-Bewilderment
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing, just some OC's and whatnot.
That Darned CharlotteA/N: Sorry for the lateness, and I'm also sorry for the lack of action in this chapter. But they're in hiding, what could I do. Plenty more, next time, I promise! Keep reading because this is an important chapter, though it is kind of transitional. Now onto the story.
In a comfortable flat in Blarney, Ireland, a pretty young blonde woman was making a pie. She was looking in the pantry for her can of apples ("Just as good as fresh!") when a loud "SNAP" made her wheel around to see James Potter and Lily Evans sitting on her counter, each holding a black, sleek suitcase.
"Heavens!" the woman cried, holding a hand over her heart.
"Cut it out, Charlotte," scolded Lily affectionately as she hopped off the counter to embrace Charlotte.
"Where's mine?" asked James as he, too, stepped forward, hugging the very young woman Lily had hated when they were all in the same year at Hogwarts.
"What have you two been doing now that you need to hide out at old Lottie's?" Charlotte ripped apart the packaging around her refrigerated piecrust.
"Apparently, we've been found out," sighed Lily.
"While we were eating dinner, I was almost killed, and we had to Apparate back to our hotel to get our luggage. Then we Apparated here. Why don't you finish the story, Lily," said James, idly watching Charlotte unfold her piecrust and smash it into the side of the pan.
Lily told the story briefly, dwelling on their quick decisions and how well the two assassins worked as a pair. Charlotte seemed impressed by her narrative, but focused on praising James for his fast thinking. Lily sat down, and felt out of place.
In the middle of "And your strong arms, James, that must've really helped," Lily stood up. She observed James's eyes, which were watching Charlotte's pie-making antics with interest. "Can I use your shower, Charlotte?" she asked the blonde.
"Sure," said their involuntary hostess, her eyes never leaving James's.
As soon as Lily reached the upstairs, she stamped her foot.
Lily fumed. Charlotte, Charlotte, Charlotte! All this time, she'd been constantly flirting with James. And while Lily told herself that she didn't want James's affection, it still annoyed her that Charlotte was capturing it. Just like she had at Hogwarts. Just like when she and James were a couple.
And plus, Charlotte was a natural blonde. Lily could never forgive that.
When she came back down with a towel wrapped turban-style around her head, she discovered the pie in the oven, looking a dark brown rather than golden. She ignored it, and wondered to herself where her hostess and work partner were.
A sound of moaning wafted over to Lily's ears, coming from Charlottes room. "Oh, James!" The voice was blanketed in laughter, and Lily shut her eyes against the hatred that threatened to consume her.
Suddenly the door burst open, as if someone had been leaning against the door and accidentally turned to handle, which was exactly what had happened. Charlotte tumbled out, landing on her back, which James remained standing. He'd barely caught himself, and stood a little bent over, his face merry. The two were laughing infectiously, but Lily was immune and stood there with her face frozen.
She felt herself trying to smile as the two looked up at her. Her lips were pushing themselves up, attempting to form a smile that felt fake.
"Oh…hey," said James.
Lily forced her smile wider.
"Should we order take-in for dinner? Do they have that here?" asked Lily, desperate to start a conversation.
Charlotte stood up and bustled into the kitchen. "My pie!" she exclaimed, opening the oven and sniffing the burnt pastry. "James! We forgot about the pie!"
"You both seemed too busy to remember a pie," called Lily while she walked toward the newly opened door. Then, in a lower tone, she said to James, "When can we get back on the road?" Charlotte moved about in the kitchen, clanking things loudly as she pretended not to hear their conversation.
"Well, have you done any work on the Haiduc?"
Lily glowered, resenting his patronizing tone. "It's not like I have just been sitting on my ass, getting fat," she retorted.
"It's only been three pounds!" he said, assuming that she referred to his recent weight gain.
"All I know is that I haven't gained anything—and that's if I haven't lost weight."
James turned his head toward Charlotte, and said, "The Haiduc wasn't happy with our last mistake."
Lily exhaled. "Like I didn't know that. But we don't work for him."
"Lily." James's voice was commanding. "The WIA are the ones that had to pay for our mistake. We're not up on the assassin list any more!"
"Oh, go and flirt with our hostess, James. But if you break her heart or she breaks yours, I will kill you for making this hideout more uncomfortable."
James smirked. "Does it occur to me that you're jealous?" The expression on his face was so smug, so self-centered that Lily wanted to deflate it.
"Of what? The way you are blowing our safety right now?" She glared so fiercely that, for a moment, James thought that fire would shoot out of her eyes.
"Go sulk, Lily. Get it over with."
"I have got to get away from you!"
Lily woke up from a deep sleep, breath slashing out of her lungs. In it, she'd seen the King of Magic's eyes narrowed to slits, staring her down as she adjusted her wand. This man, who'd nicknamed himself the Haiduc (Romanian for "Outlaw"), was one of the most powerful wizards of all time. During that mission, she and James had had the whole thing set up. She was to be the one holding the wand and saying the curse, while James was on the lookout.
Then, a slim young woman Apparated into the hall just as Lily had begun to say the curse. James pushed at her wand-holding arm to stop her from killing this woman, causing the spell to ricochet off the wall, leaving a hole of chipped tile before it settled on an adjacent chair. The chair blew up, sending debris flying and causing a group of guards to run hurriedly around their king, the outlaw.
Their cover was blown.
The King of Magic had them locked up. They escaped with the help of an insider, and moved on in their lives as much as they could. They were severely punished by the WIA. And Lily had to acknowledge that they deserved it because they'd failed.
She never did forget, however, how life in captivity felt. She thought she'd been going crazy with the constant closed walls and the interrogations that were the dominance of her days. It wasn't fair that James had had an easier time of it (as usual) just because he was male. Males always seemed to be able to bond their way out of this horrible trauma, but Lily had her body degraded by slimy comments as she was tickled and cast spells upon. The whole thing was unforgivable. She cursed the wizarding world for coming up with such painful ways of torturing.
Still, the dream had scared her, mostly because of how life-like it had seemed. True to life as well. Hopefully, they could carry on their present mission without the interruption from such petty distractions as Charlotte—then her memory wouldn't have to struggle to adapt to its lack of action by giving her nightmares.
Pshh! thought Lily crossly as she tugged the covers closer around her face. James was just a skirt chaser, which was why he was willing to sacrifice their lives for some floozy. Assassins had to think of themselves. Why wasn't he following that unwritten law?
Lily awoke next morning to a gray day, which she had come to expect at Charlotte's place. She and James met on their way to use the bathroom, where she whispered, "When can we get back to our mission?"
James understood her hidden question, and said, "I think you ought to be nicer to Charlotte. I mean, she saved our lives. Suck up whatever petty contention you have. This is a matter of life or death."
Sure, James, thought Lily as she swept past him brush her teeth first. You have no bloody idea. How can I respect someone who is a total slag! She wouldn't have a job without sleeping her way to the top. She turned on the cold-water tap and irritably jammed her toothbrush under it. She should probably get checked for those sex diseases they talk about.
After Lily successfully closed him out of the bathroom, James shook his head. That woman was blind to so many things.
A/N: Thanks so much to everyone for reviews! I love it so much! And I really, truly am sorry for the wait. Thanks to twighunter, Q.O.S., pimpleface, fallen flower, Zombie girl, xxscratch thatxx, and happiness in a bottle. Please review again and next time I'll update faster. Personalized reply: Telwyn Dubois: this may not be the clinching chapter. Wait for the next one to make up your mind, because it'll be better. Is the dialogue better?
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