Abby glanced up at the beast towering over her, holding the reins like they were limp spaghetti noodles. She'd been standing in the exact same place in the stables for a few minutes as Sasha ensured everything was ready for their morning ride. When he ventured more than ten feet away from her, she craned her neck and leaned away from the horse to try and see where he was going, then offered him grins whenever he caught her staring at him anxiously.
 
The horse was beautiful. She was a dapple gray, and Sasha said she was good for beginners, but Sasha also called her a pony. If Kelsie was a pony then Abby must be a garden gnome. A gnome who was going to get kicked by those hooves, she was sure!
 
Kelsie seemed rather docile, so Abby was startled when she felt a gentle nudge on her shoulder.
 
"What is it - Sasha!" She whispered, as if anything louder would cause the creature to rear up in fright. "What is she doing?"
 
Kelsie's snout butted her shoulder once more. "My hair isn't carrots!" Abby informed the horse with a nervous giggle.
 
Her riding hat should offer some protection, Abby thought, flexing her toes in her sturdy boots just in case she had to pick up her feet and run. She patted the horse's neck and then returned her hand to the reins.
 
"Sasha?" She pestered in a whisper again. "Do horses kneel down? Like camels? So I don't fall when I try to get on?" Otherwise, Sasha might have to lift her, which she suspected would be hilariously awkward for both of them in this case.
 
"Or I could ride in back with you?" Abby rambled on. "I won't make it awkward. Pinky swear!" She would have wiggled her finger at him, but didn't want to risk taking her hands off the reins again.
 
The squib had braved the Underground with ease, ridden an ornery camel in Memphis, fallen off a surfboard many times and gotten back on again, and survived losing her way in an Alexandria market with Raine. But this! This was scary. Abby assumed that most teenagers her age had been on a horse before, and weren't horrified by abraxans either, so she felt anxious partly because she thought she should know how to do this.

Sasha's head popped up from behind Kelsie's saddle, his expression a curious mixture of confusion and concern.  But, despite Abby's moment of distress, everything seemed copacetic, as he'd expected.  The dapple grey mare was still standing patiently in the barn hall while Abby held her and Sasha double checked the horse's girth. 

The young man grinned and turned back to the straps, trying to hide the slight chuckle.  "She's fine.  She's just feeling ignored.  Try scratching her forehead."  Having finished double checking Kelsie's tack, Sasha stepped in front and demonstrated with a quick scratch on the flat of the horse's head. 

"No.  Horses don't kneel.  But, Kelsie's a lot shorter than a camel.  You'll be fine."  He didn't offer a verbal answer to the question of riding double.  The wash of red that rose in his cheeks was answer enough. 

"Just.  Be decisive.  Act like you know what you're doing even if you aren't quite sure.  So like - now.  When you lead her out to the yard, just cluck and start walking.  She'll follow.  If you hesitate- well... she'll still follow-"  which was why she was the guest horse- "-but, it's just a good thing to learn." 

Sasha walked out to the middle of the barnyard where Abby was going to get up on the horse.  On her own.  And, where he was going to leave her, very briefly, as he finished getting his horse ready.  Abby wasn't aware of that part, yet. 

He talked Abby through the process of getting on, concluding with a reserved "- and if you need help getting up, I can, you know, give you a boost.  Then, you can just sit tight while I go and get my horse." 

Sasha offered plenty of reassurances and guidance while Abby tried to listen, glancing dubiously up at the horse when he told her Kelsie was shorter than the camels. Abby must be misremembering. But at least Kelsie didn't spit!

"Cluck? Like a chicken?" She giggled, both alarmed and amused by Sasha's instruction to lead the horse. "Should I do the chicken dance too? Kelsie, what do you think?"

Abby looked at the horse again, sashayed her hips ever so slightly, while still standing in the place Sasha had left her. Yup, she was stalling.

"Okay, okay. Cluck cluck!" She made a sound in the back of her throat and pulled on the reins like she was holding an umbrella over her head on a clear, calm morning.

Miracle of miracles, the horse followed. Kelsie might as well be a pink flying pig judging by the amazement on Abby's face as she glanced back.

"She's doing it!" Abby whispered to Sasha as she reached the middle of the barnyard. Whether she was talking about herself or the horse remained to be seen.

Next was the interesting part. Abby first put her wrong foot in the stirrup. Then she couldn't get her leg over and had to be told to just hop on in one swift motion, not hover her bum in the air and knock her knee against the saddle (Sasha didn't use those exact words, but that was what Abby understood). Finally, she made it, grinning in triumph while the horse stood patient as ever.

"Wait! Where are you going?" She just now caught his last words. "Sit tight? Sasha!"

Watching his receding figure, she gripped the pommel of the saddle, and tried to be as still as possible, her other hand loosely holding the reins. Her heart beat fast and she sucked in a breath. What if the animal moved? And pulling on the reins didn't work? It could trot, or worse, gallop over a fence and jump into a stream and have the time of its life while Abby panicked!

When he reappeared, she shook her head, a smile flickering on her face and then vanishing. "That wasn't funny! I don't know what I'm doing!" Abby whispered in a huff, convinced her regular loud voice would startle Kelsie.

"I-Yes.  Doing the chicken dance can help."  Yet again, what was meant to remain a thought somehow managed to slip out though, by now, Abby was probably used to those random, unforeseen and unintentional attempts at humor.  The requisite blush followed and Sasha turned his attentions to gazing around the barnyard, trying to find something, other than Abby's little hip dance, to occupy himself. 

His gaze drifted back to the grey horse and the girl as the echoing hoof falls in the hallway signaled the pair were moving outside.  Sasha stepped up to them and put a hand on the mare's bridle as Abby managed to pull her way up on Kelsie's back. 

"I've got to get my horse," Sasha called over his shoulder in explanation just before disappearing into the barn.

Not at all to Sasha's surprise, Kelsie hadn't galloped over fences, through woods and over streams during the ten minutes it had taken to get his own horse ready.  When he finally led Wobias out of the stable, Kelsie's eyelids were drooping, falling victim to the warm summer sun. 

"That wasn't funny! I don't know what I'm doing!" 

"Yes.  Well, she does."  Sasha hadn't yet seen Abby really get ... angry ... so he didn't really know what it looked like.  But, he'd always imagined there would be enough similarity between Abby and her older sister that anger wouldn't be as subtle as the a short lived smile.  He grinned, despite Abby's fallen face, before swinging up on his own horse. 

"You rode a camel.  This is bound to be easier than that.  Just pick up the reins and hold them like this ... so they aren't loose or tight."  He demonstrated with his own set of reins.  "When you want her to turn-"  He talked Abby through the basic tenants of turning, starting and stopping a horse in the desired direction.  If she took to riding, the other stuff could come later. 

"We'll just stay on the property for now - the cows are all in the back field so just ... you're fine going anywhere in here.  Just...when you're ready, squeeze your legs and pick a direction.  We'll follow."

Abby's short burst of annoyance flitted away easily at Sasha's calm reaction - his ever so predictable and yet not predictable deadpan reply, then the grin. He didn't chastise her, or stare at her like she was bonkers, and she was able to follow his directions.

Up until he told her she was leading the way.

"Uh, Sasha?" Abby giggled. "You don't have to be gallant. I promise. My heart will survive if you don't take the 'ladies go first' rule so seriously."

She threw him a flirtatious smile, hoping that would embarrass him enough to be sensible.

But staying in one place was almost worse than going first. Abby began to get antsy, and Kelsie's head drooped.

"I'm just going to go around in a circle!" She decided. "So eventually I'll catch up to you and you will be in front, mister!" Abby logic.

Still holding the reins a little too loosely, she squeezed her legs, looking both alarmed and delighted when Kelsie shook off her sleepiness and moved. Sitting on a camel, she'd felt like she was on a boat about to capsize, but the horse's movements were gentler. The horse stopped at the edge of the circular area. Abby realized she hadn't told it to turn. She glanced back at Sasha, then moved the reins to the side, and urged the horse forward again, relieved when Kelsie veered to the right. Despite all her stalling, she trusted Sasha's judgement. She was on a moving horse! Abby wished she could take a picture and send it to her two favorite redheads who had cell phones.
 
"I hear those Americans that are here for the tournament do something called cow tripping," she commented randomly, thinking of how late it was getting in the summer. Abby wouldn't trip any cows, not with Sasha there, and not Sasha's cows. Riding Kelsie was enough of an adventure!

After a few minutes, it seemed Abby had gotten a feel for the basic cues.  With an encouraging nod of his head, Sasha returned to Wobias and quickly swung up on the horse's back.  He got himself situated in the saddle and turned back towards Abby. 

"I ... what?  I wasn't being-"  Okay.  That was a lie.  He was being gallant though he'd always assumed it was called 'being polite.'  That's what normal people called it, at least.  But, it wasn't the pending lie that had stopped him short.  It had been that particularly flirtatious grin she'd sent him which had no other purpose, Sasha was sure, than to make him blush. 

That it worked would probably not come as a surprise to either of them.  "Shut up," Sasha muttered, preemptively, grinning even as he anticipated some delighted laugh on the squib's part.  "What?  Am I supposed to be ruder?  More ... invasive," he asked, thinking about Tawse and what of his little arm-couch antics Sasha had seen before running from leaving Fig's party.

"Well, that defeats the -" Sasha watched as Abby moved Kelsie into a circle.  "And, what if I follow you.  Then, we'll just be stuck in a - oh fine."  Abby's stubborn streak had the immense capacity to amuse the girl and, as such, knew no bounds.  "Just tell me if I go too fast, then.  And, good job by the way." 

Despite her motives, Abby had successfully move the mare in a circle.  Sasha nudged Wobias forward and started leading the way across the back field.  The shaded lane along the back creek seemed like a good place to start. 

"Cow tripping?  Cows are pretty sure-footed, I - oh.  Tipping.  Cow tipping."  Not that cow tipping really made more sense or was more feasible than cow tripping.  "I don't think that's actually true.  I mean - have you ever tried to push a cow?"  Sasha glanced over at Abby, fairly certain he knew the answer.  "You're welcome to try.  It's like trying to push over a car.  I think Americans like to make stuff up a lot.  It's going to be weird, though.  And I hope the Durmstrang students aren't as ... you know ... tough as they say." 

"Nooo, you're a gentleman. That's a compliment," she reassured him with a laugh when he wondered if he should be more invasive. Sasha and invasive just didn't belong in a sentence together.

After some protest, he began leading them down one of the trails. Abby made a fist and shook it in victory, and then quickly returned her hand to the reins, settling for a smug grin.

She merely stared at him in baffled amusement when he wondered if she'd ever tried pushing over a cow. Oh right! Hypothetical! Where was the fun in pushing a car or a cow, anyway? She preferred pestering fellow human beings. Abby glanced at Kelsie. So far, the horse hadn't spit, turned her head around to bite, or made hilarious snorting noises, even when Abby urged her a little too closely to the heels of Sasha's horse. Abby patted her neck and tried to relax in the saddle.

"They will be," Abby nodded, thinking of the stories she'd heard about the Durmstrang group. "But you got used to Professor Storm, right? They probably just need some getting used to."

She paused as they passed below a row of trees, where the sunlight dappled on Kelsie's coat. "I hear the Beauxbatons students are all into pretty things and art and dancing! And they've got a lot of pretty boys. Tall, with accents, and their uniforms!" She exclaimed with an exaggerated eyebrow waggle she'd picked up from Figaro at his party. "And the Salem students, they like that muggle stuff. Making up stuff about cows. Which sounds amusing."

Abby let out a wistful sigh. "Aren't you excited? A bit? A teensy bit?" She continued in a teasing tone, aware that seeing Ollie would not be easy for him, but hoping that he would enjoy the tournament and meeting the other students. Focusing on the good, superficial things made the start of the school year and saying goodbye to her wizarding friends a little less upsetting for her at the moment, too.

"How would I know?" Sasha offered in his own defense.  Sure, Abby hadn't said anything but she didn't need to.  Sasha could read easily enough between the lines of her baffled stare.  Sasha hadn't known Abby for that long.  Who was to say she hadn't spent her youth trying to shove cows over in their sleep.

Alright.  So that wasn't that likely.  Especially given what Sasha knew about Abby's family.  He just couldn't see Professor Reid encouraging or supporting such past times. 

"Well, we have cows," Sasha offered, glancing pointedly at Abby.  The corners of his mouth twitched as he tried not to grin.  "If you're wanting to try, you can.  They won't be asleep, though.  But, they usually sleep lying down, anyway." 

Sasha grinned, blushing slightly at the mention of the pretty Beauxbatons boys.  "Well - I ... um ... I suppose.  It will be fun to hang out with them.  Are they really all tall?"  Sasha glanced at Abby, mostly sure that that was a bit of her exaggeration.  "I heard the Americans are more muggle-friendly.  It'll be interesting to have them around; I'm hoping some will join the muggle appreciation club."  He was trying to sound eager and enthusiastic but it was as much for his own reassurance as for Abby. 

"Aren't you excited? A bit? A teensy bit?"

"Kind of." Sasha shrugged, slightly, not sounding very convincing.  He wasn't sure what to expect from the year.  Already, it seemed like the social dynamics at school were going to change.  Ollie would be back at Hufflepuff and ... was that going to affect Sasha and Figaro's friendship?  "I wish you could go, though.  It's too bad we can't sneak you in somehow.  I guess your sister would notice though, wouldn't she?" 

"What are your plans for the year?  Are you ... do you know what you're going to do?" 

Abby shook her head, returning Sasha's almost-grin with an oh so mature wrinkled nose. She'd pass on going near creatures that were ten times bigger than her. From a safe distance, Abby would joke (and make terrible puns) till the cows came home.
 
"They're taller than me, I can tell you that much," Abby shrugged at his question about the Beauxbatons boys. Admiring from a distance! She could do that too. "If you ask them to join the muggle club - Beauxbatons boys, Salem students, whatever - I'm sure they would! Just don't bat your eyelashes. That's my move," she giggled in a knowing tone. Someone needed to give him regular confidence boosts, and Abby was more than happy to take up that role. Whether he appreciated her particular way of showing it was another story!
 
The 'kind of' told her what she wanted to know, and she decided she would ask him more about it later.

"What? You think Aileen would mind if I stow away in your trunk?" Abby pretended innocence.

"I actually have something to tell you, Sasha," she subsconsciously adopted his hesitant tone, and lifted up a hand from the reins to tuck her hair behind her ears.

"How do I... can I get Kelsie to walk beside you instead of behind you? The view will be nicer!" She told her horse, who wouldn't need to stare at the bum of Sasha's horse any longer. And it would give her the opportunity to stall.

"You don't get people to join a club by batting your eyelashes!"  Sometimes, the obvious just needed to be said.  Since Abby could usually be counted on to supply the outlandish, the responsibility fell on Sasha to provide the obvious.  It was a system that, despite all odds, managed to work.  "I don't think I'd know how to."  He'd seen girls bat their eyelashes; he was fairly certain he'd seen Fergie do it a time or two.  He was pretty confident he'd never partaken in the activity. 

"My eyelids don't move that fast."  Sasha made a (sort of) valiant attempt to blink rapidly enough to qualify as 'batting.'  He was fairly certain he was doing the exact same thing he'd done in Egypt to get sand out of his eyes.  It certainly wasn't likely to get any foreign students to join the club.  He glanced over his shoulder towards Abby, quite certain he looked more like he had some turrets-like twitch rather than anything that could be considered alluring. 

He turned back forward, gave a few more attempts at batting before giving up on the whole endeavor. 

"Professor Reid would probably have my hide," Sasha answered.  "But, if you just hid out in Ravenclaw tower, she wouldn't have to know.  I bet we could convince Professor Trishna to not tell.  I'd be willing to take the risk."  It would never happen, he knew that.  So, by default, it was a joke.  But, he was honest when he said he wished it could happen.  He'd grown to rely on having Abby to talk to and spend time with. 

Sasha looked back over his shoulder at the squib, concern flickering across his features at her obvious shift in tone. 

"What?  Oh.  Just - squeeze your right hand and press your left leg against her.  Then cluck a little to get her to pick up her speed.  She'll catch up."

Abby clutched the horse's neck and had a giggle fit when Sasha turned his head and tried batting his eyelashes, just to prove that he was terrible at it. She gasped for breath, and shook her head, managing a few words between her giggling that if he did that again she was going to fall off the horse!

Hiding away in the Ravenclaw tower sounded like plenty of fun, though she knew he was only joking. Abby had never even seen it before! She had built up the castle in her head to be this fantastic whole other world, with Quidditch and millions of house elves and ghosts who spied on you in the loo. To some, it was just school or a second home. Abby pictured it with the wide-eyed wonder of a first-year, tempered with the bitter knowledge that she might as well be a muggle at the edge of the forbidden forest, staring at ruins for all the good it did her.

But Abby did not feel as sad as she normally did every August, even though she'd miss several new friends. Following his directions, she sidled up next to him and his horse, and gave him a nervous grin.

"Ok. So, you know Auror Trevelyan, right? The redhead bloke I'm always sending texts to?" She paused, pretty sure he knew who she was talking about.

"And of course you know Mr. Eleor. Dreogan Eleor," her eyes glinted with humor.

"And you know that there's the new Muggle Affairs office," Abby led up to the news in her roundabout way, glancing at the reins in her hands, and then back at him.

"Weeeell. They got to talking, as adults do, and they were thinking that maybe I could get involved a bit in the department?" She spoke fast, with a very wide grin. "I'd take a few classes that they offer there first, with Mrs. Eleor - Dreogan's mum. And then I could help out with a few surveys later. Like meet other squibs. And muggles."

Abby raised her eyebrows at him, her expression happy. Though she had no real reason to be nervous, she didn't often admit that something going on in her life was a big deal to her, and Sasha's opinion mattered to her more than he probably knew.

"Only officially, but yes," Sasha confirmed.  Thus far, Sasha had really only been around Auror Trevelyan when the man was there for official Auror business.  The man seemed nice enough though any impression of him had been somewhat tinted by the setting of each encounter.  In fact, Sasha really hadn't seen much of Trevelyan or Dreogan since back in March, before the werewolf attacks. 

He continued to nod at various intervals, confirming he knew all the details she was laying out. 

"Really?  That's excellent."  Sasha was excited for her.  Working with Dreogan and Hestia would be a good opportunity for her.  Luckily, through them, it'd give her opportunities to get involved and do things that others might not offer her. 

"What kind of classes are you going to be taking?  Are there going to be other people taking them?" 

It sounded like it could be a lot of fun and she was sure Abby would settle in well.  Had things ended up differently, it might have been something they could do together over the summers. 

"Well, hopefully they won't keep you too busy over breaks." 

Abby looked relieved. He was one of the reasons she'd gotten involved in muggle classes and branched out in the first place.

"I don't know yet, but I'm really excited," Abby grinned. "I'm turning into you, Sasha. With your sharpened pencils and extra set of erasers," she shook her head. "Ok, not that bad." She cocked her head to the side, looking worried. "But who will I mooch off of now?"

Important question.

"There had better be other students, for the teacher's sake. They need quiet people to balance me out."

The quiet person sitting next to her had been Sasha this past month, and Abby suddenly felt a touch dejected, looking at him with his upright posture and stylish riding clothes. He should be careful what he wished for, because he wouldn't be able to escape her during breaks! She'd have a whole term's full of texts and grins to send him.

"Not that bad?" Sasha laughed, glancing towards her.  "I'm not that bad," he insisted.  "I just-" studied all the time and got stressed when he didn't score as well as he'd liked.  Which, of course, was a perfect score. 

"You should be excited, though.  It'll be good and opportunities always seem to be build on each other.  Who knows?  Ten years from now, you might be teaching at Hogwarts."  As far as Sasha knew, it wasn't out of the question.  Squibs couldn't study at Hogwarts - a decision he wholly disagreed with, especially given some of the sorts Hogwarts did allow.  Werewolves; half-merpeople.  Centaurs had taught there.  But - he didn't think there was any reason she couldn't teach muggle studies one day.  Or, history of magic.  Neither really required magic.  "If you wanted to." 

Sasha glanced at Abby and shrugged.  "You could always owl me.  Or, maybe there'll be other students to mooch off of." 

"Or..."  Sasha offered, tentatively, unsure himself or of actually voicing what he'd been considering.  "I could just stay behind.  I don't really need to go back."  He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to.  And, he'd done well enough away from Hogwarts last year, right?  He could continue with muggle classes, get tutors for the other stuff - in fact, Kronos would probably be more than delighted by the idea.  He knew there were other witches and wizards that didn't attend Hogwarts.  Were they able to sit the NEWTs?

Teaching at Hogwarts? Abby glanced at him quickly, embarrassed. That was the kind of thing people said when they were intentionally mocking her or just handing out insincere flattery.

Sasha wouldn't do that. She knew he honestly meant it, but all Abby could do was let out a nervous giggle and shrug, dismissing the possibility. Abby had given up on the idea that she'd ever be able to study at Hogwarts a while ago; teaching there was laughable, even if it did turn out to be something she wanted. How could they respect someone who was wandless?

And it wouldn't be the same, she thought, owling him.

Then he suggested staying, actually staying behind, and a laugh caught in her throat. Abby stared at him with wide eyes. The reins went slack in her hands.

"You would do that?" Abby turned toward him as much as she could on the horse, sounding hopeful despite herself.

"Sasha..." she hesitated. "You don't have to do that for me."

She shook her head. No, it wasn't fair to him. Abby couldn't imagine why else he'd want to stay, and felt a rush of affection for her friend, mixed in with doubt and guilt.