[Paris - Nov 01] les premiers jours d'hiver (Chantal)

The days were getting shorter and shorter so that Ségolène felt almost captured in darkness. She went from Chatoeil to Beauxbatons in the early morning hours before sunrise and usually went back home when the sun already set again. During the day she worked in the school library between the high shelves full of leather bound treasures. While she loved her job, the dark times made her feel increasingly gloomy and tired. Life was like a never ending routine without anything to look forward to. She could function like that for a quite a while but the young witch was longing for something out of the ordinary by the end of November.

When she received a letter from her school friend Chantal, the girl was rather excited. She had never been the most sociable person but as her visions had got more frequent she had come to be wary of people more than ever. Nonetheless she felt that with Chantal she had little to fear. As far as she knew the former Ombrelune from their time at school she knew that the other girl was not one to offer hugs and kisses. She might even get away without a handshake when meeting her and that meant that there was nothing that would trigger a unwelcome vision.

Chantal had written in her letter that she had returned to France not too long ago. From where she had returned, Ségolène didn't know but she felt certain she'd find out about that soon enough. The other girl suggested to meet in Paris to catch up. Paris before Christmas sounded like a nice plan indeed. Yet, Ségolène reread the letter several times before making her final decision. She carried it with her for two days until she sat down at one of the study desks in the library and wrote her reply, accepting the invitation and asking for place and time to meet.

When the day came, the clairvoyant took some time to decide what to wear. In the end she picked black jeans and a grey turtleneck sweater, comfortable boots and a dark coat flecked with grey. She pulled a white cashmere hat over her straight blonde hair and put on the matching gloves before apparating to Paris. The streets were decorated for Christmas with countless lights and window displays already hinted at the festive season as well. Since she had come early so the young witch took her time to meander through Paris before finally making her way to a café in the small wizarding quarter of Montmartre. She hesitated when she arrived at the stairs that led up to Sacré-Cœur and admired the sight of the white church in front of a orange-greyish sky. It looked like the first snow of the year was imminent.

She climbed the chairs that were less crowded now because of the cold weather than they generally were, still carefully avoiding to get close to any of the people there. A man, seemingly of African descent, approached her, intending to hand her a bracelet he wanted to sell to her. Ségolène hurried away to avoid him. She really didn't need to be touched by him and risk getting a glimpse of his past. She didn't want to know anything about him and she didn't want to exhaust herself by a random vision either.

Only when she had already reached the wizarding area and the café was in sight, the girl slowed down a little. Her breath was clearly visible in the cold air, her cheeks were reddened from the exercise and despite the chill she was not cold when she stepped over the threshold of the café. She looked around, certain she'd recognise her friend immediately despite them not having met in a few years. Soon enough she spotted Chantal at a table by the window and approached her. "Salut," she said softly, quickly positioning herself at the other side of the table so Chantal could not be tempted to greet her with a handshake or anything along the lines of that.

"So good to see you again," she added with a smile after she had got rid of her coat and sank down on the chair vis-à-vis the other girl.

@Chantal Garnier

Upon entering the café she and her friend had agreed upon as their meeting place, Chantal took a deep breath, feeling little said glad that she had gotten there safe. Indeed, she had arrived there most likely half an hour earlier than established, but it had been forced upon her, as a shady wizard had followed her along for two streets, to promote his merchandise, which was either a fake artifact, or a stolen one. While Chantal had gotten used to such men in her childhood city, Versailles, she was specifically used to muggle ones. Having a wizard follow you around was especially displeasing for some reason, a reason which she herself could not yet apprehend. Furthermore, she wasn’t on duty, so she couldn’t take any action on the wizard for illegally selling things to avoid paying taxes, which made her feel even more uncomfortable. However, Chantal made a mental note to write a proposal regarding this issue and further it to her superior. She was sure it wouldn’t actually solve anything, but at least the former Ombrelune would be at peace with herself, knowing that she at least tried to make others feel the safety she did not.

A waiter came as soon as she entered, and showed her to her reserved table. Sitting down, Chantal handed him her dark red coat, along with her black beret and her matching shawl. Upon placing her bag on the seat next to her, she wondered if perhaps she should have arranged herself more for her reunion with Ségolène; she merely had some black jeans on, along with red sweater and a pair of matching boots. Perhaps a pair of trousers which weren’t jeans would have suited the occasion better, but what was done was done. Sinking into her chair, Chantal notified the waiter she would order upon her friend’s arrival, and just asked for a glass of water meanwhile.

Playing with a lock of her hair, Chantal wondered for a moment what she should do now that she had to wait for their meeting time to come. Letting out a soft sigh, she couldn’t stop herself from remembering the times spent at Beauxbatons, and how Ségolène’s presence had always been a soothing one for her. While she was close with her former dormitory mates, they had never had such a calming and warm presence as Ségolène. At least, for her, her friend was particularly in that category of people which were always pleasant to be around to, no matter the situation. This train of thought made Chantal even more eager to see her friend, and she was grateful the other girl agreed for a meeting, especially in Paris. Chantal knew Ségolène was a bit more on the shy side, or she had always assumed so, therefore her friend agreeing to come to Paris had been a very pleasant surprise for this Auror. Suddenly, she felt like they had both matured since their student days, which definitely felt like a small, yet very satisfying accomplishment.

After taking a sip out of her water, Chantal remembered she had brought a gift for her friend. Taking it out of her bag, she couldn’t help herself from wondering if Ségolène would like it; she truly hoped so. While there were many souvenirs to get from Portugal, the girl had wanted to get something specifically nice for her friend, something that she would like, yet also be a pleasant and relaxing sight upon setting one’s eyes upon it. In the end, she had decided on a small painting of Algarve, along with a voucher for a frame at a popular chain shop found all over France, as Chantal thought it would be better for Ségolène herself to pick out the colour, shape and size. As she placed her gift on the table, and arranged the small, pink ribbon above the pale yellow wrapping, Chantal was surprised to hear a familiar voice.

“Salut!” she raised her look to greet Ségolène with a smile. “Same here, it’s been quite some time.” Chantal added, as the girl sat down across from her.  “Are you alright?” The Auror said quickly, noticing that her friend’s cheeks were slightly redder than they should be. Raising her hand, Chantal made a signal towards the waiter to bring Ségolène a fresh glass of water, with the hopes that drinking it would help bringing her friend’s complexion back to normal. “Did something happen on your way here?” the girl asked, as the waited brought a glass of water and two menus. 

Honestly, at that moment, Chantal couldn’t help herself from feeling guilty for asking Ségolène to come to Paris. Perhaps it would have been better for her to visit Chatoeil, or even meet up the girl at the station, to accompany her at all times. Paris wasn’t the safest city ever, and she would know that, out of all people. Suddenly, Chantal regretted her idea and was very upset with herself, for causing her friend such effort and possible displeasure. Her concern was very noticeable, Chantal’s feelings overwhelming her at that point, as her worried gaze wouldn't stop focusing on Ségolène’s figure, checking out with great detail if her friend was alright. 

Chantal had always been one of the more observant people Ségolène knew and so it didn't surprise her much when her friend enquired if she was alright. However, she would have preferred it quite a bit if her friend had been oblivious to her reddened cheeks. Feeling slightly embarrassed, the clairvoyant turned her gaze down briefly, pretending to look for something in her handbag and pulling out a handkerchief that she did not need just to put it away again soon after. She smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"Yes, thank you," she replied in a hushed voice. "It's okay." For a brief moment her gaze rested on the gift wrapped in yellow paper with a pink ribbon on top of it. Ségolène doubted that it was for her. Why should her friend bring her a present? She probably had received it herself from someone prior to their meeting or perhaps she was seeing someone else later and had just placed it there for some reason. Maybe it did not fit well into her handbag? The young witch glanced at the bag on the chair next to Chantal's and suppressed a thoughtful frown. It did not look too small.

She got distracted from these thoughts when the waiter put a glass of water in front of her and placed two menus on the table. "Thank you," she whispered, reaching out for the glass and lifting it to her lips to take a sip.

When they were alone again the girl took of water and leaned back on her chair. "Really, I just don't like these street hawkers. I've climbed the stairs in front of Sacre Cœur and this African guy approached me. I just wanted to get away from him so I hurried upstairs..." Somehow speaking about this incident made Ségolène feel silly. Sure, these street hawkers weren't people she'd want to hang out with. However, Chantal might find it  a little over the top to be running away from them as though they were dangerous. Then again the Ombrelune graduate did not know about the risk that Ségolène was taking on whenever she happened to touch another person. Sometimes just a slight brushing of shoulders could trigger a most unpleasant and exhausting vision. Then again there were moments when she could hug another person without seeing anything. She just couldn't be sure and since these incidents had become a little more frequent over the past few months, Ségolène preferred to be careful rather than careless. The clairvoyant reached out for the menu, opened it and held it so it almost covered her face in order to hide a blush that was reddening her cheeks.

"Do you already know what you'd like?" She asked, hoping to get a suggestion from her friend. Naturally she could make a choice of her own but she preferred not to be the first one to voice her thoughts. She did not want to order a snack or proper meal if Chantal was not going to eat anything for example.

As Ségolène took a seat and told Chantal why she had been so flushed upon arriving, the young auror sighed with a bit of relief. Thankfully enough, nothing too bad had happened; not that the situation presented by her friend hadn’t been irritating enough, however having dealt with different kinds of individuals at her workplace, Chantal was grateful Ségolène hadn’t encountered something worse. Realising her gesture had been highly inappropriate, the auror apologised quickly. “I’m sorry. I fully understand what you mean – personally, I arrived here half an hour earlier because I wanted to avoid a similar… person.” Well, her terminology regarding wizards who sold things on the black market wasn’t the best, therefore hopefully her choice of words had been more appropriate than the opposite.

“It’s just that they’ve become more… numerous? And as a girl alone in Paris, they seem kind of intimidating. Plus, at least you could use self-defence if anything happened, in my case, I’m sure it would be more among the lines of… abuse of power?” Chantal felt a bit embarrassed to say that muggles with a similar status did not bother her, whereas the wizards did. Maybe it was her muggleborn status which gave her this out-of-place feeling at times, but she had yet to open up about it to anyone. Not even her former dormitory mates knew Chantal could have such feelings in certain situations, and she’d rather keep it that way. Some issues, especially in regards to coping with things which seem normal for the majority, should be kept quiet.

Regardless, the entire situation with these wizards was absolutely getting out of hands. As if the current protests and turmoil in the political environment weren’t enough, there were these individuals that had to be deal with as well. They were technically harmless, however, Chantal feared they could harm young girls on a psychological level, forcing them to avoid certain areas because of the newly-achieved “sketchy” status. Or, even worse, what if they would hurry along like Ségolène there, but trip on the stairs and actually physically harm themselves because they were scared? Those were all possibilities, and they were all outrageous. Paris was becoming less safe, and that didn’t please Chantal at all.

“Before that – “ The former Ombrelune postponed picking out dishes, announcing a different intention, as she picked up the gift from the table and held it up in Ségolène’s direction. “This is for you. A small souvenir from my trip, I really hope it suits your taste.” Chantal smiled softly, offering her friend the present. She had high hopes Ségolène would find it pleasing to eye, if not particularly useful. Either way, it was relaxing and being an adult in itself was stressful enough for one to desire having relaxing objects and decorations around their place, within their personal space. She had high hopes that Ségolène would at least consider the scenery beautiful.

Afterwards, picking up the menu herself, Chantal toyed around with a lock of her hair, trying to skim through the list, to see if there was anything interesting on it. “Hmm…” She started. “I think I’ll have lunch as well, as I haven’t eaten today. If you hadn’t as well, should we just order more dishes and share them?” The auror didn’t actually answer her friend’s question per se, however she did hope it would be a hint for Ségolène that she was really hungry and wanted to eat a lot, so hopefully the other wouldn’t be too surprised or shocked in the future over Chantal’s once-in-a-lifetime healthy appetite.

Chantal's sigh of relief was not taken badly by Ségolène. She was quite aware that situations that seemed threatening to her did not appear so horrible to others. They did not have to fear having a vision if only brushing another person's shoulder for example. The girl suppressed a sigh herself, a sigh that was none of relief but rather a sad one. She did not feel like telling people about her ability, skill, gift, burden whatever one might call it. She did not want them to avoid her because they didn't want to risk that she saw a very private scene of their life. Ségolène had, after all, seen things she was not proud of, things that probably belonged to a person's worst memories.

She nodded thoughtfully as Chantal told her that she had been avoiding a similar person, feeling certain that had she been a 'normal' witch she would not fear these people at all. She tilted her head a little to the side as she contemplated her friend's words. It seemed to her that Chantal was making distinctions similar to her own though definitely not quite the same. As a ministry worker, an auror to be concrete, Chantal thought that if she defended herself it would seem like power abuse while she, Ségolène, could defend herself because she was not an auror. It seemed funny to Ségolène but she assumed that there was some truth to the former Ombrelune's words.

"Yes, I suppose a situation like this is most dreadful for those who cannot defend themselves... like muggles." She admitted but still felt a shudder run down her spine as she thought of what she might have seen had the man of African descent touched her. Had he maybe run away from Africa because his family had been threatened, even killed? Had he come with a boat from Africa? Had seen his dear ones die on the way? He might have gone through horrors barely imaginable to her. Or maybe he had grown up in a French orphanage and been tormented by other kids or the employees there. He could as well be from a family with a good background and do this 'job' just to spite his wealthy parents. She didn't know and even though she now wondered about it she didn't really want to push her luck and find out anything about the guy.

"For me?" Ségolène asked entirely surprised as Chantal interrupted her thoughts by announcing she had a present for her. "Why thank you," she muttered and felt how a blush crept up her cheeks. She now felt that she should have thought of bringing something for her friend as well. However, Chantal had said it was a souvenir from her trip. She had not been anywhere really, except for her little trip to Italy with Émilie, but she thought she'd better not mention that to the Ombrelune.

She took the present, carefully avoiding to touch Chantal's hand as she did so. As she unwrapped it, the young woman smiled. The painting was beautiful, a tranquil landscape painted in beautiful pastel colours, it was just the perfect thing to look at and daydream. "Thank you," Ségolène said again, now holding the voucher in her hand. She smiled at Chantal, still feeling slightly awkward that she hadn't got her friend anything. "That is a wonderful choice. I already know just where to put it."

Ségolène nodded as the auror spoke about ordering more dishes and share them. She was not particularly hungry but she liked the idea of not having one plate in front of herself and having to deal with it no matter if it was good or bad. She remembered one day when she had ordered a dish that was not edible at all and the rest of her family had apparently had more luck and had had delicious dishes - she had felt too ashamed to voice any complaints and had suffered through the entire dinner then.

"I'd like that," she agreed. "I'm not particularly hungry though so we should not order too much. However, I'd definitely like to try a few things."

As Ségolène mentioned that muggles would be in more danger when encountering sketchy street merchants, Chantal didn’t particularly react, hoping that the natural flow of the conversation would move along. Truthfully, Chantal didn’t believe that muggles were less capable in defending themselves, sometimes even being sure that muggles had it way better. However, she didn’t particularly want to engage in such a conversation, for Chantal know that being muggleborn would make her vividly subjective about the matter, and not allow her to have a pleasant conversation with her friend, even if Ségolène might eventually see her point of view.

“Either way… “ She commented, on a lighter tone. “It’s truly hard to have a nice time if they’re following you around for quite a while, even if they might be completely defenceless.” Chantal shrugged her shoulders casually, before leaning against the back of her chair, and crossing her legs under the table. “Better safe than sorry, so avoiding them is the only option we have I guess.” She sighed, still with an unpleasing feeling in her chest. Chantal wondered if there would even be an end to street merchants. Probably not, and the idea that it could get even worse wasn’t helping at all. 

Soon enough Ségolène took the present, causing much excitement to Chantal. She always liked giving presents more than receiving, because it was always nice for her to see people’s reactions to what she had gotten them. And throughout the years, Chantal found that even if some might not like what she bought, they found the gesture itself endearing, because she took the time to think and wander around to get them something. While Chantal was sure Ségolène would think that as well, she truly hoped her friend will enjoy the painting. For her, the entire landscape reminded her of Ségolène. Calm and peaceful, yet the waves of the sea always surprising you in the most pleasant of ways.

Her friend’s reaction was as elegant as always, and Chantal clasped her hands close to her chest, excited that Ségolène had reacted so nicely. “Really?” She inquired, excitedly. “I’m really glad! It reminded me of your overall aura and I honestly hoped you’d fancy it as much as I did.” The auror smiled and then gazed down at the menu, to see what they could order. Hearing that Ségolène wasn’t particularly hungry made Chantal bite her lower lip with hesitation. “Hmm… then it’s definitely better that we share. I’m hungry so I’ll eat a lot for sure, but you can pick out whatever you’ll like most out of everything, so it’ll definitely work out.” She nodded, slowly stretching out her hand to her purse, to grab her pack of cigarettes and her lighter out of it.

Soon enough, Chantal took out a cigarette and light it, taking a deep drag. She knew Ségolène didn’t smoke, therefore didn’t offer any to her friend, however she did place her package and lighter on the table, for further future usage. “Maybe we can then order some chips, chicken basquaise, salmon rillettes, and some fromage blanc spreads? What would you like? We can get a lot of dishes, since the portions don’t seem to be that big.” Chantal took another drag out of her cigarette, now turning the menu’s page to the deserts, quite eager to see what pastries the pub would have to offer them.

“By the way!” She commented, a bit curious. “How is it working at Beauxbatons? I haven’t visited at all since graduation, can’t imagine much changed though.”

It seemed odd to Ségolène that Chantal suggested avoiding the street merchants. Of course, it was the best option they had but the clairvoyant usually felt that it was only her who avoided situations instead of confronting them. Her excuse was that she didn't want to be in danger to be touched as that might trigger a vision. Admittedly she did not talk about this to anyone but it was still her motive for avoiding people in general. It seemed quite strange to hear that Chantal thought that avoiding was their best option too. The Bellefeuille graduate looked at her friend thoughtfully and smiled slightly. It felt good not to be the odd one for once.

Ségolène was relieved to see that she liked the present her friend had for her not so much for her own sake as for Chantal's. She was not the best actor out there and she knew it. She hated to be given a gift that she could not fully appreciated as she feared she might hurt the other person's feelings when she did not react in the right way. In fact, receiving presents was always something that made her nervous. Unwrapping the gift paper was almost like touching a person - you never knew what would happen; everything could be good or at least normal or... well, Ségolène didn't really want to think about the other option.

This time she was lucky anyway, the present was lovely and Chantal was such a great friend for finding something that was so perfect. The librarian smiled as she saw her friend's excited reaction to the present. She felt how a blush crept on her cheeks as Chantal said that the picture reminded her of Ségolène's overall aura. This was certainly a sweet compliment. "It's so beautiful," Ségolène said in a hushed voice, holding the painting at arm length to examine it further.

Carefully she put the painting away as her friend began to look at the menu and renewed her suggestion to share some dishes. She nodded in agreement and felt actually relieved that it was so easy to agree here as she hated to disagree with her friends. "Sounds like a good plan to me," she said with a smile.

She observed as her friend pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lightened it. Ségolène didn't smoke herself and, truth be told, she was not fond of sitting with people who did. Nonetheless the young witch would never tell her friend such a thing. She looked at the menu now, trying to hide any kind of facial expression that might give her stance away and instead focusing on the choice of meal.

"Mmhh," she made as she listened to her friend's suggestions. "That all sounds good. Maybe we could also take some bread and a salad?" She closed the menu and shrugged. "I'm fine with everything you chose though. No need to get anything special for me."

A smile spread across the girl's face as her friend asked her about Beauxbatons. It was great to be back at school. She felt at home there, safe there. However, she imagined that none of her friends could relate to that much. She knew that she had mostly returned to the school as a safe place as she was a little afraid to move on properly. "It's wonderful, really. The library is so amazing but you know that. I mean, it's incredible how many rare books there are. However, you're right, not much changed from our student days. There's always something happening but overall it's the same good old school. You should visit me there one day then you can take a look for yourself! How is it to work for the Ministry by the way? I expect your job is more exciting than mine." Truth be told Ségolène did not envy her friend for her job. On the contrary, she thought that being a librarian was the best job in the world and the excitement of being an auror was the last thing the clairvoyant wanted for herself.

“Perfect.” Chantal replied instantly as she took a drag out of her cigarette, while waving at the waiter. The garçon was quick to come, and the former Ombrelune ordered everything they agreed on, along with an entire bottle of red wine. It was the most French thing to do, in the end. Plus, the auror was quite sure Ségolène herself wouldn’t particularly mind a glass or two, especially since it was starting to get a little chilly outside. It was just the perfect beverage for November.

While they waited for their order to come, Chantal was glad that her friend seemed to enjoy the change of subject. Talking about Ségolène’s work place was probably the best option too, as her own was a bit more of a sensitive and slightly unpleasant subject. The auror smiled softly and quite warmly as she listened to her friend talking about Beauxbatons. It felt so familiar, yet somehow a bit foreign as well. Not having visited since graduation definitely played a part in that, but Chantal enjoyed the nostalgic feeling that came upon her as Ségolène kept talking.

“I will come visit soon, I really miss the place now that we’re talking about it.” The young witch shrugged her shoulders just slightly, as she let her free hand land on her lap, gently wrapping itself around her waist. Somehow, it felt like they were talking about home. A home she hadn’t visited in some years, but it was still home. Beauxbatons will always somehow be home.

As Ségolène asked about her own workplace, Chantal’s eyes widened, remembering a rumour that she had heard of from one of her former dormitory mates, also a Ministry official. “There’s this rumour, which I’m sure is not a rumour per se – “ She started, one of her eyebrows gently arching as she took another drag of her cigarette. Chantal generally didn’t talk about gossip that went around, however this time her curiosity peaked her general distaste for small talk. “ – that the Hagrid individual from Hogwarts came to Beauxbatons.”

Chantal crossed her legs under the table, leaning in a bit, to let out in a low whisper. “Do I hear wedding bells?” She let out in a giggle, before leaning back in against her chair. “I think Madame Maxime could use more fun.” The former Ombrelune sighed, as she continued smoking. “I mean, it’s amazing how she basically dedicated herself to the school, and I adore her for it, but she definitely deserves to unwind once in a while, you know?” Chantal continued, before realising that she had yet to touch the romance subject with Ségolène herself.

“What about you though?” She approached the subject directly, looking at her friend quite suggestively. “Had any fun while I was in Portugal?” Chantal smiled cheekily; however, truth be told, she would be very happy if Ségolène had found someone. In her opinion, Ségo was one of the people that deserved love the most, and it would be amazing if there would be someone out there to genuinely like her friend for the wonderful person that she was.

Chantal took the initiative, waved at the waiter so he came to their table and placed their order. Ségolène did not have to add anything to that and she didn't mind. While she was not really afraid of speaking up and ordering something for herself she found it quite relaxing that she did not have to say anything this time. She leaned back on her chair, a slight smile curving her lips as she observed her friend's interaction with the waiter. The bottle of red wine which Chantal ordered sounded good and scary at the same time. Ségolène loved red wine, her family even had a vineyard, but being away from home she felt that she should not indulge into too much wine as she feared losing control as that might result in her accidentally touching another person in passing.

Ségolène enjoyed speaking of the library at Beauxbatons as it was one of her favourite locations on earth anyway. It was different for her now than it had been when she had still been a student but it was by no means worse.

Delighted to hear that her friend missed Beauxbatons and promised to visit, Ségolène nodded eagerly. "Oh yes please do. I'd love to take a nostalgic tour with you. I think if we go through the school together that might make me feel a little more like in our student days again. I mean, I'm there almost every day but it feels so different..." her voice trailed off as she realised that she was blushing a little. She looked down at her hands and suppressed a sigh. Chantal probably didn't get what she meant and she felt too embarrassed now to explain her thoughts.

When Chantal mentioned the rumours about the headmistress, Ségolène's eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hand. "Really? You think that's why he's there? I think it's all about the half giants which are there for I don't know which reason. I suppose they're both in on that. By the way, what does the ministry have to say about that? Either way, you're probably right, Madame Maxime deserves some fun for herself." She giggled softly, imagining the headmistress in a romantic scene. She made a mental note not to get too close to her anytime in the future. The prospect of maybe having a vision that was about Maxime and Hagrid was more than frightening.

"Me?" the librarian asked, her voice cracking because of the surprise. "No. No, nothing like that." She ran her hand through her hair and looked for the waiter, hoping that he'd rescue her from this awkward moment and bring their order now. Since he was nowhere near yet, Ségolène decided to ask her friend the same thing. "And what about you? Have you found a special someone?"

The former Ombrelune sketched a genuine smile, slightly nostalgic, as she heard Ségolène talk about Beauxbatons.  Just like she thought moments before, Chantal enjoyed this subject of discussion. She hadn’t visited the school since graduation, and it somehow felt normal. But she missed it; she missed the corridors, the classes, the nonchalance she had when being a student. That was it – Chantal missed being a student. The times when all she had to worry about were her grades, when she actually had free time to play the piano and give piano lessons in the Chatoeil, the times when she considered herself more of an artist than an auror.

The witch took a deep drag out of her cigarette and figured that Ségolène somehow felt the same, even if not all specifics would apply to her. Her friend blushed, and Chantal nodded her head, her smile still present. “No, I think I understand what you mean. It must feel very different, I would assume. You – we – were walking around those corridors before as students, with no worries whatsoever, just making sure we were doing our best in impressing our professors and getting good grades. Hoping that we’ll be like our professors and the Beauxbatons staff one day.” She paused, realising that before, Chantal had definitely portrayed herself more like the former Ombrelune Head of House, their Arts professor, rather than an auror.

Still, the focus was Ségolène, and not her. “It must be indeed different right now for you, since you’re on the opposite side. Not a student anymore, but the one who most likely is admired by students, and therefore you have to act differently in a place that felt so… unrestrictive, I guess?” Chantal leaned back on her chair, the smile turning more into a resigned one rather than nostalgic. “I mean, I imagine that when I’ll visit, I’ll get hit by the realisation that I am an adult. Not that I don’t know it already, but Beauxbatons would make me more aware of it, you know? I’m not sure if that’s what you personally meant though…” She let her thought wander, for Ségolène herself to clarify her on the matter.

Chantal was curious about the matter indeed; in the end, she cared about Ségolène as one of her close friends, and didn’t particularly want her to feel even slightly uncomfortable at her work place. If she could help with anything, even if it meant some encouragement and kind words, Chantal would do it. Ségolène deserved all the best, and the auror really hoped she was getting the best out of her librarian job at their former school.

The fact that they were gossiping about school-related affairs also felt slightly nostalgic, but it was one of those sentiments that got Chantal feeling much more comfortable. “I’m not sure.” The auror commented, revealing that she wasn’t in on all the chatter regarding the giants’ situation at Beauxbatons. “I’ll let you know if I find out something that would interest you, since you work there and all. But out of all half giants, don’t you think it’s especially suspicious Madame Maxime requested his help only? I’m positive we have people that could help from the Ministry, or from closer countries, such as Andorra or Spain, not necessarily the British Isles.” Chantal shrugged, thinking that the Headmistress definitely had some slight personal interest in calling Hagrid specifically, which had also been pointed out by several of her co-workers. In the end, he wasn’t the only one from the entire planet that could help her. Romance was definitely in the air.

But it seemed just for Madame Maxime, as it hadn’t spread around the entirety of Beauxbatons, meaning to Ségolène as well. Chantal sighed, a bit disappointed that her friend didn’t have a special someone yet. Still, what was more disappointing in itself was Ségolène’s reaction to the question, her voice cracking and her slight anxiety as she looked for the waiter (Chantal presumed) to avoid more inquiries from her own person. It felt sad that Ségolène had been so shocked about the question; it seemed that her friend’s love life was so dry that the question in itself posed a surprise. She took another drag out of her cigarette, the waiter coming with their order shortly after Ségolène asked Chantal about her own love life.

As soon as the waiter left, Chantal put out her cigarette and picked up a salmon rillette, which was neatly arranged on some toast. She took a bite, and let out a soft groan. It needs more salt. The witch thought, and stretched out her arm to pick up the salt from the middle of the table. She hadn’t checked her surroundings, for it seemed that Ségolène had agreed with her on the matter that the food wasn’t salty enough. Their hands touched just for one moment, before Chantal retrieved hers and placed her salmon rillette on her plate. “You first, please.” She sketched a polite smile, later on picking up a chip and munching on it.

“As to continue the conversation, not the special someone, but I did meet a guy in Lisbon. He was in the same specialisation course – “ Chantal paused, realising that it was obvious enough that he was also an auror and with the same interests as her, work-wise, enough that she shouldn’t emphasis on it “ – and we got close after a while, I mean… I spent two years there so we dated for a year or so.” She suddenly realised that she hadn’t actually counted the period of time they dated specifically. However, it didn’t bother her that much, which surprised Chantal quite a bit. “His name was Rúben. And well, I didn’t want to remain in Portugal so that ended it.” She shrugged, not really knowing what kind of information she should share regarding Rúben.

Chantal was aware of the fact that, technically speaking, he had been her first boyfriend ever, but somehow, their connection hadn’t felt deep enough for her to actually mention it to a close friend. She wasn’t sure if he was even worthy enough to be discussed by the two of them. However, if Ségolène were to ask about his appearance specifically, Chantal wouldn’t skip on any details, as the man’s handsomeness was what attracted her to him in the first place. Glancing in Ségolène’s direction, Chantal continued munching on her chip, deciding that she should wait for more questions rather than offer details on her own. 

Chantal said that she understood what Ségolène meant and the librarian hoped she really did. She did not feel like she could really put into words how she felt working at her old school. If was complicated. She did not want to keep talking about her feelings either. Opening up even to her close friends was difficult and nothing the Bellefeuille graduate wanted to do if she could prevent it. Feeling the focus on her just made her feel uncomfortable.

“I don't think anybody admires me though,” she responded quietly, wanting to clarify this bit although she did not want to keep the topic up any longer. Yet, Chantal should not think that Ségolène had students looking up to her because, truth be told, she tried to interact as little as possible with the students instead focusing on her work with the books, repairing them if necessary, putting them back to where they belonged, etc.

Chantal seemed to expect to hear more from her and Ségolène wondered if she could somehow change the topic and shift the attention back to her friend. Why did she have to talk about herself? She shrugged nervously, looked around for some distraction but in the end decided that she owed her friend a proper response.

“I feel like I'm stuck between being a child and being an adult. I'm younger than most of the other members of staff, much closer to the students than the professors and other staff. I suppose in a different environment, with no students around, it would be easier…” her voice trailed off. Would it be easier to feel like an adult when she was the youngest? Shouldn't she feel more like a grown up as a graduate among the students of Beauxbatons? It was confusing and yet she felt like she was in a group of her own at the school.

The discussion of Madame Maxime and Monsieur Hagrid was much easier for Ségolène although she was not too fond of gossiping, knowing some things about people that nobody knew she was privy to.

“I suppose she knows him better than other half giants? Trusts him more? They know each other for quite a while now, don't they?”

Finally the food arrived which meant that Ségolène hoped to be put out of her misery of being asked things. However, the relief was soon forgotten and replaced by the feeling of terror. She had just reached out to take the salt, as the food definitely lacked it, when Chantal's hand brushed hers. It was just a fleeting moment, no real touch and yet, it was enough to trigger a brief but intense vision.

Ségolène lost track of the present, was pulled into the past of her friend, seeing Chantal in a foreign environment with a man she had never seen before. They were kissing and undressing each other. Ségolène wanted to close her eyes, wanted to prevent herself from seeing what her friend had been doing there with this man, wanted to spare her friend the embarrassment and yet she had no power over her vision. If only she could pull herself out of it… She tried with all her might to transport her consciousness back into the present.

Finally the vision faded, and she could hear the sound of present time Chantal's voice in the distance accompanied by a noise that seemed to rustle right in her head. There were sweat pearls forming on her forehead and the young witch took a deep breath, hoping to regain control before Chantal could realise anything. She reached for the napkin, quickly drying the sweat. Then her shaking hand reached out for a glass of water. Thirstily she took some sips, licking her dry lips afterwards and trying to compose herself.

It could have been worse, that was what the young woman told herself over and over again. She needed to shift her attention back to Chantal but she had no idea what her friend had told her when her consciousness had been taken to this intimate moment of the auror's past. “Excuse me, what did you just say?” she asked distractedly, hoping that Chantal would simply repeat what she had just said and would not pick up on her addled state.

“Oh, please.” Chantal commented, nodding her head in disapproval at Ségolène’s remark. “You’re smart, beautiful, young, refined, have that mysterious vibe going on.” Well, it was mostly introversion, but the image that her friend was echoing was definitely considerably different than what perhaps Ségolène herself realised. “Not only that I’m sure a lot of young witches look up to you, but there must be at least five or so boys visiting the library daily just to look at you, all sighing dreamily because they’re in utter and complete love with their drop-dead gorgeous librarian.”
   
The auror let out a giggle, slowly finishing eating her chip. “If anything, you’re the princess from all the fairy tales, ma copine.” Chantal shrugged, and picked up the salt, seeing that Ségolène herself didn’t reach out for it in the end. She then took a bit out of the salmon rillette, and felt satisfied with the result. Salt made all the difference.

She recalled their previous discussing subject, before being distracted by food. “Sticking to the romance subject, I agree about Madame Maxime and Hagrid. I think they’re pretty close. Again, maybe we’ll hear wedding bells soon.” Chantal let out a giggle as she shrugged, figuring out that only the future could tell. However, she would indeed like the idea of their Headmistress having a family of her own. She deserved as much as anyone.

Finishing her salmon rillettes, Chantal reached out for one more chip, her gaze going up for a moment and looking in Ségolène’s direction. She didn’t seem alright. Ségolène was sweating, shaking and her drinking water hadn’t exactly seemed to improve her mood. A grimace of genuine concern appeared on Chantal’s face, as she pushed away her plate, and got up from her chair, grabbing her purse to leave some money on the table.

“Let’s go.” She said, a small smile on her face. Chantal figured Ségolène had some sort of food poisoning, and that she needed some fresh air and maybe a calming potion. There was a short nearby, and Chantal could go pick up a bottle while Ségolène would be calming down in the cold autumn air. She put on her coat, and grabbed her friend’s as well, holding it out for her, so the librarian wouldn’t overexert herself. Chantal made sure they had no physical contact, just in case Ségolène’s state could be passed on to her. In the end, one of them feeling dazed was more than enough.

“Some fresh air would do you good. I’ll go pick up a potion for you to drink, an energiser to get you all better.” Hopefully Ségolène would feel better soon indeed, for Chantal would’ve felt bad for her friend’s visit to be cut short. As soon as the other witch finished getting up, the two witches left the café, with the hopes of Ségolène’s state improving as soon as she would have her potion.

[[out]]

Ségolène shook her head. She didn't understand why her friend said these things that definitely weren't right. The librarian definitely didn't see herself in the same way as Chantal described her. On the contrary. The girl was insecure, didn't see herself as particularly clever and most certainly she didn't think that she was pretty. She gasped when Chantal mentioned boys coming to the library because of her. That was just silly. Which student would be interested in her when there were so many girls studying at Beauxbatons who had it all, looks - charisma, intelligence, humour...

For a moment Ségolène wondered if her friend was pulling her leg. She could not believe that Chantal was serious about all she said and, truth be told, the Bellefeuillle graduate felt a little affronted. "Don't say such nonsense..." she muttered, looking at her friend pleadingly.

Then she had had the vision. She had had worse visions, more intense, longer lasting. Yet, this one was awkward to say the least. Aside from feeling drained, Ségolène felt quite embarrassed. She did not want to intrude into other people's past. She did not want to witness the most intimate moments of her friend. At moments like this the young woman wondered if she should confide in her friend, tell her about her special ability to see into the past of people but she couldn't bring herself to do that. She hadn't been able to tell Émilie and she couldn't tell Chantal either. No matter how close she felt to these two quite different young women, she could not confide in anyone, feeling like it would make them turn away from her.

Chantal picked up on her pity state and decided that they should leave the restaurant and get fresh air. Ségolène merely nodded, it did not matter to her if she was sitting inside or walking outside. It would take a little while to recover from the vision one way or another. She pretended to be all grateful for Chantal's offer to get her an energising potion, smiling at her and nodding. "That would be good thank you." She followed her outside, feeling a little shaky. The librarian blinked a few times, trying hard to get these mental pictures of Chantal with the guy out of her mind but it didn't work. She was determined to leave her friend again as soon as she felt up to disapparating.

[out]