Mythologically Speaking (Gavin)

Deanna browsed the shelves of the bookshop. She'd read all the Mythology books in her quarters and was searching for new ones. Newer printings would be most beneficial to her. And her students as well.

She pulled a book about Orion from the shelf, flipped through it and slid it back into place. Already read it. Same with the next book about Athena and Zeus. She found a promising novel about Native American Mythology and decided to buy it. she continued to wander the shelves and found a few more to add to her small pile.

After she finished with the aisle she was in, she went around the corner and started her search again. She didn't find as much on this side of the shelf. It was sad to think that there were no more books for her to read on the subject she taught. She knew that for Greek and Roman Mythology there wasn't much else to learn from, those Gods and Goddesses had been long neglected and unworshiped. But there were still societies that still believed that their Gods controlled every aspect of their lives. Tribes in Africa, she knew. But there were no books around. At least not in the Magical world. It looked as if she would have to try the Muggle bookshops.

She was starting to read the top book of her stack and wasn't paying attention to where she was going. She ran into someone and dropped all of her items on the floor, creating an enormous racket.

"Oh, I am so sorry! I didn't see you there!" She dropped to the floor and started picking up the books, then looked up to see who she'd run into.

Gavin was out picking up new books to help him in his research for his upcoming trip to Italy. He had been there numerous times, but the Italian Ministry had just recently raided death eaters in Rome and Gavin could not resist the opportunity to explore. But this time, he would bring Rachel along. He would give himself no deadlines or specific time frames. If they found something, great. If not, that was fine too. Really, he just wanted a honeymoon for himself and his new bride.

He had just found a promising book, when someone ran into him and all of their things fell to the ground. Gavin looked down at the person and found himself staring at the eyes of his ex-girlfriend, Deanna. He hadn't seen her since their school days, which seemed like a lifetime ago. He hoped things would not be awkward between them, but he wouldn't know until they began to talk.

"Oh, hey Deanna. How've you been? I heard you were teaching at the school now. Are your students treating you better than we did back in school?"

He found himself fidgeting with his brand new wedding ring. Part of him wished Rachel was here, so he could hold her hand and feel her comforting presence. Then again, he hadn't really gone into his past relationships with her, so it might have been a sore spot. And knowing her temper, she probably would not have behaved very kindly to Deanna.

Gavin

Deanna finished picking her books up and stood, staring at Gavin Brody, who she'd not seen since they'd left Hogwarts eight years earlier. He'd been her first boyfriend, but when they'd graduated, they had decided to go their seperate ways. He'd been interested in Archeology, and she in her beloved Mythology. She found that she didn't have the old feelings that had been the center of her world all that time ago, and it made her feel better knowing that she'd gotten over him.

She shifted the books in her arms to keep from dropping them again and to free a hand to brush her long brown hair from her eyes. She gave him a smile and a small laugh.

"Gavin! Of all the people in the world that I could run into, it would be you. Yes, I'm teaching at Hogwarts now, and the kids are pretty much the same that we were, but that's to be expected. But they know what I expect of them, and also that I won't tolerate as much nonsense as we had when we were in school. As you can probably tell from this mess of books that I'm still a total nut about Mythology, and as a matter of fact, that's the subject I teach."

She shifted the books to her other arm and shoved her hair out of her eyes again. She was starting to wish she'd followed her instinct and pulled it back in a bun or something this morning. But she'd never listened to what her first instinct had been. She thought that maybe she should start. It might possibly get her someone to spend her free time with. That way she wouldn't be adding to her already overly large collection of Mythology books.

"Well, I've not heard much about you since we left school, what have you been up to?"

Deanna

Gavin stood with the one book he had found and smiled at her. So she was still into her mythology. It was funny, all of the discussions they used to have about which of their interests was better. He had always been interested in history and artifacts, but part of him was also intrigued by the folklore behind his artifacts. That was what had prompted his trip to France and the search for the legendary Pandora's box. In school, he and Deanna had been perfect for one another. But now that Gavin knew Rachel, he was convinced that they were soul mates. They might have differences, but he had been born to marry Rachel Fletcher.

"Well," he began, "I did go into archaeology, as I had wanted to do. So I get to travel all over the world for digs. It really is my dream job, so that has been nice."

He leaned against the bookshelf and casually tucked his hand into his jeans pocket. He didn't really know how to talk about himself without sounding to proud or conceited. But he was just happy with his life, for the most part. Except for the whole Mia thing, everything was working out just the way it should have been.

"And I actually just recently got married," he smiled, holding up his ring to show her. "Her name is Rachel, and she is the love of my life. She works with the Ministry and gets to travel a bit as well. Here, let me show you a picture."

He took out his wallet and brought out the picture of his lovely wife. He loved her so much, and he couldn't wait until they could have a baby and help their family to grow even bigger.

"So tell me about yourself, Deanna. That's great about the teaching position. What about the rest? Are you seeing anyone?"

Deanna smiled. So Gavin had married. That was wonderful! She'd been wondering when they'd broken up if anyone would ever have that honor, and it was apparent that someone had! She looked at the picture of his new wife. She was beautiful.

"I'm happy for you, Gavin. You deserve to have the life you want. As for me, there is no one yet. I've been too busy teaching at the school to get involved with anyone." She shrugged her shoulders, trying not to let it show that she was lonely. She had had a crush for a while now, but it would never happen. Her crush wouldn't have any interest in a school teacher.

She nodded in the direction of the checkout, handing the stack over to the clerk when she reached her. She thought about all the books she'd just chosen, and how none of them had a different subject than all the others in her quarters at the school. She rolled her eyes at herself. She really needed to get a life!

But she still paid for the books and tucked them back under her arm when they were wrapped and pushed back across the counter to her. Maybe if she'd get her nose out of the Mythology classroom, and the books as well, she might have a chance to find someone that would be interested in her.

"I do have someone that I like, but I know that he more than likely has a girlfriend, or wouldn't be interested in someone like me," she said as she turned back to Gavin.

Gavin eyed her speculatively as he took his turn at the counter. He only had the one book, so it didn't take long for the worker to charge him and collect the money he owed. He thanked her and nodded, then he stepped away from the counter a bit to make room for more customers. He turned back to Deanna and smirked.

"First of all, thank you for your kind words about my wife. But I am not convinced about this guy of yours. Where is the Deanna Benfield I knew in school? Need I remind you that you were the one that asked me out? If you had left it to me, I never would have known. Men are stupid, remember? Dee, if you want him...go get him. And if he doesn't want you, that's his loss."

He sighed and shook his head, shifting his book to the other hand as he stared at her.

"Rachel had been through a lot before we got together. She was in a car accident early in the summer, and that triggered the cancer. She also has a history of awful ex-boyfriends. There was a lot standing between us that could have stopped us from getting together. But it was meant to be, and neither one of us gave up. If you want him, you can't let the opportunity pass you by. You never know what tomorrow might bring. It's kind of the reason Rach and I eloped in the first place," he smiled.

Deanna blushed. How to explain this to him? They had gone to school together, he'd known her since then. But while she'd been the one to ask him out, it had taken all of her nerve, and then some. She didn't want to tell Gavin that. He'd probably laugh at her.

She thought of her crush now. She'd only seen him a few times, but each time, it made her heart start fluttering like a hummingbird's wings. He made her giggle like a silly school girl, and she found that she actually liked this feeling. It was so different from the way she'd been with Gavin. She kept thinking of what it would be like to kiss her crush, and he'd even been invading her dreams.

"Gav, I wish it were that easy. I don't even know his name. I've only seen him a handful of times in the past year, but it makes quite an impression on me each time, I can tell you that."

Deanna looked to the display next to her and the top book caught her eye. It wasn't her usual subject, but it looked interesting. She didn't know what was drawing her to a book about dragons, she'd only ever really done research on them for her class, but she knew quite a bit about what species was involved in each branch of Mythology. She picked up the book and glanced at the back of its cover, deciding to buy it. Maybe she'd find a different favorite subject. She looked back up at Gavin as she headed to the counter again.

"Have any advice for someone in that type of situation with their love life?" she sighed.

Gavin placed a hand on his chin and thought about what she had asked. He hadn't really ever had a problem with this kind of thing. When he liked a girl, he made a move. Even when the girl had a boyfriend, which Rachel did have at the time, he went for it. And he would never regret any choice he had made on the first day of knowing his wife. He had gotten to kiss her...and even though she had slapped him, it had all been worth it. He had known that he would marry her, and he had been absolutely right.

"Well, I know one thing...you should probably meet him and figure out his name, Dee. That would be a step in the right direction," he smiled.

He leaned back against the wall and sighed. He wanted Deanna to be happy, but he could tell that if she didn't take the lead in this situation, she might lose this guy that she seemed to be so interested in. And if she lost him, she would always wonder what might have been. It had been that way for him and Deanna for a little while. He had wondered what their future would have been like for the first few years out of school, had they stayed together. But he had moved on and had realized that what they had in the past should be left there. They had both been there for each other for a time, and he was grateful for that. But they weren't meant to be together beyond graduation.

"Or, you could find an amazing, incredibly fantastic friend to ask around for you. I don't know who that would be, but he would have to be extremely suave and charismatic to do the right kind of digging."

He smirked. "Get it? Digging? Archaeologist?"

Deanna rolled her eyes and chuckled as she reached the counter. She paid for the new book, gaining a look of suprise from the sales lady. She grinned sheepishly at the woman. All the clerks in the shop knew her buying habits. She never bought anything other than Mythology books, so this was going to be a subject of discussion for a little while, to say the least.

She took the package with a nod and returned to Gavin. She thought about his suggestion that he be her little investigator. That sounded good to her! He'd probably have more of a chance of finding out about this guy than she would be able to. She was up at the school during the week, and only went to Hogsmeade a few of the scheduled weekends due to her having papers to grade, and lessons to plan. The weekends were also her only time to be able to read her many books. She looked down at the stack that she had just purchased and grimmaced.

"Gavin Brodie, if you would do that for me, I would be eternally grateful," she said, turning back to him with a smile. "I would appreciate any help you can give me. But I don't want to be a bother and make problems for you and your wife."

Gavin waved it off. He didn’t need her worrying about his marriage, what he had with Rachel was completely fine, untouchable. Yes, she would probably bite his head off if she knew that he was helping an ex-flame, but she honestly had nothing to worry about. He had no romantic feelings toward Deanna whatsoever, and he could only assume it went both ways. Especially since she was practically drooling at just the thought of this guy. Gavin had the means and personality to help, so why not?

“Don’t you worry about Rachel, I’ll talk to her. You’re my friend, right Dee? She’ll understand. I can assure you, no problems will arise from this. In fact, I have a proposition for you...once we get in contact with this mystery man of yours, Rach and I can have you two over for dinner. What do you think?”

He made sure he had his book in hand, then he started to walk toward the door. He really didn’t think that this day should have been wasted staying indoors. Yes, it was chilly outside. But the sky was so blue and clear, it would almost be irresponsible.

“Fancy a stroll?” He asked politely.

Deanna felt as if she were light as a feather. Gavin was offering to help her find this man that her heart felt that should be the one to make her happier than she'd been in her life. She was elated. She looked at her watch as he started for the door and asked if she'd like to for a walk with him.

"Of course. It's early yet, and I don't have any other plans for the day." She joined him at the door and was the first out onto the cobblestoned path of Diagon Alley. Her books were becoming just a little bit more awkward than she could stand, so she took her wand from her pocket and shrank them down to fit into her bag. When they were packed away, she turned to smile at Gavin.

"So, what is it that you plan to do to find some information about my mysterious crush for me? How is it that you are going to get his name for me, and introduce us?" She felt the smile on her face freeze when she looked past Gavin into the crowd.

It was impossible! She'd only ever seen her crush before on a very rare occasion, and now she thought she'd just seen him going into one of the many shops along the wizarding street!

"Gavin, I don't know if my eyes are playing tricks on me, and I'm just seeing things, but I think I just saw him going into a shop about half way along the Alley."

Gavin turned around and looked down the street to where Deanna had just possibly spotted her possible love interest. He turned back to her and grinned playfully, then took her arm and began walking with her in the direction of the store. He really didn't know what to do to find out about this guy, but he figured if anyone could do it, he could. He was quite good at bullshitting his way around strange situations. It was how he got Rachel to kiss him in the first place. All he knew now was that he wanted to help his friend in whatever way possible. And if that meant making a fool of himself in front of a stranger, well then so be it. He looked to Deanna and smiled again.

"Well come on, Benfield. We don't have all day. Now look through that window and tell me if he's in there. Then we'll go from there."

He warmed his hands and thought about whether they would get snow anytime soon. He had only seen his wife in the snow a few times, and he thought that was a shame. She was such a beautiful snow bunny. But he would have to be quite protective over her during this winter. He would not chance her falling down and hurting herself, what with her trying to get pregnant. And Alec would kill him if he let anything happen to Rach, not that Gavin would. He wanted to keep her safe just as much as Alec did.

"Wait, I think he's moving. Let's just go in."

He opened the door for Deanna and placed a gentle hand on her back, guiding her inside. He wanted to be friendly, but not too much so. He didn't want to betray Rachel at all, and he also didn't want Dee's crush to think that she had a husband. Gavin did have a wedding ring on after all. So once they were inside, he made sure he was a good enough distance from her to look like a friend, but not too far that they couldn't still speak softly to one another.

"Is he here?"

Deanna didn't know what to do! Why on earth was Gavin making her do this? She was so shy now, since she'd not had a relationship for so long. It no longer mattered that she'd been the one to ask Gav out in the first place, it didn't matter that he'd been the only one she'd ever seriously dated, or even casually dated, for that matter. All that mattered was that she needed to get out of here before she made a fool of herself!

But something made her stay. The same something that also prompted her to tell Gavin to stay put as she started inching along the shelves, looking this way and that for the man that had made her heart start to flutter whenever she saw him, or thought about him.

She made it to the back of the shop without finding him, and with disappointment, began heading back to Gavin. It was possible that she'd been wrong. She'd been speaking of her crush just moments before she thought she had seen him. It was totally plausible that his face had been on her mind because of it, and it had been projected onto the last man to enter this shop.

Deanna sighed. It was like the fall of the Olympian Gods. She was doomed to be forgotten. To spend her life alone, with no one to love in her life.

She stopped short as she made the turn back to face the front of the shop, and waved frantically to get Gavin's attention. She'd not been imagining things! He really had come into this shop!

"That was him!" she whispered with excitement, her heart racing. "The man that just walked into Mythology, Gav!"

Now that it was time for Gavin to pull out his bullshit card, he wasn't sure if he could live up to the task. Damn, was he losing his game? It had been so easy to use his charm and charisma to woo women and inspire clients. But in this moment, he felt he was at a loss for words. What had happened to him? Was married life really turning him into an inarticulate nerd? No, that couldn't be possible...Rachel was as intelligent and bright as they came. Maybe he only felt more stupid and out of place because he now had her to look up to. But that wasn't a factor in this conversation. He just needed to step it up and help win Deanna a boyfriend. So he squared his shoulders and smoothed his hair back with his hand. I got this, he said to himself confidently.

"Excuse me. I couldn't help but notice that you were here looking in the Mythology section of the store. You see, my friend here is an expert. She is the Mythology professor at Hogwarts, in fact. And if anyone knows about the subject, it is Deanna here."

He picked up a book about some godess, he didn't really pay attention who, and placed it in Deanna's hand, then he ever-so-gently pushed her toward the other man. It actually wasn't bull. She was an expert, for sure. He just wasn't sure if that was what this guy was looking for right now.

"Teach him, Dee. For I am but a lowly archaeologist, and I have no knowledge whatsoever about this line of work."

He winked at her then looked at his watch. "Oh damn, look at the time. My wife will be expecting me. See you later, Deanna. Nice to meet you...sir."

And then Gavin was off in a flash. Hopefully a love connection would be formed, but he would have to wait and see. Maybe a visit to her office at the school would be in order soon.

Deanna gulped as soon as Gavin had run out of the shop. She was left alone with this man and she'd only seen him a few times, and spoken to him once. She'd not told Gavin that part. She'd actually spoken to him in her office at Hogwarts, and had given him the name of a book to help him with dragon training. It wasn't easy to find, that book. She had been about to loan him her own copy when he'd had to leave, thanks to the fact that she'd been late for a class.

She looked at the man, blushing lightly. Dammit! Why did she have to go red now?! Why!? And why did Gavin have to run off and leave her to fend for herself? She'd told him how shy she was! How was she going to talk to him now, when she'd had time to imagine him naked? That just served to make her blush deepen.

She managed to meet his eyes, fiddling with the book that she'd been handed. It now got her attention that it seemed a bit heavy, and she glanced down at the cover, her brown eyes widening when she saw the name of the book. It was the one that she'd said that might be of help to him! She looked up again, a smile on her lips, as she held it out.

"Looking for this?" she asked softly, seeing that he had bags from the sweet shop in his hands. She smiled as she thought that they had something in common finally. She had a sweet tooth that made her parents cringe. Her favorite, to the surprise of a lot of her students was not chocolate frogs, but sugar quills.

"Looks like you've bought out the sweet shop. Wouldn't happen to have a sugar quill in there for the book would you?"