A/N: I've come to a conclusion. Ya'll aren't reading this. Therefore, to spite ya'll, I'm going to keep writing it until SOMEONE says something!

I'm thinking that last scene in the previous chapter should have been kept for the end of this particular story, but too late, it's good where it is. Oh well. Live and learn.

: needs to get book four before her head explodes:

Chapter Fifteen

Home wasn't what Charlie expected it to be. He expected his mother and Maisie to greet him and then Grandma Bone to give him his usual interrogation, but when he stepped into number nine Filbert Street, he found more than just Grandma Bone looking testy, but his three horrible aunts, Lucretia, Eustacia, and Venetia.

Aunt Venetia was drinking tea, her red boots sticking out conspicuously from under her black skirt. Aunt Eustacia glared at him as did Aunt Lucretia. "I hear you have been causing trouble in school, Charlie," said Aunt Venetia in her usual manner. The iron claw in the velvet glove could best describe her common technique of questioning.

Charlie groaned, pulling his sleeves up to his elbows and loosening his tie. Aunt Lucretia glared at Charlie. "You and your little friends have been planning something. You always do."

"And what would we be planning?" said Charlie, looking very tired. Maybe if he taunted them enough, they'd let slip what they were doing.

Grandma Bone, however, held up a hand, following Charlie's line of thought. Aunt Venetia sipped her tea calmly again. "Tell me, why do you despise your aunts so? We only want to help you better yourself."

Charlie kept silent. He had a wonderful taunt back at them, but he wanted to keep it to himself. The look of Grandma Bone's rock like figure sitting there was enough to tell him that she had a clue as to what he was thinking. "Are you through with me?"

"Dinner's ready, Charlie!" called Maisie's voice from the kitchen.

"Yes, we are through," said Grandma Bone in a terse tone.

Charlie started for the kitchen quickly, though he heard Aunt Venetia's calm tone pierce through his tired mind. "I'm certain your friend Emma's hands are better now, aren't they?"

Charlie stopped, frozen in place. He knew they had a hand in hurting Emma's hands. Aunt Venetia was a magical seamstress and Dorcas had been working under her when she had her home on Darkly Wynd. All three aunts had homes on Darkly Wynd circle, but Uncle Paton had managed to burn Venetia's home down by making several of the lights and Venetia's sewing machine explode.

However, to hear the confession from her straightly was enough to make him want to throw something at her. He trembled slightly as he stood frozen in the doorway of the kitchen and sitting room. "Come come, Charlie. Did you think little Miss Loom did it all on her own?" said Venetia's taunting tone.

"Venetia," said Grandma Bone in a strained tone.

"First, she wouldn't be able to fly… correct? She wouldn't be able to change to fly away," said Venetia as she put her cup down.

Charlie's face turned toward the door, letting go of it as he stood in front of the door to the kitchen. "Then… the pain would increase, rope burns and a rash like appearance to her hands," Venetia continued, smiling faintly at Charlie's back. He could hear it in her voice.

"Then, there would be cracking… and bleeding… pain upon pain, as though her hands were breaking right there if she so much as moved them."

Charlie felt wetness in his hands. He hadn't realized his hands were clenched. His hands were bleeding slightly from his nails digging into his palms. He had to get out of there before he did something that would make him unable to go to Fidelio's home.

"I'm hungry," he said shortly. Then, he walked stiffly into the kitchen, slamming the door.

Maisie looked up to see Charlie panting, sweating slightly and white as a sheet. "Charlie, dear, are you all right?"

Charlie came away from the door and sat down at the table in the kitchen as he heard the footsteps of his three aunts walking to the door and out. Maisie blinked at her grandson and put down a plate of fish and chips for him, his favorite dish.

Charlie ate sparingly and in silence, even when his mother came home. Both his Grandma Jones and his mother were worried about what had happened in the sitting room.

"Charlie, what did they say to you?" asked his mother.

Charlie frowned as he stared at his plate. "Venetia was the one that hurt Emma. She had a girl named Dorcas Loom tie her up with a special rope so she couldn't transform. Only the condition got worse and Emma's hands were bleeding."

Maisie frowned as his mother put her hand to her mouth and uttered a slight gasp. Charlie looked to his mother. "We managed to help her and heal her hands, but to hear that… from one of THEM."

Maisie put her hands on her hips and glared at the kitchen door. "It'd serve them right if you used that wand on them."

Charlie blushed faintly. He still didn't know how to use the wand properly. He hoped his little hiding place would stay hidden from Grandma Bone's prying eyes.

After finishing his supper, he walked up to his room and lay down. He pulled his wand out and looked at it, looking at his Welsh/English dictionary as well. He'd managed to make himself learn French using the wand. In fact, he had somehow managed to make himself memorize the entire dictionary for French class using the wand.

He tapped the Welsh/English dictionary with his wand and said what he had said last time. The book flashed for a second, as did the tip of the wand, and then everything went dark again. Charlie now knew Welsh. He grinned to himself. He hadn't thought about it before, because he had never had the time to think about it, but if he could do it with French, and then he could do it with Welsh so he could better use the wand.

He put his wand away and lay back on the bed. It didn't take more than a few minutes before he fell fast asleep in his uniform. His mother came up not long after that, pulling his shoes off and then covering him up in his blanket. She chuckled. He was like his father, sometimes that reminder was hard. She saw Lyell in Charlie, especially when he fell asleep without putting on his pajamas.

She sighed and walked out; her faith in Charlie's words still had a grip on her heart. He knew his father was alive.

Charlie walked down to Miss Ingledew's shop, the clouds almost nonexistent in the sky. He felt like his heart was going to pound itself out of his chest as he walked in that heat. He was glad to be inside someplace relatively cool when he entered the shop. He didn't spot anyone around.

"Emma? Miss Ingledew!" he called.

Miss Ingledew poked her head around the corner and smiled at Charlie. "There you are, Charlie! Emma will be ready in a little bit."

She walked out from the back room and fanned herself with her hand. "It's been awfully hot lately. They say it's only in this area. You wouldn't have any idea about this, would you?" she said with a weak, but pleasant smile.

Charlie sighed. "Yes, I do, unfortunately." Once again, he found himself wondering how someone could love the heat of the sun THAT much.

"Is he here?" called Emma from the stairs that led to the apartment above the store.

"Yes, he is, Emma. Come down, dear. You're making the poor boy wait!" Miss Ingledew called up.

Emma came down the stairs, dressed in what looked to be a new skirt with her hair pulled into braids and decorated with sheer green ribbon. Charlie nodded to Emma and smiled.

Miss Ingledew nodded and waved them off with a cookie each. Emma walked beside Charlie the entire way, Charlie feeling a little uncomfortable being with Emma. "I'm glad you came to get me. I was getting worried that you wouldn't show up and I would have to call Fidelio to come get me," she said finally when they reached the street leading to Filbert Street.

"Er—sorry. I almost forgot," Charlie said as he looked down the street. He stopped. For a moment, he thought he saw a bit of red hair hiding behind a house. He jogged over, but saw nothing when he came close to the house.

"What's wrong, Charlie?" asked Emma as she jogged up behind him.

Charlie shook his head. "Thought I saw Asa for a moment."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was following us," said Emma.

They walked onto Filbert street, Emma looking like she was about to faint from the heat. Charlie put an arm around her shoulder to help keep her upright as they walked into number nine.

Maisie walked into the sitting room where Charlie had helped Emma sit down. "Goodness gracious! I'll get you both some water. It's this damnable heat that's doing this!" she said before she hurriedly went into the kitchen and came out with two glasses of cold water.

Emma smiled at Maisie. "Thank you, ma'am."

Maisie giggled and patted Emma's arm as she sat down. "You must be Emma. I've heard a great deal about you."

Charlie felt his cheeks heat up. Emma blushed as well and looked to Charlie. Maisie smiled broadly at them. "Nothing bad, mind you."

Thankfully, the doorbell rang. Charlie shot out of his seat and ran to the door as though his life depended on it. He found Morgan at the door, dressed in her usual tomboyishly feminine manner. She wore a knee-length skirt and a T-shirt with what looked a bit like hiking boots. It was almost a direct opposite from Emma. While Morgan looked like she was about ready to climb things and play with the boys, Emma looked like she was going out on a date, wearing a shimmery green shirt with a billowing short skirt that had lace on the hem.

It almost made Charlie wish he was somewhere else when he thought of him on a date with Emma. He briefly wondered which direction he could run when Morgan's slight Scottish accent burst his through his thoughts like a jack-hammer. "Aren't you going to invite me in, or do I have to wrestle you to the ground before I can be inside."

Charlie stepped dumbly aside and let her go through. She pulled out a pair of hair-ties and pulled her messy blonde hair into pigtails. He almost didn't see the little blue cloth flowers attached to the things now in her hair.

Emma didn't though. She shot out of her seat and walked over to Morgan, instantly asking the girl where she found such adorable hair-ties. While they were gabbing, Charlie almost shut the door on Fidelio. "Oi! That's the second time you've done that to me!" said his friend as he pushed the door open in his defense.

"Oh, sorry, Fidelio. I didn't see you there."

"I can see why," Fidelio said with a grin as he saw Emma.

Charlie blushed and glared slightly at Fidelio. Fidelio took the hint. "Are you lot ready to go? Mum has the car here."

Charlie did a double take. "What?"

Fidelio blushed slightly and laughed. "Ah, we'll explain it to her in the car. Come on. Olivia's already inside waiting."

Emma and Morgan walked out with the two boys. Mrs. Gunn smiled in a strained manner at Morgan. "Good afternoon," she said politely.

Morgan could feel friction coming from Mrs. Gunn, though she couldn't figure out why. She sat in the front because they couldn't squeeze her in the back with everyone else.

"Is something the matter, Mrs. Gunn?" she asked.

Mrs. Gunn looked to Morgan and blinked. "What? Oh, of course not."

"Mum, it's… not her fault," said Fidelio from the back seat. He explained what had happened, Mrs. Gunn nodding as they pulled up to Fidelio's house.

"I see," she said. She turned to Morgan and smiled brightly at her. "It is nice to meet you, Morgan. Please, let us all go inside," she sang as she got out of the car and walked toward the front door.

Morgan smiled, though in her mind she played the events of that night, seeing them in flashes. Charlie and Emma running out the door, Mrs. Gunn smiling at her and then suddenly dropping; it was like it was all part of a strange nightmare, but she knew it was true.

Once inside, Mrs. Gunn came out with drinks for everyone. They trooped up to the attic, past the noisy rooms of Fidelio's brothers and sisters. It was somewhat quieter than being downstairs.

"How should we get the files on Ada?" asked Emma. She looked to Olivia with a frown.

Olivia smiled broadly and giggled. "By playing spies, of course!"

Morgan laughed. "Breaking into Dr. Bloors office when he's not there, of course. Olivia has already tried talking to her and that turned out a bad idea."

Charlie shot a glare at Morgan as she blinked at him. "What? It's true isn't it? Oh! Wait! Maybe I could try. An endowed is harder to hypnotize, right?"

Emma frowned a little more. "You've been hypnotized before. It didn't last long, but look at what happened."

Morgan blushed a bit. "Yes, well, it hasn't happened again, has it?"

"Besides, you would have to find her somewhere in the Drama department and you aren't a drama student," said Fidelio.

"So it looks as though breaking into Dr. Bloor's office is the only other way," said Charlie.

"Oh good, I always wanted to get expelled for espionage," said Morgan. She really didn't like this idea. There were too many chances for them to get caught.

"Spies are killed, Morgan," said Fidelio. Morgan stuck her tongue out at him as he laughed.

"All right!" grunted Charlie. "I think I have a plan." Then, everyone leaned in close to listen to this plan.