when the past meets the present [shawna]

[DELANEY ZABINI]

Working at the hospital often left Delaney working crazy hours. She worked some days, some evenings, and some overnights. She never had a set schedule, and she didn't mind that. She usually stuck to the third floor for magical plants and poisons but occasionally ventured to other floors if they needed her. She didn't go near the first floor, though; she's had her fill of the creature-induced injuries floor since that fateful night.

She was in the middle of a long shift when her boss called her into his office. Nervous as to why she went and held her breath as she waited for him to tell her why he needed to see her. He told her he needed her to take over the training for one of the hospital's trainees since the person doing it had called in sick.

She hadn’t been a fan of that news, but only because she wasn't much of a people person. She had a great bedside manner, but that wasn't the same. Her boss hadn’t given her the name of the person she would be training, but she was told to meet them at the main nurse's station on her floor. At least she'd be in familiar territory.

After leaving her boss' office, Delaney headed over to the main nurse's station on the third floor with the paperwork for the trainee she was meeting. She never looked at the name on the paperwork she'd been given, her mind caring more about how far this person's training had gone instead of their name. She'd learn it soon enough.

She had her back facing the direction her trainee would be coming from. She was looking over their paperwork and wasn't paying attention to the sound of footfalls behind her. She was startled when she heard someone ask if the trainer for the day was there. She whirled around quickly, prepared to identify herself as the stand-in-trainer when her words died in her throat.

Evander Finnly.

Delaney had not seen him in several years, not since they had finished at Hogwarts, and the look on his face told her that he wished a few years had passed before this moment. "E-Evander F-Finnly. Y-you're the trainee?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She didn't trust her voice right now; it would likely crack at how awkward and uncomfortable she felt.

EVANDER FINNLY - nudge me for changes ♥

[EVANDER FINNLY]

Days had seemed better when Evander was working in the hospital. While Phil's bar could be fun, he wasn't passionate about bartending, and it didn't help to herd the drunks out of the bar at night. Sometimes it reminded him of his childhood home.

What he was passionate about was helping people. Training to be a healer was what he was passionate about. It was never a dull moment for Evander with his training—spell damages, creature bites and etc. All exciting. He had only wished he would have started sooner, but what did he know? He had a lot of healing to do on his own.

Evander waited in the hall- John had been late. Not like him, the man had always been on the dot. Evander leaned on the desk in front of him as he waited. After a while, he walked around. Maybe he had started without him?

When he had made his round, he walked up to the nurse's station. "Hello, is John out today? Should I be looking for a new trainer for today?" He asked the woman at the desk, hoping to get an answer. Before an answer came, he turned his head, seeing a sight he was not to found to see. Delaney Zabini.

No, No, no way was he going to work under her. She was his school bully. Why was she even here? The girl never cared about people in her life.

Evander looked horrified at the sight of her. So many bad memories flooded his brain, but he would shake them off. No way was he going to let her have this power over him. "Zabini." His voice was stern and cold with her. "Yes, I am the trainee. What are you doing here?" Just play it cool, Finnly.

DELANEY ZABINI // Notes:

[DELANEY ZABINI]

How had she not known that Evander was working at the hospital now? How had she missed that? The answer was as simple as whether she wanted milk in her tea, but that didn't make all the questions running through her head any easier to answer. She hadn’t paid attention because, until now, it hadn’t affected her in any way. She had no reason to care.

Now she does.

She didn't recognize her voice when asked if he was the trainee. It was a stupid question, but she'd asked it anyway. And when he answered, his voice made it clear that he wasn't pleased to see or even talk to her. She didn't blame him, but that was years ago. Surely, her poor behavior when they'd been at Hogwarts together didn’t matter now.

Or did it?

His question was as stupid as hers was, but she wasn't going to the point that out. Now was certainly not the time. What did he think she was doing there? Still, several reasons could be provided, so she opted for the simplest one. "I work here," she said as plainly as she could, with as little sarcasm and attitude as she could. He didn't deserve it. He never had. "And, as it seems for today, I will be your trainer, so I guess we should get started," she said, hoping he would be okay with them just skipping the formalities and getting to work. The sooner they started, the sooner they could finish this whole thing.

EVANDER FINNLY - nudge for changes ♥

[EVANDER FINNLY]

'I work here' Evander let out a slight chuckle in disbelief. Well, he had to laugh, or he would cry, and that was something he wasn't going to do in front of the infamous Delaney Zabini. Just her standing in front of him almost felt like a fever dream.

"I never thought a Zabini could ever take care of people or let alone care?"A scoffed left his lips, feeling the need to put his barrier up with her attitude already showing.

Evander had no desire to listen to her after all the years of school bullying. She was probably was only here for three paychecks only. Though it was odd to think she had to work in the first place. Evander thought she should have been married off to some wealthy pureblood family by now.

Annoyed, he pressed his lips together, biting his tongue further. He knew John wouldn't want him to argue about this. Plus, Evander was further behind in life than his peers. There was no point trying to find someone else. There was no time. "I guess so," He huffed at her. Of course, this would be Evander luck. There was never a break in life for him.

DELANEY ZABINI // Notes:Sorry for my late reply! 

[DELANEY ZABINI]

The moment she saw Evander, she knew this day was going to shit. While several years might have passed since they last saw one another, it was clear that there was still no love lost between them. Naturally, it was more from him than her, and she couldn’t fault him. Not really. She hadn't been the nicest to him since they'd attended Hogwarts together. But she had been an entirely different person then. Surely he'd give her the benefit of the doubt now. Right?

His comment about a Zabini caring for people, or even about anything, said enough. Delaney merely tightened her lips as she stared back at him, the truth of his words not being up for debate. He clearly held no positive thoughts or emotions towards her, which would only worsen today. If only there were a way for her to make this day better. She had suggested that they get their day started since she was sure they both wanted to be as far from one another as possible, and he seemed to agree. "All right then. Let's get started," she said.

This should be easy enough. "While each floor of the hospital has the same basic guidelines, I'm sure you've figured out by now that each floor has more specific rules to follow, particular to the floor you’re on," she said as she started to slowly walk down to the main room where the tools needed for most cases could be found. "Have you settled on a specific type of healing, or are you waiting to finish your training first?" she asked casually. She would at least attempt to converse with him. If he let her.

EVANDER FINNLY - nudge for changes ♥

[EVANDER FINNLY]

The sooner they got this over, the sooner he could get away from her. Why, out of all places, did she have to work here? Zabini, a healer, just the thought made him laugh, but it was real, and now he had to take lessons from his former bully.

Evander slowly dragged his feet behind her. He had to mustard all his strength to bite his tongue. After all, he did not want to lose this opportunity because of the past. Evander kept his hands folded together, lost in thought. He almost drained her voice out, but not entirely. After all, he was still training under her. Evander nodded his head as she was explaining guidelines to him. When she asked what he wanted to specify, he shrugged at her. "Not sure, though. However, I have thought about creature-induced injuries ward, but sometimes I go to poisoning as well. Maybe I could be a jack of all trades, but that's just me being eager." Evander just wanted to do it all if he could. He desired to help everyone. He had always liked the saying no one left behind.

Though it was awkward, the small talk would make time go by faster, and also, it would look good to the other staff if he kept being friendly. "What do you specialize in here?" Evander was curious about what she did for work in the hospital.

DELANEY ZABINI // Notes:<3

[DELANEY ZABINI]

Delaney was sure karma was laughing at her. She was not only training someone, but that person happened to be the guy she bullied in school. How did anyone expect this day to not end with one of them being admitted as a patient? Of course, her boss had no idea that she and Evander had a history, but that didn't improve the situation. Delaney was absolutely mortified right now. How would he even take her seriously when she was sure he trusted her as far as he could throw her?

Diving right in seemed the best idea since she was sure she could easily talk about the job and what a typical day looks like. As long as they kept it to work-related things, she didn't need anything personal coming up today. She wasn't sure she'd be able to handle that. Besides, several years have passed since then – can't people change?

She asked him if he had any ideas of which area he'd like to specialize in. Hers was plants & poisonings, but she helped out everywhere. When he answered her, she couldn't help but shiver when he mentioned the creature-induced injuries ward. Even just hearing it mentioned made her react, though more so as the full moon neared. She hated how much it still affected her after so many years. She composed herself quickly, hoping he hadn't noticed her falter, and nodded with a smile when he mentioned plants and poisonings. "We're always allowed to help out on other floors, especially if the staffing is needed," she assured him. She didn't want him to think he'd get stuck on one floor for the remainder of his career here.

As the awkward small talk continued, he asked her where she specialized, and she gestured down the corridor where they were standing at the start. "Plants and Poisoning has always been my main floor, even before I finished training. I enjoy it very much. I'm usually in a private room working on multiple potions simultaneously. I don't usually train the new healers. This as a favor for the boss," she told him. Hopefully, that would reassure him that he won't have to deal with her beyond today.

"I wasn't prepared with your file before you came, so tell me about your training so far. How has it been? Anything good or bad to report?" she asked, feeling a slight warmth on her cheeks. She didn't know why she was even asking that, but now she just needed to wait and see if he would answer her.

EVANDER FINNLY - nudge for changes ♥

[EVANDER FINNLY]

This was just so awkward to the point Evander felt his skin crawl. How was he supposed to feel? Zabini had tortured him throughout his whole school years and now he had to learn under her? All he could tell himself was it was for one day for eight hours. They could survive that right?

When the mention of the creature-induced injuries ward he could see it made her uncomfortable or maybe it was just him being judgemental of her. Zabini was still probably the same old pureblood. Prejudice against creatures and muggle-borns. Purebloods like her never changed.

'Plants and Poisoning' With that note Evander wasn't going to go to the Plants and Poisoning floor now. No way was he going to try and work with her. It was best after today to keep their space. "Of course you pick poisoning." With a light chuckle, he whispered under his breath. It was a rite fit for her after all her words she had spied at him were poison. A poison that had left an emotional scar on him and others.

"Listen..." Evander paused in his tracks to look at her dead in the eye. "Do you really care about my training? I really don't think you do. I say we cut the small talk and you show me whatever you want so we can get this day over with." Evander didn't want to play this small talk game anymore with her. He just wanted to train and go to his other job and for once take a drink. After all this he needed it. "I know you don't want to deal with me and I know you know I sure as hell don't want to deal with you. The last thing I learned was to heal deep gashes. So I guess we can start there." Maybe he was being unfair to her but he just couldn't let go of their past.

DELANEY ZABINI // Notes:<3

[DELANEY ZABINI]

How had she not checked the name on the file her boss had given her when she was asked to step in for the day's training? It seemed like a normal question to ask, though she knew it was because she never expected him to pick healing or work at St. Mungo's for a life choice.

Then again, how would she know what life choices he would or would not make? She didn't know him or anything; she knew next to nothing about him. All she ever knew of him was that he was a Muggleborn (she called him a Mudblood in school), and that he was the very essence of what she was raised to hate.

Thinking back on it now, it was a shame she'd allowed herself to be brainwashed by her family and so-called friends about who was worthy of her time and who was better than who. Where were they now? She had no one but herself to blame for that, though the idea of admitting that scared her more than she liked.

As they awkwardly talked about the hospital and the various floors, she didn't miss the under his breath comment about her picking poisoning as her preferred floor. She didn't let that affect her, though, and she chose to ask him about his previous training sessions at the hospital. She was trying to make things easier for them both, since she was sure this was just as hard for him as it was for her. And his response to her did not contradict.

His tone was stern when he asked if she cared to know how hiss training had been going thus far. But he didn't let her respond, as he spoke for her instead, telling her he knew she didn't. He then told her to show him what she needed to show him so that they could get their day over with. She slowly opened her mouth to speak, though her brain had nothing to say. But then he carried on and she closed her mouth once more.

She deserved his scorn; she knew she did, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Is this what she had made him feel like all those years, back when she was an asshole that had no right to say or do the things she did to anyone? How had she been so blind? "I-" she started, but stopped when her mouth went unexpectedly dry. She took a deep breath and then tried once more. "I'll try to make the day go by as quickly as possible," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly as she tried to mask her emotions.

She lowered her head for a moment to glance over the patient list, to see what they could work on where they were. This also gave her a reason not to look at him so he couldn't see the effect his harshness had on her. She felt water building up in her eyes and tried her best to be indiscreet as she wiped them away before she couldn't hide them. She wouldn't let him see them. There was someone who'd been severely sliced up from a lost duel, so she figured that would be the best place to start.

"We can start with Mr. Engels," she said as she looked up, hoping her eyes gave nothing away. "He sadly lost in a duel and was left with some wounds needing attention. The chart says he only came in a short while ago, so there will be much to do," she said as she gestured to the open door a few doors away from where they were. "You ready?" she asked as she headed towards the door. Maybe they could get lost in this for a bit and then call it a day. She wasn't against making it a shorter time for just today.

EVANDER FINNLY - nudge for changes ♥