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last online Mar 29, 2024 3:08:52 GMT -7
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Aug 2, 2019 13:23:00 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2019 13:23:00 GMT -7
february 4, 2025 Cecelia had just returned from France. It had taken a series of Floo network hops to her her across the English Channel, and then she had Apparated into the Leaky Cauldron. She hadn't wanted to disturb anyone's peace - it was nearly midnight and she had a feeling most sensible people would be asleep this late on a weeknight. she was hoping one particular person was awake, though.
Cecelia had kept in touch with Grey as much as she could in France, but it was difficult when she couldn't tell him her real reason for returning there. She had given a half-baked story about being closer to her parents and needing to see the stars from a place with less light pollution. Whether or not he had believed her was a different story, but giving false updates about her parents (whom she hadn't actually spoken to since Desirae's death) and vague comments about how viewing the stars felt wrong. The truth was out of the question, as it always was, but she hoped it hadn't been enough to drive him away.
She was also hoping he hadn't moved. Cece doubted Grey would do such a thing without telling her, but nerves prickled through her anyways. She hadn't told him her precise date of return, in case it needed to be changed, so this was a bit of a surprise, too. Cecelia couldn't stall any longer, though. She knocked.
grey xavier slater
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grey xavier slater
HOGWARTS ALUM DAILY PROPHET QUIDDITCH REPORTER
688 posts
played by Colin
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last online Mar 28, 2024 19:39:46 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Aug 4, 2019 21:27:39 GMT -7
Post by grey xavier slater on Aug 4, 2019 21:27:39 GMT -7
@cecelia 02.04.2025 More responsibilities at the Daily Prophet meant longer hours than Grey had initially thought would be required under his internship. As the months dragged on, he was given work that was starting to look like it would lead into the full-time position he had been eyeing since the beginning. The few snippets he had personally worked on were still not under his name; some rule about interns not being allowed to have their names attached to publications because then they would have to pay them more. He wouldn’t have minded a pay increase since that would mean he wouldn’t have to be dipping deeper and deeper into his measly savings account his parents had set up for him years ago. Pretty soon here though, he would be up for review for that full-time journalist position. Those in the Quidditch column seemed to like him enough and he definitely had the background to do good work. The only problem he was having so far was switching from the mindset that he wasn’t an editor-in-chief anymore and that there were dozens of journalists and higher-ups that had decades of experience over his tiny three years and change.
Part of his attempt to look like a hard worker was by staying until they virtually kicked him out of the office. It was a far cry from what he had been like in school, outside of his work for the paper, and tonight was no different. The cleaning crew that comprised of house elves gave him a stern finger wag when he almost refused to let them clean up the stack of empty coffee cups on the corner of his desk, finally making him realize that he needed to pack up and head home for the night.
The trek back to his apartment was unbelievably easy. When he had been in auror training initially, the location was a lot further away than he liked it to be, but was now a sort of blessing in disguise. It was like he unconsciously picked it because it was closer to Diagon Alley, and thus, the headquarters for the Prophet, before fully realizing he was going to end up working there. The walk was super quick at night due to the lack of crowds in the shopping district and in the morning he could practically roll out of bed and be to his desk in less than thirty minutes. It kept him in the action yet removed him just enough where it was a comfort to be away from the office. The best part was that he rarely ran into his parents or Claire, the latter of who he was still trying to gauge following their brief conversation during Christmas.
Taking his time getting home, he only made it halfway up to his floor before remembering that he had forgotten to check his mail. The normal, muggle kind of mail. He never actually had any, and today was no different, but there was something relaxing about opening the box anyways and confirming that it was empty. Leaving it without knowing would gnaw away at him until he actually checked it. Quickly returning to the front entrance only wasted a few minutes of time that he would end up spending laying around on his couch anyways, and soon he was back up to his floor and turning down the hall to where his apartment was.
Keys in hand, he was flipping through them to prepare to unlock his apartment door when he looked up and stopped. Cecelia was standing at his door, knocking on it. Grey’s immediate thought was that he was far more exhausted than he thought he was, and he was hallucinating. She hadn’t given an exact date in any of her sparse letters of when she would be back to London, and yet here she was, at his door. “Hey,” his voice cracked down the hallway.
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last online Mar 29, 2024 3:08:52 GMT -7
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Aug 5, 2019 11:38:15 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2019 11:38:15 GMT -7
Maybe not telling Grey when she was going to arrive had been a mistake. It had seemed so sensible not to tell him in case she needed to move the date back, but now that she was here and he wasn’t answering the door, it didn’t seem that way anymore. She wasn’t waiting for long before she heard a familiar voice – just not where she expected it from. Cece pivoted, eyes locking on Grey, just down the hallway from her. Hey. Was there a good way to respond to that? Cecelia wasn’t sure, and her heart crawling up into her throat didn’t help much. She had tried to avoid thinking about Grey too much when she was in France – focusing on him just made her stomach turn when she thought about what she was doing – but now he was in front of her and all that missing was hitting her at once.
“Hi,” she responded when she managed to swallow her heart back down to where it was supposed to be. “You’re out late.” Cecelia winced at her own bluntness. It wasn’t atypical for Grey to be up into the wee hours of the morning – or at least it hadn’t been – so it would follow he would be out later than most. She really hadn’t wanted to start their reunion with an accusation, not when Grey had so many more reasons to be upset with her than she had to be with him. But Cece also wasn’t much for grand romantic gestures, especially not in semi-public like the hallway of the apartment building. “Can I come in?” She asked, gesturing towards the door. It was weird to ask the question when he wasn’t even in the apartment himself, but it was better than her comment about his staying out late.
grey xavier slater
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grey xavier slater
HOGWARTS ALUM DAILY PROPHET QUIDDITCH REPORTER
688 posts
played by Colin
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last online Mar 28, 2024 19:39:46 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Aug 19, 2019 21:01:31 GMT -7
Post by grey xavier slater on Aug 19, 2019 21:01:31 GMT -7
@cecelia 02.04.2025 She responded, so that meant she wasn’t a hallucination. That was good. He was still complicating smacking his face just to check, in case this was all a trick of the mind. When she pointed out that he was out late, he nodded his head slowly. “Prophet likes to keep the interns late,” he answered, though was unsure if that was the answer she was looking for. He was always out late. That’s how it always was with him, even at school. Whether wandering around the castle after hours or nodding off over a desk in the common room while doing his work, he was almost always the last one to wander up into the dorm rooms. This shouldn’t have been any surprise to Cecelia, though late to her had a whole new definition now. Like a completely different one.
Asking if she could go with him into his apartment, Grey nodded his head again and finished his walk down the hallway, keys heavy in his hand. This was all so surreal: she was back, just like that. The initial shock of seeing her standing there still hadn’t worn off, because he wanted to be happy about that. Fumbling to find the key to the door, he clicked it open after a few tries, and pushed it open. He tossed his bag onto one of the hooks of his coat rack, and stepped to the side to make room for Cecelia to enter, “I’ll take your jacket,” he said awkwardly, reaching out to help her with it, while shrugging his own off of his shoulders. “When’d you get back? I would’ve cleaned the place up a bit if I’d known…sort of let it go the last few months since I haven’t had you around to show off too.” There was still a fake Christmas tree sitting in the corner of his living room, unplugged and void of decorations, but he had left it up because it made the place look like it was lived in.
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last online Mar 29, 2024 3:08:52 GMT -7
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Sept 7, 2019 9:08:10 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2019 9:08:10 GMT -7
Grey answered that the Prophet liked to keep its interns late, and Cecelia nodded. The knot in her stomach eased a little, though she couldn’t begin to say why; she knew Grey, and she knew that he wouldn’t be out doing nefarious things. He was… he was just Grey. And he wanted to do well in his work at the Prophet, which was absolutely no surprise to her. He had been the same about the school paper – he had cared more about it than his actual schoolwork, which had frustrated most of their professors. Now it was his job, though, and his only job. No one could get mad at him for wanting to do well in it.
It took him a few tries to get the door open, and Cecelia suppressed a fond smile. Even if things felt somewhat awkward, there was something so normal about it that she had missed. Being in France hadn’t felt like her life. It had felt like being someone else, like playing a game. A game whose stakes were much too high, which Cecelia didn’t want to dwell on. She followed Grey into the apartment, handing him her jacket when he asked for it. He proceeded to ask when she had gotten back, and Cecelia cleared her throat nervously. “About fifteen minutes ago.” She hadn’t been keeping track of how long she had waited outside Grey’s door, trying to gather her courage. Some Gryffindor she was. “I wasn’t sure, and I… didn’t want to disappoint you.” Cecelia’s eyes skimmed over the apartment, landing on the Christmas tree in the corner. “How have you…” Cecelia cut herself off before she could finish her sentence. How have you been? Like they were strangers. “I missed you.”
grey xavier slater
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grey xavier slater
HOGWARTS ALUM DAILY PROPHET QUIDDITCH REPORTER
688 posts
played by Colin
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last online Mar 28, 2024 19:39:46 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Sept 29, 2019 18:54:50 GMT -7
Post by grey xavier slater on Sept 29, 2019 18:54:50 GMT -7
▲ Grey didn’t even know how to rationally put everything together in his head. It was a bizarre feeling that he had – it was good, he thought, but he physically felt lightheaded at how she was suddenly back like this. His shoulders were stiff as he took her jacket and hung both of theirs up on the coat rack, and he already knew his speech was awkward. Being shocked like this really through him off. But Cecelia was back, and he couldn’t deny that he liked that. She answered his question as he was hanging the jackets, and he let the fifteen minutes ring through his head a few times. Fifteen minutes ago he was just leaving the office. As irrational of a thought as it was, if he had known she would be coming back tonight he would have hurried up a little bit. Having to stand out in the hallway and knock on the door wasn’t exactly the most pleasant way to wait in the world. She added that she didn’t want to disappoint him, and his eyebrows furrowed. About what? Not coming to see him immediately after getting back to London? Personally, he would have gone home first and collected himself before running off to see her after a few months apart. Mentally preparing for it so he wouldn’t be exactly how he was right now. Before he could say anything in response, she continued, saying that she had missed him. That was good enough to have him reach out to pull her into a hug. “I missed you too,” he said quietly. The light, feathery feeling that his head had been in since he say her outside his door moments earlier disappeared. This was how it was supposed to be. Everything was normal. A small laugh bubbled out of him as he continued, “But next time, please let me know so I don’t think your ghost has come back to haunt me. I really thought I was hallucinating there.”@cecelia ● 332 ● The Executioner by Fit For An Autopsy MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0
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last online Mar 29, 2024 3:08:52 GMT -7
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Apr 12, 2020 20:22:57 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2020 20:22:57 GMT -7
Something like relief washed through Cecelia when Grey said he missed her too – but it was the hug that really did her in. Cece had never been a particularly tactile person (blame it on her upbringing) but in the past months she couldn’t remember touching anyone beyond an accidental brush of hands. She took a deep breath when she was in Grey’s arms, trying to memorize the way he smelled not a vampire who was out for blood, but as a human who was in desperate need of another human. “I really hope there’s not a next time,” she whispered when he requested she tell him in advance if she was going to show up on his doorstep after all-but-disappearing. She had made that much clear to Elaine, she hoped, but Cecelia knew the Dark Lady did what she wanted with whom she wanted. Cecelia was a pawn in her game, and pawns weren’t allowed to have choices.
“If you were hallucinating, I would hope you would at least hallucinate me as better-looking,” she muttered as well. She knew she was worse for the wear – haggard would probably be an apt word – and wasn’t going to pretend otherwise. Cecelia didn’t consider herself particularly vain, but she hoped Grey remembered her as better than this. She cleared her throat, trying to find words to say, to explain herself. It was hard to do that, though, when she hadn’t been able to tell Grey her real purpose for leaving in the first place. “And for the record, I am not coming back as a ghost.” She didn’t know why she kept clinging to what he said. Maybe it was because she didn’t want to give him an excuse to let go of her, and if she moved the conversation on, they’d have to separate. She wasn’t strong enough for that yet.
grey xavier slater
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grey xavier slater
HOGWARTS ALUM DAILY PROPHET QUIDDITCH REPORTER
688 posts
played by Colin
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last online Mar 28, 2024 19:39:46 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Jul 19, 2020 19:08:01 GMT -7
Post by grey xavier slater on Jul 19, 2020 19:08:01 GMT -7
▲ He immediately felt stupid for assuming this would be a normal thing. That was months of worry and not knowing what to say when she showed up again (or if she did), catching up to him and taking over. Grey knew that chalking it up to nerves was okay to do, and yet he still mentally kicked himself a few times for saying it without really thinking it through. He figured this was going to take a little bit to get used to again. Eventually their conversations wouldn’t be this stiff and it would be just like before. Not that he was the most athletic oriented person out there, but Grey assumed that it would be like going for a jog for the first time in months. A lot of stretching was needed to get everything back in order. But this was Cecelia and he wasn’t too concerned about it taking too long. Her transformation from human to vampire had certainly been a bigger leap and took a lot more adjusting to than this sudden reappearance could. He was fairly certain about that already. It was a good thing she couldn’t see his frown when she complained about her appearance. He hadn’t even thought about that, more just perplexed that she was suddenly back. Yeah, she looked like she had gone through some things, but he had looked like he hadn’t slept in a month during his first official week at the Prophet. There were still visible signs under his eyes, now a light ring of purple as opposed to the baggy, almost swollen, look of exhaustion he had sported then. “I don’t care what you look like as long as you’re here for real," he answered, feeling almost like it was a cheesy way to put down her concerns, despite it being truthful. Real Cecelia over hallucination Cecelia was infinitely better. He let out a chuckle as she said she definitely wasn’t coming back as a ghost. “And if you did, you’d still be welcome here. But please don’t take me up on that offer. That might actually do me in.” @cecelia ● 352 ● Chinese Satellite by Phoebe Bridgers MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0
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last online Mar 29, 2024 3:08:52 GMT -7
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Aug 20, 2020 12:34:12 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2020 12:34:12 GMT -7
Cece’s heart twisted in her chest. Grey wanted her here. She knew that, logically, but it was different to hear him say that he didn’t care what she looked like, as long as she was there. He laughed, too, when she said she wasn’t coming back as a ghost, but Cecelia couldn’t help but frown when he said she’d be welcome at his place. She didn’t want to die, a fact that should’ve been obvious but hadn’t been up until that very moment. Being away in France for Elaine had made it painfully obvious how much life she still had in England, how much of a future was before her.
“I’m hoping to stay alive for a while yet,” she said. “I… I’m sorry, Grey.” Sorry for leaving, sorry for not staying in touch, sorry for how she had changed things between them with her absence. Before she left being around him was as easy as breathing, and now it was awkward again. Even if she never took another months-long hiatus again, this one was going to remain a mark on their relationship.
grey xavier slater
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grey xavier slater
HOGWARTS ALUM DAILY PROPHET QUIDDITCH REPORTER
688 posts
played by Colin
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last online Mar 28, 2024 19:39:46 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Sept 16, 2020 21:56:45 GMT -7
Post by grey xavier slater on Sept 16, 2020 21:56:45 GMT -7
▲ While he felt like he needed to be more stoic in this situation, and not let his emotions get the better of him, it was heart-breaking the way she was apologizing over and over again for something that was out of her control. He knew what to expect when their relationship began, that things weren’t always going to be easy and she had stuff that needed to be taken care of at times. Obviously the vampire bit was a curveball, but he thought they both took it in stride. Rolling with the punches was just a part of it, and while he had been lonely for the last few months, he knew she’d show back up eventually. Maybe a letter or two next time, if there was a next time like this, would ease his worries a bit. But this was Cecelia, and he knew what she was capable of. “It’s okay,” he said in response. Pulling away from her, he crossed the room to flick another light on. “I guess I should catch you up on everything that’s happened since,” he called over his shoulder as he blinked back the white spots in his eyes from looking directly at the light as it snapped on. “Pretty sure the Prophet is going to hire me full-time for Quidditch in the next week or two. Then I’ll have actual set hours.” Sitting down on his couch, he let his back sink into the cushions. It had been hours since he had sat on something that wasn’t his horrible desk chair in the office. “I’m pushing for a beat that’ll line up better with your schedule. Plus it’s quieter in the building at night.”@cecelia ● 282 ● Tu oublieras mon nom by Coeur de Pirate MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0
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last online Mar 29, 2024 3:08:52 GMT -7
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Dec 30, 2020 19:43:12 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2020 19:43:12 GMT -7
It’s okay. Cecelia bit her lip, wanting to insist that nothing was okay, that she didn’t deserve his forgiveness, but she couldn’t do that without explaining everything that had happened to her, and she… couldn’t do that. Not only for her own safety, but for Grey’s. Still, Cecelia needed to get better at believing that not everyone saw her as the monster she sometimes swore she was, and perhaps accepting Grey’s forgiveness, however unearned she felt it was, would be a good first step.
She watched as Grey watched the room to turn the light on, relaxing slightly when he said he was going to catch her up on everything that had happened. It seemed there was always something going on in Great Britain, and her contact had been minimal while she was in France.
“Actual set hours sounds nice,” Cecelia said. Grey could be a bit of a workaholic when it came to the paper. With everything else some people would call him… uninspired if they were being polite, lazy if they weren’t, but The Prophet was a good fit for him. “And so would seeing each other more.” Even when she had been around their clashing schedules had made it difficult for their relationship to flourish. They’d made it work then and they would again if they had to, but especially with her just being back Cecelia would prefer to see Grey more often rather than less. She followed him to the couch, leaving a respectable amount of distance between them when she sat down. “Other than work, how have you been?” she prompted.
grey xavier slater
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grey xavier slater
HOGWARTS ALUM DAILY PROPHET QUIDDITCH REPORTER
688 posts
played by Colin
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last online Mar 28, 2024 19:39:46 GMT -7
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Feb 2, 2021 21:24:36 GMT -7
Post by grey xavier slater on Feb 2, 2021 21:24:36 GMT -7
▲ The relief that having real hours was going to bring him would be immense. Obviously getting a handle on the structure of interviews for Quidditch matches and the likes would take a while, but it would be loads better than what he was doing right now. While he didn’t actively dislike being a runner for any reporter that asked, the ones that were barely older than him were the worst. They wanted to shirk their responsibilities as often as possible, and he could only assume that this was their way of hazing the interns. Luckily they weren’t anywhere close to being as aggressive as some of the Auror trainers had been, so he didn’t really feel the pressure they were trying to put him under. He believed that would make the editors and senior reporters take notice more, since he was devoted to work over screwing around with the interns. “Exhausted,” he admitted. “I’m not physically drained anymore like the Auror training had me. I guess any job will do that at first.” He wasn’t sure how else he could describe how he’d been since she disappeared. Lonely maybe? There hadn’t even been a spare moment to think about that, aside from the fact that he missed her. Usually those thoughts usually found their way bubbling up when he tried going to sleep, always keeping him up longer than was probably healthy. With the training gone though, at least he had a little more time to spare for that. “All I’ve done is worked. Sort of boring, really. It feels like I worked impossibly hard through the end of school, then right into training, and now to this. Not that I dislike it, but it’s starting to catch up…”It was exhausting just talking about it. Cecelia was the first person outside of work that he had talked to since his family at Christmas. There hadn’t been a need to do anything else other than work. “But other than being perpetually tired, I’m relieved that you’re back. One less thing to worry about now.” He still felt overwhelmed by her sudden appearance at his door, but he was sure that would lessen soon. It definitely didn’t seem real, but she was right there, sitting on the couch next to him. @cecelia ● 380 ● A Message To Myself by Roo Panes MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0
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