CHAPTER TWO An Uncomfortable Meal
Remus took his sister's hand as they joined their parents on the platform.
"Did you have a nice trip?" asked Noah, leading them out to the parking lot.
"It was alright." said Remus, as if they met Muggles everyday. "Where exactly are we going?"
"To the car, silly." replied Helena nonchalantly.
Remus, Talia and Ophelia stopped in their tracks. "The car?" Ophelia repeated. "Since when do we have a car?"
"Noah and I bought one when we moved, dear."
Remus gave Ophelia a look. "'Dear'?" he mouthed skeptically.
Talia pranced happily to the car, Noah holding open the door for them to slide in.
"You know how to drive, then?" said Remus.
"Yes, yes. I took a course." their father explained. "Now get in."
Once the three of them were sitting quite comfortably in the back, (and after Ophelia had to help both Talia and Remus with their safety belts, "Muggle studies finally pays off." she remarked smugly.) Noah started the car.
Remus jumped in his seat. "Is that normal?" he hissed. "That... that humming?"
Talia shrugged. "I would guess so."
Helena turned round in her seat to face them, a wide smile plastered on here face. "You all look so... grown up."
Phe snorted. "Right then. Why are you acting so....oddly?"
"What do you mean?" Helena chuckled.
"That." added Remus. "Right there. You're... happy. Why? What have you done?"
Noah laughed. "That's a nice way of greeting your mother."
Ophelia and Remus waited for her to chastise him for the use of the forbidden word, however Helena turned away and stared out the window.
"This is weird." muttered Remus.
"I like it." said Talia offhandedly. "It's because she's back in the city where she was raised, you know."
"It doesn't give them permission to start acting all....Muggley. Driving cars?" cried Ophelia. "Why not just use a portkey? Instead, you're going through the hassle of buying a car--"
"It's not only the car," interrupted Remus. "They're being too friendly.
Phe gasped. "It's like how Sirius acts when he wants something."
"Well what do you suppose they want?" asked Talia.
"We don't want anything!" said Noah, joining the conversation. "You know, we can hear you."
Talia clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes bugging out of her head. Ophelia slapped her hands away.
"We have so much planned for your visit." Helena gushed. "Starting with tonight, we'll--"
Remus painfully dug his elbow into Ophelia's ribs, making her cry out. "Ouch! Yes, Helena, that sounds... great."
"Yes, it does." said Remus sarcastically. "Oh how I love France."
Talia bounced in her seat, obviously enjoying the car ride. "Me too. Everything seems so..."
"French?" Remus volunteered.
"Actually, I was going to say 'sophisticated', but yes, French suits it as well." she smirked.
"How are James and Sirius?" Helena asked. "Oh, and the other one? What was his name, dear?"
"Petey." said Noah.
"Right, Petey. How are they?"
Remus grinned wickedly. "Well, at this very moment they are all preparing to take a potion that may or may not kill them."
Helena chuckled gaily. "You have such an imagination, Remus."
Following a few more minutes of polite conversation, the car pulled in front of an old-fashioned townhouse that made the surrounding buildings appear as miniatures.
People on the street were casually walking by, every so often glancing up at the home.
"Wait a minute." whispered Ophelia, bracing herself on the trunk of the car. "The Muggles.... they can see our house?"
"Oh, that." replied Noah. "We took the concealment charms off the property when we moved back."
"What?" she screeched. "How can you just remove three-hundred year old spells?"
"There was no need for them." he explained.
Ophelia looked to Remus for some support but he only shrugged his shoulders in response. "It's not that big of a deal."
"Right. See if I back you up any time soon." she scoffed.
"Come on, Phe. It's not like we need it, really." said Remus. "Who do you think is going to want to come after us?"
Ophelia lugged her heavy trunk up the steps before Noah came to her aid, pulling it inside in one quick motion. Once the front doors were closed behind them, he pointed his wand at the luggage and sent it to their bedrooms.
"Oh, so you do still use magic, then?" said Ophelia, smiling slightly.
"Only when needs be." her father replied politely.
Remus, Talia and Ophelia climbed the winding stairs, looking up at the Renaissance style painting on the domed ceilings, before reaching their rooms.
"You must be famished." called Helena from the foyer. "Dinner will be in twenty minutes."
Remus groaned loudly. "Is our every hour going to be planned out for the next two months?"
"At least they wants to spend time with us for once." said Ophelia.
"It sounds as if they're letting us take care of ourselves after this summer." Talia added. "We only have to stick it out for two more months."
"Easy for you to say." he said quietly. "You actually get along with Noah and Helena."
That night's supper was a dismal occasion, with Noah and Helena smiling placidly, asking the standard questions about the past school year.
Remus kept out of the conversation until it was brought around to Quidditch, a theme he was more than happy to discuss, even if it was with his father.
"I'm planning on going out for the Gryffindor team this year. Will Bradley graduated, so the way James and I have it planned is that he'll take over Bradley's spot as Chaser, and I'll take over as the Seeker. With luck." he added, knocking the wood of the table.
"You don't need luck." said Talia and Phe in unison.
"If you wanted to practice over the summer, I would be happy to help in any way I could." Noah offered.
Remus shrugged. "Maybe." Ophelia kicked him under the table. "But thanks."
"Er..may we be excused from dinner tomorrow night?" she asked. "We met some friends on the train and they invited us out with them."
"You met friends on the train?" repeated Helena, beaming.
"You say it as though they were our first." said Remus.
"Only because I didn't know other wizards were on board." she explained.
"Oh, they weren't wizards," Talia chimed in. "They were Muggles."
Helena frowned slightly. "You met Muggles?"
"Our first." giggled Talia.
"Did.. did you maybe do something that they wouldn't find normal?" she asked.
"Lily's taught us Muggle etiquette." Remus assured her.
"We behaved." Ophelia added. "So as I was asking, may we--"
"Yes," said Noah. "You may go out, as long as you leave your wands at home."
Talia smirked. "He didn't mention anything about Dungbombs." she thought to herself.
Once dinner was cleared away by Frinka, Remus, Ophelia and Talia, thoroughly exhausted from their trip, made a beeline for their rooms fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.
The following morning, Ophelia awoke from a pleasant dream about an outdoor picnic, to find herself in an unfamiliar bed. It took a few moments for her to realise where she was, the knot in her stomach returning.
Dressing in a housecoat, she journeyed downstairs to find Remus sprawled across the couch, his unmoving eyes staring up at the ceiling.
"Are you feeling alright?" she asked, sitting down at his feet.
"What? Oh yes. Just thinking about what James and Sirius are doing..." he replied.
"Er, careful Remus, you're sounding a tad pathetic."
"It's not fair that we have to be stuck here for the entire summer." he continued.
Ophelia rolled her eyes. "Do me a favour and get over it, alright? I don't need you to bring me down. And we're not stuck here, we're going out with Ian and Becca."
He thought for a moment. "I guess."
"And I noticed Becca looking at you." she added.
"That's what you do when you're talking to someone, Phe, even Muggles." he laughed.
"No, Remus, she was looking at you like she thought you were cute." Ophelia explained.
"Really?" he said, perking up. "Oh, well... maybe I'll stick it out then."
