painted in flames {aline}

“I don’t know what I would have done without you,” Theoren said, grinning at Aline, his eyes searching her features fondly.  It felt like it had been an eternity since he’d last seen her.  Or longer.  And it was good to be in her company again; better than he might have guessed.  He hadn’t realized how much he missed her.  They’d been very close all throughout their school years, but had drifted apart since graduating, each going their own way in the world.  Though Theoren had once been determined not to lose contact with any of his friends from school, he had come to realize that this was easier said than done.  Especially in light of everything that had happened in the years since he’d graduated from Hogwarts.  Between the war and the plague and, not to mention, everything that had happened with Lorin, it was no wonder that he had fallen out of touch with many of his once-cherished friends.

Looking down at his hand, Theoren softly brushed his fingers over the tender skin where, moments before, the flesh had been eaten away.  It really hadn’t been his fault.  Hadn’t been anybody’s fault, honestly.  A couple of hours ago, they’d received a report of strange noises at an apothecary in Holyhead, and had gone to investigate.  Theoren had never seen anything like it before.  The shop was derelict, dirty and cluttered – so much so that he’d immediately assumed it had been abandoned or ransacked, perhaps a casualty of the war.  But he’d been wrong.

The apothecary was very much still inhabited, it turned out, by a deranged-looking woman with matted hair and wild eyes.  “She wasn’t very happy to see us,” he’d told Aline as she’d assessed the damage.  “We tried to talk to her to calm her down, but she charged right at us!  I tried to step out of the way, you know, but stumbled over something on the floor and fell right into one of the shelves.”  It had tottered under his weight and crashed to the ground, the dusty potion vials shattering on impact.  “Really, it’s fortunate that I didn’t come away with worse.”

Havens was escorting her back to the Ministry now for questioning, insisting that he could handle the woman on his own, and that Theoren needed to have his hand looked at by a professional.  Havens was normally pretty competent at healing magic – much more so than Theoren was – but he said he didn’t trust himself when he couldn’t identify the potion.  But even Havens was nothing compared to Aline.  “You’ve wisened up a bit since school, haven’t you?” he teased, playfully bumping her shoulder with his.

"You would have died," the healer-in-training replied with mocking seriousness. She couldn't stay serious for long, though. Theoren's grin was contagious just like it had been at school. "Just kidding. I'm glad I could help." She'd been on the third floor for quite a while now and while it wasn't her favourite one, spell damage still beat that, it was interesting. Aline hadn't gotten an Outstanding in Potions and Herbology  for nothing and her knowledge helped her a lot; especially when it came to identifying potions. Theo's hand had made the acquaintance of a particularly nasty one but luckily it had been easy to treat.

After examining him, the brunette had left the room for a while to get everything she needed and luckily they still had some of that calendula salve in the storage room. She wouldn't even have to mix something on her own then. Perfect. The former Gryffindor would be as good as new in a few minutes.

Aline had returned, applied the salve and there they were now. The healed skin looked a bit paler than the rest of his hand but a few days outside in the sun would change that again. His injury hadn't been a big deal, Theoren was right, he definitely could have come away with worse, but the witch still felt proud. She always did after successfully healing someone, no matter how minor the injury was. This was what the girl loved, what she was born to do.

"Have I?" Aline raised her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn't thought about it much but maybe he was right. The plague had definitely changed her, seeing quite a few people die probably changed everyone, but she liked to think she was still the carefree young girl she had been at school. "I guess I have, at least a bit." Looking at him, a small smirk appeared on her face. "You've only gotten taller." Now that they were teasing each other again, Aline realised how much she had missed him. They'd been extremely close at school but then she had disappeared for almost a year, not talking to anyone from her old life except her little brother.

They had lost touch but she wouldn't let it happen again. "Do you have to go back to work immediately? My shift ends in about half an hour. We should grab a cup of coffee or something and talk a bit." She smiled at him and her voice softened a little. "I missed you."

Theoren laughed loudly in appreciation of her humor.  “Taller?” he joked.  “Is that all you can give me?  Ah, I see – probably because I was already perfectly amazing in school, eh?”  He winked at her, his features spread in a wide smile.  She certainly had changed, or at least he thought so.  Though, admittedly, he couldn’t quite put his finger on exactly how.  There was an air of something akin to wisdom to her that made her seem so much more of an adult.  Certainly more adult than he felt.  At times, Theoren almost couldn’t believe the time that had passed since they’d graduated.  But the effects of the war had been felt by everyone, and perhaps this was the way in which Aline had been changed.  Instead of breaking, like so many others had, she had become something else… something stronger.

Running his fingers over the new skin again, almost absent-mindedly, Theoren marveled at her handiwork.  His relief at being made whole again had caused him to feel slightly giddy, and he was pleased that he had someone like Aline to share in the moment with him.  Not some stranger.  And he faithfully believed that nobody else would have been able to heal him so well as she had.

“I don’t, no,” he said happily, beaming at her.  “I would love that.”  He was delighted at the idea of catching up with her, finding himself quite curious as to how she had been occupying herself since Hogwarts.  “I’ve missed you, too.  A lot, actually.”  Though it had been years since there had been anything between them, Theoren had never stopped feeling grateful that they could still be friends, in spite of the way things had ended between them.  But they had been children, really.  And Theoren could freely admit that he hadn’t been the best boyfriend.  Not that he had changed much, in that respect, but he liked to think he was at least more pleasant to be around.  Not so possessive.  Rising from his seat, Theoren gestured to the room at large and asked, “Should I… wait here?  Or would you rather I meet you somewhere?”

"Exactly. That is exactly what I meant, Theo." Aline rolled her eyes but she had to laugh as well. It was quite incredible that they were still getting along that well, even after… years. The brunette shook her head slightly when she realized that it had actually been years and not only months that they hadn't talked to each other. Crazy. They had been so close and now… Well, nothing spoke against getting closer again, right? Right. The former Gryffindor was happy with her life and she hadn't planned to run away again anytime soon.

He was running his fingers over the new skin once more and the girl felt a wave of pride building up inside her. She hadn't done much but he still seemed to be impressed. Well, she definitely wouldn't tell him that even someone in their first year at Dilys could have done that. The tall wizard answered her question and Aline practically beamed at him. "I would have been disappointed if you hadn't missed me," the girl teased while she put the salve into one of the various cupboards.

"You could meet me outside the hospital? I just need to finish some paperwork, change into my normal clothes and then I'll be all yours. Just give me…" The brunette looked at her watch for a second before her eyes met his again. "About twenty-five minutes. I'll meet you outside." Acting on impulse, Aline closed the short distance between them and pulled him into a tight hug. Merlin. Her head barely reached his chest. "Don't stand me up, okay?" The former lion let go of him and winked once more before she left the room, walking straight to the small office she was allowed to use.

----------------

Exactly twenty-four minutes later Aline left the hospital in her normal clothes, her bag strapped over her right shoulder. Theoren was standing right where she had expected him to be and after saying goodbye to the reception witch, the young woman walked straight over to her friend. She was still a lot shorter than him but her shoes were helping a bit. At least she didn't feel like a dwarf next to a giant anymore. Thinking of Zephir she shook her head slightly. Why did all of her best friends have to be so tall?

"Thanks for waiting. Do you have any preferences where you want to go? If not… Here's a little café right around the corner. It's usually not too crowded around this time." She took a few steps in the right direction before she turned around again. "You really have to tell me what you've been up to. I wanna know everything."

Pulling Aline against his chest, Theoren gave her a tight squeeze.  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said cheerfully, leaning back to give her a smile.  They parted ways, and, as promised, Theoren went to wait for her outside the hospital.  The London streets were crowded and noisy with Muggles and their automobiles as always, and the air was thick with the humidity and smog.  He took a seat on one of the benches not far from the entrance to St. Mungo’s.  He wished he had brought something to do.  Twenty-five minutes was a long time for him to be unoccupied.  Crossing one leg over his knee, he lounged back comfortably and watched the passersby with mild interest. 

In a whole hospital of healers, what were the chances that Aline would have been the one to mend him?  That had been very lucky indeed.  Theoren smiled fondly to himself as he thought back over their conversation.  She was just as funny and charming as ever.  He couldn’t believe himself for letting them fall out of touch after school – she had always been one of his favourite friends.

After what seemed like an excruciating length of time, Aline stepped out onto the sidewalk, changed out of her uniform.  Theoren stood as she walked toward him, giving a small, lazy wave and beaming at her.  She looked, well, breathtaking.  He didn’t really want to admit to himself just how charmed he was by her; his intentions with her were not of that sort, as far as he was aware, and he didn't want her to think that they were.  He really had simply missed her company.  “That sounds great,” he said in response to her suggestion, falling into stride beside her.  Theoren slid his hands in her pockets and looked skyward.  “Oh, not much, honestly.  Mostly just working.  I’ve been with the Squad this last year or so,” he began, though that had come up once already, when he’d been explaining his injury to her.  “And it’s very…” fun was always the first word that came to mind, though he’d been told it was somewhat tasteless, considering the kind of work they did.  “Rewarding.  Actually, I started right out of school, but my father and I left when they set up the Commission.”  He spoke the word with an air of mocking and obvious distaste.

Momentarily, the pair drew upon the café, and Theoren stepped forward to hold the door open for her.  “After you,” he said with a satirical level of propriety in his voice.  As he glanced in the window, he discovered that she was right – it wasn’t crowded at all, just a few patrons here and there, occupying a couple of the tables.

"Okay then. Let's go." Aline would never have thought that she'd meet Theoren again under these circumstances but now that she had, she was more than happy about it. Sure, it would have been a lot more pleasant for him if they had just met on the streets instead of in a hospital but it wouldn't have made for a very interesting story. She had to tell Dash about it. Her best friend surely remembered the tall blond wizard from school and the story might distract her. The former Gryffindor had no idea what bothered Dash so much but the last time they had met, she'd seen that something had been wrong.

The young woman listened carefully when Theo started talking and the respect she'd always had for him grew. Aline and her family had never been in any kind of danger when the commission had started hunting down muggleborns and sympathizers but that didn't meant that she hadn't been worried. A few of her friends were muggleborn and she had worried for their safety as if they were family. Luckily most of them had been able to go into hiding and after Voldemort's defeat everything had turned normal again. As normal as possible, at least.

"Once a lion, always a lion," she mused, while she looked at her friend with pride. "It must have taken a lot of courage to do this. Did many others follow your lead or..." Her voice trailed off but it was clear what she'd meant to say. She knew that some people were cowards, her father would never have left the ministry, and in situations that required bravery most people decided to take the easy way out and just went with the majority. It sucked but that was just how most of humanity worked.

Before she could say anything else, they reached the café and Theoren held the door open for her. "Thank you, sir." Aline replied with an amused smile on her lips and entered the little café. Assuming that he would follow her, Aline went to one of her favourite tables right beside the huge window. She put her leather jacket over the back of her chair before she sat down, ignoring the menu on the table; the brunette knew exactly what she wanted. "I'm really glad that you got your job back, though." she said, picking up the topic again. "It suits you."

Courage – he liked that she thought that about him.  Others had reacted differently when they heard the story, insisting he could have been a force for good if he had stayed, that he could have somehow helped people.  But Theoren didn’t see it that way.  He was not someone who could just pretend everything was fine when it wasn’t.

“Nah,” he replied, shaking his head, almost as if it were nothing.  But the opposite was true; the incident still left a bitter taste in his mouth.  He remembered standing up against the terrible injustice that was the Muggleborn Registration Commission, telling them all that he thought it was appalling and that he could not and would not stand for such a thing.  That he refused to be a part of it.  He had believed himself to be impeccable with these words – that nobody could possibly disagree with him – but when it came time to take his leave, and he gave them all the opportunity to come with him, none of them had.  Not one.  He had expressed his disgust very blatantly before making his exit.  When he’d returned to the squad nearly a year later, many of those same people were still on it, and it had been a little bit difficult for him to forget.  But it was his own father that had explained it to him like this: that not everybody was in the same situation as him, and that there were a million different factors that could be influencing their decisions.  And some of them had eventually resigned in the months or weeks that had followed, and that that wasn’t nothing.

It wasn’t long after his resignation that he’d joined the Order, which was lamentable, for it turned out that such a connection would have been invaluable to their endeavors. And that was something he felt he could have handled, if only he had had the foresight.  But they wouldn’t have him back.  Not after such a fiery display.

Theoren took a seat across her, glancing briefly out the window before turning his attention to her.  He was unable to suppress a smile at her words.  He took that as an enormous compliment.  “I am, too.  Very glad,” he said.  “It’s good now, really good.  I like helping people.”  He pulled the menu closer to him, flipping it open to the first page.  “But I’m sure you can relate, doing what you do.”

It was just adorable how humble the tall man in front of her was. Theoren had always been like that and she was glad that it hadn't changed over the years. He was still the knight in shining armor he had always been and she adored him for that. It had definitely been one of the main reasons why she had developed such a huge crush on him all these years ago. The woman he'd marry one day would be a lucky one indeed. The thought made her wonder if he had a girlfriend at the moment but since they'd just met again, she stopped herself from asking. She would surely be able to satisfy her curiosity soon enough. This time she'd make sure that they wouldn't lose contact again.

"Mhmmm," she agreed, her blue eyes fixed on him. "After school I moved to Spain for a while and I worked at a hospital that cared for people without money. It was the most rewarding thing I have ever done. I didn't get paid but it didn't matter at all. Everyone was just so nice and grateful for what we did. It was wonderful." Talking about her time in Barcelona made her face light up even more and her eyes were shining when she continued. "I really need to get back there soon. Healer Maria, the woman I worked for, keeps me updated via owl mail but it's not as good as being there myself. Who knows, I might end up there one day when I'm a fully qualified healer."

The young woman hadn't thought much about her future yet but it was surely a possibility to go back there. Not forever but at least for some time. The thought of visiting other countries to learn various healing methods and to help people who were too poor to afford an expensive healer or hospital was an interesting one and she could definitely imagine doing just that. She'd make sure to see her little brother as often as possible but other than that there was no one she'd stay here for and she didn't plan to change that anytime soon; or anytime at all.

The waiter arrived and she ordered her usual coffee - black with only half a spoon of sugar - and a piece of the café's famous homemade cherry pie. It didn't take Theoren long place his own order and soon the waiter was gone again. "How does your hand feel by the way? Sometimes the salve leaves a tingling feeling for a while, nothing too bad but it might be a little unpleasant." Aline touched his hand lightly before she leaned back again, legs crossed.

“Wow, Spain?” he asked with genuine fascination.  He leaned in a bit closer, listening with interest.  He loved that she described it as rewarding, despite not being paid for it.  It sounded perfect for her.  And was exactly the kind of fulfillment he wanted from his own job.  Fortunately, he got it, for the most part.  Some days less so than others, of course, but he loved his job.  Loved helping people, loved following in his father’s footsteps, loved making his family proud.  But hearing Aline describe her work in Spain the way she did made him curious about something else.  “Why did you even come back?” he asked, his tone teasing.  The question, however, was serious.  Probably she had to come back in order to complete her schooling, or something along those lines.  Not that he wasn’t happy to see her – on the contrary, he was maybe a little bit selfishly grateful for whatever it was that had brought her back to St. Mungo’s.  But if it had been him, he wouldn’t have wanted to.

Momentarily, a waiter arrived to take their orders.  Aline placed hers first, and then Theoren ordered a coffee with cream and sugar.  “And I’ll have a slice of that pie as well,” he added, winking at Aline from across the table, as if to suggest he thought she had good taste, before turning back to the waiter to offer him a smile.   The waiter informed them he would have it for them momentarily, scooped up the menus and departed.

At that moment, Aline asked how his hand was feeling, before reaching out to touch it lightly.  Theoren was both startled and pleased by the familiarity she displayed toward him, glad that she was still comfortable around him, despite not having seen him since Hogwarts.  As if nothing had changed.  It also made him a little bit nervous, although he was reluctant to read too much into it in that regard.  It was too brief to be anything more than a friendly gesture, anyway.  Right?  Theoren was certain that any lingering feelings he had for her were entirely unreciprocated, and that she saw him as nothing more than a friend.  Although he wasn’t used to masking his feelings (nor was he very good at it), he wasn’t about to try and take it there when he knew she didn’t see him that way.  Despite whatever he might have felt for her, Aline was first and foremost one of his dearest friends, and he didn’t want to risk losing her.

Looking down at his hand, Theoren extended his fingers as if to test how it was feeling, examining the front and back.  “It’s fine,” he said with a shrug.  “Great, actually.”  It was tingling a bit, but the sensation was nothing compared to the way it had been feeling before she’d fixed him up.  “You’ve patched me up perfectly.”  Theoren grinned at her, dropping his hand back down to the table.  Just in case she felt reaching for it again.

The waiter returned with their order even quicker than Theoren had anticipated, placing their coffees and pie before them.  Theoren dismissed him with a ‘no, thank you’ when the man asked if there was anything else he could get for them.  He took a sip of his drink, after unfolding one of the napkins and setting it on his lap.  “Good coffee,” he remarked.  Though he was more looking forward to the pie.  “Do you come here a lot, with it being so close to the hospital?”

Why had she come back? Aline wasn't surprised that he asked her that and it was actually quite easy to answer his question. There had been various minor reason but just a single major one. Seth. "I came back for my brother." Another smile lit up her face when she thought of the youngest Stanton child and her voice was full of affection. "It might sound cheesy but he's the person I love the most and even though he was still at school back then, I couldn't just stay away and leave him alone. There were other reasons as well, I've always wanted to attend Dilys Derwent's School for Healing and most of my best friends are here but yeah… It was mainly because of Seth."

They got interrupted by the waiter and Aline raised her eyebrows slightly in pleasant surprise when Theoren winked at her. It was true. Nothing had changed. Well, maybe except the fact that he had gotten even more handsome. The young woman hadn't thought it possible but it definitely was. The healer-in-training was distracted for a second but then she saw Theo examining his hand and it made her focus again. "Perfect," she said in delight, beaming at him. It really hadn't been a big deal but the former Gryffindor had to admit that she enjoyed the compliments, especially since she knew that they were genuine.

Theoren dropped his hand back on the table and for a brief second Aline wondered if he'd done it on purpose but then she dismissed the thought quickly again. Don't be ridiculous. she chided herself, not knowing why that thought had even occurred to her. They had just met again after quite a long time. There was nothing more to that and that was perfectly fine. They had dated once and it hadn't taken them much time to figure out that they were better off as friends and moreover she didn't do the whole useless dating stuff anymore. It was better for her and for everyone else. Once more she wondered why she was even thinking about that and when the waiter arrived again with their orders, she was glad for the distraction.

"Thanks," Aline told the guy with a smile before she looked back at her friend. "Yeah, I do. The coffee is just much better than in our canteen. You can't even call the stuff there coffee." The former Gryffindor wrinkled her nose at the thought and quickly took a sip of the tasty drink in front of her. Sure, she drank that coffee as well when there was no time to get one elsewhere but it didn't make it any better. Her sip of coffee was followed by a little piece of cake and it was just as amazing as always. "What do you say? The pie is delicious, isn't it? It changes once a week; there should be a cherry pie next one. We could meet again a week from now? Now that we've met again you won't get rid of me that easily. That's a threat." The girl tried to stay serious but of course it didn't work and soon she started laughing. She could get used to being around him again more often.

“That doesn’t sound cheesy,” he assured her.  He would have done it for Lorin.  He would do anything for his sister.  He’d give up his dreams for her – hell, he’d die for her, if it came down to it.  Theoren was unceasingly loyal to her; from his perspective, they didn’t have the typical sibling rivalry that he knew a lot of his friends had with their brothers and sisters.  It was nice to think that Aline understood that, on some level.  That she would be willing to sacrifice something she loved doing – a life that she had clearly been very content with – to help her brother.   Theoren wondered what it was that Seth had needed help with.  He thought back to what Lorin had gone through last Christmas, and wondered if their family had ever experienced anything so… tragic.  He hoped not.  It had been a miserable time.

Theoren laughed at her joke about the coffee they served in the canteen, before trying a bite of the pie.  He nodded to tell her that he thought it was delicious, and was pleasantly surprised when she suggested that they should come back next week.  This was the part in the conversation where, had it been anyone else, he would have teased her about asking him on a date.  But… the fact that he actually kind of wanted that to be what it was made the joke seem wholly unfunny to him.  “You should know I take all threats very seriously,” he said, raising his brows at her.  “But, fortunately, I don’t want to get rid of you.”  He grinned then, taking another sip of his coffee.  “Let’s plan on it.  It really is great pie, though.  I’d probably be coming back here even if you hadn’t suggested it.”

After a time, when their plates were nearly empty and their cups all but drained – after they’d reminisced about old times and laughed at inside jokes – the server came by with the check.  Theoren insisted on picking it up, saying that he owed her for saving his hand from having to be lobbed off.  They left the shop, and without really thinking about it, he started walking alongside her down the sidewalk.  He remembered that she said her shift was over, but he realy did need to report back to the office sometime today.  It was a shame.  Theoren would have been content to talk with her all afternoon.  “So, next week, then?” he asked when there was a break in the conversation.

"You think so?" The former Gryffindor flashed her friend another genuine smile and wondered if she'd ever stop smiling today. Aline had not thought that meeting Theoren again would bring her that much joy but it certainly did. Somehow she doubted that anyone could even be unhappy around him. He radiated so much positivity but then again… he always had. The young woman was a cheerful person herself, she was rarely gloomy or sad, which was why she appreciated his personality a lot. Of course she liked being there for  her friends when they needed her but simply being all happy and bubbly near someone who was exactly the same was nice as well.

"Oh, I hope you do. I wouldn't want you to get ganged up on in a dark alley just because you didn't take a threat seriously." The brunette winked at him and then took another bite of her pie and another sip of her coffee. Delicious. Theoren finally tried the pie as well and the healer-in-traning let out a self-satisfied "Told you so!" when he agreed with her. "I'm not surprised you would but I'm still glad you want to meet again." And she certainly was.

They talked and laughed and talked some more, about the past and the present, about old friends and new friends, and way too soon it was time to pay. Theoren insisted on paying and after a short and playful fight, Aline finally gave up. She would make sure that she'd pay next time but he didn't need to know that. Being the perfect gentleman that he was, he would just take his money out and get to it before she could, the former Gryffindor was absolutely sure of that.

The two left the café and instead of saying goodbye, Theoren stayed at her side. Hadn't he told her earlier that he had to go back to work eventually? Well, she definitely wouldn't complain if they could spend a little more time together. They walked for a bit until it was time to part ways. Aline stopped and looked up at him, a smile still on her face. "Yeah, I'd like that. Same time, in front of the café?" He nodded and she took a step closer, rose up on her tiptoes and placed a light kiss on his cheek. "See you then." And with that she spun around and started walking in the direction of her apartment.