not by the events that had occurred, but by what he knew he would do if he ever found that man. Felix Barker had tortured her and mentally abused her, but that was something that could eventually be healed. All wounds from that could one day go away. What this man had down, murdered Chase's family in cold-blood, that was something that Chase would never forget. She would always remember, and though she may heal partially from the wounds it caused, she would never be able to look at water the same way again. Bran knew that if he ever found this man, he would hurt him like he had hurt Chase. He had known her for less than one week and he was already protective of her. He was always protective of those close to him. His parents, his friends, he would do anything for the people he cared for.

On an impulse Bran leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Chase, feeling that she needed a hug. "I'm so sorry, Chase," he said, his voice cracking. He was no longer able to fight the tears of anger and sympathy, and a few drops landed on her shoulder. He hoped she didn't mind. He held her, and his embrace showed that he was there for her. She was his friend and always would be, no matter what happened.

Chase glanced at him, and saw that he had teared up. "Oh no.." She whispered and then sighed. He hugged her, and she gently patted his arm, feeling tears drip onto her shoulder. "I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to make you cry...." She said softly unable to keep a few tears from touching her cheek as well, as she relived that night over again, and she subconsciously turned her wrists over so that they weren't visible to him. She looked at him and sighed. "It was a while ago.. and now I do have a family of my own.. Katie... Calvin... Khaat Lupin even... Robert Lupin! The Minster of Magic is my family... he's like.. a grandfather to me... and Khaat is like my mother.." She said smiling slightly. "I need to visit them soon.." She said, shaking her head.

"But don't feel sorry for me okay? I've been through a lot.. and... that's just one part of my life.. one tiny section in comparison." She said smiling at him. "Don't worry really... the man who did it... he..." She stopped and sighed, her hand moving up to run through her hair again. "He's out there.. but... I've dealt with him." She said carefully choosing her words wisely. She had in fact dealt with him, gone to his club in knockturn Alley, dressed up as some random hooker, and got into his bedroom, only to reveal herself, and force him to tell her why he had done it.. only to end up completely plastered, and got into a fight with her boyfriend the next day... She smiled at Bran and sighed. "Don't worry about me okay? I promise you I feel okay... My family... well being pureblooded, you have some things that are expected of you.. one being that you marry someone else who's pureblooded, and I laugh at that.. though to be honest.. Katie is as pureblooded as it gets... but Calvin isn't, so that's fine.." She said smiling. "And my mother.. she wanted me to get married to some bloke I've never met.. and she wanted me to become a model.. or an actress.. or something like that that got my name out there..." She shook her head. "That didn't work out very well anyway." She smiled slightly and glanced at him. "So I'm fine okay? I like working here.. and I have a family.. even if my real one was taken away."

Bran sighed and put on a sad smile. "Well, at least you still have a family. They may not be blood, but I'm glad you have them...." He trailed off and just sat for a moment. Finally, unable to bear the silence anymore, he stood up. "I've been meaning to ask you. Do you know if there are any werewolves about 30 miles or so northwest of London? I only ask because I'm going out there during the next full moon to see if I can catch a picture of a mooncalf." He frowned, seeing the flaw in his plan. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter. There could be none there now, but a dozen there next Saturday...never mind...." He deepened his frown. He would just have to keep an eye and an ear out for any sign of danger.

He pulled himself out of his deep thought and looked at Chase. "Well, I've got what I came here for. What about you? Are you ready to head back?" Honestly, Bran didn't think that she had done what she came here for. She had wanted to read about some different kinds of healing, ones she didn't know, and as far as he knew, she had only read a few pages from one book about underwater creatures. Bran was, however, anxious to get out of this room. His love of the library had slightly diminished, as the first thought that popped into his mind when he thought library was drowning. He was sure that would pass in a few weeks, but for now, he couldn't stand it.

He turned around and replaced the mooncalf book, remembering its location in case he needed to find it again. He really needed to talk to someone about the filing system in here. It really was dreadful. If he was going to be working here for at least the next five years, he would need to be able to find what he was looking for without checking every single book. That would waste time he couldn't afford, not if he was ever going to get any research done. Research. That reminded him. He needed to finish his gnome saliva tests. He had planned on doing it tomorrow, but if Ms. Gould was going to start a new project, he needed to be free of any others that he might have.

Chase looked at him when he stood up, and she couldn't help but smile. He was upset that she had told him.. this was why nobody knew... but she had trusted him... told him something barely anyone knew.. and yet.. he was still wary of her.. he still felt sorry for her.. their friendship had changed.. she looked nearly sad as she nodded and slowly stood up herself, watching as he hurried away, and took her book back as well. This was the reason not many people knew of her family dying.. or how they died... some of her old school friends still didn't know, and it had been over a year now. And yet.. she had gone out on a limb, and discovered that it hadn't worked. She looked pretty sad now, but she nodded as she walked towards him again. She looked up at him, and gave him a small sad smile before nodding carefully.

"I do have more research to do.. and I know of some stuff I have to get done.. thanks for exploring with me..." She said, nodding her head to him, and frowning as she turned towards the door. She glanced around the room before she left and smiled again. It was such a nice room, and she couldn't wait to spend some time in there for real, but for now... She had a lot on her mind, and it was already hard to concentrate. Didn't help that she was feeling a bit dizzy.. she knew she needed food, but.. Calvin wasn't around to force her to eat.. and she hadn't eaten much last night, so she actually hadn't eaten anything since yesterday breakfast. She wondered if Bran noticed these kind of things on her... noticed the scars on her wrists, the way she was losing weight.. the tired look to her eyes. Katie was having troubles sleeping most nights as well, something probably to do with Chase's personality change, or the dreams that plagued her sleep, but whatever it was, it was messing with the little girls' dreams, and causing Chase to get up every so often to get her to calm down. Chase was tired, thin, and overall not in a good state, but she put on a smile, and walked back to her desk, sitting down and pulling her paperwork towards her again.

Bran walked out of the library with Chase. He got the feeling that she was regretting telling him about her family. The pauses and tones in her speech gave it away. He would just have to make sure that she knew that everything was fine between the two of them. He shut the doors behind him and was surprised to see that Chase was already gone when he turned back around. She sure did seem like she was in an awful hurry to get away.

He walked back towards his desk, stopping by hers on the way. He leaned on a wall, facing her. "So, do you have any plans for lunch? I know you go to see Calvin a lot, but I thought that if you weren't going to see him today then we could check out that new Italian restaurant a few blocks away." He smiled, trying to show her that he was still happy to be her friend. "I know it's a muggle restaurant, but for a pure-blood you're pretty chill," he said, laughing slightly. "I'm going to finish a test real quick and then I'll be back at my desk in probably 20 minutes." He looked at his watch. "I guess we still have about half an hour before our lunch break anyway."

He turned and walked to his desk, grabbing the folder with his research information before heading off towards the Creature Containment and Research Center. Bran would conclude his project, summarizing his data, when he got back from lunch. One thing he really liked about this job was that there wasn't really a need for hurrying through tasks. The most important thing was quality. As long as the work was very good, it didn't matter if it took him a little longer than necessary. He frowned as he approached the door. He was correct in his earlier assumptions. Chase was definitely not eating enough. He hoped that she would eat plenty during lunch today. She needed to be well-fed and rested if she was taking care of a young child.

Chase looked up when Bran stopped by and asked if she wanted to eat lunch with him. She glanced at her watch and then looked up at him. "Sure... Calvin is busy today... so sure.. I'd like that.." She said, but the moment he was gone, she frowned, and laid her head on her desk. She was really dizzy... Calvin was usually the only one who got her to eat... and now she was going to lunch with this man, who probably knew she needed food, he had been around her enough to know she was losing weight.. way to much of it, way to fast. She sighed, and wrapped her arms around her head. She was doing good.. she was doing good, she just had to tell herself that, over and over. She was doing well... she and Calvin were happy, he got her to eat when she needed too, Katie was growing up, they were happy.. very happy.. so why did she feel so useless?

Chase sighed and lifted her head, looking over the cubicles to see Bran walking away, she sighed and looked back at her paperwork. She had half an hour, and she knew he would notice if she hadn't worked. He was observant, and it unnerved her sometimes. Obviously he was still okay with her, seeing as he seemed to be still talking to her, didn't think she was a sorry sap who needed to suck it up.. there were people who had bigger problems.. he smiled at her, and offered to eat lunch with her... that was nice of him.. very nice of him. Showed he was still her friend... but she worried, worried she had said to much to him.. worried he would think of her differently.. worried about her own body, and how Calvin would react to finding out she hadn't eaten last night. He would be frantic.. upset.. and Chase hated that.. she hated making him upset.. so she'd go with Bran to lunch.. and eat something for a change, if only to make Calvin happy.

After 30 minutes, Bran was finally done. It had taken him ten minutes longer than he suspected because he had spilled his tube of saliva and had to get more from a gnome that did not want to cooperate. He hoped Chase wasn't thinking he'd forgotten. He left the Creature Containment and Research Center, closing the door behind him, and quickly went to his desk to drop off his research project folder. Bran liked doing research, but he sure hated garden gnomes. They were a pain in every bone in his body. Bran sat down in his chair and felt around under the seat, grabbing his wallet. He didn't like to take it with him to the research center in case something happened. He did not want to get his muggle money burnt, soaked, or defiled in any other way. He got up and checked his wallet to see if his money was still there before walking to Chase's desk, hoping she was still there. Thankfully, she was.

"So, are you ready to go?" he asked, hoping she was. Bran was starving. It felt like it had been days since he had last eaten, even though it had really only been a few hours. From the looks of Chase, however, it might really have been days for her. He had to make sure that she ate a good-sized lunch today. He would not have her starving herself, no matter the reason. "Sorry it took me a little longer than I said it would. I spilled my saliva and had to get some more. The gnome did not agree with me," he said laughing. He was just glad it had only taken him ten minutes to get the saliva from the gnome. It was very feisty and kept trying to bite him.

He thought of the new muggle restaurant he had suggested earlier. It was apparently owned by a man who had actually moved from Italy, so the food was definitely authentic, and from what he had heard, the food was delicious, too. No one could resist food like that, not even Chase. Bran, however, may have been a little biased. Italian was always his favorite kind of food. Pasta just seemed to do wonderful things to his taste buds. Also, he was a slave to a nice, hot meal. He could almost never turn down food. They say that the way to a man is through his stomach, and with Bran this was definitely true. He noticed his mouth was watering and quickly pulled his thoughts back to the present.

Chase had finally finished her paperwork just as Bran walked up. She dropped it into her pile of OUT stuff, and sighed heavily, leaning back in her chair, before she found herself in the presence of her friend again. "Oh, hey Bran, it's alright.. my paperwork took longer then I thought it would also." She said smiling at him and listening to how he had had to get more saliva only to have it fall over again. "Icky.. you tested saliva?" She asked, feeling much better after getting something accomplished, and almost having forgotten their earlier discussion. A good work time had really refreshed her brain and got her smiling again, even though before she had been really downhearted, there was nothing like a good distraction.

But she had also nearly forgotten his offer for lunch, and she smiled slightly. "Sure..." She said and spun around in her chair, grabbing her purse which lay on the desk, and ruffling through it to find her wallet, and check how much muggle money she had. She appeared to have quite a bit, and smiled. "Good, alright, you ready?" she asked shoving her wallet back into her bag and pulling her bag onto her shoulder, grinning at him. "Okay, you lead the way, because I have no idea what restaurant you were talking about." She said lightly, running her hand through her hair again, it was becoming a nervous habit, and she reprimanded herself for doing it, forcing her hand back down to her side, and running her fingers around the empty space on her ring finger, almost nervously. She had once worn a ring there... a beautiful ring... and she had given it back now she was itching for ring to take it's place, it just felt empty there without it. She smiled at him and looked around. The room was clearing out for lunch, a few people had brought their own and were sitting, talking with friends as they ate, but the majority of people were leaving the room, going out to lunch, or back home for their lunch break.