Stand Firm And Strong

(ooc: I can't give away anything about the competition, so I'm working it on the angle that Apollo needs advice about dealing with his superiors at St. Mungo's)


It was just so strange. Apollo had been sure that he had picked up the right potion to heal Alisha's arm. But suddenly she was acting very strange, and he couldn't figure out what he had done wrong. All he could do was wait for the clues to start and try and go through everything he knew about potions as quickly as possible. Alisha was sure to hate him for this, and that was if she didn't try and destroy him. He didn't quite expect her to be that sort, but she definitely had friends who might be, and Apollo's brother was one of them.

Never one to call on anyone for assistance, Apollo had spent the better half of the afternoon trying to figure who he could talk to besides his family. Blaise would judge him too harshly, and Christian would try to help but not quite manage it because his strong suit really was Transfiguration. Finally, he settled on the choice to call on a friend from Slytherin House. If anyone would know how to keep out of trouble with his superiors, it was probably a fellow snake. Apollo had helped Brice now and again with Charms work, and both boys had spent a good bit of time discussing potions and considering possibilities for new types.

If only Apollo already had the first clues from Healer Fox. It would have made things vastly more simple. They could have figured it out together, he was sure.

Walking into The Leaky, Apollo glanced around in search of his friend, but found that he was too early. Ever punctual, the heir to the Zabini line was hardly bothered by the fact that he would have to wait. Instead, he picked up a drink and wandered over to a table near enough to the entrance that he could catch Brice when he walked in. Hopefully, anyways. Apollo had sent an owl earlier in the day and could only hope that Brice would be willing to meet with him. Sitting down, Apollo took a drink from his mug and leaned back in his chair to wait.

Brice lifted his hand, fixing his hair backwards calmly. He stood there for about one minute. He was daydreaming again. He suddenly noticed that, and stopped. He looked at his clock and... He wasn't wearing his clock. He always took notice that he was absent minded, and that reminded it. He decided that he didn't even care anymore. Frustrated, he stepped inside the Leaky Cauldron, while instantly scouting with his sharp eyes for Apollo. It was an habit of him to look at people with those eyes when he was giving a warning, searching, or when he's angry. People usually looked away from him when he did that, and he was more fond of people that kept steady with his eyes. He quickly traded looks with Apollo, and his face quickly opened up into a smile. He walked towards his friend, having a seat next to him.

"I can't stand having you on time. I suppose you called for me, then? I never thought I would see myself helping a seventh year. "

He was looking at him with his usual challenging eyes. A smile that felt like it couldn't disappear. He tapped his fingers on the table as if challenging him to a fight. It was like he stood when he was over arrogant. He learned to stop doing that, but sometimes he couldn't hold it. It was in fact one of his greatest flaws. That if it isn't counted his giant ego. Still, it wouldn't affect his way of thinking, which was the only way he was still recognizable as the same charismatic and friendly Brice.

Apollo looked up as Brice approached, rolling his eyes a bit at the apparent challenge in the younger man's eyes. He set his mug down and gestured with one hand for Brice to sit if he wanted. "Trust me," he began finally, "I didn't think I would ask for help from... well, anyone, really. But then, I guess you understand that feeling, right?"

It wasn't the first time that the boys had come together in order to work through things. Usually, though, Apollo was going over Charms classes, or they were talking about how one might make a potion to solve whatever problem they had found that day. This was much different. Would Brice really know how to help him? Apollo sure hoped so.

His fingers tapped lightly against the outside of his mug, considering how to start. Admitting to his failures was always difficult for the Slytherin, so it was going to take a bit of effort for him to go about telling the story. With a sigh, Apollo tilted his head and looked back up at Brice. "Here's the deal, mate. I've been working at St. Mungo's as an apprentice, you know? But today this girl I know came in and I was distracted and messed up pretty bad. My employer is just.... she's pretty miffed. I gotta figure out how to convince her not to send me packing."

Brice's arrogance exploded. His specialty was at need. He begun daydreaming again for an awkward moment before looking back down to Apollo. Formulating plans As and Bs, 1s and 2s, he said:

"Okay then. I'm assuming you messed it up pretty bad not to know what would counter the potion you gave her. Focusing on your job though, is you have different ways of going about this. Time or convincing. You can convince her, sure. But then you'd need something to defend yourself. It's not like muggle movies where they just tell them and it's done. You need something or someone to help you. Now with time, if you do it right, you can get some time to help yourself out. It's a bet, alright. But regardless which you pick, you only make it out once you fix the core problem: the girl." After a couple seconds thinking he said: "So, which one do you pick? I'll help you out with any."

His mischievous smile was making it obvious he was planning something. But he still looked at Apollo, as if challenging him to pick.

Apollo nodded slowly, taking in the suggestions Brice gave him. Both made sense, and while the idea of convincing Holland that he wasn't able to take the blame was one that the seventh year would usually turn to, he worried that she would see right through him. She was more likely to just raise an eyebrow and make it obvious that she didn't believe him. She had never been one to take any lies or even sarcasm from anyone, even her own employers. It brought about some respect, Apollo supposed, but it also made him a bit hesitant to counter her or question her.

"As good as it would feel to just get out of trouble like you suggested, it would probably be better to go with proving myself over time, right? It's a gamble, sure, but I have to prove myself to my employer if I ever want to convince my father to let me switch from a life in business to one in medicine. That was the whole point of the apprenticeship. And now I could have totally blown that chance."

Running a hand over his face out of frustration, Apollo tilted his head back so he could look at the ceiling. "I don't even know how it happened. I was so sure it was the right one. See, the Healer I'm training under says it's really obvious, but I must not have heard of the potion before. She's decided to give me hints and if I don't sort it out, I'll be sent home, and that ruins my shot. I may as well just live at the hospital until I figure it out. Maybe if I prove to her that I'm serious she'll let me keep on..."

Brice had just heard something Apollo didn't mention before. Clues? That's how messed up it was? He started getting more serious as his arrogance started to disappear.

"Clues? You could ask her for time to fix it, then try and find the clues. If you make it in time, that's it. A timed solution will be risky, and you can't get anything wrong. You gotta keep in mind that you'll be walking on a thin rope. You take one step wrong and you're done. Find her, ask for time, but use what you know about her. Don't push it if you know she's easily angered. If she refuses to give more, you'll need something else. Leave her for a while, ease her up, try again. Tell her that you can get.. From two to five more patients patched up than you usually do. It will fix itself over time and you may be able to go back to normal after a while. But first things first, you need to make up for your error. Fix it. I'll help you with the clues if I can, as well.

Apollo couldn't help but agree with the surprised look Brice sent his way. It was all very strange and not at all what he had expected coming into work that morning. Or even when Holland had walked up to him looking upset. But now he just let out a heavy sigh and took a drink from his mug while Brice spoke.

"She isn't giving me the first until I go back to work tomorrow, so I don't even know what she's getting at. Supposedly the answer is really obvious but I just can't see it. I guess she just expected more from me than even I realized. It's not that I thought I would do badly."

Considering what he had learned about his employer, Apollo had to wonder why he had been trusted with the responsibility over a Healer who could have done much better. "But she works at another hospital so she's away a lot and you'd think they would give cases to trained Healers, not apprentices. They really can't expect that people who are new to all of this would know what they're doing.

"I guess you're right, though. I'll have to just see what she decides to do once she starts giving me the hints." Another sigh left him before he realized he hadn't even asked how Brice had been. "Has your summer been going well? I should have asked earlier. Hopefully things are better for you than they are for me."

Brice arched his eyebrow at that. Wasn't like he really had interesting things going on. He had nothing to worry about, and the whole time he was waiting for the classes to start to have something to do again. The only thing that kept him from complaining was the usual quidditch trainings with his sister. Finally back to his usual way of being, he said:

"Way to quickly switch topics. I guess I have been doing well, actually. But it still doesn't take away the fact that I really have nothing to do at home, so good thing you asked me to meet you here. I usually spend my time in Diagonal Alley or Hogsmeade, since there really isn't anything else to do. Huh, now that I think about it, I was offered to be an apprentice just like you, and I had to give an answer today. I know I will accept it, though. Expect me spending even more time in potions."

It wasn't even close to a joke the amount of time he spent on potions in his everyday life. He wondered all the time about how he would do at potions class, already hoping to achieve N.E.W.T in potions. When he wasn't walking around in the Diagonal Alley, he was probably home with his face covered under a potions or transfiguration book.

"Sorry, sorry." Apollo replied, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "I don't really enjoy talking about my issues, that's all. I appreciate your advice, though, mate. Really."

It didn't surprise Apollo at all that Brice was planning on taking an apprenticeship, himself. Many students their age had decided to do so, if only to have something to do with their summer. It meant getting out of the house for Apollo, and apparently the same thing for Brice. Hardly surprising, as they had similar qualities between the two of them.

"I'm glad for you, then!" Apollo smiled, glad someone had it better than he did. Reaching over, he patted Brice's shoulder good-naturedly before settling back into his chair. "At least one of us knows where he belongs. Maybe I should have gone into a potions apprenticeship before a medical one, eh? Might have gotten it right in the end."

Shrugging, Apollo took another drink from his glass. "If you were offered the position, I'm guessing you know who you'll be studying under?"

Brice nodded, barely paying attention. He had been thinking about a couple things. He was wondering who else he could meet. He was starting to turn himself away from socializing, the one thing he did better. The best way to fix that, he thought, was to make new friends. He had to find them, and he recently discovered that maybe he wasn't as worst as before. He remembered Amber first, and thought about where she would be. He realized what he was doing and turned his head to Apollo again.

"I'm going to study with Lorcan from the Apothecary. He offered it to me when I showed interest in potions while buying a new knife. I personally like him, he even tried to sell me an valuable knife for the price of a cheap one. I wonder if he found the pouch with galleons I his in his store."

After that he started spinning the ring of his family on his finger. He was daydreaming once again. He started thinking about constantly daydreaming, ironically. He thought of his old "Dreamer" nickname and how it still worked to the day.