Riddles Rising

[Richard Banks]

"There's no need to worry, Richard... I'll be very careful."

Somehow, her words seemed to reassure him just a tad bit. He nodded softly. Sara was one of the smartest people in her year; he was sure that she could handle the danger of being in the Order, but he still felt worried. He pushed all his doubt aside and smiled at her gentelly.

"If my grades and years of training are any indication... I think I can pretty much handle myself now, Richard."

He laughed slightly and yelped when she poked him, "Not the ribs! I beg you fair lady!" 'I'm sure you can,' he thought. She was smart and cunning, but what did those skills mean against a mad man and his followers. He tried not to think about it. Sara would be okay; that's what he told himself. She had to be.

"Maybe Dumbledore would let you apprentice with the current Divinations Professor? What better way for you to learn than on-the-job? They might even know of something to help you with those headaches you sometimes get. And you know it doesn't matter what other people think as long as Dumbledore believes you."

"I could always ask. Getting rid of those horrible headaches would be great; I bet everyone in the Infirmary would agree...I swear I might as well camp in there sometimes," he paused and chuckled softly," You and Dumbledore believe in me so I guess that's all that counts, but I still wish everyone else did too." He rested his head on her shoulder feeling emotionally exhausted. Thinking about all the doubt his classmates had in him sometimes upset him.

He watched silently as a young girl entered the common room and then darted up the stairs before Sara spoke.

"Maybe we'd better finish this talk later, because the rest of the Ravenclaws will be coming in soon to get ready for dinner."

He nodded and rose from his seat, "Later then." He walked up to her and kissed her full on the mouth before grinning like a smug idiot and slipped out the exit. It was about time his Gryffindor boldness showed up...

[Sara Choviar]

Sara looked over at Richard as he nodded at her words, and saw him relax a little. But she could tell that he was concerned about her safety with the Order, although she wondered why he wasn't more upset with her for having not talked with him before she made her decision to join. A decision that big would have normally been something that Sara definitely would have talked to Richard about, and she wondered what was really running through his mine at that moment.

He laughed slightly, and yelped when she poked him, "Not the ribs! I beg you, fair lady!"

"If not the ribs, then where, my Knight?" she teased, smiling back at Richard as he playfully chastised her for poking him; and in that moment, she was grateful to have such a wonderful man in her life. The tall Gryffindor had always been such a calm, reassuring influence during Sara's time at Hogwarts, and the thought of them going their separate ways after graduation caused a stab of intense fear to run through her. Sara's decision to join the Order without Richard's input had been in part because she knew that she was going to have to start making decisions about her life without his help. But she pushed down her fear and worry about the future as he started speaking about hoping to get some help with his headaches.

"I could always ask. Getting rid of those horrible headaches would be great; I bet everyone in the Infirmary would agree...I swear I might as well camp in there sometimes," he paused and chuckled softly," You and Dumbledore believe in me, so I guess that's all that counts; but I still wish everyone else did too." He rested his head on her shoulder feeling emotionally exhausted.

Sara reached up to stroke Richard's face gently as she said quietly "You know, Richard... I could ask my grandmother if she may know of anything to help you with those headaches. She might be able to think of something we haven't tried yet. And give your visions some time, you'll still getting use to them. Everybody else will come around to believing you in their own time." She hadn't mentioned asking her grandmother earlier, not wanting to say too much about her family life over the years. Although Sara had secretly looked through the books and parchments at home for help for Richard's headaches, so far nothing had seemed to work that effectively. Perhaps her grandmother would know of something Sara hadn't been able to find.

"I had a wonderful time today," she said with a smile as he took his cloak from her. Sara reached up to touch the pendant at her throat as she continued, "And thank you again for the beautiful necklace. I'll let you know if I can meet you somewhere later today."

He nodded, and rose from his seat, "Later then."

Sara caught her breath quietly as Richard quickly moved toward her, and kissed her deeply on the mouth before he smiled and made his walk out the Common Room door. She brought her hand slowly to her mouth, where the feel of Richard's mouth still burned aching on her lips, and couldn't help but wonder what the future held in store for both of them. Sara knew that joining the Order had been a big step, but she still had to decide what she was going to do after she graduated from Hogwarts. And where everyone, including Richard was going to fit into those plans.

Deciding that she needed some time to herself more than she needed to eat, Sara moved to grabbed her wool cloak from off the back of the chair. She slipped it on, and quickly closed the silver fastenings down the front. Wrapping her Ravenclaw scarf securely around her neck, she made her way out the Common Room door, turning to close it behind her before walking swiftly down the hallway.

((So sorry that took so long. ))

[Richard Banks]

"If not the ribs, then where, my Knight?"

"Uh...Good question?" the 'noble' knight chuckled nervously. How long would it be before this playful atmosphere was broken and destroyed. How much longer would he be with Sara? He tried to shake the thought, but it seemed to stick in his head. He vowed to treasure the moments he had with her now because he knew that this could very well be the calm before the storm.

"You know, Richard... I could ask my grandmother if she may know of anything to help you with those headaches. She might be able to think of something we haven't tried yet. And give your visions some time, you'll still getting use to them. Everybody else will come around to believing you in their own time."

"If it's not too much trouble; I don't want to force you and your family into helping me; I'll survive," he told her. His Gryffindor side was being strong for her, trying to make it seem like he could really deal with it, but that was far from what he truly felt. His visions were filled with death and destruction followed by killer headaches that left him the in hospital wing or in his dorm for at least a full day. Sara was always rushing in to help, and that was comforting.

"I had a wonderful time today...And thank you again for the beautiful necklace. I'll let you know if I can meet you somewhere later today."

"I had a great time too. I'll keep that dagger close."

As he darted down the hall he felt strangely giddy. Was he drunk? He nearly laughed out loud. Maybe a good nap in Gryffindor Common room would help...

((It's ok...I feel like I'm dragging this out...Sorry))