Lost Loves [Elle/Max]

[Rowena Jones]

Rowena sighed heavily as she left the office, her thoughts burdened with the sadness within the room. Albert had not taken the loss of his husband well and Rowena, knowing what she did, didn’t know how to begin to help him.

After discovering the truth she had been beside herself. She’d fled, and then almost immediately wanted to go back and further confront Milton. To ask how he could have possibly done such a heinous thing and then been able to look her in the eye and try to convince her that it would all be alright. Nothing would be alright ever again. It seemed as though everyone had lied to her… and the one person who hadn’t had been lost to her, given away like a prize, an object to be possessed. And it had been seven months… was there even still a chance he was alive? There had been nothing, no hint or sign and Rowena couldn't bring herself to believe he'd survived. All hoping had done was bring her more pain.

She’d wanted to go back and demand answers but had convinced herself to wait, to thoroughly think about her plan of action… and that had turned out to be too long a wait. An owl delivered the message and Rowena had been left stunned. Milton Bonham was dead. She would never get answers. There would be no justice.

The funeral had been a torture Rowena couldn’t have imagined. She couldn’t not go, not with Albert specifically asking if she would be there. Somehow, she’d nodded, Healer instincts kicking in unconsciously to comfort a mourning husband. But throughout the proceedings, a small dark hateful part of her wanted to shout the truth for all to hear. He’d betrayed his oaths as a Healer; he had willingly and consciously given over another human to what could only be nefarious people. Rowena had been surrounded by fools draped in black, all of them conned into believing Milton Bonham was a good and benevolent man, someone to be mourned, missed… and she was the most foolish of all for still wanting to find a hint of goodness, a reason in the man she had once admired more than any other.

And so it was that she found herself back at Mungos despite having had no intentions of ever setting foot in the building again. For a place that had once been almost a second home to her, the hospital had quickly turned into a place so thoroughly filled with bad memories that every hallway brought a shudder of pain and horror. Bryn’s death, Warghollow’s attack, her own near-death experience, Max’s disappearance and now Milton’s betrayal. All of it haunted her as she walked its halls.

Rowena hadn’t meant to get so involved after the funeral but Albert had once again asked and she’d been helpless to resist the agony and desperation in his gaze. Of course she would help him. She took the job she’d gone to reject at the meeting where everything had turned topsy-turvy. Without access to her magic, Rowena couldn’t return to her old post, but her mind and knowledge were still fully functional… at least to outward appearance. Personally, Rowena wasn’t sure her mind would ever truly recover its emotional stability, not when the rug was being constantly pulled out from under her. Nevertheless, she was perfectly suited to help with the more administrational tasks that Milton had once handled so while Albert mourned, Rowena kept the hospital running.

It hadn’t been easy. A visible current of shock and sadness thrummed through the hallways and she’d been faced with mountains of paperwork with no specific training or guidance. And still, the secret she knew ate at her. Should she tell? If she did, who did she share that knowledge with? Had Eden already blabbed? If the truth came out, what would that mean for Mungos? People needed the hospital but would it be forever tarnished, would people ever be able to trust in the institution again if word got out that its top management had betrayed everything it stood for so completely? And what would the truth do to Albert?

So absorbed in her constant, internal debate, Rowena didn’t see the other woman in the corridor until she almost bowled her over. Recognition sparked as she looked down.

“Elle! What are you doing here? Is everything OK?”

[Elle Callahan]

Elle had been lost in her own thoughts as she walked down the hallway. The hospital had changed so much since she had first become a trainee there. She remembered the way it had been when Curse Cameron had been a frequent patient. He was always trying to escape. Then so was Alex. It was a nightmare whenever the pair of them were residents. They took turns trying to escape. She'd been a first year trainee when she saw Alex again. He'd been a rival of sorts in school. They shared a few classes and new the same people and Elle had a major crush on him. So she was rude. He was so smart, scathing and aloof, Elle had made it her mission to take him down a peg in school. Then when he came to the hospital, she took on that role again. Elle remembered the first time she had treated him. She was first year healer and Alex was reusing to take some medication and was trying to escape the hospital in only a open backed gown. Elle smiled to herself. It had been a nice ass. Still was.


“Elle! What are you doing here? Is everything OK?”

Elle looked up at Rowena blinking slowly as she came out of her day dream. Elle smiled at her friend. "Everything is fine. I just came for some emergency supplies from Jackson. I'm out of lace wings and I need them for a rash that the first years got. They went digging in the gardens for buried treasure and found some nasty fungus. They are on back order at the potion shop in Hogsmeade and Diagon didn't have enough. Jackson was kind enough to offer some. How are you? Do you have time to talk? It's been ages since we've chatted and I have news," Elle said as she looked more closely at her friend. She looked under stress. Tired and she needed to know. It wasn't fair to keep her in the dark. But the hallway was no place to tell her either.

[Rowena Jones]

"Everything is fine. […] How are you? Do you have time to talk? It's been ages since we've chatted and I have news,"

Rowena nodded at her friends reply, shuffling to reposition the papers that threatened to fall from her grasp. She hummed in answer, tilting her head to the left to indicate where Elle should go. “I’m between meetings. We can go to my office. It’s just around that corner.”

She’d been offered her old office and immediately refused it. As painful as it was to face the truth, the fact was that Rowena was no longer Head of Spell Damage and as the months had come and gone, it appeared less and less likely that she would ever be able to hold that position again. Despite all her hard work and research, her magic remained inconsistent and for the most part, inaccessible.

Without her magic, she couldn’t do even the most basic of Healing. It had just been another thing Rowena had lost. By now, she was almost numb to it all. Almost. Working in her old office though would have been too much. Bad enough that walking the hospitals halls stirred memories best left in the past.

There were still days where Rowena wished she could just leave. Leave and never come back… but Albert had asked and she’d been unable to refuse. Once she’d seen the paperwork, had truly understood the reality Milton had tried to hide from them all, well… she’d quickly realised she wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. And that she would also have to hide the worst of it from Albert. If he truly sat down and looked at the papers, then he too would question just how Milton had kept them afloat for so long. And Albert was not stupid, he would ask questions, questions that might lead him to the heartbreaking truth Rowena now carried around with her every single day. She would keep that from him if she could. There had been so much suffering already.

The friends rounded the corner and Rowena led them into a bland room, four white walls surrounding a wooden desk, two chairs and piles and piles of papers. Were it not for a book, open inconspicuously on the desk, it would be impossible to know the room was anything other than storage. Rowena put her newest stack of papers down before turning to her desk and picking up said book. She held it tight for a second, taking strength from its worn cover and yellowed pages before putting it securely back in a drawer.

Turning to Elle, she gestured at her to sit in the only other available chair.

“You said you had news?” The statement confused Rowena as she struggled to figure out what Elle could be talking about. What could her friend be talking about? Unless… it had been a while since they’d last truly spent time together and had a real chat. Elle was so busy at Hogwarts and Rowena… Rowena was busy trying to understand her new place in the life she’d been dealt. But just because life had all but given up on her didn’t mean that it had stopped for others. Did Elle mean…?

“Elle? Are you and Alex finally making it official?!”

[Elle Callahan]

Rowena nodded at her friends reply, shuffling to reposition the papers that threatened to fall from her grasp. She hummed in answer, tilting her head to the left to indicate where Elle should go. “I’m between meetings. We can go to my office. It’s just around that corner.”

"Meetings? Sounds fancy. What is it like being the captain of this track wreck?" Elle said waiving her hand at the hospital. Elle liked bossing people around but she didn't like to be the sole leader, the place where the buck stopped. It sounded tedious and boring and well exguashting. Rowena looked like she was drowning under the paper work. The stack she was carrying was almost the size of Elle.

Elle chatted about the weather as they walked. She happily followed Rowena into her office. At the sight of bare walls Elle rolled her eyes. It was so impersonal. It looked like a prison cell.


"Well this is depressing. Do you even like doing this work? If you don't and you want to just do something so you're not staring at your bedroom walls, I could use your help at Hogwarts. I need to reorganize the student files and you can help me clean out the potion stores. The herbology garden is blooming and I need to make space for new stock." Elle offered as she took a seat in the ugly chair.


“You said you had news?” The statement confused Rowena as she struggled to figure out what Elle could be talking about. What could her friend be talking about? Unless… it had been a while since they’d last truly spent time together and had a real chat. Elle was so busy at Hogwarts and Rowena… Rowena was busy trying to understand her new place in the life she’d been dealt. But just because life had all but given up on her didn’t mean that it had stopped for others. Did Elle mean…?

“Elle? Are you and Alex finally making it official?!”


Elle frowned at Rowena. Offical? Make what official? She'd been dating Alex for almost a year and a half. They were already an official couple. Wait. Marriage. Did she mean marriage. Elle's eyes widened and she paled. "Marriage? Um no. No wedding bells. Sorry. Hasn't come up. I mean we're doing pretty good. I practically live at the estate during holidays but I don't think we're ready for marriage. We're still getting to know each other and well I like living at Hogwarts. If I married him he would probably need more of my time and I stay at the school most nights and I don't think I could be the nurse and not live at Hogwarts. Sorry no marriage," Elle said with a shrug. The she sat bolt up right as another thought came to her.

"No babies either! Im 26 and need to do so much more before babies. I don't even know if Alex wants another child. He's rather terrified of babies. No my news is not about us. Is it safe here?" Elle said glancing around. She took out her wand and did a sound barrier spell. No one could hear what she had to say.

"Sorry but no one can hear this. No one else can know right now. Max is alive. He was being held captive by someone and he escaped. He was hurt pretty badly but nothing life threatening. He's going to be alright,"

Read more: alohomoraadventures.proboards.com/thread/1028/lost-loves-elle-max?page=1#ixzz5o8yCtGDw

[Rowena Jones]

Rowena smirked at the way her friend’s face paled. So not marriage then. If not that, then what? Surely not a baby? Elle quickly put that idea to rest too and Ro was once again left in the dark as to what on earth her friend wanted to tell her.

“Well as long as you let me know when it does happen. Baby or Wedding bells,” she said with a teasing smile. Merlin knew they needed some happiness in their lives after the horror and darkness of the last year.

Rowena frowned momentarily as her gaze caught sight of a date on a form in front of her. That couldn’t be right… She picked it up to study it more closely when she noted Elle’s spellwork and paused, the paper hanging limply in her grasp. Whatever her friend had to say was serious then… but she wasn’t prepared for the words that came next.

"Sorry but no one can hear this. No one else can know right now. Max is alive. He was being held captive by someone and he escaped. He was hurt pretty bad but nothing life-threatening. He's going to be alright,"

The paper fell to the floor as her brain caught up to the life-changing words that had come from Elle’s mouth and her whole body went numb.

“Max? My Max?” That he wasn’t and hadn’t been hers for over a year didn’t matter. The world spun and her heart pounded. Max was back? He’d escaped? He was alive? “Elle… what do you mean? Is this some sort of sick joke?”

It wasn’t. Elle wouldn’t do that to her. The other witch knew how important Max had been to her. Which meant it was true. Why now? What had changed? How had he escaped? He was hurt! She should have done more… she should have looked harder, tried harder, been better.

“When did this happen? Where is he now?” Rowena thought she might be sick. There was a roaring in her head and her whole body felt jittery as a torrent of emotions flooded her. And then the realization hit her like a ton of bricks.

“He doesn’t want to see me does he?” Of course he didn’t. They weren’t together anymore. He’d just returned from the dead… she was sure there were many other people he’d rather be with right now.