Disclaimer:
Roswell belongs to Fox, UPN, Jason
Katims and Melinda Metz; Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling, Scholastic and
Warner Bros. I own nothing but my own ideas and an old Buick that you wouldn't
want so please don't sue. ;-)
Part 5
Roswell Airport, Two Weeks Later.
Nancy Parker carried her daughter's carry on bag while her husband carried the
suitcase to the baggage check. She
turned to Liz and asked, "Honey, are you sure you want to spend
your summer in that school in England?"
"Mom, I want nothing more," she stated firmly.
Nancy studied Liz's face and saw hope and excitement in her eyes.
Satisfied, she hugged her daughter tightly and tried to smile. "You
know I'm going to miss you, don't you."
Letting go of her mother she smiled, "Yeah, I know. I'm going to miss you
too. But I can't turn down this opportunity. I love you, Mom.
Thanks for letting me do this."
"I love you too, Liz," Nancy said quietly trying to hide her tears.
Jeff had rejoined them by then. He also hugged her tightly before they
let her go. He slipped $200 in cash into Liz's hand. "For
emergencies. Call us to let us know that you're safe as soon as you land.
OK? I love you, Honey."
"I love you too, Dad." Liz kissed him on the cheek and smiled
as she turned away.
She gathered her carry on bag and walked through the security gates. She
turned and called back to them, "Bye Mom, Bye Dad. I love you.
I'll see you in August."
As they were leaving Jeff and Nancy passed Jim Valenti.
"Hi Sheriff. Going on a trip?" Jeff asked.
Jim smiled when her recognized his friends. "Not me, Kyle."
"Oh?" Obviously curious.
"Yeah, he's off to football camp for about 2 months," Jim lied.
"Liz is off to a summer school program in England for two months and on
her way back she is stopping in to visit my sister in Miami," offered
Nancy. She sighed. "They just grow up so fast."
"That they do. That they do," Jim replied with a smile
thinking, if you only knew.
Liz found her seat on the plane. She had the seat next to Kyle.
"So what story did you guys decide to tell?" she asked him when she
sat down.
"We decided the football camp one was best. No one would believe
that I earned a scholarship to some British School. Then there's that
whole, We used to date
factor...It's just better if no one knows we're in the same place," Kyle
answered.
"That's probably best," She answered with a smile. Then quietly,
almost hesitant and shy she asked, "So, you nervous?"
"Me? Nervous? You better believe it," He said with a
laugh.
"Me too," she said.
They settled back for the start their journey.
They changed planes in Albuquerque and Atlanta. After the other passengers around them fell asleep they talked a little bit more.
"So, what did you tell Maria?"
"I told her the basic truth. I am
going to summer school in England, and then to my aunt's in Florida.
She'd get it from my parents anyway. I asked her not to mention the
school to the others. They already
think I'm a big geek, no need to prove it. I may tell her the truth some
day, but right now I'm not sure I want to. I kind of like having my own
secret world that even they aren't aware of, much less a part of,"
Liz finished with a sparkle of mischief in her eyes.
"I know what you mean. I mean, the rest of the football team thinks
that I'm going to camp in St Louis for the whole summer. How am I
supposed to explain my lack of conditioning when I get back? And yet I'm
going to learn stuff they'll never know or understand. It's just...mind
boggling," Kyle shook his head in amazement.
"How's your dad handling it?"
"He surprised me. He understood my need to get away. He
accepts my new "status" in the world. He's been more aware, or
at least more vocal, with his thanks and praise. He's just taking it all
in stride, which is something I would have never thought he could do. He is the
son of "Sergeant Martian" after all." He chuckled
then paused. "Liz, can I ask what happened between you and Max, or
would you prefer not to discuss that?"
Liz looked up sharply at Kyle, eyebrows furrowed as if to ask, why he'd want to
know.
"I'm asking as a friend. Only as a friend. Because I got the feeling from what you said
about needing to leave Roswell this summer, that things weren't exactly
great." He looked concerned.
Liz sighed heavily and looked at her hands in her lap. "That's kind
of the understatement of the year. Look, Kyle, as a friend or not, I'm not sure
that I'm ready to talk about it."
"I can understand that, I was the same way after my mom left. I
needed to talk about it, but you know the drill, boys don't talk about their
feelings or their pain. It affected my grades that year and I spent the
next two years trying to catch up and keep up." Kyle gave her a twisted half smile then said, "and if you repeat
that, I'll deny it."
He studied Liz's face and watched her struggles play across
it. He looked away and continued,
"I'm only saying, this summer program is going to be fast and you
shouldn't have emotional obstacles getting in the way. Just think about
it."
"I'll think about it. I'm not promising anything, but I'll think
about it." She said, guardedly glancing at his face before returning
her gaze to her hands.
Ok, he thought, time to lighten this up. "And if you tell anyone I just
sounded like Alex, I'll deny that too." His eyes danced with held in
laughter.
Liz busted out laughing. "Like I could Kyle. Who would believe
me?"
They shared a laugh and then turned to lighter topics of conversation.
The plane carrying Liz and Kyle landed in London shortly
after 10 in the morning. They were exhausted after traveling for almost
eighteen hours.
An hour later, they stepped out of customs into the main part of the
airport. They noticed the tall, middle aged, red headed gentleman holding
a Hogwart's sign. As they walked up to him he reached forward shaking
their hands. He said, "Hello. I'm Arthur Weasley. You
must be Elizabeth Parker and Kyle Valenti. Professor Dumbledore asked
that I meet you and assist you with getting your supplies. How was
your trip?"
Kyle covered his mouth with his left hand as he yawned, shaking hands with the
other. He replied, "Sorry, long."
Liz nodded with a sleepy smile. "It was that. Call me Liz," she
said, also shaking Arthur's hand.
"Then let me help you with your bags and I can take you to where you'll be
staying for the next 2 nights. You can get some proper rest there, later.
Did you want to use the, um… Pheletone to call your parents before we
leave?"
Liz nodded, trying not to giggle, suggested, "Yes we should. Are
these ok?" She pointed to a bank of phones along the wall.
When they reached them, Liz pulled out a disposable phone card and called
home. A few instruments down, Kyle was doing the same. Arthur stood
back and watched the teens using the telephones in fascination.
Even though it was after 3 in the morning in Roswell, both the Parkers and Jim
Valenti were glad to hear from their children and slept much better afterwards.
It took over an hour for the taxi to get them to the Leaky Cauldron. The
cabby, unable to see the pub, thought it was strange to let teens with their
luggage out at a record store. He chalked it up to them being Americans and
drove away.
The Leaky Cauldron was busy with the lunchtime crowd. They settled into a booth
near the back of the pub for lunch. Arthur seemed to search the room for
someone.
Liz scanned the room looking at the different mixture of people gathered
there. There were witches in robes, wizards in suits, short greenish men
in plaid. "What a strange
world." She thought.
Arthur smiled as he caught the attention of a passing man. He introduced
the teens to him. "Tom this is Liz Parker and Kyle Valenti. Tom is the
innkeeper here. I've made arrangements for you to stay in two of the
rooms upstairs. They're very nice and I know you'll be safe for the two
nights you're here. In fact, I stay here often with my family
before taking them to catch the Hogwart's Express," he finished with a
smile.
Kyle nodded at Tom and waved, too tired to say anything.
Tom smiled back and said, "Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron. Don't
worry. This is not a rowdy pub. In fact by early evening there's rarely anyone here but guests."
"That's a relief," Liz said with a small laugh. Then she
remembered her manners. "It's nice to meet you, Tom."
"While you eat, I'll take your bags up to your rooms," Tom offered.
"Thank you," said Liz with a smile.
"Yeah, thanks," Kyle agreed, after being surreptitiously nudged by
Liz.
When Tom returned, he handed Liz the key to Room 9 and Kyle the key to Room 11.
After eating lunch they felt more awake. Arthur took charge.
"I know you're tired but there are a few things we need to do before you
rest. I need to take you to Gringott's to exchange your money into wizard
currency. After that we'll go to Madam Malkin's so you can get fitted for
your robes. Then back here, where you can relax until tomorrow."