A/N: Please don't kill me!
Ernie: It's. Short.
I know it's short! That's why I asked them not to kill me!
But I did promise a new chapter every week and the next chapter is the long-awaited one when Harry and the rest of the gang make a full fledged appearance. I didn't want to start that until I got this out of the way.
To make up for the, err…
Ernie: Shortness.
glares at himYes, thank you Ernie. For the shortness of this chapter, I'm going to try to update before the week is up.
Ernie: What. About. The. Thank. Yous?
No time Ernie. But you can list all the kind people who reviewed, if you want.
Ernie: Thank. You. Nyc-azn7. Thank. You. Charmedfanatic3000. Thank. You. Winter. Blaze. Thank. You. Svata2004. Thank. You. Frances. Thank. You. Nexos23. Thank. You. Mcgirl. Thank. You. Harrypotterfan4eva. Thank. You. Kwitchr.Thank. You. Ori. Thank. You. Triquetraperson. Thank. You. Shamanogler. Thank. You. Mixer.
Took you long enough! Still can't help but notice that among the well-loved, familiar names, there seem to be some lovely new ones! sobI feel so loved!
One last thank you to do...
Thank you Nightcrawler!
... and on with the show!!!
..oo00oo..
Chapter 14: The Morning After
"Talia?"
Nothing.
"Talia...?"
"Hrmf..."
"TALIA!"
"Go away," Talia mumbled under the covers.
"You'll miss breakfast..." grinned Wyatt, poking his cousin through the heavy blankets that were a necessity in the draughty castle despite the heating charms.
Talia's stomach churned at the mention of food.
"Don't want breakfast," she moaned.
"Where did you and Draco go last night?" Wyatt continued, curious.
"Hogsmeade. For a few drinks," Talia managed to underestimate. "Now go away and let me die in peace."
But Wyatt did not go away.
"No one saw you guys leave. I was looking for you..."
She said nothing, feigning sleep, hoping against hope that her darling cousin would just leave her alone already!
"Professor Snape and Mr. Malfoy finished their business around three am. They had to spent the rest of the night looking for you too."
Perfect silence. The mountain of bed covers and pillows never moved.
"You realise you came back at five this morning, giggling like a psychopath, stumbling over every piece of furniture in this room, till you finally collapsed into bed, don't you?"
Silence.
"Look, I'm sorry if I woke you up when I came back last night, ok? Now, go away," Talia's voice sounded muffled under the covers, but the order in it was unmistakeable.
Wyatt sighed in defeat. He knew better than to expect an answer from Talia regarding one of her escapades.
They had become more or less routine in the Halliwell household. Talia would behave for a couple of weeks; go to school, work hard, be friendly to everyone - well, almost everyone, Wyatt amended – and then, all of a sudden, it would be as if she had had enough of being nice. She would change into the kind of clothes 'nice' girls never wore, and leave the house with a cold 'I'm going out'.
When Wyatt had asked where it was that she went, she had shrugged and said that mostly she just went to some bar for a drink. She was underage of course, and it was illegal, but she always got away with it and she had tried to explain to a scandalised Wyatt that that was the whole point. It was, she concluded, the demon in her that sometimes felt the need to do something 'bad', to break some rules. It didn't have to be anything big, and now that she was good, she wouldn't do anything really evil, she assured him, but she did need the occasional release from the pressures of being the "good" girl the Halliwells wanted her to be all the time. She flirted with strangers shamelessly, sat on dirty barstools, drank rather risky drinks out of filthy glasses, danced to the rhythms of bar jukeboxes, and begun conversations with scary-looking characters in establishments of ill repute... All in all, it was no more than any wild teenager did. Wyatt believed her.
More importantly, Wyatt knew that Talia was no fool, and was careful not to allow herself to be too vulnerable even under those circumstances. She never got herself involved in situations she couldn't handle. Before last night, Wyatt had never seen his cousin drunk, and, despite any adventures – or misadventures – she might have had the night before, she always made the next day's morning training. Which is what made this morning's situation so funny, he concluded with a smile.
Unlike Wyatt though, the Charmed Ones had no idea where Talia went on her "outings". If they had, Wyatt knew that they would've been absolutely livid with her! As it was, they simply did not approve of her returning at all hours of the night after doing goodness-knows-what where they could not protect her. They used to get rather vocal about their disapproval. Phoebe had even forbidden her to leave once.
Wyatt winced at the memory.
Talia had very coldly said that she would go wherever she liked and there was nothing that they could do to stop her. Phoebe had tried to remind her how dangerous it was to leave without telling anyone where she was going, with all those demons after her. In all honesty, Phoebe had good reason to worry. But Talia retorted that she had managed just fine without them before, and she was certainly able to do so now. It had been a terrible row, and Talia had threatened to leave the Manor for good; had said something about living on her own for a while. Phoebe had been in tears, and Talia had flamed out of the house anyway. Two days later, having worried the Charmed Ones to death, Talia finally came back. Apologies didn't come easy for the Princess of the Underworld, and it was fortunate for both parties that the Halliwells knew her well enough by then to understand that she was sorry. But Talia still insisted that she needed some time to herself every once in a while. Phoebe hadn't dared contradict her. Neither had anyone else for that matter. When Talia was in one of her moods, they all just stayed out of her way.
The always cheerful Wyatt didn't allow himself to get dragged down by these thoughts. What Talia did when she went out on her own, was her own business. If something happened that Wyatt would need to know about, she would tell him. He trusted her completely.
"Professor Snape made some hangover potion, if you're interested..." he tried to tempt her.
Talia finally stirred at that. She peeked from under the covers.
Wyatt grinned at her. She looked terrible. Her sleep tussled hair did nothing to help her looks.
"He did?"
He nodded.
"Apparently Draco Malfoy needed it before he and his father left for home last night - or should I say early this morning - when the both of you came back. I don't think his father was very pleased."
Talia didn't comment on that. She concentrated on getting out of bed. It was supposed to be a simple task, and it was alarming how she had to focus all of her attention on not falling.
"So where's this hangover potion?" she asked.
"Professor Snape said he'd have it for you at breakfast."
Talia groaned.
"I may need some help getting there," she admitted.
..oo00oo..
"Come in," instructed Professor Dumbledore's voice through the thick door of his office.
"Good morning, sir," said Wyatt the moment he followed the headmaster's instructions.
"Good morning," said Talia, closely behind her cousin.
"Good morning to you both. Please, take a seat. Lemon drop?"
Wyatt grinned before taking one of the proffered sweets. He loved lemon drops almost as much as Dumbledore did. Talia followed suit, but not quite with as much enthusiasm.
The portraits of past headmasters smiled fondly at them and Talia and Wyatt returned those smiles. Many were the times when, after receiving permission from Dumbledore, the two cousins had spent some pleasant time talking to the wise men and women that decorated the room's walls.
"You wanted to see us, sir?" asked Wyatt.
"I did, Mr Halliwell. It has come to my attention that you are both doing exceptionally well in your studies, a fact that I would like to commend you upon."
Wyatt and Talia grinned with pleasure.
"I think I speak for both of us, sir, when I say that we are very grateful for the opportunity you've given us to attend Hogwarts and for the efforts the Professors have taken to make sure we are up to the same standard of magical education as our classmates. They've taken time out of their own holidays to do that, and we'd just like to say how much we appreciate everything everyone here has done for us," Talia politely said.
Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled behind their rimless glasses.
"There is no need for you to thank us, my dear, it has been an absolute pleasure, I assure you. The reason I have called you here, is that my professors have advised me that you are in fact ready for the school year, ahead of schedule. You can even leave today if you want and have a full two weeks holiday with your family before you have to return to Hogwarts along with the other students. It looks like you will be getting some form of summer holiday after all!"
Talia and Wyatt grinned. They loved Hogwarts, but the beginning of the school year starting on the first of September, meant that they wouldn't get to go home until the Christmas holidays and, having been away from home the entire summer, they missed their family, for all that they had occasionally dropped by for a visit.
"That's fantastic news professor!" Talia enthused. "Not that we haven't enjoyed our time here, we have, but..." she quickly amended.
"There's no need to explain, Miss Turner," said the headmaster rising from his seat. "I understand. "I'm sure you're eager to start packing. You are welcome to leave anytime you want, of course."
"Could we say goodbye to the other Professors, first, sir?" asked Wyatt.
"Certainly, Mr. Halliwell. I believe they would like that very much."
Professor Dumbledore walked them to the door.
"Goodbye, Professor," said Wyatt, shaking the old man's hand. "I guess we'll see you in a couple of weeks."
Talia extended her hand to shake the hand Dumbledore offered her, but changed her mind halfway. She had never had a grandfather, but if she did, Talia would have liked him to be rather like Dumbledore; kind, wise and with just a tiny hint of madness to keep things interesting. She wrapped her arms around the old man's neck in a hug.
"Thank you for everything, sir, and goodbye. We'll see you in a couple of weeks!"
The two teenagers left behind a happily bemused headmaster.
A/N: This way, Talia and Wyatt have an excuse for being on the train...
Yup, just like I said in my above note, the long awaited chapter is almost here! In the next instalment, I'm bringing in the rest of the gang!