DISCLAIMER: characters (except OCs) are the property of J. K. Rowling.
"Is this your card?"
Esther's eyes grew wide, as she picked the card from Bill's hand and hopped back to show it to her parents, who smiled back at her, impressed as she was. He chuckled, leaned back against the old column and reshuffled the pack, contemplating his surroundings.
Last he counted, fifteen people joined at the central portion of the city block he first discovered Esther in. The core was an open courtyard that all outer buildings shared backdoors to. A peaceful fountain, long tables and benches, and improvised scattered lamps still stood; a testament to the people's resilience and unity.
While Bill was not enthusiastic about being delayed, and watching the families gather made him terribly homesick, he was still glad to be there. Of course, Esther's parents simply did not give him a choice after they heard of the morning incident; he was to stay, dine and rest. No excuses.
Plus, Bill had to give it to them: the stew and rice he ate earlier was absolutely perfect.
(Back at The Burrow, for no reason she could explain, Molly Weasley walked near the family clock, saw Bill's hand still in "travelling", and huffed indignantly, supervising her own dinner preparations with renewed vitality)
"So you're a wizard, then."
He looked up, eyes a little wider than he willed them to be. Shadi (Esther's neighbour, he learned earlier that day) sat across from Bill, holding a plate of what looked to him like a pomegranate cheesecake slice.
"What, this?" he held the pack of cards up, laughing dismissively. "I've always liked sleight-of-hand tricks; hardly makes me a wizard, does it?"
Interesting choice of word, though.
She finished a bite of her dessert. "It does to my little star, apparently," she said, nodding in Esther's direction, which beamed at them. "That's what her name means: star," Shadi resumed.
"It suits her," he mused out loud, which brought back a question he still had to ask his current company. "Much like William, apparently, suits me. Would you be kind enough to explain?"
Another bite, an elusive grin. "Here's some etymology for you: William is the English form of the German Wilhelm. Wilhelm, in turn, combines wille and helm, which translates to something along the lines of desire to protect, or perhaps vehement protector. So you see, William," she added a note of cheek to his name this time, "you really couldn't help coming to Esther's rescue this morning."
"Clearly," he laughed, appreciative of the random bit of knowledge. He made a mental note to search a few names' meanings, while he riffle-shuffled the cards absent-mindedly.
"That's such a lost art," she lamented. "Those Self-Shuffling cards have really taken over the market. No more dealers in family games… shame."
He was halfway through another shuffle when his shock made the cards fly everywhere, and Shadi hid her laugh behind her fork, mouth still half-full.
"Wait. Are you – have you been -?"
"We, as a community, really should come up with a clever handshake of sorts, shouldn't we?" she whispered, not meaning to draw any more attention after her laughter caused most of her neighbours to look their way. All shrugged, and some smiled. Ah, youth.
"Then again, what golden opportunities to prank other witches and wizards we'd miss, right?" he quipped.
"Right you are." Her eyes sparkled. "I hope you'll forgive me."
"No harm, no foul. But when did…?"
"For some reason, I suspected when Esther told me what happened at the abandoned building. And – please don't take this as an insult, but there was just… something about the way you carry yourself."
Bill nodded; he had felt the same about Shadi, an inexplicable pull. The invisible links of magic, perhaps?
"I was only positive when I convinced Esther to let me take a look at her wounds to see if she needed clean bandages. No ordinary medicine works that fast."
"Pays to be cautious," he said.
"Sometimes."
She watched the courtyard silently, waiting for a moment when the few remaining people weren't looking their way. Then, in a swift motion, she drew a wand from her sleeve, waved it deftly, and hid it again as the cards flew back to Bill's hands in perfect order.
"Sometimes you just have a small window of opportunity to throw caution to the wind," she whispered, eyes lighting up again.
Bill couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head.
"Two of my brothers would adore you."
Shadi settled the empty plate next to her. "Only the two? I'm sure I'd enjoy the adoration, regardless. Now," she said, resting her head back and appraising the young man before her. "I know you have some questions, as I have some of my own. Shall we?"
He mimicked her stance, putting aside the pack of cards he borrowed from Esther's father.
"You're about my age, and speaks English like a native, but didn't go to Hogwarts. I would remember you."
A grin. "I suppose you would, but not as a first or second-year. My parents moved a lot, and they didn't want me to feel isolated – which was rather silly, considering the amount of time I spent in school and not with them, anyway. I studied at Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Koldovstoretz."
"Impressive!"
"Less than you would believe," she said, playing with the tips of her fingers.
"Gypsy life isn't all that's supposed to be?"
"Gypsies always give me the impression that they move as they see fit. I had to see if I'd fit after I had already moved."
Bill didn't have to know Legilimency to know when to drop a touchy subject.
"Which brings us to the Middle East," she said, raising her arms and turning slightly left and right to indicate their whereabouts. "Tell me, William Weasley: why am I here?"
"Well, I – wait. Why are you here!?"
Bill was spared laughter due to his befuddled face when Esther came to give Shadi a "good night" hug; her family was turning in for the night. It was endearing, how they acted so much like sisters; Bill was contemplating asking Shadi if she had any siblings of her own when he was caught with a hug of his own. He watched slightly over her head as both Esther's parents looked from Bill to Shadi with approving glances.
His cheeks matched his hair for a brief moment.
He noticed how Shadi watched gingerly as the family disappeared behind double doors, the little girl looking over her shoulder the entire way.
"Well, now that we're alone," she whispered, loading the words with conspiracy, "my head can breathe a little. I know they probably wouldn't mind, but I figured I should be respectful of – at least some – local ways while I'm here."
She removed the shawl, pulling apart an elaborate knot to allow the long, dark hair to fall. Shadi closed her eyes, oblivious to Bill's presence, breathing in the night. She looked up at the stars, easily visible through the courtyard, now with far less lights on, and smiled.
Only then he noticed the tattoos; four, no, three lines of verses spiraling around her neck, written in glyphs and symbols he couldn't quite discern. It was almost as if the light of the moon made then shine over her skin.
"Well, I don't know why you're here, Shadi, but it sure looks like you want to be," he said before he could help it.
And he was rewarded with her most beautiful smile. "Very good. Isn't that the point, really?"
He could only nod.
She shifted, calmly placing a finger in front of her lips in contemplation. "And why do you want to be here, William Weasley?"
For a moment, Bill was completely silent. Then…
"Alamut."
Under the night sky, her benign features could mean pity of confusion. Probably both.
"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're sort on the wrong side of the country."
Bill reached for the pack of cards and drew the first from the top.
"Oh, I know where the fortress is now," he said, showing it to her: ace of spades.
"What I'm really looking for," he continued, flipping the card between his fingers, "is the foundation from which it was moved."
When she looked again, it was an ace of diamonds.
"I want the Undercity."
AUTHOR NOTES: ... have a great Friday? Leave a review?
(I got nothing today, really)
Thanks for reading!