Penelope Clearwater slowly descended the shaking airplane and walked into the Muggle terminal. It was 10:45 A.M. He should be here, she thought to herself as she looked around the corridor. She raised her head over the crowd and smiled with a small sigh.
"Penny! Penny!!!! Oh, how have you been?" she heard the excited voice of her father through all the people.
"Dad!!" She ran into the outstretched arms of her father. They then walked out of Alexandria International Airport and into Alexandria, Romania.
The air held a hint of cold and Penelope tightened her scarf around her neck.
"Penpen, here's where the car is. Isn't it wonderful? I can't wait to show you around. I'm so glad you've come," he beamed at her.
"Me too, Dad, me too."
Then they stopped talking. That was the way it was with Penny and her father. They didn't have much to say to one another except the requisite 'I love you' and 'How nice it is you're here!'. She loved her dad, but she didn't know or understand him. Maybe it was because he was just such a Muggle. Not like it could be helped, of course, she laughed to herself, but he was just… so Muggle like. He knew of magic - after all, he had married a witch. He was fascinated by Penny's stories of Hogwarts (she flinched inwardly at the thought) and magic. He loved to hear about the 'other' world. But Penny knew that that was partly his problem – he imagined the magical world as a story in one of his novels. And it wasn't.
But she felt like she had missed out on getting to know her dad, and when she had decided it was time for a holiday, she only thought of going to Romania, her father's home country. All she wanted to do was to get away from magic, from the Ministry… and from a Weasley.
They drove out of the city and into the countryside.
"Dad, you never told me you didn't live in the city," Penelope burst out in surprise.
"Hm? Oh, well, sorry 'bout that. It's very close, that ok?"
"No, it's
perfect. I need some peace and quiet, that's all."
"Em… yeah. Right."
Penelope looked out the car window. It was beautiful. The countryside wasn't desolate, no, but it was calm. What she wanted. She closed her eyes and thought of England.
"I'm so glad to be gone," she murmured.
"What was
that, sweet?"
"Oh, nothing, just thinking
aloud."
She knew that she had needed a break. She hadn't felt comfortable at the Ministry of Magic, where she had been employed for the past two years since she had graduated from Hogwarts. She'd worked in various departments – usually as an assistant codeworker or historian or some other specialty involving lots of reading. But that was what she was best at – reading and interpreting signs. Still, she never enjoyed it there. It was so… political! Of course it was political! But sometimes it didn't feel clean or right. She knew she was overreacting, obviously, since she hadn't had a very good experience there. But all she knew was that now she needed a bit of Muggle simpleness in her life.
Her father pulled into the driveway of a large, three-story farmhouse. It looked homey and friendly… just like her dad."You like it?" he asked nervously.
"It looks wonderful," she grinned.
"Come in! Come in!" he ushered.
The inside of the house was just as simple as the outside. The colors were muted, and there was nothing flashy at all -- so unlike their old house. She had to smile with wonder how her parents ever fell in love. They had been so different…
He showed her around the house and then into her room. It had nothing in it, only a bed.
She looked at him strangely, "I don't mean to be rude, but where's all the stuff?"
"Well… I was… uh… hoping that you'd be staying long enough to decorate it yourself."
She smiled at her father lovingly.
"Thanks. Thank you."
Her dad grew very red and guided her out of the house and into the fields.
"I have horses, you know. You can ride any of them any time you'd like."
Her dad left and she walked around the stable by herself. Everything was so new to her. For once she wasn't feeling too bookish, or too snooty… She wasn't feeling too much of anything, kind of numb. After all, she thought to herself as she sat under a tree outside, I only decided to come here a week ago.
She had only written her dad of her plans to stay with him a few short days ago, but she knew he'd take her in. He felt the same way about her as she felt about him. Love, but no understanding of the other. They were just way too different at times. Yes, both were bookish and quiet, but Penelope lived a completely different life that her dad would never be part of. But they both, secretly, thought that maybe they could take their two different lives and put them together and become something they hadn't been for a long time… a family.
For the most part, the days passed uneventfully. Her father wrote most of the day, and then she would read it and make suggestions, the normal thing for them. She loved dinner with her dad – it was the sweetest thing to her. He always cooked so well, and without any magic. The smell of food would pass through the whole house, making her feel at home… something that she had missed while she was staying at Hogwarts. As a child, she hadn't really been that bookish or pretentious. But now, now those two things defined her. Then her mom had died of cancer when she was ten and she had begun to turn inwards. She would read all the time, and she loved it. She could bury herself into a book, another world, and then her letter had come and she went off to Hogwarts. She'd always wanted to go to a wizarding school – her mom had gone to Beauxbatons, but she knew that Hogwarts was the place for her. There, she'd been sorted into Ravenclaw and she stopped missing her home and mom and dad so much… The other Ravenclaws understood her love of books and she loved talking with them, especially the older students. Ravenclaw was like this other home, this other world that felt like a safe haven. And then she had met Percy Weasley, smart, law-abiding, cute Percy. He'd been in Gryffindor, but they shared a couple classes, and the love of the library. Sometimes she'd tease him and ask exactly why he was in Gryffindor when he was so much better suited to Ravenclaw. They'd laugh and he would blame it on his red hair. But ever since he had graduated and gone to the Ministry, Penelope realized that maybe he had more attributes of Slytherin than anything. All he cared about was his career. And that had scared her. Of course, though, she had fallen in love with him so she didn't mind much.. But then it had become his whole life and he told her she wasn't important to him. He told her that he needed to further his career without her for a few years and then when the time was right to take a wife, in accordance to his position in the Ministry, he'd take her back. Penelope sighed. It had hurt her, but for some reason, not as much as she'd planned. She used to imagine marrying Percy, joining the happy, boisterous Weasley family. But she knew now she didn't want to marry Percy. Ever. Her life since Hogwarts had been boring, sitting behind a desk. She wanted something new. It didn't have to be exciting – that really wasn't her style, but she wanted to feel something that being in love with Percy didn't offer. With them it had been like good friends, caring for each other (however one-sided it had been towards the end)… No passion really.. Not that Penny had minded at the time. She was too intellectual, she thought, to want passion. All she wanted to do was to expand her mind. And Percy loved to study too… Then she started to read Muggle books more often, something she hadn't done in a long time. The stories of love and passion seemed foreign to her, as she and Percy didn't share that at all. And then they/he ended it and she wanted a vacation.
"Dad, I'm taking Chanel for a ride, ok?"
"Alright,
Penpen, go have lots of fun!"
She smiled. She liked her dad
talking to her as though she was still some little kid sometimes. It made her
feel ok, like everything would be fine. That even though she was twenty, maybe
she could go back and redo some of her life.
She loved riding in the fields and over the land. Her favorite place to go was just to the top of the hill surrounding her father's land. From there she could see Alexandria and watch the city life, all by herself. She used to hate being alone all the time, but now it was something she cherished. She really wasn't alone though, she was with Chanel. She giggled at the corniness of her thought - nature. She'd never really liked animals, they were smelly, didn't talk and were horrible to care for. Care of Magical Creatures had been one of the few classes she hadn't excelled in, well, at least according to her standards. Any other student probably would have cried with joy for her marks. But then in her fifth year something had happened to her. She'd been petrified, and that had really affected her. She'd felt dead, and Percy had been so kind… so kind…
Today would be the day that she would go over the hill. She'd wanted to do it since she had arrived, but for some odd reason always she felt the urge to turn around at the top. But she wanted to go somewhere new, see something out of the ordinary.
She got to the top of the hill in about thirty minutes. Of course she could have Apparated there, but then what would be the point? She rode down. The valley looked pretty removed from the outside world. She looked around and noticed something was going on…something magical. She rode a little further and began to hear noises, knowing that no Muggle could hear them. What was going on in Romania????
She dismounted and ducked a little behind a boulder and heard a huge roar, and then heard a loud male yelling over the howling.
"Hey, mates, c'mon! Just stick it! C'MON!!!"
Then the noise dimmed and Penelope felt brave enough to look to the side. She screamed when she saw the creature, (A DRAGON!! She whimpered to herself) and the man turned around and saw her. And then she screamed again and fainted.
"Hey, ya ok?" the man asked.
"She can't be a Muggle, can she, Charlie?" said the other man with him.
"No, she's
not. I think I recognize her, in fact. Odd."
"Well, I better get back to
Hattie, to make sure she's good. Why don't ya take her to the mess?"
"Sure you won't be needing me?"
"Nah, mate, ya go on."
The man called Charlie lifted up Penelope, who was just awakening.
"Wait! Put me down!"
Charlie smiled at her as he set her down into a chair, "Well, welcome to the Romanian Dragon Reservation. Not a Muggle, I would guess?"
"No…you're a Weasley. What's a Weasley doing here?"
Charlie laughed, "I knew I knew you! Or well, I don't really know who you are but you seem quite familiar, but anyways, I guess the red hair speaks for itself, huh? I'm Charlie Weasley and how do I know you, exactly? I'm afraid I can't remember much, been hit with too many Bludgers and dragon tails, I guess."
"I'm… uh, I was Percy's girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater."
"Oh, well, welcome! How's Percy? Why are you here? Like that Romanian Longhorn?" He laughed and then added when Penelope involuntarily shut her eyes, "Well, I guess it was a surprise. Although you must know that Romania has the largest dragon reservation in the world…"
"Well, it didn't really cross my mind when I came here. Um.."
"Hey, know what? I've got a break. I'd love to chat and stuff, as long as it's over some food. The mess is just over there…"
"Chanel? Where's Chanel?"
"Your horse? She's in the stable, don't worry, she hasn't been eaten just yet. She's with some sheep. Now they'll be eaten," he grinned wickedly.
Penelope still couldn't get over the fact that the one type of person she didn't want to see was a Weasley and there was a red haired guy right in front of her. But he was so different from Percy! The only way they were the same was the flaming red hair. But she could already tell it looked much better on Charlie. He was shorter than Percy, just 5'11", maybe 6'0", and he was grinning like crazy all the time. He seemed a bit mad, in fact. He looked almost tan and his muscled arms had burns and scars.
"I haven't talked to anyone from England in so long! And I'd love to hear about my fellow red heads!"
Penelope still
was having some trouble adjusting to the fact that there was a Weasley in
Romania. Sure, Percy had mentioned his brother Charlie, but she had never paid
much attention. But here he was, and Charlie was acting like it was the most
normal thing in the world! So maybe Romania wouldn't be as calm and
ordinary…and Muggle-like as she had thought it would be.
The two entered the mess together
and every eye turned towards Penelope. As good as she was at interpreting signs
in books, in the real world she was horrible. There were some women in the
Reservation, of course, but Penelope was pretty. She didn't know it and she didn't
care. She hadn't really brushed her long, curly black hair for a few days (her
old friends would've been in shock!) but she still looked pretty and all the
men in the mess noticed.
"Hey, Charlie, sit over here, will ya?" shouted a young man with a thick Scottish accent.
"Nah, today I've got some catching up to do!"
Another guy, with a huge scar across his chin yelled across the room, "Ah, catching up! Is that what they call it nowadays?"
Charlie laughed and guided Penelope through the buffet line and then took her outdoors to one of the tables.
"Yeah, we've got a pretty rowdy bunch, but that's what happens when a good-looking girl walks through. So, what's going on with Percy?"
"I don't know."
"What's that?"
"Oh, well…um…we broke up, two months ago."
"Oh! I'm sorry, I hadn't heard. Drat. I'm awfully sorry there, Penelope. Awfully."
"It's alright, it was mutual, you know the drill."
Charlie's eyes slightly glazed over, "Yes, I remember when Vipina had to go…it was terrible. I can still hear her cries, ya know? Definitely not mutual for us though. I don't think she wanted to go either, but the Peruvian government wanted her back."
Penelope's eyes grew wide with
shock and confusion, "What an extraordinary story! What was she like?"
"Ah, she was fast, coppery… Loved
to eat humans though, that was the problem."
Penelope erupted with laughter.
"What? What? It's not funny when you have to part with the thing you love best, I thought you'd get that," he said frankly.
"No, no, I do understand. It's
just I thought Vipina was a person, not a dragon!"
Then the two laughed, and the ice
broke between them. Their conversation flowed easily as Charlie asked why she
was there and about her father, and Penelope asked about his work.
"Work? You call dragons work? Nah, I'd call it a dream. The best thing in the world."
"That's wonderful."
"Yeah, it really is."
Then the man with the Scottish accent walked up to them and slapped Charlie playfully on the back, "Ok chap, time to stop the flirting and get ta herding! And while you're away, I'll be sure to take care of this nice young lady." He winked at Penelope who looked up in confusion. Flirting was definitely not in her repertoire, but she laughed anyway.
"I'm Ewan. And you?"
"Penelope, nice to meet you."
"That's what they all say 'till they get to know me," he grinned.
Charlie snorted and nodded fervently to Penelope, "But usually it just happens the minute they lay eyes on him."
She grinned at Charlie. Ewan walked
away in a fake huff, then turned back, waved and shouted, "Alright there,
Charles! Just a few more minutes! Hattie should be up soon, ya here?"
Charlie laughed and waved him
off.
"I'm sorry to keep you," Penelope got up to leave.
"No, no! I like the company. Especially when it's a pretty girl," he grinned.
Damn Weasleys, she thought to herself and smiled.
Penelope rode around the Reservation for most of the day. She stuck to the outskirts, since that was the place with the least chance of dragons. They scared her so much. Some were large, some smaller, but all of them were so powerful. They scared her almost as much as they fascinated her. She'd never seen one up close and never been near something so dominant. Charlie and Ewan and all the guys (and the one girl working with Hattie) were all so brave and adventurous, like in one of the Muggle novels she loved. She felt very boring in comparison to them.
After a while, Penelope rode back home to the house. It was dinnertime and she greeted her father at the table.
"Where have you been, sweet?" her father asked worriedly.
She looked at him in surprise. "Just riding, that's all."
"Right. Well, you know… I just got worried, that's all."
"I'm twenty, not two, dad."
"I know, sorry 'bout that. So, where did ya go?"
"Up and
over the hill."
"Ah, not much there, huh? Looks
pretty nasty, if ya ask me. All those keep-out signs and the air is so bloody
thick!"
"Hm?"
Penelope began to ask a question but quickly thought better of it. Stupid, stupid me, she thought to
herself. How could I have forgotten that
Muggles can't always see things that witches and wizards can? What's gotten
into me?
After dinner, her dad went to a
party and Penelope went to her room. She plopped down on her bed and proceeded
to try and brush her thick, curly black hair without much luck. She opened her
book and started to read but she couldn't concentrate. Weasleys were everywhere
she turned! They were even in Romania – Romania for Merlin's sake!!! She
couldn't escape them. But, she admitted to herself, maybe she didn't want to.
