i didn't know i was broken til i wanted to change (lysander)

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The inn was particularly slow today. Perhaps it was that "before the storm" calm before everyone set off to take their holidays all at once now that school was out. Alice Longbottom was sure she would see plenty of familiar faces within the halls of her parents' inn soon enough. As the blonde sat behind the counter, keeping watch over the quiet lobby area, she wondered for a moment what those familiar faces would say or think of her. Alice, the one who had been so in love with creatures and a sure fire bet to become a magizoologist, was tending to an inn. Not that Alice had any real complaints, of course. Her father was... okay and that was honestly all that mattered. He was still sick, and her mother tried to spend as much time with him as possible so the least thing Alice could do was help out around the inn. Jayden was off for the summer now so he could help out, and Phil would likely be able to help out here and there anyway, but Alice couldn't fight off the feeling of disappointment. So far, her life after graduation wasn't anything like she thought it would be.

It was funny that just a year ago, Alice herself had graduated. Now Phil had, and Albus had. And so had Lysander. Lysander. Alice wondered how he was. She hadn't seen him since around the second task, which was months ago now. So much had happened since then that she needed to talk to him about. She had met a guy, and while it hadn't really officially gone anywhere just yet, Alice found herself unable to really stop thinking about him. She wondered how James was, too. She doubted Lysander would know that, though. The Hufflepuff alum just really wished that she had someone to talk to, and that someone she wanted desperately to be her friend, Lysander Scamander.

@lysander

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Sander had been surprisingly busy in between graduation and that day. There had been a lot of paperwork to fill out to get him properly registered in a magizoology program, since he had insisted that he wasn’t just going to intern under his parents – that felt like cheating. And, of course, there was his girlfriend to consider. Sander spent as much of his time as possible with Susan, and when it wasn’t possible to be with her, he was thinking about her or trying to plan another date. It was kind of difficult to beat their first one, just because it was the first date and everything had gone off perfectly. In any case, though, Lysander finally had a free moment, and he decided to spend it in the Leaky Cauldron. He was hoping that Alice was working – it had been a long time since he had seen her, and in the whirlwind of the second semester of his seventh year, Sander had all but stopped writing letters to anyone, Alice included. Sander ducked into the Leaky Cauldron, surprised to see it so empty. He sat himself at a table in the corner, peering around for a familiar blonde.

@alice

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Alice nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard someone enter the inn. It had been so quiet for so long, she hadn't been expecting someone to suddenly walk in. However, she was elated to see who that person was once she set her sights on him sitting in the corner. The blonde practically rushed through the main lobby area of the inn and over to Lysander, nearly throwing herself at him as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She stayed silent for a moment, just really enjoying the hug and taking in her friend's presence. "It's so good to see you," she finally said, still not quite ready to break the hug.

@lysander

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Sander hadn’t immediately seen Alice when he had walked into the inn, but she had obviously spotted him, because soon he was surrounded by an armful of Hufflepuff. In general the Ravenclaw wasn’t one for physical contact, but the list of people he would accept hugs from was slowly growing – and Alice, of course, was on it. There was a long period of silence, and Sander didn’t mind it whatsoever; he liked the quiet, and being able to soak in being in Alice’s presence without words cluttering things. She said it was good to see him, and for a moment Sander sat and soaked in the color of her words, wisps of silver curling around him like a second embrace. “It’s good to see you, too.” He answered softly. “How have you been?” It had been far, far too long.

@alice