Ch. 43 The Talk

Thursday, November 12, 1992

The sun had long set by the time I walked out of the Room of Requirement. Physically I was perfectly fine, but I was mentally exhausted.

I spent several hours going through every spell I knew, all of them. Once that was done, I used the Room to create a chamber to test my strength and durability. It reminded me of an ant trying to hold up a boot.

Once I had enough of stones being dropped on me, I switched to reading. I was finally able to finish all the books the Room could provide on the human Soul. The theories were diverse and complex, yet made so much sense once you had a deeper understanding of the metaphysical.

I was pretty happy with how much I achieved today. That feeling of happiness was quickly diminished once I realized how much more I have to go.

My knowledge of Wizarding magic is well-grounded, but I only have a students understanding of many fields. I feel that my Skyrim spells are well mastered, but I've not even started to research new Thu'ums.

If that wasn't bad enough, I've barely scratched the surface on the Mystic Arts. Then there are the powers I gained from the serums and Ego...

I let out a depressed sigh. I'm a jack of all trades and a master of none.

Entering the hall to my apartment, I immediately notice my door cracked open.

A quick detection spell puts my nerves on edge.

I cautiously open my door and step in. Anxiety is slowly building in my stomach as I close the door behind me. My eyes were locked on the woman sitting on my bed.

"Hey," Aurora says with a timid smile.

"Hey," I cautiously repeat.

A bit of humor enters Aurora's smile. "Ever the poet."

"Well, it's hard enough to breathe around you, let alone think," I reply with a small smile.

Aurora's smile grows wide, and her eyes light up with happiness. "Good answer," She says as she bounds off the bed and walks up to me. Reaching both of her hands up around my neck, Aurora pulls herself up to softly kiss my lips. I don't hesitate to wrap my arms around her slim waist.

Much to my disappointment, she ends the kiss far too early for my liking. Pressed against my body, Aurora looks into my eyes as she says, "We need to talk."

"Okay," I softly say as I nod my head.

We move over to the small loveseat, and we each lean into an armrest so we can face each other while sitting so close.

Aurora takes a deep breath before beginning. "I love you, Xavier. I really do. You're intelligent, capable, and decent on the eyes." Aurora finishes with a small smirk.

"But sometimes you're completely oblivious."

I have no idea what to say to that. Judging by the sigh Aurora releases, she knows it as well.

With a bit of annoyance in her voice, "You kept the knowledge of the basilisk to yourself for over a week, and then you went and fought it alone. Then, you suspected a Death Eater was in the castle but kept that to yourself until you were ready to capture him.

"Xavier, we're in a school filled with children. Did you ever think that sharing what you knew would be the best for these kids? It might not have changed anything, but it might have sped things up or made things safer." The annoyance in Aurora's voice fades out as she finishes speaking.

At her comments, I can only dumbly stare at her. I have no idea what to say to that.

Noticing the lost look on my face, Aurora draws in a deep breath and stares down at her hands. "Last night, I was upset because it felt like you couldn't trust me, to rely on me. It made me feel like I was just a burden to you." Aurora begins to fidget with her hands before she whispers, "Like you didn't really care for me."

At her confession, my eyes grow large with panic and desperation. "No, no, no, no." I quickly repeat as I place one hand on top of hers and cup the side of her face with my other hand. Gently raising her head so she can see my face, I softly but firmly say, "That is not true. I do care about you, Aurora. More than anyone else."

Letting out a sigh, I lean back into the arm of the loveseat. "Honestly, when it comes to relationships, I have no idea what I'm doing. I've always had people that relied on me, depended on me to take care of everything. I've never even thought of relying on someone else."

The vulnerable look on Aurora's face melted away, and she gives me a sad smile. "We both have a lot to learn. I'm not asking you to tell me all your secrets, but I want to be the person you can turn to."

Nodding my head, "I know you're an amazing witch. It wasn't because of a lack of faith in you."

Aurora's gives me a beautiful smile. "Good. If we're going to make this relationship work, we need to be able to trust each other. I know you're capable, but I'm willing to lighten your burdens if you let me."

"I would like that," I said with a small smile. I take a moment to think about the two of us, and what I really want. It takes me only a moment to realize I want her, and I intend to keep her.

Taking a deep breath, I look directly into her eyes. "Do you want to know what's currently going on?"

Aurora looks stunned for a moment before she gives me an earnest look. "You don't have to do this, I understand this is all so sudden..."

"I want to," I interrupt.

With Aurora's nod of acceptance, I begin to tell her everything about Tom Riddle and the hunt for his Horcruxes up to this point. I even tell her what Dumbledore shared with me. I technically don't lie about anything, but I twist and omit certain pieces I'm not ready for her to know about.

I don't tell her anything about my reincarnation or about any future events. But by the time I'm done talking, she's well aware of what's been going on lately. From her point of view, it seems like I've been working in the shadows to prevent Voldemort's return.

When I finish, Aurora leans back into the loveseat with a dazed look on her face.

"Son of a bitch," she softly says.

"Yup," I firmly agree.

"The Ministry won't believe this," Aurora states.

"Nope," I agree.

"And you've been working on this alone, for over a year?" Aurora asks.

"Yup," I confirm.

In a sudden burst of speed, Aurora throws herself into my chest and takes hold of my head as she kisses me hard. It was so unexpected I froze for several seconds before wrapping my arms around her and returning her kiss.

When our lips finally separate, Aurora leans back enough to look into my eyes. Aurora says in a breathless voice, "That is incredibly brave, hot, and... stupid." She punctuates her point by biting my lower lip hard enough to make me wince!

"Now, we're going to sit down and work out how to kill this bastard while reducing the threat to our lives," Aurora firmly declares.

"Do all women believe they know better?" I ask, rubbing my sore lip. The action is more for Aurora's benefit than anything. By the time I touched my lip, it was already completely healed. But she doesn't need to know that.

Aurora cocks her head to the side like I just said the silliest thing. "Of course, dear. We're called the better half for a reason."

Aurora lets out a loud and joy-filled laugh when I blow out a deep breath. I can't help smiling myself when a snort sneaks into her laughter.

As we spend the night critiquing the most efficient ways to kill Voldemort, I'm hit with an unexpected burst of happiness. Working out murder plans allows you to really see someone's true self.

I love the hell out of this woman.