"Good luck with it, hope you can. Maybe one day you'll be a famous author, and I can be all proud and say I knew you before you were famous." Albus said, laughing a bit. "If you are going to dream, dream big right?"

"Maybe, I'm sure you'll be good." A thought clearly struck Gabrielle, and when she told him he smiled widely. "That sounds like a lot of fun, I'm game if you are. Haven't been dancing in ages." He wasn't quite sure if she was serious or not, but it did sound like a good time.

"Oh, well that's understandable." Gabrielle looked like she felt bad, and he smiled to let her know it was okay. She has really beautiful eyes, they look kind. Her cheeks pinked a little bit. "That blush is adorable, makes you look even prettier." Then he realized what he'd just told her. Oh, no, please don't hate me for saying that.

"I'll be sure to write a note about you if I ever become famous. 'To Albus Fenwick, the one who read this story when I was a nobody'." Gabrielle read her idea with shining eyes, seeing it play out already. "That's what dreams are for. For you to think as largely as possible."

Gabrielle shrugged. "I've been told I can dance well, but that's strictly for when I'm lonely and sad and in my pajamas, dancing like a lunatic around my house." She laughed again. She was laughing a lot at herself, mainly because she had never told anyone this much about herself, staying so comfortable. It was a gift and a curse. If she said a bad thing, Albus may think of her differently. "Set a date and I'll be there." Gabrielle promised in all seriousness. But, the childish glee glinted in her eye was returning.

Gabrielle smiled again, a bit too widely, showing her canines. A shot of warmth spread through her body, which Gabrielle could only take as a hazy sense of euphoria. "Why, thank you." She winked to show him it was alright. "Nobody has ever told me that before." She bit her lip, questioning if he ment it or not.

"Ah yes, that will make me feel all special. I'll make sure you don't get too big of a head when you're famous." he said in a teasing tone. Her eyes were shining at the idea of being a famous writer. "I completely agree with you, part of me always wanted to be a rock star."

"Dancing like a lunatic when you're sad and lonely, I'll have to try that sometime. Good way to take your mind off of it." Albus chuckled a bit at the idea of Gabrielle dancing in her pajamas. "What do you think about Saturday night, eight o'clock, at Crazy Cauldron's Nightclub?" he asked.

She smiled widely, and he was glad that he'd spoken up. Warmth blossomed deep in his chest, he hadn't felt that way in a long time. "You are most welcome." Then his eyebrows raised incredulously. "That's hard to believe, you are beautiful, really. I can't believe I'm actually telling you that I think you are, but it's true." Albus stared at her as he said it, so she would know he was serious.

"Never! That sucks the fun out of everything." Gabrielle couldn't help but tease back. It was just so much simpler to joke around with Albus, more natural. Nothing forced out, just saying whatever they needed to. "Then do it! Why not?" Gabrielle was one of those people who, if they have an idea, they take it and morph it into their own. Hence, why she writes and does abstract art that no one appreciates. She does it for her own happiness.

"I say let's do it!" Gabrielle shook her head in laughter, covering her face. "I'm a terrible dancer. I'll embarrass the both of us." She set her hands on the table, and cleared her throat. But the amusement still showed on her face, and she didn't mind at all.

"I actually really appreciate you telling me this. I never really thought of myself as attractive, you see." Gabrielle felt Albus staring at her, so she stared into his eyes. He had kind eyes, but always a look of pain. His demeanor seemed to shift into something warm, but she couldn't tell. Maybe she was imagining it out of her own happiness.

"Haha, so it does. Glad you will stay down to earth." Albus was really enjoying himself, it was so easy to joke with her. They barely knew each other, but they already got along great. At least he thought they did, he wasn't sure what she thought. "Alright! I'll try it, but only if you help me with lyrics. You are a writer after all, maybe you can help me." Most of the time the lyrics came to him pretty easily, but it would be nice to have help.

"Awesome, this is going to be so much fun." She burst out laughing, and he joined her. "I'm a terrible dancer as well, we can shock everybody with how awesomely bad we are. You won't embarrass me in the least." Albus reassured her. Dancing was not his forte, as she would find out.

It was unbelievable that Gabrielle had never thought of herself as attractive, he thought she was beautiful. "Glad I told you, because you are most definitely attractive. Normally I don't have the guts to tell a girl that." Flirting with women was not his strong suit, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it. He smiled at her, "I'm really glad I bumped into you Gabrielle."

"Where else would I go?" Gabrielle asked questionably. "You want to get rid of me, don't you?" She asked with wide eyes, a pout forming on her face. "Of course I'll help with it! How different are the two, really?" She was getting rather excited. Of course, she was always excited about things. It was her personality.

"I really don't think there's a word for how bad of a dancer I am. Just so you know what you're getting yourself into." Gabrielle was being completely serious. "But at least we'd put on a good show." She really couldn't wait to see what would happen.

"Then I must be different." Gabrielle didn't know if it was a good different or a bad different, but she found herself hoping it was a good different. "I'm glad as well. It's been fun." Actually, more fun than she's had in a while. It felt good to laugh again, and not be stressed like she normally was.

"I don't know, Mars?" Albus asked, smiling at her. Then she asked if he wanted to get rid of her, and he immediately turned serious. "Of course I don't want to get rid of you, I barely know you but I am already enjoying myself more than I have in ages." It was surprising to Albus how easy it was for him to talk with her. "Awesome, and they aren't if you think about it." he agreed.

Now he was really curious to see her dance, it would be interesting. "Don't worry, I'm every bit as bad. As long as I'm having fun though I'm good, and I normally do." Dancing was always a freeing experience if you let yourself go, just not care about what other people would think about you. "Yes, yes we will. I must say I'm quite looking forward to this."

He nodded his head, smiling. "You are different, in a good way. For some reason I already feel comfortable talking to you, it's quite nice, really." Albus couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed conversing with somebody. "It really has been, can't remember the last time I had this much fun to be perfectly honest."

"You must not know a lot of people then. I'm not the funnest person to be around, you see." Gabrielle didn't know why Albus seemed to like her so. She liked him a lot, sure. But him liking her? Hmmm. It was questionable.

"It'll be a memorable experience." By far, the most entertaining for Gabrielle. "It'll be fun." She promised with a grin. She was getting excited. Wow Gab, you're getting excited! But it's not a date. It's just two friends dancing. Gabrielle frowned at the thought. Did she want it to be a date? "As am I." Gabrielle replied, a bit too flushed in the face to pass nonchalance.

"Really?" Gabrielle asked curiously. "Well, that's how I feel towards you as well. If that answers anything you were wondering about." She didn't know why she admitted it, but she was glad she did. "Then that makes two of us. Wow, do we have a lot in common or what?" She joked with a teasing smile on her face. Though, there was always seriousness in her jokes. There was a serious look in her eyes.

"I work at Hogwarts, there are other teachers there. Don't say that, you are too fun to be around Gabby. I know I don't know you that well, but I really like you.You don't mind me calling you that do you?" Why would she say that? She seems like a great person to me.

Imagining her silly dancing made him chuckle a little bit, "It most definitely will. Images of silly dancing are already going through my head." This was going to be a great time, and Albus was already excited about it. What's with the frown, does she not want to go? Part of him was telling him to ask her on a date, but if she didn't want to go then that was very disappointing. When her face flushed he knew something was up. "Okay Gabrielle, what's with the frown and the flushed face?"

"Yes really, why is it so hard for you to believe that?" he asked. Albus laughed, "I must admit I was wondering a bit what you thought about me."He would make sure to spend a lot of time with her in the future. "If having the fact we like spending time with each other in common it could be worse." Gabrielle had a serious look about her, and he kind of wanted to ask her to change their friendly dance to a date. When was the last time I asked a girl out? He looked at the table, and blushed a bit. "Do, I mean...would you like to have our dance be a date Gabrielle? I, I really like you a lot." Why do I always blush when I do something like this? She must think I'm weird.

"Not at all. It probably suits me better, Gabrielle is long and too formal." Gabrielle did like the way it sounded when Albus said it though. Normally she didn't really prefer nick names. "Teachers seem alright. Did I tell you I've been planning on being the Healer for Durmstrang? It's probably better money than my local little paper thing." She shifted in her seat, fluffing her hair out. Why she mentioned it then, she didn't know.

"They better include me looking stunning, yet being an idiot." Gabrielle teased with a wink. It was a simple joke, but she didn't want him to think that she was a complete stick in the mud. "You caught it, huh?" Gabrielle wrinkled her nose. "Don't worry about it. The moment's over and done." She reassured with a wave of her hand. Seeing a waiter having mugs of butterbeer, she quickly swiped one and took a large drink out of it.

"Oh, Albus I think you're lovely!" Gabrielle choked mid sentence, causing her a coughing fit. Drinking a few sips, her coughing ceased. "Well at least we have that." She didn't know if he ment it good or bad, so she inspected her hands, which seemed quite small with the large mug. She once again found herself smiling a bit too wide again. "Sure, I mean, of course! I like you a lot too." She saw him blushing, and felt her face go hotter than it probably was.

"Alright, cool, I'll still use Gabrielle sometimes though. It is a beautiful name, suits you." Nick names were nice to have for longer names, and hers was a bit long to say all the time. "Yea, what's cool though is one of the teachers has her adorable kids there sometimes. I love seeing them, they are just too cute for words. No you didn't, that's great." Albus frowned a little bit, it was a good job, but he would miss her if she left. To be honest he anybody to talk to. He was trying to remedy that, but she was the first friend he had made in a long time.

"Well of course they include you looking stunning, it couldn't be any other way Gabrielle." he said, smiling at her."Yes I did, but I won't press it if you don't want to tell me what it was about. That nose wrinkle is adorable." Albus swiped a butterbeer as well, his throat was a little dry from all the talking.

"It's the hair isn't it?" Albus asked jokingly, and flipped it back. Then he burst out laughing. "I could not do that with a straight face. You okay there, you were choking a bit." Gabrielle always looked indifferent when he was trying to say something nice. "It's a good thing having all that in common Gabby." he reassured her."Really?" Albus was surprised. "I'm a little surprised, wasn't sure if you did or not to be honest. I'm not the kind of guy girls usually go for. That blush of yours is beautiful."

"Well, thank you. I'll be sure to tell my mother a boy found me attractive because of my name." Gabrielle smiled at him with a teasing glint in her eye. Oh, how easy it was to joke and not feel stupid after. "Thank you." Gabrielle smiled once again, but it faltered as she saw him frown. "If I take it, I'll visit." She promised quietly, looking at the butterbeer in her hands.

"You're too kind, you know that Albus? I'm surprised you don't have a girlfriend." Gabrielle was happy that he didn't of course. But she was shocked. He was so sweet! Definitely not like the other guys she had met. "I'm just adorable all the way around. What can I say? It's hard being this attractive." She pretended to be quite dramatic, but she rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, I can't be like that." She had a small grin on her face.

"Of course. You read my mind." Gabrielle laughed along with him. She was shocked. Of course girls would want to be with him! He was too nice to not have someone. "Well, I like you." Gabrielle placed a hand on his again. "Thank you." She looked down at the table, if it was even possible, feeling redder than ever.

"She'll be so proud of herself. I bet just as soon as she saw you she picked the prettiest name she could think of." Albus teased back, laughing, and he winked at her. joking with her came so naturally, it was a good feeling. He let out the breath he'd been holding. "You'd better, I would be pretty lonely without you around." he admitted. Hopefully he would start to get to know more of the teachers at Hogwarts, make some friends.

"There is no such thing as being too kind. To be honest I haven't tried to get one since Isabella's death, I didn't want to risk my heart again. Now is the first time I feel healed enough to try, it's still hard, but it I am a lot better from where I was. He didn't want to get his heart broken like he had with her death, but he was ready to take a risk. It was better than going through life lonely. "I must admit you are, and it must be. Wouldn't know what that's like though." Her attempt at being dramatic cracked him up. "That's fine with me." Dramatic girls could get annoying at times.

Albus pumped his fist in the air. "Knew it, normally I am terrible at guessing what girls are thinking." He could tell she thought it shocking that most girls didn't like him, and it made him grin. "Glad that you do." he said, relieved a bit. When she placed her hand on his, he laced his fingers through hers. "You're welcome Gabby."

Gabrielle shrugged, a laugh playing around the corners of her mouth. "Maybe. I am her only daughter." Which reminded her of Noah. She probably needed to talk to him, which panged her. They hadn't talked since she graduated from Hogwarts. Hoping the worry didn't show on her face, she straightened up. "You'll have your teaching friends. But, just remember, I'm the special one." She lightened up the situation with a lighthearted wink.

"That's a terrible thing someone did to you, and I apologize. The fact that you're still trying to stay strong impresses me beyond anything." Gabrielle never had to deal with heartache, and she could only imagine the pain he went through. Maybe she couldn't, she didn't know.

"Hey, you read my mind!" Gabrielle threw her hands up, showing she was clean. She looked down at their fingers entwined, and she felt her heart race up. Am I having a heart attack? She asked herself, quite confused. This never happened to her before.

"I'm an only child. My mom is always bugging me to find a girl and make grandchildren, I always tell her to be patient." Something crossed Gabrielle's mind just then, a slightly pained look came across her features. "Are you alright?" Albus asked sincerely. He laughed a bit, and smiled at her. "Yes, you are definitely the special one." Albus admitted, winking back at her.

Getting over her was hard, well, moving on, he would never be fully over her. Still though, the human spirit always rallied, you just had to keep up hope. "Thanks, I appreciate the sentiment. I've always been an optimist, I thought she and I would...well, it's in the past now. I can't change what happened, just do the best I can now. Every cloud has a silver lining. Besides, some people have had it tougher than I did, at least I had my family." They had been what kept him going for the first couple months after, and were always ready to talk with him when he needed them. His parents were great, they were always cheerful.

"Surprised I was able to do that to be honest. Guess I can guess what you are thinking." he said, laughing. She was a pretty funny girl, and loved to have fun. His heart was racing a bit, and he let it run.This is going to be weird having these feelings again, get used to it. Suddenly Gabby looked confused, what was wrong now? "You look confused, I know grabbing your hand was a little forward. I can take it away if you want." he offered. A little hurt by her reaction.

Gabrielle was a little bit shocked. "To be completely fair, I don't think my mum cares. She doesn't really push things like that on me." That's why Gabrielle admired her so much. She just let things happen. Doesn't try to change anything. "I was just thinking of my brother is all. Nothing wrong." She waved it off and smiled, signaling she didn't want to talk about the subject anymore. It was a touchy subject for Gabrielle, Noah. He could be doing anything.

"That's what families do. They're there for you. The good times and bad." Gabrielle really did feel bad about what happened. But he had said it, the past was in the past. Nothing either one of them could do to change it. Which was unfortunate, but that was life.

"Or I'm just easy to read." Gabrielle shrugged, pulling her hair out of her eyes. It was getting rather long, and she probably needed a trim. But she loved the curls, which she didn't want to let go of. "No, it's not that." Gabrielle squeezed his hand lightly. "I liked it. I just..." She cut herself off and sighed heavily. "I've never really had these feelings before. I never needed to." Gabrielle bit her lip, waiting for an answer. Way to go. He's going to think you're strange.

"That must be nice, I mean I don't mind it that much really. But sometimes I wish she would just go with the flow a little more. Your mom sounds pretty nice." he said. It was good to have cool parents as a role model. Albus knew his mom cared, he was looking forward to starting a family as well to be honest. "Oh, okay then." He recognized that it was a touchy subject, maybe she would bring it up once he got to know her better.

"Yea, it's true. When you have problems they are there for you to fall back on." He could tell she felt bad for him, and he was surprised she cared so much. They didn't know each other that well yet to be honest. "What kind of music do you like to listen to? Also, what's your favorite color?" Albus asked. A favorite color was a question that had no importance really? Just an interesting thing to know.

"Haha, that could be it." he admitted, shrugging. She pulled her hair out of her eyes, and he looked at it. It was curly, and he really liked it. "I like your hair by the way Gabrielle. Oh, I thought it was me." he said, relieved that it wasn't him. Albus just smiled and squeezed her hand back. "That's alright, it is weird at first. I kind of find it sweet actually, and it makes me feel...well, special. Being the first guy you've had feelings for. Honestly am surprised you haven't been snatched up yet, you are a great girl." She is a sweetheart, isn't she?

"I adore my mother. I want to be like her when I grow up." Gabrielle paused, and laughed at her statement. "I suppose I'm already grown up!" She frowned, and put a horrified look on her face. "I must be old!" She pretended to pass out from the shock.

"I listen in indie music. It's a guilty pleasure of mine that I don't normally tell people about." Gabrielle admitted with a small blush forming on her face. "But I feel comfortable telling you, so don't feel too bad." She knew he probably didn't care, but she didn't mind. "And my favorite color is periwinkle. What's yours?" Periwinkle was a strange color, but what could Gabrielle say? She was a strange girl indeed.

"You like my hair?" Gabrielle asked with a puzzled expression on her face. "I'm not that great, really. I'm being honest." Why was he so nice to me? He deserves someone better than me. Gabrielle felt herself blush, shaking her head.



OOC: Oh man, this was terrible! 9 days without posting and this happens.... Sorry!

"I adore mine as well, but most people do if you think about it. Who wouldn't love their mom?" he asked her jokingly. "Just because you are our age doesn't mean you are grown up, we can still act immature if we want to." It was easy to play along with her, she was a riot. "Nonsense, what are you, eighteen at the most?"

He nodded, delaying his response because it appeared she was a bit self-conscious about liking Indie music. Then he smiled and winked at her, chuckling. "We have more in common than I thought, I like Indie music as well. Though I'd have to say my favorite is probably alternative or rock and roll." Gabrielle's cheeks pinked up, and he loved the sight. "Glad you feel comfortable telling me, you don't have to hide anything, just be yourself." His favorite color, it was such a hard choice, they were all brilliant. "Periwinkle, excellent choice, I'm going to have to go with burnt orange." Albus knew what Periwinkle looked like, even though other people might not know.

"Yes I do." For some reason Gabrielle couldn't take a compliment without a shocked look, and it saddened him a bit that a simple compliment puzzled her. Albus simply stared right at her to let her know he meant every word. "You may not think so, but you are. I always knew it would take somebody amazing to push me back into the dating game, and then I met you. Trust me on this, you are." Why is it always the nicest girls who end up with self-esteem issues? That always bugged me, and it always will.

OOC: I'm just glad I can post with you, and I liked it. So there! Take that.

"Crazy people!" Gabrielle shouted, covering her mouth. "I would hope that people would act immature. Your twenties are your stupid years." She felt like that, as she watched people grow up boringly. She laughed, shaking her head. "How'd you know?!" Gabrielle joked easily with him back.

"I like music like that, but I like things with a good beat I guess. Indie just makes me feel more upbeat." Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Burnt orange reminds me of a sunset. I like that." She knew it was stupid, but she didn't think that he would mind.

"Hmm. Maybe I shouldn't brush it more often. I literally did nothing to look good today." Gabrielle admitted. "You're too kind to me, you know that? I appreciate it, I really do." She was really glad he felt the same way she did, it comforted her.

Albus was a bit surprised when Gabby shouted, but he found it a little bit funny. "Glad you love your mom, still, try to keep an indoor voice. Or, at least give me a warning next time, please. I wouldn't care, but I have a slight headache at the moment." He didn't mind the odd looks people were giving them, he did have a little pressure right above his eyes though. That made him laugh a bit. "I would have gone with adolescence, then twenties personally, that's just me though." She really was a quick thinker, it was...refreshing. "Well you look young enough to be a year out of Hogwarts." he admitted simply.

"Interesting, that's a good explanation of why you like it. I can tell you're a writer, you're excellent at getting a point across clearly and succinctly." It seemed like none of her words were wasted, which was a real talent. A huge smile came across his face. "That's precisely what makes it my favorite color, I love watching sunsets, and it's just a happy color in my opinion. So bright and vibrant, just makes me smile for some reason. A lot like you in that regard."

"Maybe, to be honest though, I don't care. It's nice to meet a girl our age who is willing to just go out like themself. Some girls spend way too much time getting ready to go, even if it is just to the grocery store or something. Besides, you don't have to try to look good, it comes naturally for you." Albus told her with a wink. "One, you're my girlfriend, so I'm supposed to be kind to you. Two, I like being kind to people. Three, well three's a bit of a selfish reason, I like seeing you smile. Which you do sometimes when I compliment you. You're welcome, though." He blushed a little bit, she was perfect for him, and he was beginning to realize it. Not that he would tell her that, at least not yet, Albus didn't want to scare her off.

"You're flattering me, of course." Gabrielle took that opportunity to be very dramatic, flipping her hair behind her shoulders. "I think I look well for my age. But I'm not sure. I have only seen myself in pictures and mirrors. I've never seen how people see me, just how I look." It was a long winded explanation that even Gabrielle couldn't follow. Sometimes she just got into those long rants that no one understood.

Gabrielle shrugged it off. "Hey, I try." She played with a spoon on the table, watching the lighting catch the metal and reflect on things. Gabrielle found herself smiling as well, and she rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure if you're teasing me or not, but I appreciate it."

"Gee, thanks. I mean, I get that all the time." Gabrielle joked sarcastically. She never heard that compliment. "Girlfriend?" She asked surprised, blinking. Her eyebrows shot up her head, a quizzical expression on her face, her eyes unreadable. She saw him blushing and Gabrielle knew he really liked her, and for some reason, she found herself thanking the fact that she was born a klutz.

"Think what you like, Gabby." he shrugged. Then his jaw dropped to the floor when she flipped her hair back. "Wow...umm, what were we talking about?" It was unfair how she could just completely throw his brain into a funk just by doing that.

She was always just blowing off whenever he was telling her honestly what he thought, and it was kind of sad. Did she really not think of herself as a great person? "Yeah, I suppose you do." he agreed, not really knowing what else to say. Then she started playing with the spoon, and it made him chuckle a bit. "The spoon is more interesting to you than me it seems." Again, blowing off a compliment, Albus knew it would take time though for her to start to believe how great she was. "No, I wasn't teasing you Gabrielle, that's honestly what I think."

"That's not what I meant, I just meant you don't need anything like makeup to look beautiful. You'd be beautiful even waking up with a crazy bed-head in my opinion. At least I would imagine you would be." he shrugged, blushing a little bit. "Oh, wait, you never actually said you wanted to date did you. I mean, going on a date is one thing, but that's like the test. Guess I just jumped to conclusions. I...I understand if you don't want to be my girlfriend." Albus choked out. He flushed a bright red, and stared at the table. You are an idiot, Albus.

Gabrielle laughed. "Don't tell me my little stunt amazed you that much!" She did like the fact that he seemed into her. Hell, she was into him. Which both worried and amazed her, feeling feelings to about another person, and said person felt the same way.

"You're quite interesting, I just assumed you were bored of me." Gabrielle didn't know why she always assumed that, but she did. The conversation she was having was probably the longest she had had in years. Was it embarrassing? Of course! But it was with someone she enjoyed, which made it better.

"Well, you can consider this my bed head. What do you think?" Gabrielle had a fit of laughter she was keeping back. She just wanted to see Albus get flustered again, as it was cute and funny to her. Upon her question, Albus did get flustered, and Gabrielle, upon instinct, reached out and cupped his face in her hand. Inspecting his face with her head cocked to the side, she leaned in to kiss him. That's all it was - Just a kiss. Pulling back and dropping her hand, it was Gabrielle's turn to be red in the face.

"You clearly have no idea the effect you can have on men Gabrielle. Because, it did." Albus said seriously, and then chuckled a little bit. It was odd, having feelings for somebody again. He forgot how much it felt like a roller-coaster, where things are both exciting and scary at the same time.

Now that was a shocking answer, and it worried him a bit. "I'm not going to get bored of you. You're a person with feelings, and I am going to treat you as such. Not just going to ditch you when I get bored. That's not right in my opinion." She needed to know that he wasn't the kind of guy who would do something like that. They definitely had chemistry though, which made him grin a bit.

Albus looked at her with his hand on his chin, as if thinking about it. "Looks splendid, absolutely delightful." He burst out laughing as well, he could not do that with a straight face.

Out of nowhere, Gabrielle started staring at him. Then she reached out her hand and cupped his cheek. When she started to lean in, he was just frozen in shock. Once he felt the touch of her lips on hers though, his nerves began to feel all tingly. He kissed her back a little bit, and then she pulled away from him. She started blushing a deep red, and he had a huge grin on his face. "Gabrielle, that was the best kiss that...well, that I've ever had." he told her honestly. "I take it that the kiss means you want to be my girlfriend?" Albus raised his eyebrow, just to make doubly sure.