p a i d -open-

[doodle]

Blaize had not been expecting anything special that morning at breakfast, except perhaps porridge, but as he poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice the foundation of his day suddenly changed. An owl swooped down and landed near his breakfast, envelope addressed to him in its beak. Blaize quietly took the letter, smiling at the return address, he knew what this was. He carefully broke the seal and pulled out a cheque. It wasn't much, only a hundred and fifty Galleons, but the sight at his first royalty cheque made him the happiest he had been.

This meant that at least a few people had bought, and were reading his book. Blaize didn't need wild success, this in itself was encouragement enough to continue pursuing his dream. He would keep writing, even if only twenty people would ever read it. Blaize looked up from his cheque as he heard someone approach only to see...

[squiggle]

Zelphar smiled at Blaize, he hadn't seen much of his friend recently, except when in class, so he had decided that he would enjoy breakfast at the Hufflepuff table that morning. Nobody seemed to mind when he did this, Zelphar would periodically eat meals with Azzurra there. "Hey mate," said Zelphar, sitting down beside his friend and helping himself to sausage and toast, "what have you got there?" He started eating while he waited for a response.

[doodle]

Blaize smiled a bit when he saw Zelphar, it had been a while since they had spent any time together. Things were much different this year, Emily was gone, and Safira had dropped out (he still didn't know why, she would never say in her letters)- their little quartet had all but vanished. "My first royalty cheque," said Blaize, "people have been reading my book. Or my mum went and bought all the copies at Flourish and Blott's." The last part was meant as a bit of a joke, Blaize doubted his mother would do such a thing.

[squiggle]

Zelphar swallowed his mouthful of sausage, since spending last summer with his mother he had altogether dropped the habit of talking with his mouth full. While a very nice woman, she was pretty insistent about table manners. He supposed it was only for his own good. He just hoped the upcoming summer wouldn't be quite so awkward around her. "That's great, mate!" Zelphar said enthusiastically, "so when can I expect more books from you?"

[doodle]

Blaize smiled a bit, Zelphar's enthusiasm meant a lot to him. His far-off dreams seemed so much closer to his fingertips now. "You sound like my editor," said Blaize, "I'll have the first draft of something done by the end of the summer. Unless this turns out to be a complete flop I'm supposed to have two more books out within the next three years." It seemed like a long time, but Blaize knew it was fast as far as book-publishing standards went.

[squiggle]

The corners of Zelphar's mouth twitched, although he did not take the effort to conjure a full smile. Blaize seemed to be doing much better now, Zelphar had worried a lot about him the months after Emily's suicide, but he didn't seem quite as depressed anymore. He was being productive, smiling again. But he wasn't all too confident in his ability to read people. "Excellent, I'm sure the world will want more works of Blaize Weasley," said Zelphar, and then returned to his breakfast, eating with the vigour of most teenage boys.

[doodle]

Blaize gave forth a small smile and then looked back at his own breakfast, which he had barely touched due to the excitement of his cheque arriving. He kept quiet as he ate his porridge, matching the speed of his friend. He frowned a bit as his thoughts wavered toward Safira, she had only wrote him a few times since being rescued. He made a mental note to visit her during the summer, no matter how busy he might be with a manuscript the whole time. It was only natural for Blaize to miss his friend.

[violethorses]

Azzurra finished putting her hair tie into her hair as she entered the Great Hall. She spotted Zelphar sitting with Blaize at the Hufflepuff table and walked over to join them. "Hello," Azzurra said with a half-smile as she slid onto the bench next to Zelphar. She helped herself to a bit of toast and then fell silent as she took a small bite.

[squiggle]

"Hey, Azz," said Zelphar after he had swallowed a mouthful of food. He felt a sudden flutter in his stomach at the sight of his long-time friend, Zelphar didn't know what had caused it, but somehow his feelings for Azzurra were changing. He had always loved her, but it had been more like a brotherly feeling, now it was different. Zelphar returned to his food, hoping to not look awkward.

[violethorses]

Azzurra smiled at Zelphar. Her old nickname still made her smile a bit, though he was the only one to use it. She liked it though, it was nice. "Anything new with the two of you?" Azzurra asked, glancing over at Blaize halfway through her sentence. She bit into her toast once more, chewing slowly while she waited for a response.

[doodle]

Blaize tucked his cheque into his pocket, remnants of a smile still at his lips. "Well, a few months ago I published a book," said Blaize, "and I just got my first royalty cheque." It was hard to believe, that only six months ago his book had been little more than a manuscript, a fragment of a dream. And now here it was, a published book that at least a few people had bought and read.

[violethorses]

Azzurra eye's widened in surprise, she hadn't expected anything quite that exciting. She wasn't even sure if she had known that Blaize was a writer before. Despite being something of an acquaintance to Azzurra, she didn't know much about Blaize Weasley. "Wow, congratulations," Azzurra said with a genuine smile. It was refreshing to hear something positive at a time when most news was gloomy.

[doodle]

"Thanks," said Blaize with a smile. He didn't let many people in on his writing, usually family and very close friends. Emily had used to be something of his own personal editor, she would read things he had written and suggest changes on them. It was quite a step, his work going from something so private to something anyone could read, but it was what Blaize had wanted since he was only ten.