Confusion overtook Ryder. He was surprised by her response as she stated that she better not see him here again. Ouch. I thought our chat was going well. Did I do something wrong? However, when Alex’s expression changed to a smile, he smiled back. She had been joking, and the ministry worker had fallen for it. Ryder had to give her credit though; it was unusual for someone to fool him. “Well, I can’t make any promises on that. I think if I had a papercut, the ministry would send me over here insisting I get it examined,” he laughed. It’s funny because it is true.

Ryder began to feel slightly reassured when she talked about wanting to be a healer. He was glad to know that she had given this some thought and it was something she wanted to do. In fact, he found her reasons for wanting to do it sort of noble. His family wasn’t affected by the war, but they could have been being as how Ryder was a muggleborn. “That is really sweet of you, Alex.” He didn’t know how else to say what he was thinking. In all actuality, there were better ways to put it. Ryder could have told the girl she was selfless, compassionate, or even giving. Unfortunately, words, for some unknown reason, were very difficult for him.

The good news for Ryder that if Alex had thought his awkward “oh good” comment was strange, she avoided conveying it to the poor bloke. Instead, she gave the indication that she sort of understood what he was trying to say. She also added that she was open to having a relationship. Something aroused in Ryder at these words. Am I actually HAPPY to hear that? Why? Being in the presence of this healer was starting to make him feel weird, and he couldn’t tell if it was a good thing or bad thing. She surprised him once again by asking what his relationship status was. “Ahh…” He paused. He was blushing. Why in the hell am I blushing? He shook his head as a response, but also to attempt to shake away the redness in his face. “Dragon keeping hasn’t really given me a chance to settle down for a relationship. Maybe that will change now that I’m working in the ministry,” he said with shock at how much composure he was able to muster after the overwhelming embarrassment he had felt.

Helga’s Harbor, hmm? The former Gryffindor tried to recall where this was in London. Once he remembered he nodded in understanding to the woman. Those apartments were way nicer than his. Maybe after he made a little bit more money he would feel comfortable to moving to someplace like Helga’s Harbor or even getting a house. Unfortunately he needed to save some money before that happened. Dragon keeping did not pay well, which was a damn shame considering how much work went into it. He quirked an eyebrow when he had heard Alex start to say something then suddenly stop. “Oh no you don’t. ‘Maybe’ what?”

Now that the pain had subsided a pit, he gave the woman a playful scowl for telling him to calm down. Sure it’s easy for her to say. Has she ever applied this stuff to herself? Ryder shuddered at the thought. He didn’t like to imagine his friends hurt, so he hoped she hadn’t. Alex instructed him that he would have to let it sit for a few minutes and asked if he had any more injuries. He gave a chuckle. “None to my knowledge. I appreciate your help though.”

Damn! That smile of his was starting to get to Alexandra and not in a bad way, but in a very, very good way, was it possible that she could not ever tire of that smile….was she starting to ‘like’ Ryder. No, that couldn’t be it, she was a healer, she was extremely good at picking up symptoms, signs and changes in behaviour even where feelings were involved. And she couldn’t actually ‘like’ him so soon after not seeing him for so long. “Paper cuts you say? Perhaps I should owl you some muggle plasters so you can take care of them yourself…” the healer trailed off, teasing him again. And she was actually have lots fun teasing him again and was glad he was going along with it.

Since they had never discussed their future careers even once at Hogwarts, she had seen this question coming. She actually did get asked this question a fair bit, the only other people who knew her reasons for becoming a healer were her family. She didn’t have any close girl friends to share this sort of stuff with. She didn’t even have anyone to share the story of her run-in with Ryder later on. She smiled back at him. “Thank you Ryder, it’s nice of you to say” no one had ever described her reasons for becoming a healer as ‘sweet’ before. It was nice to hear something like that. “And I love what I do” she added, retaining the bright smile on her face. “What about you? mister tough guy… Why Dragons?” she asked, using the tough guy words much like she did when treating little boys who refused to wear a cast on their arm after crashing their broomstick into a tree.


Alex looked at Ryder as she spoke of relationship and being open to one if the right guy came along. Why the hell had she even shared that? Normally she was able to stop herself from saying such things and giving away too much of herself but with Ryder that not the case and it scared her a little, but in a good way. Was he blushing and stammering his words (again)….could it be possible that Ryder was nervous around her? No that couldn’t be it, he had always been so confident, and that wasn’t about to change, well Alex couldn’t see that changing. She arched her brow as his first response was to shake his head. “Do you need some water RJ?” she asked as looked over at the sink in the room. She nodded as he explained that working with Dragons had left him with little time for relationship. “Well time will tell” was all she could say in response to him. But of course she was happy that he was now in a more stable job, however she wasn’t too happy he was still getting hurt by the Dragons.


Fuck! Why had she even said ‘maybe’. Now she would have to either come up with some cover up plan or actually come out with what she was going to say. Deciding to be a brave lion for a change, Alex cleared her throat. “I was going to suggest that maybe we could hang out sometime” she told him, now it was her to blush. Perhaps she would be the one that needed that drink of water instead. She took a deep breath. She didn’t even know what they would do together when they hung out, watch a muggle film, have a meal together, oh merlin if it was the latter that would require her to go shopping. Wait! Why was she going shopping as if she was going on a date with Ryder?


All she could do to recover from her embarrassment to get him back for his scowl was to smirk at him. She knew how much the paste stung when it was working. Not that her burns had ever been as serious as Ryder’s but still she knew from first-hand experience. “No need to thank me, it’s part of my job” she smiled at him as she inspected his arm again. “Nearly done, then just a bandage for you wear overnight so the cream continues to work and you can take it off in the morning” she informed him as she continued to make notes on her notepad.

The way the woman teased him intrigued the young ministry worker. He couldn’t tell if she wanted him around or not. Ryder was certainly hoping that she did. He couldn’t shake the feeling of wanting to be around her, and he didn’t completely understand why. Alex jokingly said she could send some sort of muggle contraption to help with papercuts. “I think I would rather be sent here if it means I get to see you.” Ryder was sort of fully aware of what he said and didn’t regret it. He sincerely meant it as he was having a good time with the woman.

A bit of surprise crossed Ryder’s face when he was asked about his choice in working dragons. The former Gryffindor realized that he had never really outwardly stated his love for dragons, but he figured it wa just something people knew about him. Ryder considered it such a huge part of him that people had just come to know. He had never been asked to explain it before. As the ministry worker thought about how to explain it, his eyes lit up and smile crossed his face as it often did whenever he got a chance to talk about dragons. “They are just magnificent creatures. The thrill you get from trying to tame a dragon is unexplainable. When you do it, it feels like you just did something impossible. This powerful creature that could destroy you is suddenly listening to you, respecting you. Not to mention, once they trust you to let you fly on them… oh, Alex… there is nothing like it.” The light in his eyes continued to glow. The man imagined riding the back of a Romanian Longhorn and closed his eyes, letting the sweet memory consume him. Not allowing himself to leave the conversation entirely, he opened his eyes and looked back at Alex. “Forgive me. I just find dragons amazing,” he said still beaming.

Unfortunately for the ministry worker, it seemed that Alex had caught onto his awkwardness in talking about each others’ singleness. She had asked him if he needed water. “Uhm, no, I’m alright. Just fine.” Avoid fucking stammering. Why is this so hard? Ryder could only nod when she said that time would tell if he would find a relationship now that life was becoming more stable. Fear of stumbling over his words was prohibiting his speech.

Finally! He watched the girl blush, and he felt relieved for once. Ryder watched the red in her cheeks without being able to look away. Am I….? Do I think she’s cute? Refusing to get lost in that thought, he refocused himself on what she said. Alex wanted to hang out with him. He smiled a huge goofy grin. “I would love that. Is there anything in particular you had in mind?” Ryder tried to think of ideas, but for once, he was at a loss. Usually, he was the king of dumb ideas, but he didn’t necessarily want that with Alex. He wanted to do something fun, something she would enjoy. Ah, why am I caring so much?

All of the burning and pain Ryder had previously felt was starting to ease. In fact, he felt that only a bit of pain remained. Whatever Alex used had really done the trick. She stated he would have to wear a bandage overnight, which wasn’t ideal, but at least it wasn’t too bad. “Well, I suppose you should bandage it up, then. At least that way, I can give a proper hug,” he said with another classic smile and a twinkle in his eye. Hugging was acceptable, right? The two were friends and he had wanted to hug her since he first saw her today.

Back in their days at Hogwarts, Alex had never considered Ryder someone who could be easily teased. But of course she was having fun, how could she not really, Ryder was funny and a nice guy just like he had been all those years ago. She of course could have easily sent him something so he could easily attend to any paper cuts he got. Her eyes widened as he spoke about rather coming to St Mungo’s for them if it meant he got to see her. “What?.......oh um sorry, sure you can come here if you want” she replied as she tried to recover from what he just said as well as trying to figure out what he meant. “Though I may not always be the one to treat you” she smirked. Alex wasn’t even sure why she smirked. The woman hardly ever smirked, never really having a reason to.

She stood back and watched as her friend talked about Dragons, she was used having her patients talk about their passions, it was something that comforted her. And the way that Ryder was doing so was kinda cute. Yes she thought he was cute as he spoke about the intimidating creatures and she wasn’t about to correct herself on what she thought of him right. She could think he was cute and not actually ‘like’ him….couldnt’ she? Alexandra would rather not think about her friend trying to tame a Dragon, know how dangerous they were but since he had brought it up and was here with a severe burn on his arm, the thought unfortunately crept into her mind. The way he spoke about them was probably exact way she looked when she would tell her family about the cases she treated at the hospital, he dad often told her she had that glint in her eye. She caught something similar in Ryder’s eyes before he closed them. “Don’t apologise, its fine, many of my patients do that, it actually helps us healers when treating them, as the talk about something they love, they forget their pain. It works especially well when the kids talk about Quidditch.” She winked. Quickly afterwards she berated herself, first she was smirking at the bloke and now she was winking at him. Who knows what Ryder thought of her now?

Alexandra smirked as Ryder continued to stammer out his answer, he pointed her wand at the tap and watched as a glass filled with water, she levitated it over to a table next to where Ryder sat. “Well it’s there if you need it” she told him, still smriking. The fact that Ryder was only able to nod made her laugh again. “Sorry I don’t mean to laugh RJ, its just your inability to respond is…cute is all” she told him quickly before clearing her throat. She looked away before looking back at him. She re

Damn! Now she had to think of what they could do together. When he asked what she had in mind, she looked at him with her jaw slightly unhinged since well, her mind was blank. “Ahh….” She started to speak before shutting her mouth. What could they do….. “Um, how about a muggle film or putt putt?” she asked him nervously as she bit her lip and wished her blush would fade quickly. They could always eat later she supposed. Maybe she could cook dinner afterwards at her flat? Show off the limited culinary skills she had.

The healer nodded as he spoke. She walked over to a nearby cupboard and fetched the bandage and started unrolling it when she stopped as he mentioned hugging her. “Hug?” she asked him unsure of what he meant. She had already called him cute and now he wanted to hug her, could this get anymore awkward Alex wondered. Nevertheless she waved her wand at the unrolled bandage and applied a healing spell to it before she started wrapping it around Ryder’s arm. Once she finished she stepped back and looked at him with a small smile. “Okay you’re all done”

t amazed the man that the two could laugh and joke with each other in the same manner they had years ago. Even though all this time had passed, Ryder felt like he was still a teenager with the way him and Alex interacted. Though something about this interaction made the teasing feel different. The ministry worker wrecked his brain trying to figure it out, but failed. Whatever this difference was, wasn’t necessarily a bad thing as it was just unfamiliar to him and this confused him. How could someone he knew so well cause new feelings? When she told him that she may not always be the one to treat him, a great distaste for that thought rose inside of Ryder. “Nonsense. I only want the best healer in all of St. Mungo’s. They can’t deny me that, can they?”

Ryder couldn’t help but to feel like Alex was watching him with more intensity than she had previously. Does she think me talking about dragons so much is stupid? He suddenly found himself feeling self-conscience. Finally she spoke and assured him that his antics were fine. When the healer also spoke of how sometimes kid did this with Quidditch, he couldn’t decide if he should laugh or feel embarrassed. Always one to go for the more confident route, he gave a chuckle. “I bet I actually do sound like an excited little child waiting for St. Nick when I talk about dragons,” he said with a slight smile.

Giving a defeated look, he reached for the water Alex had fetched for him and took a drink. He felt that it was the least he could do after all the trouble she had went through to get it. “Thank you, Alex, but I would have been find. I was just a little of my game, I guess.” The man took another drink of water before sitting it back down.

Hmm… Ryder pondered her suggestions. He wasn’t one to normally advocate for an outing to see a film, but he liked the idea of being in a dark place with Alex. Wait, what? Why am I even thinking that? He figured with ideas like that coming to his head, he may want to just go with the safer option. “I think putt putt sounds like a lot of fun. I don’t know what your work schedule is like, but I am usually free any evening or on the weekends.” It had been quite some time since the former Gryffindor had played putt putt, but the idea that he would soon get to give it a shot again made him ecstatic.

As Alex started to bandage the man, Ryder couldn’t help but notice she seemed taken aback when he had mentioned a hug. “Yeah, you know, a hug, an embrace, a squeeze, what two friends might do to one another when they haven’t seen each other in a while,” he said with a sarcastic grin on his face. When she finished bandaging his arm, he nodded in appreciation and admiration of her work. “Thank you. And now, I can do this,” he stated as he wrapped his arms around the girl’s waist. As he did, a rushing sensation of warmth encompassed him. Ryder had no idea if he should let go or hold on. The latter won as he didn’t necessarily find what he was feeling to be unwanted or not pleasurable. No, quite the opposite was true in this case. He held his embrace just a little longer, perhaps it was just slightly longer than the hugs of most friends, but only slightly. The man let go of her and looked down into her eyes, feeling that his cheeks made have some slight color to them, but he strangely didn’t mind.

She certainly hoped that Ryder never showed up here again as a patient. Although if the ministry did send him here again for any further injuries, she would rather be the one to treat him. But she couldn’t put a finger on it why she wanted that and no one else to treat him, it wasn’t that she trusted any of the other healers, no definitely not, they were in some instances better than her with their spells and healing charms. When he spoke of her being the best healer at Mungo’s she couldn’t stop the blush from appearing. “I think you’ll find the best healer is my supervisor but that’s kind of you to say Ryder, thank you” she smiled at him shyly. Alex composed herself and changed her smile to a more confident one. “You know if you’re going to give me such glowing reviews I should be bring you along, if ever I have to speak to anyone about a pay rise” she told him with a wink, now that her blush had faded.

The witch hadn’t meant to watch him so closely but being so close to him right now, she couldn’t help but notice certain things about him. Sure she knew that the girls had had crushes on Ryder back in school, she had heard many conversations in the girls’ bathrooms. Alex couldn’t deny that her friend certainly was cute, and wondered why she had never noticed it in school. And he was charming to boot……why the fuck was she even thinking that? Though she did concede it was the truth. “You are little early for St Nick, Ryder” she laughed. “But I don’t mind because I only know how to treat Dragon related injuries not much about the creatures itself.” She told him; of course if he wanted to educate her on them, she would be open to it.

His game? Alex stepped back and tucked her fringe behind her ear. “Oh yeah, what game would that be Dawson?” the witch enquired curiously. Had he meant to retain his confident exterior during this whole meeting? Being a healer had taught her to understand people’s emotions and behaviours pretty well and after doing this for a nearly six years now she had that skill pretty down pat.

Alex wasn’t sure which option Ryder would pick. But she was a little surprised he picked Putt Putt, why the hell had she even suggested it? Healers never had set schedules that were the only downfall of her job. “Weekends work well for me” she responded with a kind smile. Of course his job would be more stable in the hours yet since he had a desk job now. She was glad that he was now in London again. “Though I’m sure they’d be happy to give me the whole day off during the week if I asked” she joked, though there was some truth in that.

“I do know what a hug is mister Dawson, I was just I dunno…….surprised” she admitted with a nervous smile. The emotions this guy was putting her through in such a short span of time was not thought she would go through today when she woke up. “Anytime….” She started to say before being cut off by his arms going around her waist. Alex wrapped her arms around the wizard wondering when Ryder got so…..fit. As he started to let go all she could say was “Wow…” Sure they had hugged before, the last time being when he graduated. But never had she expected a hug from him to feel so….perfect…..so right. By she couldn’t work out why it felt that way. As the healer looked up into her friend’s eyes, she saw the blush appear on his cheeks. Once again not denying how cute it was. “So……I would ahh…..suggest you don’t go back to work for the rest of the day” she told him for safety reasons as she reluctantly stepped out of his embrace, any strain he put on his arm could cause the burn to flare up and she would be seeing him for a second time today, not that it was a bad thing. 

The ministry worker had no idea how the rotation of St. Mungo’s healers worked. He didn’t know if they stuck on the same floor worked the same hours and same days or if their shifts varied like they did in muggle hospitals. All he could hope for is that there was some consistency in it all He would most likely be sent to this floor for wounds since they would always be dragon related. With any luck, this was the floor that Alex was assigned, and he could always request her. When she mentioned her supervisor being better, Ryder scoffed. “You mean to tell me being the studious woman you are, you aren’t a supervisor here yet? For shame, Miss Wilcox,” he said jokingly. Ryder watched her expression changed to a more confident one, and he found it very appealing. “I would be happy to help you if you ever need it. Although, I’m sure they wouldn’t be too pleased if they found out I was an old school friend.”

He could feel her gaze continue upon him. Maybe any other healer, he would have taken issue with it, but with her, he didn’t mind. In fact, he welcomed it. It gave him the chance to examine her as well. Ryder took in every curve of her body noting how perfect each one was. He wondered if she had always been this gorgeous and he had just been blind to it. When she spoke, he watched the curvature of her lips. Even her damn mouth was adorable. He gave a slight laugh at her words. “Don’t tell me that, Alex. I’m afraid I’ll talk your ear off and bore you to death trying to teach you everything there is to know about dragons.”

Another flush of crimson filled his face as the woman asked him what he meant about his game. What the hell did I mean exactly? Gah! It was just an expression! Why does she have me all nervous? Trying to find his composure again he finally talked. “Well, I’m not exactly sure, but it certainly isn’t Quidditch mind you. I’d be doing much better if it was.”

Ryder smiled a bit at hearing her schedule. He was happy to hear that weekends would probably work for the woman. She did offer to take a weekday off, but Ryder shook her head at her. “Oh, please don’t alter your schedule on my account. Besides, I doubt the ministry would give me a day off without using my vacation time or something, unless it is, of course, injury related,” he said as he moved his wounded arm. “How about we shoot for a Sunday evening or something of that sort? I can send you an owl to see if that works with your schedule.”

By the looks of it, the embrace the two shared wasn’t only delightful to Ryder, but to Alex as well. As the two let go, almost begrudgingly, Ryder noticed that she seemed speechless almost, maybe even frazzled. He gave a slight smile that had a bit of a laugh behind it. It was good to know that whatever he was feeling, it seemed like his friend felt it too. Finally finding her voice, she informed him that he shouldn’t return to work. “Well, I suppose this little trip wasn’t too bad if I got a day off from it and I got to see you.” He smiled at her and looked into her eyes a bit longer than he should have. Ryder felt the urge to continue hugging her, but that would be odd. Friends didn’t do that, right? Instead he cleared his throat. “I guess I should be going then, huh? I will see you when we go play putt putt then. Take care, Alex.”

“Think I have to be a few years older to be a supervisor here….Grandpa” she teased him, knowing that he was only a year older than her. Of course one day she could see herself being a supervisor here. In fact now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen hers in a while and was not sure if that was a good sign or not. But she supposed that since she had become a fully-fledged healer her supervisor wasn’t so much on her case so much and even left her to her own devices many times. “One day I’ll be running this place” Alex joked but partly knew it could become a reality too. “That’s true” the healer conceded when he mentioned that the upper levels of directors may not like him helping her if they found out that he was her friend. “But Ryder, what they don’t know won’t hurt them” she told him arching her brow before winking at him, in a very confident manner. Maybe this bloke just brought out the confidence in her more, why, however she didn’t know yet. She always had it in her but Ryder just brought it out of her very easily. 

Alex saw him looking at her as if he was studying her. She kept her eyes on his for a moment longer than she expected. A blush started to creep up her neck as he continued to give her the once over. She actually didn’t mind, figuring he was doing it because he hadn't seen her in a number of years. Why else would be looking at her in such a way? Of course she knew she looked different than she had in school, her body had develop and changed into how she looked now. But more or less she felt she looked like the same Alexandra. “Like I said I don’t mind, maybe different breeds attack humans for different reasons or in different ways. If I know more I can treat patients better” she concluded with a shrug. It was true, she knew how to treat burns inflicted by the creatures but maybe an Iron belly attacked differently from a Swedish short snout, how would she know unless someone like Ryder educated her on them.


The woman watched curiously as her friend blushed again. Had speaking to her been able to render him so speechless? Alex couldn’t believe that. But she still wondered what his game was. “Good thing I got you that water huh?” the healer teased him again, referring to the pink tinge that now graced his face. Though she did tell herself it was a little bit cute. “You know me and Quidditch don’t match RJ” She told him shaking her head, completing joking.


Returning his smile Alex went through the work schedule in her head. She honestly wouldn’t mind taking a week day off . maybe she could use it to sleep, since she had had very little the past week. She was surprised she hadn't yawned once while treating Ryder. “Sure you can owl me here” she nodded in answer to him. The woman was quiet certain she was off the whole day on Sunday but would have to double check once she got to the staffroom. Now that she had that to consider that was perhaps she would head as soon as her friend left. “Speaking of getting time for injuries” she said to herself as she accioed some parchment from nearby counter. Alex started to write something on it before signing her name at the bottom. “A medical certificate in case the ministry asks” she smiled as she handed the parchment to him.


She hadn’t expected hugging her friend like that after ages could have felt so perfect. Though, she wouldn’t voice that out loud. Once she got back to the staffroom she would analyse what had just had happened. She shook her head as he released the laugh. Alex was relived that this feeling, whatever this feeling was, it was mutual. “I meant what I said RJ, I don’t want to see you here again as a patient” she said looking at him pointedly Hopefully he wouldn't try such heroics again. As he cleared his throat all she could do was nod as he spoke of heading off. She didn’t want him to leave but she was still on shift and she would be seeing him soon enough. “It was nice to see you again, even under these circumstances. I look forward to that owl. Take care mister Dawson”




*END OF THREAD*