Anything But Ordinary

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle knocked on the door. She was unsure why she was here; just that she'd been so confused lately, and when she read the notice in the common room, her feet had taken her to his door.This is stupid, why would I come to some stranger, an adult even, to talk about my problems? I shouldn't be here. Her nerves getting the best of her, she turned her back to the door and started to walk away.

[Kane Garrett]

Kane had heard the knock, but when he'd called out and no one had entered, he'd made a quick trip to the door to stop whoever's bravery was failing them. He'd done this more than a few times, and he knew the signs. Sure enough, when he pulled open the door, there was a girl heading away from him. "You've got to give me longer than that to get to the door," he said lightly, hoping to call her back.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna turned back to the door, her eyes on the floor and cheeks rosy with embarrassment from being caught walking away. "I'm sorry Sir." She managed to get out as she walked back to him. She'd never done this sort of thing, and was nervous, not really sure what to say to him. Part of her wanted to flee wanted to find an excuse, but the other part knew she'd come here for a reason. "I can come back later if you're busy."

[Kane Garrett]

"First off, I'm never busy," Kane said, his voice gentling even as it kept its lightness. He gestured into the office, stepping aside for her to go in. "Second, don't call me sir, it makes me feel old. I go by Kane." The office had the same base as many of the other offices in the castle; gray stone walls, a window looking out over the grounds, and a heavy wooden desk. From there, the similarities ended. There was a Weird Sisters poster on the wall, a Puddlemere United pennant, and a stack of wadded up parchment to match those in the wastebasket. Kane gave his wand a swish and flick, and all the papers smoothed, then arranged themselves in a neat stack on the desk. "Please, come in and introduce yourself," Kane prompted.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna stepped through the threshold, looking up as she entered the room. She stopped in the center, inspecting the decor. It surprised her that the office resembled a dormitory room more than a professor's workspace. Only then did she turn around to the Professor and look up at him. She was taken back by how young and handsome he was, not at all like other professors, and immediately blushed at her thoughts. "My name is Anna, Sir, err, Kane." She pulled her lip between her teeth in nervousness as she waited for his instruction.

[Kane Garrett]

"Nice to meet you, Anna," Kane said agreeably, giving her a disarming smile, a broad showing of straight white teeth. He closed the door and gestured to one of the seats in front of his desk, his hand settling lightly against her shoulder for just a moment in encouragement. "So, what house are you in?" Kane asked lightly, hoping to break the ice by getting her to talk about herself.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna rewarded his efforts with a smile of her own, unable to resist his contagious attitude. She took the closest seat, and settled into the comfy cushions. "Thanks. I'm in Ravenclaw. I'm a 6th year." She gently clasped her hands on her lap and stalled for a bit of time, not sure how things were supposed to start. "You have a nice office."

[Kane Garrett]

"It's not bad," Kane said. He took his own seat behind the desk, leaning comfortably back into the chair and looking at Anna casually, giving her his full attention. "So tell me a little about yourself, Anna," Kane prompted, genuine interest on his face. She had to be here for a reason, something bothering her most likely, and he kept that knowledge in the back of his mind, but for now, he wanted to make her comfortable enough that she'd be able to talk about it.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Ah, yeah. Right." Anna paused, trying to think of what he'd be interested in hearing. She knew it was his job to ask these things, but he actually made her feel like he might want to know, so she tried to come up with something interesting about her life. "I grew up in a muggle neighborhood with my mum and dad and my little sis. We don't know yet if she's a witch too. My grandparents were always coming around too. Um, I love to read just about anything, and I've acquired the responsibility of Mystical Magical Books - although I added muggle books as soon as I got control." She stopped again, not sure if she had anything else worth mentioning.

[Kane Garrett]

"Sounds like you have a full life," Kane observed. "Are you close to your family? They can be a great support system, you might be surprised." The question served multiple purposes; he'd learn more about her background with it, and it was an opening toward her problem. Considering she'd mentioned her family right away, it didn't seem like a sore subject, and so it was a good way to keep her opening up.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna shrugged lightly at his question. "I used to be a lot closer before I went away to school. It's not that we're not still close, but being apart most the year puts up a barrier of sorts." She thought that was self explanatory, but added to it anyway. "My parents don't know much about magic, so it's pointless to talk about school. My letters tend to become more and more general during the year, but we always reconnect when I'm back home. Some things just can't be put in writing." She looked up at Kane, wondering if he understood what she meant by that.

[Kane Garrett]

Kane nodded in understanding. He hadn't had nonmagical parents, but as for the rest, the distance between school and home was something he knew personally. "What about at school?" he asked, shifting the subject toward the most likely source. "Do you have a support system here? Any close friends?" Kane was glad to see that Anna had opened up so easily. It would make it that much easier for him to help.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna's mind wandered at his question. She had several friends, but she wasn't all that close with any of them. She had been closest to Michael, until they'd separated. And now the person she'd become close to was Chase, but she didn't know how long until she'd screw that friendship up. She didn't have any friends that she could talk openly with about everything going on. With that conclusion, she shook her head at Kane. "I have friends, but none that I can tell everything to."

[Kane Garrett]

Kane leaned forward, smiling gently. "Well, that's what I'm here for," he said, folding his hands against the desktop. "You can tell me anything, come in here just to talk if you want. I won't judge, and everything stays in this office. It's what I'm here for, and I'm a pretty decent listener," he added, his smile quirking up at one corner. "Anything in particular bothering you today?" he asked.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna nodded, looking into chocolate eyes that matched her own before looking away at a random poster. "It's just stupid boy trouble." She started, wondering yet again why she was wasting his time with it, but not knowing who else to turn to. She'd unloaded a lot the other day on Silver, but it wasn't the same when she purposely left things out because she was afraid for Silver to find out who she was talking about. "My ex-boyfriend left me. We hadn't talked in a couple months for some reason, I thought we were both busy, but I guess he moved on. When we finally talked, he said he loved me, but that there was someone else too. And now I just can't get all the 'What-ifs' out of my head. You know, like 'What if I hadn't taken on the bookstore?' or 'What if I'd sought him out instead of just thinking he was busy?' But then I wonder even if I had paid more attention to him, would he have still found Dare."

Anna paused at that thought. If Michael would have left me for a girl instead of a guy, would I be so hung up on it? She felt like she needed to explain more, and the words just came flowing out. "Dare's his boyfriend, at least I'm assuming they're together now that I'm not in the way. I just can't picture Michael with..." She stopped, biting her lower lip hard, her eyes diverting to her shoes as she remembered she had seen them kissing.