Chapter 13 - Stonehaven
Ezra took the fish and chips from Daniella's hands gladly; he hadn't realized how hungry he was until he had smelled it from the doorway. He bolted the door again, which was becoming a fast habit. He used the writing desk for a dinner table.
"My parents won't make a fuss at the school," he informed her, mouth only half full. "They're way too concerned about image for that. They probably won't even tell people publicly that I'm gone until they absolutely have to." He swallowed.
"I started brewing some Polyjuice Potion a few days ago," he added. "But it's going to take a few weeks to mature. You know… 'just in case.'"
Daniella sat across from him at the table, studying him. She still couldn't believe he had really done this. "You are quite the puzzle, Ezra Greengrass," she said, taking two butterbeers out of the paper bag and handing him one. She opened hers and raised it in a toast. "To freedom."
But, no matter how determined he looked right now, in a lot of ways he was still a spoiled rich kid. He was going to get a reality shock soon enough; and so would she, even if she felt a little more prepared for self-subsistence.
"That was a good idea." She paused for a while, trying the fish. "So, how's this going to work? Have you given it some thought?"
Ezra gave an amused snort into his food, licking some oil off of his ring finger before wrapping his hand around the butterbeer. He nudged her bottle with his own.
"To freedom, although I have yet to understand exactly what that might mean." He gave the warm drink a sip, exhaling softly as he pondered her words.
"Not really," he murmured, having the decency to look at least partially sheepish. "I only left last night; I kind of feel like I'm having a vacation at the moment." He chanced a smirk before looking up at her more seriously.
"For starters, there's only one bed," he stated the obvious grimly. "If you're… uncomfortable… with the arrangements, I can request a different room. I wasn't exactly planning for two when I chose this one." He drummed his fingers restlessly on the table, now staring at his half-eaten food distantly while he thought.
"You'll figure it out eventually," Daniella assured him. "It takes some time to get used to listening to your own thoughts."
She slowly set down her fork. They were getting to the touchy subject, at last. "We do need to be cautious about spending money…" She said casually.
She had no idea where they stood at the moment; things could become very murky and she wasn't sure how to deal with it. "Can you stay on your side, or do you kick and roll around?" She asked as lightly attempting a smirk.
She lowered her eyes to her bottle, running a finger around the edge absentmindedly. Might as well get it over with.
"Look Ezra, about what happened…" she started quietly, searching his eyes. "I don't expect anything from you. I don't want you to feel obligated to be with me, or to ask me to stay just because of what happened between us." Her mouth was dry, but she pushed on. "Unless that's what you want to do."
"I haven't the foggiest," Ezra murmured in reply. "I've never slept in the same bed with anyone in my entire life for more than an hour." He rested his chin on his palm, cutting his eyes sideways to the bed. It looked cozy, but it was turning out to be quite a lot of trouble for a relatively innocent piece of furniture.
"I don't regret anything, if that's what you mean," he defended his integrity and steeled himself for the inevitable. "I fancy you."
Daniella cleared her throat, but her heart still gave an odd little jump. "Good," she murmured, and her voice sounded firmer than she felt at the moment. "I don't regret anything either. I just thought we should make that clear… because I fancy you too."
She finished her butterbeer, giving herself time to gather her thoughts. "So, with that settled, we probably should set some rules, even if we're not staying here for long, don't you think?" Her smile became a little wicked.
Ezra said nothing, forking the last bit of fish into his idle mouth. At the very least, he was glad they could come to an understanding. He just wasn't sure where people normally went from here.
"I'm glad," he said finally, feeling that this was a bit of a lame response, true as it may be.
"What kind of rules?" He countered suspiciously, hesitant to let anyone begin saddling him with restraints so soon after he had flown the coop. "Like the ones in the dormitory?" The Slytherin boys had established several common guidelines during their first year in each other's company that still held fast in the months approaching their graduation.
"Hmm, well, you know, basic cohabitation rules of sorts, so we don't drive each other mad too soon," she said, the same smile still dancing on her lips.
"Oh, you have rules?" She asked curiously; then she made a face. "We should have thought of that too, it would have made my life so much easier," she commented offhandedly. "Anyway," she put the fork down and leaned forward, brow furrowed in thought. "Let's see, my rules: we share all the expenses, fifty-fifty," she started. "Try not to wake me up before nine, unless it's a matter of life or death; I'm on vacation." She looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought, then met his eyes. "And last, but not least, don't complain about how long it takes me to brush my hair."
Ezra blinked twice in quick succession.
"Alright," he agreed solemnly, his eyes slightly glazed with the effort of remembering all the information. He picked a piece of fuzz off of his jacket.
"Well, in that case…" he trailed off, inspecting his fingernails with a cocked eyebrow while he thought. "Don't use any of my potion-making tools without asking. Don't go out for an extended length of time without leaving a note as to when you'll return. I don't want to waste time worrying about whether you've been abducted." He drummed his fingers against his chin absentmindedly.
"And do try to keep all noise to a minimum if I'm brewing or studying. It is imperative that I have absolute quiet."
Daniella nodded as Ezra listed his own rules. "Alright, I'll do my best," she said with a reserved smile, offering her hand for a handshake.
"Now... Will you tell me what the rules are in your dorms?" She asked in a low voice, curiously.
Ezra took her hand gently, giving it a docile shake and offering her a wry smirk.
"It's a deal, then," he concluded, leaning back in the small, rickety wooden chair in a rather precarious manner.
"I don't think they're as interesting as you might imagine; most of them deal with food," he informed her amusedly. "We made them in first year, after all." He thought back to these memories, and he was suddenly filled with an emotion that might have been nostalgia, except it was painful. He had been confident in the fact that he didn't have any true, trustworthy friends, but in light of recent events, he would be lucky if he could even claim fake ones.
He realized that he was being quiet for too long and rubbed his eye wearily as he peered at the clock.
"I say, it's gotten late," he murmured primly. "I'll extend you the luxury of using the lavatory first before we retire."
Daniella didn't know how to break the silence. He seemed upset, all of a sudden. She gave a short nod, stood up and gathered the dishes and glasses to put them outside the door to be taken down.
In the tiny bathroom adjacent to their room, she studied her reflection in the mirror. She had no idea what would happen from now on, and that thought was terrifying. What exactly was she getting herself into? She'd wanted this; she'd wanted to set free, made plans and preparations… but she'd never actually done it. Until now.
Suddenly, it was all very real to her. She was on her own. The only familiar thing in her near future was the time she had left in Hogwarts. After that…
She huffed out a sigh and brushed her teeth. No point in worrying about the problems that hadn't come yet. Her main concern at the moment was hearing back from Jo.
When she returned to the room, Daniella was eager to check the notebook. Now that she was here with Ezra, she couldn't just leave to Stonehaven with him. Could she?
Ezra shed his coat and draped it over the back of the chair. It was a bit exhausting, he mused to himself, to live with someone unfamiliar, much less someone you properly fancied. He was lost in this particular thought when another entered his mind, completely uninvited.
"Merlin's starry hat," he mumbled, flipping open the lid to his trunk and peering inside, although he was already certain that what he sought was not in it. "I've left my toothbrush."
Daniella was searching her bag for the little notebook when his exclamation stopped her.
She turned to look at him. "Sorry, but I'm not sharing mine." She pondered that for a moment, then gave him a slightly teasing smirk. "I thought you had house elves to pack your things for you…"
Ezra gave the small grimace that usually accompanies a particularly unpleasant detail that one remembers one has overlooked.
"Pokey packed my things, but by the time she started packing toiletries, she was… well, she was rather distraught." In truth, the elf had been sobbing so hard that most of the relevant items had ended up in the bathtub or, more luckily, strewn over the carpet.
"Nevermind it. I'll use my finger." He pursed his lips at this announcement, then turned and slipped into the small bathroom.
Daniella blinked, then huffed out a chuckle. "Good luck with that," she said as the door closed.
Biting her lower lip, she quickly took the black notebook and a quill and sat at the desk. She stifled the anxiety fairly well while she was busy, but she was worried sick.
«Jo, how are you? How's your family? I know Logan was there. He didn't even try to hide it from me.
Please, answer soon, I'm worried.»
Jo stared emptily at the remainder of the boat, standing silently beside his father, who was equally solemn.
"I can fix it," he assured his father, trying to be comforting. "Most of it, I mean. I'll do the best I can." His father nodded, patting him on the shoulder.
"You're a good lad," he murmured softly. "You don't have to take on more than you can handle. You've got school again soon."
"I'm not leaving you guys like this," he said immediately, in a firmer tone than he had intended. "Look, just… go inside, okay. Tell Mum and Pearl and Juney to stay inside, no matter what. Especially after I'm gone back to school," he warned.
"I don't care what you hear, or see, or anything, if you see something suspicious outside, or… don't go, okay? I'm serious, and these people are serious. They'll… I mean, just don't go outside." He felt his wand through his coat pocket, setting his jaw.
"You can go back and help Mum with lunch. I'll stay out here for a bit."
He climbed onto the boat, landing in the middle of a pile of broken glass and debris. The glass would probably be easiest; at least he knew all the pieces were here. He peered over the edge, checking for Muggles, then bent down and whispered, "Reparo."
It took a long time; in fact, he had never repaired anything that had taken so long before. He shook the tip of his wand absentmindedly, huffing out a breath of warm vapor. It was freezing.
Damn Logan.
-/-/-
Daniella slipped out of the small bed as soon as the sun appeared in the sky, very much unlike her usual self. She hadn't gotten much sleep, at all. Jo hadn't replied last night, and worry was still eating at her. She'd been fighting the urge to go to Stonehaven and find out exactly what Logan had done, but she didn't want to cause any more trouble for Jo right now. At least until she heard from him.
She held on to Logan's guarantee that he hadn't hurt him or his family and decided to stay put until she heard from Jo. She'd left another message on the notebook, asking him to call her if he needed help and to tell her if he and his family were alright.
She checked the notebook for the hundredth time. Still nothing. The sense of dread grew bigger, but she made her best to push it away. He'd probably been taking care of whatever had happened and now had to rest. That was all.
Ezra was still fast asleep when Daniella put the notebook away again and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day. As long as she was busy, she wouldn't go crazy.
When she returned to the bedroom, fully dressed, she looked around for a piece of parchment and wrote:
'I went to Gringotts and to buy us some food. I'll be back before nine.'
Ripping the written piece out, she placed it on the tiny bedside table next to him, tucked the covers around him and walked out of the room.
The morning was colder than it had been in last few days and the sky promised rain. Daniella pulled the scarf more tightly around her neck as she made her way through the still quiet street to Gringotts. Everyone was still home celebrating Christmas with their families, she thought grimly.
Half hour later she walked out of the marble building carrying most of her money, as well as some Muggle money that she'd exchanged… just in case. Jo had tried to teach her how to use it before and now she wished she'd paid more attention.
By the time she walked back down the main street to the Leaky Cauldron, carrying a couple of heavy shopping bags, she was flushed, feeling too warm under the scarf and the heavy winter coat.
A nice old wizard opened the door for her. She entered and put down the bags to get rid of the scarf, for a moment too long too distracted to realize who was coming into the building from the other entrance.
Sabrina lay in her large, luxurious bed, staring up at her ornate ceiling and hating her life. Truly, she was heartbroken; she was sure that Ezra was the only boy she'd ever loved, the only boy she would ever love. She didn't know how to express it, but it didn't change the fact of the matter.
She didn't understand. He'd had everything: money, reputation, power, her. She couldn't fathom the idea that he might possibly want something more than that.
But he had, and now he was gone.
It was that blood traitor bitch's fault, she thought bitterly to herself. He had been fine before, normal before, befitting of his status before. After they had gotten closer, he had changed completely. He had ignored her blatantly, chosen that girl over Sabrina, and as much as she loved him – if she did, in fact, still love him – he was going to pay. She was going to pay, too. If they were so inclined, they could rot as blood traitors together.
She rose from her position on the bed, getting dressed in a hurry and charming her eyes to appear less puffy. A pureblood witch could not be seen in public looking harassed. She was Head Girl, the best duelist in her year (with only one challenger), and she was going to find this and end it at its source.
She Disapparated with a sharp crack, hitting the ground at a brisk walk.
Daniella's eyes widened at the sight of Sabrina. She looked around quickly, studying her possibilities. Both the street and the pub were fairly busy by now, maybe Sabrina hadn't noticed her yet. If Daniella was quick, maybe she could get to the room before the other girl noticed her.
Fumbling for her wand, she hovered the shopping bags in front of her to move quickly and keep her hands free. There was no telling what was going through Sabrina's mind, but she was a ridiculously fast dueler in any mood. Daniella disappeared inside the pub, moving as quickly as she could without running, until she reached the staircase. When she disappeared from public view, she ran to the room she shared with Ezra.
She knocked urgently on the door, looking over her shoulder towards the stairs. Her heart clogged her throat.
Ezra sat bolt upright at the knock on the door, and his wand was in his hand before he was conscious of anything. He jumped up, examining the note, and furrowed his brows.
"Daniella?" He whispered at the crack in the doorframe. His hand was on the door bolt.
Daniella raised her index finger to her lips as she glanced to the stairs again. "Yes. Open up, quick. Sabrina's here." She pushed against the door. "Get dressed, we need to get out of here now!"
Ezra unlocked the door and stumbled back a few steps as it opened on top of him. He rubbed one eye sleepily with his wand hand, sending a single white spark flying through the air, where it snuffed out on the carpet.
It took a moment for his groggy brain to process her words, and his entire body was suddenly filled with a horrible sense of dread. He scrambled for his trunk.
"Accio Trousers! Accio Shirt! Accio Socks!" He muttered in an incredible hurry, collecting the garments with one jittery hand. "Pack!"
Things began swarming into his trunk at high speed with no regard for organization.
"Where was she? Did she see you?" He realized he was whispering for no apparent reason.
Daniella hurried the shopping bags into the room; one of them fell, spreading its contents on the floor. She closed the door behind her, then huffed out a slow, loud breath, trying to calm down and think rationally. "I think she saw me downstairs, but she didn't see in which room I entered. She came out of nowhere, Apparated just outside the pub."
She rubbed her forehead; good thing they hadn't unpacked most of their things. Whatever they did, Sabrina couldn't find out Ezra was staying in the Leaky Cauldron, much less in which room.
"We need to get out of here." She leaned against the door, trying to hear anything coming from the hallway. "You know her best; will she stay downstairs or come up?"
"She'll wait for us to come down," Ezra said, cursing her fervently. Sabrina was a lot of things, clingy and desperate and soulless among them, but the one thing she was not was stupid.
"Pack up," he said firmly, flourishing his wand. "I paid Tom in advance; we can Apparate out."
He had only passed his test a few months ago, but he had gotten a lot of practice, and spells involving the body and transformation thereof were one of his specialties.
It helped that he had no choice.
Daniella cursed in a low voice as she pointed her wand at her own trunk. What a terrible start of a day. She supposed she should be glad to have had the chance to get her money first, but still… Damn that girl!
A couple minutes later, she was using her own hands to try and shuffle things around so the trunk would close, thinking offhandedly to add to her 'to do list' practicing organization in her spell work.
"Alright, I'm done," She huffed as she finally managed to close it. She looked at the trunk, unsure. "Ezra, I never tried to Apparate anything other than just myself…" She threw her bag over her shoulder; her most important possessions were there for now. As long as she didn't lose those, she could deal with losing the rest. "I guess there's a first time for everything." She attempted an assuring smirk.
"That's fine," Ezra murmured distractedly, grabbing the handle of his trunk and gripping it tightly. "Grab onto your things and give me your hand." He gripped her hand tightly, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and pulled them through miles of space.
They landed with a rough thud, and Ezra released her hand and took a few steps backward into a worn metal trash can. Its lid landed with a metallic crash, and he vanished it without thinking just to stop the noise.
He exhaled slowly.
They were in a dark alley, but people could be heard toward the direction of the street. It was still a bit early, and not many people were out during this time of year; it was bitterly cold, for one thing.
He grabbed her hand silently again, pulling his trunk manually behind him with some effort. He rounded the corner onto the proper sidewalk, and looked up at a bookstore. It was called Bridgefield's.
"This is the only Muggle place I've ever been," he whispered to her out of the corner of his mouth. "It's where I got that book. I'm pretty sure I remember a hotel on this street, but I don't have any Muggle money."
Daniella looked at her trunk to make sure all her things were still there, then squeezed his hand reassuringly.
The only Muggle places she knew were around the Stonehaven area, so she couldn't be of much help. But then again, how different could a Muggle street in London be from a Muggle street in Scotland, right?
She released his hand to search her bag. "I got some Muggle money this morning. I think I still remember how to use it… Jo taugh-" She stopped abruptly, her heart caught in her throat. Her anxiety spiked once more. The notebook was warm. "Uh," she looked around frantically. There was a wooden bench close by. "Sorry, hold on a minute, Ezra."
She rushed over to the bench – standing randomly in the middle of the street with a huge trunk was weird in any world – and sat down, taking out the notebook with shaky hands.
"Oh, thank Merlin…" she whispered when she finished reading, dizzy with relief. The boat may be their main source of income, but at least the family was sae. She found a quill in her bag and wrote:
«I'm so relieved you're alright! Do you want me to go over there, is there anything I can do to help?
I ran away, Jo. I couldn't stay there, it would be like agreeing to what he's doing. I won't let him use you to get to me anymore, ever again. I'm-»
She paused, looking around, trying to find a plaque, or something that told her where she was. Her eyes widened in shock as she recognized the street she was in.
«-in Stonehaven, apparently.»
She stopped writing and lowered her head to rest on her hands; she laughed nervously into her hands.
Jo had started walking as soon as he'd received the message; he'd scribbled a hasty reply telling Dan to meet him in front of Charles McHardy's, the butcher's shop. He knew she could find it; he'd taken her there once when she had stayed over ages ago.
He approached the corner, turned it, and squinted. Dan was not alone. She hadn't told him Ezra would be tagging along. He tried not to feel hurt or suspicious.
Ezra, on the other hand, was looking firmly at the sidewalk, hands in his pockets. This was definitely not what he had had in mind.
"I've brought my savings," Josiah whispered to Dan after a few moments' pause. He opened a worn leather wallet and produced four twenty pound notes. "Sorry, it's all I've got. Well, that and a few pence. Erm, pennies. Like sickles."
Ezra squinted at the notes skeptically. He doubted the validity of paper money.
Daniella didn't have time to prepare either of them for that meeting, but she couldn't bring herself to feel too worried about it right now. She gave Ezra's hand a quick squeeze as Jo approached. "I'd trust him with my life, Ezra," she whispered. "You can trust him too, I promise. Just give him a chance."
She pulled Jo into a tight hug when he approached. "I'm so glad to see you." She looked at his hands and shook her head. "No, it's alright, you don't have to. I've got Muggle money." She showed Jo the money she'd been given at Gringotts. "I think it's enough… I was told it would be enough for a few days." She paused, then looked from Ezra to Jo, tentatively. "Ezra ran away too, Jo." She took Ezra's hand. "We're sort of hiding, until we can go back to school."
Jo gave his best friend a warm squeeze, then stood back and looked at the pair of them. He sighed softly, folding the bills back into his wallet before examining the money in her hand. His eyes widened.
"I should say so," he mumbled under his breath, looking at a folded wad of bills that must have been a good 400 pounds. Honestly, purebloods. "It'll last you weeks around these parts, if you've a right mind."
He looked to Ezra tentatively, and then back to Dan.
"I'd invite you guys to the house, but... well, that's not really a good idea at the moment," he said vaguely. "There's an inn down the way, and the owner is good friends with my dad. I'll take you there and buy you something to eat, at least."
Ezra surveyed the shorter, softer boy, the ember of embarrassment that had been burning in his chest settling down into nothing. It wasn't what he'd banked on when he'd left home, but now wasn't the time to be picky. As far as the people looking for him were concerned, he wasn't any better than Josiah.
Daniella looked at her own hands, confused. "Really?! You really can't trust those goblins, can you?" she murmured, stuffing the money back into her pocket.
She cleared her throat, trying to sound more determined than she felt. "That sounds perfect, I'm starving." She glanced at Ezra again. They weren't at each other's throats yet. That was a good start, she supposed.
"We should get settled; walking around with the trunks won't do us any good," she told Ezra. "Do you want to try the inn or should we go to the hotel?"
Josiah smiled grimly; he was sure that goblins knew as much about Muggle money as the average pureblood wizard did.
"Inn's cheaper," Jo offered for their consideration. "And warmer, usually. With better food. The hotel is mostly for tourists, or what few we get around these parts."
Ezra stiffened, not wanting to feel pressured into a decision.
"I'd like to look at them both," he said quietly, answering Daniella's question. Jo fought the urge to roll his eyes.
"Well, the hotel's over there," he pointed west to a building that was taller than the rest, but still not very tall in general. It had a flashing neon sign on the front of an otherwise classic looking front. "And the inn is down there." He pointed to a squat but busy building that had a sign out front with the daily specials written in chalk. Today's was roast beef and gravy with potatoes and a dessert of your choice.
Ezra flushed, furrowing his eyebrows slightly.
"The inn's fine," he conceded without looking at the other boy.
Daniella pursed her lips at the exchange, repressing a sigh. Men!
"Now that that's settled," she said, smiling brightly at both of them, "can we get settled in too and eat something?" She started off towards the inn, pulling the trunk along. They would follow her eventually.
It was amusing that Ezra had brought them over here, of all places.
"Were you able to fix the boat?" She asked Jo, when he caught up.
"Erm," Jo murmured, furrowing his eyebrows. "Sort of." He didn't really want to think about it. He didn't really want to think about anything, actually; sometimes he was certain that being a Muggle was easier, even without all the household spells.
He pushed open the door to the inn, flagging down the man behind the bar, who gave him a broad smile.
"JoJo!" He said loudly, and Jo gave a thin smile. "What can I do ya for?"
"My friends need a room for the night," he replied. "And we're going to order lunch." The man, who was named Frank, looked politely at Dan and Ezra for their orders.
"I'll have the daily special, please," Ezra said, raising his voice a bit in order to be heard over the din of pub conversation. Frank tried to keep a straight face at his posh London accent.
"You lot from outta town, eh? Best roast beef you ever had in your life, I guarantee." He scribbled on a notepad. "And you, miss?"
Daniella wasn't satisfied with Jo's answer, but decided it was best not to force the matter for the time being. She rested a comforting hand on his back before entering the building.
The outside had looked welcoming, and the inside wasn't disappointing in the slightest. The dining area's decoration was simple, with stone walls, a large fireplace and windows with a view to the harbor; it gave the place a rural but cozy feel, prepared with obvious care. She liked it instantly. She grinned at the man behind the bar.
"If that's the case, I'll have the same, thanks." Then she faced the two boys she suspected would give her early grey hair. She didn't want their stay there to be tense and uncomfortable; maybe it was best to give them a few minutes apart.
She turned to Ezra, who still looked rather stiff. "Why don't we go upstairs?" She asked softly. "We can leave the trunks in the room before lunch and eat more comfortably then." Then she turned to Jo with a tentative smile. Keeping them both satisfied promised to be hard work. "Do you mind? It'll just take a few minutes."
Jo struggled between tolerance and annoyance, settling eventually on tolerance because it was easier to manage and because they were in a public place.
"It's fine," he murmured, picking at a large plate of chips. "Take your time." Frank handed Dan a key over the bar.
"Third on the left," he specified.
Ezra had already gotten a tight grip on his trunk, ready to flee the scene.
Daniella took the lead, showing more determination than she felt. Ezra had chosen the place, even if he didn't know Jo lived here. It wasn't like he could blame anyone else for Jo's presence. But if he was going to act like a sulky kid the whole time, she would start considering the possibility of going back to the Leaky Cauldron and Sabrina's bad mood.
Baby steps, she told herself as she unlocked the door to their room. She looked around, her smile growing more pleased with everything she saw. There was a large window ahead, from where they had an even better view than they had downstairs. The walls and the furniture had soft, soothing colors; the bed had a bunch of fluffy pillows; there was one of those televisions like the one in Jo's house and they also had a private bathroom.
"Isn't it lovely?" She asked, finally free to use her wand to set her trunk on a free corner. She searched Ezra's eyes. "What do you think?"
Ezra laid his trunk down wearily, shrugging. He had been abruptly woken, catapulted into an unfamiliar world, and now he was feeling extremely left out; of course that Mudblood would know all the best places, the best ideas. He was smart, and Ezra knew it, and Ezra hated it, too.
He wanted all of Dan's affection, all of her attention, all of her praise.
"What in Merlin's name is that?" He murmured, pointing at the telephone on the small but handsome oak nightstand. "And this box with glass on?"
He had never taken Muggle studies. His mother had balked endlessly at the idea.
Daniella followed his gestures. "Oh, I think that's a telephone!" She said with maybe a little too much excitement. "Jo never let me use his. He says it costs money; Muggles use it to contact each other instead of using owls. And that's a television. They see moving pictures and people with it. Like photos, except they talk too." She grinned at him. "We can try them later, it should be fun!"
The grin died slowly as his expression didn't change. He still wasn't happy. "Unless you don't want to stay here… I mean, it's up to you, of course. I've looked up how we can return to Hogwarts before the end of the holidays."
Ezra squinted critically at the telephone, examining it from several angles without touching it. There were no holes to put money in. There was a small plastic-covered plaque with numbers on the front of it; they were labeled things like 'front desk' and 'press 0 to dial out.' There was also a takeout menu with more numbers beside the contraption, and a giant volume of thin paper that was simply called a 'phone book.' He pulled open a few pages; it had even more numbers in it. He made a face.
It was all a little too much at once.
"It's alright," he said after a while, sitting on the bed, which was one of the few things in the room he recognized. "It's just a bit of an adjustment, you understand. Being surrounded by so many M-Muggles." The word got stuck in his throat and he had to force it out.
It wasn't necessarily that they were Muggles, he decided; it's that the Muggles thought he was a Muggle too.
Daniella sat beside him, resting a gentle hand on his knee. "I know… and I understand. I've been in Stonehaven a few times before and I still start to feel itchy that I can't use magic most of the time. By the way, you'll have to tell me how you know this place, so far from home." She bumped her shoulder teasingly against his. "I'm sure it's an interesting story."
She took a long look around and sighed. She wanted to make it easier for him somehow, but at the same time, she knew he had to be the one willing to be open to a different experience, a different reality; open to find out that even with all the differences, someone like him and someone like Jo were the same in what really mattered.
Maybe he would get there, one day… She studied his face, doubtfully. Maybe…
Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, she remembered the other upset boy waiting downstairs, and wished she could split in two.
"Lunch will probably be ready in a few minutes. Why don't you take that time to rest, or wash your face, or… whatever you need. You had a rough morning." She kissed his cheek lightly. "And then, when you feel a little better, you can join us downstairs and eat something. Alright?" She squeezed his knee for a moment, offering him a fully teasing smirk. "If you're a good, nice wizard undercover, we can take a walk by the beach or do whatever you want in the afternoon."
Ezra was feeling especially melancholic, but he didn't think he could hear those words come out of Daniella's mouth and not at least smirk.
"Deal," he murmured, shedding his coat and leaving it behind on the bed. "I'll wash up and meet you downstairs. Don't steal any of my chips."