A/N: Thank you to the wonderful AelysAlthea and Beckwithtime for betaing! I love you, girls!
Have you also wondered what Angelina has been up to? Now you'll find out!
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Six Degrees of Separation
Katie was woken by the sharp ringing of the telephone piercing the air. She shot upright and squinted at her clock. It was nine already. Quickly, she grabbed her dressing gown and stumbled into the living room.
She had installed the Muggle device because her mum had pressured her until she had given in. Her mum found it was much easier for communication than owl post or Floo calls, and normally Katie agreed.
But not when the blasted thing woke her up when she could have enjoyed a lazy morning in bed. Today was the 24th of December, and she had taken the day off.
Katie picked up the phone and croaked into the receiver, "Yes?"
"Oh my god, Katie," the voice on the other side of the phone practically screamed into her ear. "This is really working. I can't believe it's working!"
Katie needed a moment to recognise the voice. "Angelina?" she asked surprised. "Wait, are you calling from New Zealand?"
After her friend had moved down under a year ago, they had exchanged regular letters and Floo calls, but never talked on the phone. At first, it had been difficult for Katie that Angelina had moved so far away. Suddenly, there was so much distance between them. But she had understood her friend's decision to leave since, for Angelina, it had been the only way possible to overcome the trauma of the war, to forget the holes that had been ripped into their lives by an evil madman.
"Yes! Sorry, did I wake you?" Angelina lowered her voice a little. "I should have used the Floo. But the long distance calls always make me so dizzy."
"I know. I always think I'll end up in the wrong fireplace," Katie said. She suddenly felt more elated than she had in weeks. "I've missed you."
There was a short silence on the other side of the line. "I've missed you, too, Katie. You know how sorry I am that I can't visit you over the holidays."
Katie nodded. "Yes, I know."
Silence fell between them, and Katie used her wand to heat the kettle. "It's already Christmas Eve where you are, right?" she finally said lightly. Slowly, the happy feeling was fading to be replaced by foreboding.
"Oh, yes," Angelina said, but her voice was strained as if she forced herself to sound happy. As if that wasn't the reason she was calling. "Christmas."
"Are you alright, Ange?" Katie asked cautiously. There was something off about her voice, but maybe it was just the bad connection.
"Yes, yes," her friend said in a strangely high voice. "I'm – I'm fine. Everything's good – er, great. And you? You're going to the Weasley family dinner tomorrow?"
Katie narrowed her eyes. "Probably. Ange, what's going on?"
"I'm fine," Angelina insisted, but this time her voice broke. "Can't I call just to wish you a Merry Christmas?"
The kettle started to whistle in the background, but Katie ignored it. "Merry Christmas," she whispered into the receiver.
Silence hung between them while the whistle of the kettle grew more insistent, demanding Katie's attention.
"Merry Christmas," Angelina finally replied hoarsely. Another silence, then, "It's late. I gotta go. Bye."
Before Katie could say another word, the ringing tone echoed through the receiver. Angelina had hung up.
For a few moments, Katie stared at the phone, feeling like her friend had punched her in the gut. Something was definitely wrong. A year was a long time. Did Angelina feel like she couldn't talk to her anymore? Slowly, Katie stood up and mechanically prepared herself a cup of tea, her eyes darting over to the phone every other second. Should she call Angelina back? It wasn't like her to behave like that.
Suddenly, the high-pitched ringing of the telephone reverberated through Katie's living room, startling her. She flinched, and her teacup slipped through her hand and crashed to the floor.
Disregarding the mess, Katie dashed over to the phone and answered breathlessly, "Angelina?"
White noise flooded the line, then a sob, and then, "Yes, it's me."
"Thank Merlin," Katie breathed and slumped backwards into the wall. "What's wrong, Ange?"
"I- I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how. I– I –" she stammered, her words broken up by silent sobs.
"Shh, calm down," Katie said soothingly, sliding down the wall until she was huddled into the narrow space between the couch and the coffee table.
Angelina took a deep breath. "I don't want to ruin your Christmas. Let's do this another time."
"You're not ruining anything, sweetie, you know that."
"But –"
"You're obviously upset," Katie interrupted her. "I've always been there for you when you were upset. Talk to me."
For a few seconds, Katie could hear only Angelina's ragged breathing. When she spoke, it was suddenly, though sounded markedly more collected than before. "I had a fight with Ezra."
Ezra was something like Angelina's boyfriend, although she wouldn't call him that. Katie knew that Angelina liked Ezra, but she wasn't ready to commit to a real relationship.
"What happened?" Katie asked.
"He wants us to be a couple." Angelina's voice broke again and Katie could hear her friend fighting back sobs.
"And you don't want that?"
"I – I don't know, Katie. It's not just that." She swallowed thickly. "I wasn't feeling so well the last few weeks and … I threw up a lot, I couldn't eat fries without feeling sick, and I suddenly craved pickles."
Katie sucked in a sharp breath, already anticipating what Angelina was about to tell her.
"So, I did a pregnancy charm …" Angelina whispered.
Katie waited for her to continue, but a strained silence spread between them. "You – you're pregnant?" she whispered, her voice raw with shock.
"Yes," Angelina replied quietly. "What should I do, Katie? I'm not ready for that. I ran away to New Zealand to escape my problems, not to … I thought I'd come back."
"What are you talking about?" Katie asked tonelessly, fear clouding her mind. This was happening too quickly. It seemed Angelina already drew conclusions, took decisions, where there were still so many possibilities.
"I'm gonna have a baby, Katie. And I can't – I'll keep it." There was a pleading undertone in her voice. "And Ezra will support me. He'll help me, and we could be a family. You must understand that, Katie."
Katie opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She felt numb, number than when Angelina had told her she was going to leave for New Zealand, because it had been with the understanding that it was only temporary. Katie had always expected Angelina to come back, back to England.
"Katie? Say something, please," Angelina begged.
"You'd have me," Katie forced out. "We could be a family."
"I –" Angelina interrupted herself. "I can't do that. It's Ezra's child, too. If he wants to be a father, if he wants to have a serious relationship…" Her voice cracked. "I can't say no."
"Is that what you want?" Katie snapped. "Really?"
"I don't know. I'm not ready to be a mother, Katie, but I also can't kill it. Her. Him. Maybe this was meant to happen." Angelina spoke fiercely, but to Katie it sounded like an excuse.
"There's no such thing as fate," she said harshly. Angelina couldn't just leave and never come back. She couldn't just start a new life on the other side of the world as if everything they'd been through together meant nothing. As if they're friendship wasn't important.
Katie's fingers curled around the receiver. This wasn't true. She knew that Angelina cared, but that her friend had to make more important choices. Sometimes life was dictated by circumstances, and sometimes there was only one choice that could be lived with.
"Katie…"
Katie closed her eyes. How could she be so selfish and only think about what this meant to her? The leg of the table pressed uncomfortably into her shin, but she didn't care. She didn't shift her weight in pursuit of comfort. "You're right," she said, though it sounded forced. "It's the right thing to do. For the kid. You should stay, build a life. Even marry Ezra if you love him enough."
"What if I don't?" Angelina asked weakly.
"Then don't do it. You don't need him. You need to do what's right for you and for the baby," Katie replied, opening her eyes. It was the right thing to say. Angelina needed that sort of advice now.
"You think I can handle being a mother?" Angelina asked, and Katie could picture her, how she would look up through the curtain of her black hair, her cheeks wet with tears.
Katie summoned all her strength and said in a firm tone, "You can handle anything."
There was another long silence. Katie watched dark clouds gathering outside her window, threatening snow.
"You can visit," Angelina said suddenly. "This isn't a goodbye forever."
Katie swallowed. Her words had sounded like a lie, even though Katie knew that Angelina meant them. "Yes, I'll visit soon." Her promise felt just as hollow as Angelina's reassurance. "You can still decide to …" she began, but let her voice trail off. No. Angelina had made a decision, even if she wasn't aware of it. There was no use in convincing her to take a different path. Maybe, it was Angelina's way of moving on from the war. "Can we talk again sometime? I'm meeting up with Ginny in twenty minutes and I'm still in my pyjamas."
"Oh, yes, of course," Angelina said, clearing her throat. "I'll call you when the holidays are over, and we can … talk."
"Yes," Katie replied without inflection."Bye."
"Katie, I …" For a second, it sounded like she was going to say something, but then Angelina took a deep breath. "Goodbye."
Katie didn't even bother to put the receiver back on the phone; she just let it slip through her fingers and dangle from its cord.
Outside, it began to snow.
*Written for the Houses Competition, Round 9*
House: Ravenclaw
Category: Themed
Prompt: "So, I did a pregnancy charm..."
W/C: 1, 667
