Clearing the Air (Mio, Ian, Rowan) (PG-13)

The feast was over and term was in full swing. As happy as Rowan was to be back, she wasn't. Just knowing that Ares was around any corner, in any shadow, was enough to drive her mad. Drawing her knees to her chest, Rowan hugged her knees and rested her chin against them as a light breeze kissed her cheeks. Sitting under one of the many trees in the courtyard, she felt safe.... for now.... With a sigh, she could only hope that things would be okay this year...

Ian was just returning from his walk around the lake. His mind was still quite confused by all the things he had learned about Sydney and what went on in her home. How any father could do something like that to their own child was something he would never be able to understand. Weren't families supposed to be there to support and protect you and not to hurt and scare you, he wondered, a frown on his face. It was definitely the case in Ian's own family, but as he had found out, that was not like it for all people.

That's why he was so happy to have found great friends here at Hogwart, of who he knew they would always be there for him. You could not pick the family you were born to, but you could choose your friends, the people that could become a second family to you. Unfortunately, Sydney had not managed to find such close friends yet, and sometimes Ian felt like he was the only one who was there for her. A situation he did not quite know how to deal with.

He arrived back at the castle and stepped into the courtyard where he found a familiar Ravenclaw. "Hey Rowan!" Ian could not help, but smile at seeing her and he sat down beside her. "You're okay?" he asked, noticing the odd expression on her face.

Rowan was lost in thought when a familiar voice reached her ears. Without even trying, her body tensed slightly until her darkened eyes found the source in Ian. As he sat next to her, she felt the tension leave her as she managed a small smile, scooting over to make room for him. "Oh, Ian.... Yes.... Yes, I'm fine. Just...lots on my mind I guess," she lied. Ian was a dear friend to her, and she hated having to hide the truth from him, but she didn't have much of a choice. "Have a good holiday?" Rowan asked, trying to sound like her old self.

Ian frowned slightly. Her answer was not the most convincing, but he would not pressure her to open up to him, if she did not feel like it. Maybe it would be good if they just talked about unimportant things for now, so he gave her a warm smile and nodded. "Yes, me and my brother spend a lot of time practicing flying and we even managed to get some neighbours to join us for a Quidditch match!" he told her, his excitement of the holiday returning for a moment. "But I also missed all of you and I'm glad to be back." Ian's smile wavered when he remembered the letters Sydney had sent him during the summer, though most of them were quite positive, as she did not have to be with her father anymore. "Did you manage to relax a bit as well?"

A glimmer of the old Rowan began to shine through a little as he spoke of the adventures in flight he and his brother had. She wasn't much of a flier, but she enjoyed watching the others, especially during Quidditch. "Who were the victors?" she asked with a small laugh. Nodding in agreement, she commented, "I missed everyone, too. It's good to be back." Looking up to the clouds for a moment, Rowan knew that, while she was happy to be back and see her friends like Ian and William, this year was filled with more than simply joy of being back. Returning her eyes to her friend, she noticed a change in his smile for a moment. "I did. Didn't have any flying practice to keep me busy, but did add a fair number of books to my library. Needed a new shelf and everything... Hey, you ok?" she asked, after answering his question.

Ian laughed heartily and pointed at himself. "My team of course! No one beats the Mortinson kids!" he told her grinning. It had been a close call, but in the end James had managed to catch the snitch for their team, so they could win the match by a few points. Ian couldn't wait for his brother to join him here at Hogwarts next year and was already excited to see where he would end up in. He listened to her with a small smirk, happy to hear that her summer was pleasant as well, even if she spent it in a more Ravenclaw way than he did, but her questions made him sigh.
"Yeah...I guess, I am." Ian ran a hand through his hear, as he did when he was nervous or confused. "I'm just a bit confused with some things..." he admitted, not quite sure, if he should tell Rowan about what had happened with Sydney, though he really could need someone to listen for a change.

Mio left the Gryffindor Common room to catch some fresh air, as all of his friends seemed to be busy with something, or someone in David’s case. He was hanging on top of his girlfriend almost constantly and although Mio was happy for his friend, it did get a bit annoying sometimes, so he had decided to go outside for a while. His thoughts went to Junis and the letters they had exchanged over the holiday, but they were not really dating, more like … to be honest he did not know what they were. Friends with benefits perhaps. He grinned and strolled out into the courtyard where he found Ian and Rowan sitting next to each other. “Hey guys!” Mio jogged over to them and flopped down beside the Ravenclaw. “What are you talking about?” he asked, not really curious, more bored and in need to get some stimulation for his mind.

She couldn't help but giggle when Ian admitted proudly that his team won, of course. "Of course..." she mused. Rowan was just about to ask what was going on with Ian when Mio greeted them as he ran over and plopped down next to her. "Hi, Mio. We were just.... just catching up," she answered him, glancing to Ian and back. "How was your holiday?" she asked, making a mental note to ask Ian about his confusion after they got Mio up to speed.

Ian turned when he heard the familiar voice of his friend and grinned at the Gryffindor. "Hey Mio!" he called out and punched his friend's shoulder lightly in greeting. Even though Mio was the same age as Ian, he always felt like a big brother to him, acting braver and stronger than the rest of his friends which made Ian look up to him a lot.
"Did your father make you study again?" he asked, grinning amused at the Gryffindor.

Mio laughed and ruffled Ian's hair at the playful punch. "He did. I had to revise everything from last year and then prepare for this year. I really am amazed I even found the time to do something fun." he muttered, glaring slightly at nothing in particular. Then he rolled his eyes and looked at the other two. "But David came over for a while and we could annoy dad a bit." Mio had to grin again, thinking of his father's annoyed expression.

Where Rowan would normally roll with laughter at Mio's story, plus the image of his father being rather cross at the boys' antics, she simply smiled happily. "Did he give you any insight to what we are going to be doing this year? I mean, since you had to revise and prepare and everything..." she asked, teasing him slightly. Relaxing a little since she was surrounded by the boys she saw as her brothers, she let her knees go and brought them to a crossed-leg position. "How is David? I bet you both had great fun, even it most of it was annoying your dad. You two could have joined Ian in his Quidditch match," Rowan said, feeling much more like herself, but no where near close.

Mio rolled his eyes and butted his head against Rowan's shoulder playfully at her comment. "And give Gryffindor an advantage by spilling his secrets to me?" he laughed and shook his head. "Nah...he wouldn't do that. But he had me read the whole potions book we'll use this year." he grumbled, thinking back to hours he spent pouring over the old textbook.
At the mention of the quidditch match, Mio reached around Rowan to punch Ian lightly in the arm. "We could have! But the little badger forgot to invite us." Mio pouted. The three of them could have had so much fun at the farm. "Well..anyway. David is fine, still with his girlfriend." he shrugged.

Ian laughed at his friend's comment and grinned at the thought of Mio having to read a potions book. "Poor you." he commented, still trying to stop his laughter and failing spectacularly. He launched over Rowan and tackled Mio to the ground after he had punched him. "I would have invited you, but it was done spontaneously, you git." he growled playfully, then collapsed between the other two. At the mention of David and his girlfriend, Ian's mood dropped quickly, as he thought back to Sydney. "Be happy that, he's got no problems with his girlfriend." he muttered.

Giggling lightly, Rowan rolled her eyes at herself. "Silly me! How could I possibly think that your dad might give you a little edge above the rest of us. Now, maybe if you were in Slytherin.... Maybe then he'd give you a little hint," she teased, bumping her shoulder against his arm. As Ian's tone changed at the mention of David and his girlfriend, Rowan's dark eyes focused on him. "Things not going alright with yours?" Rowan asked, her brow furrowed slightly. The previous year had been full of all kinds of twists and turns for Ian with his girlfriend, Sydney. And, really, she wasn't sure where those two were when it came to being together at the moment.

"Hey!" Mio called out laughing when his friend tackled him. He pretended to fight him for a few moments before pushing the Hufflepuff off. "I knooow." he pouted slightly, then laughed again and ruffled Ian's hair. "Anyway...I'm sure he would have told me if I were in Slytherin, but I really don't care much for potions anyway, so that's fine." he told Rowan with a grin. At the mention of Ian's ex, Sydney, Mio's brow furrowed and he glared slightly. "Do you have problems with a girlfriend Ian?" he asked testily. Mio really cared for his friend, but that other Hufflepuff girl was not good for him at all.

Ian sighed and looked away from the other two when they asked after his girlfriend. It would be too easy to say that he didn't have one at the moment, which would even be the truth, but he knew what they meant, especially Mio knew that Sydney had been trying to talk to him again and from the angry sound of the Gryffindor's voice he was just thinking about her.
"Well..." he started carefully, not wanting another fight with his friend. Luckily, Rowan was here as well and she would hopefully be able to calm Mio a bit. "You know, I've been talking with Sydney a bit. We won't get back together again, don't worry!" ...at least not now, he added in his head. "But she has some problems at home...or she used to and I helped her find a better place to stay. It's just still bothering me a bit." Ian admitted, still avoiding Mio's eyes.

Rowan's eyes grew slightly wide at hearing that Ian was talking to Sydney again. After all the troubles they had been through last year, she was a little surprised to hear that they were talking. As much as she wanted Ian to be happy, she was glad they were just talking and not making plans to get back together. Maybe in the future when time has passed, but not now. However, her face fell at hearing that the girl was having issues at home. Though, she was pretty sure Sydney's issues weren't the same as her own.... Dropping her broken eyes from the boys, Rowan said softly, wringing her fingers together slightly, "That's good that you helped her get the help she needed. Is she doing better?"

"What?" Mio exclaimed in a shocked voice as he sat gaping at his friend when he heard that he had gone back to talking to Sydney. After all she had put him through, he still wanted something to do with her? Mio couldn't believe it, not at all. "Why are you even talking to her, Ian. I mean, it's bad that her home isn't great, but it's not your problem! You helped her, and now it's fine, right? You can stop talking to her." he said, sounding quite annoyed. Listening to Rowan's comment, he snorted. "Who cares..." Mio muttered, not caring one bit about the girl.

Ian smiled slightly at Rowan, relieved that she at least seemed not angry with him for talking to Sydney again. "I think, she's still got problems to adjust to the new situation, but it's better for her to be away from home." he said when Mio cut into the conversation. Ian sighed and shot a slight glare at his friend, even though he had expected this reaction. "She's not that bad, okay? She made a mistake...well, a few mistakes, but that was two years ago, Mio. She's growing up. All I'm doing is giving her a second chance. Can't you do the same?" he asked in a slightly pleading voice.

Rowan nodded her understanding of adjusting to a new situation. She had done it herself, though many didn't know about it, and she would do everything in her power to keep it that way. The small spat between Mio and Ian shocked her slightly. Sure Sydney had the reputation of making...mistakes... but Ian was just being a good friend. "Everyone deserves a second chance..." Rowan said in a slightly broken voice. Well, maybe not everyone... But close enough... Giving Mio a nudge, she said, "You could give her a tiny one." Manging a very smile shadow of the smile she normally wore, Rowan tried to show she wasn't taking either side, but taking the path down the center. She knew that Mio wasn't pleased with Ian for talking to her, but that's all it was. Right? "Just talking, right?" she asked Ian, raising a slight eyebrow at him. She didn't know all the details about just what happened, but it must be something big to make this much tension arise between the two of them.

Mio growled angrily, annoyed that Rowan was taking Ian's side when he just wanted to make sure that his friend was not hurt again by the same girl. Maybe he should give Sydney a second chance, after all, she had not been flirting with any other guy this year, but there was something about the girl that just made him dislike her a lot. "I can't..." he muttered, looking at his two friends. "I don't like her, but if you truly care so much for her, I can ... ignore her for your sake, but trust me, Ian, if she just looks at any other guy the wrong way, I break you two up myself." Mio glared, just thinking of the flirty Hufflepuff made him pissed off.

Ian ran a hand through his hair, not liking to fight with his friend at all, but it was the same every time Sydney was just mentioned in a conversation and his friends would get pissed off by her. "Thank you..." he sighed, but Ian did appreciate that Mio was at least trying to be understanding. "I won't drag her around all the time, so you will barely even meet her, okay? I just talk to her from time to time. She's all alone and even her brother seems to hate her for some reason. He treats her really badly and I feel bad for her." he admitted. Although, Ian still had feelings for Sydney, mostly, he just felt responsible of taking care of her. He blushed slightly when Rowan asked if it really was just talking because he had to think of how Sydney always liked to touch him some way, but he nodded. "Yeah, just talking."

So, what Rowan had heard abotu Sydney were true. She apparently had wandering eyes, and that was the root of all this trouble. Giving Mio a nod and a small smile of approval at his making an attempt, however small, to at least be somewhat civil to the idea of Ian at least talking to the girl, Rowan was happy that he would try, anyways. Hearing about the girl's brother being rather cross with her made her curious. Jace was an interesting character and had seemed to get along just fine with Sydney when they met and chatted before. "Hmmm.... Wonder what brought on the change," she mused to herself, pulling her knees up and to her chest. Catching the small color rise in Ian's cheeks at her question of whether or not it really was just talking, Rowan couldn't help but grin. "If you say so," she muttered under her breath.

Ian sighed and looked at Rowan with a thoughtful expression. Normally, he would not just talk about other people's secrets with someone, but he needed to talk to someone and who could be better than two of his best friends. "It's their father. He doesn't treat them right, but Jace adores him and now he's hating Sydney for talking to a professor about what's going on at their home." Ian said, getting slightly agitated when he remembered the scene between Jace and Sydney. "Even Sydney did not want to talk about it at first, but I managed to convince her. I mean, how can anything get better if she doesn't tell anyone about it?" he asked, sounding confused and angry at the same time.

Mio groaned and dropped back to the ground, glaring up at the sunny sky. When he had agreed to ignore Sydney, he had thought that they could just drop the subject, but it seemed that it was still the first thing on his friend's mind and he would have to suffer through it. Where were David and Artemis when he needed them? He sighed and looked up at Ian. "I think I have to keep watching you, Jade...to make sure you're really just talking." Mio commented, smirking to lighten up the mood a bit. When the Hufflepuff told them more about Sydney's problems, he snorted. Of course it wasn't nice that even her brother didn't stand up for her, but really, she also had to blame herself for a lot of things. "I wonder why she doesn't seem to have any friends..." Mio said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.