Just another Badger

RYDER. KINDA OLD. PROFESSOR DUDE. Normally I'd say 'what's up, Hogwarts?' but since I'm a teacher now I kinda have to be a little more cool. The name's Ryder Lynn, but you should call me Professor Lynn if you ever happen to find your DADA teacher's blog on the internet. I'm a Hufflepuff alum, back here teaching you guys how to protect yourselves even though thank Merlin the war's over now. If you need to find me, I've got office hours and stuff to come to; otherwise, I'm probably in Hogsmeade or something since teachers have lives too. (Don't worry, I didn't know that when I was a student, either. I thought they just sat in the castle doing nothing all the time.) Roxanne Weasley/Ryder Lynn 1x1

[thestormyqueen]

The Chocolate Fondue ✎ 001

[thestormyqueen]

“It did though I don’t think that was all fun for him since he had to grow those arms back and skele-gro is not fun to take. Trust me.” Roxy had heard all the horror stories on having to take that potion and it was not something that people wished on anyone. She grinned at him then, knowing exactly what he meant by that entire movie and scene being painful. It was painful for her to think about but then again, that’s what Pixar and Disney did to a person. “You better have missed me that much. I’d be offended if you had only come over for food. You should be here for me and the food an added bonus.” She laughed, leaning over the table to fill his plate with a few things and motioning for him to dig in, using her wand to levitate the fondue pot between them. “I will have to come and kidnap you. Which, I mean, I could because I definitely missed you and we need to hang out more. It felt off not having you around like I use to. Like we use to be.” She glanced down at her hands, a slight blush covering her cheeks. “I might have missed you a little too much.”

[pufflelynn]

Ryder made a face; he’d had Skelegro that one time Bree had hit him in the kneecap with her Beater’s bat, since Nurse Prince thought it was easier to just take it out than to fix the shattered pieces. “Oh, I know -- did anyone ever figure out how to make that stuff taste better? I bet you could make a ton of money off that.” Ryder didn’t even think about it; he wrapped a free arm around Roxy, pulling her towards him in a half-hug and considering ruffling her hair, except girls got weird about that sometimes. “Duh, if I hadn’t missed you I could have just begged the elves to make this for me. Now that I’m a professor they’re even more happy to help than when I was a student breaking in at random hours of the night.” He let Roxy go, and he probably would have instantly missed the closeness if there weren’t a fondue pot on its way over to them. He clapped his hands together excitedly, ready to dig in the second she set it down. "Now that I’ve got like lesson plans all ready to go and stuff, I’m going to come bother you all the time, you’re going to get sick of me.” Ryder stuck his tongue out at Roxy, adding “This looks amazing!” as he picked up a piece of bread, speared it and dunked it in the cheese, sticking it into his mouth and cursing as he chewed it down. “And also hot,” he added with a mouthful of food, letting it cool on his tongue before he chewed it again. 

[karasmonel]

[pufflelynn]

adamnfoster:

Blake Jenner for Dujour

[thestormyqueen]

The Chocolate Fondue ✎ 001

[thestormyqueen]

“You definitely be the cool teacher if you did, yes. Just make sure they don’t think you’re actually dead because I feel like someone might try to heal you and that would end badly.” Roxy nodded in agreement, looking up at him expectantly, the smile still on her face. It was a bittersweet feeling, thinking of what could have been though she was happy. Her potions marks just hadn’t been enough and she hadn’t gotten the chance though her healing was still on point, just not enough for a healer. “It’s okay, Ryder. I accepted it a long time ago that it wasn’t meant for me to go down that route.” She shrugged a bit, grinning when he blushed and looking down for a moment. “When are we not on Star Wars levels when it comes to scales. How about on the scale of Piers to Jessie missing Buzz in Toy Story 3 when he forgot who she was? How much did you miss me? Or like Leia missing Han Solo levels in Star Wars? That’s even more. Because I missed you on that level.” Everything about this felt date like which she didn’t mind though she really wanted to clarify it even more now than ever.

[pufflelynn]

“Oh man, but think of me with like... a rubber arm or something! Didn’t that happen to your Uncle Harry once? It sounded pretty hilarious.” Ryder chewed on the inside of his cheek for a second; he knew it had happened to her Uncle Harry, but he didn’t know it from her. He knew it from a distant face, one he never really talked to anymore, and it was weird to think that Lily Potter had become a far-off memory to him... But looking at Roxy, and hearing her talk about not being meant to be a Healer, he knew that a lot of things hadn’t turned out quite the way he’d expected. Seeing her grin, though, he remembered that maybe not all of those things were bad. “Ouchhhh, we don’t talk about Jessie missing Buzz... or Woody missing Bo Peep, either, now that you mention it. I think those are like, the right level of painful, though, since my stomach hurts just thinking about how sad that part of the movie was.” Then, winking at her, he added, “Or maybe my stomach just hurts because I’m hungry.” Ryder bumped his shoulder against hers, feeling bad for even acting like he just wanted food when he genuinely didn’t remember being as excited about something in ages as he’d been about seeing her. “Nah, it’s definitely the thinking about missing you thing. Never let me stay holed up in the castle for that long without seeing you ever again, okay? Even if you have to come break into my office or something.”

[thestormyqueen]

The Chocolate Fondue ✎ 001

[thestormyqueen]

“Don’t you ever let them behead you. That means they’re amateurs because pranksters wants laughs from joy not from death and that wouldn’t cause a laugh.” Roxy scrunched up her nose at him, waving her wand to get the food over towards the table in the living room. She shrugged, glancing around and toeing her shoes off by the door. “I mean it could be cleaner. I’m used to thinking having to be exactly in its place or I’ll never find anything.” It had come with trying to become a healer and never fully gone away. She smiled softly as she watched him, blinking in shock and biting at her lip to hide her grin. “We can definitely do that then.” She murmured, stepping forward to kiss his cheek before heading over to sit down on the couch and patting the seat next to her. “You can tell me about how much you like the food and how much you missed me. Plus how the whole Hogwarts professor thing is going.”

[pufflelynn]

Ryder clapped his hands together, pointing at her excitedly as an idea popped into his head. “What if I fake it, though? Like do some kind of spell that makes it seem like I got my head cut off, and then just pop my head out of a cuff or something? I’d so be the cool teacher if I played a prank on the students like that, right? And then they’d be scared to screw up without me even needing to give them detentions.” The idea needed work, but he grinned at her expectantly as he followed her to the food, knowing that if anyone could help him with his problem, it would be Roxy. “Clean’s overrated anyway, it freaks me out and kind of reminds me of being in the hospit -- oh.” Ryder trailed off, making the connection to Roxy’s old dream in his head, glad that she’d cut him off with the kiss to his cheek before he could totally stick his foot in his mouth. His cheek was still hot from the pressure of her lips as he slid down onto the couch next to her, a lopsided grin still on his face. “What scale am I grading the missing you thing on? I mean, I don’t want to tell you it’s like... Yoda levels of missing you if we’re not on a Star Wars scale, you know?”

[thestormyqueen]

The Chocolate Fondue ✎ 001

[thestormyqueen]

Roxanne scoffed looking up at him. “You were definitely awesome enough to be an Auror! Things just tend to happen for a reason. I would have been a good healer but something didn’t work out. No big deal. Doesn’t mean you aren’t good enough. You’re amazing. And to be honest, I’m glad you aren’t. If only because I know you’re a bit more safe teaching than out in the field.” She could admit that was something she’d been worried about when they were in school, wanting to make sure he was safe even after she’d left. She laughed, shaking her head. “They shop and do everything the students do just without the rambunctiousness. It’s a little more peaceful but then again sometimes it’s not because people bring their younger children with them. It’s nice. Homey.” She took a step back as it finally opened up, motioning for him to step inside for before closing the entrance again. She liked where her apartment was, hidden slightly from the eye unless you knew where you were looking. “Isn’t that how your dorm was too?” She teased, opening the front door and grinning to herself. Her flat wasn’t too big, enough for her and one other person but she liked it like that. She laughed when Chewie came running up, petting at him and nudging him to the side. “I set up in the living room since I figured it was better for fondue. We could watch a movie or whatever. I want to hear about what you’ve been up to though. I missed you and you severely lack in the keeping your fiance up to date thing.”

[pufflelynn]

Ryder shrugged, quirking his lips to the side as if unconvinced but trying to laugh it off. That was part of the past, and he had promised he was going to move forward into the future, and leave those old dreams behind. “Hey, you never know, there are some pretty scary pranksters in the castle these days, they could totally cause some accidents that end up with a knight in shining armor beheading me or something.” Ryder remembered his present company, grinning as he added, “None as good as you were, though, of course.” Ryder tried not to chuckle too much at the idea of little kids running around Roxy’s bakery; he could imagine her dealing really well with them, even if she was saying how they weren’t very relaxing. She had a way with people, one that had made sure he always felt comfortable around her. “Hey! You’re a dirty liar, this place looks awesome,” Ryder told her in faux outrage, following her inside and looking around. The apartment totally captured the essence of his friend, and the corners of his eyes crinkled from the dopey grin on his face as he took it all in. “Way better than my dorm and basically every other room I’ve ever lived in,” he added, leaning down to pet Chewie, rubbing behind his ears. “I totally vote Star Wars, I know it all by heart so that I can focus more on fondue and you,” Ryder blurted out without hesitation, the back of his neck feeling hot as he rubbed his hair absentmindedly, pushing it out of his face.

[thestormyqueen]

The Chocolate Fondue ✎ 001

[thestormyqueen]

It was hard not to bounce excitedly in his arms when he hugged her back, smiling up at him widely and nodding her head. “See, you know me so well. But it’d be nice to have guy protect me every now and then.” Roxanne was quick to tease right back. “Since you have a good excuse, I suppose I’ll forgive. I forgot class could drag on when Ravenclaws are around though I guess I can’t blame them too much.” She finally pulled away when she realized how long she’d been hugging him, shaking her head and hiding her blush behind her hair. She slipped her arm through his and glanced around, shrugging. “I mean when I first opened here, then yeah it was weird. I just remember the main places we used to haunt but being here and working here. It’s a lot different. It’s weird seeing the students come by every now and then as a trip. But you get use to it after a while. And if you so decide to continue to visit me then you will too.” She offered him a soft smile, beginning to lead him around the back of the bakery. “I didn’t want everyone being able to find where I live so I kind of had to charm it.” She tapped on a few bricks and took a step back, waiting for the stairwell to her place to be revealed. “You’re one of the first people I’ve had here since most I just go to their place so don’t judge me if it’s not 100%.”

[pufflelynn]

“Well hey, I may not have been awesome enough to be an Auror, but I think I can get the protection thing down. I mean, I wasn’t totally useless back in the Umbra days, right?” Ryder teased, too reluctant to stop hugging her to do something silly like flex his muscles or show off. It was nice to be close to someone who wasn’t a million years older than him; being one of the youngest Professors at Hogwarts left him feeling weird and disconnected sometimes, and being with Roxanne right now felt like coming home. “I don’t even know what people do in the village when the students aren’t here, it must be so quiet,” he laughed, glancing around and noticing what a small number of people were actually out on the streets on an average evening like tonight. He bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited for Roxanne to let them in, wrinkling his nose at her comment. “Of course I’m going to come back... can’t believe it took me this long to come in the first place, but getting settled in teaching takes longer than I thought.” Ryder didn’t want to admit that he was feeling kind of in over his head, not when teaching hadn’t even been his dream in the first place, so instead he followed her up, giving her a thumbs up that she probably couldn’t even see. “I bet it looks better than my quarters, it looks like I tried to summon my entire trunk but everything fell on the floor on the way,” Ryder reassured. 

[thestormyqueen]

The Chocolate Fondue ✎ 001

[pufflelynn]

txngoderoxanne:

Pausing just in front of the shop, Roxanne ran a quick hand through her hair before stepping outside to glance around for Ryder. She grinned when she noticed that he hadn’t arrived yet, glad to know that she wasn’t late despite having gotten caught up in making their dinner and dessert. She glanced at the watch she had before taking a seat on one of the near by benches. It was only 10 minutes later when she saw Ryder walking up, frowning as she glanced down at her heart and holding a hand there. She didn’t get why her heart was racing before shaking her head and standing up to smooth out her dress and walking over to him. “Well if it isn’t my Han Solo. You kept me waiting a long time, mister.” She wrapped him in a hug from behind, laughing. “You look a little lost.”

If they’d still been at war, Ryder’s response to someone hugging him from behind might have been a hex, but instead he felt warm and completely safe, realizing it was just Roxanne. He turned to hug her properly, grinning sheepishly at her comment. “Sorry, Princess Leia, but I’m sure you can take good care of yourself without needing a guy around,” Ryder teased, sticking his tongue out at her, childish tendencies still coming out around people he considered longtime friends. Apologetically, he added, “I’m sorry, I forgot to mention Ravenclaws were my last class of the day. I’m sure you remember how they love to ask like eighty thousand extra questions about stuff.” Looking around, he noticed that Hogsmeade had stayed largely the same, although there were a few minor changes, Roxanne’s shop included. “It just... looks different now that I’m not a student anymore, I guess,” Ryder explained, shrugging. “Do you ever feel that way about living here?”

[thestormyqueen]

The Chocolate Fondue ✎ 001

After the text messages she’d received, by accident but regardless, Roxanne had sent off one of her own to Sam to talk to him about what he thought the situation with Ryder was. When she had offered to make fondue, she hadn’t even thought about how it could have been taken by anyone else. Fondue wasn’t something was easy to make for most and usually it was saved for special occasions. But she hadn’t seen Ryder in a long time so she thought she would do something special. But now she couldn’t even hide her nerves. She had everything set up at home and she was flooing back to her bakery to meet him but she couldn’t decide on an outfit. Should she go simple or not? She groaned to herself, shaking her head and grabbing the first thing she could find - an off the shoulder grey sweater and black tights - before heading out. She couldn’t afford to be late and have think him think she was skipping out on him.

[pufflelynn]

As soon as classes were over for the day, Ryder hurried into his office suite in the castle to change out of his robes and into a pair of jeans, an old Hufflepuff sweater, and his running shoes. A million questions from overzealous Ravenclaws had kept him in his classroom past the bell, and he was going to need those shoes if he was going to manage to get to see Roxanne on time. He hadn’t even given a second thought to what Sam had asked him, about it being a date -- or at least, he’d tried not to give it a second thought, but it may have popped into his head once or twice in the hours since. Ryder shook it off, though, as he reached the front door to Roxanne’s bakery, slowing his brisk pace and fidgeting as he looked around for where the entrance to her apartment building was. 

[pufflelynn]

[TM] That could be it. I think he's just looking out for both of us in a way. It's all good though. I'm just surprised he didn't text me about it though I feel like he's waiting to ambush me now.

[TM] Maybe he wanted to be like a super spy and try and interrogate you in person. People are usually worse at lying to your face, but I’m just kind of terrible at lying whenever, so he figured texts would work just the same.

[pufflelynn]

[TM] Technically speaking, fondue is usually really romantic. I've had quite a few people ask me to do it for catering at their wedding so I can see where he was going but I mean it's us.

[TM]: Right? That’s what I said too, I think Sam’s thinking of like... expensive and like candles on the table to melt it or something. Who knows with him sometimes, right? He probably got hit in the head by one too many bludger at school or something.

[pufflelynn]

[TM] He asked you if it was a date though?

[TM] Yeah... I think it might have had something to do with the fondue, he doesn’t get that it’s like a requirement for friendship and not something super romantic.

[pufflelynn]

[TM] No I'm not Sam. YOU GUYS WERE TALKING ABOUT ME HUH?

[TM] Can you blame us? A guy’s gotta make sure his best friend’s got someone who doesn’t suck looking out for her!

[pufflelynn]

txngoderoxanne:

Which is why I know I could get away with it because of those first two sentences. No no. You are nothing near Sebastian Smythe so you have nothing to worry about. I could do both. You wouldn’t be greedy about it.

If it makes you feel better, you’re still on the short list of people who I’d actually share with. Thank Merlin, that would be like an anti life goal right there -- I haven’t seen him in years and I’m still not a fan. Yes! Actual hero, Roxanne the Fondue Friend Fiancee.

[pufflelynn]

txngoderoxanne:

RUDE. I should get rid of all the bacon now so you never have any ever again. Aww no you wouldn’t be a meerkat. It’d have to be something cute like you that fits. I love fondue too so it has to be a thing then. I will get started on this right away.

You can’t hog all the bacon in the world! I’d just have to hatch a secret pig farm... and then I’d feel bad actually having to make the bacon myself, that wouldn’t be good, I’d probably like it a lot less that way. Thank Merlin, meerkats are gross and remind me of Sebastian Smythe. So glad I haven’t had to see that git since graduation. Just chocolate, or cheese too? Not that I’m a greedy friend fiance or anything.

[harrypotterhousequotes]

[harrypotterhousequotes]

[pufflelynn]

txngoderoxanne:

Okay but that’s the most developmental age! It’s when you learn the most and after that it kind of slows down a bit. Fours years now wasn’t that long ago. Don’t make me feel old, Ryder! That it is not though I can do chocolate fondue and have bacon on the side for it.

Hey, if I’m old, then you’ve got to suffer with me, old lady! ... crap, no, pretend I didn’t say that, I don’t want to insult the person who’s making me food. I’d never live it down if you used some weird potion on me and I went into class tomorrow as like a meerkat. Yes! Fondue is my favorite, I miss me and Henry’s birthday parties having a fountain every year.