Alas, we meet again!

Spring.
Who didn't like it? The answer was there, in Avis' head when she looked around and watched how people passed by, smiles on their faces and sun warming their cheeks.
She didn't like it, not at all. Avis was one of those who adored winter, adored how dark it was, how her feet drowned in the snow and how the storms covered everything up, leaving nothing but a white maze. People did not see it as a world of fragile things, they saw this as a death of nature and they could not wait till everything would start blossoming again, turning all the surroundings colorful and cheery. They even forgot about the allergies during the beginning of that period. Silly of them.

Avis stopped and looked at the paper between her fingers. Address was correct and the name as well. Although people described this as one of the best places to get a new wand, this shop looked grim in her opinion. But the look of her own wand wasn't pleasing as well. It was ablated from an abiding usage. She used her wand almost daily and that either in the dueling ring or during the potion making process.
Sighing heavily, she slided the paper back into her bag and knocked on the door. This shop was owned by Aaron Macheti, a man who once helped her out. Interesting, did he remember her? Maybe not. He seemed to be as busy as Avis was. The girl barely linked herself to the outer world.

Pushing the door, she entered the shop and plugged her lips. Wow... “Hello?“ she closed the door behind her and took a careful step forward.

Aaron found himself gazing out of the window that was above his wand shop for an unusual amount of time. Things were strange outside of Azkaban, everyone went about their lives like nothing had changed, yet everything was different for him. The sunshine did not seem as bright, the warmth did not seem as welcoming, and the cold did not seem as frigid. All in all he felt like his entire body was numb. The thoughts that plagued him in Azkaban did not go away now that he was out, no, instead they seemed to follow him in his nightmares. There was no escaping the horrors of that place.

He was not as nicely dressed as he had once been. An old robe that he had found in his closet from when he was younger was all that he had worn this particular day. No suit, no tie, no nice shoes. He did not care, he just wanted to wear what was comfortable, a feeling he had once taken for granted. His hair was no longer nicely kept, it was shaggy and kept in a pony tail, while his beard was rather full. Not as long as when he had gotten out but still noticeable enough. Scars adorned his wrist from the constant struggling in the prison, trying his hardest to break free of the shackles, but it was all for nothing. He was not going to escape them.

The bell to his shop rang and he jumped in his seat. His paranoia was getting the best of him, even the slightest sounds set him off, how far had he fallen? He did not want to remove himself from his seat but he was the only one at the store who would be able to take care of anything. Forcing himself up, he let out a grunt as a pain shot up his back, he was still not accustomed to the whole standing up thing. He had been in a sitting position for six months so even things like standing up and walking were a burden to him.

With a slight limp he hobbled down his stairs and he opened the door behind the counter and emerged in front of Avis. He recognized her from Knockturn, he had once stopped some would be attackers from getting her, he had not heard from her since. More important things had been going on for him so he guessed it really did not matter. "Ah, if it isn't the little adventurer, been staying out of Knockturn I hope?" His voice was rough and raspy from all of the screaming he had done while locked up. He hated the sound of it.

"What brings you in today?"

The silence disturbed her. The shop was dark and it looked like no one took care of it for quite some time. Looking around, she examined the shelves full of wands and took few steps closer to the counter. It seemed like there hadn't been anyone around for a few dacades, not for months.
She lifted her hand and touched the dusty surface of the table. Everything was so grim and grey to her that the first thing that came up in her head was some sort of a murder that occured right where she stood.
Avis shivered, feeling now uncomfortable. This was not right.

Putting her bag on the ground, she slowly walked around, searching for some hints as to what could've happened here. She was no detective, but she had a sharp eye. What irritated her though, was the fact that there was Nothing to see. Everything was normal.

She did not hear anyone approaching, but when she heard familiar voice, “Its nice meeting you again, I...“ Avis turned around with a smile, but it was soon changed with a concern that was now glued on her face. Avis made few steps closer, not even sure what to say. He looked like someone tortured him for months and when they finally broke into his head, they released him. He looked horrible. “What did they do to you...?“ she asked, voice terrified and not louder than a whisper.

Suddenly, she did not even know what to reply to him. Why did she come here? She remembered that she needed a new wand due to her active use of her current one, but that... It just did not sound right at the moment.

Aaron smirked at her reaction to his appearance. Everyone was shocked when they had seen him for the first time since he had come out, even people like her who had only met him once, and he was starting to get used to their reactions. He was aware of how disheveled he looked and there was not much he could do about it. It was going to take some time to get back to his normal self, if he ever did at all.

"Just the product of that vacation in Azkaban." He leaned down onto the counter as his back was already starting to get stiff. He was not used to this, he became uncomfortable from the smallest things, and it was like he could not get himself comfortable no matter how hard he tried. "Dementors have a way of changing a person."

He did not wish to indulge the horrors he had experienced while locked up because it was not a manly story. He wished he could say he boldly stood up to those monstrosities but he did no such thing. He did not understand how anyone could, their power did more damage than he had expected, and this was the end product.

"Do not fear me, though, I was wrongly accused of a terrible crime. I am no threat to you."

During her short life, Avis had seen many men in their worst days and years. But this was in the muggle world. Indeed, she held a contact with that due to her half blood line and friends she had there, but for some reason she imagined wizarding world to be more disciplined and it seemingly took care of every single citizen and a memer of their magical society.
But Aaron here was a living evidence that what they did was not only bad, but horrible. How could they just take and damage a person for the rest of his life?

She narrowed her eyes when he mentioned the prison. It was not right. Stepping closer to the counter, she swiped off some of the dust and cleaned her hands against the robes she was wearing. Then, picking up her bag, she put if carefully on the counter and put a hand in it. “I'm not afraid of you. To be honest, I never was,“ she replied quietly. He was not a dangerous man. Broken, but not the one who would do any harm to her nor the surrounding ones.

When she found what she was looking for, Avis put a bar of chocolate on the table and opened it. From what she heard, the chocolate was a perfect medicine when the dementors attacked. She bought it from a local shop just to satisfy her sweet tooth later. “Try it, maybe it will help,“ she said quietly, pushing the sweet towards the shop owner.
If she disliked anything in this world, then it was feeling and being useless and now she felt like it was a good time to return him a favor. He saved her once, maybe she could do the same for him.

She did not seem to be the type to be afraid of other people, and Aaron admired that, but the fact was she should be afraid of him. If she ever stood in his way he would not think twice to strike her down. Of course he would not voice that opinion out loud as it was not an easy way to earn a friendship, and friendships were key to success. She was smart and would go on to do something great one day and he might need her.

She offered him a piece of chocolate and he snapped off a small piece and ate it quickly. He did not want to seem like an animal, the food was obviously awful in a place like Azkaban, but since he had gotten out his hunger did not seem to go away. He had eaten multiple large meals, none of which seemed to fill him up. "Very gracious of you." Aaron said with a nod of his head.

"So you aren't afraid of the alleged leader of the Death Eaters, I am curious, what are you afraid of then?"

Avis tilted her head slightly, but said nothing when he reached for the chocolate with a rather fast movement speed. Based on the things she heard about Azkaban, she was not even surprised of his reaction to something that was so usual to her. She pushed the chocolate closer to him, encouraging Aaron to take more. She could buy herself another one later. Maybe even send a box of cupcakes and pies to the man later. Sometimes Avis was just generous.
She smiled when he sort of thanked her, but said nothing and, deciding that it was not polite to stare while another one was eating, she proceeded to look around.

Sometimes it made her sad that she could not use magic outside the school yet. When she usually did not think of such things, then right now was one of the rare moments. She could really help him. Avis knew spells, she knew potions that could heal Aaron from his fears and lead him towards a better life from this day on, but she was afraid to offer him this all due to the fact that she was still a child and not everyone wanted to trust her with such things.

Arching her eyebrows, she looked at the man on the other side of the counter and plugged her lips. “Failure,“ she said after a moment of thought. Although she was young, she had seen the world, she had been to other countries and seen things, there was nothing in this world that scared her more than failing in her life or failing the others. This was the only thing that could destroy her.

Aaron finished the chocolate she had given him and he squinted his eyes when she mentioned what she was afraid of. What a broad fear she had given him. Failure was something that everyone was afraid of, at least the absolute of the word, failure was something that even Aaron himself feared. He had absolute faith that he would succeed in his goals, and yet, here he was fresh out of Azkaban and nothing more than a failure.

"Who isn't afraid of failing? Everyone wants to succeed, but if you live your life in fear of what will happen if you don't succeed, you surely wont. It is a catch 22, one that very few people ever escape from."

His reaction was actually expected and normal. People usually suspected that girls like Avis were afraid of spiders, darkness, false reputation, being not good or pretty enough or what ever.
She said nothing, however, only stared at him, waiting for Aaron to say something, but it seemed that the wandmaker would rather remain silent on this topic. Avis did not know whether him being imprisoned in Azkaban was a failure or not. If he had been betrayed like he told to her, then he failed to trust a right person. World was full of backstabbers, and it was sad, though she had no experience in that yet.

When he finally spoke, she did not know what to answer at first. To her, not everyone was afraid of failing. There were people who lived for the sake of satisfaction. She had even read the book, Dorian Grey, in which the main character lived with this purpose. The end was never good.

“I guess you're right,“ she responded, looking back up at him. So you see, a former leader of the death eaters wasn't the main thing to be afraid of. She examined him once again and then put her hand back into her bag. “Are you still hungry? I have some apple juice with me if you'd like some...“ And potions of course, but these were not meant for drinking in order to satisfy your thirst or hunger.