Sorry for the long wait in between updates. My advancement exam for promotion is coming up and I've been busy with studying. Finally getting to finish this chapter. I decided I didn't like being rushed and doing one year per chapter, so we are going to take things slow for a bit and really get to know Thomas and Trudy these next couple of chapters. Enjoy and review please. They help with the motivation. Thanks guys. :)
It was day often seen in dreams but rarely experienced for real. The sun was setting into a golden-red horizon, slowly being swallowed by the Atlantic. Orange clouds wisped across the sky like blazing fairytale horse tails spread out on a darkening canvas. For a small village nestled in a comfortable valley an hour south-East of London, the day had been nothing less than perfect. The same couldn't be said for the adolescent boy disembarking from his bus. He had a dinner to be at.
And he was late.
Thomas hastily waved to the bus driver in thanks and took off running in what he prayed was the right direction. Without breaking his pace he pulled out his wand from his back pack and muttered a simple direction spell, commanding his wand to point him the right way. As the wand began to spin in his hand, Thomas thought of all the other underage wizards who would swiftly be hunted down by the ministry for this unlawful use of magic. Working at ministry headquarters certainly does have its benefits, Thomas mused to himself as a smile crept to his face.
The wand slowed and Thomas' smile was lost at the sight of the wand pointing in the opposite direction he was running. With a frustrated "Fuck," and a mumble of an apology for his language to an old lady walking her dog across the street, Thomas expeditiously turned around and followed his wand to his destination.
He and Trudy had sent letters back and forth for the duration of the summer, setting up plans for the World Cup. The deal was for him to meet her parents and stay the night on her couch. The next day they would head to a portkey and be off to the match. His dad had already set up a tent for them to use and his mother made sure it was stocked with food. His parents would be taking the little rat Wallie and meeting up with family friends at the match, leaving Thomas and Trudy to enjoy the experience uninterrupted. Thomas' stomach fluttered at the thought of being able to spend time with only Trudy as his company. He couldn't wait.
When the wand dropped into his hand signaling he had reached his destination, Thomas finally looked up to see a charming, humble 2 story house. He smiled to himself. Of course Trudy lived here. Everything about the place screamed cozy, kind, and inviting. The yard was enclosed by blue fencing with a small pavement walkway leading up to the front door. The house was covered in a ruddy brick complete with a charming chimney. On both sides of the pavement were all manner of flowers, Trudy did mention her mother loved to garden and considered herself an amateur florist. A warm glow illuminated the windows. All in all, the home looked incredibly welcoming.
"Well, better late than never," Thomas muttered to himself as he grasped his wand in his hand. "Orchideous," he said and caught the bouquet of roses as they were projected from the tip of his wand. After tucking his wand in his back pocket Thomas took a deep breath and pushed open the yard gate to make his way to the front door.
After 3 knocks Thomas anxiously awaited the door to open, slightly bouncing on the balls of his feet. She's gonna kill me, he thought. He was over an hour and a half late for dinner. Not a great impression to make on the parents of his crush. He was hoping the flowers would help him recover from this hiccup and find favor in the small family's eyes.
The door swung open and Thomas just about dropped the roses in his hand. Standing before him was a blue eyed, raven haired teenager dressed in a white strapless summer dress that descended modestly to her knees. Her hair was curled loosely and fell carelessly down her back. Thomas slowly let his eyes fall the length of her body to drink in the form of the young lady standing in the door way before timidly rising to meet hers. As his chocolate eyes met her deep blue ones, Trudy only magnified her beauty when she gave Thomas a bright smile before stepping forward to throw her arms around his neck to embrace her classmate.
Thomas gladly returned the hug, chastely settling his hands on the small of her back as he slowly breathed in the scent of her hair while his heart joyously announced its excitement.
"Hi," Trudy whispered to him.
"Hi," He whispered back.
"You're late," she teased.
"I blame Wallie. The little pest had run off with my wand. I had to wrestle the damn thing away from him."
Trudy giggled as she pulled away from Thomas, keeping her arms resting on his shoulders and finger tips dancing on the back of his neck."It's not funny." Thomas wined. "He bit my knee. Who bites a knee!?"
"I can't wait to meet him this year."
"I'm sure he'll love you…" Thomas mused as his eyes dropped to Trudy's lips, daring himself to take the chance and discover what flavor chapstick she used today. Trudy took notice of his wandering eyes and silently prayed her cunning Slytherin would be brave enough to lean forward and mold his lips against hers. Despite her desires, Trudy gulped and willed herself to remain immobile instead of closing the gap between their lips. She didn't just want to kiss Thomas, she wanted Thomas to kiss her. When he slowly, ever so gently began to move forward and she felt his hands on her back begin to pull her in, her knees nearly gave out and her breathing stopped.
The two adolescents quickly broke away from their embrace and recovered at the sound of Trudy's mother calling her.
"Trudy, Is that Tommy!?" She called.
"Tommy?" Thomas said, wincing with disgust.
Trudy gave Thomas a pitying glance before responding to her mother, "Yes mother, Thomas is here!"
"Well bring him in so we can get started on dinner! He has to be starving!"
"Come on in," Trudy said with a smile as she lead her guest into her house, taking satisfaction from the redness and warmth on her guest's cheeks still present from their close encounter a minute before.
Suddenly remembering the bouquet of roses in his hand Thomas unexpectedly stopped Trudy on their way to the kitchen. "Your mom likes roses right?" He whispered.
Trudy scrunched her nose in response. "Um..."
"Fuuuuck… Ok I can fix this, what's her favorite flower?"
"Tulips."
"Easy. And favorite color?"
"Green."
Thomas smiled at this. "Your mother has good taste." Thomas whispered as he flicked his wand and the roses turned into a bouquet of Slytherin-green tulips. "How's that?" He asked proudly
"She actually likes mint green, not emerald green. And um... Maybe not on those flowers. Try dark purple for tulips." Trudy chortled.
"Oh…" Thomas said, all pride dropped from his face. "So much for good taste." He muttered as he changed the color of the flora to accommodate.
Trudy playfully slapped his arm and lead him the rest of the way to meet her parents. Thomas mentally prepared himself, repeatedly reminding his mouth not to utter foul language for the next few hours. Trudy gave him fair warning about the strict no swearing policy her parents demanded in the letters they sent the last few weeks.
"Mum, dad, this is Thomas Wombleton. Thomas, these are my parents Daniel and Shannon Thorne."
Thomas immediately snapped into action. "Well good evening my good sir and fair lady. Please do accept my deepest apologies for my late arrival. As a necessary reparation for my tardiness, I have brought these for you m'lady." Thomas said eloquently as he presented, with a slight bow, the magical tulips to Shannon, who's mouth was slightly ajar in surprise. Thomas paid it no mind as he turned to Daniel. "And for you good sir, I-"
"You can stop sounding like a Shakespearian play. Please." Daniel interrupted.
"Oh thank you, there's no way I could have kept that up all night." Thomas admitted. The Thornes all laughed in response. "I actually didn't think to bring you anything sir. Sorry."
"Hey, no worries young man. Just glad you made it here safely." Daniel said with a smile as he stepped forward to shake Thomas' hand.
"And thank you for the flowers." Shannon piped in as she grabbed a vase and began filling with water.
"My pleasure," Thomas said with a grin as he turned to Trudy with his wand in his hand. With a silent mutter of the Orchideous spell another bouquet shot out of Thomas' wand, which he swiftly swiped out of the air before presenting it to her. It consisted of a single Pink Camellia surrounded by matching Azaleas. "These are for you." Thomas said softly as he handed them to Trudy. Trudy gasped as a smile claimed her face. They were gorgeous. More than that, the meaning that the flowers held made them that much more precious. She breathed in the scent of the flora and smiled, lifting her eyes to meet her Slytherin's. Not caring that her parents may object to the contact, Trudy rushed forward and once again embraced Thomas.
Shannon raised her eyebrow at the flowers in her daughter's grip, the meaning of them not lost on her. She was curious if the boy knew as well as her, and how serious this relationship between him and her daughter was. Deciding against bringing it up and ruining the moment for her daughter, she silently grabbed another vase for Trudy's flowers.
The dinner was great. Daniel and Shannon had already eaten but Trudy had refused any food until Thomas showed up. Together the two had made dinner. Trudy taught Thomas one of her favorite meals, Mac 'n Cheese and hot dogs. Thomas had laughed at the bizarre meal but had fun cooking with Trudy and conversing with her parents.
Trudy marveled at how easy Thomas fell into a casual conversation and silently envied him. He made it look so effortless to just keep the conversation moving and the words flowing, to keep people laughing, to pay attention to what's being said, and seem so at ease and comfortable around what were total strangers earlier that night. She could never do that. She never knew what to say or how to act around new people. But Thomas, like everything else in his life, was perfect at it.
While Thomas was conversing with her parents, Trudy took the opportunity to appreciate her guest's appearance. He was wearing a dark button down collared shirt that was left untucked from his dark gray jeans with the sleeves rolled 3/4 of the way and a new pair of converse sneakers, green of course. His usually shaggy, unkept hair was now combed and gelled off to the side. All in all, Thomas pulled off the "Muggle Gentleman" look with flying colors. He looked downright handsome.
After they finished eating, Daniel started a bonfire in the pit in the back yard. All four of them had gathered around the flames, continuing their banter and conversation from inside and roasted marshmallows for s'mores. The Thornes laughed at Thomas' impatience as he lit his marshmallow on fire, unwilling to wait for it to become a tender brown like the others.
As the conversation dwindled, the flames still burned bright and Thomas chanced a glance to Trudy, curled up in a cushioned wooden lawn chair with her body encompassed in a blanket. The flames danced in her pupils giving her cobalt eyes a fierceness that made Thomas go weak. Trudy's eyes abruptly shot toward Thomas to find his already intensely staring into hers. She sent a meek smile his way before bringing up the blanket the hide it before it could get any bigger.
"So Thomas, despite talking all night, I feel we still know very little about you." Shannon stated, interrupting Thomas' appreciation of perfection incarnate.
"I suppose I just find you all incredibly interesting." Thomas said with a half grin tugging at one side of his mouth.
"Uh huh…" Shannon mused.
"Got something to hide son?" Daniel teased.
"No sir. Of course not. It's just… Everybody likes talking about themselves. My dad always tells me not to be that guy. I apologize if I came off as a suspicious delinquent."
The two parents chuckled. "No not at all Thomas. In fact I'm rather impressed with how you presented yourself tonight." Daniel complimented
"Your parents have done quite a good job at raising such a gentleman." Shannon added.
"Not too sure they would agree with you…" Thomas mumbled to himself.
"Hmm?" Shannon questioned, not quite hearing Thomas' response.
"Oh, nothing ma'am." Thomas brushed off, turning in his seat and reaching for more graham crackers and chocolate for another s'more. "I'm glad I've displayed as much. Usually due to the company I'm sorted in with at Hogwarts people often assume I'm the opposite of the impression I've provided tonight." As he spoke he met Trudy's gaze once again. The dark disappointment Trudy had seen for a brief moment caused a small fissure to imprint itself into her heart. She had heard his comment about his parents. How could anybody be disappointed in her Slytherin? Especially his parents. He was perfect. What did they not see? Was it something she was missing? Trudy made a mental note to ask him about it later.
"So Thomas, you were born a wizard?" Trudy's father asked, sensing they should move to another topic.
"I was born into a magical family, yes." Thomas answered, sticking his marshmallow on a stick and putting it directly in the flames. "But a witch or wizard do not become so until they are granted a wand. At that point we are seen as capable and mature enough to wield magic. Trudy was probably a witch before I became a wizard. All depends on when she got her wand."
Thomas pulled the flaming edible pillow out of the fire and blew out the flames, leaving a charred black mess in its place. Just the way he liked it.
"Tommy, could you explain the significance of your wand and its core and whatnot? Trudy has tried but, she uses too big of words and some I'm not even sure are real." Shannon requested. Only Trudy noticed Thomas' jaw clench at the use of Tommy and she once again hid her smile behind the blanket, silently giggling to herself.
Thomas swallowed and stopped himself from correcting Trudy's mother. 'Tommy' sounded so... bitchy. And while it really wasn't a big deal, he preferred Thomas. Whatever keeps her boat floating, I sure as hell am not going to be the one to tip it over. "Well Mrs. Thorne. Wands are incredibly complicated. There is thought that they are, in a simple way, sentient. Choosing the hands that are worthy of wielding it. A lot of magic goes into the creation of a wand. In the process it is reasonable to assume that a simple conscious comes into being and resides within the tool that your daughter and I carry."
"There are also others who theorize that wands are unnecessary for the use of magic. This can be demonstrated in potential witches and wizards. It's common for unusual occurrences to take place in the early stages of our lives simply because we lack control over the magic within us. But I'm sure you two have experienced more than your fair share of abnormal phenomenons with your daughter. Obviously, she was using magic before she was granted her wand. So while it may be true that they aren't needed, wands are indeed necessary for magical folk, simply for control."
"Yes, Trudy said something similar but I guess I don't understand what you mean by control. How does a stick offer that?" Daniel innocently questioned. Thomas smiled at the naïveté of the question. He called wands mere sticks. He really had no idea the significance they held.
"Well Mr. Daniel Thorne sir," Thomas caught a muted snicker coming from Trudy at the overuse of formal titles. He bit back his own as he continued. "For me to explain that you need to understand the power inside the wand. To call a wand a stick would be like me calling your daughter beautiful." Both parents raised their eyebrows at this statement, silently demanding that Thomas explain himself. "Both descriptions are painfully simple, insulting, and undeserving of an item of such magnificence."
Thomas ignored the small grins carving their way onto the couple's faces but took note of Trudy's rapidly blushing cheeks as she pulled the blanket up higher. With a wink sent her way he launched into his explanation.
He spoke of Mr. Ollivander's cores and the different effects each one had on the wand. He moved on to how the type of shell could influence the behavior of it. He spoke on how wands used to be made and how Mr. Ollivander revolutionized the industry by standardizing the cores used. By the end of his explanation, he was leaning forward in his seat, eyes bright and excited, eager to help these muggles understand his world.
"So if I had a wand, could I do what Trudy can do if it chose me?" Shannon asked.
"No mum," Trudy intervened. "Muggles don't have magical capabilities. We do. The magic is channeled through us, to the wand."
"I disagree." Thomas said under his breath. Trudy turned to her guest, a startled look plaguing her face. "I mean the wand part is correct, but I wouldn't say muggles are completely incapable of magic." Thomas mused, staring thoughtfully into the flames.
"More on that later." Thomas snapped back to the present. "Your daughter is right. Imagine a fire hose. And if you release water from a source without a hose attached, it will spew out unfocussed and uncontrolled. But when we strap a hose on there we can direct the water flow and wield it to how we see fit." Thomas finished, hoping the parents got the idea.
"You're the water source, the water is your magic, and the hose is your wand." Daniel stated, bringing it all together.
Thomas smiled. "Exactly."
"So what kind of magic do you think we muggles wield?" Shannon asked, silently hoping she didn't misuse the unfamiliar vocabulary her daughter had become so accustomed to.
"Well…" Thomas began, sitting back in his seat preparing himself for the potentially deep discussion they would be getting into. "There's this… boy… at Hogwarts that…" Thomas was struggling to keep a neutral expression. This topic of discussion always managed to piss him off. With a deep sigh he pressed on. "He's famous in the wizarding world for surviving a spell that should have killed him as a baby. There's no defense for this spell, no shield charm that can protect you, but somehow he managed to not only survive, but he also, for all we can tell, destroyed his attacker. All as an infant baby. Please explain to me how that can be done."
Thomas waited to hear any opinions or theories on the matter. Shannon was the first to speak, and what she said made Thomas want to disapparate out of there.
"Well since he was a baby and didn't have his wand, could he have just been so powerful that his unfocussed magic created a barrier and protected him?"
Thomas' jaw clenched and his hands gripped the edge of the seat. He took a moment to rein in his emotions before responding.
"Not quite." He mumbled. After clearing his throat he continued. "I can see why you think that but magic doesn't quite work that way. It is not spontaneous. It must be called upon by the user. When wizards and witches are still young, the mysterious magical acts that occur to us are not random. Take Trudy for example." Thomas knew all bout Trudy's Magical awakening through the many talks at Hogwarts and shared letters over the summer. "All those marvelous acts that happened, I have no doubt that your daughter was the source, but do you see how they didn't happen on accident? She's playing in the garden wanting flowers, so flowers appear. She's walking home preferring she would stay dry on the journey, so dry she stays. And she wills to for everyone to be fine after what should have been a terrible accident, and everyone walks away. Trudy wanted this to happen. She commanded and it was so. That's the nature of magic. That's why we speak words when we cast spells. What we command, is."
"Now, that boy I spoke of had parents. Had. They died that night." He said flatly. He took note of the sad expressions of his audience and reminded himself to at least act a little sorry for Potter when speaking about his past. "But here's the interesting thing," he continued, "The man who killed them does not prefer to spill magical blood unless it is necessary to achieve his end game. I believe he showed up that night only intending to harm the boy. But when his father fought back, his hand was in a way forced. However, curiously, his mother was unarmed when they found her. She could not have fought back. Why would this oppressor kill an unarmed witch?" Thomas paused to ensure his audience was still following along.
"She came in the way of his goal." Shannon whispered, blinking back tears. Thomas held back a scoff. That would be highly insensitive and he could understand why a mother would tear up at the notion of a child loosing his parents, and a mother sacrificing herself for her child. But that didn't change the 'Fuck Potter' attitude Thomas had.
"Exactly. She sacrificed herself for her son and in doing so created a protective barrier around her son from this dark lord." Thomas finished, awaiting the response from his audience.
Daniel was the first to speak. "So how does sacrificing ones self protect another from harm? And what does this have to do with muggles and magic?"
"Well, there is literally a whole religion that centers around a deity coming to earth and dying in order to save his creation, all because he loved them. Love was the source of magic that night, I believe. Love a mother had for her son. And like the great messiah so many base their beliefs off of, her love was so great she willingly laid her life at the oppressor's feet in order to ensure his safety. All for love."
"Now I don't believe that muggles are incapable of love, do you Mr. Thorne?" When Thomas got a shake of the head as a response he turned to Shannon who responded the same. "R. M. Drake once said, 'Your gorgeous chaos was a danger for my beautiful ordinary life, and I knew that. Then suddenly, we became beautifully extraordinary together.' That sounds pretty magical to me. In simple terms, Love is magical, and as our story has illustrated, it's the strongest magic there is and it's accessible to all. Maybe not the kind of magic you were thinking of, but I'd say it still counts..." Thomas trailed off as he licked his fingers clean from the melted marshmallow left over from his s'more.
"I never pegged you to be a hopeless romantic, Tommy." Shannon said with giggle in her voice.
"Oh don't get the wrong idea. I'm not. I'm a realist," Thomas shrugged, "I just read a lot and it seems every great writer is most inspired when love is involved. Whether it be love found or love lost it doesn't seem to make a difference, it all affects us, so it must be very real."
"You're quite an intelligent kid." Daniel observed aloud.
"I try." Thomas shrugged off. Without warning, Archie descended into the circle with an excited hoot and landed on Thomas' shoulder, earning a chuckle from him as he ruffled the feathers on the owl's neck. "Wonderful name for an owl by the way," Thomas commented.
"Well he's a wonderful pet." Shannon responded as she rose from her seat followed by her husband. "It's late. You guys have an early morning so don't stay up too late." Both parents excused themselves, Daniel stopping to give his daughter a kiss before heading inside, leaving Thomas all alone with their daughter.
Trudy's blue eyes looked over to Thomas, who was now suddenly keen at avoiding them. Even though this was not the first time being alone with Trudy, he was overtaken by a sudden nervousness from the privacy that was now offered them. Don't choke now Thomas. Say something!
Thomas was brought out of his inner debate by Trudy inviting herself onto Thomas' lap, draping the blanket she had over both of them as she snuggled her forehead into the crook of his neck. Thomas tensed at the contact. His mind froze and suddenly any and all confidence was drained out of him. Oh how the tables have turned, Trudy being the bold one and Thomas the nervous wreck.
"Usually a girl likes to be held…" Trudy hinted expectantly, a giggle on the edge of her words. As Thomas draped his arms to hold Trudy and pull her closer to him, he decided he liked bold Trudy. She was kind of hot.
"You look beautiful tonight." Thomas whispered into into the top of Trudy's head before placing a kiss there and allowing his fingers to caress down her back.
"Thank you. You look quite handsome as well." Trudy responded. "Oh, and thank you for the flowers. They're perfect."
"Eh, they're alright. They pale in comparison to who they were for, but they got the job done."
Trudy let a soft giggle escape her lips. She desperately wanted to know if Thomas knew what the flowers meant, or if he just picked them at random. Before she could muster up the courage to ask, another thought crossed her mind. "Wait a minute. How are you able to do magic? Shouldn't the ministry be busting down our door with how many times I've seen you use your wand tonight? In front of muggles no less!?" Trudy lifted her head to look at Thomas, and was met by one of his perfect smirks gracing his lips.
"Well... I may or may not have tampered with my trace at the Ministry..."
Trudy just shook her head and laughed. While Thomas could be such a sweet and caring gentleman, he was at heart a Slytherin. "And how did you manage that?" Trudy asked as she rested her head back to its previous position.
"Wasn't hard. Everybody there considers their business to be the most important and they are all running around and too busy to notice a lone teenager sneaking in places he shouldn't be."
"Such a Slytherin." Trudy teased.
"And proud of it."
After a brief silence, in which the two teens watched the flames dance to the sounds of crickets, Thomas finally suggested they head to bed. "We can't be late for the port key, and I haven't mastered Disapparation yet so I have no back up plan on getting there."
"How could possibly already be practicing disapparation?" Trudy questioned suspiciously.
"Tampered trace, remember?" Thomas joked as they stopped at the stairs leading to second floor of the house and Trudy's bedroom.
"Well... see you tomorrow." Thomas said.
Trudy gave a smile in response and a whispered good night before she started ascending the stairs. When she got to her bedroom she saw the flowers Thomas gave her on her dresser, causing her stomach to erupt into butterflies. A single Pink Camellia, meaning 'Longing for you,' and a collection of pink Azaleas, meaning 'First Love.'
So what do you think? Ya think Thomas knew the meaning of the flowers? And what could cause his parents to be disappointed in him? Also, Wallie is quite a pest for a rat... Hmmm... I wonder if there's a detail we're missing. We will find out next chapter.