Band Aids Can't Fix Bullet Holes (Joshua)

Subject: Band Aids Can't Fix Bullet Holes (Joshua) Sat Oct 05, 2019 12:46 pm

Due to Annika's early vacation, her understudy had to stay in Scotland far past the end of term, using thee extra days to finish up work and give her attention to the students staying back. in particular she had worked hard with Karan Singh and Han Jia En to ensure the two were up to speed on their learning with additional notes left for Nikolai Kessler, Seema Biswas, Gaspard Kyler, Lyra Fletcher, Mariah Benton and Lilac Capulet.

It had also given her time to head down to the shops and purchase, decorate, gift wrap and post presents to the Newbury clan. the children had received three gifts each (a book, a lego pirate ship set and a box of candy for Ivan and a Junior Carpenter Toolkit, a trick wand and another box of the same chocolates for Adrienne). More general presents had been bought and posted for the others (a wallet for Jake, a crystal vase for Alexis and a fountain pen for Henry) while Vic Victoria's presents had arrived in bright pink packages, two for her to open on Christmas and one to be given to the witch when they finally met.

Azalea had also chosen things for her Hogwarts crew, sending all teachers boxes of candy and bottles of spiced rum with the Headmaster's present containing an additional book on Runes that he had probably come across before. The fact that this one was first addition though would take some of the sting off of receiving something he already owned. Then there were presents for her far away family and friends. Kit would be in America again this Christmas and so would Clara so both would receive a parcel full of quirky presents while Jacques Clement would probably not even notice her small card and leather bound planner engraved with his name and the Clement crest, each page embossed with his family seal and made to order from Scrivenshaft's.

There was no present in the world that would ever be good enough for her daughter so Azalea merely left the young Slytherin a card, wishing her a happy Christmas and expressing the genuine hope to see her again soon.

By the time Josh finally arrived to pick her up, she had finished posting all the presents and packed what minimal things she needed for the trip back to Wales. Josh's palatial manor home was stocked with everything she would ever need and more so the only things occupying her tiny suitcase were comfort items Azalea liked having around her at all times. It was too cold outside to wait, or so the Groundskeeper had told her, keeping her confined to the entrance hall until Josh arrived. The witch had waited nervously for him, the muddled thoughts from more than two months ago returning to her. Since Jake had mentioned Josh binge her student, Azalea hadn't wanted to think about it. No answer could be the correct one.

And yet she had found herself walking to the trophy room anyway where it had taken less than a few minutes to find Josh's excellent Quidditch record. It seemed as though his shield was never unseen, some young hopeful or other always admiring it because her boyfriend had managed to break some kind of record Azalea was still unclear on. The years of his team service were much easier to make sense of.

They coincided with the years she had taught a the school.

The brunette could have stopped there, she really should have stopped there. Instead she had ventured up to the library to extract the yearbooks from those years, looking through them later that nigh to find any sign of... anything really. For the most part, there wasn't much. She was not in the official teacher's shot up until 2012, she had never been around enough to head any clubs or committees. The witch had to go back all the way to when she would have been fifteen and a child herself when she found something even remotely relevant.

It was not about Josh though....

A black and white, artistic picture stared back at her of a fifteen year old Azalea completely asleep, being carried by a tired looking Jake. From this angle, the young Azalea had one of her hands carefully curled into sixteen year old Jake's t shirt, distorting the fabric enough to show his stomach. It was not a wizarding photo, someone had captured it with a Muggle camera and titled it "The future Mr. and Mrs. Newman".

The book had dropped from her hands, sending her scrambling backwards in her bed as if stung.

After that, she hand't wanted to look things up anymore. And it was hard to get rid of the feeling that she had somehow been unfaithful to Josh. What was even harder to shake off was the feeling that he would somehow know what she had done.

And then he would leave Azalea.

Just like Jake,

The thoughts surfaced in a nervous tick on the witch, making her reach up to the softly curled waves of her shimmering brown hair. Josh was never late, and according to her phone, he would be here in two minutes.

The thought sent another nervous hitter up her spine, making her pat down her dress and coat once more.

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Subject: Re: Band Aids Can't Fix Bullet Holes (Joshua) Sun Dec 29, 2019 9:55 am

The Christmas break had come upon them much more quickly than anticipated. The year was slowly drawing to a close, and with it the promise of time alone with his Azalea. Joshua hadn't planned for much, in truth, not knowing how the witch would like to spend the holidays, instead he'd simply noted that the dinner on Christmas Day was to be perfect, in every single way, for the four of them to enjoy togehter. There was no getting away from his mother on Christmas Day, apparently, the older witch denoting that she would be in attendance to see her son and grandson for the holidays.

Joshua had opted not to argue, being in elevated spirits for the holidays.

His Azalea had not given any clues that she wished to do anything more for the holidays, either, and so he'd left it open. A discussion to have with the witch when they were home. The drive up to Scotland had been uneventful to say the least, the portkeys making it much easier for him to cross the borders in the car. Scotland produced with it the snowy mountain tops, the snow had drifted down in to the valleys too, not too out of place given the time of year. Hogsmeade came in to being, and then it was gone once more, until the car pulled up to the gates of the school.

Hogwarts gave off its usual imposing aura as Josh waited by the gates for his Azalea's arrival. The sight of the groundskeeper moving up towards the school denoted the man had gone up to tell his Azalea of his arrival. Only a few moments later the witch arrived, flattening out her skirts as she moved to him.

"A-Azalea!" Josh breathed, the warmth of his breath causing a small cloud of steam to appear as he stepped forth. His arms encircled the witch without hesitation, lifting her easily before his lips met hers, hungry to taste them anew, despite only having left her at the school only five days before. The man's lips remained as they were for longer than necessary, reacquainting themselves to the witch as if they had been starved for the days between their last meeting.

Josh's mind caught up a moment later, though, reminding him that they were in public, and his urge to devour the witch in his arms was not one he should act upon. Very slowly, the man pulled away, lowering the witch back down to the ground. He did not let his Azalea go, though, quite intent on keeping her close to him in that moment. "I missed you," the blonde managed, as he did each week that they were apart.

Another soft kiss was placed upon the witch's lips, no less hungry than the one that had been given before. Josh's intentions were clear, but being held back as he moved to guide the witch to the car, opening the door for her and gently closing it behind his Azalea once she had lowered herself in to the vehicle. With a final glance back towards the castle, which showed no one out and about, Josh moved back to the drivers side and started the engine back up to get them home.

"How was your week?" The man asked, as always, completely and utterly devoted to knowing everything there was to know about his Azalea.

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Subject: Re: Band Aids Can't Fix Bullet Holes (Joshua) Sat May 02, 2020 10:36 am

Exactly two minutes later, Azalea spotted the Groundskeeper who in turn spotted Josh's car turning in. It didn't take ehr long at all to walk briskly out into the snow, her small case tucked neatly by her side and her coat lifting slightly in the soft breeze. The witch's sharp stilettos heels clicked against the ice and would have been dangerous if worn by someone less practiced than she. As it was, the brunette reached Josh just in time for the blond to scoop her up into a warm, hungry kiss that momentarily zapped Azalea's mind of all thought.

The Joshua Effect, she had secretly termed it.

"I missed you,"

"You have no idea," she replied, a soft pink blossoming on her cheeks as the witch admitted to the same. All the doubt she had previously had, everything that confused and annoyed her, seem to melt away when he was around. o what if the years coincided? There was only one magical school in all of the UK, of course everyone went there. Josh did too, he had never claimed otherwise.

Taking his hand and handing over her case, the witch was helped into the car only for Josh to get in seconds after her. Almost as if apologizing for her earlier doubts of the situation, Azalea slipped her small hand into his when he sat beside her, making sure to resume contact throughout the car journey.

"How was your week?"

"So busy," the brunette began, recounting erh classes, her extra tutoring, the antics of teachers in the staff room. Azalea never hid anything from Josh, well, except Jake. He never came up in conversation but the witch reminded herself was because Jake was barely around. His multiple jobs kept him busy to the point of only ever showing up for classes and Quidditch.

"Slytherin is having another stellar year at Quidditch. And I'm told I'm supposed to be very proud," she continued with a slight laugh as they flew across the highway and straight through a portal, landing smoothly somewhere in Wales. Her attempts to explain how the Slytherins were doing well at the game amused Josh for a god ten minutes until they could see the gates of Josh's estate up ahead.

"But enough about that, what has Ethan been up to this week? I miss him so much when I'm up at the castle. Also, i swear he is far more intelligent than most of our students." Not only was Azalea highly biased when it came to the boy she thought of as her own now but there was also plenty of evidence to support the statement. Just two weeks ago, one of Ethan's Nannies had burst into tears because the boy had learned how to remotely smash his food against said Nanny's dress when she didn't understand his very clear instructions of "don't want".

They were almost up to the driveway now, she would see the little boy very soon. The anticipation shone like diamonds in the witch's gaze she waited for a reply.

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Subject: Re: Band Aids Can't Fix Bullet Holes (Joshua) Sat May 02, 2020 11:52 am

The recount of the witch's week occupied their drive towards the portal, with Joshua listening intently and only ever speaking to add a small comment of agreement or pose a question to ensure the witch kept speaking about herself and her week. A feat that had become easier and easier to do since they'd been together.

The conversation had moved to Quidditch, and how Slytherin were once again on top of the school's Quidditch league. The news did not entirely surprise the Slytherin alumni, but it wasn't that which was holding his attention. No, it was the way that his Azalea was trying so very hard to explain the Quidditch to him that Josh's lips curled up at the corner in a small smile. Sports, he'd found, were never his Azalea's strong topic of conversation, but listening to her try was never something he would not be fond of.

"You should be proud," had been all Josh had offered in return when the witch had finished her stop-start explanation. He'd brought her hand up to his lips as he drove, pressing a light kiss in to her knuckles to show his appreciation for her.

The conversation moved to their son only a moment later, though, and the excitement and pride showed in the witch's mannerisms as she spoke of him being more capable than most of her students. "Ethan is well," came the short answer from the blond as he turned in to the estate. It would seem to most like that would be all Josh would offer, except to those who knew him. "He's been asking for you all week." The man continued. "He still refuses to use the nannies preferred 'mother' and the corrections can be heard down the hall as they follow him.

"The greenhouse is the only place he wants to go during the day, so the nannies have made adjustments to his teaching accordingly to involve the outbuilding." Josh explained, making it quite clear their son was not being hampered by his new found want of time with his Azalea. "Perhaps we can take him there over the weekend."

The suggestion came as they pulled up in front of the manor. Ethan was stood on the top step with the nannies, one hand held by the woman beside him whilst the other moved in a small wave to his mother. As always, Josh had vacated the vehicle and appeared at his Azalea's side in almost no time at all, opening the door for her and aiding her from the vehicle. It was only a brief moment of hesitation in the witch's body before Josh spoke.

"Go on," was all the encouragement she would need to hurry to their son, and Josh would follow her.

Watching on as intently as he always did.

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Subject: Re: Band Aids Can't Fix Bullet Holes (Joshua) Sat May 02, 2020 2:44 pm

Something twisted sharply inside the young witch at the information that Ethan had been asking for her. As difficult as it was to leave Josh during the week for Hogwarts, it was even harder giving this child back to his nannies when Sunday eve came about. Josh was an adult, he understood Azalea's need for work and independence. Ethan was simply a child who probably didn't understand why one of his caregivers were away most of the time.

Azalea had once been somber on the way back to the castle and Josh, perceptive as ever, had gently asked if all was well. Before she could help it, the guilt over neglecting the child had came out and was swiftly chased away by reassurances that she was doing no such thing. It had been one of those rare moments when Josh had offered insight into his past, saying he knew what parental neglect was and this wasn't it.

The brunette had almost reached to comfort him, until she'd realized he wasn't wistful, or hrut. He simply stated it as a fact.

"Will your mother be joining us for Christmas?" she asked tentatively as they pulled into the driveway. His answer was short before Ethan came into view, pulling her attention from everything else. It took a lot of self control to wait for Josh to come around and open her car door (Azalea had learned that jumping out of the car on her own got her odd glances from the staff)

Josh seem to read her mind though, helping her out smoothly before nodding towards the waiting child, telling her to go. Giving him a quick peck on the cheek in gratitude, Azalea walked towards the boy who was already trying to free himself of his nanny, a big smile and "Mama" coming from his lips in the ever losing battle to call her "mother".

"Ethan, my darling, Mama's here" she confirmed, picking the child up and holding him close, burying his head in her chest and inhaling deep lungfuls of the baby powder scent he was always doused in. "Mama missed you so so much, and Daddy says you've missed me too?"

"Father," the toddler corrected before cooing happily in her arms.

***

After the show the lawn (or so the servants secretly called it), the small family had adjourned indoors and the staff had been dismissed. Dinner had been a simple affair probably to contrast better with the big meal served the next day. Ethan's bedtime had come and with it the routine of reading him a story. His father had never been one to do the voices of any sort, in fact choosing to read from textbooks or scrolls rather than the traditional children's books. At first Azalea had taught it odd until she had tried reading something more traditional to the boy, only to make him look up curiously at her as if to question when they would forgo the silliness and get tot he main event.

Today's readings were choice excerpt's from Golpolott's biography, in particular his misadventures trying to conjure food out of nothing.

Ethan was fast asleep by the time the erstwhile magi decided that food could not be summoned out of nowhere. Josh closed the book softly as Azalea stood up with teh child in erh arm, ready to hand of tot eh nanny.

"This must be his favorite, he always falls asleep the fastest to this book,' she commented, kissing the child and handing him over. "I think he might take after his father when it comes to being potion oriented."

Once the nanny had left, Azalea addressed Josh once more. "We you always interested in the abject? Since your school days? Or did you prefer Herbology given the extensive greenhouses we have here?"

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Subject: Re: Band Aids Can't Fix Bullet Holes (Joshua) Sat May 02, 2020 3:20 pm

The afternoon had been spent with Ethan, Josh watching his Azalea with the child and being pulled in to the games they were playing as his Azalea saw fit. Watching the witch care for the boy so intensely had been an echo of the first time he'd seen the witch with her plants, and never ceased to captivate the blond.

For the most part, he was left to sit quietly by whilst the two played, though.

Dinner came and went with just the three of them, Ethan almost eating too tidily with the small knife and fork he'd been given. His Azalea sat beside their son, helping him when needed or else talking about the coming Christmas nuptials with himself and Ethan.

Bed time for the child had come around, and the choice of book his Azalea had made proved to be fruitful in lulling Ethan to sleep. They'd barely begun the adventure before the boy had fallen asleep in his mother's arms, one small hand holding on to her dress almost possessively. Josh had closed the book carefully as his Azalea had moved to pass Ethan to the nannies. The small child had left the room only moments later for his own, leaving the two of them alone for the first time that day.

The idea of Ethan already taking a liking for potions was not unfavourable, but the blond was not quite so sure that that was the reason for Ethan's speedy sleep routine, but rather the fact he was in his mother's arms at the time. Deciding against ruining his Azalea's idea, though, Josh agreed softly with the statement.

With the nanny gone, Josh's attention was decidedly upon his Azalea as she moved back to him, questions upon her lips. The man considered for a moment, bringing the witch in to his arms.

"Were you always interested in the subject?"

"Yes," Josh replied to the first question that was posed, his lips moving to her throat as he did to stake their claim to the skin that had been untouched for almost a week.

"Since your school days?"

The second went without an answer, the man instead nipping lightly on the witch's collarbone for a reaction. It was much the same as the first in any case, and he'd already answered that one.

Or did you prefer Herbology given the extensive greenhouses we have here?"

A less prepared man might have hesitated in their ministrations, but Joshua Murray was not that man. His lips did not falter upon the witch's skin until they found the witch's jaw. Kissing along that line until his lips found his Azalea's chin, Josh paused, knowing well enough that his Azalea would be struggling with her own thoughts in that moment. Her weight was already his to support and the glint of knowing sparkled softly in the ice cold blue eyes.

"You need a good greenhouse to be able to brew potions." Was the man's reply to that question. A non-answer, perhaps, but an answer no less. One that he finalised as he brought his lips to hers, firmly asserting what he wanted in that moment before his Azalea asked another question.

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Subject: Re: Band Aids Can't Fix Bullet Holes (Joshua) Sat May 02, 2020 4:27 pm

The witch hadn't planned to subtly question Josh. The comment about Ethan's proficiency in potions had been sincere. But it had given her an unexpected segue into her boyfriend's still murky past. And without letting herself think too much on the moral ambiguity she found herself in, the witch continued her line of questioning.

Only to realize Josh had soemthing else, equally pressing on his mind.

Azalea had fully intended to go to the blond after returning from the door that had shut behind the nannies. It was almost an unspoken rule by now. Under normal circumstances, she would end up on the armrest of his chair and from there, the two would engage an a highly enjoyable evening. This time though, Josh didn't seem to want to wait. He was on his feet and meeting her halfway before her questions had even formed properly.

His hands reached for her almost as possessively as Ethan's did most days, as if righting her stature to fit by his side. His lips on he other hand found ehr throat, nuzzling along the column in way Azalea would never get used to. How could being devoured feel this delicious? He said soemthing about greenhouses and potions, and for the life of her, the brunette couldn't work out what he meant. Not that she was given much of an opportunity when his lips found hers.

"That's not fair,' she tried to mumble but it came out as a mewl against his hungry lips. She was tilted slightly forwards which meant... great, she was no longer standing of her own volition. As his tongue made quick work of her lips and explored with deep plunges inside her, Azalea found herself - as she so often did around Josh - breathless and clinging to him.

Still, helpless as she was, the witch at least tried when he broke away for air, instead trailing kisses elsewhere. It took a lot to remember what sh wanted to ask him, but the brunette managed to reach within the recesses of her mind and pull the thought forth.

"Did we.. " she asked, trying to unscramble the words in her head. "Ever run into each other at Hogwarts?" Probably not. the place was huge, and she wasn't even there half the time. And why was this important again? Another sharp gasp left her body as Josh lifted her up and the next thing she knew, she was between a wall and a literal hard object.

Once again, Josh would win.

Like he always did.

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Subject: Re: Band Aids Can't Fix Bullet Holes (Joshua) Sat May 02, 2020 4:52 pm

Savouring each kiss as it came, Josh's left hand moved up to witch's hair, tangling itself in the long locks and tilting his Azalea's head to just the right angle as their kiss deepened. Distracting the witch had become easy when she started to question him, and the way in which she moulded herself to his body only sought to prove his point more.

Whatever the questions were, they were not so important in that moment.

Pressing the witch back against the wall was made easy with his Azalea's reliance on him already apparent. Her slender frame was almost too easy to move around as his lips sought to leave their mark upon her throat.

"Did we.. "

Josh wasn't completely listening as he lifted the witch up to his height as if she weighed nothing at all. Her legs already knew the procedure as they draped around his waist, and the soft gasp that left his Azalea's lips was enough to bring a smile to the man's lips. A knowing smile.

"Ever run into each other at Hogwarts?"

Josh's lips found his Azalea's once more, quietening the progress of any additional questions that might have ventured forth in that moment. The soft clatter against the wooden floor would denote his right hand had relieved him of his trousers as the belt buckle hit the floor. Any such notion of questions and answers would be forgotten only a moment later. The soft moan elicited from them both in unison.

***

Time was forgotten.

Counting seemed so trivial.

Joshua's body relaxed in to the bed as he watched the gentle movement of the witch's chest beside him as she slept. Light marks touched her skin that he could make out even in the darkness of the room, moonlight just creeping in enough to allow him the final moments of the night before he allowed sleep to take him away.

His Azalea had tried to ask, but she'd never received her answer. Instead he'd distracted her until her body could no longer stay awake, and in the after glow of it all, Josh had simply watched her calmly sleeping.

Hopefully with all notions of her question forgotten.

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