Around 9:00, Great Hall.


Fauna smiled at Flynn as the waltz came to an end, partly out of relief, but mostly because she was having a fantastic time. Not surprisingly, he didn't seem to mind her natural clumsiness, very basic dance moves, and tendency to mimic whatever move he made - which had nearly ended in a chicken dance as he'd realized what she was doing and decided to joke around with her.

She shook her head as she remembered, sending him a playful look. They could be weird all they wanted whenever that Wild Beings band started up. For now, Fauna was ready for a break from formal dancing. Time to mingle! Or try. During the feast and the champion dance, she'd focused on her date, who looked quite handsome in his dark blue suit, yet still the Flynn she knew - smiling and talking easily, like they were just on another date instead of a formal event.

Fauna, as usual, felt nervous enough for the both of them, but it was a good kind of nervous. As strange as it was being back at Hogwarts as an adult, she enjoyed seeing her younger friends and some of her old professors. She couldn't help but feel giddy that someone like Flynn; a kind, brilliant, hilarious person, had asked her to be his date for the evening. And yes, his profession was a bonus. She'd tried very hard to explain to her family that a Healer was pretty much like a doctor, though her mum would likely remain skeptical of St. Mungo's until she met Flynn in person.

Until. Not if. Fauna was definitely in an optimistic mood.

Her mood only brightened when she spotted Tulo and Knox sitting together at one of the round tables.

"Oh, can I introduce you to someone? Two people, actually. Well, you might know them," Fauna rested her hand on Flynn's arm and gave a shy wave at Tulo, who had seemed to spot her. It was better than pointing.

"Tulo is the Healer here at Hogwarts," Fauna explained as they weaved their way through the crowd. "The man with the beard - that's Knox Greyfriar. He's on the Wizengamot now, but he taught History as the Headmaster. Made it interesting, though I think my essays still made him cringe."

She lifted her shoulder sheepishly. The three R's had never been her strong suit.

"They were both there for me my last few years at Hogwarts," she said, this time within their hearing range.

"Hi!" Fauna stopped at the table, then hesitated, unsure if hugging was appropriate at a ball. She'd follow their lead.

"This is Flynn, my date," she gestured. Why did that sound so much more awkward out loud? "I mean, I guess I'm his date." Which did not sound much better. "We're at the Yule Ball together." Duh!

She smiled, happy to see them.

"And then Griffon says, 'That's no hippogriff! It's supposed to be my dog!'"  the table erupted with laughter and Knox's own booming baritone the loudest. 

"And that reminds me of another one! I was in Prague and the -"  Knox had been about to launch into another boisterous anecdote when he noticed Tulojow's eyeline had left them - she was looking at a fresh young couple approaching the table, dressed in blue.

Knox's bold out-going smile softened as his manner shifted from from regaling the table to being greeted by a fond memory.  It was Fauna Blake approaching with presumably her companion.  As they arrived at the table, Knox rose from his chair and moved in to embrace his former student and now Auror Trainee.  She was dressed like a mature witch, grown and pretty, but her voice and manner were familiar as she redundantly repeated her relationship to her date.

Knox hugged her and released her saying, "Fauna Blake, I had no idea you'd be here.  I'm so happy to see you."

And he looked then at the wizard she'd brought to them.  Tall, thin, with a sparse dark beard.  As a Trainee, Knox doubted his dear Fauna would have received an invitation, so it must be this wizard Flynn who was so lucky.  On seeing Fauna with someone, Knox had to quickly push away a tiny twinge of protectiveness that was not his to have.  There was no need to protect Fauna Blake and no call to be jealous on behalf of his son Devlin.[1] It was preposterous to feel anything but welcoming to someone Fauna had chosen.  He put on a smile, perhaps a second too late, and extended a hand.

"Good to meet you, Flynn."

1.	Devlin Matthews and Fauna Blake dated while at Hogwarts.

Saying that Flynn was having a good time was an understatement. He was ecstatic. He was able to go to a prestigious event with a gorgeous, kind, lovely brunette-auror-in-training-who-wore-fabulous-hats. Fauna always listened to him as he ranted about Mildred’s next evil plot to destroy his magical cabbages and dancing sprouts, and she was so easy to talk to and joke around with. Flynn also loved that his date was adorably gullible, but in a different way than he was. He thought it gave them a nice balance, and she didn’t seem like the type who would take advantage of his gullibility, though he always (only jokingly) would mess with her head a bit. For example, he had momentarily convinced her that flapping your arms about and shaking your bum was a legitimate dance move appropriate for the Yule Ball.

He didn’t know too many of the people here at this dance, or if he did, he wasn’t paying enough attention to notice them. People seemed to look so different when they clean up a bit and dress all fancy and whatnot. However, the two people that Fauna was bringing him to  were people that he recognized—Tulojow, from having had a long stay in St Mungos a few years back.

“You look well, Ms. Nagde.” He said politely, and then he turend to the other person he recognized. It took all of ten seconds for him to register who it was.  Knox Greyfriar. No. It couldn’t be him! But it was!  Flynn had been reading an old article about him that morning! And Fauna hugged him! She was on hugging basis with Knox freakin’ Greyfriar. Flynn was jealous. Not because Knox was hugging Fauna, but no—because Fauna got to hug Knox. His idol. The future-secret-godfather of his pets and future grand-pets! 

And..And he thought that Flynn was good to meet!

Flynn tried to greet Knox like a dignified, honorable man. It didn’t work out. Instead, the healer let out a squawking noise comparable to the sounds of a befuddled baby hippogriff.

“No-no—It’s good to meet you!” He finally exclaimed, looking at Fauna with wide saucer eyes.  “You know him!” He stage-whispered. “You really know him!” Fauna just got so much cooler (though it wasn’t as if Flynn didn’t already think she was the cat’s whiskers.)

The evening had already been a festive one and it would be hard to find better company.  Knox had just started in on his next tale when an unexpected but wonderfully familiar voice filtered through the myriad of other voices.  Tulojow looked up from the table and quickly located the source, beaming at Fauna when she spotted her. 

The younger, spryer Knox had beat the Healer to greeting the formal Hufflepuff.  Tulojow got to her feet and moved towards Fauna, the beads and trinkets of her dress whispering as she drew Fauna into a hug, pressing a warm, motherly kiss to the young woman's cheek. 

"You're looking wonderful, my dear," Tulojow offered, gently holding the young witch by the shoulders at arm's length."  Her eyes glistened as she beamed with pride. 

Tulojow offered Flynn a bright smile and a nod in greeting.  "It's good to see you, again." Unsurprisingly, though, Flynn attention appeared to be almost completely transfixed on Knox so Tulojow turned her attention back to Fauna. 

"Come, sit.  Sit."  Tulojow urged, pulling a chair out for the young woman.  "My own date," Tulojow smirked slyly, dipping his chin in Knox's direction.  "-has been dancing me off my feet."  Of course, all an exaggeration.  It had, unfortunately, taken far too few dances for Tulojow's knee to start complaining. 

"I want to hear all about it.  I see you're settling into the real world?"

She hadn't seen them in what felt like forever, yet they greeted her with the same ease and warmth they always had. Tulo's look of pride couldn't be missed, and Fauna ducked her head shyly. Merlin, she missed her! Fauna ran into Knox sometimes at the Ministry, but they were both usually in the middle of work related things, and seeing him here was almost as nice as visiting him at his home.

Fauna hugged them back, complimenting Tulo in turn on her dress, and missing the slight hesitation in Knox's greeting to Flynn. She was too distracted by Flynn's squawk!

Laughing, she covered her mouth with her hand and nodded at his whisper, glad that she'd impressed him without even trying.

Fauna sat next to Tulo, leaving an open seat by Knox.

“Really?” Fauna asked Tulo with her usual gullibility, but with more interest than normal. She glanced quickly at Knox and then back at Tulo. Though Fauna couldn't quite see it, she'd fully and happily support it if her two favorite older people had started dating while she was busy with training.

“Yeah,” she answered Tulo with a smile.

“I’m surviving training?” She questioned with a little laugh. “I like most of the Aurors. And the trainees. I'm living with most of the trainees," she amended. "Dax, Dion, Brett, Grace, and now Addie, because, well," Fauna faltered. "She wanted to be around friends for a bit." Matty disappearing had been very difficult for her half-sister.

"You know the Radford place, in London?" Fauna paused. "We sort of made an impulse buy. It was cheap, and there was a reason for that, because the last owner lives on, you know, in the portraits. Um, very loudly sometimes. But it's still a great place." Despite the fact that it liked to play jokes on them and switch up the rooms, resulting in roommate drama, it did have a lot of room and the house elf seemed to be getting somewhat used to them.

"And," she lowered her voice slightly, "I met this really handsome bloke." Fauna tried not to grin and ruin it. "I mean, first I tripped over Henry, his dog. Then I met him."

Now she grinned.

Well that was strange.  The lad had squawked or squeaked or perhaps that had been a cough or something? A rare ear canal hiccuough?  But whatever it was, it was difficult to mistake Flynn's obvious pleasure at meeting him and Knox allowed himself to be flattered but skeptical.  It was hardly a reaction he'd ever received before.   

"Quite."  Knox was a fair dancer and a wizard who enjoyed it.  He'd danced as much as Tulojow would endure him - she was better than she'd admit - but had retired along with her when she was through.  (He did want to catch a few more later.  Perhaps with Fauna or Minerva McGonagall.)

Fauna had got them all sat down again and Knox was very eager to listen in on how things were going with her.  Knox knew about those Fayette boys and his only picture of the Radcliffe House and what life was like there could be no different than the insanity of his own communal dwellings at a similar time of his life.  Raucous, invasive, and no one doing the washing up.  Good for her.

And she'd drawn the attention to Flynn.  Good.  He could now properly interrogate him.

"So Flynn.  How do you spend your time? What good are bringing to this world of ours? Other than leaving dogs about the pavement, of course.  A vital public service but hardly time-consuming."

He kept eye contact with Flynn even as he sipped some white wine.

Flynn thought he might faint!

Knox Greyfriar was talking to him. To him! He was initiating conversation. Flynn imagined them skipping through meadows together,  he imagined giving Knox one of his Lunar Orchards, but he didn’t want to offend the werewolf. He probably knew very well what the moon cycle was, and at what stage the moon was at, at this very moment. A glowing orchid probably wouldn’t do him much good except as a pretty decoration on the kitchen table.

Flynn didn’t feel at all that he was being interrogated. No, he felt special and important—all because Knox wanted to talk to him. If he died right now, he would die happily, knowing that he got to meet his idol. He laughed a bit before responding. Who knew that he had such a sense of humor? “Well,” He wiggled his eyebrows in an attempt to look dignified and kingly. “I work as Healer-In-Charge of Spell Damage at St. Mungos, but in my spare time I grow rare and exotic plants and try to outsmart the squirrel who hijacked my flat. Ol’ Bloodeye can’t seem to stay away from my humming hydrangeas—I think it’s because they smell like peanuts. ” He spoke in complete seriousness, oblivious to the fact that he may have sounded a wee bit off his rocker. But there was an evil squirrel who lived in his apartment. He suspected that Mildred had let him in somehow, though he lacked the proof.

“I also spend a lot of time with my family. Well, my parents. Mostly my... Parents. And a few friends."  No. He didn’t want Knox to know that he was a total momma’s boy. Flynn decided to zip his lips and give the ‘celebrity’ a chance to respond.

Grinning, Tulojow shook her head at the giddy young man and the slightly bewildered older young man before settling herself back down in her seat. 

Her joints were going to be unbelievably cross with her the following morning but it would be worth it.  Besides, most of the students would be off and on their way to London in the morning.  With luck, the older woman could expect at least a few weeks of rest before the kids and their hexed noses returned. 

"Indeed, really," Tulojow confirmed with a warm grin.  Unaware of Fauna's inaccurate assumption, it hadn't occurred to the Healer to correct the younger woman.  "It has been a marvelous evening.  All the decorations and festivities." 

Tulojow chuckled, shaking her head at the image of half-a-dozen or so Aurors corralled in the same building.  And a group that was almost half Gryffindors and half Hufflepuffs.  It was bound to be interesting. 

"I'm sure you all leave the neighbors curious," Tulojow commented.  "But, it sounds like a fun group.  Have you tried having someone paint in some saltwater taffy?" Tulojow asked, after giving their cantankerous painting dilemma some thought.  "Or sticky caramel.  Both could certainly help." 

Tulojow's gaze shifted briefly to Fauna's date and back, leaning forward conspiratorially when Fauna dropped her voice.  "The handsome bloke with fan boy infatuations with former Headmasters?" she asked, with a grin.  Oh, to be young again.  Tulojow sat up straight again. 

"Sounds like things are going marvelously.  You look happy."  Which, in the end, was the most important factor.

Fauna glanced at Knox curiously. Was it just her imagination or did he sound less jovial than usual? Flynn laughed and took it in stride, but she wondered.

As she talked to Tulo about the uses of caramel on portraits, she half-listened to and chuckled at Flynn's answer, adding to it in her head. Outsmarted by a squirrel? Nah. She suspected he didn't want to actually harm the thing while capturing it. He was also more well-liked than he let on, judging by the diverse group he'd invited to his flat for that party earlier.

"And me," Fauna added out loud with a shy, yet flirtatious glance at her date/Knox's fanboy.

She looked back at Tulo with a wide smile, "I am." Despite how difficult Auror training could be, despite random naked men traipsing around her kitchen[1], she did feel happy. Life had been going well since graduation.

Fauna turned her attention more fully to the woman who had made the hospital hut such a safe and comforting place to be these past few years.

"How have you been?" Her voice sounded warmer than the polite question normally warranted. "Is the hut still just as busy? Probably more busy, with the tournament going on."

She paused, then smiled, "Any new and radical clubs starting that I've missed out on since last year?"

As far as she knew, SAWS had not been up to much lately, but she couldn't resist referencing Tulo's support of Hogwart's rebellious causes.

1.	This thread

The conversation seemed to have splinched - Tulojow engaging young Fauna and Knox having the rapt attention of Mr. Hughes.  And at the mention that he was Healer-in-Charge, the admiration becomes suddenly nearly mutual!

"Really!" he remarked and shifted into his seat.  "Healer-In-Charge!  You look young for that; you must be good."

Knox had trained to be a Healer right out of Hogwarts, but this was closely guarded knowledge.  Only those who knew him then might remember or remark upon it.  He so reviled that part of his life that he rarely spoke of it to anyone for any reason, but there was still a part of him that remembered why he'd been drawn to Healing as a lad, why he sometimes missed it.

"So tell me - Spell Damage.  Why not potions and plant poisoning if you're so keen on them? Were you a student of mine, Mr. Hughes? I'm having trouble recalling..."

“Aww, well, it’s no big deal..” Flynn said bashfully, his ears blushing a bright red, though his face only became slightly more pink. He shifted slightly-- he didn’t expect a compliment from his hero, and he wasn’t quite sure how to accept it. He was pleased, but he was definitely taken by surprise. “It was a tough choice for me, really.” He admitted, “I love plants and potions, but the relationships I build with long-term patients in Spell Damage are worth it. My knowledge in the area helps me find healing methods for spell damage with potions and salves, in the case that using magic to fix damage doesn’t work.”

Flynn shook his head, “You taught during my last couple years at Hogwarts, but I didn’t take History NEWTS.” He enjoyed the subject, but the NEWTS that he had taken were time consuming. “My friends spoke highly of you, though.” Flynn hadn’t been a Hufflepuff, but it didn't mean that he hadn’t respected Knox way back when. Although he sometimes still felt like that sixteen year old kid who had finally stopped looking like a child, those days felt like they were so long ago. The present was his focus, not the past, and it was weird for him to think back to those days.

He squinted his eyes at Knox, “Were you in the same year as an Ianto Hughes? He was in Gryffindor, always carried a potted plant everywhere..” He thought he had heard his father mention that he went to school with Knox, but Flynn was never sure if his father was just bragging or making something up to impress Flynn. He did that often, though it never irritated Flynn as much as it made him curious to know the truth.

Tulojow followed Fauna's glance across the table at the young woman's date, smiling broadly.  He appeared to be enjoying himself and was well-immersed in his conversation with Knox.  For the moment, the Flynn seemed to still  have eyes for only Knox so Tulojow turned back, taking a sip of her punch. 

"I have been well," she confirmed.  "The tournament definitely continues to keep me busy.  More students, more hexed noses - now in the name of school pride as well as house pride.  Every once in a while, I get a slow stretch and can relax some.  But, so far, no splinched professors.  Nothing overly exciting."  Which, after the previous year, the Healer was alright with.  In her job, being bored could only mean good things.

"Other than visiting family," Tulojow added with a grin "My great-nephew is here with the delegation from Salem.  He's a senior and has thoughts of joining the Auror corps after this year.  You should meet him," she added, looking up and scanning the crowd around their table. 

The young man wandered over towards the table at Tulojow's beckoning.  "Fauna, this is Leonard.  Leonard, meet Fauna who, as you know, was one of the students who got SAWS up and running."  Speaking of revolutionary student groups.  "And, our dates are over there, gossiping up at storm." 

"Feel free to call me Migs," the young man offered in greeting, extending a hand towards Fauna. 

Knox was forward and attentive to the thin, twitchy young Healer-in-Charge and as soon as he confirmed he'd have been a student, his face lit up.  Yes! He could see it now!  But wait - he'd not taught History in many years... how young was he really?  He glanced over at young Fauna Blake - she couldn't be more than nineteen... and...

The mental math had to stop when Flynn mentioned Ianto!  Ianto Hughes.  "The lad with the plant!" he exclaimed, remembering his strange classmate immediately.  He was top in Herbology and young Knox had tried to get into his groups whenever possible because you could be sure a great mark.  Knox clapped his hands a few times at the memory of the awkward, overly-friendly, old Ianto Hughes. 

"Yes, yes! Of course I remember, Ianto - how is he? Merlin, it's been ages and ages.  You're his boy then?  Marvelous. Just marvelous.  Here you go lad, drink up."

Knox reached for the bottle floating in the center of the table and tipped some honey-colored wine into their glasses.  "I can remember when Old Dippet interrupted dinner just in time to silence a mandrake sprout that was threatening to scream!  The look on his face!"

As the two men found common ground, Knox seemed to be warming up to Flynn. Relief flickered over Fauna's face. The next best thing to introducing Flynn to her family was introducing them to Knox and Tulo... who might as well be!

She nodded as Tulo told her how the job was faring, glad to hear that this year had been more restful. "Hopefully the rest of the school year will be just as not-exciting."

Fauna looked up with interest at the mention of Tulo's great-nephew! She'd had no idea! That was a relief, too - Tulo was well-liked and sought after for advice here at Hogwarts, but Fauna had sometimes wondered if she missed home and family.

"Hi, Migs," she shook the young man's hand, her smile shy, as it usually was when meeting new people. But it held a certain enthusiasm too. Tulo's family! She couldn't quite get over that.

He definitely had the build for a future trainee, though she'd have to make sure Pratt didn't crack too many jokes about his long hair. As if Fauna could stop that from happening. At the very least, she could scold the Auror and get herself into trouble.

"How do you like the dance so far? Luckily for me, Flynn has kept me from stepping on his toes too much," she glanced at her date. It helped when at least one of them knew what they were doing.

So it turned out that his father hadn’t been lying! Imagine that! Flynn never thought that his dad was malicious, but that perhaps he wanted to impress people a little bit too much at times.  He also didn’t know that his father had a plant, but it sounded like something he would have done, even when he was a Hogwarts student. Flynn made a mental note to brag to his parents about meeting the famous Knox Greyfriar at the Yule Ball, and how they got along so well!

They were getting along! He was beginning to feel giddy, and he hadn’t even had a drink!

Knox was going to fix that though. The next thing Flynn knew, there was a glass of wine in his hand and there was laughter about Dippet and a mandrake sprout. Leave it to his father to think that a mandrake sprout in the Great Hall was a good idea.

Flynn looked over at Fauna and gave her a smile, silently telling her that he hadn’t forgotten her.  He looked back at his hero and took a drink of the wine.

“Dad’s doing well for himself. He met mom, found special cabbages, and had Audrey and I.” Flynn replied, “He has a few greenhouses now, he sells ingredients to potions shops and does his own research on growing stronger breeds of plants to make ingredients more effective, like healing herbs.” Ianto often said that his projects were ‘top secret’, but they were never secret for long. He was always itching to tell his son about them. “I grew him a howling hibiscus for Christmas. It's too young to howl, though.”  He glanced at Fauna again, “How do you know her?” He asked curiously.