Metamorphasis... Sort of (Susan)

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Preparations for Brazil were going well, but Zander was still jumpy at every turn. He decided to spend the afternoon working on his animagus skills to take his mind off of it. He knew that Susan was working on it too, since she had told him and Bay and since it was Christmas break it was easy to write her and invite her over to his apartment so they could practice. He had been practicing for about a half hour already, only managing to turn into his cute little Fox self once. Susan was smart, though, he was sure she would have some insight that would help him figure all of this out in a better way. He also had Bay, of course. But he wanted to give her a break from his pestering about it.

The apartment was mostly packed up and they weren't taking that much with them because they didn't have much to begin with. Uncle Carson still owned the apartment, so they were able to leave all of the furniture and everything inside in case any of them came back to England. It would be there even just for a visit, that's where they would stay. Susan had been there before so it would be easy for her to find her way.

@susanvictoria

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Susan had gone home right after the Yule Ball this Christmas break in order to attend her favorite Yuletide tradition - the New Years Eve ball the palace threw every 31st of December. It gave her a chance to get away from the castles and all the concerns about the Triwizard Tournament, away from prefect duties and homework, and just a chance to be a normal person. Well, as normal a person as a royal could get. She was also hoping that she’d get an opportunity to stop in and see Braelynn and Zander; she knew they were moving to Brazil soon to get out of Elaine’s reach. While Susan knew that this was for the best, seeing as her friends were in mortal danger while Elaine still lived, she would still miss them terribly. Andy had not been herself for the past few weeks, and Susan was worried about her too. How would Andy be once their best friend moved so far away? She didn’t know, and she was scared to find out.

Thankfully, she received a message from Zander, asking her to meet them at the apartment. She burned the letter immediately as instructed; they had figured out a code system and had learned quickly to destroy all evidence before it landed in the wrong hands. Susan wasn’t entirely sure there was anyone who would be spying on her inside the castle walls, but who knew. Desirae had sent her spiders after her back in October, so perhaps her own paranoia wasn’t too far off. She reached the apartment and tapped the code on the door. “It’s me, Susan Victoria Windsor,” she announced, stating her full name while she waited for one of them to answer the door.

@zander

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Zander heard the buzzer and Susan say her full name. Braelynn was out of sight at the moment, sleeping in their room in fox form probably, so Zander just went ahead and buzzed Susan in. Zander wasn't the one in hiding, so he had people over sometimes. Rarely, but sometimes. Mostly he just took little fox Lynn out and played his gigs and whatnot. He spent more time with his guitar and the fox than anyone else.

He opened the door so he could look down the hallway so he could see her coming up the stairs. Once he did, he grinned and made his way down to her. "Hey Su," he greeted, leaning forward to kiss her cheek, true to Zander fashion. "Cold out? Come on, I'll get you some tea or choco or something warm.What do you want?" he asked, leading her inside.

@susanvictoria

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Susan heard the door buzz and she pushed it in, stepping over the threshold. Out of habit, she glanced behind her shoulder to make sure nobody was following her. The only one who really would care why Susan was meeting with Zander was likely Deisrae Rousseau and she was dead and buried six feet under the ground. Elaine probably would know, but as a Muggleborn, Susan doubted the woman knew of her existence, or didn’t care. Desirae however had been aware Susan knew she was still alive, which was why she had sent the spiders to spy on her. Mercifully, since her death the only spiders Susan had seen were dead ones. She much preferred that to the alternative.

“Hey Zander,” she returned, giving him a one armed squeeze as she walked inside. “Freezing, but nothing some hot chocolate couldn’t cure,” she told him with a smile. As he made his way over to make her drink, Susan looked around the tiny flat. Braelynn was likely in her fox form asleep in the bedroom; Susan wouldn’t disturb her now. The revelation that her best friend was an Animagus had been surprising to Susan, but had also helped stir the embers of Susans own desire to become one. And now? Zander was one too, and that was partly why she had come to see him. She took in all the boxes that were mostly packed and smiled sadly over at him. “So...it’s really happening isn’t it? You’re really leaving?” she said, half asking.


@zander

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Susan greeted him and he grinned, happy for her touch as she squeezed his arm. She said she was freezing and mention hot chocolate and he was moving within a second, getting the hot choco ready with his wand in motion. He had never been the best at magic, but making hot choco was simple enough.

He turned back to her as she asked the question, about them leaving. He frowned a little. ”Yeah we… we need to figure out the best course of acting to protect Bay,” he said softly. Then, he stood a little straighter and puffed out his chest, ”I won’t let anyone hurt her,” he said firmly. ”I know you understand that,” he held his hand out and a cup of finished hot chocolate floated into it, and he held it out to her, his hand on the hot bottom so she could take the handle.

@susanvictoria

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Susan gratefully accepted the hot chocolate from Zander and took a sip. It was hot but not too hot, enough though to create steam curling in tendrils from the mug. “It’s delicious, do you have your own recipe for it?” she asked curiously, taking another sip. She hadn’t been paying attention while he was making it, seeing as she had been more interested in the packed boxes surrounding the tiny apartment he shared with his wife, Susan’s best friend.

“I know you won’t let anyone hurt her. If you did then I would have to hurt you,” Susan said, only half kidding. Braelynn was like a sister to her, and she had been completely devastated in the few hours she thought her friend had died. She was fortunate enough to be one of the select few to know Braelynn’s secret, but she still didn’t like the idea of them moving so far away. “I understand it’s for the best. I’m just...going to miss her. Both of you,” she relented, shrugging a little. She took another sip of her drink. “But...that’s not the reason I came here,” she admitted, crossing over and taking a seat on the couch. She patted the seat next to her as she set the mug down. “I came to talk to you about when you became an Animagus,” she told him.

@zander

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Susan asked if he had his own recipe for the cocoa and his eyes widened. He chuckled and shook his head, "nooo. I just... make it... like regular cocoa," he chuckled, giving a shrug. "It's just from a packet," he admitted.

Susan said she would have to hurt him if he hurt Bae, which was fair. "I would expect nothing less," he said with a smile. She said she understood it was for the best, but that she'd miss them, but she added that this wasn't why she came there. "We'll miss you, too, Su," he admitted softly, his brow furrowing a little. Moving to a far away place with no friends... that was hard. That was hard for someone like Zander.

He moved to sit on the couch beside her, turning to her as she mentioned the Animagi. He grinned, "It's fun! But hard. I'm still not great at it. I'm sure you'll learn it much faster than I did. You're smarter than me," that was true.

@susanvictoria

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Susan took another sip, contemplating Zanders’ words on it being just from a packet. “Honestly, I have never had hot chocolate made from a packet,” she admitted sheepishly. “I mean...I’ve seen them in shops before but our cook always made our hot cocoa from scratch,” she explained, knowing she sounded a bit like a spoiled rich girl. She took another sip. “It’s very good though,” she added quickly, not wanting him to think she didn’t like it because it was homemade.

She set her mug down on the coffee table in front of her, and shuffled into her bag. She pulled out a sheaf of paper with notes scribbled down front and back on each side. “These are all the notes I’ve taken since I decided over the summer,” she said breathlessly, flattening them out on the table. “I’ve already done my mandrake leaf under my tongue for a month, so that’s all set. The vial is ready but...I don’t think we’re expecting lightning storms in the near future.” She sighed, sitting back on the couch. “I just...I haven’t the foggiest idea what I’ll be. Did you want to be...whatever your form was when you became an Animagus?” she asked, turning her head to look at Zander.

@zander

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Susan said she'd never had chocolate from a packet, saying it was good but of course mentioning her cook. "Neither had Bay," he shared. He always realized how different his life was Bays when he talked to Susan, Andy or Bay. All three girls had been raised in wealthy households. That was hilarious to Zander. Showing Bay the world of instant muggle food was too funny.

Susan pulled out a paper and Zander leaned over to look at it, nodding at the notes. "It's looking pretty good," he muttered. Then she asked if he wanted to be the form he took and he grinned. "Well, a certain someone I happen to love with all of my soul has a certain animal, so I just became something very close to that," he explained, "I think the power really comes from animals you are familiar with more than anything else. What kind of animals do you hang out with?"

@susanvictoria

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Susan chuckled. “You did marry a woman from a well to do family that is completely obsessed with Purebloods and the ‘old ways’” she reminded him, making air quotations for the old ways part. Of course, she had been raised in a royal household, but she was still a Muggleborn, so she knew more about the Muggle world than either of her best friends did. Still, she had not partaken in any sort of instant-made foods, as they had always employed a chef to make fantastic home cooked meals. “Well before you leave I want to make sure we send you off properly. I’ll have our cook prepare all your favorite British foods so you can remember how good it can actually be here,” she told him, only half jokingly. She was perfectly able to provide them with this meal, but she had always known British food had its reputation of being bland or boring.

Susan couldn’t help but smile at Zander’s next words about Braelynn; she knew how much he loved her, otherwise they wouldn’t be sitting here on this couch together. “That’s fair,” she commented with a nod. “I dunno, I spent a lot of time in my childhood riding horses, and my friend has an equine affinity so that would be cool,” she mused, thinking it over for a moment. It would be pretty awesome to be able to communicate with Lysander in her Animagus form, and she knew it would make him really excited. But...what about Casey? “Perhaps I’ll become a bird; that’d be cool to fly around,” she added, trying to shake the strange thoughts she was having from her mind.

@zander

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Zander chuckled too. She did have a good point. Pretty much all the main girls in his life right now were rich girls, which was kind of a funny thought. Susan offered to make them a proper feast of British foods so he and Bay could remember how good it was here, "so we'll come back sooner?" he guessed, chuckling again but this time the sound was a little more sad. He didn't want to leave but... he felt it was the right thing for them. He'd miss England. But, it would also be nice to be with family who knew Bay was alive for a while, while they sorted this newly wed thing out and stayed away from danger.

Susan spoke how she spent a lot of time with horses and how her friend had an equine affinity. Zander was so jealous of those with animal affinities! He was a vegetarian because of his love for them, for goodness sake, but he still didn't have that. Well, not everyone was special in the same way. He smiled at the mention of a bird, "that would be cool! I like being something smaller, personally, but a horse could be quite useful. You could get friends out of situations quickly?" he suggested.

@susanvictoria

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Susan laughed. “Yes, even though the reasons you’re leaving me are perfectly understandable,” she admitted with a sad sort of smile. She was really going to miss the both of them terribly. At Hogwarts, she and Zander had always been friendly but she had been so close to Braelynn who had been her roommate and class partner regularly. The past few months however Susan had gotten the opportunity to get to know him a lot better, and she was very glad to consider him her friend now. “You’ll come back eventually?” Susan asked softly, a glimmer of hope in her voice. She couldn’t imagine never seeing them again.

Susans demeanor changed when Zander mentioned getting people out of situations. “Hey if I am a horse people will still have to get permission to ride on my back,” she proclaimed. “I’ll just have Lysander around all the time to make sure people know not to just jump on for fun,” she added. Bet Casey would love that, she thought, and grimaced slightly before catching herself. “I haven’t told anyone yet, except for you and Bay. Not even Andy knows, though Merlin knows she doesn’t need more secrets to keep,” she told him honestly. She had wanted to tell Andromeda about her quest, but she never had been able to find the right moment. Someday soon it would come, or so she hoped.

@zander

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Susan said their reasons for leaving were understandable, and he nodded. He knew that. She asked if they'd come back eventually and his lips pursed to the side. "I'd like to think so... we just need to sort some things out first," he answered softly, not sure if that was really a good answer to the question. He really did think they would, it was just a matter of when. He didn't like leaving everything behind when it was all so dangerous, but they needed a better way to hide Bay.

She said that if she was a horse people would have to ask her permission to ride her back and he laughed. "Lysander... he talks to horses?" Zander put together. He nodded and took in a deep breath as she said Andy needed no more secrets to keep. "I think just myself and Bay knowing for now is fine, Susan. The others will understand why you kept it a secret. Wanna see my transform?" he offered excitedly.

@susanvictoria

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Susan nodded at Zander’s question on Lysander. “Yes, in his way. He can sort of...feel their emotions and talk to them telepathically. It’ll really help him when he’s a magizoologist; he wants to ensure that the unicorn population is on the rise again since they’re still being hunted for their horns,” she informed him, sounding quite proud. It was strange; Casey was out there, saving lives as a Mediwizard, and yet here she was more proud of Lysander working with unicorns. Susan chalked it up to the fact that she loved the creatures herself; they were so pure, kind and gentle even from a young age. Susan balked at the sight of blood, so it made sense for her to be more interested in Lysander’s work - at least, that was what she told herself.

“Oooh yes!” Susan exclaimed delightedly, eager to see Zander’s handiwork. She had obviously heard of what form he had taken from Braelynn but had not seen it in person. She imagined fox Bay and Zander were adorable whenever they were curled up together. “And I know you have some things to sort out first, her safety is more important than my wanting her to be here,” Susan added softly. Bay would have to be gone long enough for Elaine to finally lose interest in the Rousseaus, or find something else to entertain her. She sat up straighter, eagerly waiting to see Zander’s transformation.

@zander

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Lysander sensed horses emotions...? Okay, that was strange. Magic always had a way of weirding Zander out. A lot of times he wanted to just not worry about it and fully integrate into the muggle world, but now that was entirely impossible. He was married to a very, very talented witch and was somewhat involved in magical warfare, so really he was in it to win it whether he liked it or not. Magic is amazing, don't get him wrong, but it is all rather complicated at times and a lot to take in. He simply nodded at her description of Sanders ability, then stood as she said she was ready to see him transform. She added that she understood about them leaving, and he nodded.

"Well, here goes," he took in a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes. Then, he tapped his right foot over his left and spun in a circle, transforming as he did until a little Canadian Marble Fox was in his place. He looked up at her with big eyes, his ears folding down a little with embarrassment. He was still new to this!

@susanvictoria