As the sun prepared to rise and reveal it's first rays from behind the rocky mountains, to bathe the entire desert landscape in a kaleidoscope of colors, Mallory sat on her back porch, counting down the seconds until she would first feel the sun's warmth.
"3...2...1..." Right on time, the sun permeated the air like a knife through butter and struck Mallory's piercing blue eyes, causing her pupil's to shrink, giving her a cat-like appearance. She got up and retreated into the lonely house. The house was typical of muggles, all the houses in the entire desert were. Few magical people chose to live in such an unkind environment when they could easily live anywhere they wanted. Mallory lived with her grandmother, and both of them loved the desert. They felt is was so unique compared to other areas and landscapes.
"Grandma?' Mallory called out. She heard no response. She hadn't expected her grandmother to still be in the house. She was quite an active woman for her old age, and was often gone before Mallory would wake up every morning.
Mallory walked into the bathroom and stared into the mirror, examining every little detail about herself. She carefully brushed the tangles out of her stick straight, chest length, layered jet black hair…
'My natural color' she thought proudly, aware that few blue eyed girls were born with such a strikingly different hair color. She looked at her face, slightly pale-
'Well I am allergic to the sun after all' she thought.
Yes, allergic to the sun, but it was only minor…more than 20 minutes in the sun caused her sensitive chest to break out in a rash. But she enjoyed her pale skin. It added more to the contrast of her features. Her skin was creamy and smooth, except for the light sprinkling of freckles across her nose, only visible to those who took the time to notice. Her grandmother called them "Angel Kisses". Mallory called them a nuisance…she'd become all too tired of being called cute due to her freckles. But she looked older than her age…16 years old…she looked more along the lines of a 19 year old. She ran her hand through her shiny hair, tousled it for a slightly messy affect( she hated looking too perfectly groomed ) and left the bathroom. She intended on heading for the kitchen to grab a water bottle but was stopped halfway by a tapping at the screen door.
"Mal! Hey Mal! It's me!" Said a voice from outside…She knew it had been him before he'd said a word. Only Matt would show up at her door at 6 AM.
"Can't even wait long enough for me to get dressed before you come over and bug me, eh?" she responded jokingly.
"Well good morning to you too, miss sunshine," Matt rolled his eyes. "Aren't you gonna invite me in?"
"Nope…I'm pretty sure you'll come in anyway." She said in a bored voice, continuing her walk towards the kitchen.
"Thanks, I love your enthusiasm Mal, but you might be overdoing it a bit." He said sarcastically while coming in through the door. He sat down at the table and helped himself to a plate of donuts sitting in the middle of the table like a decoration.
"Uhh, Matt? You do know those are for decoration…Grandma hasn't replaced them for about a week." She said furrowing her brows and biting her lower lip.
Matt, who had already taken off a bite, sniffed the donut, examined it a bit, then shrugged his shoulders and resumed eating it. Mallory rolled her eyes at him.
"So…" said Matt, his mouth full with donut, "Whad'you thing we're gunna doo tooday?" he asked, emphasizing through his full mouth with too much gusto.
"Matt, swallow." Mallory replied distractedly. She'd began reading a magazine. "Top Thirty International Wizarding Schools" . The front cover showed a large building, which resembled a fancy palace. It appeared to be made of ice, due to the way it sparkled and shimmered in the photograph, and numerous ice sculptures seemed to be placed along the front entrance. Snow was falling in the photograph. She watched the snowflakes, mesmerized for a few seconds, before realizing that every snowflake was exactly the same.
"Enchanted snow…" she mumbled to herself.
"Wha'bout snow?" Matt replied, halfway through taking a new bite of his donut. He stopped to look out the window, with an expression that clearly suggested Mallory had gone mental.
"No, in this picture. This school has enchanted snow falling in front of it. You can tell because every snowflake is the same." She said, still not tearing her eyes away from the picture.
She looked to the corner and noticed a caption. It read:
'Beauxbatons, one of the most beautiful wizarding schools in all of Europe, is well known for it's acceptance of a wide variety of magical beings, including Veela's. Though quite small in comparison to other schools, Beauxbatons is certainly not for those with a lack of money. One year at Beauxbatons can range from 10,000 to 35,000 Galleons, depending on the classes a student might choose to take.'
"Damn!" Mallory exclaimed, upon seeing the outrageous prices. Matt, having finished his donut, got up and joined Mallory at the kitchen counter and looked over her shoulder at the magazine.
"Yeah, stuck up rich kids go to that school. I've heard stories about them." Matt said, looking at the picture disdainfully.
"Like what?" Mallory asked, suddenly curious.
"Well, 2 years ago Beauxbatons participated in the Tri-Wizard tournament, Hogwarts hosted it. Apparently nearly all the girls who entered the contests were Veela's and they found Hogwarts to be an "unsuitable" place to say. Those girls could find anything to complain about." He finished.
"And how do you know this?" Mallory asked raising an eyebrow.
"I have a friend at Hogwarts…he told me about it." He replied
"Oh," Mallory replied simply, "Well if you don't mind I'm gonna go get dressed. I shouldn't be running around in pajamas with you around." She said, rolling her eyes.
Matt stared at her clothes. Nothing special, a pair of plaid, flannel, blue pajama pants, rolled down at the waist because they were too long, and a tight wife beater. He also noticed a pair of fluffy red slippers and chuckled quietly at them.
"Mal, it's Saturday, there's no need to get dressed. And I've seen you in worse things." He said with a smirk.
"Fine, but at least let me put on my makeup…I feel naked without it." She said, rubbing her arms and shivering dramatically.
"Whatever Mal, you don't need makeup." She rolled her eyes at him and went back into the bathroom. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at her face.
"Cosmetico!" she said, and instantly her makeup was done.
"Mal, it would be just as quick if you'd done it by hand!" Matt said, laughing at her.
The only difference was that there was now mascara on her lashes, which were very long to begin with, black eyeliner ( she just loved to accentuate her eyes ) and a bit of shimmer on her cheekbones for a wintery affect. You could hardly find anything wintery in the desert.
"Shut up! I like my spells." Mallory had a talent for inventing spells. She found that a slight change in the flick of her wrists while saying an incantation, could tweak a spell slightly. Scourgify, for example, could be used to brush her teeth, and rather than pink soap bubbles emerging from her mouth, her teeth would be instantly clean, bright, and her mouth minty fresh. Very convenient, since Mallory enjoyed anything that saved her time.
"Aww come one Mal, you know I like them too. You're absolutely brilliant, the way you make up spells." Matt said, trying to sweet talk her.
She turned to him and smirked. "Flattery will get you nowhere." Then she walked past him and flicked the tip of his nose, making his eyes water.
"Argh! Mallory!" he shouted, covering his nose. "You know you're not gonna get away with that!" he said, advancing towards her, his wand out and ready.
"Expelliarmus!" she said lazily, "Matt you should know better than to pick a duel with me, you're reflexes are the slowest I've seen!" she said, laughing at the stunned look on his face.
"You win!" he said, putting his hands up in mock surrender. "Accio wand!" he said, and instantly his wand flew into his outstretched hand. Granite Hills, the wizarding school Matt and Mallory attended, put great emphasis on wandless magic, and by 7th year, all students were expected to no longer need a wand. Matt and Mallory were perfectly capable of wandless magic, but they found it much easier to use a wand. Wandless magic took much more mental concentration, and after a long day at school, their brains were often fried past the point of being able to use them properly.
"Ok, so, what have you got planned for today?" Matt asked, plopping down on the sofa.
"We can go swimming later, once it gets hot." Mallory offered, thinking of more things to do.
"But Mal, your pool is filthy!" Matt replied with disgust.
"Nothing a cleaning spell won't fix, Matty Boy." she said, holding up her wand with a grin.
"Oh, right." Matt felt stupid.
"But for now, I want to finish that magazine. Accio Magazine!" Mallory sat down next to Matt as the magazine flew towards her. She opened it and began reading.
Matt sat patiently while Mallory read. The silence was punctured only by the ticking of the clock and an occasional comment from Mallory.
"Hey Hogwarts is in here. They're #5! Wow!" Mallory said suddenly. That would be the new school they were transferring to. They were to travel to the International Floo Transport Center in Los Angeles first thing tomorrow morning. Both of them were already packed and ready, and were going to spend their last day the best they could.
"Oh! Later I want to go visit Glenda…and you're coming with me." she added as an afternote, her voice suddenly stern.
Matt grumbled. He didn't like Glenda… really didn't like Glenda .
Mallory gave him a warning look, her crystalline eyes suddenly menacing. She went back to reading her magazine. Matt occupied himself by playing with a rubber band. About an hour later Mallory put down the magazine and stretched.
"Done? Finally?" Matt asked, relieved.
"No, I've still got a bit more, but I'm ready for a break. Let's go swimming!" She said suddenly hopping up.
"Mal, I don't have my swim trunks with me." Matt said exasperatedly.
Mallory rolled her eyes. "Apparatium." she said. Suddenly Matt's trunks appeared out of thin air and fell into a heap on the floor. "You'd think you weren't a wizard!" she said while rounding the corner into her bedroom. Matt followed her.
"Come on, Mal, you know I get good grades…I just don't have common sense…sometimes." He said, defending himself. Meanwhile Mallory was retrieving her bikini from her dresser.
"Yes Matt, I know, I know." she said. Matt continued to stand there awkwardly.
"Uhh Matt, do you mind? I'd like to get dressed." she said raising her eyebrows in that get-out-of-my-room-before-I-curse-you-out-of-it type of look.
"Oh! Right…yeah…umm…I'll go change in the bathroom." he said, while nodding in an unnecessary way. Mallory shooed him out with her hand and shut the door. She performed a locking curse on it for good measure.
Mallory quickly undressed and put on her bikini. It was striped red and white. She loved how it contrasted with her hair. She examined herself in the full length mirror, turning in circles to look at herself from all angles. She was glad for all the sports she played. Not only was she a chaser on the Granite Hills quid ditch team, she also enjoyed the muggle sport of softball and played in a muggle league. The two sports had left her with a nice toned body. Slim, but with curves. She had an unfortunate habit of rarely eating, though it wasn't an eating disorder. She was just all too busy to eat and was too bothered to remember. Not to mention she was extremely picky about her food. She turned around to see the back view of her. She laughed at her butt. She had a tiny little butt, quite the opposite of the new "Ghetto Booty" craze. She shrugged her shoulders and turned back around. She adjusted her bikini top to make sure she was fully covered. She was just about to put a charm on her strings to keep them from being untied ( Matt was all too playful when they swam together ) when Matt knocked on her door.
"Mal?" came his muffled voice from behind the door. "Are you ready?"
"Yes Matt! Why don't you start cleaning the pool? It'll go faster with the both of us."
Mallory thought she heard a grumble from behind the door but ignored it. She quickly pulled on a tiny pair of white terry cloth shorts, slipped on her spotlessly clean white slip flops and grabbed her sunglasses before leaving her room.
She went out into the backyard to find Matt standing next to the pool with a confused look on his face. She immediately saw that the pool was filled with soap bubbles.
"I, uh, forgot the wrist flicky thing you taught me Mal…" he said, apologetically.
Mallory laughed and performed the proper spell. The pool instantly was cleared of all leaves and dirt and the water shimmered a clear blue, similar to Mallory's eyes.
Mallory looked over at Matt to see him staring at her, a slight grin on his face.
"Well well, somebody's looking sexy today! That a new bikini?" he said, still ogling her.
It happened in a flash. Mallory narrowed her eyes at him, gave a powerful wave of her hand, and instantly Matt was being flung sideways into the air, his face contorted into a look of surprise. He just begun to shout when the sounds were muffled by water filling his mouth as he fell into the pool.
"Hey!" Matt coughed, and blinked the chlorine out of his eyes. " I wasn't planning on getting in yet!"
Mallory smiled at him as he climbed out of the pool grumpily, performed a quick drying spell, and layed down on a towel placed on one of the reclining chairs.
Mallory admired him. He was very good looking. About 6 feet tall, tanned, and a great, toned body. He too, played on the quid ditch team. He had slightly messy brown hair, that hung down to his ears, in a sort of casual elegance type of way. He also had stormy gray eyes, with tinges of yellow and red near the middle…strange, yet fascinating. But what attracted Mallory most of all, was his captivating smile. The way his eyes seemed to sparkle, and the cute little dimples that formed in his cheeks. Mallory thought he was absolutely gorgeous…she had once had a crush on him. But they were best friends, and now Mallory had no romantic feelings whatsoever. She forced herself not to watch him for too long.
"Hmm…well I'm getting in. I need to cool off."
She quickly threw her hair up into a messy bun high up on her head, the shorter layers left framing her face. She descended the stairs at the shallow end and smiled as the cool water soothed her burning skin. The bottom of the pool was cushioned, and soft as she walked on it. She walked until she was submerged up to her neck…it was then that she realized the skin on her chest was still burning.
"Shit!" she exclaimed, catching Matt's attention. She ran towards the steps and quickly exited the water. She looked down and saw that her chest had turned bright red and was covered in bumps. "I forgot to put on my sunblock!"
"Mallory you idiot!" Matt said exasperatedly. He angrily got up and followed her into the house. He found her in the kitchen rubbing ice over her chest. She ran to the cupboard and extracted a few strange ingredients. He noticed one of them was essence of juniper.
"Matt will you get me my cauldron! It's under the desk in my bedroom." She said, her voiced laced with pain.
Matt ran off to grab her cauldron and Mallory sat up on the counter, tears in her eyes. As of yet, Mallory still hadn't found any muggle remedy for the outbreak, and couldn't even find a spell to help her. She had managed to concoct a potion that healed her rash within seconds, but it was barely worth it for all the pain the potion caused.
"Here." Matt said, placing the cauldron on the counter. Mallory quickly poured in all of the ingredients and stirred it with her wand. She then placed a washcloth in the cauldron and soaked up the potion. She took a deep breath and placed the washcloth over her chest.
Instantly there was a loud hissing sound and smoke began to rise up from her chest. She bit her lip to keep from yelling out as tears ran down her face. Soon the hissing and smoking died down and there was no sound except Mallory's heavy breathing. She removed the washcloth and looked down. No trace of the rash. She quickly grabbed another ice cube and rubbed it over her chest to soothe the burn of the potion. Matt noticed the cold of the ice cubes seemed to be having an affect on certain parts of her body just below her chest…he quickly looked away and concentrated on a bird hopping around on the patio.
"Well, that's better…lemme go grab my sunscreen. I'll meet you back out there." Mallory said, hopping off the counter and heading for her bedroom.
Matt went back outside and got into the pool. He rested his arms on the side of the pool and waited for Mallory. She came back out a few minutes later and joined him in the pool. They spent the next couple of hours out there before retreating into the house.
"Hey Matt, get dressed. I wanna go see Glenda now." she said.
Matt grumbled something about not wanting to, but Mallory just headed towards her room saying "I'll only be a few minutes."
Once they were both dressed, they left the house. Matt hopped into Mallory's truck and honked the horn at her. Mallory glared at him as she got into the truck.
"Ooh, you're so sexy when you're mad, Malors." he said. Mallory grimaced.
They spent the rest of the ride in silence.
Mallory and Matt pulled up to the deserted farm just as the sun was beginning to set, turning the sky into a brilliant canvas of colors. Mallory quickly got out of the truck and set off at a quick pace down the desert trail towards the last stable that still contained a roof. She gave a quick whistle and heard a stomping of hooves and a neigh in return.
"There's my Glenda." she said, entering the stable and spotting the brilliant chestnut beast. Glenda kicked at the door and strained her neck to reach Mallory, obviously wanting attention. Mallory reached out and stroked Glenda's cheek. Glenda bucked her head and let out an impatient grunt before sniffing and chewing at Mallory's shirt.
"I don't have anything for you, baby," she said, holding up her hands to show her. "See? Nothing."
Glenda gave her a reproachful glare and turned her back and began trotting a circle in her tiny paddock. Mallory felt sorry she hadn't thought to bring a carrot, but knew she'd make it up to the horse.
"Glenda, wanna go for a ride? Huh, baby?" She cooed, clapping her hands. She unlatched the gate and Glenda obediently remained inside. She clapped her hands once more and the horse trotted out and stopped right next to her and kneeled down so that Mallory could easily mount. She didn't have a saddle for Glenda which made it quite hard to mount, but Glenda didn't seem to mind.
Mallory gave the horse a sharp pat on the shoulder blade and the horse set off at a steady trot back towards the truck. Matt had settled himself in the back and was lazily sipping a bottle of green apple soda.
"Hey, wanna go for a ride?" she asked him giving him her cutest smile.
Matt pretended to be vaguely tempted before responding, "Eh…No."
Mallory frowned. She hadn't once gotten him to ride Glenda. But, oh no, she wouldn't give up.
"What if I offered you a little reward?" she responded seductively, licking her lips and raising her eyebrows.
She knew this would get Matt's attention. Though they were the best of friends, even a blind man could sense that Matt wanted Mallory more than anything in the world. Sure he would thoroughly enjoy the physical aspects of it…she was hot as hell! But Matt also knew that if she were to satisfy everything he could ever want of her, he would fall madly in love with her…or was he already in love with her? But he knew that if it were to go anywhere past being friends, he would be liable to mess something up, and lose her as a love, as well as a friend…he'd never want to take that chance. So he had to settle for admiring from afar.
"Well, what'll it be?" she asked.
Matt doubted Mallory seriously would give him the "reward" she was pretending to give. He knew it was just to get him on the horse…'damned horse'… he thought. He knew it would make Mallory happy…that's what he wants…for Mallory to be happy.
"Ok Mal, I'll do it. But that thing had better not take a dump while I'm riding it or I swear tomorrow it'll be disemboweled!" He said grumpily.
"Matt!." She scolded him, giving him a look that could kill.
"I'm just kidding! Just kidding!" he said. He did not wish to experience the wrath of Mallory.
He walked up to the horse…it was enormous.
"Eh, how do I get on?" he scratched his head as he wondered.
"Clap twice…she'll kneel down."
He did so and the horse bent it's large knees and sank to the ground. He awkwardly straddled the horse behind Mallory and wiggled around to readjust his position. He just became aware of the fact that straddling a horse bareback may not be the most comfortable thing for a guy…he also became aware of the fact that he was nearly straddling Mallory and this too would make for more discomfort, although for a completely different reason.
"Ready?" She asked. Before he could answer she gave Glenda another sharp pat on the shoulder and she quickly rose to full height. Matt nearly lost his balance and had to quickly wrap his arms around her waist to keep from falling over. Immediately he was overcome by her scent…she seemed to smell like everything at once…he could sense something sweet, like vanilla, next second a slightly spicy, sexy aroma…another whiff and he could smell a flower…a magnolia…
'How the hell do I know that?' he asked himself?
He was spared answering his own question as Mallory gave a final pat on Glenda's shoulder. Before Matt could prepare himself, Glenda was off at a full sprint. His grip tightened around her waist as he held on for dear life. He chanced a glance downwards and saw the horse's hooves, which at that high speed resembled a deadly boat propeller…he did not want to get in the way of those.
Behind them, the farm was just a tiny speck. All that was around them was bushes, cactuses, and sand dunes.
"Mallory! Mal, this is far enough! Please let's go back!" Matt whimpered. He knew this horse was an absolutely wretched animal…
Mallory was willing to cooperate. She was proud that he'd gotten on the horse in the first place. She knew he deserved a break now. She slowed Glenda and turned her around and began a pleasant trot back towards the farm.
Surprisingly, it wasn't too long a ride back. Matt was thankful to be off the horse, which he made obvious by flinging himself on the ground beside the small pond and sighing with relief. Mallory rolled her eyes at him and led Glenda to the water to give her a much needed drink. Mallory figured Glenda would be fine on her own and could use some time to roam, so she left the horse to wander as she pleased. Mallory found Matt propped up against the trunk of a beautiful and majestic looking willow tree and plopped down next to him and rested her head on his legs.
"Remind me again why I got on that animal." Matt asked her.
"Because you love me!" She responded playfully, putting on a fake pout.
'You don't know how much I really do…" he thought to himself. If only he was brave enough to tell her.
Mallory laid there, she didn't know how long, she just stared out into the sunset, the last red desert sunset she would see for a long time. She loved these sunsets. They were like no other. The air around her seemed to literally turn crimson, staining everything like droplets of blood. Mallory gazed into the horizon until the scarlet wave dissipated and she was left with nothing but the dusky sky with the first few stars twinkling at her, almost like glittering teardrops, and she was soon forced to fight back her own tears.
Matt closed his eyes and relaxed against the large tree. He was very content to just fall asleep here with Mallory's warm body near to him. He thought she'd fallen asleep, but was proved wrong when he felt her move, and heard a small sniffle.
"Mal, you ok?" he asked sitting up, reaching down to stroke her hair. She turned around and he was shocked to see her piercing sapphire eyes glowing with tears. Even in the dark, her eyes seemed to be alight and visible, and soon a solitary tear slipped down her cheek, sparkling as it reflected the moonlight. He reached out and wiped away the tear with his thumb and let his hand rest there, lightly stroking her cheek. Unable to control herself she let out a sob and buried her face in his chest.
"Shhh, Mal, it's ok." He said soothingly, wrapping his arms around her and rubbing her back. He just sat there holding her, comforting her. After a while her crying stopped, but she stayed there, in his arms. Her eyes were closed. She was breathing in his scent. It somehow comforted her even more. She shifted so that her back was now against his chest and she was cradled between his legs. He ran his fingers through her silky hair, and could've sworn he heard her purr contentedly. He slowly pushed her hair off of her neck, and nuzzled her soft skin. She smelled so good….it intoxicated him. She sighed and tilted her neck to the side. Matt took this as his cue and he softly kissed her neck, slowly began nipping at her skin. He felt Mallory shiver. She turned to face him and looked into his eyes. He leaned forward slightly and brushed his lips against hers, just the slightest bit of a kiss. Mallory brought a hand up to caress the side of his cheek and drew him down into a more passionate kiss this time. She felt his tongue gently pressing against her lips, and she let him in, caressing his tongue with hers. His lips tasted sweet, and suddenly she craved for him. His scent, his taste, everything. She felt his hand snaking up the back of her shirt, lightly tracing up and down her spine. She arched her back into him, his light touch driving her unbearably crazy. She broke this kiss and looked up at him. His eyes were sparkling wildly. She smiled up at him and gave him one last lingering kiss before settling herself once again with her back against his chest, and his arms around her. He gently caressed her until they both fell asleep under the stars.
