Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.
The hustle and bustle of the east side was so unlike that of Diagon Alley.
They were a different type of people after all. Unlike those who prowled the Alley, the folk who inhabited the streets of east London were the quirky gypsies and radical students and professors of the art colleges nearby. The west side slums were so unlike the colourful and cobblestoned streets of east London. It was a chilly day, and the streets were already covered in a thick layer of snow. The street sweepers that morning had done their job as best they could, but there were still very few cars about that day.
He walked along the narrow footpath, skillfully avoiding being run over by a hairy man in an oversized coat. He resembled someone he knew from back at school, however, it was unlikely that he would be in Muggle London. While Rubeus Hagrid was notorious for frequenting pubs, there was nothing in the taverns and smalls hideaways there that could tempt him.
He rubbed his gloved hands together to warm his rapidly numbing fingers as he walked along, his destination that day as of yet unknown to him. He knew those streets like the back of his hands, having grown up nearby. Very few of his school companions from Hogwarts were aware that he had grown up as a Muggle in London until he began his magical schooling once he had turned eleven. In fact, it came as a surprise to many to find out that Anthony Goldstein was, in fact, a Half-Blood.
At Hogwarts he had always been an exemplary student, and oftentimes was the top of his class or had tied with Hermione Granger in classes that they had in common. After the final battle, he had continued his education and on completing his advanced studies in Charms, he was offered a position teaching at the London Magical Institute for Advanced Study. It consumed much of his time, but this did not stop him from visiting his favourite little part of London whenever he could.
He was on his way past a shop when he realized that there seemed to be a lot of colour in the window which caused him to pause and back track. It was an art Gallery. He could not recall it being there before, but perhaps he had simply never stopped to look. Oftentimes he was in such a hurry to get home or back to work that he didn't have the time to enjoy himself and take time to explore the area in greater depth.
Anthony pushed the door open, sliding inside quickly to find it very warm and inviting. The paintings that were in the foyer were similar to those that had been hanging in the front window display, full of bright colours with lots of reds, yellows and oranges. Warm colours were such an unusual sight in winter as most people, even in London East, would retreat to wearing long black trench coats and dark colours. Even there moods were dampened by the never-ending snow and icy rains.
Anthony took a look around him, when a painting caught his eye. It was coloured by mostly bright blues and purples, and was such a stark difference to most of the others, that he was instantly drawn to it. He was a mere few feet away from it when he was startled out of his thoughts by an unusual, but familiar female voice. He paused and looked over to the front, where a reception desk stood that he had no noticed beforehand. Sitting there, was a radiant young woman, her corkscrew curls were a fiery red, and the green eyes beneath her long, thick lashes were wide and sparkling.
'Hello there,' she said brightly.
'Oh, uh… hello,' he replied, walking over to the desk and putting his hand out to shake hers. 'I must apologise. I hadn't realized that there was a desk here – I was rather distracted by all of the paintings in here.'
She stood and took his hand, shaking it vigorously. 'I'm Alexandra,' she introduced. 'I don't actually own this Gallery, but some of the artwork here is actually my own. Most of them are for sale, however, the blue and purple one that you were staring at, is not.'
He noted that she was quite short, and that she had an American accent, although, he could never pick one American from another. They all sounded very similar to him. She was a very pretty young woman, but he had no idea why it was that she seemed to be so familiar to him. Perhaps he had seen her before?
'How long have you been in this area for, if you don't mind me asking?'
She smiled. 'Well, I've only been here since I was a child, although I don't remember what age,' she answered. 'My parents moved my family back and forth between here and our home in California.'
'I feel like I might have seen you before,' Anthony said honestly.
'I used to work in the second hand bookshop a couple of blocks down from here,' she replied. 'And before that I worked at a Bakery by the docks.'
'Do you change the colour of your hair very often?' he asked, the vague memory of seeing a young blonde woman with straight hair working in the second hand bookshop he frequented becoming clearer.
'I was blonde when I worked at the bookshop, and I was a brunette when I was in the Bakery,' she answered. 'You know, I might have seen you before too, Sir.'
'Anthony,' he said immediately. 'My students call me Sir, and I don't like to mix my work with my life outside.'
'So you're a teacher?' she asked.
'In a matter of speaking,' he said with a sheepish smile.
He gestured at the blue and purple painting. It was of the bustling main street in East London complete with the fountain in the square at the end, the people, and the rustic lime buildings. 'It is a very striking and lovely painting,' he complimented.
'Thank you,' she answered with a slight blush settling on her cheeks and nose.
He thought that she was quite pretty when she blushed also. His musings were interrupted when he glanced at his watch and saw that it was time to get back to the College and give his next lecture.
'I have to be off now,' he said, adjusting his winter coat and looking over at the door. 'I might have to come back to view the rest of your gallery some other time.'
She grinned and tilted her head ever so slightly as she looked at him. 'It was very nice to meet you, Mr. Andrew, Professor of an unknown topic, at the College of somewhere.'
He smiled at that and nodded at her briefly, before turning and walking out, totally fascinated by this woman that he was sure he had seen before a long time ago, but could not quite remember. Anthony walked into an empty alleyway and quickly Apparated onto the College grounds. He would go return to East London soon, and he hoped that he would discover just who this young woman was to him before that time.
The clouds were thick and dark in the sky, indicating that more snow was on the way. It was already the middle of January. Weather reporters had described crisp but fine weather for the next few weeks, however the way things were looking said otherwise. Alexandra had woken early that morning, ate a piece of toast and was out the door of her flat before seven, heading towards the docks for an early morning stroll.
It was somewhat of a routine for her, ever since she had discovered that even in winter, the morning sun was still beautiful and golden. That morning was the exception. She cut her walk short when the sky grew darker, and retreated to the Gallery, planning to do a quick clean of the place before opening for the day. She had a strong feeling that the visitors would be very few and far between.
At nine, she turned the sign on the front door to read as open, and sat to anticipate the boring day ahead of her.
It wasn't until nearly midday, when she heard the door open, and she sat up straight and looked up from the magazine she was reading. She was stunned to see the handsome man from a month beforehand walk through the doors. He had said he would return sooner, but she assumed he must have been busy with teaching and spending time with his family for the holiday season. For some reason, she had hoped that he would return every day since the last time he had stumbled upon the gallery, and finally he was back.
'Hello, Anthony,' she greeted with a bright smile, looking up at him as he approached her desk.
He looked down at her then and she suddenly noticed just how much taller than her he must actually have been. 'Hello, Alexandra,' he replied. 'Fine weather we've been having, up until today of course.'
'The weather has been very depressing and bad for business,' she answered, frowning a little in disappointment. 'I look forward to the spring. I have a whole new collection of artworks to hang up. You can call me Alex, by the way.'
He nodded, flashing the most amazing smile at her. 'Well I am glad that I came back here before you removed this collection, Alex. It would have been a shame if I did not finish exploring it,' he replied smoothly.
She laughed softly. 'That was a lovely thing to say,' she said quietly. 'And just because I know that there won't be any more visitors coming any time soon, I will even give you a special tour of the gallery, free of charge.'
'Well I must say, I am honored,' he answered with another damn lovely smile.
Alexandra was screaming with a mixture of joy and annoyance on the inside. One voice was telling her that this man that she barely knew might be one-of-a-kind and that she should snatch him up before someone else did. While the other side was scolding her, telling her not to be so foolish and reminding her that she was just a gallery keeper and artist. What kind of educated, wealthy-looking man would look twice at her? She was short, plain and uninteresting as far as she was concerned.
'Alright, well we'll start at the back and work back to the front Gallery,' she announced, breaking the silence and marching ahead with determination.
Anthony smiled, watching her as she charged ahead. Her height made her look dainty and fragile, but he could tell from the few glimpses of her that he had caught so far, that beneath her small stature was a huge personality. She was so bubbly and unlike any of the women his parents regularly tried to force him to entertain. After all, at the age of thirty, he was one of the few in his year level that had yet to marry and settle. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he followed the devilish little sprite, watching her red curls bounce as she walked along.
Over the next few weeks, Anthony stopped by to chat to Alexandra while she was on her lunch break two more times. Once he had even brought both of them hot chocolate, and they walked along the docks chatting idly about how their day was going and exchanging ideas and passions. He had no problem talking with her about anything, as he was as familiar with the Muggle world as he was with the Magical one, and it was refreshing to not talk about magic every once in a while.
Alex, in the meantime, had gone from being mildly curious about the man, to finding him intriguing, and finally to genuinely liking his company. She wished that she saw him a little more often, but she knew he had a busy life. In the end, she simply savoured what little of him she saw, and waited as patiently as she could for the next visit. Knowing and acknowledging that she was attracted to him made her less edgy, but she still wished that she knew why he always seemed so familiar to her.
That afternoon at four, Alex decided to close up shop earlier than usual, and walk home along the dock instead of catching the 5 o'clock evening express bus to her front door step. It was brisk out, but the snow was only thin on the ground, and the sunset was showing signs of being a rich orange-red with purple. She would memorise it and use it for her next painting. As she was walking along, she stopped when a smooth, flat pebble caught her eye, and stooped to pick it up. Straightening back out, she gasped in surprise when she saw someone standing before her.
'Anthony!' she exclaimed, taking a step back from him instinctively.
He chuckled softly. 'Hello, Alex,' he replied with a smile. 'I apologise if I frightened you.'
His smile was so infectious that she soon found herself beaming back at him. 'I was just going to skip this rock,' she admitted, holding the stone up and blushing a little.
Anthony laughed softly again, reaching forward and covering her hand with his. When he pulled his hand away, there were six smooth stones in her hand – all identical. She gasped at this and looked up at his face to find him smiling as though he had not just performed some strange form of magic right before her eyes.
'How did you do that?' she asked.
'It is a secret,' he answered, taking one of the stones from her hand and with a practiced flick of his wrist, he skipped the stone over the water. 'Seven skips…'
'I'll bet I can go you better,' Alex dared. 'I used to skip stones all of the time here when I was a kid.'
Anthony felt himself go stiff. Skipping stones by the docks had been a favourite pastime of his as a young boy. He recalled a time when a small girl had joined him, but shook off the thought – it couldn't have been her. The girl had never spoken to him, and she had been a small blonde thing. Although, he had no idea of Alex's age, or of what colour her hair had been when she was a child.
'I accept your challenge,' he agreed, taking two more stone from her hand. 'Best of three.'
Alex won. She knew that he was going easy on her. He was obviously older than her, and there was no doubt in her mind that she was falling for him. She had no idea who he was, but there was just something about him. He was dashing as he stood with his hands in the pockets of his winter coat, looking out onto the bay.
'Alex, I was wondering something,' he said suddenly, snapping her out of her trance.
'Yes?'
'You interest me,' he said seriously. 'I would like to take you out for dinner some time.'
Alex stood staring at him, totally dumbstruck. 'Did you… did you just ask me out?' she stammered.
'I did,' he answered. 'I'm hoping now that I haven't made a fool out of myself actually.'
'You haven't,' she insisted quickly. 'Oh, I'm sorry, but you just surprised me. I would be delighted to go out to dinner with you.'
He smiled and reached out a hand to her, his fingers skimming her cheek before he let it fall back to his side. 'I have an exam to prepare for my students,' he said, his expression falling a little in his disappointment. 'I'm afraid I have been a little slack of late, and I've gotten behind in my work somewhat.'
Alex smiled a little, determined to keep her own disappointment from her features. 'Well then, I will let you get going,' she replied.
'Can I take you out for dinner on Saturday night?' he asked.
'I would like that very much,' she agreed.
She gave him her address, and with a grin and a wave, he turned around and walked back the way the way he had come from. As Alex walked home that evening, a spark of hope flared within her.
Alex stood and stared at herself in the full length mirror in her bedroom. She had donned a black dress that fell to her knees complete with stockings and black pumps. Her red curls were loose around her face. At exactly seven o'clock, the doorbell rang and she quickly ran down the stairs and grabbed her nice winter coat from the hooks, pulling it on before opening the door. She almost gasped at the sight in front of her. Anthony was dressed in a fine black suit with a dark green shirt tucked into his trousers, the top buttons undone.
'You look lovely,' he said, holding out his hand to her.
She placed her hand in his, and he lifted it to his lips, kissing it gently. 'You look very dashing yourself,' she said, blushing when he released her hand and offered his arm to her.
They left her flat arm in arm and walked for about fifteen minutes until they reached their destination. It was a quaint little Italian restaurant that Alex had passed on many occasions, but had never gone to. She was sure it was because she rarely went on dates, but it was perfect nonetheless. The night had been perfect. Anthony was attentive, clever, witty and very, very easy to talk to. Even though he was a teacher of… well she still hadn't managed to get that out of him, he had a broad knowledge of many things, so conversation flowed smoothly.
After dinner and coffee, they took at long walk along the cobblestone streets, content to just spend the time in each other's presence. When the time came for their date to end, he walked her to her door like a gentleman, and took her hand to kiss it as he had when he had arrived to collect her. She sighed softly, looking at his handsome, honest face. She knew that she liked him and that the feeling was mutual, and yet, she still knew so little about him. All that night she had been talking about her family in America, and he had not said a word about his, other than that he had grown up in the area before going away to a boarding school.
'Next time we go on a date, I expect you to tell me more about yourself, Anthony,' she said, half teasingly, trying to keep their chatter light.
He nodded. 'If you're free next Friday night, I would love to take you to the theatre in Central,' he replied. 'I have tickets to a show that I saw and thought you would like.'
'I would love to,' she answered, leaning in and kissing him lightly on the cheek. 'Thank you so much for a wonderful night.'
'The pleasure was all mine,' he replied.
And with that, he walked away once more, leaving a baffled Alexandra standing on her doorstep staring after him. There was something different about Anthony, and she intended to find out just what it was about him…
The next few weeks flew by, and Anthony continued to call on Alex during her breaks at work, and take her on lovely and oftentimes romantic dates on the weekends. Spring was just around the corner and the snow had already melted. All that was left of the winter was the crisp chill in the air that kept many people indoors. Even the flowers and trees looked as though they were preparing to grow and bloom for the new season. Alex had spent a great deal of time that week preparing for the new exhibit at the gallery, and on the Saturday, Anthony had volunteered to assist her in hanging the new paintings and put the old ones into storage.
Although it had taken a little while, Alex had finally managed to get a little more background information on her mysterious suitor. She knew that his parents lived in Manchester and that he lived in the outer ring of central London. He was a Professor at a College and was thirty years of age. She realized that their eight year age gap might have been seen as a little taboo in some places, but as far as she was concerned, it was not even an issue. He was a sweet, charming and fun to be around, and that was all that mattered.
As she closed up the gallery that evening, she thought it would be nice if one time she were the one to ask him on a date and organize a surprise. Somehow she needed to do something that would encourage him to be more open and reveal more about himself to her. There was always the lingering thought in the back of her mind that he had secrets about himself and his life that he did not wish to share with her. But her curiosity just would not let her mind rest for a moment.
On Saturday morning, Alex woke up early and prepared for the long day ahead. The weather was fine when she walked out the door; just cold enough for her woolen cardigan. The grabbed a hot chocolate on her way over to the shop, and stopped by the water to watch it lap against the brick walls of the dock briefly.
'Good morning, Alex,' said a cheerful male voice.
She turned to smile up at Anthony. 'Good morning,' she greeted in return. 'You're early.'
'I thought it would be nice to get stuck right into the work and finish sooner,' he answered, although he did not elaborate any further.
'Oh, I'm not interrupting any plans that you had for the day, am I?' she asked, worried that he might have had other things to do.
'Not at all,' he answered.
Alex did not ask him anything again after that, and the two made their way to the gallery in silence. As they were working busily, removing all of the artworks from the wall and wrapping them for storage, her mind was working over what he had said. The first conclusion that she could come to was that he might have been meeting someone else after he had finished there. But she dismissed it immediately. Even though neither had mentioned anything of them being exclusive, it went unsaid that they would inform each other if they were seeing other people also.
After that, she stopped thinking about it and forced herself to concentrate. She nearly dropped one of the prized artworks of the gallery owner's collection, and she could hardly pay for the repairs. With Anthony's help, the two of them had completely removed all of the paintings b ten, and had hung up all of the new collection by one in the afternoon. After they had ensured that the floors were clean, they locked and left the gallery.
'Are you busy now?' he asked her.
'Not at all,' she answered, frowning in curiosity. 'Why?'
'Have lunch with me today,' he pressed, taking her hand in his.
Alex smiled. 'Of course,' she replied, twining her fingers with his and letting him lead the way.
They walked a short distance until they came across a park. It wasn't until they were standing before a blanket and picnic basket spread out over the green grass, that she realized what he had done. He had gone and planned a picnic lunch for the two of them and had obviously had someone deliver it to the park for them right before they arrived. The gesture was so romantic and sweet of him.
'This is spectacular,' she said, totally dumbstruck. 'You always go to so much effort to make each of our outings special and lovely.'
'This is just a picnic,' he said, gesturing to the spread. 'You are the special and lovely one.'
She looked up into his face then and saw that his cheeks were tinged ever so slightly by a blush. It must have taken him a lot of courage to say that to her, and she appreciated it all the more. She tugged his hand and sat down on the blanket, pulling him to sit down beside her. They ate a lunch of sandwiches and drank hot chocolate from the canister of it that had been included in the basket, before packing everything back up and simply sitting back on the blanket to relax. Alex eventually became so drowsy and relaxed that she fell asleep against him.
Anthony watched her as she slept and was content to just gaze at her. He shifted so that she was resting more comfortably, and wrapped an arm around her to ward off the cool change of the afternoon. He knew that by this point he was very close to falling in love with this kind, bubbly and beautiful Muggle woman. It didn't even occur to him that she was not from the Magical world. To him, she was very much a magical woman, and she had brought something into his life that he had been missing for a long time.
Half an hour after she drifted off, she slowly woke again to find herself resting against a reclined Anthony, one of his arms wrapped around her protectively. She contemplated not moving for a little while, but then decided that it was time to get up from him. He had to be feeling uncomfortable with her leaning on him.
'Have a nice nap?' he asked, looking down at her.
She smiled, sitting back up and taking notice of the fact that he kept his arm around her. 'I had a very nice nap,' she answered. 'Although, I am sorry for falling asleep on you.'
'It was quite alright,' he said, gazing at her bright green eyes. 'You're very pretty with your curls all tousled like that.'
She immediately felt her cheeks grow warm. 'You're far too kind to me,' she said quietly.
He scoffed. 'Nonsense, you deserve kindness,' he said simply, drawing her a little closer to his side, and tilting her chin up so that she was facing him.
He stared into her eyes for what seemed like ages, until she blinked, and her eyelashes brushed against his cheek. 'May I kiss you?' he asked, stroking her hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear.
She nodded and closed her eyes, just as his lips settled over hers, and he pressed gently. He didn't try to force his tongue down her throat or ravish her mouth totally. He simply kissed her so sweetly that she thought she might cry. That afternoon, he left her at her front door, kissing her lips with tenderness again and promising to come by and see her in a few days time.
A month passed by and it was only three weeks into the spring. Alex had only known Anthony for three months, but she was quite certain that she had fallen in love with him. Every smile and gesture warmed her, and the respect he had shown her was so different to any other man that she had tried to date. By this point she was fairly certain that they were an exclusive couple. One of her friends that were living in London had been at the gallery visiting her on a day that Anthony had come to visit her during lunch, and had approved of him most thoroughly, never mind that she had also eyed him off herself while she had done it.
Two nights before, Alex had invited him to come into her flat after they had gone out for dinner, but he had declined. She had been slightly hurt at the time, but she immediately understood that he was trying to respect her by saying no. However, she was tired of him being a gentleman, and intended to ensure that the next time she asked him in, he would be saying yes. On impulse, Alex picked up the phone as she was sitting idly at work, and dialed the number of the cell phone that Anthony had told her to call if she needed to contact him, and sat back to wait for him to answer.
'Hello, Anthony speaking. How may I help you?' he asked.
'It's Alex,' she replied.
'Oh, sweetheart, there isn't anything wrong is there?' he asked, his voice turning panicked on the other end.
She laughed softly. 'Not at all,' she answered. 'I was just wondering if you would like to come and have dinner with me at my flat tonight. I'll be cooking.'
'I would be glad to,' he answered, sounding a lot calmer.
'Wonderful. Will you be free at seven?'
'I will be. I will see you there at seven on the dot. Do you need me to get anything for you or bring anything along?' he answered.
'Just bring yourself,' she replied.
After hanging up, she wondered what had brought that impulse about, but shrugged it off. It was then that she realized she had nothing to cook, so she closed up early and decided to do a spot of grocery shopping. She showered and dressed as soon as she arrived home before beginning to make the only meal that she really knew how to make successfully: macaroni and cheese. Being American, it was practically a staple of her diet whenever she was home alone and had nothing else around to cook. So naturally, she whipped it up in no time and left some room for warming it when Anthony arrived.
At exactly seven, the doorbell rang, and she rushed from the kitchen to answer it. Pulling the door open revealed Anthony dressed in jeans and a white button down, un-tucked with a black jacket over the top. He held out a bottle of white wine to her and leaned down to peck her lightly on the lips.
'You look beautiful,' he said, running a finger along the top edge of her apron before tapping her collarbone.
'Flattery…' she muttered, taking the bottle and leaning up to give him a longer kiss.
'It never hurts a man to try,' he said, following her into her little kitchen.
She had set the small round table with a white tablecloth, sitting a glass vase with a lily in the middle and a small candle right beside it. 'Sit down and let me get some glasses,' she said, walking into the kitchenette.
Anthony sat and allowed her to bustle about, admiring her in her little blue dress and apron. It was quite a sight to behold as he took in all of her lovely, womanly curves. He chuckled when not long after she served him macaroni and cheese, apologizing that she didn't cook a lot. It was endearing the way she blushed as she said it. After dinner, they finished their wine in the little sitting room that also doubled as her study and art room, snuggling together on her uncomfortable couch.
He stroked her curls and twisted them idly around his fingers, wondering how it was that they remained so perfect without the aid of magic. He was so used to using magic for many things in his daily life, that it was refreshing to be around someone who did not practice magic at all. He sighed at the thought of magic. He hated that he was keeping such a big part of his life from her. He knew that he was in love with her, and had been for many weeks – almost since the moment he met her. And he knew that he had to tell her before things got any more serious and there was always the chance that she wouldn't be able to accept him once she realized what he was.
It was nearly eleven when he realized that he should be going, and he gently tried to ease himself off the couch without disturbing Alex too much. She had fallen asleep a little while beforehand. Just as he was about to get up, she stirred and blinked up at him.
'Don't go,' she whispered.
'Alex, I have to,' he insisted. 'I want to respect you.'
'Please stop trying to be such a gentleman,' she said, cutting off any further arguments. 'I don't want you to leave me here alone tonight.'
He felt his resistance crumbling fast with each of her pleas. He knew that he would cave in and spend the night with her. It was one of the reasons he had never said yes when she had asking him in for a drink. By this point, he knew for sure that they were a lot more serious than he had imagined they would become.
'I'll stay,' he whispered.
'Thank you,' she said, sitting up on the couch and holding out her arms to him.
Instead of going in to hug her like he was sure she had intended, he scooped her into his arms, causing her to squeal in surprise. Without another word, he walked out of the room and carried her up the stairs and through the only door, into her bedroom. The rest was a blur of warmth and long kisses, followed by the removal of clothing and two bodies falling to the crisp cotton sheets of her bed. In the aftermath they rested with her head pillowed on his warm, bare chest.
'You should have said something,' he scolded lightly in reference to the mews of pain she had emitted during their lovemaking.
She sighed and turned over to rest her chin on his chest and look at his face. 'I should have told you I hadn't done that before, yes. But I didn't want to make a big fuss about it,' she admitted sheepishly.
He sighed heavily and stroked her hair out of her face. Her curls were wild and mussed, but she still looked the same to him as she always did. 'You are so precious to me, Alex,' he told her quietly. 'I love you.'
She blinked rapidly at him then, her mouth open. 'You love me?'
'I love you,' he repeated.
She felt her eyes begin to get wet with tears at his proclamation. 'I love you too,' she said, emitting a soft sob.
'Now love, don't you cry,' he said, wrapping his arms around her tightly. 'I need to tell you something else important, and I won't have you upset when I do.'
She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. 'What – what do you need to tell me?' she stammered.
'I'm – I'm not exactly who you think I am, let alone what I am,' he said, watching as her happy expression melted instantly into a frown. 'Now please, hear me out.'
She nodded. 'I'm listening.'
'I am a Professor at a College in London, but it's not exactly the type of College that you might think it is. It's for students with special talents,' he continued. 'I was a student at this College, and before that, I went to a private boarding school that was also for the same kind of students with our talents.'
'What kind of special talents are you talking about?' she asked.
'Alex, I am a wizard,' he said simply, watching as her eyes grew and went blank.
She was stunned. Her mind went back to the first day that they had met and moved forward from that to the time when they skipped stones together and he had covered her hand with his and suddenly she had six identical stones. The memories of all the small things that went on that were strange or confused her all suddenly made sense. He hadn't had the picnic basket delivered the month before; he had used magic to transport it all there. Everything suddenly fit together as though this one fact was the glue that would hold the puzzle that was Anthony together for her. She knew she had been right to think that there was something different about him.
'You really do magic then?' she whispered, finally looking into his eyes once again.
'I really do,' he replied, waving his hands over the bed, causing the covers to immediately return to them and cover them.
She gasped. It was amazing. She had no idea that such a thing existed in real life, let alone that there were many people the same as he, and that there would be schools for them. She wondered if many other people like her knew about magic. It was no wonder that he was so reluctant to talk about himself – a secret like that could make or break him.
'Tell me about yourself – tell me everything,' she said.
And he did. They talked for a long time, all the way until it was nearly dawn, before they finally felt too exhausted to stay awake. As she felt herself drifting off to sleep in his arms, she felt him kiss her forehead and stroke her back.
'Thank you for accepting me,' he murmured softly. 'I love you.'
'I love you too. So, so much,' she said back just as softly, kissing his chest before falling right to sleep.
Anthony gazed at the beauty in his arms. He knew the moment she had asked him to tell her everything that she was the one. And he was so glad that he had waited patiently for her to come into his life…
The end.