DISCLAIMER: I DO own Harry Potter and all the related titles! Muahaha!...Okay, so I'm lying. Almost had you believing me there for a minute, didn't I?

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I made some edits to it from it's original, but I kept the quick pace of the story. Hence the title of the chapter. Lol. Anyways, I hope you like it so far and I will try to update very soon. Oh and PS: Harry will show up again soon. There will be a lack of Harry for at least this chapter. I think he's back next chapter...but I can't remember and I don't feel like looking. Lol. Anyways, please enjoy.

Chapter 4: Moving Too Fast

Maddy did not hear from Harry for a long time, nor did she desire to. (Again, this is what she would tell you, if you were ever to ask. Alas, it was not the truth.)

The children seemed to be growing up rather fast. Elizabeth, as much as Maddy tried to deny it, was growing away from the family. She hated Maddy with a passion. Maddy had received on occasion, roses, sent from the Duke. Whenever they would arrive, Elizabeth, longing for them to be for her, would storm from the room in an angry state.

Maddy did appreciate the flowers, she could not deny it, but she did wish that he would leave her alone. His latest letter bore news that he would be in Italy for the next month. This gave Maddy a bit of relief.

"Mother says Miss Maddy is going to marry the Duke…" Marie said during the lesson one afternoon.

"No she's not! Teachers can't get married!" Michael said rudely to his sister.

"Yes they can, you nitwit!" Christopher spoke up. "They can get married…and they can have children too!"

"Cannot!"

"Children?!" Marie's eyes brightened as she turned to Maddy, who was sitting in a chair, staring at a curtain absently. "Are you going to have a baby, Miss Maddy?"

Maddy snapped out of her trance, "What?"

"A baby! Mother says you're gonna marry the Duke and Christopher says you're gonna have babies!"

Maddy sat up straight. "No, no. I assure you, I am not marrying the Duke…and there will be no babies!" she turned to Christopher, "Who told you of such a thing?"

"What? About getting married? Or babies?" Christopher asked innocently.

"The thing about babies!" Maddy said irritably.

"Oh. Elizabeth. She said that if you marry the Duke, she doesn't care. She doesn't even care if you sleep with him and let him-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Maddy stood up, shaking.

The three children stared at her horrified. They had never seen her angry before. It was terrifying.

"Christopher, go to your room!"

"But-"

"NOW!"

Christopher slammed his book shut and raced out of the room, muttering angrily. Maddy turned to Michael and Marie.

"Now, the two of you, stay here. I'm going to speak with your mother and your sister."

They watched silently as she moved toward the door, and slammed it behind her.

Maddy hurried off in the direction of the master bedroom, where she knew Mrs. Wormwood would be. She knocked sharply on the door. Mrs. Wormwood answered it.

"Oh, Miss Maddy…" she said with a false smile, "It's you. What do you want?"

Maddy straightened herself up, "Ma'am…I believe it is time that you have a little talk with your son…"

"About?" Mrs. Wormwood asked.

Maddy cleared her throat, "About…er…growing up."

Mrs. Wormwood looked immediately embarrassed. "Why-Why ever would I need to do that so soon? He is but ten-years-old."

"Ma'am, I believe it is time…"

Mrs. Wormwood nodded, her face still a bright shade of pink. Maddy nodded in return and turned from the room quickly. Now, she was off toward the library. Elizabeth refused to take lessons from Maddy, so she studied on her own.

The matching doors were flung open, and Maddy entered, looking positively insane.

"You…" she said lowly, approaching Elizabeth.

Elizabeth looked up from her book, and gasped as she saw Maddy coming straight at her. "What did I do?"

"How dare you make up such lies?" Maddy's face was red with anger. "And tell your innocent brother of such sins?"

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, "He was bound to find out sooner or later! And I don't care if-"

"You! You! You! It's all about you isn't it?" Maddy asked, furiously, "No one else matters! No one else can have their lives ruined! No one else can hurt as much as you, can they? Let's all have a pity party for poor Elizabeth, because her childhood crush is in love with another woman!"

Then it hit her. She had been in Elizabeth's shoes at one time. She was just about Elizabeth's age when she found out Harry was in love with Ginny and not her. She could remember the anger she felt. The longing to do anything to ruin it for them. She spread lies throughout the school. She played pranks on them, but nothing she did ever seemed to work.

Slowly, Maddy sank into a nearby chair, a hand pressed to the side of her head. Elizabeth stared at her as if she were mad. Maddy shook her head in disbelief. This was all too weird. Too coincidental.

"Are-Are you all right?" Elizabeth said carefully, peering at Maddy.

Maddy shook her head, "No…No…Excuse me."

She stood up quickly and left the library. Elizabeth stared at her and shrugged. She attempted to return to her book, but strange thoughts were swimming in and out of her mind. She shut her book, returned it to its shelf, and followed Maddy.

Maddy had raced down the staircase and found herself in the entry room. She pulled her cloak from a nearby hook, and pulled it on. Anne-Marie, one of the maids that worked for Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood, came through one of the doors and spotted her.

"Are you going out, Miss?"

Maddy turned quickly, "Er…yes. If Mr. or Mrs. Wormwood ask where I am, tell them I have gone into town for the day. I have to pick up something for a friend."

Anne-Marie nodded and returned to her work. Maddy stepped outside into the cool breeze of the approaching fall. She couldn't drive, for she had never learned how to, so she would have to walk into town.

She had told a white lie to Anne-Marie. She was going into town, but she wasn't planning on buying anyone anything. She just wanted to be alone. Just to let her mind wander. She hadn't been able to do that in a long time.

-----

Marie and Michael re-entered their room when their mother had come to collect them after their lesson. Neither of them had done much work, and both of them were still quite shaken by Maddy's outburst.

When they opened the door, they saw Christopher sitting on his bed, looking guilty. Marie hopped onto her bed and stared at her brother.

"What happened?" she asked curiously.

Christopher didn't answer.

"Are you in trouble?" Michael asked his twin.

Christopher shook his head, "No…Mother said it was all right…"

"Is she going to fire Miss Maddy?" Marie said in a small voice.

"She can't!" Michael blurted out.

"She's not firing Miss Maddy…she didn't do anything…" Christopher said, still looking at his hands.

Michael and Marie exchanged nervous glances. Yelling like that was certainly considered something in their book.

"But she yelled at us…" Marie said slowly.

"Mrs. Edgar yells at us all the time, you dolt!" Christopher's voice was suddenly sharp.

Marie's eyes began to water. She didn't like it when people were short with her. She hated being the youngest.

"What did Mother say to you?" Michael asked after a moment of silence.

Christopher buried himself under the blankets quickly and turned away from his siblings. "Nothing! You'd be too young to understand anyway!"

And he refused to say another word.

-----

The town was bustling with shoppers that afternoon. Maddy made her way, silently through the crowds, not planning on going anywhere in particular.

She found a small shop that was lit with many candles. She could tell that it dealt with magic. There was a mystical kind of feel to it, and it drew her to it.

Inside it smelled like rosemary and belladonna. Maddy breathed in deeply, and felt right at home. She was never very good with potions herself, but the smell of them drove her wild. Suddenly, she felt her younger self, trying to burst through her rough outside.

She approached a shelf that held a range of potion ingredients. She could tell that some of them were knockoffs. There was no way that someone would sell ground werewolf fangs for 20 pounds. Werewolf fangs were hard to come by, and very dangerous to possess, unless the werewolf itself was dead.

"Excuse me, can I help you Miss?" a short, round woman asked from behind a counter.

Maddy shook her head, "No, I'm just looking…"

The woman nodded and smiled, "Well, if you need anything, I'll be right here. There's not a lot of people who actually come in here, so I won't be very busy…" She seemed very fidgety.

"Uh, Ma'am…" Maddy said, tracing a small bottle with her long fingers. "Do you sell these potion ingredients to anyone?"

"Just about!" she trilled, "Like I said, the shop doesn't get many customers, so when they come, I don't want to deny them anything. I do have to pay rent, Miss…"

Maddy nodded, "I understand, but you sell Belladonna…"

The woman nodded, happily, "I love the smell…"

"As do I, Ma'am…" Maddy said slowly, "But you do know that it can be used as a poison, right?"

"Naturally…" the woman replied with a wave of her hand. "Are you an expert in potion-making?"

Maddy shook her head, "I wouldn't say expert, but I know a bit about the art…"

She noticed a shelf that held already made potions. She eased her way over to it and peered over the vials. The woman watched her curiously from behind the counter. As Maddy picked up a small vial of swirling gold liquid, the woman made her way around the counter and toward Maddy, beaming.

"That is one of my more prized items. It is called Felix Felicis."

Maddy knew what it was. She was also aware that it was made illegal some-odd years ago.

"Liquid luck, m'dear…a keeper. A wonder! Try it and you'll have twenty-four hours of good luck!" the woman clapped her hands together happily.

Maddy had a sinking sensation that the woman had used it on several occasions. She decided to play innocent for a while.

"Really?" she said curiously, "It must be very valuable then…even dangerous…"

"Dangerous?" the woman's smile faded, "Not at all, dearie…not at all…perfectly safe."

"Then, you do know it's illegal, right?" Maddy said, waving the bottle in front of the woman's face. Suddenly, she had a weird feeling that she had seen this woman before. "Do I know you?"

The woman shook her head quickly, "I don't believe so, Miss. I have had this shop for quite a long time. I don't know many people in town. As I said before, not many people come in here. They just don't trust mag-"

"Do you know a man by the name of Horace Slughorn?" Maddy said abruptly.

The woman smiled, "Why yes I do! He's my father."

Maddy nodded, "I assumed as much."

She replaced the bottle on the shelf and made her way toward the front of the store. She did not want to buy anything from this shop. She had never been fond of her most recent Potions Master, and wasn't about to buy anything that reminded her of him. Ms. Slughorn stepped in front of her.

"How do you know my father?"

Maddy stopped short, "He was one of my teachers…"

"Really? Were you one of his favorites?"

Maddy stepped forward, and stopped, "Not really. He knew my father though. Had taught him as well…"

"Really?" Ms. Slughorn continued to back up with every step Maddy took. She wasn't prepared to let her leave the shop.

"Yes…"

"What is your father's name?" the woman asked, intrigued.

"Was. He's dead. And we are not discussing this."

"But I want to know who your father was-"

"This conversation is over! Now excuse me!" Maddy tried to force her way past the old woman.

The bell above the door tinkled, and a man entered the shop. Maddy did not look at him, but jumped at the chance to leave the shop, while Ms. Slughorn was distracted. (The old woman had jumped with joy at the sound of the door opening. She really didn't get many customers.)

Maddy gasped for breath a little while away from the shop. She was thankful for the man, and wanted to go back and thank him, but was afraid she would run into that annoying woman. She was almost as bad as Slughorn himself.

She looked around, trying to decide where she was going to go, when a bouquet of multi-colored roses appeared in front of her.

"I thought you may tire of red…"

She turned quickly and came face to face with none other than the…

"Dear Duke!" Maddy jumped. "I mean…Charles…I thought you were going to be in Italy for the month…"

He shrugged as Maddy took the flowers graciously. "I felt like I had to come home…"

Maddy nodded, still a little shaken, "But you…I…er…" she couldn't find the right words. "T-Thank you for the flowers…Charles…"

He smiled warmly, while he pocketed something small he had in his hand. "It's nothing. I bought them at a small shop back there…" he pointed toward Ms. Slughorn's shop.

Maddy shuddered involuntarily. The Duke offered her his cloak. She declined, feeling embarrassed. He joined her in her pursuit of nowhere.

"So…what was a man of your stature doing in town today, of all days?"

Charles shrugged, "I don't know…I just felt like coming into town that's all…it was fate that I saw you here…"

Maddy couldn't help but smile. He was very charming.

"And what made you come into that particular shop?"

"It was full of magical things. I remembered that you were a witch, and I thought that I would find something in there that would please you…"

"That sounds all very romantic, Charles, but tell me the truth…"

He sighed, "You are too much, Miss Maddy…"

"Please…" Maddy said with a wave of her hand, "Call me Maddy. All this 'Miss' stuff makes me think I'm either at a party or at work."

Charles chuckled, "Yes…very well then, Maddy…" he smiled, "Maddy. It's much more comfortable that way…Maddy…" he said the name over and over to himself.

"So, tell me truthfully, what were you doing in that shop?"

"Honestly?"

"Yes…"

"Really?"

"Uh-huh…"

"Right now?"

Maddy laughed, "Yes…"

"Well then…I saw you in the window." He said simply. "You looked like you needed some help, so…"

"It's Prince Charming to the rescue, right?"

"Actually, Duke Charles, but close enough."

The two of them burst out laughing, and collapsed on a bench outside a small decorative gazebo. They had wandered into a park. As their laughter faltered, Charles grabbed Maddy's hand.

"You are amazing, Maddy…I-I never thought I'd meet anyone like you…"

Maddy blushed, "Charles…I-"

"You have very lovely eyes…" he said, cupping his free hand under her chin. "Very lovely…"

"Charles…please…" she shivered at his touch She had a strange feeling in her stomach. Something she thought she'd never feel again, but it was there, as real as ever.

"I thought…" Charles started, "Maddy…is something wrong?" his voice sounded nervous.

Maddy's eyes had begun to water. She sniffled and looked up at him, "I-I'm just w-waiting to w-wake up. This is all l-like a dream. An a-amazing dream. I don't know what to believe anymore…"

He brushed away her tears with the side of his hand, and smiled. "It is like a dream, but please don't wake up. I don't want to lose you…"

This brought on a new wave of tears. Her heart seemed to be blooming, and it felt so strange to her. It no longer ached. It no longer felt heavy with sadness.

Charles fished into his pocket with his left hand (his right was still clasped to Maddy's).

"I thought I was going to have to use this just to get you to notice me…" he pulled out a small vial. "You never did like me very much…"

"I d-did…I was j-just in an a-awkward position…" she recognized the bottle of Felix Felicis.

Charles noticed her eyeing the bottle, warily. "It's-"

"I know what it is…" Maddy said, grabbing the bottle, and tossing it behind her, "You need not luck to have me tonight…"

Maddy threw herself into Charles's arms. He lifted her chin and pressed his lips against hers. She could feel the entire world melt around her in that one moment.

He kissed her, and kissed her for what seemed like an eternity. The dream world seemed to clash with reality, as they broke apart, realizing what had just happened. Maddy's face no longer bore signs of sadness. Instead, it glowed with a strange new light.

Offering her his hand, Charles led her back to the Wormwood estate. As they approached the front doors, Maddy turned to face him.

"Do not come inside. I don't want them to see you," she said nervously.

He held both of her hands tightly, "But why not? I think we should have dinner tonight. To celebrate!"

"There is nothing to celebrate yet…" Maddy said lightly.

Charles looked offended, "I think there is much to celebrate. Our love…that's enough for me…"

It was the first time Maddy had heard it aloud. She had been saying it in her mind, but saying it aloud made it all too real. She was in love, again (or so she believed). A feat she never thought possible. Then again, thinking over what had happened, perhaps it wasn't possible. Perhaps this was simply lust. Everything had happened oh-so fast. They needed to slow down or one of them would get hurt.

Maddy smiled and shook her head, "Not tonight. I will tell them in time, but promise me, we'll keep this a secret…just for now…"

Charles pouted, but gave in. He gathered her in his arms and kissed her good night. As she approached the front door, Maddy turned to face him. He was gazing at her, longingly.

"Good night, my love…" he whispered.

"Good night…" she replied quietly. "Pleasant dreams..."

"Oh they will be..." he assured her. "They will be..."

The door shut with a click behind her. As Charles started to walk away, a curtain moved on the second floor. Someone had been watching them through the window. Someone with bright, blue jealous eyes.

A/N: So, that's the end of this chapter. I bet you're all swearing at the computer now, cause Maddy's being an idiot. Well, Harry was being an idiot too. Look at what he did! He went and married Ginny! (Sorry to all you HP/GW fans...I think this is a really stupid pairing. I've never been a fan of it. Don't hate me though!) Oh and just a future warning and reminder, this is an M-rated story, so there will be some material in this story that may not be appropriate for underage readers. I will alert you ahead of time of these parts of the story. Thanks and please REVIEW!