With a Song in My Heart (Gabe, Open?)

[Valerie Hanssen]

It was the kind of day that songs were written about; the kind of day when it was absolutely impossible to stay inside. Days like this were, of course, rare in London, when the sun was shining, there was hardly a cloud in the sky, and a soft breeze wafted through the air. So when a day like this came along, it seemed positively criminal to waste it. Luckily, Valerie didn't have to work yet, so she was taking a walk in the park, just looking at the flowers and singing softly to herself.

It seemed like she was not the only one who had that idea. There were people everywhere--walking, running, biking, you name it. There were a few guys nearby playing with a frisbee on the grass, and other people were just lying out on the grass, enjoying the feeling of the sun beating down on them. She had the feeling that just about anything could happen today.

[Gabe Hanssen]

Gabe had spent two whole days at his desk at the Proffit working on the final draft of his article. He hoped it was good enough to run. Today was way too beautiful outside to have to go back into work.

He made his way into muggle London and headed to the park. Not planning onb anything too magical, he figured it'd be okay. He was going to go running, to burn off the excess ball of energy from not going outside in two days. He was running through the park, and had only gone about a mile, when he noticed a familiar blonde not to far ahead of him. Grinning, Gabe slowed to a jog until he was right behind her and then placed his hands over her eyes.

"Boo!" Gabe siad, laughing lightly.

[Valerie Hanssen]

Val was not expecting anyone, so when she was suddenly grabbed from behind, she let out a little squeal and stopped running. If she hadn't immediately recognized that voice, she probably would have been terrified.... but she knew her brother's voice anywhere.

"Gabe!" she cried, laughing. "Honestly, you could give a girl a heart attack doing that sort of thing!"

She pulled his hands from her eyes and flung her arms around him instead. "But it's so good to see you! How have you been?"

[Gabe Hanssen]

Gabe hugged his sister tight and lifter her up a little bit before placing her back down. "Im doing good, not to bad now that I get to see you!" Gabe said excitededly as he looked down towards his big sister (she was rather small, and Gabe was 6 feet tall).

"I was going to give you a call later this week to hang out, but i'm glad I ran into you here." Gabe had studied muggle studies at Hogwarts just for his sister. So he learned how to work a telephone, and other muggle things.

[Valerie Hanssen]

Her height was another reason why the rest of her family had always picked on her. For some reason, she was much shorted than everyone else in her family; her twin brother and even her mother were all rather tall. But Valerie never let any of that get to her. What was the pointy? After all, it wasn't as if she could do anything about being short or being born a squib. Why waste time worrying about it?

"Well, it was such a nice day, I just had to go for a walk," she explained. "I don't have to work for hours. Want to go grab a hot dog or something and sit on a bench to talk?"

[Gabe Hanssen]

It was always strange how much of a black sheep Val was in their family. But Gabe neverminded. He didn't care that she was a squib, or super short or anything else that made their parents dispise her. She was the only person he knew who liked him for who he was and didn't expect any more or less of him, and it had always been like that.

"Hot dog sounds good," Gabe said with a grin. They walked toward the hot dog stand and Gabe shoved his hands in his pockets. "So hows the singing career comming?" Gabe asked.

[Valerie Hanssen]

Smiling, she threaded her arm through his as they walked toward the hot dog stand. Gabe wasn't just her brother; he was her best friend, and she was so happy to have him on her side. Gabe had heard her sing before, but the rest of her family had never bothered.

"Oh, it's going pretty well. I just got cast in a small stage production of Oklahoma. I have to tell you, it's pretty funny hearing some of these people try to do American Southern accents!" She giggled at this. "Not that I have anything to talk about. Mine needs work, too... and I'm actually playing one of the leads."

[Gabe Hanssen]

"Congratulations!" Gabe said with a wide smile. He had always admired Valerie's talent. Though none of the family ever saw her perfore besides himself, Gabe always knew his sister would go far in life with her voice. "Please tell me when your opening day is. I want to sit front and center."

"Oklahoma...sounds southern," Gabe smiled. "Lemme hear it then." He teased his sister.

[Valerie Hanssen]

Valerie giggled. Some people didn't have the nerve to sing in public, in front of other people. But Val was not embarrassed or ashamed. She could burst into song anywhere, at any time, and have fun doing it. So when Gabe asked her to sing, she had no problem doing so.

"OK, well, this is my big solo song," she began. "And I'm supposed to sing it with a Southern accent. I've been practicing, but it's not easy. But it does like this..."

She took a few deep breaths and sang a quick scale, just to warm up her voice. Then she began to sing:

"I'm jist a girl who cain't say no,
I'm in a turrible fix
I always say "come on, le's go"
Jist when I orta say nix!
When a person tries to kiss a girl,
I know she orta give his face a smack.
But as soon as someone kisses me,
I somehow, sorta, wanta kiss him back!
I'm jist a fool when lights are low
I cain't be prissy and quaint
I ain't the type that can faint
How c'n I be whut I ain't?
I cain't say no!"

[Gabe Hanssen]

He wouldn't have asked if he knew it would have bothered her to sing in public. But his sister was one of those amazingly outgoing unashamed people, and Gabe had always admired her for that. Growing up, usually a boy looks up to his big brother. But Gabe had always adored Valerie.

He stepped back as she burst into her song. A few people walking through the park paused to listen to her. When she finished, Gabe clapped enthusiastically as did a couple of others. "Ladies and gents, Miss Valierie Hanssen!" he anounced with a grin.

As things calmed back to normal, Gabe ((I keep typing GAGE....)) smiled at Valerie. "That was amazing Val," he said. "I like the southern accent by the way, suits you well."

[Valerie Hanssen]

When she finished singing, Gabe and a few other people who had been walking by clapped for her. She flushed pink with happiness and bowed to them all. She loved singing and would honestly do it all the time if she could. It made her happy to see other people enjoying her voice.

"Thank you, thank you," she said. "Oh! When the show opens, do you want to go? I can get tickets for you. It opens next month... I'd love for you to be there!"

[Gabe Hanssen]

“I’ll be there,” Gabe promised. Even if the rest of their family wouldn’t be, he would. “Front row and standing ovation to follow.” He grinned with pride at his sister and bent over to kiss her cheek. “That was truly amazing.”

They walked the rest of the way and Gabe paid for the hot dogs from the vendor. Then he sat by her on a bench. Handing her her dog Gabe said, “So, besides the amazing singing career in your future and your perfect job,” Gabe winked, “How’s everything?” Sometimes, Gabe worried about his big sister. In the wizarding world, he had family, he had people who would floo in and check up on him, family who would invite him over to dinner. Valerie, well, Gabe hoped she had more than just him checking in on her.

[Valerie Hanssen]

Unfortunately, Valerie had lost almost all contact with her family. Other than the occasional Christmas or birthday card (with the envelope almost completely covered with stamps), the rest of the family had all but completely cut her off. It didn't matter to her, though. Well, it did hurt a little, but she didn't dwell on it. She had Gabe, and she had a lot of good muggle friends. She didn't consider herself to be alone by any stretch of the imagination.

"Everything is good," she assured him. "I have a friend staying with me for a while, until he gets back on his feet. He got into a bit of trouble... you know... drinking, and lost his job. He coudn't afford his apartment anymore, so I'm letting him stay with me while he looks for a new job."

[Gabe Hanssen]

Gabe rose his eyebrow about the friend staying with her. He wasn't sure about how he felt about Valerie sharing an apartment with some guy he didn't know and apperently wasn't capable of standing on his own two feet. He had to remind himself though that he was the younger brother here and no matter how much he loved his sister and wanted to look out for her, he had to realize that Valerie was very capable of talking care of herself.

So he said nothing and took another bite of his hot dog.

[Valerie Hanssen]

But Val wasn't dense, and she knew what he was thinking when he went silent like that. She looked over at him with a wry smile.

"I know what you're thinking," she said. "You're worried that I'm being taken advantage of. But I promise you, I wouldn't let him stay if he wasn't a really good friend. I've known him forever and I trust him completely. Things just kind of fell apart for him after his boyfriend broke up with him, that's all. He was depressed and he started drinking... and I was afraid for him. He's going to therapy now, and he's doing much better... he even has a lead on a job working the lights at one of the theatres. If it works out, I'll help him get an apartment of his own."

She wanted to assure him that although there was a tendency to think of her as being naive because she lived among the muggles, she was actually pretty savvy. In fact, she was learning that the magical world was much more insulated than the muggle world.

"Please don't worry about me," she assured him. "I have lots of friends, and I promise you I'm not alone."