✧GREY HAIR✧

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Rabastan had a plan on his shoulders, the small piece of parchment just within his grasp. It was brilliant to say the least, and of course it had been Avery's joking tone that caused him to search for an extra Hogsmead permission slip.

Unfortunately he had to wait until his free period of the day as Aria suddenly found herself aiding Slughorn with his first and second-year classes.

Rabastan heard the frustration from Regulus as he wished Aria would come and aid his class as it was a complete train wreck half the time.

But that was a matter of different circumstances, he sighed in relief in finding her brewing. He knew that it was apart of her job to brew for the infirmary, and thus she was here brewing away at three various potions.

"Merlin, do you ever slow down." He met it in a teasing notion, but seeing her happy expression and so fulfilled with the hard work out in front of her was enough for him to feel elated.

"Not when I plan to do this for a career, brewers for private apothecaries make a decent bit of coin."
"For some reason, I cannot see you as just a brewer."
"Oh no, not at all. But just after a mistress degree—Perhaps here or in America, there really are only a few places to start." He hadn't thought about that, since his life was already planned out for him to take over his father's work in the ministry.

But it was nice to hear someone—A witch no less, about what she is striving for in the future.

"Do you want a mask? I do warn you it gets hot in here after a while." She spoke, pulling her sleeves up again as they were threatening to fall down for the hundredth time that evening. "Surely if you can manage I'll be alright."
"That's what Phoebe said too."
"And?"
"She passed out within the hour, so please...Take the mask." She offered it out, a rather firm direction and he wasn't about to take her warning with fail.

"Fine. But I think I could manage more than an hour...And this is foolish."
"I mean you can gladly soak up the fumes and build up tolerance Mr.Lestrange, but that takes time and potion headaches are almost as bad as Portkey headaches." He groaned, having witnessed her previous headaches it was clear that it wasn't what he ever wanted to experience.

He begrudgingly took it, but it only stayed on his face for about five minutes before he tugged it down. "What's your father's name darling?" Rabastan spoke, at the ready to write it down. But she turned back and laughed.

"And why...Do you need to know that?" She questioned, though Aria managed to hide her disturb notion of it to herself as she kept her back faced to him.

Something she wouldn't have dreamed of last year.

He remained silent, and she sighed out loud as she stirred one last time before turning towards him with the same questionable face as before. "Eli, why?" It wasn't without a defensive tone as she crossed her arms to see what the bloke was up to, and the smile of victory was clearly visible as he held up the slip of paper.

Taking the piece of parchment did she close her eyes and smile, shaking her head with an amused glint before handing it back. "Like that'll work?" In a mere question she had shot him and his excitement down.

"Let me take you to Hogsmead...I still don't understand why you just didn't ask when you were with them on holiday." Aria leaned back against the counter with her head hanging low.
"Because my brothers and sisters were—Because there was family over." What was she meant to do? Eli would've felt immensely guilty, again, and then her siblings would attempt to rectify the whole situation.

The whole thing a damn mess, and for what? His signature would only work when he's truly a guardian. She should just be thankful that he could forge a dozen reasons of why she was in America to begin with.

"I will take you on a date Ms.Roswell, and I'll be doing it by the end of the semester." And thus she rolled her eyes, he didn't catch how much this simple thing hurt. As it was a clear reminder of what she didn't have.

Parent permission.

"Why you'd think I'd like a date at Hogsmead is beyond me."
"I see it more as my being the first to take you." In record of it he smirked in triumph as she was considerably wining down to agree to a date. Though not without causing some trouble of his patience, but then he looked down at the paper he wrote.

The signature looked real enough, but now he had a name. A name to match Aria with the rest of her family—But what Rabastan didn't take into account was her last name not matching her father's or the rest of her family.

"Where are you off to now then darling?" It was such a change of pace, seeing him wash cauldrons without having a detention to mandate such a chore. But he did it in aid of helping her.

And although put a smile on her face the amount of help he was bestoying, he wasn't prepared as to what she was going to say.

"G-Gryffindor? I don't think I heard you correctly."
"Which part? The part where I'm in a study group or that group are filled with Gryffindors?... I have a few with Hufflepuffs Rabastan, it's not odd." She was correct, if it was up to him he'd keep those in one house to another.

"Must you—"
"Rabastan...Are you sure you want to finish that sentence?" She warned, her brow rosed as she almost tempted the man.
"I suppose it's...It's only studying." Perking her lips was she not entirely impressed with that type of response. Though it was enough to give a frown.

"No we're getting piss drunk this Tuesday night, Rabastan...You know the Charms project, I was teamed up with the Gryffindor bunch. It's not that big of deal, and I rather like working with Lily. It's the Quidditch lot that are the biggest dunderheads, and it's not that they aren't smart. It's like they can barely hold a quill for four seconds, like it burns them."
"Lily?" He questioned, and Aria groaned while wiping her hand onto the cloth.

"Lily Evans? She's a prefect in our year. Come now acting like a dunderhead doesn't suit you." She cooed, his tie having been tugged at due to the heat she found herself undoing it entirely and fixing it.

"I'm sure you can handle yourself for an hour or two, honestly I think your mates feel left out." She hit the nail on the head, although Avery wasn't vocal about his lack of involvement, Rabastan knew if he invited him mates while he studied with her, there wouldn't be much room for studying.

It was strange but he just wanted her all to himself, which was very him. But she figured they would be the embarrassing type to go about his faceyment as the opening to tease and eventually torment the two.

As of yet, Aria didn't know her true feelings for Rabastan. Sure he was handsome, but it wasn't in record of her own likeness, she was simply still very reluctant to let him in.

But that guard was slipping, and quickly. Especially when he proceeded to pout.

"Now that is adorable, but we weren't assigned as partners. Now excuse me, Lestrange. As I'm already late."
"Will you be joining me for dinner?"
"Depends how far I can wrangle them to get something done in the matter of an hour and a half. But probably not, there's no more time left between now and the due date that it's better to just get it done when we're all there...Breakfast tomorrow?" He was rightly disappointed, but at the mention of a follow up he would always feel elated.

Rabastan Lestrange wasn't that difficult to please, or not on her end at least.

With that being said, the group found themselves in Aria's classroom. Her couch and beanbags completely occupied and the chatter loud, though she and Lily were doing the most while James was livid at not being invited in here before—Remus found himself making a third kettle of tea after the first one mysteriously spilled and the second being drunk so quickly between the seven of them.

And although she told Rabastan it was for a project, which it was, there wasn't anything wrong with socializing. Also, she wouldn't allow Rabastan to tell her what she could and couldn't do.

No matter how much he pouted.

Honestly, she dared him to try anything.

And honestly, she was having a lot of fun with such an obnoxious bunch. From James pressing a date onto Lily, and then finally getting the chance to talk to Remus. It was nice, and she hadn't laughed this loud or strongly for a while.

It was rejuvenating...It was—

"A-Aria?" Remus had choked, his laughter dying out. Much like the rest of the room as they were all slowly becoming more aware at what just happened. She looked around her curiously, thinking that there was something or if she was laughing strangely—Which wasn't all that unknown on her end.

Her brothers reminded her constantly.

Her cheeks turned instantly pink, then red as she was under the eyes of everyone in the room. "Aria...Your...Your hair it's um..." She turned to look at Remus, but then she realized that his eyes weren't directed to her eyes.

It was her hair.

Instantly fear racked her body as she parted a lock of her hair in front of her face to see that it was not her normal brown.

"I should start calling you Sterling instead of bubbles..."

Both Remus and Sirius were familiar with these panic attacks, and he kneed before her while Remus held her by the shoulder.

"Breath, hey, love can you hear me? It's alright." Remus started in sheer surprise that Sirius had been the one to speak first. Taking hold of her hand within both of hers.

Since her attention had been locked onto her grey hair, and didn't deviate until Sirius made himself the center of shocked attention.

"It's alright...You see? You're alright...Mate, get her some more tea." He nicked his head, and that was Lily's cue to get her a fresh cup, although handing it over had been a very bad idea. Especially if Sirius hadn't wrapped his hands around hers.

She would've liked shaken the liquid completely out.

"Take a sip." He cooed, and thus she listened. Taking a hefty sip, and with that she attempted to relieve herself of the stress. Thus turning the vibrate color to turn a mix of ombre, both Lily and Marlene looked to one another—The muggle-borns having never seen anything like it but also having not read about it before.

But the rest...The rest knew, and by the realization caught in Sirius' eye? It caused her to crack down and sob into her wrist. "I'm sorry! I can't control it...I didn't—I didn't mean to—" Her hands were starting to return to their previous action, and so Sirius turned to the rest of the crowd.

It was a silent excuse for them to leave the room while Sirius and Remus dealt with whatever it was that was happening to Aria. With Lupin shell-shocked, Sirius was the one to grasp her by her cheeks and gain her undivided attention to what was happening.

Sometimes Aria needed a bit of force.

"What on earth are you sorry for? This is a wonderful gift I didn't know you could change your hair."
"I can't c-control it." She hurried out, searching his eyes once again to see if there was any judgment, any disgust.

But there wasn't.

"I think it's a brilliant gift, it's a shame you can't control it...Have you tried to—"
"I don't want to control, I don't want it at all. It's brought nothing but trouble." Remus had stilled completely and after realizing and connecting the dots he could only assume what happened the first time she lost control of her abilities.

In front of muggle child—Her muggle-headmistress.

"Pads is right, it sounds like a wonderful gift...When I saw you that day in the library. Your hair changed, didn't it?" She nodded, and a soft smile escaped Remus.

"You don't have to hide that from us, I thought we were much closer than that."
"Only those in America and Clem know..." She croaked, and curiosity got the best out of Sirius as he went to take a feel for it but was caught red-handed.

"Please don't touch it..." Her voice was all that more strained, but that had been the approving stamp of his theory. Something must've happened for her to disapprove of learning and perfecting it.

"I think—I think you're done for tonight Ari." Remus whispered, and she looked even more distraught at the idea of leaving that she cried further. "I—I'm sorry, I won't do it again I promise—"
"What Remus means is that you've exhausted yourself, not that we're against it love. Honestly, I wish I could do that with my hair." His conceded side shinned for a moment as he ran a hand through his own hair.

The two Gryffindors watched in a shared silence as her hair took on a mind of it's own, switching from the unnatural ombre to a beautiful grey and blue fade away. "That seems more your style, if I'm still being honest that is." Wiping away the onset of tears did she look at the two in disbelief.

"Y-you don't care that I'm a...I'm a—" The word escaped her for a moment, and Remus whispered out the word a reminder. But part of her was so against speaking it out loud that it didn't grasp the sound on her tongue.

"Absolutely not, think you're the only one in the school too Ari—Say that must mean you're brilliant at Transfiguration."
"Y-yeah, I'm applying for my animagus status this summer to go along with my internship." The lad's brow rose at hearing the information, but never the less it was important to hear.

And duly noted.

Aria demanded that she had least stay with the group another half an hour before being set to bed, but that ultimately meant that the gals walked her to her common room door and made sure she got into her room safely without any trouble. Manly from Sirius' take on Harper coming after her when she was so incredibly lost.

Before the rest of the group returned, Aria was honest with them that she hadn't shared everything of her story and background. Not even with Regulus, but the two understood that some things were better left hidden and thus—they didn't ask for anything more.

What did happen though was that when Clem returned from a little after dinner, she was shocked to see that Aria was actually present in their room and already in bed.

"Are you feeling alright? Lestrange was looking for you." Aria sighed, even when she warned him she wasn't going to be coming for dinner he was still on the lookout for her.

Such a needy bloke.

"I lost control when I was with the Gryffindors."
"What?!"
"They all hate me."
"Why would they hate you? Just for that? Aria come now, I've told you before it's awesome. Other witches and wizards have to dye their hair in a salon and all that. You could do it naturally—And control the length! No potions or anything. And then could we talk about actually morphing into other people? Think about it Aria...Sure it's rare but—"
"I'm strange enough as is Clem, I can't control it, it's no use."

It was official, Aria Roswell had caught herself in a rut.

And the only way Clem knew what to do was allow her to sort out the differences in her own mind her own way, and that meant peace and silence. "How about you skip first period tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Aria yawned, curled further into her pillow and causing a snuggling Omen to nuzzle under it as well.

The small galaxy projector had suddenly turned on just above her bedpost, giving her sense of an outside and mythical oasis.

She then fell fitfully to sleep all before Clem could return back into the room after going to run the shower for a full minute.

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Date Posted: 03-31-2020

Time: 9:14

Words: 2828

Immer Mutter posting tomorrow (Wednesday) if I can, I'm sorry I've been feeling awful these past few days...Please bare with me!