"Watch out! Crazy animal coming through!"
Oliver ducked just in time. "Whoa! Phoebe, be careful!"
Phoebe chattered loudly as she passed by, almost as if she were laughing, then ran straight into Willow's flying form. She landed flat on her back, Fidget cautiously peeping out of his fanny pack. Willow giggled and landed next to Phoebe, who crossed her arms, grumbling at her caretaker.
"Aw, what's the matter? Can you not outrun a hawk?"
Phoebe grunted. She threw a stray soccer ball at Willow, who caught it with surprising agility.
"Ha! I've figured that one out, too, you silly girl!" Willow said triumphantly. "Your little tricks don't work on me anymore!" Phoebe made a face. "No, don't go pouting on me! I won fair an square! Even you know that!"
Phoebe rolled her eyes and sauntered moodily down the hallway into the greenhouse. Willow and Oliver followed her. The greenhouse still retained its original fresh, sweet, and soothing scent, despite the amount of magical creatures now occupying the space. Griffin perked his head up from where he was sleeping. He blinked groggily a few times, then yawned and flopped back onto the ground. V, Patch, and Felicity were all curled up next to his stomach. Phoebe stomped over and laid herself across Griffin's flank. She quickly fell asleep, even though she was in one of her moods.
Willow checked her watch. It read 6:13am. No wonder they were still so sleepy. Unlike her and the rest of her family, the magical creatures were not exactly morning people. Willow sighed. She was going to miss them while they were in Uganda, but they were going to be well-taken care of by the best in the magizoological field: Newt Scamander. He had agreed to take them back to his enormous research facility in order to make sure they were all healthy as could be- and to enjoy their company, of course. Willow's dad had told her plenty of stories about the old man simply spending an entire day with groups of magical creatures just to have fun. He claimed to be studying their behavior the whole time, but he was Newt Scamander! He already knew exactly what every magical creature would behave like, down to the most complicated of them all. Newt was simply going to play with her creatures all day long, and when she thought about it, that was almost a vacation in itself for her creatures, too.
"Hey, Willow? You're glowing," Oliver whispered.
Willow glanced down to see all of her veins lighting up in that warm, honey colour that her hands glowed with while they were healing someone. She groaned. "Great, my powers are at it again." Oliver appeared completely lost. "Oh, sorry. I should explain. Cebba miscounted the amount of new powers I would receive in my last power-up. Instead of one, I got two, possibly three. One of them is this glowy thing that happens whenever I'm near something that is possibly dangerous- you know, a physical extension of my mental sixth sense. It's kind of annoying, because it's draining. Another one that might be happening is piggybacking off the sixth sense: my powers keep reacting on their own to perceived danger. Thankfully, not too much around my magical creatures, as I love them too much for the danger to cross that threshold, but around anything I'm even wary of, they lash out to defend me. It's…kind of dark. I'm hoping to drop those powers. The third one- okay, I'm sorry, but it's the coolest thing ever. Watch this!"
Willow took off at a dead sprint at a tree. Right before she ran into it, her eyes flicked to another, and she pulsed her powers. Willow suddenly found herself tumbling out of the other tree, slightly disoriented but otherwise fine. Oliver ran to her side.
"Whoa! How did you do that?" he squealed.
"I have absolutely no idea, but Cebba showed it to me a few weeks ago, and I've been trying to get better at it ever since," Willow explained. "It's super exhausting every time I do it, but it gets better each time, little by little. I don't even get a headache afterwards anymore!"
"Wait, can you literally travel from any tree in the world to any tree in the world?" Oliver gasped.
"Yeah, as long as I won't drain all of its energy in the process, either," Willow said. "You see, Cebba warned me about doing it too many times to the same tree, because it takes an equal amount of energy for me as it does for them to launch me to the next one. I guess it kind of makes sure the laws of Muggle science aren't completely and utterly ignored?"
Oliver shrugged. "I gave up on trying to make sense of the way they combine the moment I stepped into Hogsmeade Station." His eyes suddenly lit up. "Wait a second, can you take people with you when you- what is it called?"
"I call it tree traveling, but it's whatever you want it to be. And yes, Cebba said I could when I get good enough at it, since I'd pass out immediately if I tried it now. It's like Apparation, in a way."
"That's so cool!" Oliver exclaimed.
"I know, right?" Willow said. She checked her watch. "Ay dios mio! We're going to be late for our flight if we don't finish packing soon! Let's go, quick!"
Willow and Oliver ran through the house at record speed. They skidded to a stop in Willow's room and quickly threw the last of their cosmetic items into their bags, which were already large enough, as they were going to be gone for more than a week. At the last second, Willow decided to leave her camera at home, especially because Carlos would force her into enough photos throughout the vacation. She and Oliver finished up and made their way downstairs. They found their family already gathered in the front hall, ready to go. The door had been fixed good as new since Oliver's biological grandparents busted it down. Willow was overjoyed that they hadn't gotten the best of anyone. Oliver was her brother, whether anyone liked it or not. He was part of the family now.
"Are we all ready to g- ?" Carlos began.
Suddenly, a figured stumbled out of the fireplace, sending a ploom of dust and soot into the air. She coughed a few times, dusting herself off.
"That stupid bi- " She suddenly saw the Guerreros standing in their doorway and coughed again to cover up the curse word. "Oh, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something. I can go."
"Paige?" Willow squeaked.
The older girl smirked. "Hi. I think your grand entrances are rubbing off on me."
Willow scoffed. "You- I do not make grand entrances! You're the one that taught me those!"
Paige rolled her eyes playfully. "Anyway, it looks like you guys are going somewhere, so I can just go back home."
"No, no, you're more than welcome to come with us," Tío Cisco offered. "You look like you need more than just a vacation, no offense to your appearance."
Paige smiled. "Yeah, covered in soot isn't exactly my look. No offense taken. Are you sure you want me tagging along, though?"
"Heavens yes!" Abuela said quickly. "Come, I'll help you pack a bag. We've got plenty of extra clothing for guests upstairs. And don't bother getting that money out of your pocket. We've got enough for two extra guests." Abuela set down her bags, and as she passed by Willow, she whispered, "Plus, I'll get a first look at my future daughter-in-law."
Willow was taken way off guard. "What- Abuela!"
Her grandmother simply chuckled to herself and took a very grateful Paige upstairs to gather some belongings. Willow felt like a pair of eyes were on her back and turned around to find the rest of her family staring at her.
"What?" she said.
"Oh, you know…" Carlos trailed off, winking at Willow and grinning from ear to ear.
"Are you sure she can't propose now?" Tío Leonel asked.
Willow's mouth dropped open. "Guys! Stop it! Don't you dare do this to me the whole vacation!"
Soon, Abuela and Paige returned from upstairs. They all piled into the car and headed off to the airport. Willow, Paige, and Oliver were all in the third row. Paige was already smirking at a silent thought.
"What is it?" Willow asked.
"Your grandmother is the most amazing human being on the planet," she replied.
Willow smiled. "Yeah, I've heard that from multiple sources. So what happened that you came flying through our fireplace during your least favourite part of day, morning?"
Paige groaned. "My parents wanted me desperately for an interview for the public, as they were really concerned about not having seen me with them in years. I refused, so they sent out bounty hunters, only one of which even found me, and I didn't let him catch me. Eventually they called the police and at least five of them came at me. I didn't feel like going to jail, so I went without a fight, annoyingly enough. Apparently, they paid a boatload of money to keep the whole ordeal quiet. Well, I did their stupid interview, but I refused to behave how they wanted me to, and when they asked me questions, I told them to shove it up their arse- live. My 'mum' decided to take me off camera, attempt to hit me, then went back like everything was fine, that I was just going through a 'teenage phase'. I of course didn't let her touch me, stormed back onto the camera, and told the world exactly what they did to me. I'm pretty sure it's fifty-fifty on whether anyone believed me or not, but needless to say, they've been suspended from multiple positions, events, and outings in general while there's an investigation going on. That stupid woman went crazy and attacked me afterwards, so I pulled my wand on her and managed to get to the fireplace. I didn't know where I was going. My first thought must have been here, because that's where I ended up."
Oliver was grinning quietly beside Willow. Paige noticed and said, "Oh, don't go turning that into some romantic, mushy-gushy crap. You know that's not how I operate."
"Then be careful around my family, because they turn everything they possibly can into a romantic situation just to embarrass me," Willow warned.
Paige smirked. "I love them even more. Now there's hundreds of new ways to embarrass you."
Willow scoffed. "Do that and you'll see exactly how many extra powers I've got."
"I'm looking forward to it."
Willow exasperatedly gave up. They arrived at the airport shortly after. The parking lot seemed bigger than Willow remembered. They ended up parking in the middle, and she felt like she was in the center of a vast sea of motor vehicles. There were cars, trucks, and buses shining in the sun as far as the eye could see. The family began walking towards the nearest shuttle to the entrance and sat down on one of the benches in the shade. Oliver and Paige stared around with equally shocked expressions. They'd never been to an airport before. Willow hoped their first experience wouldn't be horrible.
The bus arrived five minutes later. Willow's uncles loaded all their luggage into the lower compartments, and they shot off towards the entrance. They arrived within minutes and stepped back out into the hot sun to retrieve their luggage. Abuelo gave the bus driver a hefty tip and a wink, then disappeared inside of the airport. Paige whispered something to Oliver about wishing she had the money to be able to do that. They stepped inside the Heathrow Airport for the first time, and their jaws dropped.
The vaulted ceilings shone far over their heads, the sunlight reflecting off the glass. Their shoes clicked and squeaked on the freshly-cleaned tile floor. There were a handful of people hugging each other hello or goodbye, though there were more people laughing in delight of finding their loved ones than crying while they walked away. Hundreds of other people wandered around, waiting for family, taking a rest on benches, gathering all their bags for check-in and security, and much else. The Guerreros, however, being all set, went straight into the security line. They hide their wands within Carlos's charmed long-sleeve shirt. Oliver and Paige looked on with confused expressions.
"I thought there was barely any security on airlines?" Paige said.
"Well, people have attempted to confiscate my uncles' wands before because Tío Cisco decided to do something stupid and the Muggles suspected him," Willow whispered. "We just play it safe now."
Paige nodded. "He sounds like Fred. Recklessly mischievous."
Willow grinned. "He kind of does, doesn't he?"
They easily passed through the British Airline security, checked in their bags, then headed to Terminal 1. Their flight was less than an hour away. They all piled their carry-on luggage onto some of the chairs, left Abuelo in charge of them, and went on to explore the nearest shops. Willow, of course, gravitated directly towards the snacks, which were all completely overpriced. She resigned herself to simply looking at them with Oliver and Paige. After nearly twenty minutes of salivating over candies and chips galore, Carlos found her and gently guided her away. The plane began boarding after another ten minutes, and they were called for the second group. Willow always respected her family for never flying first class, even though they could afford it. Although it wasn't exactly flaunting their money, she felt like first class would be an incidental showing-off of their status, which would draw unwanted attention to them. The real flying experience came from sitting with the rest of the people in the main part of the plane.
Willow's family had managed to get tickets for the adults to sit in a single row near the wing of the plane while the three children sat in the middle row behind them. The plane was much larger than the last one Willow had been in, as it was traveling to another continent entirely. There were three columns, the outside ones with two seats in each and the middle one with three seats. Willow placed her carry-on bag underneath her seat, Oliver and Paige following her example. More and more people began to pour onto the plane and find their seats. Paige glanced out the window to her left and raised her eyebrows.
"Wow. That's...an enormous piece of metal," she commented. "I never thought I'd be sitting in one of these. My 'mum' threatened to make me stay home every time they traveled if I misbehaved, and of course I did, so I missed out."
"A plane hasn't crashed in years, right?" Oliver asked.
Willow laughed. "No, Oliver, planes are perfectly safe. There is pretty much a one-in-a-million chance that something could malfunction to that degree. Besides, we've got my family here with a full arsenal of spells to save us. And don't forget that I never hesitate to shape-shift to save a life or two."
Oliver smiled. "This should be fun, then, right?"
"Yes, it's always fun. Just wait until takeoff and landing. You're going to love it."
As if on cue, the captain announced over the loudspeaker that they would be taking off. Everyone fastened their seat belts (Oliver did so with help from Willow) and adjusted their seats to the normal upright positions. The plane's engine roared to life, and slowly, they began rolling towards their portion of the runway. Oliver smiled and tapped his feet. They waited for a few minutes for the runway to clear, then, accompanied by the rocket-like sound of the thrusters, the plane lurched forward and sprinted with the speed of a bullet towards the opposite end of the airfield. Everyone was pinned to the back of their seat. The pressure built in Willow's skull, but it was more exhilarating than concerning. Her legs felt like jelly. The deafening thunder of the thrusters increased. Finally, at long last, the nose of the plane tipped upwards. The pressure dropped straight into Willow's stomach, and with a slight jerk, the plane lifted off the ground and soared into the sky. Oliver's eyes were wide with excitement. He glanced to his side to see the city of London growing smaller and smaller until the cars appeared as tiny ants. The top of the plane grazed the clouds as it leveled out, and people began to unbuckle their seat belts shortly after. The sudden release of pressure made Willow light-headed, but she found it rather refreshing, wishing she got to feel that wonderful sequence of sensations every day.
"I may or may not be interested in becoming a pilot now," Paige said.
Willow grinned. "It's a pretty cool job. You're a little more self-assured when you have magic on your side, too. There should probably be a few more wizarding pilots."
"I'll happily add to that number, then."
The hours passed slowly on the plane ride. A few times throughout the journey, the flight attendants passed out drinks and snacks, but Willow's stomach still grumbled. She refused to eat the pretzels and forced Oliver to eat every last one. Abuela nodded approvingly from her position to their right. Paige stumbled across some blank paper that was probably left by the flight before and grabbed a pencil. She immediately began to sketch the plane as she remembered it from the view offered by the boarding area. The wings, the tail, the nose, and the body of the plane slowly came to life. Willow watched, entranced, as Paige expertly detailed the lettering and windows on the side. When she was finished, Paige finally noticed her audience.
"Oh, um...I can- well, sort of- draw. I tried it two years ago and I guess I kind of liked it. Quidditch is still better, but it's a nice past time. I'm not a great drawer or anything, though I would like to say that I'm not exactly a novice, either."
"That's better than I could ever do!" Willow exclaimed. "Look at the precision on the shape of its wings! And the tail pieces- how did you make the point of view so perfect with them?"
"It's all about angle, see," Paige explained, moving the picture around. "If this were a three-dimensional, tangible piece of artwork, you could move it around and see the differences for yourself. Since it's not, you have to imagine how you saw it from where you were standing, then draw it from the best similar angle you can to capture the image without making it hard to interpret. It's a hard concept until you get the hang of it."
"You've certainly got it down," Willow commented, taking in the perfection of the drawing. "Do you ever want to show off your art to the world?"
Paige shrugged. "Nah, I'm good. I'm not interested in becoming that good that rich people would come to my galleries and fight over exactly what my drawings are attempting to represent. Can you imagine how painful that would be to watch? No, I'm good. I've had enough of nasally idiots for a lifetime."
"Good thing we're not like that, then," Willow said.
"Yeah, I would hate to hate you. You're kind of the only fluent Spanish-speaker I know, and I can't live without that for too long. I need my daily dose of different to get rid of- pretty much everything else, now that I think about it."
"Bueno, no me voy a cambiar por nadie."
"Good...not change...anyone?" Paige attempted to translate.
Willow nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, it means I'm not going to change for anyone!"
Paige scoffed. "That's what I said."
Willow rolled her eyes. "You almost got the grammar with it. Where did you learn that, anyway? I thought you only knew what bien and chica meant, last time I checked."
"Spanish dictionaries? Another Spanish-speaking friend? I could have picked it up from anywhere, really."
"Oh, so now we're getting all mysterious. I see. Well, un día de estos, voy a averiguar cómo lo hiciste."
"Don't ask me to figure that one out. Please."
Willow laughed. "I won't. I have room to be mysterious now too, don't I?"
Paige smirked. "Don't push your luck."
Willow heard a stifled chuckle next to her and turned around to find Oliver covering his mouth with his hand, face blushing slightly. He was trying so hard not to laugh it was almost pitiful. On either side of them, Willow realized her family was peering at the two of them, giggling and making heart signs. She groaned and sunk down in her seat. Carlos winked at her, her uncles whispered something to each other, and Abuela silently asked in Spanish if she was sure she couldn't arrange a wedding while on vacation (she might die tomorrow, for all she knew!). Willow mouthed for them to screw off in Spanish, and they begrudgingly went back to their previous entertainment. Oliver couldn't help it anymore and giggled uncontrollably. Willow sank further down into her seat and covered her face.
"I love your family," Paige whispered.
"Of course you do."
Thankfully, not much longer after that, they began their descent. Everyone buckled their seat belts. Willow looked out the window to see the plane circling a large, bustling airport amid a semi-dry landscape. They finally departed from the clouds and the pressure rose once more. The familiar sensation of pressure working its way through Willow's stomach excited her senses. Her legs turned to jelly once again. Oliver watched with wide eyes as the plane neared the runway at a super fast speed. He buried his face in his hands, then peeked out once more. The plane landed with a jolt, sending the pressure flying into Willow's chest. She smiled when the brakes began to rein in the massive speed and momentum of the plane. They finally slowed to a mere walking pace, then sauntered to a single gate. Minutes later, the Guerreros were entering the Cairo International Airport, carry-ons in hand. They wound their way through the massive crowds of people and found their next gate. There was still a three-hour layover, however, so the adults waited with the baggage while Tío Cisco and Tío Leonel accompanied Paige, Oliver, and Willow to find some lunch. They settled down at a Mediterranean buffet to eat until their hearts were content.
"My God, Willow, is that really your third plate already?" Tío Leonel asked.
"Yeah," she replied through a mouthful of food. "I'm not a fan of pretzels in general, let alone airline pretzels. I'm starving. Are you still stuck on your first plate?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Tío Cisco replied. "I feel old."
"Now, don't go feeling sorry for yourself!" Tío Leonel scolded. "You've still got a few years left before we've got to put you in the ground, right? The new wheelchair-accessible tub will be ready for you by July, so don't fret!"
Tío Cisco flicked his brother. "Alright, I get it! I'm fine! I'll prepare a special cabinet for all your daily diabetes and heart failure medicines, though."
"Oh, now you're asking for it!"
Willow, Paige, and Oliver bemusedly watched as the two brothers teased and fought each other to no end. It reminded Willow of two redheaded twins she hadn't seen yet that summer. She wondered what they were getting up to when she suddenly caught a flash of scarlet out of the corner of her eye, then another, then another, then a few more. Willow thought her eyes were playing tricks on her when an entire blazing-orange-haired family stopped at a store across the walkway from them. She pinched herself, blinked a few times, and eventually rubbed her eyes, but they were still there. Willow pointed them out to Paige.
"Is that the Weasleys, or am I going crazy?" she questioned.
Paige was taken aback. "What are they doing here?"
"I have no idea, but we should say hi!" Willow exclaimed. She threw her scraps away and returned her plate, then wound her way back to the table to find Paige and Oliver just finishing their food. "Come on, guys, what are the chances of this ever happening again? Let's go!"
Leaving Tío Cisco and Tío Leonel to continue their banter, the three crossed the walkway and entered the store. The Weasleys were all attempting to find toothbrushes, sunblock, a pair of sunglasses, and other necessities that they'd managed to leave at home. As they crept closer, the smallest of the bunch noticed them, then squealed and jumped into Willow's arms.
"Ginny- woah! You're getting really strong!" Willow yelped. "I'm so happy to see you! What are you guys doing in Cairo?"
"We won a prize from the Daily Prophet, so Mum and Dad decided to take us to Egypt for vacation!" Ginny said. "There's so many ancient Egyptian tombs to explore! I'm excited to visit them all! Fred and George said there were some nasty, brutish curses on some that would make your body grow six feet of hair all over, but I'm not sure if I believe them."
"That's so cool!" Willow gasped. "I'm excited for you!"
The rest of the Weasleys finally noticed Willow, Paige, and Oliver. Percy cordially shook their hands, which gave Willow the impression that he'd become even more presumptuous than before. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley happily greeted them all with hugs, Ron awkwardly said hello, and finally the twins pushed their way to the front of their family.
"Willow, Paige, and Oliver! Never thought I'd see all three together."
"Fancy seeing you here."
"Have you come to set off the magic traps in the tombs too?"
"George!" Mrs. Weasley scolded.
"Sorry, Mum," George said, completely unapologetic.
Willow grinned. "I haven't seen you guys in forever! Unfortunately, we don't have enough time to blow up any ancient tombs, but you should definitely show me on your name tag when you do!" At a look from Mrs. Weasley, she added, "O-r you can show me the cool stuff that you find? Anyway, we're here to catch our next flight to Uganda. We're visiting Uagadou."
"The oldest African wizarding school?" Percy confirmed. "That's quite the honor to visit a school with that impressive and rich of a history."
"Just an honor to step on the sacred elephant poop," Fred emphasized.
"Absolutely incredible to see the spindly tree that Agatha the Ancient planted five thousand centuries ago," George said.
Percy fumed. "I'm visiting the restroom. Dad, will you hold my luggage?"
"Excuse my language, but I must use the dreaded water closet," Fred teased.
Fred and George continued to harass Percy until the moment he left the shop, then returned without shame to their angry mother's side. They took the harsh scolding with pride. Oliver appeared extremely confused, and Paige was smirking. Willow simply smiled. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley went back to buying necessities while the twins, Ron, and Ginny conversed with the three. Eventually, they were cut short, as the Weasleys had a bus to catch in order to get to their hotel. Willow said goodbye to each one, then finally got to George.
"I'll definitely give you a front-row view of the explosions," he whispered.
"I'm looking forward to it. Don't lose your name tag in the meantime, will you?"
"It's more likely Fred will steal it," George chortled, winking at his twin. "He's been taking my stuff left and right ever since we got home."
Fred rolled his eyes, shoving George into Willow. "Yeah, yeah, you're so sure it was your stuff, especially since our clothing, shoes, pranks, and pretty much everything is so different and totally not identical. And I wonder why, George, I wonder what you could possibly have backed out of."
Willow realized she was extremely close to George. They both took a step away from each other, George oddly glaring at his twin. Willow wondered what that was all about. She glanced at Paige, thinking she'd know why, since she seemed to know everything about them, but ended up seeing an upset and slightly ticked off Paige. The older girl was glaring at George with a rage Willow had never before seen in her. Her normally dark brown eyes were black. She could easily have been imagined with a fire blazing within her irises. Paige did her best to cover it up, but there was no lightening her reaction. George raised his eyebrows when he noticed.
"Paige? You okay?"
"Fine," she growled. "Perfect, actually."
"If you say so..." he trailed off, obviously not believing her. George cleared his throat. "Well, I hope you have a good time in Uganda, guys. Bring something super cool back for us."
Willow gave George a quick hug. "I will! Can't make any promises on whether it's a live creature or not. Have fun!"
George blinked, somewhat in shock, then covered it up. "You too! Don't you dare steal another dangerous creature! No matter how cute they seem to you, they're still going to kill us, remember!"
He ran back to his twin, scolding him furiously, saying, "Real smooth, Fred, real smooth!" Willow shook her head and returned to the Mediterranean buffet, still confused as to why Paige was fuming. She glanced at Oliver, but he simply shrugged, in the dark as much as Willow. They both simultaneously decided it was out of their comprehension. Gathering up the still-arguing Tío Cisco and Tío Leonel, they returned to their departure gate. Carlos and his parents took their turn to find a restaurant to eat at. While they were gone, Tío Cisco and Tío Leonel continued their argument, Oliver and Willow silently took turns writing sentences on a blank piece of paper, and Paige glared daggers at the floor. Eventually, the older girl spoke.
"You fancy him, don't you?" Paige asked.
Willow furrowed her brow. "Who?"
"George! Who else would I be talking about? You fancy him, don't you?"
Willow scoffed. "Paige, absolutely not. He's my friend. Also, he's not remotely interested in any sort of romance. If anything, Fred is the romantic one, and he's hopeless. He's after Angelina Johnson."
"Oh, that's tough," Oliver remarked. "I hope he gets a chance with her."
Paige sighed. "Willow, are you blind? How long have you been noticing George acting weird? Have you even noticed that at all?" She groaned. "George has fancied you for at least a year, now, Willow, and you haven't even seen it. How on Earth did you miss that Valentine's Day poem? That had George written all over it! He had help from Fred, of course, but anyone could have known it was him!"
Willow's mouth dropped open. "He- what?" All the memories of the past year came flooding back, and Willow suddenly realized it was true. She gasped. "Oh my God! I'm so stupid! I'm literally the dumbest, most clueless person alive! Merlin, I feel terrible now! Do you think he'll try and make a move? Please tell me he wouldn't."
Paige shrugged. "I don't know. Fred seems to be the one doing all the pushing around. Both of them are too high in the clouds to be serious, though, so I wonder if it would ever happen."
Willow's pulse quickened. She wrung her hands. Her head spun with a dizzying replay of every moment that had ever happened between her and George. "What if this ruins our friendship? What if George hates me? What if both Fred and George hate me? Oh my God, this is a mess! I'm such an idiot!"
"No, you're not, you were just too busy with your own life," Oliver said. "It's okay. Lots of people don't see something that's right under their nose until it's spelled out for them, especially if they don't suspect anything."
Willow took a deep breath. "Okay, but still, what if this ruins everything?"
"It's not going to. Lots of people can remain friends after something like this. It all depends on your reaction to it."
"That makes me feel better. I won't do anything about it until he brings it up, then I'll handle it from there. All I can do is hope for the best, right? He has to understand, somewhere in that small brain of his"
"So...you don't fancy George?" Paige questioned.
Willow shrugged. "Not that I know of. You'd probably be able to tell the moment I fancy someone, because no matter how hard I try, and how much I hate it, I end up wearing my heart on my sleeve all the time."
Paige half-smiled. "That makes me feel a little better."
Willow was about to ask why when her family showed up. They began the boarding process minutes later. The plane ride was successful, and a few hours later, the Guerreros stepped into Entebbe International Airport. They took a bus directly into the city of Kampala. Willow stared out the windows, eyes wide. She'd never seen a more naturally formed city in her life. Though there were many man-made structures and buildings, they seemed to melt into the natural setting as though they were supposed to be there. She couldn't explain the sensation of completion that washed over her upon seeing the buildings molded together to form streets, the people buying and selling goods at a local farmer's market, and the multitude of children playing soccer in an open field. When they stepped out of the bus, Willow took a deep breath, satisfied that the city air was not nearly as choking as London's. The Guerreros walked about a quarter mile, and finally Abuelo held up a hand to stop them.
"Here we are: the vacation home of Matías, my friend from Mexico. Let's go inside, shall we?"
The Guerreros entered the home, which was enormous compared to its small facade. Willow guessed that it was enhanced by an expansion charm. There was a mudroom to their right that also doubled as the laundry room. The front hall flowed into the high-ceilinged living room, decorated with dark-wooded furniture and decor. There were two openings on either side of the living room the smoothly transitioned into either the kitchen or the dining area, and a first-floor bathroom was behind them to the left. A gorgeous spiraling staircase led the way to a suspended walkway to either side of the house, where Willow assumed the bedrooms were. She set down her luggage and immediately collapsed on the couch.
"I think I'm going to love it here," she mumbled through the cushion.
"Just wait until you see the upstairs," Abuela chuckled.
Willow jumped to her feet and sprinted up the stairs. She veered left and skidded to a stop on the dark hardwood flooring. Her jaw dropped at the beauty. There were a total of four doors that led into obviously magically-enlarged bedrooms, and in between them was a beautiful library. It was much smaller than her library at home, but this one had hand-carved chairs and shelves, enormous windows, and even an original traditional Ugandan song framed on one wall. She squealed with delight. Willow then ran across the walkway to see the other side, which contained something even more appealing: a miniature greenhouse with multiple species of native flora. She nearly screamed.
"This is the best vacation ever!"
The next morning, the Guerreros woke up early (to Paige's lament) and took a taxi to Lake Victoria. Once there, they rented a boat and drove to Kome Island. Willow decided to take a chance and drive the boat herself. She continued debating years after whether it was a good decision or not. Willow was given a crash course on how to operate the watercraft, then put the pedal to the metal, flying through the water at seventy miles an hour. They went over some waves and bounced up to a foot off the water. Willow and Paige high-fived every time they got Carlos to yell, "SLOW DOWN!" Oliver, at times, appeared very frightened, but he warmed up to the fun of the high-speed boat ride eventually. Both of Willow's grandparents and uncles sat in the back of the boat, simply smiling from ear to ear. Abuelo had to remind her where they were going once, and to Carlos's great fright, Willow yanked the wheel to the side, nearly throwing him into the water. The edge of the boat almost dipped below the surface, but Willow managed to right it just in time. Paige whooped and cheered. Willow dared a quick glance over her shoulder to confirm that her grandmother and uncles were still teasing her about Paige. She rolled her eyes and didn't let up on the speed until they got close to shore. Abuelo took over the boat, and within minutes, the boat was docked, and they were walking onto shore.
The island was rather beautiful. Willow appreciated the multitude of trees covering the landscape. There were hundreds of exotic birds whistling and singing wherever they looked, and legions of fruitful trees dotted the shore. Abuelo led them to a shaded area of the beach, and after making sure they were alone, he used the summoning spell to retrieve multiple items from his magically expanded bag. Soon, a handful of beach chairs, some giant umbrellas, and several towels formed a ring around a fire pit lined by some rocks. Abuela found some firewood at the bottom of the bag and started a fire up immediately. While the adults began to gather ingredients for lunch, Willow, Oliver, and Paige were allowed to explore the island, so long as they stayed together. Willow promised they would be careful, but it wasn't until Oliver promised to make sure he provided his common sense that they were allowed to go. Willow couldn't say she was surprised. After all, she was the one that committed many stupid acts that nearly got her killed.
The children wandered around the perimeter of the island. They found several enormous coconut trees, one of which Willow scaled. She accidentally shook one loose and dropped it on her head, much to Paige's delight, then dropped two more coconuts back to Oliver. They all cracked them open and sat on some large, weathered rocks, allowing the sea spray to wash over their feet. Willow drank all of the coconut milk within the span of two minutes. She ended up getting two more because she loved them so much. Oliver eyed his coconut, gingerly took a sip, and shrugged. He slowly consumed it by the time Willow had moved onto her third. Paige, on the other hand, simply poured the coconut milk into a canister she had brought.
"What are you doing? Aren't you going to drink it?" Willow asked.
"I tried it. It's meh," Paige replied. "Plus, this will probably smell better than it tastes once I figure out how to incorporate it into my shampoo. My hair apparently decided to be high maintenance here lately.
Willow nodded. "Let me know how that goes."
"Can you use coconut milk as a replacement for regular milk in desserts?" Oliver questioned.
Willow laughed. "Yes, Oliver, and it's actually awesome in fruit-flavoured milkshakes. I tried a strawberry one when we went to Mexico once, and it was the best drink I've ever had in my life."
"Cool!"
Paige sighed. "It's hot. Will you judge if I take my shirt off?"
"As long as you have a bra on, I'm not one to cower in fear of female beauty," Willow said.
Paige rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure, that's totally the reason I'm taking off my shirt, to show off my gorgeous body. Like I'm the person to actually do that."
Willow raised her eyebrows. "I wouldn't put it past you."
Paige gently punched her in the shoulder. "You're terrible."
"You're worse."
Paige gave up and pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it behind her as a place to put her canister. Willow noticed she wore a sports bra at all times, just as she did, and she had abs. Since when did Paige have abs? Willow had guessed she was semi-strong, but Paige was pretty much ripped, in her opinion. Touching her own stomach, Willow wondered why she didn't have the motivation to work out like Paige. Then she remembered that Paige hated running. It all balanced out, she guessed, and judging by Paige's equally strong arms, she worked out as much as Willow ran. The older girl brushed her hair behind her and it became caught in the gentle sea breeze. Willow admired the way Paige's hair turned red in the sunlight, beautifully capturing the natural waves in the older girls's dark locks. Her heart fluttered slightly. Had Paige always been that enamoring? She probably had, Willow thought, so how in the heck had she not noticed before?
Oliver suddenly nudged her. Willow shot him a quizzical glance. He was grinning from ear to ear, a teasing gleam in his eyes. Willow realized exactly what he was playing at and blushed, mouthing for him to stop it, but it was too late. Oliver refused to stop pestering her. Willow secretly loved having someone so close to her that they could tease her about people they fancied, but Paige was really close to noticing a couple of times. The older girl didn't need Willow adding to her already stressful summer.
"Hey, castaways, are you ready for lunch or what?" Tío Leonel called from further down the beach.
"Estoy muerta de hambre!" Willow exclaimed. "Come on, I heard they were making Abuelo's special stew!"
"Does that mean 'I'm starving'?" Oliver whispered to Paige.
Paige nodded. "Technically, it translates to 'I'm dying of hunger,' but yeah, we say it differently."
Willow inwardly smiled to herself, then nearly tripped over a branch that had washed up on shore. She pulled her head out of the clouds and followed her uncle back to the beach fire. The scent of earth-grown carrots, softened potatoes, and savory beef wafted towards her. Willow helped herself to multiple servings of food. Much to Abuela's delight, so did Oliver. They soon finished lunch and turned their attention to Lake Victoria. Willow didn't even get a chance to change into a swimsuit before Paige shoved her into the water. She splashed Paige as much as she possibly could, then was carried out into deeper water and thrown into it. Willow's senses decided to go crazy with the shock. She began locating several schools of brightly coloured fish. Of course, some of them turned out to be dangerous, so she helped her family avoid them. Willow's head went crazy when she looked in one particular direction. She sighed, rubbed it, and pointed to the area.
"Found a reef," she said.
"What? No way!" Oliver squealed.
Still on the water's edge, he peered into a zone where the bottom dropped off to reveal an explosion of colour. Willow's entire family gathered around to have a look. It wasn't as incredible as an ocean reef, but it was cool nonetheless. Some brightly coloured fish wandered around a patch of toned-down reds, yellows, and oranges. A single enormous blur of gray wandered close to them, then even closer, until it rose directly to the surface, nearly within two metres of the family. Oliver gasped at its long nose-like feature that protruded from its head. Willow finally recognized it.
"Oh! That's a sawfish," she explained. "That's weird that it's in this area, but cool nonetheless. These guys can grow larger than us. I'll ask him- oh- wait- no, he's not mad at us, and he doesn't have a name. Do you want me to tell him to leave us alone?"
"Uh...sure?" Tío Cisco said.
Willow shrugged, telepathically spoke to the sawfish, and watched as it swam away. She turned around only to realize she was surrounded. An entourage of reef fish and curiously swam towards her, attracted by her powers, and formed a colourful, rainbow-like ring around her. She tentatively stepped forward only to see them clear a path for her. They even made room for Paige. Willow took a deep breath, trying not to stare at all the larger fish around her.
"Uh...this may not be a good time to tell you guys, but I'm terrified of a aquatic life. Surprise?"
"But...you literally have the power to make them go away," Paige chuckled. "So there's nothing to be afraid of, right?"
Willow nodded. "Yeah, sure. The only problem is they have free will to bite my leg off if they choose not to listen. Not all animals are capable of communicating with me. Only the smart ones can talk back. Less smart ones...don't get the full picture."
"Oh. That might be a problem," Oliver said.
"Aw, but you're Willow Guerrero! You're good at improvising this kind of stuff," Paige reminded her. "Just throw a tree in their way or something. They won't get at you that way."
Willow laughed. "That's...oddly comforting."
"I've been known to do that."
Willow rolled her eyes. "Narcissist."
"Imbecile."
A fish bumped into Willow's calf. She jumped, scaring away some of the fish, but they eventually all returned, this time in a perfect rainbow of stunning colours. Willow sighed, then suddenly realized how close she was standing to Paige. Her heart skipped a beat. The older girl smirked at her, having the advantage of being taller. Willow saw her family silently chanting, "Kiss her! Kiss her!" out of the corner of her eye. She blushed deeply and stepped away, instead settling to splash Paige. They groaned and cast their eyes to the heavens. Willow received a splash back, this time being dunked under the water. When she stood up, water dripped from her now revealed frame. Paige shamelessly let her eyes trail down Willow's upper body.
"You're so much hotter than you let on," she said lamentingly.
Willow scoffed. "I'd like to think I'm even hotter on the soccer field."
"Then we better play a pickup game with some locals before we leave, shouldn't we?"
"Ahem?" Carlos said, gathering the girls' attention. "When you're done flirting with each other, we need to pack up and get back to the mainland. We've got a farmer's market to visit."
Paige winked at Willow as she walked out of the water. "At least someone is catching on."
Willow's mouth dropped open. "What- you know I'm completely and utterly clueless!"
"And whose fault is that?"
Willow groaned. "Fine, you win! Now let's get dried up and back to Kampala so I can smash a fresh mango in your face."
The Guerreros dried off and packed up their stuff, then headed back to the boat. Paige grabbed a few more fallen coconuts and drained their milk into her canister. Oliver got the chance to drive the boat this time, and much to Carlos's delight, they went at a safe pace. He was surprisingly good at it. Whenever there was a cross wave, he slightly tilted the wheel to avoid being jerked sideways. The boat ride was much smoother with less spearing of waves. Paige eventually took over, and to everyone's surprise, she drove directly between Willow's and Oliver's styles. She fearlessly floored it, but slowed down whenever there was cross-traffic. Carlos was only terrified for his life a few times instead of the entire ride. Nevertheless, he was the first off the boat when they docked it once more.
The Guerreros flagged down a taxi and made their way back to the vacation house. After cleaning up at bit, they found the way towards the more urban section of Kampala. The farmer's market gradually came into view. Willow stared in awe at the rows upon rows of tents, their roofs each unique in their range of homemade to commercial workmanship. Earth-grown food of all colours of the rainbow lined the tables. People of all nationalities wearing all different types of clothing browsed the products, speaking in multiple languages, each with their own pattern and rhythm. The satisfying crumple of the dirt under her sandals, the drumbeat of a local performer, and the cohesive beauty of several different languages being spoken at once made for a wonderful ambiance. When they sauntered up to a particular vendor, the woman offered Willow a sample of her watermelon. The juicy, sweet fruit lit up her senses. She'd never tasted anything so pure. Abuela ended up buying a few watermelon for later that week.
Several tempting vendors later, the Guerreros walked home with semi-full stomachs and heavy bags. The adults began to put away the groceries, then gave into Willow's persistent begging to take a last stroll. Paige, Willow, and Oliver headed back out into the streets of Kampala, simply enjoying to sunshine, the beautiful buildings, and upbeat music that seemed to be around every corner. When they turned onto one block, a mini concert appeared to be taking place on the street. A group of musicians with drums, a kind of string instrument, and a sound system were having the time of their life engaging a small crowd in their music. Willow, Paige, and Oliver glanced at each other, grinned ear to ear, and sprinted into the mayhem. The song switched between English, another language, and some form of Swahili. They quickly got the hang of the English section of the chorus and sang along. Willow began to dance with Oliver, who at first was shy, then realized Willow couldn't dance either and simply let go. Paige was the only one who could actually dance and did so solo. Willow's face physically hurt from smiling so much. They were having the time of their lives.
Then, the song changed. Willow realized it was a romantic, yet still upbeat song. Oliver raised his eyebrows and glanced at Paige. Willow blushed. He motioned for her to go, but she shook her head, much to Oliver's exasperation.
"Quit dancing around your feelings and just dance with her!" he whispered.
"But- I'm awkward!" Willow hissed.
"So? You need to let yourself have this moment!" Oliver urged. "You've helped me through tough situations, so the least I can do is help you with your love life!"
"But- ugh, fine! You're right, you're right! If I screw up, this never happened!"
Oliver squealed with joy as Willow finally turned and tapped Paige on the shoulder. The older girl didn't waste a second. She took Willow by the hand and immediately launched her into a fast-paced dance. Willow had no idea what she was doing, but figured out that if she let Paige take the lead, she wouldn't trip over herself. They managed to move in unison across the street, Willow spinning and twirling and dipping. She'd never seen Paige so happy. The older girl laughed when a random guy threw a flower crown on Willow's head. Suddenly, with one final spin, she found herself turning directly into Paige. The musicians struck their final chord. Willow's cheeks reddened considerably as she realized she was pressed up against Paige. She thought her heart would jump out of her chest. Paige still held her hand from their last dance move, her face positively glowing. Glancing at Oliver for help, Willow only saw him silently screeching and jumping up and down with joy, mouthing, "KISS HER ALREADY!" Willow returned her gaze to Paige, whose brown eyes were highlighted by the setting sun. Butterflies fluttered around her stomach. What was she supposed to do?
Thankfully, Paige made the decision for her. She gently spun Willow out of their tight position and said, "You're even more beautiful with a flower crown, you know that?" While Willow found herself scrambling for a response, Paige winked at her, then walked off into the crowd, making her way towards the musicians to meet them. Oliver sprinted to Willow's side.
"You two are literally perfect for each other!" he squeaked. "You dance like you were meant to be together! And did you see the way she was looking at you? Ahh! It's so cute!"
Willow's cheeks somehow became an even darker shade of scarlet. "I saw. I have to admit, she's stealing my heart even more now. Do you think I fancy her? I still can't tell."
"You so do! It's obvious, even to strangers! Why else do you think that guy would have put that flower crown on you? Everyone's rooting for you two here!"
Willow couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "Okay, but I'm not acting on it yet. I'm too young."
Oliver sighed. "That's fair, but don't wait too long! I can't last long without you two being cute together!"
Willow's grin suddenly faded. "Wait...does it bother you? Paige and I...uh...accidentally flirting? I don't want to make you uncomfortable. It's your vacation, too."
Oliver shook his head. "No way! There's nothing better to do on vacation than tease your sibling!"
Willow's heart warmed. "I couldn't agree more. Hopefully I'll get the opportunity at some point." Oliver's eyes went wide. "Okay, I'm joking. Maybe. Come on, let's get Paige and head home before Dad gets upset."
Over the next few days, the Guerreros had the time of their lives. Abuela dragged Oliver, Paige, and Willow into taking a local cooking class. Oliver and Paige succeeded, but per usual, Willow failed so miserably at cooking that she had to shadow Abuela instead. They went on a chartered fishing trip and caught some fish bigger than Willow. Another day, they even went through some local shops and found some traditional clothing from several different regions of Uganda that went well with their skin tones. They apparated in pairs to Queen Victoria National Park the next day, where they saw so many elephants and tree-climbing lions that Willow nearly passed out from excitement (and over-active senses calling out to them, of course). Finally, the day arrived when they would travel to Uagadou. The Guerreros took turns apparating in pairs. Willow touched her father's hand, and quicker than she could blink, the sickening sensation of her stomach flipping over and over swamped her senses. Then, she was abruptly set down on her feet, hard. She nearly slipped off the side of a steep slope. Willow squeaked as her father caught her and pulled her to the safety of a wider ridge.
"Whoa! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did anything happen?" Carlos asked, brushing Willow's hair out of her face and inspecting it. "We normally apparate somewhere else. You didn't splinch, right?"
"No, I'm fine, Dad," Willow said. She grinned sportingly. "I can fly, remember?"
Carlos let out a breath he'd been holding, dipping his head. "Yes, I know, but you still manage to scare me every time, you know that?"
"I know. Let's get climbing, shall we?"
Carlos led the way up the snowy mountaintop, drawing Willow's cloak tighter around her. He finally stopped at a rather oddly shaped patch of snow. Willow looked on as he pulled out his wand, whispered a spell, and melted the snow away to reveal a door with an ornate carving. Carlos grinned at the symbols on it. While the rest of her family arrived from higher up the mountain, Willow peered at the door. Various fruits she'd seen at the farmer's market were woven into an almost abstract picture.
"Someone could have bothered to warn me it would be cold," Paige grumbled, shivering with snow dotting her dark hair. She noticed the door. "Why the heck did we come all this way to find a bowl of random fruit?"
"Uganda is said to be the Fruit Basket of Africa, and not without reason," Abuelo explained. "There are over fifty types of fruit naturally grown here."
Paige raised an eyebrow. "That explains why everything actually tastes like it's supposed to."
Tío Cisco chuckled. "One of the many perks of being in Uganda. Come on, we've got some magical creatures to take care of."
To Willow's surprise, Tío Cisco walked straight through the door, just like it was the wall for Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station. Tío Leonel, Carlos, and Abuelo soon followed, leaving Abuela with the children. Paige and Oliver went through together, and finally Abuela shoved Willow through the barrier because she hesitated too long. She stumbled and face-planted onto hard stone. Slowly rising to her feet, Willow blinked the fog out of her eyes and glanced around. Her mouth immediately dropped open.
Uagadou stood tall, large, and proud on the side of a mountain opposite where Willow was standing. Shrouded in mist, it seemingly floated in midair, an entirely separate world from her own. The massive, otherworldly edifice was carved directly into the mountainside. Floor after floor of intricately designed stone glimmered in the abnormally bright sunlight. Courtyards separated each wing at three different levels, splashes of colour amid the imposing grey. Tiny dots Willow guessed were students scuttled along the far off hallways. The breathtaking beauty of the school captured her heart as Tío Leonel led the way down a worn path to the entrance.
Paige, Oliver, and Willow exchanged a glance when they arrived at the front gate. The wrought-iron bars appeared very old, but stronger than any human could have made. They buzzed with a primitive power. There were also a pair of guards, one by each pillar that the gates were hinged to. Two live lions raised their hackles and growled threateningly. They bared their teeth at Willow specifically. She should have felt terrified, but that familiar gut-wrenching sensation never gripped her stomach. In fact, she smiled at the lions, her senses not even firing, her skin not glowing in the slightest. Oliver shot her a concerned look, but Willow simply kept her positive expression. Tío Cisco seemed to have the same reaction. He walked right up to the lions, spoke a word in a language she didn't recognize, and watched gleefully as the animals' facades melted away to reveal two equally ripped witches.
"Welcome to Uagadou, Cisco and Leonel Guerrero," the one on the left said, completely expressionless. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. There will be an upper-year student a short way along the path to show you to the hippeyhikes. The rest of you may visit, but only do as you are permitted."
"Of course, thank you," Tío Leonel said. He motioned for the rest of his family to follow him through the gates. "Let's go, then, we don't need to overstay our welcome."
The Guerreros continued down the path together. Paige and Oliver stared at Willow like she was a crazy witch. Willow shrugged and mouthed, "Senses, duh." Paige fake-punched her and Oliver finally understood.
The path opened up onto a smooth-stone walkway, then finally into a grand entrance. A pair of enormous dark wooden doors stood wide open to let the sunlight into a circular high-ceilinged room. Willow rather liked the open concept. There were several hand-carved tables and bonfire areas out in front of the entrance hall, and multiple students of all ages were conversing, laughing, and not-so-secretly gossiping all around them. It reminded Willow of late spring days out by the Black Lake at Hogwarts. The Guerreros entered the entrance hall to find themselves surrounded by Uagadou's history. There were paintings of all sizes, preserved everyday items from some of the first students, and the very first wand to be used within the school's walls. Willow barely even had time to read the plaques when a tall female student skidded to a stop in front of them.
"Oh, there you are!" she said, her accent slightly more American than British English. "I've been wondering when you'd get here. The hippeyhikes are this way." She began walking towards the right, then turned around and skipped backwards. "I'm Miremba, by the way. I hope Uagadou isn't too much for you on first sight. Its outer walls distract from the inner beauty it has to offer. Have you heard much about us?"
"Yes, fortunately," Tío Leonel replied. "All good things, and so far, it appears to all be true. Does your curriculum still include becoming animagi as a class your fourth year?"
Miremba transformed into an okapi, then back into herself. "Yeah, I'm a fifth year."
"Impressive. I've never seen an animagi transform that easily back at home," Tío Cisco remarked.
"It's a Uagadou thing." Miremba peered at the relic on the wall, then clapped a hand to her forehead. "Oops, we're turning right here, not left! Come on, Miremba! Focus!"
Miremba took them across the entire school, down a dizzying spiral staircase that disappeared far above into literal clouds, and finally onto the "ground level," which was the flattest spot on the side of the mountain they could find. She had them wait for a second, then whistled. A group of animals began sprinting in her direction, then suddenly noticed a butterfly, chased after it, then began fighting each other. Miremba groaned.
"Curse their short attention span!" she hissed. "Well, if I could get them over here, I could have you take a look at them. Be careful though, they're extremely dangerous."
"It's okay, that's kind of our forte," Tío Cisco said, winking. "Come on, Leonel, let's go wrangle some hippeyhikes, shall we?"
While her uncles wrestled with the herd, Willow, Paige, and Oliver turned to Miremba, who talked endlessly about anything they wanted to know about Uagadou. They apparently were very similar to Hogwarts in that they had fabulous teaching staff and students that were anywhere from extremely selfless to petty as all get out. The difference, though, was that Uagadou was better at pretty much every subject than Hogwarts. Miremba showed them some of her Astronomy and Transfiguration homework, which made Willow's head spin just looking at it. She was glad to be at Hogwarts. The only thing she would have excelled in was Self-Transfiguration, but only because she had her extra powers. Miremba loved to transform into her okapi animagi upon request at any given time. Instead of coming off as an arrogant showoff, however, Willow thought she walked that line on the more confident side. Miremba was very good at what she did. She obviously put countless hours of hard work into her self-transfiguration and animagi transformations, so she deserved to showcase her skills. Willow was very tempted to show Miremba what she could do, but a small tap from Oliver reminded her that not everyone would be okay with her not-so-normal powers.
At long last, Tío Cisco and Tío Leonel returned, sweat dripping from every exposed part of their bodies. They announced that the hippeyhikes simply needed a yearly checkup on their gut health from now on, as they were having digestive problems. Tío Leonel gave Miremba some medicine to give to the Care of Magical Creatures professor, which she took with careful grace, something Willow wished to see in Hogwarts students but never found, even in herself. Every student they passed in the hallways on their way back also appeared to carry themselves in that confident, yet caring way. They had been coached into the perfect balance of power and grace. Willow wished she was teachable enough to become that gentle in any area of life, but knew that she was far too gone. She was a bloody Gryffindor in every way.
Miremba dropped them off at the entrance hall once more and wished them a good rest of their vacation. Willow was stopped, though, before she could leave.
"Hey, wait! I didn't catch your name," Miremba said.
"Oh! It's- it's Willow Guerrero," she replied, surprised that anyone would want to know her name.
"Cool! Would you mind if we sent a few owls back and forth? You seem like the type of student that would easily fit in here, especially with that love for magical creatures, and I've always wanted to know more about Britain!"
"Not- not at all!" Willow stammered. "I'll be looking forward to your owl!"
Miremba grinned gleefully, then unexpectedly gave Willow a quick hug. "I can't wait to send it! Bye, for now!"
Willow blinked slowly, standing rooted to the spot where she was as Miremba skipped off to her class. It wasn't until Oliver pulled on her arm to get her to move that she dropped the stunned trance.
"What just happened?" Willow asked.
"You may or may not have gotten hit on by an older girl, but either way, I really hope Paige didn't see that," Oliver whispered.
"What? I had no ide- how was that- ugh! This is so confusing!" Willow hissed.
"Well, I'd help you with this, but judging by Paige's expression, I don't want to end up murdered," Oliver whimpered, glancing further along the path.
Willow looked up only to see Paige's livid face whip around, stomping away as fast as she could.