August 13th, 1921.
Paris, France.
Amélie Rosier's house.
Hours and hours went by until the sunlight made its way through the curtains to wake him up. Theseus' blue eyes opened slowly, for his eyelids felt very heavy, and he sighed as he sat down on the bed before standing up.
He grabbed a pair of trousers from the shelf of the closet and put them on, as well as yesterday's shirt before he walked out. He didn't mind buttoning up his shirt, he assumed it was very early, surely Élie was asleep or gone for work. Wrong.
He walked down the hall and stopped when he felt the fur of Élie's cat against his ankles. He smiled as he picked up the animal and caressed its white fur, making the cat purr in his arms. He smiled as he walked towards the kitchen, where he found Rosier already having breakfast.
She looked up to greet him but looked back at her place immediately feeling heat concentrating on her cheeks, Theseus placed the cat down and rushed to button up the shirt feeling a wave of nervousness washing over him for no reason.
He cleared his throat. "Morning." He said as he spotted her all suited up, almost dried hair, and makeup on her face.
"Hi." She greeted after she gulped the coffee she had in her mouth. "I made breakfast."
"I can tell, it smells great." She nodded.
"Merci."
"Off to the Ministry?"
"Indeed. I have a lot of pending paperwork and I have to keep assigning people to fill in the Auror seats." She sighed. "Not an easy task."
"I know, good luck with that." She smiled and finished her drink, then, she stood up and placed the dirty dishes into the sink.
"Thanks. How did you sleep?" She washed everything quickly.
"Not that well." She smiled sadly at the glass she was rinsing with water before meeting his blue eyes.
"Eventually, it'll get better. The first month is always the hardest." He smiled back as Élie dried her hands before making her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth, her hand fell upon his shoulder when she walked past him prior to getting lost in the hallway. Around two minutes later, she was back in the kitchen, now wearing her signature red lipstick. "Want to go out and have lunch later?" She asked as she placed on her coat.
"Sure, why not?"
"Great." She grabbed her bag from the coatrack.
"Do I meet you at the Ministry?"
"Sure, at your usual lunchtime." He nodded to himself. "See you later." He nodded again as he chewed his food. "And please, feed Nuage before you head out."
"Will do."
"Do not forget, Theseus."
"I won't, don't worry."
"If you forget, I'll know, and I'll strangle you." He frowned, amused and pretended to be scared. She could be capable but he knew she was only joking...or was she? She was.
"I will not forget, Rosier."
"Good."
"And, by the way, the era in which I found you scary is over. It's been over for a while now." She scoffed and smiled at him.
"Right, au revoir."
"Have a good day." He said before she walked out the door. Amélie stopped on her tracks, turned to look at Theseus, and she smiled even more brightly at him. It had been a while since someone had said that to her as she left her home. This scene made butterflies arise in their stomachs.
"Merci, you too, even if you won't do a thing." He smiled, scoffed, and waved at her as she walked out of her home, then, he chuckled to himself before he looked at the cat and smiled at it.
"Just gonna be just you and me today, I guess." He said thinking it was somewhat funny. Nauge looked at him and walked away with indifference before playing with the rug.
He stayed at the apartment and walked out to the balcony just to sit down on that small coffee table and admired the sunrise. He saw the redhead walking down the street, yards away, greeting everyone she bumped into. He smiled. That, as well as many things about her, hasn't changed.
Scamander walked back in and grabbed a book that was in english from the bookshelf, stepped outside once more, and sat down to drink his coffee and read for a bit. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. He had never heard of her but her writing was beautiful, the story interesting.
Moments later, he walked into the house again, found a book marker, placed it in between the pages before closing the book and leaving it back on the bookshelf. Then, he walked into bathroom to take a shower, brushed his teeth and got dressed afterwards.
He tied up the kitchen and fed the cat, then he sat down and did nothing. He was boring his brains out even if the book he had taken was quite interesting. Eventually, it was noontime, it really surprised him how fast did time go. He stood up, fixed his suit and made his way out of the house, he locked the house before heading out.
When he had locked the door with the use of a magic spell, he walked down the street. He had figured Paris would be a tough place to set foot on because of what had happened, but it was actually easier to walk down those streets than London's. He believed it was the air...it felt softer, lighter, new. He didn't know, but whatever it was, it seemed to be helping.
Eventually, he arrived at the Ministry, he simply said his name and the receptionist let him in. Theseus walked down the hallways until he found Rosier's office, he knocked on the door three times and waited patiently.
"Entrer." She said and he opened the door. Amelie's eyes snapped from a paper she was reading to the British man that stood before her. "Bonjour." She smiled and he smiled back.
"Bonjour."
"I'll be ready in a minute, I just need to sign this report." Theseus nodded as he looked through the shelves of her elegant office, finding many books and a few framed pictures. He focused on one she had from the Academy. Jean, Elyna, a tall man and another blonde woman were smiling and laughing as well as Élie. Theseus smiled at it, then his attention shifted to the picture she had with her mother. Amélie's mum looked ill, very ill, but she was smiling at the camera and she was hugging her eldest child, holding a small bouquet of flowers in one of her hands at a garden. Amélie had tears in her eyes though, and her smile was big but not bright, it was...sad.
"This is a lovely picture." He said when he saw Élie throwing her coat over her shoulders from the corner of his eye. She approached and had a look at said picture, she smiled, hummed in response and scoffed gently.
"It was taken a week before her passing. She suffered from Memory Loss along other things, and was not really lucid that day. When I arrived I found out she had been reading letters I had sent ages ago, and she read the one in which I told her I had graduated as an Auror, she got very excited all over again. I was happy that she was happy but it made me sad that she had to go back years...on paper to remember things." A sigh left her lips. "Sometimes the letters didn't help."
"Why did she do that?"
"Because she knew that it could happen at any given moment." He understood that the woman knew she could close her eyes forever and a chill went down his spine as he kept his hands into his pockets. "She felt the clock was ticking faster and she didn't want to forget the things that she struggled to remember over the years." A softer sigh escaped her lips and she shrugged as the guy kept on looking at pictures, soon his eyes landed on a picture where her mother was young, about Élie's age, standing by a tree, laughing. A bowtuckle standing on her index finger. Theseus chuckled softly.
"You look just like her." He said and the redhead smiled brightly now. "What was her name?"
"Angelique." He nodded.
"And your middle name's Angelina because of her, right? I knew that." She chuckled as she nodded, he smiled proudly to himself as his hands found his hips.
"And who's that little lad you're with?" He pointed at another picture where Amélie was sitting with a young boy on the grass of the house's backyard.
"My brother, Evan. He's the youngest of us all."
"Didn't know you have a brother."
"You never asked and I never told you." She shook her head with an amused and yet sad smile. "Haven't seen him in ages."
"Why?"
"When my mother got sick, we had to take her to St. Mungo's in London. She was from there, so, we had somewhere to stay. But my father thought it was worthless to stay there, that she'd die anyway. The asshole decided to leave Mum and wanted to take us with him. I refused, so, he left with the other two. I haven't heard from him ever since. Not that often, he sends me letters from time to time."
"I'm terribly sorry." She shrugged.
"All I know is that he's alright and attending Dumstrang, besides that, no clue." A sigh left her lips and Theseus just looked at her. It appeared that he didn't know her as well as he thought he did. "Anyway, there's a café at the square that's a few blocks from here."
"Sounds great." She nodded and both Aurors walked out of the office to get to the entrance of the building. "A lot of paperwork to check?" He asked trying to make conversation once they were in the elevator making her sigh.
"Yeah. I'm losing my mind without Elyna here, she'd help me with it as well as Charles."
"There's another guy, right? One that survived."
"François, yes. But he asked for a few days off and I didn't refuse, I couldn't." Theseus nodded as they walked out of the lift and down the misty French streets, he offered his arm and she took it as they walked. "Therefore, the entire office is for me and Madame Dupont."
"I can help."
"There's no need."
"But I want to." They reached the waiting line of one of the café, Rosier's favourite. There was only a marriage right in front of them.
"Theseus, you escaped London and work to clear your mind. It wouldn't be fair to ask you to help me out when we do the same work."
"Maybe, but I can help. I've been all alone at the office and it's incredibly tiring, tedious and boring, not to mention that it's an all-nighter. You need to sleep even if, because you're a Vampire, you don't sleep at night." She placed her hand on her chest and pretended to be deeply offended as he smiled and she giggled afterwards.
"You know? Your hypothesis is wrong because I am not burning underneath the sun."
"I meant it in the way of you liking to suck life out of people." She scoffed, pulled her arm away and punched his arm as both smiled, making him laugh. For the first time in a while, Theseus' eyes narrowed as he laughed.
"Someone woke up and chose violence today." He laughed again and then they were greeted at the entrance of the café. Élie asked for a table for two on the outside and they were quickly guided to their seats. "As I was saying..." She continued after she thanked the waitress, calling Theseus' attention as they sat down. "It wouldn't be fair nor thoughtful."
"What wouldn't be thoughtful is if I let my new temporary roommate stay up all night."
"Well, then my new temporary roommate can prepare coffee." He shook his head, smiled, and looked at the street.
"You're impossible." She laughed as the waitress arrived and took their order, Amélie spoke quickly what she'd like for lunch and looked at Theseus.
"What would you like to eat?"
"A croissant and forget berries tea, please." Rosier nodded and translated. The waitress asked something and he simply looked at Rosier, who smiled and chuckled.
"Sweet or salty stuffing for your croissant?"
"Oh, sweet, please." He said and Élie translated again. The waitress nodded and after she wrote everything down, she left. Theseus reminded himself that he needed to learn french. "Thanks." The redhead nodded.
"No problem." He nodded back. "Now, I don't want to keep talking about work...what did you do throughout the morning?" He told her about his slow morning, they talked about the book and Theseus found out why he didn't know who Jane Austen was, she was a Muggle, unfortunately, you're not taught about Muggle Literature at Hogwarts. Sooner than later, their food arrived and then he asked about how her day had been so far.
When the food was served and as they enjoyed their meal they talked about many things they would've liked to do hadn't they chosen such a tough career path. She would've loved to move to her mother's house in the British countryside and work in a library or a bakery and he would've liked to be a librarian, too, he loved his home so he said he'd chose it all over again.
"Huh, another thing we have in common?" He asked as he took a sip of his tea.
"Seems like it." She said as she placed her own small cup down and looked at the people walking down the street after she had looked into his eyes. "Libraries are a calm place to be."
"I agree." He looked at her, smiling at some bird that had flew past them. He smiled and felt his heartbeat rising. He frowned and looked down at his hands on the table, cleared his throat, breathed in and out. "So, where are you off to now? Back to work?"
"Indeed." A sigh escaped her lips. "Still have a bunch of things to hand in and reports to make." He nodded. "What will you do?"
"Dunno. Maybe walk down the park for a while."
"Did you feed the cat?"
"I did." She chuckled and nodded as she took one of the last sips of her coffee.
"Merci."
"No problem." He finished his drink and she took a deep breath before finishing hers, then, she asked for the check and he payed before she could. She thanked him as they stood up and he nodded as he offered his arm again for her to take it again. They walked slowly back towards the Ministry and he walked her all the way to her office.
"Thank you for lunch." Theseus nodded and they smiled as she walked into the office and took off her coat and blazer.
"It was my pleasure." Amélie adjusted her vest before she sat down on her desk and resumed her read of reports. Theseus remained in the office, hands in pockets and looking at her, causing the redhead to shoot her gaze up and smile at him, amused.
"Oui?" Scamander shrugged, causing her to narrow her eyes.
"Nothing." He sighed, he wanted to tell her he could help but knew he would not win. She chuckled. "I'll see you later."
"Okay, I'll try to get to the house by nine but...I may be here a bit longer."
"Alright, then, I guess I'll see you later later." Élie nodded and, after some smiles exchanges, Theseus walked out of the office and, eventually, the Ministry.
He proceeded to walk down the French streets, the park, had a coffee at a café that's very close to Amélie's home, walked down another park, found a liquor store and bought a glass of wine, walked down the streets slowly watching the world around him, etcetera.
It was the first time in a while he had spent time with himself. And, even if the reason why he was there and everything that was going through his head and heart was painful, it felt good in some way. To be alone. It was charming to just hang out with his own piece of mind and heal in some sort of way. Even if he knew that healing was going to take a lot longer.
With the time, he arrived at the apartment. When he arrived, he took off his coat and blazer, rolled up his sleeves and checked on the cat, it was playing with a ball of yarn. Thes approached the lovely animal and petted its head before heading to the kitchen and placing some food on its plate. He washed his hands and cooked dinner with what he found in the fridge and cupboards, an old recipe of his mother.
He set the table, found glasses of wine and poured the wine he had bought into them, turned on two candles to add an elegant touch and sat down. He looked at his pocket watch: 9:30. He waited a bit longer, suddenly it marked 10:15. He sighed. 10:45. He blew out the candles. That's when movement from outside the window caught his eye, he stood up and walked up to the glass to see with more clarity the way an owl was flying towards his position.
He opened the terrace's door when he saw the owl sitting on the metallic railing. He stepped out and grabbed the letter, it opened itself and a face appeared on it, the red wax seal turned into some lips and it had gentle eyes on. In a second, the voice of Amélie spoke.
"Theseus, I'm afraid I'm stuck at the Ministry and will not arrive until past midnight. If you're waiting for me to have dinner, I apologise. Have a tasty meal and I'll see you tomorrow morning. Love, Élie." The face disappeared from the envelope and it dropped onto his hand.
"Well, that's a bummer, don't you think?" He talked to the owl and felt like his brother all of the sudden. Thes chuckled to himself and kept the letter into his pocket. "Thank you." The owl seemed to nod and flew away from the direction it had come from. Scamander sighed but knew what to do in a second.
Theseus walked in and found a way of keeping the food into some boxes, he also placed the wine back into the bottle using magic, found a basket and placed everything in it. He threw on his blazer and coat, grabbed the basket and made his way back to the French Ministry. When he arrived, the receptionist just gave him an approval nod.
He walked down the building and most of it was empty, only the security Aurors were present and a few others that were making reports or typing things down. Soon enough, he reached the office, and the door was open.
He pocked his head in and found Amélie writing something down, her eyebrows almost touching because of how focused she was, something she's done ever since they've known each other and certainly has always done, a hand over her forehead. He smiled to himself and knocked on the frame of the door before leaning on it.
"Madame Dupont, I told you to go home and rest, I'll be fine." She said, not bothering to look up.
"Well." He said and her gaze shoot up. "I'm not Madame Dupont."
"Thes."
"Hi." They smiled at each other. "I got your letter, I was waiting for you."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be, I get it." He stepped in and placed the basket onto the desk. "Anyhow, I brought dinner to you." Her smile brightened. "I figured you wouldn't eat anything until you got home."
"That's very thoughtful of you, thank you." He nodded.
"I didn't make coffee but I did bring this." He pulled out the wine, making her chuckle. That's when he groaned annoyed. "However, I did forget the glasses." She stood up, opened the bottom doors of her bookshelf and pulled out two glasses.
"They're meant for drinking whiskey but they should work." Thes gave her one of his characteristic downward smirks and nodded.
"Brilliant." He said. "And I will help you, it's not up for discussion." She tilted her head. "What? It'll take you an eternity and I'm already here, so, just tell me what to do and how to do it." She sighed. "C'mon, I brought you dinner..." A smile made its way through her red lips.
"Fine. Just because you brought food with you." Theseus smiled and sat down across from Élie while she divided the piles of papers as Scamander took everything out of the basket. He poured down the wine into the glasses as she took out her spare quill.
From that moment on, Amélie told Theseus what he needed to do and they went through reports, signed documents, signed requirements to be part of the Auror office, etcetera. All this in silence, white eating and having some wine.
Theseus felt at peace, he found something slightly therapeutic in doing what he always does, even if it's boring as hell. And Élie felt like it wasn't going to be an eternity for once in a long while, it felt like those nights in the office with Jean but they felt so different at the same time.
Suddenly, the work that seemed to be endless and that would take at least four hours to get done was finished in two. The wine had ran out as well as the, indeed, tasty food Theseus had made; the fire inside the chimney crackled, and the raindrops hit the window. A prolonged breath left Rosier's mouth when she signed the last paper, this made Theseus laugh.
"See?" He said. "Told you I could help." She took a sip of her wine as she nodded and placed the quill into the ink.
"Yeah, you did." He moved up his own glass and took another sip, celebrating being right like he used to when he was younger, only that he didn't brag about it this time. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Wanna head home?" She blinked a few times as she placed her glass down, she went serious, it also had been a while since she heard those words coming out of someone's mouth with that soft and sweet tone of voice. Theseus seemed to notice, his words hit him like a hammer. "I mean...your home. If you want to head to your own place, where I'm staying as a guest." He nodded and sighed as she laughed, he giggled and shook his head nervously. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be, I understood."
"Good, good." For some reason, they felt like teenagers again. Scamander was surprised about how, truly, the right people help you feel better even when you're grieving.
"Yes, I want to go home." She stood up after she had placed the papers in order on the left side of her desk and he kept everything into the basket he had brought. Only moments later, each one threw on their blazers and coats, Theseus grabbed the basket while Amélie put on her hat and grabbed her bag, after that, both walked out of the office.
For both of them, this time at the Ministry seemed so peaceful. A building filled with buzzing and noise, the ticking of the typing machines, the heels of people walking around the hallways, etcetera, was gone. Everything was quiet, so still, there was no noise at all. The only thing that's audible were their footsteps against the black marble.
Rosier and Scamander made their way to the entrance of the Ministry enjoying a comfortable silence between them. When they walked out, both conjured an umbrella to cover themselves from the cold water as they walked all the way back to Amélie's house. When they arrived, she wasted no time in turning on the chimney to warm up the cold living room.
Jazz started playing in the home once she had chosen a vinyl to play and the night continued. It didn't feel as late as it actually was, the night felt young. They washed the dishes and talked about what their day had looked like when they weren't hanging out.
"I'm glad your mind is at ease." She said as she dried her hands.
"Thanks. Today was a good day, although my head and chest felt heavy from time to time." He commented as he sat down.
"That's normal. With the time, that feeling will fade away too." She sat beside him and let out a sigh when her head fell back, relaxing after a long day. "Thank you for today, I appreciate it." He looked at her and smiled.
"No problem, I'm happy to help." She smiled to the ceiling, closing her eyes.
"Same old Scamander." He chuckled while she giggled, then, a silence fell upon them. There was just static accompanying them, the vinyl was over and the crickets started singing from outside, instead. Élie moved her wand and the disc was removed from the player while the lights were turned off, now, they were left alone with the light of the fire and the moonlight that came in through the window.
"Thank you." She frowned and looked at him, a soft smile on her features.
"Whatever for?"
"Not treating me with pity, just...treating me normally."
"No problem. Feeling like that is dreadful, I wouldn't want to make you go through that." He smiled, remembering the way she would never treat someone in a way she knew would make them feel terrible, specially if she knew the feeling herself.
"Same old Rosier." She chuckled and he laughed alongside her. Another silence fell upon them.
"Well." She said after a while. "It was a long day and I'm exhausted, I'm going to bed." She stood up. "Goodnight, Thes." Her hand fell upon his shoulder again, he looked up and placed his hand on top of hers. "And, by the way, you turn off the fire." He laughed.
"See you tomorrow." She smiled and walked away, her hand slid from his hand and across his back. He watched her getting lost in the darkness of the hallway as she unbraided her red mane and got lost into her bedroom, the door closing behind her. What he didn't see was the way she shook her hand, feeling the warmth of his touch on her skin as she wondered what gave him the nerve to touch her hand.
He sighed as he tightened his hand into a fist and then let go, he looked out the window to admire the city. After a few minutes, with a flick of his wand, the fire extinguished and he headed to the bedroom he was using. Once inside, he closed the door behind him too. It took a while for him to finally close his eyes and fall asleep under the Parisian sky.
Eventually, after days of learning different cooking and baking recipes, drinking wine in the afternoons, walking through museums and parks, helping out in the Ministry, and looking after a cat, Theseus' week off came to an end. He left Rosier's home after saying 'see you soon' with a broken heart that had some bandages over it, and a clearer mind.
When he arrived at his little home and unpacked his case he felt lighter. Theseus thought that days could seem gloomy, that loss would always be there, that things might get tougher than they already were, but he knew that there's always light at the end of a tunnel, no matter how far from the opposite side you find yourself in.
He knew that he would be okay, that he'd get to know peace with how his life looked like now and that he'll have to welcome nostalgia back into his life once again and more often, but that he'd be just fine.