A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I was on vacation and away from computers. I'm back now, and to make up for it hopefully two more chapters will be up this week.
"What are you doing here?" Leah said immediately, aggressively crossing her arms and looking up at her ex-boyfriend Luke Dalton. Otherwise known as the one who broke her heart when he cheated on her and then didn't take it too well when she dumped him. He pushed his way into the apartment.
"I need to talk to you."
"No, you don't. Get out." She replied, hands on her hips. "I had a good day, and I don't want it ruined."
Hands in pockets, Luke looked like a vulnerable little kid, never mind his tall, muscular frame and scruffy beard. "Erm, this isn't about us." He said a bit more softly. "Sorry, I know I must have surprised you. I'm sorry about being a sore loser… I acted like a baby."
"So, then, why are you here?" Leah asked a bit bitterly. She wasn't going to forgive him so quickly, and she didn't like him so close to her, in her apartment.
"I got bad news, Leah, and I was wondering if you could help. My ma got dragon pox. I was wondering if you could you could do me one last favor and go over there and see if there's anything you can do to get her better?"
"Why don't you take her to St. Mungo's?"
"You know how expensive dragon pox treatment is. We don't have money for it, we lost everything in the war, you know all this. We don't have money like you." He looked around the nice apartment. Leah didn't feel guilty; after all, she had earned her apartment, her job, her wardrobe. It wasn't like anyone in her family was rolling in money.
"I'll see what I can do." Leah finally decided, loosening her arms. "But I'm not making any promises, okay?"
Relief spread visibly over his face. Leah noticed the dark circles around his eyes, how tired her looked. "Thank you, thank you so much."
"Don't thank me yet." She said half-irritably, half-jokingly. He was almost out in the hallway when he turned his head to look at her.
"You look good." He added finally, and then he was gone.
***
Somehow, Leah managed to convince her boss to submit Luke's mum for treatment free of charge, provided it was kept quit, Leah was head healer for the case, and she worked a free five-hour shift on Saturday. It was all because the head of small pox loved Leah, otherwise there would be no way it would have happened.
The week was long and tedious. Leah being the workaholic she was, everyday that week she worked extra hours, filling out reports, working on an article for Healer Today, and catching up on other work. Wednesday, she went out for dinner with some old friends, and Friday night she joined Audrey, Tina, Riley, Tom, and Joey, all old friends from Hogwarts, for drinks at one of their favorite pubs. Like most Friday nights, she drank a bit too much (hey – she was in her early twenties, after all) and ended up dancing on the bar with Audrey, wandering home at three for a short nap before work.
Groaning, Audrey awoke to shower and change into her lime-green healer robes, then head to the six to eleven free shift she had promised to do.
There was a knock on her office door when she took a break in her office, relishing in the Saturday morning peace.
"Come in." she called. The door opened and Luke strode in, hands in pockets.
"Hullo." He said brightly. "Thanks so much, ma's looking better already.
"No problem! I just had to do a five hour Saturday morning shift for free." She said sarcastically. She really, really didn't like being in the same room as him.
"Well, I'll get out of your hair then, just wanted to let you know, thanks." He smiled, lingering a bit. "Sorry I overreacted when you ended things, but I love you. Probably always will." He shrugged; Leah shut her eyes, squeezing away and tears from this declaration. She opened them wearily to find him gone, all traces of disappeared from her office except his lingering smell.
When she returned home, Audrey wasn't even awake yet. There was a beautiful owl waiting for her, though. It hooted merrily as Leah took the letter from its leg and gave it a biscuit before sending it away.
Leah,
I was thinking – you better be prepared to face my family when you come over tomorrow. How about I give you some pointers, say, over dinenr at the Fiery Thorn in Diagon Alley tonight?
Let me know and I'll pick you up at eight.
Charlie
She couldn't help but smile happily to herself, and didn't hesitate before sitting down to find the perfect response.
Charlie,
You've met me, I think I can handle your family. How bad can they be? I know the prankster already. I think you really want to ask me out on a date, little wimp.
xoxo,
Leah
P.S. I like your creativeness. I'll see you at eight.
She sent the letter off with Emma, her gray owl, and crashed onto her bed, asleep in minutes. Her dreams were plagued by Luke and his mother. Then Luke transformed into Charlie, a Charlie that announced on a loudspeaker that Leah wasn't worth anyone's attention. She woke up at five, still tired from her fitful sleep, and clamored to the kitchen.
"Sleep well?" Audrey asked. She was sitting by the counter, deeply involved in a piece of parchment.
"Not great." Leah hopped up onto the counter opposite Audrey and picked up a strawberry. "Alright there?"
"Yes! I'm finally done editing this stupid piece." She exclaimed, throwing her quill down. "What are you doing tonight?"
"Charlie's taking me out for dinner."
"That's cute! I can't remember the last time you went out on a date."
Leah glared at her friend. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, sure, you bring guys home. But face it – you haven't been on a date since Luke. You're in a slump."
"I have not been in a slump. I was just having some fun. It's not a crime!"
"Well, whatever, I'm glad you like Charlie."
"I don't like him, I barely know him." She argued.
Audrey rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Need help getting ready?"
"Sure, but he's not coming till eight. I'm going for a run." Leah jumped off the counter and changed into running leggings, a running jacket, and her brand new trainers. She'd been a runner her whole life. Never competitively, but she loved pounding away on the ground, one foot ahead of the other. She apperated outside London, to a forest with a great path. It cleared her mind, running, and it had been a while since her last jog. She tired herself out running for a full hour before apperating home, covered in sweat but happy.
"What are you going to wear?" Audrey asked after Leah emerged from the shower. Leah picked out a silk baby doll dress, the top with thick straps and the bodice twisted down, showing just the right amount of cleavage. A cream ribbon wrapped around her bodice, and the skirt fell mid thigh in a pretty violet. Paired with black pantyhose, a silver necklace and a forest green cardigan with long front pieces, she looked pretty darn good.
"Amazing, amazing. You're not wearing flats, heels are so much hotter and he's a lot taller then you so you can."
"Heeled boots are a better option, its freezing. I almost died out there." She picked out black ankle boots with floppy bows on the sides. Her hair had dried nearly nice, so she curled it slightly and let it be. "I swear to god, you're more excited about this date then I am." Leah rolled her eyes, exasperated. Audrey shushed her and spritzed a bit of perfume on her neck and handed her a nice cashmere scarf. Finally, Leah was fully approved and was pulling her boots on when the doorbell rang.
"Come in!" Leah called (to Audrey's disappointment.) She took her coat and her black clutch and went to great her date.
"Hey, you look great." Charlie whispered in her ear while they hugged. He looked pretty great, too, better then Leah remembered, and once again she admired his muscular physique while he led her down the stairs. "Is it alright if we apperate together?"
"Of course. I've never been to the Fiery Thorn, anyway, what kind of food is it?"
"Italian. I didn't want to go with anything crazy, in case you're a picky eater."
"Good thing you picked Italian, because I am one of the pickiest eaters out there." She smiled fondly at him. They apperated to a busy, loud restaurant, full of people and with a great atmosphere. The place smelled delicious. A waitress seated them at a table by the window, where lightened crystals were floating.
"Have you ever been here?" Leah asked, looking around as the waitress poured them some red wine.
"No, I've been gone a while." Charlie admitted. "George recommended it to me."
She chuckled. "Are you sure something freaky isn't going to jump out at us? Are you sure this isn't some really elaborate prank?"
He glanced around suspiciously. "You know, I'm the one that introduced them," he swallowed, "him to pranks. When they were three, I told them to hide in the pantry and jump out at mum."
"No offence, I think they would have discovered pranks on their own. They are just like that. I mean, well, George is and Fred well, was."
Charlie sighed. "Its still so weird, that it's just George now. It's always been the twins. They wee pretty much one person. It was unbelievable, their connection. They hardly ever fought. George is coping so well. I don't know how."
"Angelina has a lot to do with that, let me tell you. Before they found each other, George just sat in his bedroom and stared. I wasn't friends with him then, but Lee told me about it, he was so concerned."
"After Fred's funeral, I ran back to Bulgaria because I just couldn't deal with the aftermath of all the death. I'll never forgive myself for it, because I missed so much, so much I could have helped with. Sure, I probably wouldn't have known what to tell George, but I would have at least been out there, hunting down death eaters."
"It's undersdtandable, Charlie." She put his hand on top of hers and he turned it over to hold hers.
"I hear your one of the best healers at St. Mungo's." he made an effort to smile at her. "You didn't run away from your problems."
She ignored his second comment. "I'm definitely not the best healer in the hospital. George tends to exaggerate. Besides, I never fought in any battles with Death Eaters or anything."
"How come you're a healer then, in charge of other healers as a matter of fact, only four years after graduating, when usually training takes seven years?"
She shrugged. "They needed lots of healers during the war. We all had to learn fast. We stuck around after the final battle and they gave some of us licenses."
"You, Leah, are far too modest. Do you like working there, at the hospital?"
"I love it. When I first started, I thought I had picked the wrong profession, but Audrey convinced me to stick it out for a year, and she was right. It really grew on me."
"You work a lot, don't you?"
"All the time. I'm serious, I work a lot. But because I haven't taken any vacation days this year, I get a nice two week Christmas break this year. No more dealing with the results of Christmas arguments and other holiday mishaps." She took another sip of wine and glanced down at their untouched menus. "I guess we should order?"
He laughed his loud, hearty laugh. "Probably. You're very distracting, Leah. I know what I want, but take your time."
They talked all through dinner and desert. After dinner, Charlie suggested they walk back to Leah's apartment. It was a nice, still winter evening and her flat wasn't too far away.
"How was it, growing up with so many siblings?"
"It was great because I was never bored or lonely, but because I'm one of the oldest, I didn't always have so many of them. It sucked sometimes, because there was never a moment of peace, and you always had to share everything."
"When I was little, I wanted a sister or a brother so bad. My house was always so boring. My stepfather was a nice man, but he worked hard and I wasn't his kid. He was never good with kids anyway. I spent a lot of time drawing, and reading."
"Did you live in London?"
"Yeah, I lived in this city. I loved Hogwarts but I always missed the city while I was there. Nature's great and everything, but I'm a huge city girl in every way. I love the crowds, I love the selection of restaurants, stores of every kind; sometimes I just walk around and breathe in the city."
"See, I grew up in the country, and I like both the city and the country. I like having space, and I've always wanted to have an apartment in the city and a country home. I guess I need to be rich for that, though."
"Yeah, better get working, geez." She wacked his arm playfully. "Are you living at your parents' house right now?"
"I don't start my job until January first, so I probably am going to have to wait to get an apartment until then."
"Ouch, living with the parents again…"
"Tell me about it. I don't know how I used to put up with it. The constant questioning… I have to admit, though, I don't mind the food."
"Such a man, always thinking with your stomach." She teased. She stopped; they were in front of her nice apartment building. Only wizards and witches could live there, when muggles came they were always politely refused. It was good, because one could apperate in any of the hallways, and all the apartments except in the ones that had defensive charms around them. Leah's apartment was protected so only her and Audrey could apperate into it. "This is me."
Charlie turned to face her, taking each of her hands in one of his. "I know."
"Thanks for such a lovely evening." She cringed at how girly the words sounded, and was instantly glad that it was dark because she could feel the heat in her face.
"May I give you a kiss?" he said just as formally.
She nodded and drew him in for a soft kiss. No tongue, just a sweet, first date kiss. Straight out of a how-to-act-like-a-lady guidebook. She stepped away. "Goodbye."
"Goodnight, Leah, see you tomorrow." He kissed her cheek, opened the door for her, and once she was inside, waved goodbye. She could see him slink into the alley and disappear seconds later. She walked upstairs in a daze, happy with the great date.