#disconnected-realities

The last week had been absolutely insane. Between Christmas, her birthday and making plans with the Order for New Years, Amelia felt as though she'd been running around nonstop. There was a part of her that wanted nothing more than to send Gavin an owl and let him know they should reschedule, but she was afraid that if she did, they'd never get together. It wasn't worth it. Besides, she was really excited about the evening and wanted to spend time with him, she hadn't been this excited about a date in a long time. 

Was it even a date? Could be that they were just going out as friends, Gavin had never used the word date, nor had she. So, not a date then. But a potential birthday pre-date type evening that could, hopefully, eventually lead to an actual date. 

Merlin's beard, she felt like she was back in Hogwarts, giggling about boys during History of Magic. 

How long had it been since she'd actually wanted a date and not just a stress-relieving-hook-up? A long damn time, that was for sure. Amelia couldn't decide what it was about Gavin that made her think maybe, just maybe there was a possibility for something more, but it was there and there was no denying it. She dressed carefully, paying special attention to wear the necklace he gave her -- truth be told, she planned her entire outfit around it. 

When she was satisfied with her look, or at least as satisfied as she was going to be, Amelia donned a warm cloak and scarf to keep the worst of the winter weather off and left her flat. The restaurant they'd decided upon wasn't far from her place and she was ready far earlier than she needed to be, so she decided to walk. Hopefully it would serve the dual purpose of killing time and burning off her nervous energy. 

What the FUCK are you talking about, Travers?

You talkin’ about the thing in the Prophet??

Severus Snape had a spring in his step. No quite a swagger or a strut, but just enough bounce and confidence that as his new robes billowed around him, he gave off an air of destiny. Of someone who was going places and knew it.

Perhaps that was why he did not need to display his invite at the door. Or perhaps there were so many people at it already that he was waved through because any gatecrasher with the audacity to stroll in throjgh the front doors deserved to have a few vol-au-vents and glasses of bubbly before his untimely demise.

Once inside the main room, he moved through the obvious family groups to a quieter area. As the event was a chance to network and build alliances, most invitees were congregated together in the centre, talking. There were some, like him, who were alone and seemed not to want to talk too much, and there was him.

Severus’s dark eyes met the other man’s. There was a sharp intelligence there, he fancied. A sort of alertness that intrigued him. He began to meander towards where the other man was, not a beeline, but it was clear he had a destination.

Explain this.

-Gavin

Only if you can explain this.

The note came sooner than he’d expected, and this time it was accompanied by a package. Ted stared at the brown-paper encased objected with no small amount of trepidation. When he’d received no response to his timid offer of friendship he hadn’t known what to think. It was clear he hadn’t scared the person off though. Picking up the note, he scanned the smattering of words, and his stomach knotted. “Oh Merlin please be metaphorical.” He muttered before he reached out hesitantly and tugged off the shielding paper.

The moment the heart was revealed he scrambled back so quickly he knocked over his chair. “Oh god…” He covered his mouth, turning away as his gorge threatened to rebel. He wasn’t an expert in anatomy, but he didn’t doubt that it was a human heart. Not that it would have been any better if it had been an animal, but still…

Now will you talk to Moody?

Yeah, it was definitely time to do that. Notes he could ignore…organs were his limit. Pushing his fingers through his hair, he turned to peer around the room. He needed to take it to Moody. Needed it out of his house before Andy or Dora saw it. Spying an old sack hanging on the coat rack in the corner, he grabbed it and moved back to his desk. Unwilling to touch it, he tugged his sleeve down over his hands and picked up the item gingerly and settled it in the sack. Then he opened his file cabinet and pulled out the folder labeled Red and shoved it in the bag as well.

Gavin,

I would love to, thank you for inviting me. Lasagna is one of my favorite meals, so I’m quite looking forward to it. I’m free just about every evening next week, so just let me know what day works best for you.

It had never been particularly funny, but now it had transitioned into something far more…worrisome. Ted rubbed his brow and finally stood, pacing the confines of the little loft space he’d claimed for his home office. The first letter had been sent to his flat…but now they were arriving at his new home…and they were getting creepier. Sighing he dropped back at the desk and picked up the note. “We’ve never even met…have we?” But that was the problem. He didn’t know for sure that he hadn’t met the person sending him the odd notes.

You should let Moody see them Teddy boy.