Out and About

[Aiden Macmillan]

• So, Aiden was starting to understand that being a professional Quidditch player would not always go so well for him. After an outstanding season last year, the young man found himself more obsessed with winning than enjoying the game, which, in hindsight, was what he always ought to be doing. But, as he walked through the streets of Hogsmeade, Aiden wondered if he made the right team choice.
  
  Although that was not what he wanted to do in that particular moment, Aiden felt as though he had to think about it. He wanted to be the best he could be. Were the Kestrels really THE team for him? Aiden didn't really know any more. 'Gah!' he thought. There was no need for thoughts like these. He turned his attention to the beautiful scenery that he was immersed in. He hardly noticed that he was bee-lined for someone else. Ramming into them, Aiden looked to the mysterious person he rudely ran into. "Pardon me."

  

[Patience Rutledge]

It'd been a long time since Patience was out and about in Hogsmeade while not rushing somewhere. She was in the overcrowded town not even a month ago, however that time was spent being friendly with her family and otherwise not at all fun. Not to mention that for a week Tensy found herself unable to pen a quick letter to Lawrence. She hated going so long without talking to him, he was her best friend, her only friend. Every day that passed that she didn't get the chance to "talk" to him was a miserable one at best.

Trying to find her way to the tea shop that lurked around High Street somewhere (as she sincerely disliked all the tea shops in Irvingly) Tensy turned quickly, causing a collision with a vaguely familiar face. "Oh, no. That was my fault." She blushed and turned her attention towards her shoes. Callista, Patience's mother, had always warned Tensy from getting her head to far in the cloud. "I really ought to pay more attention to wear I'm going."

  

[Aiden Macmillan]

• Aiden laughed, a bit unsettled. "No, Miss," he started, "I assure you, I was the one who ought to look out. It was I who barreled into you, after all." Aiden tipped the brim of his hat down in solemn apology. He had thought he had noticed her face before, but Aiden felt that way around a lot of girls. Although, he never said anything lest he insult one of the finer ladies that Aiden had known growing up.
  
  Trying to avoid taking as much as his father's money as possible was not exactly a fair thing. "If you have any thought as to who I am, if it is proper, my name is Aiden Macmillan," he paused, "first-string chaser for the Kenmare Kestrels. I must again apologize. Hogsmeade looks rather beautiful this time of year."

  

[Patience Rutledge]

Macmillian, he said his name was, which caused tiny bells to ring in her head. Wasn't there a Macmillian in her year? She couldn't tell for sure, as they'd never been friends nor had she focused more than outside herself. However, now that it was years later and she matured some, talking wasn't so difficult. Just talking to her sisters and brother was.

"Well then I accept your apology." She smilied at him. It had been both their faults, but if he was insistent upon an apology then she wasn't going to constantly say no and refuse it. Did he say Hogsmeade looks beautiful? Is that why he'd "barreled into her"? It couldn't of been. One couldn't get so distracted by the beauty of freshly fallen snow to accidentally almost knock someone off their feet. "Miss Patience Rutledge." Tensy replied simply, "I work for my father over in Irvingly. At Whitley's Clothing, perhaps you've heard of it?"

  

[Aiden Macmillan]

• Aiden harumphed at the mention of Irvingly. "Ay," he started, "I've heard of it. I was a member of the expansion expedition when those groups got taken captive by the lot of muggles in that Irvingly place. It's never tickled my fancy to see it. Took my reward and gave my property right over to the Ministry, I did," Aiden nodded, trying to get the scene out of his head. He almost missed summer training and that was not acceptable for him. Kenmare had been notified, but regardless thing were not suited for a Quidditch player to go about being drafted.
  
  Her last name rung a bell. "Are you related to the man up there in the castle? The uh..." he paused, "he's a professor... History of Magic, maybe? I don't remember much of that class," he admitted. "Probably why the name rings a bell but not much else." Aiden rolled his shoulders and looked past Patience. The scenery of Hogsmeade was wholly captivating. It wasn't like he had never seen snow before, but there was something different about the scene. Shaking his head slightly, he turned his attention back to her. "How is Irvingly?"

  

[Patience Rutledge]

Tensy was certainly glad that none of her family members had been drafted for the expansion. Then again, her family wasn't even in Hogsmeade at the time. Well, her uncle and his wife were, but they hadn't been drafted. And his wife's family...well Tensy didn't care for them very much. It must of been bad, though, being held captive for any amount of time. She didn't even want to imagine it, not with the way her mom's situation was currently going.

She chuckled softly and nodded, "Yes, Professor Rutledge is my uncle." There weren't any good reason to disguise their relations, especially now that she was no longer in school. "How long were you held captive for? My family wasn't in town at the time." She asked, concerned for all those whom were held. "Are you okay now?"

  

[Aiden Macmillan]

• Aiden laughed. "Oh no, I was not so fortunate. I was not taken captive. Only two groups of the expansion were captured by the Muggles. I was not in one of them. My name will not go down in history textbooks. I don't even remember if we encountered anything dangerous. It's all a blur to me. I apologize if I was unclear in my previous statement." Aiden smiled slightly, his blue-gray eyes were filled with laughter.
  
  Although her concern seemed genuine, Aiden did not need nor did he want it. "I thank you for your concern, but I need it not," he grinned, tucking his hands into the pockets of his coat. "Do you like Irvingly?" he pressed, noticing that she had not answered his previous question. He was intrigued by the place and was wondering whether or not he should go and at least visit the place.

  

[Patience Rutledge]

Well that was a mistake on her part. Oops. Blushing once more, Patience shuffled her feet lightly and looked up at him. "That's good then, I'm glad that you weren't held captive. I wouldn't wish such a fate on anyone." Captivity was much like a female's view of society. Always in someone's possession, never free from the binds that held them down.

How was Irvingly? Irvingly was fine when Tensy wasn't pining for Lawrence to come and find her. They probably walked past each other ten times a day, and never once did he call out "Sadie". Merlin she wished he would. Having his love would be a comfort in these hard times. As it was Patience was avoiding going home, she knew her mother wouldn't be there for the first time ever. "Irvingly is fine. The whole 'no magic in the streets' thing is slightly troublesome, but other than that it is fine. Much like Hogsmeade, I'd venture. Just less crowded."

  

[Aiden Macmillan]

• He nodded in a slightly distasteful agreement. There wasn't really anything he wanted out of life except to maybe visit this infamous Irvingly. He hadn't seen it on the trail like everyone else had seemed to. Talk of Irvingly had grown bothersome as of late and something deep inside him wanted to see what all the buzz was about. According to this Miss Rutledge, it was almost exactly like Hogsmeade but without the magic flowing to and fro.
  
  "It is that boring, then?" Aiden shrugged. "I'm just curious, I suppose." Aiden's left hand corner of his mouth twitched slightly. He had forgotten how hard it was to be entirely proper. The lack of female contact had ruined his manners and he felt as though he was doing injustice to her. She was a lady and needed to have been around better manners than Aiden was providing. "I apologize for my manners," he said, voice even. "I have not had much practice as of late."

  

[Patience Rutledge]

Patience's chaperone tapped her on the shoulder as if to remind the young woman that she was there, and Tensy nodded just a slight bit in silent agreement. They should be continuing soon, if not now. No harm was done, she would be fine, he would be fine, they really ought to continue on their way. However, Tensy didn't want to just yet. She didn't want to go home to Irvingly and see her empty house and realize once more that there was something severely wrong with her mother. She didn't want to wish for another night for Lawrence to come on his white horse and save her. There was just too much misery involved in that.

She shook her head in protest at his statement of Irvingly being boring. "No, it's not boring. It's just the same as Hogsmeade, pretty much, minus the rumors flirting around and the magic everywhere." Tensy said a bit distractedly. "Oh, and the muggles are quite odd too." She added as a bit of an afterthought, completely disregarding his apology.

  

[Aiden Macmillan]

• Aiden stretched his lips into a smile and then noticed the girl's chaperone behind her. "I am sure the muggles are." Nodding slightly, he turned his foot slightly. "I should let you be on your way. It was nice meeting you, Miss Rutledge," Aiden smiled and took a hand out of the comfort of his pocket to tip his hat at the young lady. Errands were calling at the back of his mind.
  
  "I am sorry to have kept you," he once again apologized. He wondered if he was dismissive and rude, at the last few seconds of their conversation, but Aiden felt that it was best to not linger too long in the streets lest some inappropriate behavior happened around them. Aiden did not want his name, or hers for that matter, smeared for having a generous conversation after bumping into each other. The conversation was brief, pleasant and overall hardly inappropriate. There was no name calling and politeness was there. Etiquette had made its return to Aiden. "Farewell, Miss Rutledge."