Chapter 2
Morgan
I ran to the door. Erik sighed and took his own sweet time to follow. I was met with a man of about thirty, but his demeanor and movements made him seem about ten years younger. He was wearing simple robes and an amicable smile.
"Miss O'Connell?" he asked. He had a faint Scottish accent. When his assumption was confirmed he proceeded to introduce himself, "Richard Magnacord. I'm the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts." Erik finally came meandering down the hall. Professor Magnacord shouted in surprise.
Erik
Erik sighed. "Of course. Why would a wizard not be frightened by Erik? Everyone else is…" Morgan interrupted Erik's private lamentations.
"I'm sorry professor, I thought you would have been told of Erik's, oh I hate this word but, deformity," she said it with a wrinkled nose, like she had said something disgusting. Magnacord looked rather embarrassed.
"Well, I was, but I hadn't been told…" he stuttered a little, sensing he was making things worse.
"Excuse Erik as he goes to get his mask," Erik muttered bitterly.
Morgan
"One moment please," I said nervously to the professor, "Erik. Erik wait!" I ran after Erik, calling to him. I followed him as he trudged through his own front door and up the steps to his room.
"Erik, please. We agreed we were going to start over at Hogwarts! That we would forget about Persia and the freak show and the mask!"
"That was before," he grunted as tore through his trunk, looking for the mask he must have hidden at the bottom.
"Before what?"
Erik froze. He ceased his search to look at me with an intensity I knew to be dangerous.
"Before Erik realized wizards are no different than muggles. Before Erik had seen a wizard who had been warned cry out in fear at the sight of Erik's face, a man who had been warned about, as you called it, Erik's deformity. Before Erik accepted that he will always be a freak!" Erik had escalated to shouting by the end.
Erik
Erik froze as he realized Morgan was starting to cry. He angrily wiped a way his own tears. "Why does Erik always bring her to tears?" Erik came over to Morgan and held out his arms to her. She immediately threw herself into the embrace, sniffling.
"I'm sorry Erik. I shouldn't have called… I shouldn't have said that," she whispered as we stood there.
"Oh no ange, Erik is not angry with you," Erik assured her.
"Please don't wear the mask Erik," she murmured, "It makes me feel so distanced from you."
"Erik will not wear his mask. For you." Erik could hardly refuse her pleas for closeness; it was all he could ever want. We stood there, as Erik stroked Morgan's hair. There was a knock at the door; Erik called permission to enter, thinking it was Nadir. Nadir was a friend; what he saw mattered little.
Magnacord
Cautiously, I stepped into the bedroom. Erik seemed like an unstable bloke. He growled the moment he realized I had encroached on his territory, and worse still: his moment with his girlfriend. I had no idea why he would be upset; he had invited me in. That hardly mattered, though, as he stormed towards me.
"You!" he yelled, "How dare you come into Erik's house without permission? You have no right to be here!" Erik raged. I instinctively reached for my wand. O'Connell took notice and rushed between us, trying to push Erik back. Erik was thin, but he had an unnatural strength about him. I could tell Morgan was no match for him, but her touch alone seemed to slow him down. She began to whisper to him in French, and he stopped altogether. He stood panting heavily, looking as though he would like nothing more than to make me into a rug.
"Why are you here?" he asked. It was more like an accusation than a question. Morgan gave me a look that was begging me to apologize.
"I-I didn't mean to interrupt. I just thought I should say I'm sorry for shouting."
Erik let out a huff like an angry bull.
"Get out of Erik's house, now."
Morgan
I watched the professor leave. I would have to go apologize and hope that Magnacord wouldn't stir up any trouble.
"You made me a checklist, right?" Erik nodded handing me a little notepad from the table. I ran back to my house, relieved to find Magnacord waiting in the kitchen.
"I'm sorry for how Erik acted."
"It's fine. By the way, I may have eavesdropped a bit… what was it you two were referring to? Something about a freak show?" the professor asked. I sighed. Meddling in Erik's business was dangerous.
"Rule number two: Erik's secrets are Erik's secrets," I parroted. I walked away to get my trunk. The professor followed.
"Wait, he gives you rules?"
"Not many. And nowadays they are more like agreements. He had control over the entire Garnier, why not me as well?" I shrugged.
"Well, for starters, you're his girlfriend!"
"Yeah, but he gives Daroga rules too, it's not like we can just break them."
"Well, why not?" he asked. I looked at him like he was an absolute idiot.
"You saw the way he looked at you, right?" I asked
"So you're frightened by him?" he supplied. I sighed.
"No. I'm not frightened, at least, not for myself. Erik would never hurt me but he has no qualms when it comes to anyone else, even Nadir."
"He would hurt his own father?" Magnacord gawped.
"Well, technically Nadir isn't his father at all. It's really only a legal arrangement made to keep Erik out of an orphanage. They're more like friends, and a very odd friendship they have too. Daroga seems to enjoy doing things that are dangerous for his health. He credits me with saving his life on multiple occasions."
"Well I believe I am in your debt as well," Magnacord said. I only shrugged.
"Keeping people safe from Erik's temper is my job. It has been for years," I froze and my eyes fogged for a moment, a wave of guilt sweeping over me, "Not that I have always done it well enough." I shook myself and picked up the checklist. I opened my trunk and grabbed a pencil to mark off the items that were already there.
"Well, aren't you organized?" Magnacord remarked. I burst out laughing.
"Oh no, I'm not organized at all. Erik made this list for me," I explained.
Magnacord
"He made you a checklist?" I asked. The longer I spent in that house, the odder the couple became.
"Professor," Morgan sighed as she walked over to grab her makeup bag and root through it to make sure everything was there, "You must try and understand this. When I flung myself through time to land on the doorstep of the house by the lake, I was fifteen and Erik was around twenty-five. He naturally took on the responsibility of my well being and in return I became his friend as well as a mother figure."
"And a lover?" I offered.
"Yes, and that," she agreed, "We still perform those roles even now. Whether out of habit or necessity I'm not sure." She reloaded her makeup bag and tossed it in her trunk. She looked at her list again. "Oh, yeah, that would be important," she muttered, running to the bathroom next door. Morgan returned with several boxes of… feminine products.
"How do you forget something like that?" I muttered. Morgan looked at me mildly amused.
"I once lost the vacuum cleaner because I forgot that I had put it away. This actually isn't that bad." She continued to check off items and throw forgotten ones in the trunk. She put the list down with seeming finality. I glanced at the checklist and at the bottom of the list I saw something so shocking I said it out loud.
"'Those pajamas Erik so adores'?" I said, utterly shocked. Morgan looked up at me turning a bright shade of red before the color drained just as quickly. I became aware of the third presence in the room.
Erik
Erik loomed behind the man, fingering his Punjab.
"What Erik requests of his wife is none of your concern," he growled viciously.
"Wife!" the professor exclaimed.
"Yes," he replied coolly. Erik walked over to his wife and kissed her openly and passionately. He could feel the heat radiating from her face even as she kissed him back. Erik made a note to apologize for her embarrassment later. He released her and when Erik was sure that Morgan had once more found her footing, he moved to the dresser, opened the drawer, and removed a teal tank top with ruffle trim and, rather short, matching bottoms. Erik made his way to the trunk, carefully folding and placing the nightclothes into the trunk.
"Erik, listen," Magnacord had taken on tones that reminded Erik of Nadir, "I've looked at the magic records. The spells you've been practicing at home were not detected as underage. You are at least 17. Which means you're an adult and Morgan isn't. That has serious legal implications!"
"Actually, our marriage is completely legal as it was formed long before any such law was made," Erik pointed out, sitting down on the bed rather nonchalantly.
Morgan
I watched as Professor Magnacord considered this. Erik's hand close around my wrist as he gently pulled me to his lap. His arm looped around my waist a little tighter than usual. He was trying to be cool and intimidating, but on the inside he was in utter panic. I gently squeezed Erik's knee, trying to reassure him.
"Do her parents know?" the Professor asked at last. Erik only nodded.
"We told them after I was invited to Hogwarts. They weren't happy but… they accepted it." The professor just nodded.
"Perhaps we should get going?" he suggested.
"I kind of promised my mom that I would wait until they came back from my brothers football game. They actually made it to state finals this year. They should be home in about an hour or two."
"We better get settled then," Erik sighed. He reached into my trunk and pulled out the copy of "Dracula" we had been reading. He raised the novel and looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. I squealed in delight and the professor looked at me like I was insane. Erik only chuckled and led the way downstairs. He sat down in my father's chair, a very wide leather chair with an ottoman. I cheerfully slipped into my spot next to him. The professor sunk into the sofa across the room, clearly unsure of what to do. Erik opened the book and immediately we were all submerged into the story.
Erik threw and changed his voice with each character and even added sound effects. It was as if "Dracula" was taking place unseen within our house. Of all the voices Erik had created the count was my favorite. I had never been terribly frightened by the book until Erik had given it life. The count's voice was dark and sinister but so hypnotic that even as it repulsed you, you were driven to be closer to it.
I glanced at the Professor and he seemed completely in awe. I'm sure he thought this was magic. I glanced at Erik who seemed very amused with Magnacord's fascination. When he reached a stretch of pure narration he made Harker's voice rest on the professors shoulder.
Erik
Erik laughed as Richard jumped a good foot into the air, causing the spell to break. Erik felt a little guilty that he had destroyed the imaginary world he had created for Morgan until he realized we were both laughing as hard as the other.
"How the hell are you doing that?" the professor asked. Morgan only laughed harder.
"If Erik told you it would ruin the fun!" Erik laughed.
