Monday morning came by too fast, too cold and unexpected.
Even before breakfast was served, Talbott and Talia were both called in to Jasper's office as it was customary for all newly formed pairs. He had heard stories of how he kept and lectured people for hours, how he gave long speeches on what he considered important of course.
Knocking on his office door, they both waited for Jasper's approval before entering, taking a spot in the middle of the room, both with their hands behind their straight backs, waiting. Jasper's beady eyes rose from some papers in his hands, a sharp glare taking in the new pair in training. Dark circles under his eyes and that upside down curve of his lips indicated he was in a way worse disposition than usual. Getting up from his chair, his joints cracked as he straightened.
"Welcome, mister Winger and miss Hayes." Taking a couple of steps, his lips pressed in a thin line as his eyes landed on Talbott "I hope you two have had enough time to at least get acquainted, unless of course mister Winger is proving to be a far more difficult individual that I initially thought."
"Not at all sir." Talia didn't even blink when addressing Jasper, eyes shining like two cold cut jewels "He has been very accommodating."
A cynical snort masked as a cough was the only response Jasper provided before he turned his back at them, taking a deep breath in before starting his speech "An Auror partnership, this union is sacred. You must learn from each other, in terms of both good and bad, be in the other's head, interpret, pay attention." Looking over his shoulder, he checked to see if the pair was providing him with their undivided attention "Many good things will come however pain will also play a big part and I am here to teach you the first lesson on pain."
Retrieving from a drawer a leather crop the quick motion of the whip hitting the desk made Talia's heart beat faster. Talbott's muscles tensed when Jasper approached them, tip of the whip touching Talia's cheek all while holding Talbott's gaze "There will be vile people ready to hurt your partner in an attempt of getting information." Turning to stare at Talia he smirked "They will inflict pain onto you, sometimes out of sheer pleasure. I am here to make sure you resist and stand your ground against all those attempts."
The whip was traced against Talia's cheek, her not breaking eye contact, a trait both cunning and dangerous, something he would need to correct in her "Good. Both of you roll up the sleeve of your dominant hand." Grinding his teeth, Talbott was the first one to obey, Talia following his lead "Mister Winger" tightening his jaw more he tried to keep his mouth shut "you receive five hits against your inner forearm. Miss Hayes, same for you. If either of you step in to save the other, then five more will be added to the person you are trying to save." Seeing how they didn't add anything he continued "You can stand down, refuse this and leave the camp right now, save yourselves from the pain."
Glancing at Talia, she shook her head "Never." Her tone was low, riddled with malicious intent, that much was clear. Looking at Talbott, he also wasn't backing down, however he did take a step forward, right hand extended.
"Pushing me, I will take the extra five lashes instead of her." Jasper looked up at him from head to toes mentioning that apparently chivalry isn't dead.
"Miss Hayes, you first." Anger burned alive inside Talbott's chest as his partner passed him, fingers gently grazing his hand for a second "Good girl." Exposing her left hand, she extended it letting Jasper inflict pain in the so called form of a lesson.
The first hit left behind a red mark, Talia flinching as the leather touched her skin. Second hit caused her to gasp, Talbott coiling his hands in tight fists that shook at his sides. Third was done with more force, skin splitting apart, Jasper glancing at Talbott with a satisfied look on his face. Glaring at the floor, his gaze remained fixed as two more whip cracks were heard, each of them causing him to blink rapidly.
Talbott did not lift his eyes to look at Talia when she reclaimed her spot by his side. His reactions were limited as the whip hurt his skin. He knew Jasper had it out for him, however he was adamant to outlast him. Being alone meant that no matter what he would throw at him, he could take it and retaliate because he could only hurt him.
"Partners are the extensions of our soul, you two better remember that, now and forever. Mister Winger needs to be your pillar and you miss Hayes need to be the sturdy base on which this relationship is built. Now go, we can continue this another time, I have work to do." Storming out of the small office Jasper called back "Miss Hayes?"
Talbott also stopped in his tracks, back turned to the office door, blood trickling down his arm, yet he did not dare turn. Talia's voice rang in his ears as she mustered the sweetest "Yes sir?"
Jasper's eyes fell on her face, lowering to her arm "Your schedule. Do go to the medical room yes?" a short nod was all she provided as he stepped out of his office, towering over her small frame "Do be careful." His voice lowered only for her to hear "He is a particular wild one."
Her lips curved into a smirk as her eyes rose to look at Jasper "Wild is what I do best sir. May I be excused?" She took pride in how his nostrils flared, one last glare being directed at Talbott before excusing her.
Following Jasper with her gaze Talia waited for the office door to close before walking up to Talbott. She approached him with caution, small steps narrowing the space between her and his broad back. Extending a hand out to him, she pulled back, eyes shifting to the damage inflicted to his forearm "Come, show me to the medical room please."
He said no words, just started walking to the desired destination, people stepping out of his path, Talia hot on his heels trying to keep up. The medical room was empty, some supplies scattered in old cabinets, no nurse or medical staff in sight.
Rummaging through glass bottles, Talbott cursed under his breath "This is bloody useless." In his peripheral vision, Talia's red hair appeared, clear eyes taking him in. Retrieving the two bottles from his hands, she set them aside.
"Thank you." once more anger bubbled in his throat, muscles tensing to the point he actually felt the strain.
"Are you insane? What are you thanking me for?" Stomping her foot only angered him further causing his voice to reach a new level "This is my fault! This happened to you because you're my partner!"
"No." getting up in his face was enough to quiet him down, the lack of space between them taking him by surprise "This is that cock sucker's fault, you did not do this so please don't put the strain on yourself." Taking his arm, she looked over the damage done "This does not scare me, it pisses me off. This injustice."
"Why are you so Hell bent on sticking by my side?" she smiled at his question, a warm calm washing over her.
"I have a good feeling about you mister Winger." The smile grew when he used the same card on her, asking to be called by his first name. Looking up at him she was surprised to see a smile forming on his lips as well "Come, let's see what we can use to heal these."
Gentle, that was the word to describe how they touched each other. He insisted on healing her first, just in case there wasn't enough of the potion to go around. He mustered all his known skills as to not have a mark left on her while skin, washing the blood off her once the wounds closed. Now that he was running his fingers across her inner forearm, his rule of not touching him failed to have a purpose. They were partners, they needed to tend to each other. In a sense Jasper was right, there would be moments of pain.
Warm hands traced his wounds, tentative gaze watching the healing process, smile tugging at the corners of her lips once clear skin showed itself "We should work on making more potent healing potions. Unfortunately I'm not the best healer out there." placing a hand over hers, she stopped wiping away the blood.
"We will do that." removing his hand quickly he let her finish, thoughts hammering at his mind. He could just tell her to request a new partner, save herself the trouble behind being threatened by Jasper however the line she threw in his face, how wild was what she did best enticed him. Did he really come off as a wild one? With how quiet and withdrawn he had been it seemed odd someone would see him like that or perhaps the glaring and brutish comebacks were indeed scary enough for some.
"Now, let's blow off some steam with dueling, unless of course you want to grab a quick bite to eat?" none of them did however, Jasper's meeting left them both with no appetite to speak of.
On the training ground, the empty notice board stared back at Talbott, every day the same result. As people started gathering in the small courtyard, Jasper also made his appearance since he was the one supervising the battles fought "Since we have new recruits I will explain the rules once more. Under no circumstances" his hand cut through the empty air "will you use forbidden spells unless you want to go to Azkaban this very day. Everything else goes, we need to make this as close to real life encounters as possible."
Names were called out, never partners as they needed to learn how to handle the unexpected, all of them getting at least one chance to take the lead. Once Talbott's name got called out, he silently took his place on the field, stance relaxed, piercing gaze intimidating making his opponent gulp once. Talia could understand by his stature alone her partner emanated confidence. Coupling that with his eyes that spelled trouble few people dared to approach him.
As soon as the word "fight" echoed she witnessed precise moves, him being remarkably fast in conjuring spells, be it defensive or for attacking, there he was standing his ground, moving just a couple of times to dodge. From the other side of the field Tonks cheered him on even if Jasper scolded her twice already "Winner mister Winger."
A smirk graced Talbott's lips once he returned by his partner's side "So? No comments?" shaking her head she assured him this was not the place to talk about attack plans especially since she was the next to be called out "Go, I'll be here watching you."
Smiling she tossed her hair over her shoulder "Don't say such words, you're going to ruin my concentration mister Winger."
Stepping close to one of the new recruits she came with he pushed her playfully "I used to mop the floor with you daily back in year four." cooling a fist in his blouse before he pushed her again she flashed him a deviant smile.
"Remember that was years ago and we have less rules now." looking at Jasper she asked "So anything goes right?" a nod was all the confirmation she needed.
As the duel was about to begin, one of the camp residents walked sheepishly near Talbot causing him to turn a pair of suspicious eyes towards her as his brain tried to remember her name, did it start with a D or a G?
"Talbott I wanted to ask a question." she almost jumped when he demanded her to go ahead in his usual dismissive manner "Are you seeing anyone?"
"Excuse me?" what has happening all of a sudden? Was it because he was assigned a female partner?
"I was wondering if you would like to go out this weekend, see a movie maybe?" his eyes landed on Talia once Jasper gave the go ahead. He took a step forward, hushing the girl trying to earn his attention. As if witnessing quick silver moving before him, such was Talia. She moved on that battle field, sparks flying out of her wand. She was not holding a stance, not sitting in one place for too long as she made her way towards her opponent "I have taken a liking in you Talbott." the words barely registered as he continued to witness the battle unfold, her wild gaze locked in sheer determination.
She enjoyed it, this was her specialty he quickly realised. Taking a hit, it appeared more deliberate, yet her wand flew out of her hand. Before Jasper could call it off, she slid on the ground picking up the discarded wand making a run straight for her opponent. One deflect, the second coming fast and Talbott held his breath as she straight up punched the other duelist in the face, wand pressed to his chest "Winner, miss Hayes."
"So will you go out with me?" as Talia ran back to Talbott he finally remembered the girl asking him on a date.
Turning he smirked "Sorry, I fly solo." turning back to look at Talia, he noticed Jasper across the field eyeing her. She also turned, however her attention went to Amy and Tonks making their way to them. She didn't see Jasper's mouth flying open, didn't notice him watching her but Talbott did.
"Merlin's beard Talia that was incredible. Where did you learn that?" she just laughed it off, as if there wasn't a question asked at all instead turning to ask Talbott about the girl making her way away from them.
"What was all that I fly solo thing?" rolling his eyes he urged her to pay attention to the other dueling about to start, thankful she did as asked. She did however Tonks elbowed his sides whispering.
"A bit smitten are we?"
She of course laughed when his reply came "I have no idea what you are talking about."