Deva walked in through the gates of the maze. She wasn't feeling so good as of late, and found that a walk would be good for her. It had somehow lead her to the serpensortia maze. She looked at the many ways one could go and decided that it was time to get lost. The feelings of being back to Hogwarts without anyone knowing who she truly was, was weighing her down greatly. The meeting with Pyxis in the Three Broomsticks had topped it all off.

She sighed and turned a right and a left and then three rights and then stopped. She was memorizing her way without her intending to. She rolled her eyes and then strolled on along. When she met a dead end, she turned and took the quickest way out of it. She then found that she was truly and utterly lost. She felt a smile break her features; now she had something new to handle.

The world had changed so much in her perspective. She couldn't tell anyone who she was, and after a series of glamour spells made permanent, changing the struckture of her face and eyes, she knew no one would recognize her. She had kept her red hair, though. Something had to stay the way she used to look.

She rounded a new corner and found herself in yet another dead end. But now she had been walking for some hours and decided to sit down, thought not until she found one of the benches stationed around here. When she finally did, she fell down on it with an exasperated look on her face. She was glad she was back at Hogwarts, but it also brought back so many good memories that she could never regain, never even talk about. It made every fiber in her body ache.

During her meeting with Pyxis, Parker had come up as a subject. It had hurt to think about him, to know that he was so far away, and that she might never see him again. She hated that feeling. Parker had been one of her very closest friends, and the thought of not meeting him again and sharing the memories they once had broke something inside of her. And she knew that even if she did meet him again, the feeling wouldn't leave her, because she wouldn't be Haley anymore. Never again.

Deva groaned. She had left the castle to get some clean air and to settle her emotions, and this was what she was thinking about. She clenched her teeth and willed her mind to relax. She drew her feet up under her and started to meditate, like she had done so many times in Divination. With Parker. Stop it! her mind screamed at her. Then she relaxed again and soon she could feel so many presences in the maze drifting around her.

Parker was finding his time back here to be a real difficulty for him. Hardly any time had passed since he took his position and already seven years worth of weight had been reloaded back onto his shoulders with every step he took in those great corridors of the castle. The thing now though was that he was no longer confined to the walls of the grounds, at least not until school actually started, even though that was where he was currently staying.

One afternoon, after mulling about and resetting up the Hospital wing to his liking. He needed fresh air, fresher than that of the Scottish landscape which Hogwarts had been surrounded with. He'd never taken a proper trip out to the London, or any other place in Britain other than King's cross or St. Mungo's for training. So he decided maybe that was what he needed. It'd be like getting away the first time, but only for a short time. While he'd thought about giving up before he even began, he was still not finished with his training, and he'd not let down his superiors.

Out side of the bounds of Hogwarts he had in his mind a nice, calming place he could go to to lose himself for a bit. He apparated, which probably wasn't a good idea considering he didn't know where he wanted to go exactly, but he'd made it through just fine with no splinching. He sighed at the realization his vague-idea-apparation skills were getting better.

He noticed himself at the gates to what seemed to be a large maze. He smiled a bit at the literal idea his mind took to losing himself. It'd been a while since he'd taken a real walk, other than around the corridors of St. Mungo's, rushing from room to room, so it was perfect. He closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath as he walked into the maze. He let his magic loosely feel around him, so he could continue to walk with his eyes closed but not know where he was going exactly without running into the sides of the bush maze.

He walked like that for what seemed like a long time, his hands in the pockets of his too big coat, his eyes closed. He felt himself slipping into an almost meditative state, which he'd improved at over the years of working at such a high stress place where he wasn't allowed to much sleep. It re-charged him and could keep him working efficiently during his double shifts. With his fellow trainees, dragging their feet behind him in a sleepy haze.

He smiled a bit at the seemingly far off memories of sitting in that class with professor Slytherin. He let his thoughts wander also to Haley, whom he'd bonded with over the meditation back then. He continued to walk, hardly feeling the change in the magic around him as he walked by the bench someone had been sitting on. His thoughts having drifted to some other times back at school, a frown was settled on his features.

Deva continued to feel the presence of the magic around her. She continued to block her mind, and considering how hard she had worked on legilimens and the like, before, during and after Hogwarts, she was doing a good job at it. But then a presence disturbed her mind.

She opened her eyes slightly, and she was shocked to see a person walking around the corner. Then everything stopped. Time stopped, the world stopped, nothing worked. Thinking of the Devil and he shall arrive. Judging by the way his face was still the same, the way he still walked, the way his eyes shone. It was Parker. Parker freaking Emery.

Her throat went completely dry, and the oxygen left her lungs. She wanted to jump up and throw herself around his neck, yelling all the joys of the world. But she couldn't. She couldn't move from the spot. She hadn't even met him before. But she needed to talk to him. She had to. She couldn't let him just pass her by.

When she tried to find a way to start a conversation, keeping her mind slow and peaceful, she noticed how he was frowning. He seemed deep in thought. He seemed to be meditating while walking. Deva couldn't help a small smile. Then she figured that she was in a maze.

"Excuse me, sir? I think I'm lost. I've been here for hours... Do you know the way out?" she asked him.

She was lost, of course, but getting out was easy. It was easy because one could just meditate and find the path they had walked on and which gave them their freedom, but she wasn't about to say so. She believed the maze also held a non-apparation system. She wasn't sure about that though.

Parker was trying to keep his mind from delving back to his final year which, every time he actually had a moment to think, was what his mind always clinged onto. As much as he wanted to move on from the past, his abrupt leaving of it may have ingrained it into his mind even more. He tried to stop thinking, and instead tried to concentrate on getting lost in his trance and in this maze.

Out of nowhere a voice called out, snapping him right out of his state. His eyes snapped open, and he spun around with a start. His hand had flung out of his coat pocket and pushed his coat aside from his hip, reaching to his belt, his fingers brushing over his wand.

He let out the breath he sucked in, seeing a woman sitting on a bench, her magic now obvious to him. How had he not noticed her when he walked by?? A skilled legilimens? He lowered his hand, nervously sticking it back into his coat pocket, looking down. "I'm so sorry." He glanced up at her, giving a half-hearted smile. "Reflex, you know."

Gaining awareness for his surroundings, he took a look around, shrugging, and putting on his best friendly facade he used when working with his patients. "I think I'm in the same boat as you. Perhaps we find our way out of here together?"

He tried to keep his friendly smile as he inwardly groaned. He'd not had a proper interaction with anyone outside those of St. Mungo's in what felt like forever. He found it to make him acutely anxious at this very moment. She'd asked for his help though, and he was more then happy to assist.

Deva felt herself smile as Parker instantly grabbed for his wand when he heard her talk. He seemed to have been real deep in thought, or maybe he had just not noticed her during his meditation, due to herself meditating and letting her magic flow everywhere so it was undetectable.

Then he apologized. Deva shook her head.

"No, not at all. It's only natural to be cautious these days. I'm sorry for startling you," she said softly.

This was weird. Talking to Parker as if she didn't know him. It felt like a sick and twisted lie.

Deva then smiled and rose slowly from the bench. "Yeah, two heads are better than one," she said kindly, "I'm Deva, by the way, Deva White."

When they started walking the path he'd come from, Deva shot some sideways glances at him. It was so weird. She had practically grown up with this guy, and she couldn't tell him who she was. It truly hurt her, but she ignored the feeling like on so many occasions if she happened to bump into one of her old friends in Diagon Alley or something. She'd just find some random reason to talk to them and find out how they were doing. She was glad that so many of them were okay.

Then she sighed inwardly and tried to find a question suitable to ask a supposed stranger. "So, what do you do for a living?" she asked him in a healthyly curious manner. Truth was she was beyond curious; she needed to know.

Then she found that this was beyond weird. This was fake, and she didn't like it.

Parker felt a little embarrassed at his jumpiness when she smiled at him a little. He hadn't been scared so easily since school, usually because he didn't allow himself to be caught so off guard. This was no longer the busy hospital though, where he really couldn't allow himself to get lost in thought. He thought he'd finally move on, but now given the time to brood, he found his thoughts constantly revolving around the past.

He 'hmm'ed in agreement. "Certainly doesn't hurt to be a bit...overly cautious, I suppose." He cleared his throat and shook his head. "Oh, no, don't be sorry. It's my own fault. Really."

He took a deep breath as she stood up and walked over, introducing herself. He smiled politely. "Well, nice to meet you Miss White. Or is is Mrs?" He asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Oh, and me?" he thought for a brief moment. "I'm...no one important." He said simply. He wasn't. Not in his mind. And here, he figured he could really be pretty much anyone. To his knowledge, she didn't know who he was, so he could try to bask in his supposed anonymity a little longer if she allowed.

He bit at the inside of his cheek as they began to walk the way he came from. He kept his eyes straight ahead, even when he noticed her glance at him. He felt his little wall he'd put up drop a bit as he sighed, his face growing serious. When she asked what he did, he looked at her, his eyes bright, a real smile coming to his face. "I'm nearly done with my Healer training."

He looked ahead again, proud in himself that he'd soon be able to call himself a true Healer. His hard work and turmoil in school really paid off for something, and being able to get through that and reach his ambition was the most amazing feeling. "What about you? What do you do?" He asked back, knowing it the polite thing to respond with.

Deva shrugged. "Then none of us should apologize. I take no offense in someone pointing their wand at me when I startle them, that would be foolish, as long as they don't shout a spell in the meantime," she said softly.

Deva shook her head. "It's Ms," she said with a soft smile, "But when I meet strangers in a maze that will walk with me to find the exit, I allow them to call me Deva," she said, winking at him.

Fury boiled in Deva when he said he was no one, but she suppressed it as best as she could, though she might not have been quick enough. She wanted to grab his arm and push him into one of the tall bushes. "No one important?!" she wanted to shout, "You're Parker Emery, my best friend!" Of course, she refrained from doing so.

"Nobody's not important. Everyone has their value," she said instead, "But if you do not wish to give me your name right now, I won't nag. However, I want you to tell me before we part," she added seriously.

Then she took a breath and let it out slowly. How on earth could Parker still think he was unimportant? He had been rather insecure at school, though she thought it had gotten better in the last few years of Hogwarts. But no, here he was, proclaiming how unimportant he was.

But then a smile spread on his face. A real one at that. He then told her he was nearly done with learning to become a Healer. Deva couldn't stop a beam from her face. So the hard work in the infirmary at school had paid off? She was so happy at that second and she wanted to hug him and congratulate him. She really didn't like that it was so hard to hide her emotions. But she then pressed them to the back of her head as a skilled legilimens.

"A Healer? Well, that sounds great!" she said happily.

She then smiled. "I just applied for a job as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, as well as being Head of Gryffindor," she said, suddenly feeling very happy that she was back at Hogwarts. After all it had been her life.

"But as a Healer? Do you work in St. Mungo's?" she asked curiously.

"I'm not usually so easily startled, believe it or not. And...you know, I'd certainly hope there's no one out there they would fire off a spell so carelessly." He added, trying to be conversational.

"Ah, Deva then, excuse me." he added with a light, joking tone, though he looked away uncomfortably when she winked at him. He cleared his throat, glancing at her as he briefly felt something shift a bit between them. "I'd like to stay no one for a little longer though. But I've gotta disagree with you...there's so many people in the world. Doing the same things, desiring the same things, so how could every single little person in this whole world matter?"

He shrugged, not caring too much if it sounded pessimistic or down right depressing. He felt it was true, and he felt he may have been one of those people that, at least at this point in his life, could...slip away without a single person caring or noticing and he'd felt like that for many years now.

Parker could see the joy in her face, and he smiled a little bit more, a bit glad someone seemed to appreciate the hard work it took. With hearing about her taking a position at Hogwarts his eyebrows rose and he'd nearly stopped walking. "You're kidding! You went to Hogwarts? Really?"

"I, you know-" he words quickened a bit, "the final end of our training is to fulfill a residency. Most people take up the positions at St. Mungo's or smaller hospitals. I-I actually took the spot at Hogwarts Healer! That's weird, isn't it? Small world." His smile faced a bit and he concealed a creeping panic. He wracked his brain for a Deva, and nothing came to mind. He let out a breath, feeling slightly calmed that they had apparently not known each other before.

Deva nodded with a chuckled. "You got that right. It would be awful if someone ended up hurting their friends with some random curse," she said solemnly.

She smiled as he agreed to call her Deva, but the smile quickly vanished upon his reasoning of why he wanted to be anonymous. She hadn't thought about it, but she vividly disagreed. She thought about how to say so, though, and after a second, she sighed.

"Well, there might be similar people in the world, but come now, don't forget how large the world is. Yes, 7 billion people lives here, but though one may yearn the same, one person doesn't have all of the same meanings another has. Not even twins have that. There will always be some tiny little twist that makes the person differ from another. And that's why I think everyone is important in some way," she said softly.

She shook her head. "No, I didn't go to Hogwarts," she lied.

She had to lie. If she told him, and she let something slip that he had never really said to Deva, but to Haley, and he found out how old she was, it wouldn't be so hard to place a redhead who knew too much and was as old as him under a girl who had vanished from the face of the earth.

"I went to a smaller school up north. Not Durmstrang, though, a much smaller one," she said calmly, "But I lived in England for a while, being an auror in the Ministry of Magic. Then I found it wasn't for me, so I applied this spring to work at Hogwarts."

Deva then stopped walking. She looked shocked at Parker. Then she shook her head and continued walking. She grinned after a moment.

"So much for my theory of a large world," she said jokingly.

She felt so light at that moment. She felt like things were going to be okay after all, though not as who she once was to Parker. She would have him and Pyxis around her. Her friends weren't as lost to her as they seemed.

"Well then, we'll be colleagues! Now you really have to introduce yourself," she said grinningly, "Though you may yet wait until we're out of this maze."

Parker shrugged again. "I'm not so sure. I mean, there are only so many outcomes, right? The people could live on entirely separated ends of the planet, not know a single thing about the other or their life, but there's that chance they're both after the same thing, in the same way. Their fates and destinies have someone lined up and gotten them on the similar path to a similar destination..." So in theory, on of them doesn't matter, he added mentally.

Parker chuckled, a bit embarrassed. "Oh, oh...again, I'm sorry. Making assumptions here. Silly me. I just sort of assumed everyone that works at Hogwarts went there. Though apparently that's not true-" He nodded toward her, his hands still buried in his pockets.

"Good for you becoming an Auror though, I hear it's terribly hard work. It's may be more physically demanding then healer training, but at least as an Auror you've got more time for sleep. The sick and injured never sleep." He joked.

He sighed, not quite sounding as enthusiastic as he felt. "Yeah, colleagues." He added, "Any mishaps in your classes, don't be afraid to send 'em my way." He looked around as they continued their wandering. "I think we might be getting close."

Deva understood Parker's point. "Yeah, like there could've been another Martin Luther King Jr. but he didn't have the chance to speak, because someone went before him? That's true. But I'm not talking the destination as much as the work to getting there. All the people you meet, whether you are their friend or not, all the people you inspire without meaning to. There are so many things that could happen in this world, just by saying the right or wrong words. It makes a difference either way, if it's only a small person who won't change the world, you might change another person's life," she said calmly.

"Oh, please, that's nothing to be sorry about. Seriously, I'm just one of the outcasts," she said, grinning.

But she was torn up on the inside. She had gone to Hogwarts. And she didn't like lying to Parker or anyone else she had once known. She wished it would've been easier.

"Yes, it was pretty interesting training, but we got a whole bunch of sleep, though we sometimes had to change night for day and day for night. That was a bit exhausting, but it was all good, it didn't last for long," she said calmly, "I can't imagine the stress of becoming a healer, though. Now that is well done."

He seemed a bit tired, Parker did. But she didn't dare comment upon it. To a stranger, he might look like that always, so she didn't say anything.

"I hope in vain there won't be one, but DaDA is pretty crude work sometimes, so I wouldn't be surprised if I had to send someone up to you," she said with a small smile.

Then she nodded. She could feel them coming closer to the exit with her meditation. They then rounded the corner, and sure enough the exit was right in front of them.

"Well, I do believe you owe me your name now," she said kindly, stopped and turned to look at him.

Parker gave a tired sigh, "Yeah, that is true, I suppose...but just the idea of the final destination, you can't- I don't even know..." He shook his head. "Sorry, I feel like I'm hardly making sense to even myself right now. It doesn't really matter." Realizing the comparison she had made though, he smiled a little. "Guessing you grew up with some muggle knowledge at the very least, knowing about him."

He drew his eyes up to the clear sky above. "Outcast? Just because you weren't a student? I'm sure I've heard of others like that. Even if you don't know anyone that's fine. I don't either, and I even went there. We can be...outcasts together if you want." He said with a small, sad smile.

He then sighed, looking along the path. Even though after nine years of self-inflicted isolation and finding that most of his interactions between people went terribly, she seemed really easy to talk to, and she seemed to actually listen. It was as if he knew her. It was a very strange feeling.

He smiled a little at her compliment to his hard work. "Yeah, the hardest part is the endurance of it. There was one week all us trainees made a bet to see who could go on the longest shift. Double shifts are typical, usually around 24 hours. About half of us can go longer. I won and did a full 48." He nearly yawned at the memory. "I won free lunch for the rest of the month. The other trainees would pitch in everyday. It was fun." He thanked his early developed abilities of meditation and focus for getting him through it, it sure did save him the money he so desperately needed.

He nodded, "I'm sure as skilled as you are as an ex-Auror, you won't let anything happen to your students. Though...you can never be too careful with Dark creatures, that's for sure. Education's important. The last month or so at training, there was an increase in creature attacks because of pure ignorance. Sad, really..." He got a far away look in his eyes as they neared the gate.

He looked at Deva and stopped when she did, giving a small sigh when she asked his name for the final time. "Well, I suppose I'll be Healer Emery soon. But as a colleague, just can call me Parker."

"I think I kind of understand what you mean, truly, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree, though I do agree that if one does not reach the destination one wanted to reach because someone else just like you took it, I would be very disappointed indeed," Deva said honestly.

Deva shook her head slightly. Parker hadn't changed much after all. She was glad about that, though. It meant he was still that someone she called a great friend.

"I don't think there are many witches or wizards that haven't heard of him. After all, there are black people in the magic society as well," she said with a wink.

She then grinned. "I would like that. But that means we'll have to work our butts off and succeed in every way possible," she said smilingly, knowing this was one of his ways of saying that he wouldn't mind being Deva's friend.

She listened to him when he talked about how much they would stay awake. She then chuckled slightly when he said he'd won the competition.

"Well, I'm glad to hear I will be sharing my title as an outcast with a winner," she said jokingly.

She then looked at him. "But how on earth did you manage to stay awake for so long?" she asked him.

Sure, she would be able to, and she figured that Parker was able to for the same reason; their Divination lessons. Maybe she wasn't the only one who had kept on with meditation, improving it greatly.

Deva nodded. "Yeah, that's true. But I don't want them to be too careful either. I mean, I would never let them be hurt beyond repair, but I think they need to experience fear and survival instincts so that they'll forever remember what it was like to ... say ... being lured in by a lightman, or get burned by a grindylow," she said.

Here she shot a sideways glance at Parker, knowing that in his first year he was burned by one.

She then smiled when he told her his name, somehow feeling relieved that he truly was Parker. No matter how sure she had been then, now she could be one hundred percent sure.

"Well, it's been a pleasure meeting you, Parker," she said with a grin.

"Well believe it or not I've come across a few that haven't. After all, race hasn't seemed as big an issue as blood purity. Any discrimination doesn't make any sense to me. Race and blood are things you can't control, and people should be able to belief whatever they want, same with who you love." He let out a deep sigh, "None of that hinders the person's ability, the only thing that does that is ignorance..." Parker trailed off, then nervously glanced at her.

"We'll work as hard as we have to." He smiled a bit, then shook his head. "Oh, I'm no winner. I just got luck that time was all. A little perseverance can go a long way." He paused a moment, looking ahead of him "...and a little meditation." he nodded.

"Oh...I guess that's true. Sheltering them would never be a good idea...experience- is everything..." He cleared his throat, looking to have tensed at the mention of Grindylows. "True, and especially with...Grindylows...if you're burned once, you won't be burned again- well, at least around the same area-" He shrugged nervously.

He turned towards her. "Well, I suppose I'll see you at the castle then Deva?"

Deva shook her head. "It's horrible how many people discriminate others based on blood. I'm a fullblood myself, but jeez, I don't look down on others. But I must say I'm surprised that you've met people who hasn't heard of Martin Luther King jr. Oh well, I guess even the blissfully and narrowminded people sometimes steps forward," she said exasperatedly.

She couldn't stand discrimination. Not against blacks, not against gays, not against women vs. men, and not again muggle-borns. She hated it with a passion, really. It was the only thing she could say she truly hated.

"You're just being modest. Good luck isn't the same as skill, I agree, but if you had help by meditation, then it is true that your stamina lasts longer than many others. That is the very best thing about meditation, I think," Deva said truthfully.

She had to bite the inside of her lip not to smile slightly at what information Parker gave her about the grindylows. 'Alien skin and all that,' she thought to herself.

She then gave a smile to Parker, a bit sad that she didn't get to talk more to him at the moment. But she'd get to see him around the castle. Him, Pyxis and Alcyone. What could be better?

"We will indeed," she said softly.

She then gave a wave and started walking away, feeling both very content and at the same time as if something was just ripped away from her heart. That something would be the loss of herself.