It’s been nearly a week since… l’aventure. Sophia couldn’t say that she’d recovered from it very well, despite being the one who initiated both its beginning and sudden end. All the more surprising was how often that afternoon still preoccupied her thoughts. Not just the distant memory her lover managed to elicit, but the brunette himself (this was an unwelcome development). After his hasty, agitated departure that makes two for two, Soph realized - where she cuts off their meeting to send him off in a (largely unsatisfied) huff. No one in their right mind likes odds like those. It seemed increasingly likely that they would not see each other again (this realization nagged at her more than she would like to admit).

Despite this (or rather, in spite of it), Sophia turned her attention to other, more pressing matters. Like literally the rest of her life. The work of a ballerina was long and exhausting, and the work of a single mother was truly never done either. Fortunately Julien was happy to stay playing with his cousins today, while Sophia took Cosette out for some long overdue mother-daughter time. They made a trip out of visiting the nicer parts of Hogsmeade, stopping by the zoo, then the owl emporium, and finally Gladrags to buy a few slightly oversized skirts that Cosette could grow into. For a moment, she forgot all about what happened.

Of course, these thoughts had no trouble coming back to her the second she stopped being busy. Her six-year-old was adorable and everything, but hardly much of a conversationalist, and devastatingly selfish. She really didn’t give a shit over mummy’s heartbrokenness, and made a big fuss over Soph pinky promising to let her run to the park across the street after this to play flying kites. In what felt like a very one-sided negotiation, Sophia stopped them here at Honeyduke’s first, so she could force a sweet pastry treat down the girl’s gullet to prevent her from passing out.

That is what brought them here - sitting outside at the café (very Parisian). The brunette had an idle cigarette in hand as she watched her daughter finish up her snack with relish. Sophia’s own lemon tart lay untouched on her plate, and it would stay that way for a bit longer – for a very familiar redhead beckoned from the corner of her eye. He had just stepped outside Honeyduke’s, and stood at a table nearby.

“Lissington! Gus!” Sophia bid a gloved hand in his direction as she called out. Her voice rang with surprise and genuine delight - why, they hadn't properly seen each other in a few years, as the last meeting must have been during Jacob's funeral. “Oh my goodness, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes? Please, come here and join me. I won’t take no for an answer.”

---

---

It had started with a single nudge, one little bump back in January. Just a small inkling in the back of his mind of an untruth, or a half-truth; that he wasn’t good at his job. He wasn’t cut out to be a professor. That his skillset was better put to use somewhere else where he couldn’t put children in harm’s way. It consumed him; Basil and Mason assured him otherwise. He was an asset. They were lucky to have him. But Gus knew that those were words you said to someone when you weren’t sure what else to do. Then two days ago a ministry worker had made the same comment - maybe he wasn’t cut out to be a professor - and he could only wonder who else in the crowd had agreed with that comment?

A single nudge and the entire twist of dominoes had fallen down.

It shifted from a half-truth to just... the truth. Of course the days in-between that single nudge and the dominoes falling had been taxing, they stretched him thin until he felt broken, and Gus had deemed the summer of eighteen ninety two the summer from hell; nothing went right and as the days ticked by, his luck kept getting worse and worse. He wanted to tuck his tail between his legs and run back off to Egypt but he couldn’t. That situation was messy and he didn’t want to even fathom the repercussions he’d face if he ever went back there; that thought broke his heart because if there was a single thing Gus loved in this world nearly as much as Basil Foxwood, it was curse breaking.

The thoughts had been consuming as he’d laid beside Vincent until they were too loud in his head. He’d left the man a note - he didn’t deserve to be walked out on without one after making the man spend hours upon hours in bed with him as he poured out all his anger and negativity. Letting his feet do the walking, Gus hadn’t been surprised when he found himself out of Honeyduke’s Sweet Shop. It had been a while since he’d some chocoballs, and if he cleaned the entire shelf of them… he certainly didn’t hear Quin complaining.

Gus stepped outside of the shop and lingered near one of the tables, contemplating if Vincent would allow him to crawl back into bed with him because he didn’t have to be anywhere until tomorrow (a dreaded school event that made him want to disappear under a rock to live out the rest of his days), or if he’d kick him to the curve. A voice cut through his thoughts and he turned then, finding a familiar looking brunette he hadn’t seen in ages.

Gus tucked the bag of sweets under his arm and waved at her, his strides long until he reached her side. Then he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss against her cheek. “Soph! You are a sight for sore eyes,” he laughed as he took a seat at the table across from her. “And you brought my other favorite girl.” He returned his attention toward Cosette briefly to greet her as well as she scarfed down her treat. “You’re so big now. Next time I see you, I’d wager you’ll be just as tall as me.”

Shaking his head, Gus laughed quietly. “How have you been? We’re both stuck in London for a bit, eh?” Oh London. The place he wished he hadn’t returned to.

---

---

Sophia leaned up as they exchanged la bise, giving her dear friend a quick squeeze on his arm as she clicked her tongue in mock disapproval.

“So it is you,” she playfully marveled as he took his seat. “Of course, I’d recognize your head anywhere. There’s no mistaking top-tier ginger spice when you see it,” she added with a small snicker. This nickname was the product of a heavily-imbibed evening in Barcelona, a small group of them celebrating his escape from the tomb (for the record, she was allspice, for reasons… unknown to this day). That must have been some eight or nine years ago now, and goodness how their lives have changed. 

“Hi Uncle Gus,” Cosette beamed up to him, swinging her feet while she wiped a sleeve along her crumbly mouth. Here was a perfect demonstration of a smile that was hers, but Jacob’s eyes. Sophia affectionately swatted a few crumbs from red cheeks. “That would be silly. You are too tall.”
 
“Hmm, and if we’re all stuck in London for a bit, you’ll probably see Uncle Gus a bit more now, won’t you?” Sophia questioned innocuously enough, but her glance back to her friend put two and two to ask a different question altogether. There was a lot on both of their minds, when they’d last met in person. For Gus to say he was stuck here in London, though, meant that things… changed a bit, over this last year and a half. By how much?

“Now I’m sorry that I didn’t think to write to you sooner. The kids and I moved here in January. With, ah - Lennon, Bauer, Paola, and Damien, if you can believe it,” she recounted a few of the names of people from the old ballet company that Gus had come to meet over the years. Notably her late husband’s business partner, his mentor, and Sophia’s longtime protégés. In other words, a few members of Soph’s chosen family, and the only people she’d trust to make a successful foray into London’s ballet scene. For them to move with her was a pretty significant sign – she was making moves on what she and Gus discussed last time, and investing near-everything her husband had left behind.  “So you can imagine. It’s been a proper mess getting settled these last few months,” she added this with a meaningful smile as if to say, more on that later.

“But how long do you intend to stay? You must come see one of our shows in the city before you leave! Don’t you dare pay for a ticket, either.”

---

---

Grinning at her, he couldn’t help but shrug at her comment. “And my darling allspice, I could pick you out of a crowd.” Unless that involved also seeing her triplet sisters, because he could have a lifetime of staring at each of them and he wasn’t sure he could tell the difference with any of them; physically, at least. Sophia certainly had the largest personality of the three and that’s why she was his favorite.

Chuckling, he turned his attention toward her oldest child.“Too tall?” He gasped playfully, his hand sprawling across his chest, before he leaned closer to Cosette and kept his voice at a high whisper for Sophia to overhear.“Well, if your mum says it's okay, I’ll introduce you to my friend, Fridwulfa one day. She’s very tall. She's taller than Honeyduke's!” And a giant, who wasn't known for being particularly friendly. He couldn’t even fathom how he’d fallen into a giant’s good graces and he most certainly wasn’t interested in figuring out how long it lasted. Sometimes Gus winded up in situations that made him ponder quite frequently how in the world he was still alive.

His attention shifted back to his friend. “A lot more. Especially when you start Hogwarts. I’ll be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.” He noticed Sophia’s glance and nodded; things had changed in the last year and a half - drastically, although for the better, he wasn’t entirely sure yet. “I’m terrible at writing too, although if you’d written I’m not sure I would have gotten it. I moved… quickly.” And spent months inside a genie without much contact with the outside world. He shrugged again; more on that at a later date. “I love to hear how successful you seem to be doing, although I can’t say I’m surprised, Sophia. If anyone can bring the ballet to London, I know it’ll be you.” He back at her, curious as to all the smaller details.

Then came the old question that made him groan quietly; it’d been an internal battle of how long he wanted to be a professor. If he even wanted to be one. “For the foreseeable future. I came back in January because I was homesick-” A lie he was sticking to. “But I guess I know now it was probably because you were here, too. I knew in my heart I wanted to be near you again.” It was a good thing Sophia knew his preference or someone might think he was trying to tempt a widow. He loved her, but not in the way she probably needed in life. (Boy did he know all about those frustrations.)

He continued then. “I’ll be at Hogwarts for the school year, and then I’m not sure.” Bartonburg? He’d been considering buying a cottage in the middle of nowhere Ireland, but Gus thrived off people. He knew he’d get lonely, and he wasn’t entirely sure he could tempt many of his friends out there. Turning his attention toward his friend, Gus laughed and held his hands up in surrender. “I would love nothing more than to come to your show, Soph. Owl me a ticket and I’ll clear my schedule.” Gus reached out to take her hands in his hands before giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m proud of you.”

---

---

Sophia didn’t even try to hold back her laugh at their age-old nicknames, and resolved quickly that everything would be better here in London if Gus was around. He had a reassuring presence about him, like a heavyweight blanket around her shoulders. She watched delightedly as he and Cosette went back and forth, not all that worried about who this Fridwulfa was. She sounded properly terrifying (and, knowing Gus, probably deadly), and this only made Cosette throw her hands out in laughter and exclaim at the idea of any being taller than Honeydukes.

At his little career change announcement, however, both ladies Voss squealed in surprise in unison and at the exact same octave.

“Mummmmy! This means I have to go to Hogwarts now, right? Once I’m eleven I have to? Then I can do all my homework to meet Fridwulfa?” the girl tugged insistently at Sophia’s sleeve, while the woman herself took a moment to recover from shock and murmured a hasty agreement to shut little Cosette up for a moment. “A professor? Really?” She wasn’t surprised that Gus had the mettle to do it, obviously. But a meaningful, searching look betrayed Sophia’s twinge of worry. This meant… his stay had a bit more intent-to-be-permanent, which came as a surprise, as she also knew he loved cursebreaking in Egypt more than anything else.

“I see,” she mused, mind working through what may have prompted his hasty move. It made her return smile a bit lackluster as he complimented her, and she thoughtfully took a final drag from her cigarette before dashing it out in an ashtray. “Well at any rate, I’ll be sure to mail you tickets tonight. Giselle is always very popular during the Season, mums like to take their newly minted debutantes in for a cautionary tale,” she absently encouraged Cosette to finish up her treat, though the girl was getting fussier and antsier now that Gus was around. “So there are plenty of dates to see it before you go back to school. We’ll make it like old times, meet after the show for a lark.”

Cosette decided once the conversation moved away from giants and chocolate that this was the right time to remind them of Sophia’s promise to let her run to the park and watch the kites fly. Soph swatted at her to stop, but the girl kept whinging and wriggling petulantly in her seat. With an apologetic glance at Gus, the woman twisted in her chair to tug Cosette to a stand and brushed crumbs off her dress before rearranging its lapels.

“Fine, fine. Go carefully. Stay here at the end of the park, where we can see you. And you know what to do if a stranger approaches you, yes?”

“Kick him in the shins and run back screaming,” the girl deadpanned, nodding righteously. Soph balked, mouth dropped open slightly.

“That’s… not what I taught you… but it will do.” The girl squealed and gave her Uncle Gus one big hug (nevermind her mum, evil overlord that she was) before she raced across the street towards the kites. Sophia made a mental note to ask what the hell the girls were teaching her during rehearsal breaks.

“Um,” the woman returned to their conversation a bit bemused, but offered a gracious and warm smile to her old friend. “Thank you, Gus. That is very sweet of you. It’s your encouragement, you know. That got me to look into what I could do with Jacob’s endowment.” But her brows stitched then, and she pulled no punches. “But what’s all this about being homesick? Is everyone all well at home?” That’s the only reason she could think of, that wouldn’t be worse news.

---

Gus laughed quietly as he nervously rubbed the back of his head, especially as both girls seemed to squeal at the thought of him being around. “I needed a job, and you know me, I’d die a very slow, painful death if I had to sit behind a desk for the rest of my life. A professor seemed… fun?” He arched an eyebrow at her. “But yeah. I’m here. It’s been something else. First years? Terrified of ‘em. Seventh years? Ohhh boy.” It had been a trying semester and going back for an entire year was terrifying - at least he’d have Mason and Basil by his side. Everyone had always seemed shocked by the idea that he was going back. Hell, he was shocked himself.

“Yeah, I’ll be there, definitely before school starts. I also get a weekend off every month to do as I please, so don’t worry about school nights.” He joked, but having the opportunity to relive some of the good old days sounded like something he needed; Sophia Voss always offered adventures, and he was never one to turn one day. Gus hummed quietly as he looked at her; Sophia always had a drive to her, although to find back in London was interesting. He always assumed she’d stay in Russia, or even move to where Jacob’s family was located to be near them. Hell, even America had some budding companies, and Sophia’s would have blown them all out of the water with her dedication to the art.

His attention turned away from why she was in London to watch her interact with her daughter, and he laughed quietly at their exchange. Cosette was going to be a force to be reckoned with when she was older. She was strong-willed just like her mum. Caught off guard by the end, he quickly returned it before she raced across toward the kites. “I’m glad I could help, but it’s all you.” His gaze turned back toward Sophia and he offered her a smile before shrugging. “You should know how it is. You’re off living your own life and things here change so quickly. My sister eloped four years and assumed I knew. Ma doesn’t recognize me anymore.” She’d written to him a few times come home before I forget your face but hadn’t expected it to be true; having her confused as to why he was in the house, who he was to her. It hurt.

Frowning, Gus leaned forward and lowered his voice. “William was trying to blackmail me. What he was asking of me, I couldn’t live with myself if I went through with it.” William Ash, the man who had branded him as a sodomist, and the one person Gus was truly frightened of. The smile that pressed against his lips was strained. He brushed back some hair from his face and paused. “It was time, Soph, to come home." He leaned back and assessed his friend, his hands folding against the table. “But London? How long are you staying? I never thought I’d see the day where either of us decided to put down roots in a place.” He always figured they’d both perish aboard somewhere, living out their dreams. But London had its way of digging its claws into people and drawing them back home.

---

---

A hand flitted to Sophia’s mouth in an attempt to hide her amusement at the idea of Professor Gus. Imagine, if you will, something like a teddybear joker wrapped up in chocoballs with a penchant for mischief, and then imagine that monstrosity responsible for children ages eleven to seventeen. She did not doubt that it was quite an experience for Gus to navigate these new realities, in the same way she did not doubt that he did much better with his students than he let on. “The first year of any new role is hard. But I think Professorship suits you,” she volunteered. Just how much Cosette and Julien loved him was all the evidence Soph needed to know it was true.

She listened with apt interest as her dear friend described what happened, her fork dilly-dallying on her lemon tart and only taking the smallest nibbles out of the need to do something idle. Every now and then they would watch Cosette, who maneuvered masterfully to the park and started to climb up the small hill for her best vantage point, little brunette curls shining in the summer sunshine.

“Wait. Fig eloped?!” she echoed briefly, her laugh came out a sharp laugh. A part of her wanted to needle as to why an elopement - was Gus an uncle now? - that was the only reason she could think Fig would leap into something like this, she the less chaotic sibling of the two.  Although before Soph could probe further, her favorite ginger dropped another life-altering matter as though it were of little import, and then another. Sophia’s brows knit together, and she flinched at the last, deciding then to drop her attempts to eat anything altogether.

“Oh, oh Gus,” she started, reaching out to grip his forearm despite herself. It wasn’t a romantic or possessive grip. More reassuring, in the way her fingers squeezed him, the way you’d clasp on to someone when you’re both on a liferaft out on a tumultuous sea. He was like a brother to her, and the flippant way with which he discussed such things devastated her. That much was written on her frown as she scanned his inscrutable freckled face.

“My goodness, Gus. I am so sorry. About your mother. About Egypt. About everything-- this must have been such a difficult time for you to weather alone,” she murmured, hands clinging to him. Of course, she had her own debacles to work through, but her heart panged at the idea that she was not there to see him through so much of this. Unless, of course. He wasn’t alone. But this seemed unlikely, given what happened before…

“That… rat bastard. I never liked him,” she added emphatically, though her look barely concealed how much more she wanted to know. To really know. To hug Gus and shake him and ask him to tell her everything. The matter must have grown dire if he was forced to leave, however, so a heavy line of inquiry such as this felt like far too much for their chance reunion out in public. So she asked instead, quietly enough for just him to hear. “This… trouble with Ash.  It has not followed you here, has it? If it has I’ll murder him,” she added, and the look in her eye did not suggest at all that she was joking. Soph didn’t consider herself an assassin mercenary by any means but… perhaps things could be arranged. As much as Gus tried to downplay the matter, her heartrate raced. She didn't need to know the particulars to know the gravity of what these consequences could be for her friend.

With a soft sigh and shake of her head, as though to shake off cobwebs, Sophia kept her hands on Gus’s forearm as though this might shackle him to safety forever, but leaned back in her seat. “If you told me even three years ago that we would both be sitting here, in Hogsmeade, anticipating our lives to be here in London for the foreseeable future - I would have laughed in your face,” she pointed out, her smile faint. “Whether I like it or not, I am financially tied to this place for now. At least until the children are older. Or perhaps until an exotic prince charming comes sweep me off my feet,” she let out a derisive snort. Then she leveled a searching, curious look at him, as though asking a question when she added,“It's easier to not go it alone.”

---

Gus laughed quietly but made no further comment on the professor business; he loved his dear Sophia so much, but he had little desire to rehash why he thought he wasn’t a good fit with someone who would argue he was. It was common thought in his head for most of the summer. But he couldn’t help but grin at the reaction of his friend at his sister’s news; of the pair, Fig was always the one with the level head. Gus had run off to curse break while his dear sister had begrudgingly left behind to debut and be a debutante. Of course she'd look at and applied for jobs; neither Mam or da had issues with it, but it was typical for men to not want their wife to work at all. (Fig would go absolutely mad being a housewife.)

“She was hit by the amortentia infused envelopes a matchmaker sent out and they decided to give it a try. Guess he’s a Magizoologist and roped her in, so now they travel the world studying mermaid and merrow migration patterns. We keep missing each other.” Of course he was well unaware that the dog, Seamus she continually mentioned in her letters, was actually her son, and boy would he be in for a surprise when he learned that tidbit. For now, he was blissfully unaware.

Sophia’s fingers gripped his arm and he blinked up at her, before offering the brunette a slight smile. He brought his fingers up and rested them against her hand. “Please, don’t be. I’m okay, Soph. I promise.” He could see how he might be upsetting her, but she had asked and he wasn’t one to keep things bottled up inside. If things blew up in his face - which they often did because Gus was never one to consider any sort of consequence when making life altering decisions, and look where that got him. In situations like this.

He couldn’t swallow the laugh that bubbled out of his throat quick enough at her comment, even though he could see that Sophia wanted to know all the details. But that wasn’t a here or now conversation. Gus didn’t want it to be an ever conversation but his dear friend would pull the full story from him whether he was willing or not. “No, he hasn’t. Soph, I promise I’m okay. But thank you.” Gus squeezed her hand in an attempt to reassure her; he had left so abruptly that he wasn’t even sure if Ash was aware he’d quit or even if he was in London - a thought he was not going to dwell on. If anyone could make his murder look like an accident, he had no doubt it would be Sophia; props and places, on top of some of the people she knew, there was not a single doubt in his mind that she wouldn’t be able to cover up the murder of the Queen of England if she wanted to.

Removing his hand from hers, Gus laughed and shook his head. “I think I would have called you a liar. I know neither of us want to be here, but.” He shrugged then, nothing bothering to finish the sentence. “I know the ballet will be successful, and you’ll be whisked away by some prince who is captivated by your dancing.” Leaning forward, he gently poked her nose. “I don’t know any exotic princes, which is shocking, but I do know a couple single professors. One for you and one for me.” Not that he could even imagine Mason Skeeter sweeping Sophia off her feet. And well… it should come to no shock that here he was, over a decade later and still desperately in love with someone who didn’t want him.

Her questioning look he wasn’t sure what to make of; he tilted his head as he considered her statement, his lips pursing together. Was she looking for a particular answer? Something he hadn’t said but had alluded to? Gus rubbed the back of his neck before he flitted his gaze up to her. “It’s easier to not have to do anything alone. How about this? When we’re both sick and tired of Hogsmeade, you pack the kids up, we combine everything we own and travel the world until we’re dirt poor.” Leaning back in his chair, the professor breathed out a snort. “I just don’t want to resent being here. As if I didn’t come back on my own free will.” Gus could have holed away in Ireland.

---

---

“My goodness. A leap of faith elopement over Amortentia…” Sophia had only heard vaguely about the scandal through letters from her sister, and hadn’t thought about it since. Though the reference to the powerful potion seemed to unlock something in her mind with a resounding click, momentarily startling her away from their train of conversation. It took a moment for her to realize that Gus had even withdrawn his hands from her. She hoped things worked out well for Fig, at any rate. She’d always been closer to Gus, but as they were so similar in other ways, Soph appreciated her by proxy.

The brunette could not say she was entirely convinced by Gus’s reassurance that he was well and safe, however. While she trusted that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself – he was a cursebreaker, after all, and a damn good one – there were some times where Gus was perhaps too mild and kind for his own good. It led others to take advantage, or worse. It made him accept things even though they should not be that way. “I’ll accept that you’ve overcome it all,” she let her skepticism show as blue eyes scanned his face appraisingly. “But you are entirely too gentle for your own good. I hope you might let some of your friends act as your guard dogs, every now and again. There are people in this world who would do anything for you, you know.” She smiled then – obviously she meant herself, but she knew that Gus had others he could count on too. He was simply too beloved for it to be otherwise.

Soph turned to watch her daughter at the park for a bit, humming in agreement with the fact that despite all odds, England still had its way of dragging them back in like a leg caught in quicksand. Consolatory as Gus was over the matter, and his confidence in her success, Sophia wasn’t sure she would ever feel at home in this country again. The ton - British society – it was all so stifling and ugly.

With a rueful giggle as he bopped her nose, Soph swat at his hand. “You naughty little professor, you!” She declared, perhaps a touch too loud but frankly giving very few fucks about what some strange old ladies had to whisper to each other. “I’m afraid that exocitism or royalty of some kind is requisite, though I would accept it if they just had either or,” she went on dramatically, before adding with a coy grin and quieter inquiry, “But tell me more about the one you found for yourself?” Sophia knew of Basil, of course… But she hadn’t thought of him once in many years, and hadn’t the faintest that their paths had crossed again here.

“Otherwise, we have a deal. We shall make the most of our circumstances, and if things fail to go in our favor, we shall adventure around the world for the rest of our days! Cosette may forgive me from withdrawing her from Hogwarts if she gets to be with her favorite professor, after all,” she added teasingly. “Though speaking of prospective failures…”

Sophia tapped her chin for a moment in pause for thought, but quickly decided if anyone could help her weigh in on this objectively, it would be her oldest friend. She rifled through her purse briefly then, and from it withdrew a small, blank envelope with a blank cardstock inside, which she proceeded to hand to Gus.

“Would you mind giving the card inside a sniff, and telling me what you smell?” she asked innocently, but anyone that knew her would have rightful cause to be suspicious. In this case however, the request was quite straightforward. “Don’t worry, it won’t intoxicate you,” she waved away any concerns, assuming he would want her to clarify in advance. “I’m just trying to see something.”

---

---

Not sure if should smile or grimace at Sophia, Gus nervously the rubbed the back of his head; he’d never been good at sitting still and even at Hogwarts he’d wore his fair share of finger stocks to keep him from strumming his fingers against his desk or playing with the edges of his scarf. Or sleeves. Or anything really that he could brush his fingers against. He hadn’t outgrown the habit. “I know. And I appreciate you, Soph.” Gus finally answered, although the thought of allowing any of his friends to act as his guard dog was terrifying - he didn’t care what the consequences would be, he’d never allow his friends to get hurt on his account. Sophia had to know that, but the sentiment was still there. He loved her.

She turned to watch her daughter and Gus watched her; she was a good mom and loved her children, that much anyone could see. Cosette and Julien were growing up with a good role model (despite what other people think, given that she gave up comfortability in the middle class for love, and Gus found he’d do just about anything to be happy), and he was thrilled to watch them grow up. Selfishly, he wanted them to stay in England as long as he was there.

Laughing, Gus shook his head, a soft blush spreading across his cheeks. She had no idea what he’d been up to the past few weeks and it wasn't something he was going to openly tell her in the middle of Hogsmeade when her daughter could run back at any time. Or the old gossipy witches could overhear and remark rather loudly about their conversation. Gus chuckled at her need for one or the other, but found his brain was trapped on the idea of what he could tell her.

He leaned forward before groaning quite loudly. “It’s been a decade and my god, I’m still in love.” Gus scrubbed his hand across his face and sighed. “It’s been… turmoil? I guess. We’re on an upswing, quite a good upswing. Not that anything happened outside of some kissing. Sometimes it’s like whiplash. One minute it’s yes and the next minute I feel like he’s disgusted with himself for being near me like that.” Pausing, Gus couldn’t help but shrug as he sheepishly smiled.  He knew that was Basil's problem. He knew he shouldn't hang around waiting for someone who probably would reject him in the end, although hopefully not as cruelly as he'd done their seventh year. Gus tried to prepare his heart but he knew he'd shatter in the end.

“But do you know that feeling, when you’re just meant to be with someone? Like he just smiles at you and the world falls into place even as it’s burning around you?” His mind drifted to his friend and her late husband; they had been happy from what he could tell, and so clearly in love that it made his heart skip a beat. Gus loved them as a couple and he hoped one day, if Sophia wanted it, she could be that happy again. “I love Basil more today than I did yesterday.”

And with that declaration of love out of the way (not that Sophia should be surprised at all because it had been love at first sight when Gus laid eyes on Basil), he laughed, although perked up at the failed prospects before he could articulate a response. He shouldn't be surprised - Sophia was beautiful, smart and an all around wonderful person. Men should be dropping to their knees begging to be with her every time she walks down the street. Gus just hoped that whoever had been caught her eye was good to her.

Taking the card from her, he looked at it curiously, turning it over in his hand several times. It appeared innocent enough, although knowing his friend he wasn’t quite sure what to expect from it. Blue eyes flicked to her for a moment and then it brought the strip up to his nose and sniffed it.

The smell, almost instantly, reminded him of Basil. He scrunched his nose up. “Old books and quill inks with a faint scent of pumpkin.” Gus looked at her quizzingly as he arched an eyebrow at her. “I don’t understand. What is this?” Sliding the card back into the envelop, he handed it back to her, although he was already speaking. “Are you okay? Did something happen? Do I need to be a guard dog because I’ll kill someone for you, Soph.” The thought was almost laughable, but he’d certainly try.

---

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If Sophia’s sweet little smile turned a bit wolfish at the way Gus started to blush, she certainly didn’t mean it. That reaction told her all she needed to know – the (endearing, of course) term of naughty professor only scratched the surface! At least one of them was having better luck in this department.

“I appreciate you too, Gus,” she replied serenely, registering his fidgety tells for what they were – the dam about to break. The ballerina waited patiently for it, relishing in a bite from her lemon tart as she did. Few people in the world knew Sophia as well as Gus did, and the opposite was also true. If either of them believed for an instant that marriage could simply be a platonic business arrangement, they’d be married already. Perhaps this would stop with all their broken-hearted fuss. But of course this would never work, since they were complete fools for believing in true love. Separately, but much in the same way, they were attached to outcomes that could simply never be. The shared plight made them soulmates in their own way. Soph loved him dearly; his wins felt like her own, as did his losses.

Which is precisely why when he started with it’s been a decade, Sophia’s mouth dropped open at about the same moment her fork fell to the plate with a clatter. An elegant hand covered her mouth while he went on.  Soph had to work hard to keep her reaction in check. On one hand, she knew exactly how Gus felt (oh, completely and truly she did). The woman nodded emphatically as he described the world falling into place even as everything burned. Why, she wouldn’t have left everything and thrown away her reputation if it weren’t for that feeling.

But on the other hand, this news worried her terribly. She could see it already: heartbreak creasing her darling redhead’s freckled face in devastation. Sophia had a damn “thesis” of her own to punch into Basil’s guts if they ever saw each other again, outlining all the ways he’s acted like a child and been awful to Gus (not that she would - only because of Gus, who would probably combust at the sight of his two nearest and dearest fighting). This was Soph’s protective side, grimacing knowingly as he described whiplash.

This conflict was easily evident on her face, but Soph bit her tongue. It wouldn’t be fair to throw this all into his lap right now. She also knew she had a habit of jumping hastily into action, and decided that she ought to sort out how she feels about this all first. The brunette looked on, hapless at Gus’s positively gleeful expression, unable to say anything. What could she do, anyway? Discourage him? Perhaps things might be different now, she wondered, even as her gut said otherwise.

“Oh, Gus. I am… happy for you, truly I am. I can’t… believe you’ve run into Basil again?” And kissed?! “Under what circumstances?” Clearly, she hadn’t put two and two together, and wondered if Gus may have sought him out. It didn’t seem like him. Though time and despair (particularly with circumstances like what drove him from Egypt) can cause people to do strange things. Merlin knows despair led Sophia to do downright crazy things. The woman compartmentalized her grief away easily, however (the benefits of being a tenured performer). For this discussion, Jacob stayed tucked away gently in the far reaches of her mind, where she could tell him all about what she learned later. Neither of them had any prejudice towards matters of the heart, and in fact, they spoke frequently about their dear friend Gus and when he might find his own partner for life. How they might all enjoy a visit to the wineries in the Spanish countryside together one day.

It was pensively, then, that Sophia waited for Gus to open the envelope and take a sniff of the parchment inside. His response only served to confirm that sinking feeling in her heart, and now it was Soph who blushed slightly. Two small red spots high on her cheeks spoke more to her feeling flustered than embarrassed, however; she refused to live with shame. Gus’s rapid line of questioning caused her to pinch the bridge of her nose and scrunch her face up.

“I’m fine,” she sighed with a wave, parroting right back at him what he told her, but it was true. She wasn’t going to break over this. But it made her feel awful, and certainly made her regret that she’d… ended things, so swiftly. “Bloody hell. Everyone has different answers. I even asked Cosette, she said it smelled like the ocean, fresh cut flowers, and chocoballs.” She glanced sharply at Gus as though to imply this was his fault, but her daughter’s undying love for her godfather was a well-documented phenomena. “What happened to your sister is what made things click in my mind. I think this is… Amortentia, its effects dwindled down to some fancy fucking cologne.” The curse betrayed how bitter Sophia felt about this.

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He almost winced as her fork clattered to her plate; ah. She hadn’t been around for their final year at Hogwarts and hadn’t been there to witness the way Gus had puppied after Basil much of the year without much thought. For him, it had been love at first sight - it was like his soul had sung and proclaimed that Basil Foxwood was meant to be his person in life. It was why, here and now, it was so damn difficult to describe why he didn’t want to move on. Why he clung so tightly to what was and what could never be unless he allowed himself to daydream.

His dear Sophia, from the expression that she bore on her face, must be having similar thoughts about Basil, but when he’d written to her from Egypt for the first time, he’d spilled his heartbreak and confusion onto paper in a way he could never express in words. But this time would be different! Things with Basil would blow up in his face, yet this time around Gus was fully prepared for the consequences. He would leave Gus’s world in nothing but rot and ruin in the end, and he would merely sit amongst the ash to remember the fonder times with him. Maybe this time he’d learn his lesson - maybe this time he’d learn love in this world wasn’t meant for someone like him, not in the end. Gus Lissington was going to live a happy life and ultimately die alone.

Basil would fall in love, get married and have a gaggle of giggling children underneath his feet, as was expected of him. He could see the way yearning in his face when he looked fondly at the first years, the desire for a family of his own. And Gus would turn a blind eye to the heartbreak that would come from it, letting him slip through his fingers like sand when he was ready for that. And then what? Gus knew he’d be better off in a dark tomb away from the world, surrounded by ghosts that would haunt him a hell of a lot less than his own thoughts.

Clearing his throat as he finally dislodged himself his thoughts, Gus’ eyes softened as he twisted his fingers in his lap. Sophia celebrated his wins just as much as he did hers - and she would feel the inevitable heartbreak just as much as he would. Still, the man managed a smile. “We’re both professors. He teaches Transfiguration which I’m not shocked at because he’s bloody brilliant at the subject…” Pausing, Gus flashed his friend a grin; he could take for hours about Basil, and while he was quite aware Soph would listen, he wasn’t quite willing to put her through that.

Instead he turned his attention toward her, and couldn’t help but chuckle as her face pinched at his rapid questions. Gus felt a surge of protection under his skin, and he wanted nothing more than to tuck Sophia beneath his arm and hold her close. Even as she waved him off, he couldn’t help but think she wasn’t, and even though his eyebrows were pinched together in worry, he relaxed quite quickly and shrugged. He loved Cosette as if she was his own and was quite flattered that the young girl smelled at least something related to him. (Although she may have the beginning signs of a sweet tooth, too.)

“Sophia,” Worry spiked his words and Gus swallowed around his tongue. “Even if you were willing, that’s fucked up if someone tried using Amortentia on you to get what they wanted.” He couldn’t help the growl that escaped from him as he reached forward for her hand; she was angry about whatever had happened, that much he could tell. “I know places to dispose of bodies where no one will ever find them-” Because no one would ever look for bodies in tombs where curse breakers had already been sent to explore. “If you say the word. Fuck this Soph. Whatever happened is not okay. Amortentia is powerful and for someone to have it in a bottle to wear when they please?” Gus gritted his teeth and extracted his hand from hers.

“There’s no real spell to combat it. And don’t ever underestimate how powerful it can be…” He wanted to make sure she was okay; and even if she was (because Sophia Voss was a forced to be reckoned with), there wasn’t a bone in his body that didn’t want to throw hands with the man who made her uncomfortable. Angry.

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From the way Gus described Basil, combined with just one look at that little grin curling itself on his lips and faraway look in his eyes, confirmed what Sophia already suspected. Gus was very much in love. Now in retrospect, perhaps he never really stopped being in love with Foxwood in the first place. Even though he shouldn’t be. Merlin, with anyone but that one. But it was clear her darling redhead was on a runaway train now, and anything Sophia said would be the equivalent to galloping on a horse next to it begging that he dive off. The woman didn’t need to ask Gus to know what he would do: he’d stay on the train, even as it charged off a cliff.

They were both stubborn and single-minded about what they wanted in that way.

“Yes, he was always good with Transfiguration,” she admitted, at loath to say anything nice about him at all. But she recalled the times she and Gus took tutoring sessions with Basil in preparation for their OWLs. He was sweet, and helpful, and wanted more than anything for them to do well. Gus took it more seriously than Sophia did, who at that point already set her mind on dropping from school for her European tours. “I’m sure that dealing with the surprise of now working with him has been… interesting,” she added with raised eyebrows that suggested Gus wouldn’t be entirely off the hook in admitting to more details. Now may not be the time, but she was quite curious.

At least part of the reason that this wasn’t the right time was, of course, because her little revelation over Ozymandias Dempsey’s cologne seemed to draw out the rare ire of one Augustus Lissington. Vaguely she wondered what would happen if the two of them ever joined her in the same room. It seemed highly unlikely, especially since she wasn’t likely to be in the same room with Oz anytime (possibly ever). But if they all ever met… Would they get along?

This wasn’t an ideal first impression, in that case. Sophia idly pat her friend’s hand as he expounded on the dangers of Amortentia, laughing a little at his growl and threats of murder. Well if this wasn’t the perfect case of trading places.

“Oh Gus, but… it wasn’t anything like that. He wasn’t trying to get what he wanted… I was the one who approached him, you see. Um, very aggressively.” And it had been very nice, every second of their passionate encounter, until the bitter end. But Gus’s initial reaction helped her feel a bit vindicated, as though she wasn’t that far off her rash conclusion about his cologne at that moment.

Still, it felt too reductive to chalk Ozymandias up as a villain. She tried to remember what he said, before she kicked him out of the room. “...I think he had no idea it would impact me in the way it did. I’m sure it's a less potent version of Amortentia, something I don’t ingest so it just makes him… smell nice? And when we met for the first time, I couldn’t even pick up on it. ”

It felt good to air out her theories. Though she owed nothing to Ozymandias to prompt his defense, Sophia hated feeling that she’d been unfair and short-sighted. “Truthfully, I wouldn’t say I was in the right state of mind when it happened. We had just performed, and I decided to key up my adrenaline with snuff. It heightens the senses,” she reminded him, wearing a small grimace as she recalled what happened.

“Gus, we did nearly everything there is to do as a couple. Right up until I did that snuff and we laid down together. Then just one whiff of him while we kissed and I…” Blue eyes dropped to the table to avoid his look. “Well it took me right back to the trip where Jacob and I fell in love. As vivid as you speaking with me right now. I never wanted to remember that moment again... Never in my life. Feeling it that way utterly destroyed me… and I made him leave. With extreme prejudice.” The witch sniffed and quickly wiped the single tear that she felt on her cheek, more from bitterness over how broken she felt as a human than anything to do with the man that reminded her of the cracks.

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He could tell it killed Sophia to say something nice about Basil, and it nearly made him wince; had he accidentally painted the man in the wrong light? It wasn’t a topic for now, but he’d definitely mull over everything he’d said to her when he laid in bed later tonight. “It’s been interesting, but it’s been… great. Well, most of the time. Growing pains at the beginning but I think we’ve fallen into a rhythm. And he’s excited to see I’ve come back, so surely I couldn’t have mucked things up too much…” Gus was rambling, that he knew. He had so much to tell her - the Hinkypunk, the snogging, the fights, more snogging… and maybe then she could begin to wrap her head around the whiplash that was Basil Foxwood.

And hopefully too, Sophia would understand why Gus couldn’t let him go.

She’d like him. He was sure of it.

However, he was more interested in hearing about this mystery man that had wronged his dear Sophia with Amortentia. What idiot would play around with such a potent potion and not realize it had that kind of effect? He puffed his cheeks out and huffed at her. Sophia had been impacted by the potion and he hoped that whatever feelings she thought she’d had had happened prior to ever smelling the potion. “Well, I’m not shocked you’d go after what you wanted…” And she reserved the right to do so; Jacob had made her happy, but she was still so young and deserved a second chance at love. Maybe this stranger had been what she wanted.

Gus’ eyebrows knitted together. “Are you sure that he was even wearing it the first time you met?” Because if she couldn’t smell it… or had he ramped it up for their second meeting so he could take advantage of her in ways she hadn’t comprehended. If she’d been willing, and knowing Sophia she wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want to do, under a spell or something of the like or not, Gus was still unsure how he felt. Maybe he’d done it to ramp up their passion to new levels - that he could partially understand, to make it more enjoyable for both parties, but still… forcing Amortentia on someone without their consent just seemed wrong. The snuff probably helped how potent the smell was; maybe he'd used that to his advantage too. 

His lips pressed together in a thin line before he sighed quietly, and as her eyes dropped he reached out to give her hand a squeeze. “Soph, I can’t blame you. I wouldn’t want any memory to taint the ones where I fell in love, either. Jacob was your person, your soulmate, and well… those memories are something sacred. If I was laying with someone and placing them in a memory of falling in love simply because of how they smelled, I’d make them leave too.” It could taint those memories, seeing someone else’s face in place of the one he expected. 

His finger trailed over hers as she wiped the tear before he could. “And if he was angry about that, then he wouldn’t have ever fallen in love with you. He would have just used you for whatever you were willing to give. So fuck him, Sophia. You deserve the world, but mostly, you deserve someone who will give it to you like Jacob did.” Gus just hoped his dear friend would see that.

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Sophia’s impulse for dramatics made it hard to determine that fine line between unreasonable and justified. Over the last fifteen-odd years, Gus served as her acid test for exactly this. His anger on her behalf helped put to rest any residual embarrassment over what happened, it even drew out a small smile. Though it made her feel no less discomfited, her anxiousness coming out in an impatient bob of her foot in the air. She had no evidence to prove that what Ozymandias did was benign, but she trusted her instincts, and instinct told her that it was.

Similarly, she supposed, she ought to trust Gus’s gut about Basil (though she’d rather eat glass– she could never say that). So perhaps this was the role they had to fill for each other, Soph decided. Neither had anyone else who knew the other so intimately without demanding something more from the relationship. This made them each a counterbalance to any number of the others’ poor questionable life choices. The angel to the devil on each others’ shoulders. A voice of reason in a sea of anguish.

“Well, I’m certain he was wearing it the first time we met, because I ignored the idea of what it reminded me of,” she admitted. “It was one of our first showings for Giselle, and you know… This was Jacob’s production, completely. I was already thinking of Jacob a lot that night, and then we happened to meet.” A shred of dignity prevented Sophia from admitting just how much she thought of Jacob, though Gus could likely guess. She often ‘spoke’ to her late husband in private, and candid as her conversation with Gus now.

“The scent might explain a piece of my initial attraction to this man, though that alone couldn’t have caused me to think about him as much as I did after. We did not speak again for weeks, nor did he push for it… Not until I invited him to visit me.”  Sophia took a great amount of interest in her fingernails while she explained, because she wasn’t interested in seeing her best friend’s expression, and if it was the same pity everyone leveled her for being a widow.

“I think… I hoped, after nearly two years, the memory wouldn’t hurt as much,” she conceded. “The most distressing part has nothing to do with the man that caused this, but what our incident showed me. That a piece of me is broken beyond repair.” Her hand moved to the spot where her heart was, and where any quiver of grief threatened to take over her expression, Sophia rejected it in favor of a shy, brave smile. Godric’s beard, she wished she had a whiskey right now. Nevermind that it was early afternoon with her child in tow.

“Oh Gus - I’m not looking for love at all. I doubt I can, ever again…” For all the reasons he just mentioned, things validated over what occurred. “What I had is impossible for most people to find even once in their lifetime. I was lucky to have had experienced it at all. How could I expect to find it again? That’s like lightening striking the same tree twice.” The woman bit the inside of her cheek then, warily assessing her best friend. Because she knew this might resonate with him, in a different way. The love he would never be able to demonstrate in its fullest, for all to bear witness; an impossibility in a different way.

The woman reached out to squeeze Gus’s hand. Her single anchor in this universe, beyond her children. “The best I can hope to find now are the things that simply make me happy. That make me feel good. Uncomplicated things.” she laughed, a bit sheepish that she considered even a brief affair with a married man uncomplicated. Which in the grand scheme of what her life has been lately… it was. And even that now was a muck-up.

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Humming quietly, Gus waited for Sophia to finish speaking, although he couldn’t pinpoint why she would be so dismissive of this man’s behavior. It had upset her and for that she should be angry, but on the other side of the coin he was well aware of how he justified Basil’s actions toward him, too. It was always the ones with the pull, the interesting ones who felt like they could be something more if life would let them, and for that, an excuse justifying their horrendous behaviors could always be made. Unlike this man who the professor believed used his dear friend, Basil was wishy washy in what he wanted. (And somehow Gus knew that Sophia was a glutton for punishment and would go back to this man time and time again because he had intrigued her, just as he was always pulled back into Basil’s orbit.)

He nodded. “I understand. Too wrapped up in emotions to notice well… anything around you.” He kept his voice low, his hands twisting on the table to keep from reaching out to her again. If Giselle was important to Jacob it would be important to Sophia by default, because he’d seen the way the pair had shared everything. Jacob looked at her like she was the sun and the stars and in  turn she looked at him like he was the sun - Gus just wasn’t sure either of them had ever been told just how much they looked like they loved each other. And with his unfortunate passing it made sense to him that this production - Jacob’s production - would become one of the most important things in Sophia’s life.

But she continued to speak and Gus nearly winced but managed to school his expression; he wanted to ask what had drawn this man to her in the first place, outside of the scent. There had to be more if she was reaching out to him. But from the way she wouldn’t meet his gaze he knew this was a question better suited to be swallowed by darkness. “There must be something about this man then, outside of his scent. Does he have a nice face?” A joke, maybe? Something to lighten the mood, and the idea that this man may have resembled Jacob in the slightest never crossed his mind. Really, Gus just wanted to understand her perspective but the thought occurred to him that she was probably just lonely, looking to have a void filled in ways that he himself couldn’t fill for her. (Even if he could he wouldn’t because why ruin a perfectly good friendship over casual sex?)

Her next statement broke his heart and he frowned at her, wishing for even just a moment that she could see herself the way that he did - hell, probably the way the world did. She was friendly and loving, a string to his balloon to keep him constantly rooted to the world. “Sophia, I don’t think you’re broken.” Gus shook his head without returning her smile. “Did you know Basil called me unnatural? When I left… I didn’t care what happened to me because I felt broken too. But the wonderful thing is darling, that you can take that raw pain and channel it into something else. Hell, take it and burn the fucking world down to ground and rebuild it into your creation.” His lips curled into a smile because that was almost what he had done - he had taken the boy who took every word to heart and broke him into pieces, just to forge himself into something better. (He was still a person who took nearly every word to heart but at least he no longer allowed them to break him as he did.) Sophia was stronger than him in most aspects, especially emotional ones, and if there was anyone who could turn ashes into something beautiful, it would be her. 

Her next words… Gus understood those too. All love did was lead to heartbreak and ruin in the end. It was confusing and complicated and messy. (But deep down he knew even if it killed him in the end, Gus would take the chance to have it recuperated, even just for a day.) There weren’t any words to say to that because he knew how lucky she was, so instead Gus smiled at her to convey his understanding. He squeezed Sophia’s hand in turn. “Okay, so not love. But does this strange man make you happy? If not, please let me introduce you to Mason.”

Although the very thought made him laugh - Mason and Sophia were polar opposites in every way.

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