(Lake) A letter

[Mark Alméida]

Mark had recieved two letters that morning, one for Mark telling him where Max had gone and to ask Mark to deliver Ashtons letter to him. However, he had searched the corridors, gone down to Hogsmeade, asked the Ravenclaws if they had seen Ash that day but nobody had seemed to. He had even gone into the forest looking for him but Ashton seemed to be nowhere around.

Time was getting on now and the sun was beginning to set. But Mark knew he had to deliver this message. Maxi had told Mark what it said in Ashtons letter, in his own, and Mark knew how important it was. He decided to try to the lake, he knew this was the place Ash and Maxi had met and knew Ash hadnt seen him in a few so he would probably be there, wondering where his boyfriend had gone.

He sat there, the letter in his hands. Ashton wasnt here either. Where was he? Sighing Mark leant against the tree, he had to get this letter to Ashton, Maxi had asked him to give it to him, and Mark had never yet failed his best friend.

Hey Ashton
Im sorry I havnt seen you in a few
days and believe me I miss you so
much. I've had to go home for a few weeks
my sister is ill and my father isnt coping
very well with looking after her alone.
It's been left down to me to watch over her
as he spends all his time locked in his study
crying. He doesnt know what to do and he is
in pieces. Im trying as best I can to keep my
family together, me and my dad have
patched things up and he has finally come
to realise I am gay, we even spoke about
it yesterday and he told me as long as im
happy it doesnt matter. I told him all about
you and he would love to meet you. Im sorry
i told him about what your father does to you
and he said you can come and live with us.
We have it all figured out. You see we know
you live in the muggle world and we know if
you run away to another part of the muggle
world the police will find you. Though my
father said if you came into the magical
world, with the police not knowing about
its existance, they wont find you. And even
if you dad tells them about it they'll probably
think he's gone crazy. He said you always have
a home here as long as you want it. But it is
your desicion, nobody else can make it for you.
Send me an owl back, use Marks, its the fastest
owl ive ever known. Mark will let you use his and
Mark will look after you while im not there.
You can trust Mark, he wont let you down.

All my Love
Because i Love you so much.
Maxi
x x x

P.S
Dont ever forget i love you more than
you would ever know.

[Professor Ashton Laurent]

It was a beautiful day, and Ashton decided that it would be a good time to let his snowy owl Aphrodite get some fresh air, the poor bird had been cooped up in the owlery for awhile and Ashton figured she'd probably wanna do a little bit of flying around. So, with Aphrodite perched on his shoulder, he walked down the gravel path that led to the lake, then he saw Maxi's friend Mark sitting by the lake. "Hey Mark, what brings you out here?" he called, once he was in earshot.

[Mark Alméida]

Sighing as he held the letter in his hands, looking out over the lake. It was a nice day but for some reason it wasnt all that bright either. Maybe the dullness he was feeling because of what he knew Max was going through was putting a downer on his mood. Hey looked up at the sound of a voice. "You are the hardest person to track down!" he said standing up and looking at Ashton, "Here. Its off Maxi" he handed the letter to Ashton.

[Professor Ashton Laurent]

Ashton shook his head and chuckled, "Well if I'd known you were looking for me, I probably would have gone looking for you!" He accepted the letter with a smile, "Thanks." He read the letter and his eyes widened in disbelief. "H- How is this possible?" He asked, raising his head to meet Mark's eyes. "I mean, how am I going to just leave and live with Max without Daniel knowing? I've run away before, it never works." He folded the letter closed with a sigh, "So what makes this time any different?" he gave Mark a smile, "Thanks for giving me the letter." His mind was spinning, and his eyes glazed over as he stared into space, deep in thought. Aphrodite nipped his ear, and he reached up and stroked her feathers, "What? You want a snack?" he asked with a small smile. Aphrodite gave an affirmative hoot. Ashton laughed, "Alright, alright. Greedy bird!" He dug some owl treats out of his bag and held them up to the snowy owl, Aphrodite quickly snatched them out of his hand and nipped his ear once more in thanks. Ashton smiled as he turned to Mark, "So exactly how long were looking for me?" he inquired as he bent down to look for stones to skip across the lake.

[Mark Alméida]

"At which point we'd have been searching for a while because... I dont know we jsut would" Mark looked back out across the lake as Ashton read the letter and only looked back up when Ashton seemed to be in disbelief about the living arrangements Maxi had arranged. "Well you see with it being in the Wizarding World where Maxi lives, muggle police wont be able to find you will they?" Mark said, yawning due to his lack of sleep, "And even if your dad told the about the wizarding world they wouldnt likely believe him"

Mark shrugged, "How about all day?" he said with a sarcastic smile. Mark had forgotten all about everything in his search for Ashton, now he remembered ever little detail of everything he should have done that day, but hadnt.

[Professor Ashton Laurent]

Ashton smiled. "Yeah, I guess we would have." He sighed, "But are you sure this is going to work? Me, living with Maxi?" He ran his hands through his hair. "It's not that I don't trust Maxi, I do. I'm just not sure about this. But... if Max says it'll work, then I guess I just have to give it a try." At that moment, Aphrodite who didn't appreiciate being ignored, hooted indignantly and nipped his ear once more. Although this time it was a bit harder than the previous one. Ashton chuckled and shook his head. "You crazy bird. What is wrong with you?" He turned his attention back to Mark. "Do you have an owl?"