Well this isn't going to be awkward at all.... {TAG: Belle and Dean}

Belle just laughed at Dean. "Alright, fair's fair. As soon as I learn how to cook a decent meal though, I'm gonna treat you. And it will be delicious, with no hint of poison at all." She gave a cheeky grin. Although she did blink for a moment, seeing the conversation take a downward turn for a moment. Maybe she hadn't been doing as good of a job as she thought she had. What was with these two? She knew there was subtext she was obviously missing here, but what that might be, she had no clue at all. "Well, Dean has commented on how the Muggle Studies class has turned to rubbish in recent years," she said, feeling the need to defend him a little. "He's come to give it an upgrade. Dean, didn't you say that the last teacher had been teaching the students about cars from the 1900s or something? That's hardly of any worth to students nowadays unless they're a history geek."

Dean fixed Miranda with a dark look, “Cars from the 1920’s, black and white televisions and the cultural stuff he had was all from 1918, he didn’t even get to the Second World War.”

“And my reasons for returning are really none of your business Melgrove,” so much for being civil, neither of them were able to converse without snide remarks or harsh tones.

Miranda glared back at him. Why oh why did he have to come here? She had been free from him and the memories he brought for so long and now...
"Believe me," she scoffed. "I could care less about your life, McCoppin. That interest died a long time ago."
Her hands clenched into fists in her lap. They both seemed to have forgotten about poor Belle, oblivious to the reasons behind their harsh tones and remarks.

It was like a brick had been dropped in next to them, that was how heavy things got. Or maybe an anchor was a more accurate comparison. Or one of those two-ton dragons that Belle had heard about. Either way, she glanced back and forth between Miranda and Dean nervously, feeling like black storm clouds were forming over their heads. She just wondered when the first lightning strike was about to happen. But, being the optimistic person she was, she still tried to keep things cool, push the storm away for another day. "Okay ladies, let's not get our panties in a twist," she said, her voice taking on a business-like tone. Her father often did the same when a situation wasn't turning out in his favor, aka, when relatives came to borrow money from him. She wasn't necessarily good at it herself, but she kept trying anyway. "Any longer and this butterbeer is going to start getting cold. And we all know how crappy that tastes." She sipped from her mug as if to emphasize that point, although she glanced at them again, feeling like her mug was shielding her from whatever was brooding between them.

Dean gave a sarcastic chuckle, “Yeah, remind me to thank him for that.”

He was poking the proverbial bear with a stick and he knew it, but he was already growing tired of her self-pity and bitterness. If he had been able to move on with life since Tony died she should too.

“By the way,” he pulled Tony’s gift from his pocket, “This arrived today.”

He tossed the necklace onto the table, Tony had crafted a locket from scrap metal, the heart-shaped piece itself was large enough to be an American cowboy’s belt buckle but he had etched elegant swirls into the metal, along with her name. Tony had placed a charm on the pendant so Dean had no idea what was inside.

He turned to Belle as he rose to his feet, “Sorry, Belle, but I’ve got to run. I’ll see you later.”

With that he started towards the door but he stopped on the way and asked the waitress for some water to go, since it was still a long way to the castle he didn’t want to deal with heat stroke along the way.

Miranda's face paled, and she slapped him across the face.
"How dare you," she growled. "He was your best friend. No matter how much you loathe me, you should be able to give his memory the respect he deserves."
Her entire body shook with anger. She heard something metal hit the table but she didn't even look at it, so great was her anger.
She stood and shouted after him, "You still have no idea. You weren't there. You didn't see the life fade from his eyes! Did you mourn at all McCoppin? Or is your heart so cold you didn't even feel it?"
She couldn't help it. The words just came flooding from her mouth. She hadn't told anyone before that she had seen him die, had been there. She had told everyone that she had come over to find him on the floor. She didn't know why. Maybe she just hadn't wanted to admit what she had seen, that she had watched the love of her life die. And once she had started the lie, she couldn't stop. It was just easier that way. She hadn't even told Sitka the truth, or even hinted at it.
She sank back into the booth, and her head sank into her hands. He entire body shook, but no tears came.

Belle had never seen Miranda act this vicious before. Heck, during the short time she had known her, she was always so cheerful and upbeat. Sure, she could be a little brooding at times, but wasn't everyone like that every so often? Although she felt very confused at how Miranda could be talking about. Obviously, it was someone she and Dean had been close to, and was now dead. But who was he? A lover? A friend? A cousin? Was he killed by Death Eaters? Or was it some other cause? She grew curious about the whole thing, but felt afraid to ask. Miranda was steamed enough. no doubt she would just make things worse. At that point though, Dean slammed something onto the table and quickly left. "Wait, Dean, what's going on?" she called after him as he walked out the door. Of course, he didn't turn around. She bit her lip in worry, especially with how Miranda was acting now. She had never seen her this sad before. Not knowing what else to do, she just put a hand on her shoulder. Although she did look curiously at the object Dean had left. It looked like a hand-made locket of sorts. She reached out with her free hand to look at it more closely. "Hey, this...has your name on it," she said, noticing the word "Miranda" etched onto the front. "What is this?"

Dean’s eyes widened with shock and he could feel heat coursing through his skin, which meant that there was probably a bright red mark where she had struck him.

He stared in shock, barely hearing what she was saying until she sank back into her seat and her body shook with sobs. He frowned and marched back to his seat.

“You’re right, I don’t like you, and I like you even less when you’re so full of self-pity,” he knew he shouldn’t have been so callous in the first place but perhaps it was something they both needed.

“And you’re right, I wasn’t there, but don’t you dare even consider the idea I didn’t mourn. Why else would I sell the shop, for half what it was worth,” He put a hand up over his eyes to avoid looking at either of the women.

“I couldn’t stand even being in there anymore, and so I packed up his things to give back to his family, and there’s that THING, like he expects me to be responsible for you now or something.”

His hands were shaking when Belle tentatively picked up the locket.

“Tony made it for her,” he explained simply in response to her question, “He was going to give it to her when they left on their honeymoon.”

He felt terrible for bringing Belle into the anger that surrounded his relationship with Miranda, but a confrontation like this was bound to happen eventually.

She felt Belle's hand on her shoulder, but couldn't bring herself to look at her. What a way for her new friend to learn more about her. Her insides clenched at the self-pity remark.
"It's just you," she muttered. "You are the only person who makes the pain feel so fresh. I was able to live my life quite fine before you got here, thank you very much." Her sharpness was just an instinctual defense at this point.

"You sold the shop?" she asked quietly. She hadn't been able to get herself back down to it. But Tony had loved that shop.
"You? of all people to be responsible for me? Tony knew us better than that. We could hardly get along when he was around!"

She sat in silence for a moment as Dean explained the locket. She glanced down at it for the first time. It truly was beautiful. But she resisted the urge to touch it. She couldn't. Not yet.

She finally glanced up at Belle. She would have known Tony, he and Dean went everywhere together.

"Tony and I were engaged when I was twenty. A Death Eater came to the house not long before the wedding. He just..." she paused, unable to say the word. "And then disapparated right in front of me."

"Guys, just...just be quiet for a second, please?" Belle asked, her voice getting a little tense. "I'm still very confused about all this, so unless somebody wants to spill the beans, I'm going to be very put-out." Granted, it wasn't a very good threat, but Belle was starting to feel a bit frustrated. Luckily though, she was able to piece together what had happened from both Dean and Miranda's statements. Miranda didn't actually say it, but Belle had a feeling about how Tony had met his demise. Her fiance, a close friend of Dean's, no wonder they were so tense around each other. They reminded each other of the man they had lost. "Dear God, I had...no idea," she said, at a loss for what to say. She was just surprised that Miranda had held herself together this long. Belle had been going on about her cousin and Death Eaters, yet Miranda had managed to keep her composure. It made Belle feel sad, that her cousin was probably going around doing things like the Death Eater that had killed Tony. "I'm...so sorry." She knew that condolences probably wouldn't help out much, but it was the only thing she could offer at the moment.

Dean folded his arms across his chest and leaned back, pointedly looking away from both women. This was such a disaster, why couldn't this have happened when they were near the forbidden forest? Instead of a semi-crowded restaurant. He saw a few patrons looking at them in shock and he sent them a glare which had them hurriedly returning to their own conversations. And the waitress at the bar was watching them warily, obviously trying to decide if he needed to call someone to remove them.

Dean sighed and rubbed his temples, he could feel a headache building, "What a mess," He muttered. At this point in time he wasn't even sure he and Miranda could be considered adults since they obviously couldn't be civil even in a public place.

Miranda felt a couple of tears roll down her face, but she ignored them. There was no point hiding her pain at this point.
She smiled sadly at Belle, "Most of the time, it's fine. I grieve but teaching here brings me enough joy. But..." she glanced at Dean. "Dean was the one who introduced us. We couldn't get along even when Tony was alive. He and Sitka always had to keep the peace between Dean and I. And after the funeral...well, why force yourself to put up with someone you couldn't stand when you didn't have to, right?"
She wiped a tear from her cheek.
She continued, almost to herself, "I never told anyone I was there. I guess I thought it would hurt less."
She sighed and locked her eyes with Dean's. "But the pain never really goes away, does it?"

"Seems like we all use teaching to get away from things," Belle said, a thoughtful look coming over her face. Miranda used it to escape the death of her fiance. Belle used it to escape the betrayal of her cousin. Dean...well, maybe he used it to escape the pain of losing Tony too. He did have very few friends after all, and losing one was probably pretty hard on him. She didn't feel herself really taking one side or another in this argument. She just felt sorry for both of her friends. "Sorry for...well, dragging you over here," she said to Dean. "If I had known, of course I never would have..." Her voice trailed off, feeling like her apology was useless.

"Yeah you would have," Dean shook his head giving Belle a forced grin, "In your own way, you like to try and fix things. And I'm grateful for it, but not everything can be fixed."

He glanced over at Miranda, 'The pain never really goes away, does it?', No, it didn't. And Dean honestly thought that maybe it wasn't supposed to, He had lost a kindred spirit when Tony died, but they had just been friends, he didn't want to imagine how Miranda felt.

Miranda looked in Dean's eyes a moment longer. Yes, there it was, the pain, a shared pain. It seemed instead of bonding over the pain, they had chosen to ignite it with their anger.

She shrugged at Belle. "It had to happen sooner or later. We should have known trying to be civil in public wouldn't work. And I would have told you sooner or later..."

She smiled down at her hands. "He was the old friend who took me on the back of his motorbike. I came into the shop and somehow Tony talked me onto that mad contraption." Her eyes sparkled with the joyful memory. "I don't remember you being to happy about it, McCoppin," she teased.

"Well, maybe," Belle admitted, smiling at Dean. He knew her so well, and he did have a point. She did have a habit of trying to fix things that were broken, even if there was no chance of them being put back together again. She glanced over at Miranda. "So Tony helped you out with Muggle stuff?" She gave a little smile. "He sounds like a nice guy." She thought it a shame that she didn't get to meet the guy, even when he was friends with Dean during the school days. Then again, Belle didn't know much about Dean's few friends since she was a bit younger than him. Anytime they got together, it was just the two of them.

“It was a racing bike,” Dean stressed, “it wasn’t designed for two people, not to mention the fact that it belonged to one of our customers.”

He remembered the panic he felt when he walked into the shop and the bike was missing, he had thought they were going to be sued or something worse.

“He was one of those guys who got along with everyone,” he gave a bitter grin, “A good friend for someone like me to have around.”

Miranda smiled. "He did. We were going to live in the muggle world when we were married. He just loved it so much." She sighed. "I would have followed him anywhere."

She had been a love sick puppy, really. She had loved him utterly.

"He really was. He as amazing. A good friend, a loving boyfriend. He could always tell when someone was upset. He loved life with such *passion*. He taught me to take risks and to never hold back."

Belle listened quietly for a moment, just observing the way Dean and Miranda talked about this guy. It sounded like both of them had cared about him a lot. No wonder it had been awkward for them to be around each other. Not only were they two very different people, they probably reminded each other of what the other had lost. For Dean, it had been a friend, one of the few he had. For Miranda, it had been the love of her life. "Well, you both are...doing well, despite...your loss," she said, trying to choose her words carefully. "I mean, look at you. You teach at Hogwarts, one of the greatest schools in the world. You have students who love your classes, who take your words to heart. And you have friends who care about you." She smiled at both of them.

“I hate to break you heart, Belle, but I’m only staying for the year. Dumbledore should have found a permanent replacement by September,” Dean commented resting an elbow on the table and propping his chin up with his hand.

“Besides, I can’t stay away for long, with my luck my poor father will have a heart attack while I’m away.”

He grinned at the brunette, "But thanks."

He knew she was trying to cheer them up and get everything back onto a lighter topic and he appreciated the effort.

Miranda loosed small smile at Belle. She admired her ability to push through awkward and painful situations. She ran a hand through her short blonde hair.

"Yes, we do the best with what life has given us. I can't thank Dumbledore enough for finding me and pulling me back here. Now I can care for the animals here and be there for my students." She paused and added in barely a whisper, "since I wasn't for him."

She sat in silence, listening to Dean talk about only staying for a year. That made sense, she supposed.

Her eyes widened slightly in concern. "Your father's doing that bad?"

Belle frowned. "Just one year? But you're doing such a good job. I'm sure the kids here have learned more in these few months than they ever did in the previous years combined." Dean was such a good teacher, she was sure of it. Did he really have to go? But this wasn't the place to get onto him for that, especially since people were still giving the three of them funny looks. No doubt they were waiting for another fight like earlier. Belle glared at them and they seemed to take the hint that they should leave them alone. "You did all you could for him," Belle said to Miranda. "I'm sure he knows that, wherever he is."

Dean shrugged, “Unlike the two of you, teaching is not my chosen career path and its not something I’m passionate about either.”

“I agreed to do this as a favour to Dumbledore, he seemed desperate when he asked and honestly, my dad’s heart hasn’t been in the best shape the past few years and I don’t like not being there if he needs me.”

He looked seriously at Belle, “Honestly, if something happened to him tomorrow, I would be gone, classes or no classes.”

But you're doing such a good job

Miranda quickly turned her snort into clearing her throat. Dean...Mr. Anti-social....a good teacher. She turned to glance innocently out the window as the two continued their conversation. She was grateful for Belle's positive personality. It was like a magnet, keeping her from sinking into her sadness, even with Dean at the table.

I don’t like not being there if he needs me.

Miranda watched him solemnly. She knew that feeling all too well. And if she knew Dean at all...he would never forgive himself for not being there to help.

"Well, that's understandable," Belle said, seeing things from Dean's point of view. "Family is important." Dean didn't have that many people in his life to begin with. If his dad, one of those few remaining members, was in trouble in some way, she knew Dean would get to him as quickly as possible. "Let us know if we can...help with anything, okay?" She wasn't sure if Dean would actually let her and Miranda help him if things got complicated, but she figured she might as well put the offer out there.