Kendall knew that he had to attend the leaving feast.  This was for a few good reasons.  firstly because he really should get used to being in the Great Hall, it was expected of him as a professor.

Secondly, Knox had specifically asked all the staff, outgoing and incoming to  attend the feast.  This was something that he had never gotten to do in the short time he attended Hogwarts. He couldn't wait to see the room decked out in the winning house colors.

There was a third reason for attending the feast.  For the last six weeks things had been tense.  Having survived his first, somewhat impromptu lesson he had expected Morrigan to at least gloat over his embarassment at being caught unawares.  She hadn't.

Kendall pulled the sapphire blue sweater over his head, and ran his hand through his hair again.  They had been avoiding each other for the last six weeks.  But avoidance was not ignorance.  He was very much aware of her presence in the halls.  Her sense of purpose as she moved, floating along, grace emboddied.

He draped the midnight blue cloak over his shoulders.  The sapphire blue satin lining flashing as he walked out of his quarters.  He looked left and right out the door and seeing the hallway empty, sighed then headed toward the main staircase.

Standing at the top of the stairs, Kendall watched the excited clusters of students heading in to the final feast of the year.  The summer fully ahead of them, and in his case... a long summer of staying at the school to finish lesson plans, and to ensure that the classroom was the way he wanted it.  Besides where else did he have to go?

Slowly he made his approach to the Great hall, almost like he had all those years ago for his own sorting.  He also tried to covertly watch for Morrigan.  There was comfort in seeing her that he never could have expected.

Outfit


Morrigan had been dragging her feet a bit, fussing needlessly over every detail of her appearance, something definitely out of the ordinary for her.  She had been trying to avoid having to make too much small talk with Kendall.  This was one of the final days before the summer break, surely she would be able to compose herself again before the start of the new term.  With a few months of separation perhaps whatever their first encounter seemed to have sparked would fade and they could go back to their former rivalry.

 Truth be told, she was terrified of suddenly being face with the fact that there was more to their old competition then just school age pride.  All of her attempts to best him, especially as she had grown older, had been self preservation in a way.  She hadn’t allowed herself to think it before, but there was an attraction to Kendall she hadn’t considered and now…She quickly shook the thoughts from her mind as she approached the Great Hall.  She was running a bit late, perhaps he would already be inside.

However, she stopped dead in her tracks when she say Kendall moving slowly towards the entrance.  He hadn’t seen her yet and she froze for a moment.  Then, turning she thought perhaps another trip to the women’s lavatory would do the trick until he was inside.  The speeches would be starting soon…she could continue her avoidance then.  She could only hope that he hadn’t seen her as she tried to make a graceful escape.  However, her long dark purple robes caught under her shoe and she stumbled slightly, a noise she heard echoing through the area just outside the Great Hall.

Why was he dragging his feet?  Was it something of a memory from long ago? A fear that upon entering the hall he would be confronted by her ghost sitting at the Slytherin table?

Kendall could see the teachers gathered at the head table, and also see that there wasn’t that auburn hair that he was looking for.  Morrigan wasn’t there yet.  He really hoped she wasn’t going to avoid him.  He needed to see her at least talk to her before she and the other staff and students left for the summer holiday.

He was at the threshold when he heard the noise of someone stumbling, a “Omph” as someone stopped short.  Whipping his head he found he couldn’t look away.  There was Morrigan wearing long dark purple robes.  The glitter of golden jewelry on her arms and ears as the candle light made her skin glow and showed the red highlights of her hair.  The hem had caught under her shoe and she stumbled slightly which had caused the noise, which had echoed through the area just outside the Great Hall.

She only faltered a moment, and appeared to be headed back up the stairs toward her quarters.  “Beautiful” The words slipped from Kendall’s mouth and in the stillness of the entrance his voice barely above a whisper carried upward into the staircase.

The purple really was a stunning color as it highlighted her hair, and her skin nearly glowed with vitality.  He had never looked at her this way back when they were still students, and wondered now why he hadn’t.  She was phenomenal.  While she was still fussing, Kendall changed direction.  This was his chance to talk to her, to at least have a chance to see her before the holiday began.

His approach was much quicker than his attempts at entering the Great Hall. “Good evening Professor Ramsay.  I hope you won’t mind me saying but you look stunning tonight.”

“Beautiful”

Morrigan froze for a brief second, wondering if she had really heard him.  She had spent well over a half an hour going through her robes, trying to find something that felt like it was right.  This one had been tucked away towards the back, and when she finally saw it a huge smirk had played on her lips.  It was her favorite, one she didn't get to wear often enough.  The shade of purple was one of her favorites as it always seemed to compliment her hair and complexion.

Gathering up the skirt from under her shoe she attempted to continue on her way, not looking at him.  However, the sound of footsteps behind her told her there was no escaping actually talking to Kendall.  When he spoke she turned to face him, studying him for a moment, trying to determine if this was all truly real.  So many times in the past six weeks she had thought that perhaps she had been delusional in thinking that something had started after an evening of drunken confessions.

"Thank you, Professor Fleetfoot," she said, trying to keep the distance formalities offered.  "I must say, you clean up quite well yourself...Although, I suppose it does help when one manages to stay out of the lake."

She smirked, unable to resit a slight jab at him, trying to keep the conversation light.

"Thank you, Professor Fleetfoot.  I must say, you clean up quite well yourself...Although, I suppose it does help when one manages to stay out of the lake."

There was an unmistakable smirk on her face, but it wasn’t the same as the one she would have worn during their duels.  This was a light, joking smirk as she took a jab at him with a remembrance of that first meeting by shore of the black lake.

“I suppose it does help.  I do still owe you a replacement jacket.”  Suddenly Kendall had no interest in the Leaving Feast.  “So I heard that most of the staff are leaving for the summer.  I had planned to split my time between the manor in Welshpool and here.  Where should I have the jacket delivered?”  He was  fishing for an address.  He wanted to see her over the summer break.  He knew he would hand deliver the jacket if she would let him.

He ducked his head slightly, slightly disappointed to see her wearing the sensible shoes of instruction.  In such a well fitting robe he had thought she might have worn fancier footwear.  “I ah… I also was able to get the NEWT and OWL exams as you had suggested, although I sent an owl with the request rather than going to Diagon or the Ministry.  Thank you for the suggestion.”  She was keeping things professional, and he would respect that even if he dreamt of waking up on her sofa, her wrapped in his arms like that morning six weeks ago.  It was what had been getting him through the day of late.

When he mentioned the jacket, she tried to wave it off, but he continued on.  It seemed he was insistent on replacing the ruined garment, even though she was indeed the one who started the whole incident that left them both drenched and shivering.  She was still going to try to convince him that he didn't need to replace it, but it seemed it might ease his unnecessarily guilty conscious and that meant he would finally let the subject drop.

"I'll be staying in London mostly," she told him.  "I'm renting a flat near Diagon Alley for the summer...hoping to do a bit of research at the Ministry library while I'm there.  You really don't have to replace that jacket, but I have the address in my chambers...I can get it for you later."

She couldn't help smiling a bit as he mentioned the OWLs and NEWTs she had suggested he take a look at.  It had been an attempted at restoring normalcy after waking up in each others arms on her sofa.  She had often thought back to that morning, the feeling of warmth and security...she didn't want to admit to herself how many times exactly she had thought back to that morning.

"It was a little trick I learned back when I was working as an assistant at Red Rocks," she told him.  "I had always wondered how Will...I mean Professor Olsen always knew exactly what to teach, and then one day he showed me a huge file he kept of all the past tests that had been administered."

William Olsen. So that was who she had apprenticed under.

Kendall could remember the Transfiguration Professor reasonably well from attending classes in Sedona, but he had always seemed a bit of a letch in Kendall’s mind.  Looking down the tops of the senior girls without any shame.  He would not raise this issue with Morrigan though.

“I apprenticed under an academic, but not one who taught.  Just one who researched.”  Kendall had learned how to prepare reports, and to prepare research.  Then he had gone off and started his own research never thinking he would come back and teach.  Teaching had been secondary to his research efforts until making the decision to come to Hogwarts.

“Welshpool is closer to Manchester and Liverpool, so I suppose I will spend some time in both.” He found himself babbling, but noticed that they didn’t seem to be making much progress toward either the Great Hall or anywhere else for that matter.   

He moved slightly closer to her, the smell of her perfume becoming  overwhelming. “Morrigan, I haven’t been able to forget about what happened six weeks ago.  I…” Kendall swallowed hard.  Now it was his turn to stumble over his own feet.  “I think coming down for the Feast was a mistake.  I should have just stayed in my rooms.” Then I wouldn’t feel like a teenager asking the most popular girl in school out for a date.   “I don’t think I am feeling so good.”

She smiled slightly as he talked about his own apprenticeship.  She was sure it was not as marred by bad choices as hers had been.  Of course, there was no point in dwelling and regretting her decisions.  She couldn’t change them, and she had managed to land on her feet with a life she loved the majority of the time.  Teaching was her forte, not mate how much the competitive side of her wished to best Kendall in the research field.

He began to make small talk, and then suddenly he moved a bit closer to her, and the topic she had been avoiding was broached.  She bit her lip, looking down for a moment as he stopped.  However, when he started making excuses to avoid the topic as well her eyes shot back up to his.  What had he been about to say?  He had seemed quite set on the fact that he was feeling something quite unexpected starting between them after the whole incident.  Was he regretting it now?

She was fighting internally to not fall into the trap of saying something to hurt him before he could hurt her.  He hadn’t said anything of consequence yet, she shouldn’t assume.  Yet, if she was being completely honest, fear had kept her from seeking him out in the halls between classes.

“Fresh air usually helps me,” she said, ignoring his statement about that night and the morning after when she had been wrapped in his arms.  She looked away again for a moment trying to hide the slight coloring of her cheeks.  “Perhaps a few moments outside will help?  Although I think it would be wise to stay near the courtyard…less likely to have any major mishaps that way.”

Kendall smiled slightly and shook his head.  “I have a feeling that fresh air is not going to help this.”  Kendall sighed, his eyes still cast somewhat down from Morrigan, not daring to look into her face to see her laugh at what he might say.

“I… I’ve been avoiding you somewhat.  Well not avoiding intentionally, but”, he paused.  “I just haven’t put myself in public areas where you and I might have crossed paths.”  He lifted his eyes, which were weary, and shadowed with lack of peaceful sleep.

“It isn’t that I don’t want to be around you… The problem is that” Kendall swallowed, his mouth becoming dry.  “The problem is that I can’t stop thinking about you.  So much so that I can’t sleep and I have not been able to focus.  I take it you heard about the impromptu class?”  Kendall thought back on how if someone hadn’t dropped their wand he would have sat with a class of students in front of him daydreaming about blankets and fires and beautiful red hair resting on his chest.

Morrigan didn’t dare meet his eyes when she noticed he looked up.  She had heard similar statements before and the admission caused her stomach to flutter with nerves.  Suddenly she wasn’t feeling so well, and he was right, fresh air was not the cure.  She felt like they were a pair of teenagers, avoiding each other completely because of a crush.  It was ridiculous…They were adults for the love of Merlin!

I take it you heard about the impromptu class?

“A few passing comments here and there,” she admitted.  She had heard that he had been quite distracted when he had entered the room, almost as if he had been in another place entirely.  “You survived it, obviously…That’s usually the hardest part of teaching that first class.  At least you have it out of the way before the new year starts.”

Slowly her eyes found their way back to his again.  There were shadows under his eyes, showing the lack of sleep he had spoke of.  She fought back the urge to run away from his admission moments earlier, reminding herself once again that she was an adult, not a silly little school girl.

“I…I’ve thought a lot about what happened too,” she began slowly, finding it more difficult to breathe.  “Kendall…I haven’t acted like such a foolish ninny since I was twenty-one years old.  I’ve been looking around every corner, hoping to see you and ready to bolt for the nearest hiding spot at the same time.  I feel completely insane every time I walk the halls.”

He had expected her to be angry as what he had admitted to her after their past histories must have seemed like a cruel trick. It would have  been her nature to have screamed at him, pulled her wand on him and hexed him into oblivion only to use some transfiguration spell to somehow gather up the component bits which she had scattered about the entryway back into his coherent form before blasting them into sub-atomic dust.

 He expected her legendary temper and sharp tongue to lash out at him, as she was not one in these last weeks to accept or be the target of any practical jokes or "Tom-Foolery" in the school.  he had often heard students discussing the fact that Professor Ramsay was a no-nonsense instructor.

What he had not expected was the timid voice that came from Morrigan.  A voice that reminded him more of the girl she had once been in Sedona, At least before he had begun to antagonize her.  A voice filled with both fear and an edge of possibly excitement.  A voice that he had been dreaming of for the past many weeks now, but not like this.

She explained how she was excited that she might see him, and at that same time petrified of what would happen in that meeting.

Slowly he spoke, "Morrigan.  We've known each other a long time, all of that as enemies.  What is happening between us scares me because the last time something happened to me this fast..." He left that thought hanging for a moment.  The last time had been Aiene.  He was not going to bring up his ex-wife again. He was not going to make Morrigan think she was a replacement for Aiene.

"The last time wasn't so good."  He left it at that.  "I know that I have developing feelings toward you Morrigan.  Friendship for sure, but this feels like more and I am scared out of my Whits to let someone in."  Kendall's hand came up, in a motion to reach toward hers, yet far enough away to never touch.

"Maybe this summer break is a good thing.  A time for us to reflect on what we are becoming." He paused. "I... I think maybe I will go for a walk.  The courtyard sounds like a good idea." A spark of hope lit in his chest, wondering if she might go with him, but doubting it as he was sure that space between them would keep something like what had happened six weeks ago from repeating.

What are we becoming? Her mind had asked that question over an over again.  Her mind often betrayed her.  Part of her wished they could have remained as they were before, enemies as he had said.  It was easy, she knew where she stood.  This was confusing and terrifying.  Morrigan was not one to have her life be anything but orderly and planned out.

Her world felt like it had been turned upside down.  At least she would have the summer to figure out what it was she wanted.  It would also give things a chance to cool and perhaps they could just be friends.  After all, just friends was safer then anything more.  They had both been hurt by having something more, but she wasn’t going to admit he wasn’t the only one with reason to be afraid of letting someone in.

He mentioned going for a walk and she was torn again.  She knew she could use the air too, but she also needed the space.  When he had reached up to touch her hand she had wanted to close the distance and entangle her fingers with his, but she hadn’t.  Instead she had merely tried desperately to not make it obvious that it had become more difficult to breathe normally.

“I left something in my room,” she lied.  “That’s where I was heading when you saw me…I should go get it and head to the feast.  After all, the students just adore me so much I will certainly be missed.”  The last part dripped with sarcasm.  Surely there were a few who enjoyed her class, but most hated her rather strict way of conducting it.