And here we go. I'm getting very addicted to writing this story (I've
started ignoring all of my other works in progress; I don't know if this is
good thing or not!) Anyhow, you know the drill: read it, and if you want
to, review it. (Although I'd really, really prefer it if you do both!!!)
Disclaimer: Not mine. None of it. Zip. Nada. Zilch. (Depressing, isn't it?) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Charlie awoke in Ariane's bed, confused for a moment, and then remembered last night. Ariane was lying next to him, her breathing even and soft. Careful not to wake her, he slipped out of the bed and grabbed his clothes. His wand was still in his jacket, and knowing that she was still sound asleep, he started preparing breakfast. He put eggs in the frying pan and threw some bread in the toaster. Then he took careful aim with his wand and charmed both to cook the food to perfection.
The food finished preparing itself quickly, and Charlie set it up on a small platter. He took lifted it carefully and walked back into the bedroom. Ariane was slowly waking up, and clapped in delight when she saw that he had prepared her breakfast in bed.
"Are you feeling better?" he asked gently. She had been quite upset by the time they had finally gotten home the night before. She nodded vigorously, her mouth full with toast.
"Yes," she said, swallowing. "Thank you for breakfast. I didn't know you could cook."
"Oh, I can't take all the credit," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm going to jump in the shower really fast. Why don't you finish breakfast, and then get cleaned up. I want to take you somewhere. I have something to tell you." Ariane looked at him curiously; he had been avoiding a lot of her questions lately. Come to think of it, he was pretty vague about a lot of things. Charlie left her to her meal, and walked into the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, Charlie came out of the bathroom, hair sopping wet. His towel was wrapped around his waist, showing off his athletic upper body. Ariane was sure she could just sit there and stare at him all day. His arms and chest were strong, and his stomach was washboard- perfect. How utterly delicious, she thought to herself. Charlie noticed her staring, and flexed his biceps with a cheesy grin. She laughed out loud, and jumped out of bed.
"My turn for the shower," she said, giving him a quick kiss.
"You could have joined me, you know," he told her.
"Next time," she purred back. While Ariane was in the shower, Charlie dried his hair with a simple warmth spell and he pulled on his clothes. Ariane was out of the shower in record time, and she pulled on a light dress with a sweater. The weather was finally beginning to get warm again.
"Just let me braid my hair, and then we can go," she said, brushing her silky black hair out. "How did you get your hair dry so fast? And where are we going anyways?"
"Romania," he replied simply.
"Charlie, you know I don't like traveling," she said, her fingers flying through her hair.
"I promise it won't be a long trip." She looked at him strangely, and turned back to the mirror to finish off her French braid. She tied it off with a small piece of yellow ribbon, satisfied. She pulled on some slip-on shoes and followed Charlie out of the bedroom.
"Back here," he said.
"Charlie, that's the back yard. Somehow I don't think my super will be all that happy if we caught us trying to get to Romania by way of his back yard. Besides that, I don't even think that's possible," she told him with a chuckle.
"Oh, it's possible. Just wait a second." He held his hand out to her, which she took. They stepped outside into the fresh morning air, the scent of dew wafting around them. "Are you ready?" he whispered.
"Ready for what?"
"Ariane, do you trust me?" He aimed his blue eyes into her gray ones.
"Of course I do." He searched her eyes, making sure that she was truly ready.
"Then let's go." He hugged her to his chest, pulled out his wand and apparated the two of them to his house in Romania. They landed in his living room.
"Charlie. What just happened?" Ariane looked around, finding herself in unfamiliar surroundings.
"I apparated us to my house; we're in Romania."
"What? How? Charlie, I don't understand-"
"I'm a wizard, Ariane. There's a world that coexists with the earth as you know it. I have magical powers, as do all of my siblings and parents. I went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I now work here in Romania on a dragon reservation."
"A-a wizard?" she asked.
"Yes. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner, I desperately wanted to, darling," said Charlie. "It's just that we have to keep ourselves under wraps, and I wanted to make sure you could handle it."
"Wait, so you mean to tell me you've been lying to me?"
"Not entirely. Just stretching the truth. I'm sorry, Ariane."
"A wizard, you say?" she asked. Charlie nodded. "Is that what you meant when you said you didn't deserve credit for cooking? You made my pots and pans cook it for you?" Charlie nodded again.
"I understand if you're upset with me. But I must ask you not to spread it around to anyone else about wizards and witches."
"Secrecy, I understand. Otherwise you'd have us non-magical folks always asking you for help." Ariane was always quick on the uptake. She hadn't denied anger at Charlie, and he began feeling as though he had just thrown the relationship down the drain when she spoke again. "So what else can you do? Can you show me anything?"
"You're not mad at me?"
"No. I understand why you had to keep it a secret. It makes sense now why you were able to meet me every day from Romania!" She smiled and Charlie felt his face break into a grin as well. "Come on, show me something!" she urged.
"What do you want to see?"
"Anything." She looked around the room, and pointed at the couch. "Can you make the couch shrink?" Charlie nodded, and pointed his wand at his sofa.
"Reducto!" he cried. Before her eyes, the couch shrank to the size of her palm. She gasped in surprise, and bent over to pick up the miniscule couch.
"It looks just like a doll's couch. Wow! Moving would be so much easier this way," she exclaimed. Charlie smiled at her amazement. She put it back down on the ground.
"Engorgio," he said, and the couch returned to its normal size. Ariane turned to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Thank you for sharing this with me. I know it was hard for you to keep it a secret." Charlie nodded. "And you say your family and everyone that will be there this weekend can do all of the stuff that you can?"
"My kid brothers and little sister are still learning, but they're all brilliant in their own ways. But be careful of Fred and George. They'll probably try to pull some jokes on you."
"That's the twins, right?"
"Yup."
"So what do your parents and other brothers really do?"
"Well, Bill really does work at a bank; it's a wizard's bank, though. It's called Gringott's, and it's controlled by goblins. He's a charm breaker there. And Percy and my father both work for the Ministry of Magic, our government. My father loves Muggles, and you'll probably get questioned at great length by him."
"Muggles?" she asked.
"Non-magic people. We call them "Muggles."
"Oh. And you work with dragons?"
"Yes."
"Isn't that dangerous?" she asked, her brow furrowed with sudden worry.
"Only if they bite you, claw you, or try to burn you to a crisp."
"That explains all of the burns and scars, then." Charlie nodded. "And all the while I thought you were just clumsy. What else is different in this world?"
"Well, we have our own sport, called Quidditch. It's played on broomsticks, with seven players per team. There are four balls, and three hoops to score with."
"Did you play?"
"In school. I was the Seeker - we'll probably play some this weekend, so you'll be able to watch." Ariane nodded. Then her eye caught the pictures on his wall.
"Are the people in those pictures MOVING?" she asked.
"Oh yeah - the subjects in pictures move around in our world." She leaned in closer for a better look.
"So who's who?" she asked. Charlie grabbed the most recent family picture off the wall.
"Well, the tall ones are my dad, Ron, Bill, and Percy. That's Fred, and that's George. No, wait. That one's George. Oh, never mind. It's one of them. And that's my mum, and my sister Ginny."
"And that one's you." She pointed at the last red head in the picture, who was slowly sneaking up behind Percy, ready to steal the Head Boy Badge from him, to the amusement of the twins. The picture had been taken two years ago, right after Percy had gotten his Head Boy letter. Ariane laughed as Charlie's picture tackled Percy, and the whole redheaded family started laughing and shouting. Charlie set the picture down, and turned back to Ariane.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" he asked one last time.
"Positive. I can't wait for this weekend." Charlie grinned and hugged her tightly.
"They're going to love you! Especially Dad. Let me write them really fast and let them know you're coming."
"Oooh, how do you communicate? I mean, that's why you looked so worried when I first gave you my number, right? You're not used to using telephones?"
"We have two general ways of communicating. One is by owl." He gestured to Thor, who gave a soft hoot in acknowledgment. "And the second is by fire. But we're going to owl them today." He pulled out a quill and a piece of parchment and began to write, Ariane reading over his shoulder.
Dear Mum, I just wanted to let you know that I am going to be bringing someone along to Easter. I don't think this will be a problem; the more the merrier, right? She's very special to me, and I want her to feel at home. Please don't tell Bill, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, or Ginny about her; I want it to be a surprise. Oh yeah - she's a Muggle (but don't tell Dad; he'd flip!) Can't wait to see you guys. We'll be apparating in on Friday night. Love, Charlie.
Charlie rolled up the parchment, and walked over to Thor's cage. He tied the letter to the owl's leg, and let the bird fly off through the window.
"Wow," Ariane breathed. "It's so amazing that they can do that."
"Do what?"
"Just deliver letters. I mean, I knew about carrier pigeons, but I didn't know that owls could do it, too." Charlie simply nodded.
"So do you want to stay here for a while, or do you want me to take you back home?"
"Let's stay here for a while. I'd like to explore a wizard's house; I've never been in one before," she said slyly. Charlie smiled at her, simply thankful that she had accepted his secret and he hadn't lost her. He knew his family would accept her as well as she had accepted him. His only worry was what the twins might do to him or Ariane, and he prayed that they wouldn't be exploding too many things while she was there. All in all, however, he couldn't wait for the week to be over and the weekend to arrive.
*So, until next time (aka, tomorrow), please keep reading and reviewing!! Thanks again to everyone!
Disclaimer: Not mine. None of it. Zip. Nada. Zilch. (Depressing, isn't it?) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Charlie awoke in Ariane's bed, confused for a moment, and then remembered last night. Ariane was lying next to him, her breathing even and soft. Careful not to wake her, he slipped out of the bed and grabbed his clothes. His wand was still in his jacket, and knowing that she was still sound asleep, he started preparing breakfast. He put eggs in the frying pan and threw some bread in the toaster. Then he took careful aim with his wand and charmed both to cook the food to perfection.
The food finished preparing itself quickly, and Charlie set it up on a small platter. He took lifted it carefully and walked back into the bedroom. Ariane was slowly waking up, and clapped in delight when she saw that he had prepared her breakfast in bed.
"Are you feeling better?" he asked gently. She had been quite upset by the time they had finally gotten home the night before. She nodded vigorously, her mouth full with toast.
"Yes," she said, swallowing. "Thank you for breakfast. I didn't know you could cook."
"Oh, I can't take all the credit," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm going to jump in the shower really fast. Why don't you finish breakfast, and then get cleaned up. I want to take you somewhere. I have something to tell you." Ariane looked at him curiously; he had been avoiding a lot of her questions lately. Come to think of it, he was pretty vague about a lot of things. Charlie left her to her meal, and walked into the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, Charlie came out of the bathroom, hair sopping wet. His towel was wrapped around his waist, showing off his athletic upper body. Ariane was sure she could just sit there and stare at him all day. His arms and chest were strong, and his stomach was washboard- perfect. How utterly delicious, she thought to herself. Charlie noticed her staring, and flexed his biceps with a cheesy grin. She laughed out loud, and jumped out of bed.
"My turn for the shower," she said, giving him a quick kiss.
"You could have joined me, you know," he told her.
"Next time," she purred back. While Ariane was in the shower, Charlie dried his hair with a simple warmth spell and he pulled on his clothes. Ariane was out of the shower in record time, and she pulled on a light dress with a sweater. The weather was finally beginning to get warm again.
"Just let me braid my hair, and then we can go," she said, brushing her silky black hair out. "How did you get your hair dry so fast? And where are we going anyways?"
"Romania," he replied simply.
"Charlie, you know I don't like traveling," she said, her fingers flying through her hair.
"I promise it won't be a long trip." She looked at him strangely, and turned back to the mirror to finish off her French braid. She tied it off with a small piece of yellow ribbon, satisfied. She pulled on some slip-on shoes and followed Charlie out of the bedroom.
"Back here," he said.
"Charlie, that's the back yard. Somehow I don't think my super will be all that happy if we caught us trying to get to Romania by way of his back yard. Besides that, I don't even think that's possible," she told him with a chuckle.
"Oh, it's possible. Just wait a second." He held his hand out to her, which she took. They stepped outside into the fresh morning air, the scent of dew wafting around them. "Are you ready?" he whispered.
"Ready for what?"
"Ariane, do you trust me?" He aimed his blue eyes into her gray ones.
"Of course I do." He searched her eyes, making sure that she was truly ready.
"Then let's go." He hugged her to his chest, pulled out his wand and apparated the two of them to his house in Romania. They landed in his living room.
"Charlie. What just happened?" Ariane looked around, finding herself in unfamiliar surroundings.
"I apparated us to my house; we're in Romania."
"What? How? Charlie, I don't understand-"
"I'm a wizard, Ariane. There's a world that coexists with the earth as you know it. I have magical powers, as do all of my siblings and parents. I went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I now work here in Romania on a dragon reservation."
"A-a wizard?" she asked.
"Yes. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner, I desperately wanted to, darling," said Charlie. "It's just that we have to keep ourselves under wraps, and I wanted to make sure you could handle it."
"Wait, so you mean to tell me you've been lying to me?"
"Not entirely. Just stretching the truth. I'm sorry, Ariane."
"A wizard, you say?" she asked. Charlie nodded. "Is that what you meant when you said you didn't deserve credit for cooking? You made my pots and pans cook it for you?" Charlie nodded again.
"I understand if you're upset with me. But I must ask you not to spread it around to anyone else about wizards and witches."
"Secrecy, I understand. Otherwise you'd have us non-magical folks always asking you for help." Ariane was always quick on the uptake. She hadn't denied anger at Charlie, and he began feeling as though he had just thrown the relationship down the drain when she spoke again. "So what else can you do? Can you show me anything?"
"You're not mad at me?"
"No. I understand why you had to keep it a secret. It makes sense now why you were able to meet me every day from Romania!" She smiled and Charlie felt his face break into a grin as well. "Come on, show me something!" she urged.
"What do you want to see?"
"Anything." She looked around the room, and pointed at the couch. "Can you make the couch shrink?" Charlie nodded, and pointed his wand at his sofa.
"Reducto!" he cried. Before her eyes, the couch shrank to the size of her palm. She gasped in surprise, and bent over to pick up the miniscule couch.
"It looks just like a doll's couch. Wow! Moving would be so much easier this way," she exclaimed. Charlie smiled at her amazement. She put it back down on the ground.
"Engorgio," he said, and the couch returned to its normal size. Ariane turned to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Thank you for sharing this with me. I know it was hard for you to keep it a secret." Charlie nodded. "And you say your family and everyone that will be there this weekend can do all of the stuff that you can?"
"My kid brothers and little sister are still learning, but they're all brilliant in their own ways. But be careful of Fred and George. They'll probably try to pull some jokes on you."
"That's the twins, right?"
"Yup."
"So what do your parents and other brothers really do?"
"Well, Bill really does work at a bank; it's a wizard's bank, though. It's called Gringott's, and it's controlled by goblins. He's a charm breaker there. And Percy and my father both work for the Ministry of Magic, our government. My father loves Muggles, and you'll probably get questioned at great length by him."
"Muggles?" she asked.
"Non-magic people. We call them "Muggles."
"Oh. And you work with dragons?"
"Yes."
"Isn't that dangerous?" she asked, her brow furrowed with sudden worry.
"Only if they bite you, claw you, or try to burn you to a crisp."
"That explains all of the burns and scars, then." Charlie nodded. "And all the while I thought you were just clumsy. What else is different in this world?"
"Well, we have our own sport, called Quidditch. It's played on broomsticks, with seven players per team. There are four balls, and three hoops to score with."
"Did you play?"
"In school. I was the Seeker - we'll probably play some this weekend, so you'll be able to watch." Ariane nodded. Then her eye caught the pictures on his wall.
"Are the people in those pictures MOVING?" she asked.
"Oh yeah - the subjects in pictures move around in our world." She leaned in closer for a better look.
"So who's who?" she asked. Charlie grabbed the most recent family picture off the wall.
"Well, the tall ones are my dad, Ron, Bill, and Percy. That's Fred, and that's George. No, wait. That one's George. Oh, never mind. It's one of them. And that's my mum, and my sister Ginny."
"And that one's you." She pointed at the last red head in the picture, who was slowly sneaking up behind Percy, ready to steal the Head Boy Badge from him, to the amusement of the twins. The picture had been taken two years ago, right after Percy had gotten his Head Boy letter. Ariane laughed as Charlie's picture tackled Percy, and the whole redheaded family started laughing and shouting. Charlie set the picture down, and turned back to Ariane.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" he asked one last time.
"Positive. I can't wait for this weekend." Charlie grinned and hugged her tightly.
"They're going to love you! Especially Dad. Let me write them really fast and let them know you're coming."
"Oooh, how do you communicate? I mean, that's why you looked so worried when I first gave you my number, right? You're not used to using telephones?"
"We have two general ways of communicating. One is by owl." He gestured to Thor, who gave a soft hoot in acknowledgment. "And the second is by fire. But we're going to owl them today." He pulled out a quill and a piece of parchment and began to write, Ariane reading over his shoulder.
Dear Mum, I just wanted to let you know that I am going to be bringing someone along to Easter. I don't think this will be a problem; the more the merrier, right? She's very special to me, and I want her to feel at home. Please don't tell Bill, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, or Ginny about her; I want it to be a surprise. Oh yeah - she's a Muggle (but don't tell Dad; he'd flip!) Can't wait to see you guys. We'll be apparating in on Friday night. Love, Charlie.
Charlie rolled up the parchment, and walked over to Thor's cage. He tied the letter to the owl's leg, and let the bird fly off through the window.
"Wow," Ariane breathed. "It's so amazing that they can do that."
"Do what?"
"Just deliver letters. I mean, I knew about carrier pigeons, but I didn't know that owls could do it, too." Charlie simply nodded.
"So do you want to stay here for a while, or do you want me to take you back home?"
"Let's stay here for a while. I'd like to explore a wizard's house; I've never been in one before," she said slyly. Charlie smiled at her, simply thankful that she had accepted his secret and he hadn't lost her. He knew his family would accept her as well as she had accepted him. His only worry was what the twins might do to him or Ariane, and he prayed that they wouldn't be exploding too many things while she was there. All in all, however, he couldn't wait for the week to be over and the weekend to arrive.
*So, until next time (aka, tomorrow), please keep reading and reviewing!! Thanks again to everyone!