Title: Amour Aveugle(Blind Love in French)
Author: Chryss
Summary: All Lily wants is freedom to walk in the streets as a normal witch, not a Muggleborn, target of the recent Voldemort's attacks. But she what she gets is something opposite. Lily has to live as Holly Bartock, a Muggle accountant. But something else comes along in that parcel, things such as maybe, love?
Disclaimer: The plot is mine but the characters you recognize are owned by J.K.Rowling.
Amour Aveugle
Chapter 1: Metamorphosis
"Bella! I need your help!" I cried up the small house.
"Hold on!" A faint cry answered me. I let five minutes pass by.
"Bella!" I yelled again. There was no answer this time. I was still focusing on the container as I slowly walked up the stairs. My feet fumbled on a fat furry rock!
"Argh!" I yelled, tripping on one of the many cats strolling around the house. "Bloody hell! Get out of the way you damn cat!" I yelled at Bartlett, a very large, gray cat who always decided to plop down in my way. I shoved him with my foot. He didn't budge. I wasn't going to give up this time. I put my barefoot over his fat belly, threatening to step on him when Bell finally came down.
"Holly Bartock! What are you doing to Mr. Bartlett!"
"Bella! Will you please not say that name? We're in the house! It's okay. I don't think there are Death Eaters spying on us right now!" I said rolling my eyes. Seriously, I understand she is being cautious and all that, but no need to overdo it.
"But Lily! Dumbledore told us to take all precautions. You seriously don't know where the Death Eaters are popping up these days!" Bella whispered animatedly, looking around fearfully, kind of reminding me of one of her cats.
"Okay, okay. Holly then. Don't add the last name. I despise it." I told her. Together, we went up to my cluttered bathroom. "Okay. Blonde or brown?" I asked, holding up the hair dye container that had pictures of flashy girls with shiny hairs of various colors.
"Aww. I really liked your beautiful red hair. I'll miss it." Bella said, fondly touching my long red hair.
"I was kind of getting tired of it." That was a total lie. I loved my red hair. I would never get tired of it, not even the name calling that came with it. "Anyways, back to the subject. Blonde or brown? Or maybe I can even go for black, but it would look too weird, without black eyes. Which brings me to my next subject. What color eyes?"
"Well, you don't want to stand out too much. So I would have to say brown. No, actually blondish brown. Sort of sandy blondish gold. Like one of your friends, that really nice timid boy. Reeee…"
"Remus. Yeah, I like that color. And I'll have brown eyes." I said sadly, looking in the mirror at my vivid green eyes.
I mixed some of the blonde hair color dye and some of the brown in a bowl. We mixed it together with more water put it larger bowl. Then I dunked my head.
"All right. Do it. Let's get it over with." I said.
"Chromorphi!" Bell said the spell.
I didn't feel anything.
"Okay. You can pull your head out now." She said.
I carefully drew my head out. I got a towel and dried my sandy colored hair. The liquid in the bowl was now deep red, the color my hair used to be. I crinkled my nose and studied the girl that was staring back at me in the mirror. Bella muttered a drying spell. I felt like crying. It felt like the very essence of Lily Evans was drawn out, in the bowl.
"At least you still have your green eyes." Bella said sympathetically.
"Not for long." I replied, taking the eye dropper and dropping a drop of pearly liquid in my eye. It felt very thick. I muttered the spell and it felt like I was rolling my eyes. I closed my eyes, not wanting to look it the mirror.
"Holly? Open your eyes. Let me see."
I opened them slowly. It felt so weird. My eyes were not completely brown, I guess you can never get the green color out. They were brown in the middle and green on the outside.
Maybe by now I should tell you about what's going on. I am Lily Evans. I'm 21 years old and I'm a witch. I graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with top marks (except for Transfiguration and Divinations) in my year and as Head girl, along with the Head boy, James Potter. Anyways, Voldemort, a crazy lunatic, I would say, has been gaining power for the last few years and he has an intense dislike for Muggle-borns. So naturally, being a Muggle-born I am, he's after my blood.
Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts and a very good friend, is practically forcing me to take a fake identity and move to France. He told me that I must live undercover as a Muggle accountant for awhile, since I am crucial to the Ministry of Magic. I work as an Auror, which is another reason Voldemort is after me. So, I have to apparate to a cottage outside of Paris, where several Aurors are to meet me. Then, I must travel the Muggle way to an apartment room. He insisted that to have two Aurors, living next door, but I flatly refused.
"It'll take some getting used to." Bella muttered.
"Yeah…" I said hoarsely.
"Well, are you done packing? You have to be there by six am sharp tomorrow." She said sorrowfully.
"I'm almost done." I said sadly. I walked to my room. There were three large trunks on my bed: one with all my precious books, another with my robes, and another with all my Muggle clothes. There were still some stuff to be packed in. My French dictionary, which was probably my most precious item, since I only knew the basic terms, my shoes, a bag with brushes, hair ties, and all that stuff. It took about an hour more to clean up my room and finish packing.
The door creaked open.
"Holly? I brought some food for you." Bella said, bringing a tray with some cookies and milk.
"Thanks Bella." I replied, sighing and drawing another chair for my desk.
Bella, Arabella Figg, was an old friend of Dumbledore. She gladly accepted me into her home when I couldn't find a house to live. She was kind of a mother to me. After all, my parents were killed in a Voldemort attack almost seven years ago.
"I'm going to miss you Lily." She said.
I chuckled. "You're not calling me Holly." I teased.
She ignored my comment. "You have to write to me. Okay? Tell me all about Paris. And if you meet a guy, I want to be the first to know about it."
"All right Bella. Don't worry." I said.
We talked some more until we were finished with the cookies.
"Well, better get some sleep now." She said.
"Okay. Good night." I said for the last time.
~*~
I woke with a sick feeling in my stomach. I drudged into the bathroom to wash up. I nearly screamed when I saw myself in the mirror. I forgot that I had changed so much. The clock, in the shape of a cat read 5:30.
"Bloody hell!" I muttered, quickly taking a shower. I stepped out just when Bella yelled me for breakfast. "I'll be there in a minute!" I yelled back.
When I was running down the stairs, Bartlett wasn't in my way, strangely. Even he seemed to sense that today was going to be a big day.
"Holly! It's already 5:55! Are you out of your mind?!" Bella yelled at me.
"Okay, okay!" I cried, stuffing a toast in my mouth and gulping down a cup of pumpkin juice.
"5:56, 5:57…" Bella was reading the time from her, you guessed it, cat shaped watch. We ran upstairs together, all 14 cats following us. I muttered the spell to shrink and lighten my load. I carried them in my arms.
"Bye Bella! I'll miss you!" I said, tearfully.
"Bye Holly! I'll visit you sometime!" She said. I kissed her on the cheek before apparating to the cottage.
There were some Ministry of Magic officials, Aurors and, of course, Dumbledore.
"Ms. Bartock!" He said pleasantly. I rolled my eyes at the absurd name. "Glad to see you in one piece this morning. You have changed."
"Thank you Dumbledore. Nice to see you too." I said.
"Now, we must get right to business. You are to meet with the apartment magisterial in approximately 30 minutes." He said.
I looked around myself. Then I noticed the tall black haired boy, or should I say, man, now.
"Sirius Black?!" I yelled. He looked confusedly at me. Of course, he wouldn't recognize me because of my change.
"Yes. Mr. Black will escort you to the bus stop, then give you a tour of Paris after you drop off your belongings in the apartment." Dumbledore said, hurriedly.
"Uh, Albus? Who's—" Sirius never got to finish the sentence.
"No time for introductions! Hurry! The bus will be arriving soon! Holly, you will explain your matter quietly to him on the bus." Dumbledore said, shooing us out.
It was a short walk on a gravel path to the bus stop. There were still dews left on the grass tips.
"So, Holly? Is that your name?" Sirius said. I have to admit, he looked very different in Muggle clothing. He was wearing a blue flannel shirt and jeans. I was wearing a knee length khaki skirt and a black blouse. I had to say, we looked like normal Muggles.
"Yes." I said. "and No." I added after awhile. "Don't you recognize me? Green eyes?"
"Hmm…" He stared at me with his bright blue eyes. "Green eyes. The only person that pops into my mind with green eyes is Lily Evans. She was such a nerd. She was annoying too."
I couldn't believe it! Sure I was smart… but a nerd! I felt my jaw drop when I heard this.
"You inane, brainless, inconsiderate, naive idiot!" I said shrilly.
"I'm just kidding! I knew it was you!" He said, laughing.
What a big dope. I felt pretty stupid about now. "Is it that obvious?" I asked.
"No. I just realized it when you said green eyes." He said.
"Good." I said, relieved.
We continued talking until the bus came. We stayed kind of quiet for a couple minutes. The ride was short. We got off. Sirius put on dark sun glasses. I snorted.
"What?" He said, irritated, looking at her.
"Nothing!" I said.
"Should I lose the sunglasses? I mean, they looked really cool on Muggles." He said.
I laughed at him. "It's not even sunny. Look! It's grey and foggy." I said.
"So?"
"That's the point of sunglasses. You wear them when it's sunny and bright."
"But all these Muggle people were wearing them at concerts and stuff. It was night."
Wow. I knew better than to waste my time arguing with Sirius. "Fine. Just wear them."
"I guess you know more about Muggles." He said, taking off his shades reluctantly.
We reached the apartment compound. It was a pleasant setting, a small fountain in the middle of the circle of buildings. A rather large lady, with a deep booming voice sauntered out of the office.
"Meez Bartock I preezum?" She asked me in a very thick accent.
"Yes. Holly Bartock." I said, taking her portly hand. She shook my hand and I thought she was trying to knock my arm out of the socket!
"Madame Marez. Call mee Marie." She said.
Sirius stepped in, thank god, and started to talk to her in French. She seemed relieved to that someone was able to talk in her native language. They talked some more and I signed some forms. Then Marie gave me two brass keys. I received that and with Sirius, I walked into the apartment room.
It was small, but there was a sense to 'hominess' to it. There was a small kitchen/dining room by the living room. Then there were two bedrooms, one a little bigger than the other. There was a small bathroom across from in the hallway that connected the living room and the bedrooms. Then there was another, slightly bigger bathroom connected with the 'master bedroom', I liked to call it. The basic furniture were already there. I just needed to furnish it.
"I think I'll sleep in this room." I said, trying to lift the heavy trunk with two hands. This must be the one with all my books. I could hardly budge it.
Sirius took it with ease and carried it to my room. "What are you going to do with the other room?"
"I don't know. Maybe like a guest bedroom, I guess." I said, leaning against the door frame and looking at the small room.
"You can save that one for me." He said, winking.
I playfully slapped him and carried my other trunk to my room while he carried the last one.
"Now is the time for the tour of Pariiiis!" He yelled loudly.
"Woo hoo…" I said sarcastically. All I wanted right now was some food and some sleep. We walked out into the sunny courtyard. He lightly skipped ahead of me like a little boy. I rolled my eyes and quickened my pace to keep up with him. It was about a ten minute walk to a street with all sorts of little shops and cafés. I was beginning to like this.
He showed me all the little shops and restaurants of the Muggle Paris on my street. That took about half an hour.
Then we walked into a small café. When we walked in, I could feel the magic vibrate in the small restaurant. A couple of young wizards acknowledged him. One of them was Remus, who I knew pretty well, as he was in my year also.
"Sirius! Hullo! What brings you to Paris?" He asked.
"Ministry business." Sirius said. I stood there, feeling like an idiot until Remus acknowledged me.
"And who's this lovely young lady you have?" Remus said. I could feel his eyes looking at me over.
"Oh, um, this is Holly Bartock." He said. He looked at me pleadingly to at least tell Remus about me. I widened my eyes warningly as a no. If Dumbledore found out, he would kill me.
"Nice to meet you Holly. I'm Remus" Remus said, taking my hand and shaking it politely. I smiled kindly. He was fooled.
"I have to get going now." Sirius said.
"All right. See you later." Remus said, going back to his drink. "Bye Holly."
We both waved to him and Sirius lead me to French style patio door. I thought this would lead back into the bright street, but it lead to a secluded beautiful courtyard.
"All right. To get to the Manifeste Alley, it is similar to the Diagon Alley. Watch." He said. He walked to a statue of a small boy, holding a kite. He tapped the left thumb with his wand and the statue became alive.
"Bon jour." It said, stepping out of its podium. Sirius held my hand we both stepped on to the podium and before my eyes, we were standing on a smooth brick road, lined with shops. I thought it was quite similar to the Diagon Alley. It had the same magical vibes that filled me energy.
"Now we'll go to Gringotts. They have a French branch." He said, leading me into a medium-sized marble building with glass doors. The familiar goblins tended to us and I got some money in my purse. Then he showed me around a couple of useful shops. When he was done, it was already 11 am.
"I have to go Li-Holly." He said.
I was kind of enjoying all this. "All right." I said sadly to see him go.
"I'm supposed to meet with Dumbledore about now. I'll visit you in about a week or so, just to see how you're doing. Don't hesitate to owl me. But don't come to the Manifesto Alley too often, all right? You're supposed to be a normal Muggle accountant. Owl me if need to come here." He said. He flashed me a priceless grin and apparated to who-knows-where.
Great. I was on my own. How do you say, 'I would like a sandwhich' again? I needed Sirius here. I didn't want to go out to the Muggle Paris, but Sirius insisted that I stay in the Muggle Paris, where it was safer for my own good, as much I could. 'Blend in with the Muggles.' He had said. So I stepped on the same podium that got me here and I was instantly transported to the small quaint courtyard.
Maybe Remus was still there. Maybe I could eat with him. I walked hopefully into the now crowded café. Nope, Remus wasn't there. I didn't recognize anyone there, so I left, looking for a nice little restaurant. I spotted a cute one, with pink and white sign and I went it. It was cute enough, lacy tablecloths, pink and white carnations. I took a seat and a waiter came to me.
"Bon jour. Qu'est-ce que tu aimes manger?"
I knew this one, it was in the first chapter of my Beginner's French book. I remember clearly, the fourth page. He had said, 'How are you?' . "Fantastique. Merci" I said 'Great. Thank you.'
The waiter looked confused at me and repeated what he said.
I looked funnily at him and repeated with more clarity.
He stomped his feet lightly and repeated exactly what he said.
I decided maybe he wanted a different response. "Comment allez-vous?" I said 'how about you?'
His eyes grew big with frustration and he stomped back into the kitchen. What the bloody hell. Two seconds later, he returned with the chef, a big, porky man. He was still carrying a big meat knife. I couldn't help but chuckle at how dainty and lacey the surrounding was when this big, fuming, red faced man with an unshaven face and a dirty white shirt.
"Qu'est-ce qui se passé!" He said.
That was all I got. Then he started blabbing more in rapid French. I couldn't take it anymore. His bad breathe was making it hard for me to breathe, he was showering me with spit and his left hand, holding the big knife was flailing around, almost hitting a table nearby. Some customers were throwing us funny looks and leaving.
He yelled something terribly loud. I had a feeling that he had said 'NOW YOU'RE MAKING THE CUSTOMERS LEAVE!!!' That was when I snapped. I rose up and even though I was about a foot shorter than him, I yelled at him with all my might. My red haired temper was coming back..
"HOW HARD IS IT TO GET A BLOODY DAMN SANDWHICH!!! I JUST WANTED A SANDWHICH! DOESN'T ANYONE SPEAK FUCKING ENGLISH AROUND HERE! YOU DON'T…" I couldn't believe I was yelling a thick, large man, who looked like he weighed five times as me- with a knife in his hand. He yelled at me back some more, showering me some more with the spit.
I took a big breath to scream back, when I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I turned around to meet stormy gray eyes.
"J-James? James Potter?" I said, incredulously. I couldn't believe it. Thank you lord!
He looked at me strangely and I just remembered I was Holly Bartock. But luckily, he ignored, for now, and muttered apologies to the chef and the rest of the restaurant and led me out. His grip on my wrist was a warm, friendly, but firm one.
"You don't want to upset Chef Mortez. I heard he accidentally whacked off one of his worker's finger." He said.
I laughed. I didn't really know James during Hogwarts. He was head boy, I was head girl, and that was that. Nor further relations. He hadn't changed so much. He had gotten a little taller, maybe a little under six feet, a little tanner and his face had become more serious and adult-like. "Thanks." I said.
"No problem. How do you know me?" He asked.
I was stuck right there. I didn't know what to say. I knew he played Quidditch, but he wasn't supposed to know I was a witch. Come on, I was good at making up lies. Why not now?!
"Uh, I, uh, know your third cousin, um, Marie Potter, and, um, she showed me a picture of you." I said. That one was believable enough.
"Really? I never knew I had a third cousin named Marie. Well, how do you know her?" He said.
Stop asking questions!
"We went to high school together." I said.
"But all my family go to ma—" He stopped himself before he could say magic schools. Whew. I don't think he'll press the matter further. But I was wrong. "What high school?"
"Um, McGonagall High School." I said it before I stopped myself. How dumb could I get! Oh no. I'm going to blow my cover.
"Really? McGonagall?" James said, surprised at hearing the familiar name.
I nodded enthusiastically. I tried to change the subject. "Are all French chefs so temperamental?"
James laughed. "No. Mortez is just a little… off. So anyways, what's your name?"
"Holly Bartock." Damn, I hated that name.
"Holly. Pretty name" He said. I scoffed softly. "How about I treat you to lunch? Looks like you're not going to get anywhere."
"Sure! Thank you so much." I said. He was kind. He led me to another restaurant. This one was smaller and cozier. The bell jingled as we went in and James talked in French to a waitress. We sat down on a table by the window. "I don't see what I did wrong though. Did I say some swear word or something?"
"No." He laughed. I liked the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed. It reminded me of the days back at Hogwarts. "He asked 'What would you like?' and you kept saying 'Great. Thank you.' And 'How about you?'"
"Oh." I'm not very linguistic, I'm sure you've realized that by now.
The waitress came to take our order.
"What do you want?" James asked.
"Sandwich would be great." I said.
He said the orders to the waitress and she left.
"So, what brings you to the City of Lights?" He asked.
Bloody hell. Stop asking so many questions! I can't keep track with all the lies.
"My grandmother…" My grandmother?! Where did I come up with that?!
"Your grandmother…" He said, motioning his hand to go on.
"She's been really sick lately and I just wanted to be with her during her last days. She lives just out of Paris" I said, trying to keep a sad face.
"Oh, I'm sorry. She'll be all right. I can contact some really good doctors if you like."
"Oh, that's very kind of you. But it's all right. She'll manage." I said. Why did he have to be so damn nice.
"Here, I'll write down some doctors I know." He said, getting out a piece of notebook.
I stayed quiet. This was really frustrating.
He wrote down about four names. "Here." He handed them to me.
"Thank you." I said, putting the piece of parchment in my purse.
We talked some more, getting to know each other a little more. I learned that James had played professional 'soccer' and decided that he didn't want to do that for the rest of his life, and was looking for a real job. At least, he bent the truth. I knew he used to play for the Chudley Cannons; I watched one of their games once.
The food arrived soon and we continued to talk while eating. When we were done, James offered to pay.
"No, no. It's really okay. You've been too kind." I said politely as I could. Just because I wasn't filthy rich like him, didn't mean he had to feed me.
"No. It'll be my pleasure." He insisted.
Now I was known throughout the school for my stubbornness and my temper. I wasn't giving up this fight.
I ignored what he said started to take out my money. He grabbed my wrist.
"Seriously. I can't bear to have a lady pay for me." James said.
I laughed. "I wasn't going to pay for you. I was paying for myself. I can handle myself thank you."
"No. I'll pay for you. Consider it an apology from Paris about that incident in the other café." He said, taking a different approach.
"Look. I can take care of myself. It's not like I'm broke. I already have a decent job. I can pay for myself." I said.
"I can't. Just let me pay and this will be over." He said.
"Give up? Give up my arse!" I said flustered. James looked at me strangely briefly. I remembered that that was one of my most used expressions back in Hogwarts.
"Why don't you just let me pay for you?" He asked.
"Because you're treating me like broke damsel in distress. Just because I can't speak French, doesn't mean I can't handle myself here. Just because I just moved here, doesn't mean I'm broke! Why do want to pay for me? Just pay for yourself and I'll pay for myself." I said. This was getting tiring but I wasn't giving up any time soon.
"I was just trying to a gentlemen!" He hissed loudly. We got a warning look from one of the waiters.
"Okay. Well you can help me more by giving me some French lessons." I said. Maybe I could get some good out of this.
"Fine. I'll give you French lessons. I would be glad to help you." He said, calming down.
"Okay. Now, I'll pay for myself. You're going to give me lessons. Deal?" Please let this be over. Please, please.
"All right." He said.
I got my money out and placed it by his. The waitress came and collected the money and we left the restaurant.
"Isn't it funny? We get in an argument and we don't even know each other more than three hours." He said.
"That's what it may seem like." I said mysteriously.
"You know, I feel like I know you really well."
"Really?" This should be interesting.
"Well, you remind me of someone."
"Who?" I might just know her.
"You don't know her. I knew her from school."
"What was her name?"
"Lily Evans."
Hmm… I think I know her. "What was she like?"
"I think if I lose all my memory about her, one thing will still stick in my mind. Her eyes. She had the greenest eyes. They reminded me of grass."
Grass. How pleasant. "Really?"
He nodded quickly and continued. "When you look into them, it feels like you're drowning in a pool. They made me feel… dizzy. They always fascinated me."
Drowning in a pool… I'm flattered.
"And she had like strawberry blondish, goldish, reddish, orangish hair. I don't know how to describe the color. It was really pretty."
Ah, that's better. "Why are you using all past tense? Did she die or something?" Oops. That sounded really rude. What if she did die? Woah. I'm freaking myself out here.
"Well. I haven't heard from her for, let's see, four years. I thought she would contact me or something since we were both Head boy and girl."
"Why didn't you contact her?"
"I didn't know where she lived." He said.
Ha ha ha. That would work for as a Muggle excuse but he could've owled me. I stopped myself before I blurted it out.
"Plus, I don't even know what happened to her. I heard she's been working as, um, a police officer, law officer type thing, but I heard that she decided to quit to move to Australia."
Oh. Is that what they said? "Ha. Move to Australia?" I scoffed. Oops. I can't keep my fat mouth shut.
"Yeah. I'm not sure if all these things are true though. They're just rumors." Whew. He didn't notice my outburst. "The truth is, I don't know if she's alive. I've heard rumors that this, um, murderer was out there to kill her since like two years ago. But maybe that's why she's moving to Australia, to hide from him."
He got it half-right.
"I'm sure she's safe and breathing."
"What makes you say that?" He said, looking at me.
Because she's talking to you right now, you big dolt. "I don't know. I have a feeling."
He stayed quiet. "So when should we begin our lessons?"
"I haven't started work yet. I'm starting on about Thursday in two weeks. I'm going to be busy settling in my new apartment for about two days. So I'm free the whole time next week. Just drop by anytime." I told him. I wrote down my address and phone number and gave it to him.
"All right. Here's my address and my phone number." He gave me a piece of paper too. "I'll see you later then."
"Bye." I said, before turning around.
I was proud of myself for finding my way back. It was a bright May day. The sunlight filled the whole apartment with radiance and the sunlit dust particles lazily hung in the air. I looked at the cabinets in the kitchen, waiting to be filled, my unopened trunks in my room. Heck with it. I'm getting some sleep first. Waking up before six, not the usual eight, was not a fun thing. I fell straight to bed, not bothering to take off my skirt and my blouse.
~*~
When I woke up, I found myself looking straight up at Dumbledore.
"Ms. Bartock. Thought you would wake up soon." He said kindly.
What the hell was he doing in my house! "Professor Dumbledore!" I shouted a little sleepily, yawning.
"Call me Albus. I came to place protective spells around your apartment. I've already put a spell so no one can apparate here. And also, I need you to so I can have the door recognize you and allow only you and the people you let in." He said.
"All right." I said lazily, stifling another yawn. Too much precautions.
"Do you want it to recognize you by your face? Or something where you touch the door?" He asked.
I really didn't see the difference. If someone kidnapped me, they could force me to bring my face up to the door or make me touch it. Oh well. What the heck. "I want it to recognize my face."
"Okay. Just stand here." He said. He muttered some words in the air that I couldn't hear and a gold light erupted from the end of his wand and wrapped around the door and me. "When you want to come in, you would, of course, first need the key to unlock the door and then look up there," He said, pointing to an intricate design shaped into an eye. Kind of freaky looking if you ask me. "and it will recognize you by your eyes."
"Okay. Simple enough." I said.
"Now when you want to bring someone in, be sure to be touching the person when you look up in the eye." He said.
"Okay." I didn't want to know what would happen if I didn't touch them.
"To make it more easier, you can register certain individuals you trust so they can walk in through the charm. I already registered all the aurors in case of an emergency. But don't be too trusting Ms. Bartock. But some people that you know for sure isn't a Death Eater, let's say, Mr. Potter, can be trusted." His eyes twinkled.
How in the blimey did he know about me and James already! I stood there, gaping like a blowfish. I closed it when I realized how foolish I looked.
"Well thank you Professor Dumbledore." I said.
"You're welcome Ms. Bartock. Please, call me Albus. I'm truly getting tired of being called Professor. It's hard after at least 40 years." He said. Then he walked out the door and disapparated after waving.
I closed the door and sighed as I looked around the apartment. The sky was painted pink and purple and there were long shadows stretched across the floor. I had so much shopping to do! I opened the cabinet door and luckily found plates, pots, pans, cups, and bowls. A small burden off my shoulder. I opened the food closet. Argh. It was empty without some apples, bananas, oranges, and some bread. I would have to go grocery shopping. Splendid.
I moved onto the bedrooms and looked over them in more detail. My room had a simple oak wardrobe and a cabinet by it. There was a queen sized bed, all to myself, and a lamp on a small desk with a chair. A rather large fancy bookcase seemed to be out of proportion with all these simple, normal sized furniture. I studied the cherry oak frame. They had intricate carvings. I noticed on the top it had the familiar 'H' logo on it. On the bottom shelf, it was filled with books. Then I noticed a note folded neatly on it. It read—
'Ms. Bartock-
This is one of the bookcases out of the school library. Something out of memory lane. I personally chose these books, as I've seen you reading these most frequently. Enjoy!
P.S. This took a thirty minute convincing Madame Pince. I hope it's worthwhile.
Albus Dumbledore'
That was touching. I read the book titles. I remembered the book that I have lived with for the first three years, Hogwarts, A History. About half of the books were on Charms.
I continued my survey throughout my new home. Across from the bed was the door leading into the bathroom, which was, as I suspected, empty besides a shower curtain. I opened the cabinets, hoping to find towels, soaps, and other necessities. Nope, completely empty.
I moved onto the other bedroom. It was about three quarters the size of mine. It had two small windows facing the center courtyard with a fountain. It was same as mine without the book case. There was another bathroom right next to which was exactly same as the one in my room.
I decided to unpack my books first. So I changed into a regular white t-shirt and jeans. Then I began to unpack my precious, but sometimes annoying, books. That took me about an hour of heaving and panting. When I was done, I was sweating and mighty hungry. I opened the kitchen pantry and ate a few slices of plain bread and an apple. I decided to spend the rest of the evening writing a letter to Bella but I just realized I didn't have an owl. Dumbledore told me that he would be sending my owl later because it might attract too much attention when I carry an owl around.
Sure enough, my owl, Hermia, flew in threw the open window and she was carrying a brown envelope. Before she could even drop it however, she flew straight under my bed. That only meant one thing: cats. Hermia despised cats. I looked out into the now dark sky and saw three owls carrying a rectangular cage. They swerved in, almost knocking me the face and dropped the cage on my bed. Yup, it was a cat. The three owls flew out as fast as they could, hooting, discontent. I gave Hermia a piece of bread and ripped open the brown envelope.
'Holly-
Hello! This is your great-aunt Elizabeth (Great-aunt Elizabeth! Now she's changing herself! This fake identity thing was getting out of hand). How are you? I'm fine, except a sprained ankle, tripping over, guess who? ('Bartlett…' I muttered out loud) The sweetie Bartlett! He is so cuddly! Right when you left, he plopped down on your bed. Aww, cute, eh? Anyways, back to my ankle. I got it fixed by a medi-wizard so it's good as new. How is Paris? Find any guys yet? How is your new apartment? I have so many questions, I'll have to visit you sometime, how about sometime next weekend? I'm completely booked this weekend. I have to take all the cats to the pet store in Diagon Alley, to get their monthly checks. That will take awhile. Then on Sunday, I have to go to a W.L.O.C (We. Love. Our. Cats.) club. Not that I think about it, I might have some free time on Sunday. If I do, I'll be sure to visit you. Headmaster (meaning Dumbledore) told me about the wards around your apartment so I'll be sure not to apparate there, just out your door. Well, hope you had a good day. This should get to you around evening tonight because I sent it around noon.
P.S. I sent you Manchester, your favorite kitty, I remembered. I was going to send you Fluffy, but I thought she would get too homesick. (Thank goodness. Fluffy was a hairless cat. I have no clue why she's named 'Fluffy.' When I first saw her, I thought she was inside out.) Manchester was the only one who was close to you.
Love,
Your Great Aunt Eliza'
I opened the cage and Manchester pounced out on me. For some reason, no matter how bad I treated him, he loved me to death. He began to purr and rub all over my white shirt, leaving a trail of black fur, clung tightly to my shirt. I saw that there were about five or six cat toys in the cage. I dumped them out and Chester, I like to call him, pounced on them and began pawing them.
By this time, Hermia sneakily hopped from under the bed and perched safely on top of the bookshelf. She glared at Chester and turned around, facing the wall. I walked over and petted Hermia. Then I realized I didn't bring my cage. The rectangular cage wouldn't work. I guess I would have to make a trip to Manifeste Alley. Oh well. I had a lot of stuff that I needed to get there. I'll need Sirius though. I'll owl him tomorrow. I needed to owl Bella first, or she'll freak. I sat down on my new desk, biting the end of my quill.
'Great Aunt Bella—
Thank you so much for Manchester. He's great. (I've learned that with Bella and her cats, it's better to lie than be crudely honest). He reminds me of home. Guess who I met today! Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and James Potter! It was good to see them again. I really miss Hogwarts right now. It was all so easy there. I hope you're doing all right. France is not too much different from England, just different language I guess. Okay. That's a big difference. I couldn't order a sandwich today without the chef blowing up at me and swinging around with a big meat knife. (I could almost picture her 'awwing' as she read this letter. I have that effect on Bella). Well, I have to get some sleep now. I'll see you sometime later.
Love,
L.E.'
I bet she'll start freaking out about how I shouldn't be using my real name here… It's only initials and who would intercept a regular old letter? I looked at Hermia while I sealed the letter. She looked very tired so I decided not to owl Bella until tomorrow. I took a quick refreshing shower, got changed into my pajamas and crawled under the fresh, crisp, linen covers. I love that smell, fresh out of the laundry.
Well, that's it for my first chapter! I won't be updating it probably for another month… I'm trying to finish my first ficcy, Lily, You're My Flower. Visit my diary-x that I have a link to in my profile. For some reason I can't put in links in here… Help? Anyways, in that site, you'll be able to find out how the ficcy is progressing and when I'll be updating next. Review please! Thanks!
~Chryss