He woke with a start, sitting straight up in bed and opening his eyes. The sheets clinging to the thin layer of sweat on his legs. His blue eyes struggled to focus in the dark room. A dark and unfamiliar room. Immediately, his hand reached for his wand, reaching over to his left and groping at the space where his wand usually was. When his hand came back empty, sheer panic started to set in.
His wand was missing.
Hands moving all over the end table, they came up empty still. His hands moved to the bed, sliding to the cool side of the pillow and then to the other pillow. The more distance he covered and didn't feel his wand, the more the panic grew. Reaching off the bed and to the floor, running his hands along the cool surface of the floor. His fingers brushed against something soft. The rub. Pulling back suddenly, he sat up straight again.
The panic falling away as suddenly as it had come.
His wand.
He'd broken it.
He had no magic.
Theodore Nott slouched forward, elbows falling to the bedsheets and heels of his hands pressing into his eyes. Sweat dripped from his hair to the sheet beneath him. His breathing slowed. Heart rate decreasing and chest rising and falling slower. He stayed like this for a moment, muscles in his back stretching.
He'd had that dream again. The one that had plagued him since he had left home. He remembered the first night he'd had it. He'd stayed in a cheap, run-down, muggle hotel with roaches. He'd fallen asleep on top of the faded sheets only to wake up in a cold sweat hours later. Afterward, he was unable to go back to sleep. That was the first night he'd had it. Since then, it had come to him every so often; waking him from whatever sleep that he had managed to find.
He exhaled loudly, straightening and swing his feet onto the floor. The cool wood sent a chill through his body as he stood. He reached over and turned on the small lamp on the bedside table, the dim light chasing the shadows into the corners.
Shower.
He moved to the en-suite bathroom, turning on that light as well. Theodore glanced at his reflection in the mirror. Dark circles formed under his blue eyes, making them seem bluer. There was a stubble on his chin, dark brown. He looked so unkempt. Turning away from his reflection, he turned on the shower. Stripping off the boxers he'd slept in and stepped in.
The hot water poured over him, soaking his hair and his skin. Washing away the sweat, the remnants of the dream that had awoken him.
Standing the near the shore was peaceful. The breeze off the ocean was soothing. The boy leaned his elbows on the railing in front of him. Blue eyes looking out over the dark water, watching the white foam wash onto the shore. The waves breaking softly.
Muggles were running on the sand, struggling. He shook his head, watching one man who was struggling more than others. He'd run down the stairs from the concrete walkway that Theodore was standing on, and to the sand, where he got all of two yards before he had to stop and place his hands on his knees. Pathetic.
The sun started to rise over the horizon, brightening the shore. Moving away from the railing, he started down the walkway along the shore. More muggles were out. He caught bits of their conversations. Trivial things, really. One girl and her boyfriend were fighting, she was telling another girl all about it. Another man was talking about rent. Trivial. They had no idea how close their whole world had come to being destroyed. Pathetic.
"Oi."
Theodore stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder almost reluctantly. The man from the shop. The one that had placed his heavy hand on his shoulder. He turned his gaze forward and continued down the path. Perhaps if he ignored him, he would go away. He put a little more gusto in his step, as he moved away from the muggle with the disappearing hairline. The man called out to him once more and then Theodore didn't hear the man's voice again.
The crowd thickened on the walkway. More runners had appeared, dodging in and out of the crowds. Some muggles would step out of the way, Theodore on the other hand, stood his ground, not altering his path in the slightest as he walked.
It was then that he saw it. A flash of copper came into view. As soon as he noticed it, it disappeared again. He blamed it on is sleep deprived state. However, when it appeared again, he didn't ignore it. Darting in and out of the crowd. Something familiar about the copper color. As he walked, his eyes followed the color. Something familiar about it. He couldn't place it. Not until it was right on top of him.
Literally.
In his efforts to place where he knew the familiar color from, he hadn't really noticed that it had moved into his direct path.
Theodore stopped as the copper color ran directly into him. Colliding with him with such force that he stumbled backward. The wizard fell back to the pavement, hands hitting the pavement to keep from harming himself further.
"Sorry."
That voice.
Theo opened his eyes looking up at the person who had assaulted him. Freckles, ones that played across that delicate nose. The copper hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, exposing the slightly pointed ears.
The girl from the café and the train.
One of her legs was over his and her hand was pressed to his chest, she'd used him to stop her fall. He grimaced. Her palm. Her muggle palm, resting on his chest. Touching him. Theodore pulled away from her awkwardly, because of the position he was in. Her hand fell to the ground, eliciting a grunt of pain from her as it did. Her eyes opened as she sat back on her haunches and rubbed her hands together. "Oh." Her green eyes settled on him. "It's you." She moved to stand. He noted the tear in her pants at her knee. "I would help you, but I wouldn't want to offer you any of my charity."
Theodore scoffed as he pushed himself up, brushing his hands on his pants as he did. He could see little beads of sweat on her forehead and the faint red color on her skin.
"Is it too charitable of me to ask if you are alright?" she questioned.
He watched her, trying to read her. While her tone had a hard edge to it, her eyes didn't, almost as if she were teasing him. "I'm fine."
She shrugged, rubbing her shoulder. "I'm fine as well. In case it was of any concern to you."
"It wasn't."
Theodore moved around her and continued away from her. Leaving her standing on the walkway, her green eyes watching his retreating form.
Theodore brought the mug to his lips taking a sip of the beverage inside. Sputtering, he promptly removed the cup from his mouth and poured the contents down the drain. It was awful. He turned his icy eyes towards the coffee maker on his kitchen counter as well as to the mess that he had created in the past half an hour.
This should not be a hard task.
House elves did it.
Muggles did it.
And yet, he could not.
Grunting in frustration, he reached out and knocked the coffee maker to the floor. The glass pot shattered as it hit the floor, pieces scattering across the tile. He frowned at the new mess that he had created. Repairo. That would have made everything much easier. Instead, he knelt to start picking up the pieces of glass. He'd managed to pick up a few pieces before one cut him. "Shit," he hissed, dropping the glass on the floor again. He stood, holding his hand under the water. His blood washing down the drain.
After the water ran clear, he left the kitchen and the mess and grabbed his coat. He had a desire for coffee and he could not provide it for himself. He couldn't make a damn cup of coffee and he was a bloody wizard. The thought disgusted him. He couldn't do something that muggles could do.
He stopped.
The Corner Café.
He glanced in the window and there it was. Copper colored hair standing behind the counter. Lazily, leaning on the counter flipping through a book. Her cheek was pressed to her fist as her eyes scanned over the pages.
Twice in one day.
Groaning internally, he pushed the door open. She flipped the book shut quickly and stood up straight as the bell tinkled over the door. Her hurry to look as if she weren't just reading a book on the job amused him. "Welcome to the…" She frowned, looking up at him. "You again."
"Coffee, black," he ordered moving to the table that he had sat at when he came the first time. The one by the window.
By the time he sat down, she was placing a cup in front of him. "Welcome."
She left him with his drink and went back to the counter, where she flipped the book open. She took her original position and started to read again. Theodore's eyes watched her for a moment but then turned his gaze to the street.
"It's two pounds," she told him suddenly, breaking the silence. He looked at her reflection in the window. She didn't look up at him as she spoke, only turned the page of her book. "When you're ready to pay, you can just leave it on the table."
He nodded, the cup cradled in his hands.
Theodore exhaled slowly, blowing the steam over the coffee towards the window. Sitting at this intersection, he could see up the four streets that he had decided were the most traveled in this city. The one that ran parallel to the shop had the north station on it. The one that ran right in front of the window went straight to the shore. Everyone that came to the city he could see, in theory.
He placed his cup down, seeing it was empty and pushed it to the side. His eyes stayed on the street, watching. She appeared next to him, pouring more coffee into the cup. "Refills are free, but if you want to pay it's just another 2 pounds."
"Right."
From this spot, it was easier to breathe. Less of a weight on his shoulders. He put that on the fact that he could see everything, well what he considered everything. He pulled five pounds from his pocket and placed it by the empty cup, but didn't move.
The girl behind the counter had stopped reading and was humming again as she wiped down the counter. It was different from the first time he'd heard her humming when he came a few weeks ago. It was different but oddly familiar. His ears twitched as he tried to hear what tune she was humming. He glanced over at her, watching as she moved behind the counter.
She glanced up, her green eyes meeting his blue ones. "Refill?" she questioned as she reached over to grab the coffee pot.
"No," he said standing suddenly.
"Change?" she asked.
"No." She nodded, returning to her humming and her wiping of the counter. Theo approached the door. "That song," he mumbled under his breath. "What are you humming?"
He'd struck up a conversation with a muggle. He'd actually asked her, this muggle girl, a question. He blamed it on the fact that he had not had a conversation with someone in about a month. He'd stooped to asking a muggle a question. The realization hit him hard, but he didn't leave.
"Clair de Lune," she answered. "Are we asking questions now?"
"No," he told her. "I just wanted to know the name of the song."
"What is your name, sir?" she questioned.
He looked over at her, green eyes expectant. He placed his hand on the knob and twisted it, pushing the door open.
"I've told you the name of the song, you could at least tell me your name," she countered.
"Theodore," he mumbled under his breath before he could stop himself.
"Olivia," she introduced as he walked out of the door, letting it shut behind him.
He had to get away from the café. No matter how much he craved a good conversation, something to challenge his intellect, he would not stoop so low as to start a conversation with a muggle. He shook his head, hands pressed into his pockets. He frowned deeply as he walked home.
He was not here to become friends with these muggles. He was here to isolate himself from the wizarding world, not to become like them.
A/N: Ah, we finally meet the mystery girl! Fun fact: the reason that we haven't really met her was because she didn't have a name until this chapter. Thank you for the reviews and follows. Leave me a review and let me know what you think! I love reviews!
Also, Happy Valentine's Day!
~ Nikki
