Roswell, NM
Maria served Max his Cherry Coke at the counter. She'd never seen him look worse.
"She just left? No goodbyes? Nothing? I didn't even know she had an aunt in Florida," Max moaned.
"Two actually. Her mom is actually from there." Maria answered distractedly as she watched her mom maneuver her way into the café carrying the pies for the weekend.
"Really, I never knew," Max returned his eyes to the drink in front of him.
"Hey Maria, could I get a hand here?" Amy DeLuca asked.
She rushed over and took the top four pies out of her mother's hands and headed towards the kitchen with them.
Max looked up suddenly with concern when she returned, "Have you seen Kyle lately?"
"The Sheriff said he left for football camp for the summer," she answered, wiping the counter beside him.
Her mom was passing and raised an eyebrow at that as she left with a strange smirk on her face.
"Good, I guess I don't have to see his scowling face all summer anyways." Max tried to keep his voice even as he asked, "And when did he leave?"
"June 12th I think is what Jeff said. They saw the Sheriff at the airport when they took Liz," she answered,
They left the same day, he thought. I wonder if… No… she'd never… but still it is odd considering I saw them together a couple of weeks ago.
"Max, look, she told me not to give you her address. But if you want to include something when I send my letters tomorrow, I'll be glad to do that for you," Maria offered.
He perked up a little for the first time in days. "Thanks, maybe I will."
Jim slowly walked into the house after another long day. Two wrecks and one domestic dispute had made it even more tiring than usual. As he turned on the light he wondered briefly where Kyle was, then he remembered, England.
He fought against the quiet stab of loneliness that hit him as he opened the refrigerator and glanced at the nearly empty shelves. He paused only long enough to grab a soft drink and wished briefly it was the beer that had sat next to it on the shelf. Unfortunately, it was his week to do emergency backup for the station, so no alcohol.
He sighed, shutting the door then grabbed the take out menus from the bar and began to ponder his dinner choices. He had narrowed it down to Thai food or pizza when the doorbell rang.
Amy DeLuca. Jim smiled when he saw the petite "firecracker" through the window of the kitchen door. Opening it, he greeted her, "Amy, what a Surprise!"
"Hi Jim. Maria told me that Kyle was out of town for the summer and I thought you might like some pie to help cheer you up. Please tell me you didn't have other plans?" she asked nervously.
"No. I didn't. I was about to order out. Would you care to join me?"
"Oh, I don't want to impose…"
"It's no imposition. Please?" he asked sincerely.
"Well, as long as you're sure, then I'd love to," her broad grin breaking out across her face as she stepped into the kitchen. "Brought your favorite by the way, boysenberry pie."
"That sounds wonderful. So have you eaten?"
"Not since lunchtime. What were you planning on ordering?"
"I was debating between pizza and Thai food. Do you have a preference?"
You with ice cream on top, she thought but said, "Pizza. I prefer vegetarian but I'm not really that picky. I'm here for the company most of all." She smiled and raised an eyebrow at Jim.
Jim brightened and started to smile too. He dialed the number for the pizza place without looking away from her. "Yes, I'd like to place an order for delivery… one large pizza half vegetarian delight and the other half pepperoni… 622 Cardinal Place… 555-6294… About 45 minutes? Perfect… thank you."
He took the pie box from her hands and set it on the bar.
She led him to the sofa. The air around them was practically crackling from the sparks.
Forty-five minutes later after the third ring of the doorbell, Jim, looking very disheveled, paid for the pizza and as an afterthought grabbed the mail from the box. It contained his first letter from Kyle.
Back at Hogwarts
Classes went on schedule for the rest of the week. Thursday afternoon Liz asked Professor Dumbledore about the other students possibly joining them for their Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. "They said they would love to learn from you too, since you're the best. I told them I'd ask, so would you allow our tutors to join us for your classes?"
"Of course they may, as long as they understand that the class will go forward at your pace no faster. But I suspect it would be helpful to have them around for demonstrating the practical defensive moves. Please ask Miss Granger to speak with me to receive the guidelines."
"Thank you Professor. I will," she said with a smile and left the classroom.
By the end of the week Hermione was out of resources for American unexplained phenomenon both Wizarding and Muggle. Pushing down her disappointment she decided to try a different source for the information, the Muggle world, specifically her parents. She pulled out parchment and started to write.
Dear Mum and Dad,
Things are well here. I am pleased that your anniversary trip went well and that the seas were calm for your journey.
The two American students are progressing swiftly (with lots of support from us.) I am so pleased that they do work hard. Liz requires less of my attention due to her personal study habits and her quick mind. When we reach seventh year and she begins to go to school here full time, I fear that I may not be at the top of my class. (But I do look forward to the challenge.)
She says that the town that she lives in is famous for some "alien ship" crashing in 1947. In fact, her family runs a novelty theme restaurant there called the Crashdown Café. I tried checking the texts here to see what the hubbub was, but the school library is painfully lacking. There are almost no American History texts or newspapers here. Dad, I know that this subject is a bit of a hobby for you. Would you mind terribly finding a few articles on the subject at the London Library?
I would like to learn more about her hometown of Roswell, New Mexico. I really do appreciate your doing this. Take care.
Love,
Hermione
She rushed to the Owlery and sent the letter on its way. As she returned to the main part of the castle she found herself surrounded by Harry and Ron.
"Hermione," Ron said, "you need to spend some time away from all those books and scrolls. It's going to be a beautiful weekend, so NO LIBRARY"
"But…" she tried to protest that she wasn't planning to spend the weekend in the library but they cut her off.
"We mean it. If you go to the library this weekend, we'll hex you," Harry added.
"Oh, all right," she said huffily allowing them to think they had actually talked her out of it. Then she brightened, saying, "So what shall we do first?"