"Do your parents know?" Anna asked the following morning when she sat down across from Ricky and Neo.
"Know what?" Ricky asked, lowering his forkful of eggs. His shoulder was killing him, and he'd walked down to the Great Hall with a limp. Neo looked between the two curiously.
"Don't play dumb, Ricky." Anna seemed giddy in her news, "I saw you out on the stairs with-"
"No, they don't know." Ricky realized what she was going on about, and quickly shut her up.
That morning, Ricky had woken alone after falling asleep holding Phoenix's hand. He had cornered her at the stairs outside the Great Hall and pulled her into a little known crevice his father had told him about. He had intended to ask if she was upset with him, but had been greeted with a fist to his face. "Damn it, Ricky, what was that for?" Phoenix demanded as she shook her wrist out. "Do you enjoy pinning me against things?" She demanded harshly.
Ricky rubbed his nose, pushing it left and right to make sure it wasn't broken, "I've heard it makes good habit. Gets people closer." Phoenix didn't appreciate the humor, she scoffed and crossed her arms, one hip jutting to the side as she shifted her weight. "Merlin's beard, you got me hard didn't you?" He asked no one in particular.
"Well next time a little warning may suffice, idiot." Phoenix's slight Italian accent slipped through as she gave out another annoyed huff. "What do you want?" she demanded.
"I was going to ask if you were alright, but I see the answer now." Ricky scoffed.
"Oh please, if I had really wanted to hurt you I would have given you and uppercut." Phoenix rolled her eyes, but she raised her hands to cup his cheeks and run her thumbs under his eyes and down his nose. "No bruising, no black eyes, you'll be fine." she said, "So stop acting as though you're doomed to have a crooked nose." They stayed that way for a while, her hands on his face, their bodies close together. Phoenix seemed to snap out of their trance first, "What did you really want?" she asked.
"Just wanted to know what we are?" Ricky questioned, a few early morning stragglers were shuffling around, a few foreign kids were wandering about aimlessly as if unsure where to go though they've been in school for three months now.
"What do you mean, "we"?" Phoenix asked, her chocolate eyes squinted in confusion.
""We" as in me and you?" Ricky asked, he kept his hands free incase she tried to slip past him. He wouldn't put it past her.
"There isn't really a me and you," She said after a short pause, "Ricky, we kissed, you were doing your emotion voodoo magic," her accent became thicker as she struggled for the words, "And uh," she trailed off, her words almost completely incomprehensible. Ricky couldn't help but let out a short laugh, Phoenix glared up at him, her cheeks blooming the raspberry tea color. "Uh," Phoenix sighed, she looked up at him through her thick eyelashes, "Perché sei così carino?" she whispered. He hadn't noticed he was once again pressed to her, she was squeezed between him and the back of the crevice.
Ricky pulled himself out of his thoughts as Anna snapped her fingers in his face, he gave her a Malfoy scowl. "What?"
"Well?" Anna asked, "Are you two official?" Ricky glanced over her shoulder at the Slytherin table, Allie was leaning on the shoulder of one of her dorm mates and Phoenix sat awkwardly by herself farther down the table.
"I guess?" Ricky shrugged. He had cornered and kissed Phoenix again, having to reassure he didn't pity her for her feelings. Though who he was reassuring he wasn't sure.
"Then what do you feel?" she had asked.
Ricky looked down at her. Her lips, now a healthy rosy color, were pulled up in a pout. She was beautiful, Ricky may not have initially liked her, but he would have to have been a fool to think she wasn't beautiful. Her smooth caramel skin, chocolate eyes, curly black hair, everything about her was beautiful. She was smart too, a bit cocky at times, but Ricky was no saint. "Awe." He had finally breathed, he wanted to take her small, rosy lips with his again. It had apparently worked as she pulled him down to her level, her hands worked their way to his hair and her middle fingers tangled and kept him locked on her-not that he was complaining. Especially when Natalia Brand had caught his eye when he and Phoenix left the crevice.
Ricky glanced at the Ravenclaw table now, Natalia and Cli were discussing something with the other members of the Ravenclaw team, he recognized Geoffrey Finn, the guy who sent him to the hospital wing after his first game, and Mariana Diamond, who was a year ahead of him.
"What do you mean "you guess"?" Neo asked, "You're either with her or you're not?"
"I don't know!" Ricky admitted, shrugging his shoulders.
"Fred Rick." Ricky tensed up, Anna and Neo's eyes were wide and they quickly turned their bodies over the bench.
"See you in class, Ricky." Anna called, taking Neo's hand. Neo turned a shade of red that would put the Weasley blush to shame. Ricky slowly relaxed his body as he turned to look up at his exhausted mother.
"May I have a word, Fred Rick?" She asked.
Ricky swallowed the rock in his throat, his mother rarely used his first name, and the impassive Malfoy look she was giving him was never used on her kids. "Yeah." He stayed rooted to the bench.
"In my office." His mother ordered. Ricky could feel a heat creep up on his neck and cheeks as he turned to stand up.
"I'm going to be late-," He tried to reason with his mother.
"Irrelevant, I can write a pass and my first class is first years, no harm." His mother pressed her hand to the small of his back to keep him marching. He could be eye level with his mother if he stood up straight, but instead he slouched through the hall next to her. He glanced at her, for once she didn't seem frightened, in fact she seemed beyond pissed. Phoenix's office was rather plain, a few animals here and there, stacks of papers needed to be graded and returned, a stray picture of friends and family over there and on top of this and that. Four large orbs circled around the room, each seemed to be opaque at first but Ricky then noticed they looked like giant versions of Weather in a Bottle that his father had discontinued years ago. In the largest orb was nothing, but heat seemed to radiate from the orb, Ricky wondered if his mother ever held the orb when she appeared cold and shivering. In the second largest a mini hurricane seemed to be spinning the orb crazily as the others drifted peacefully around it. In the third and fourth was a seeming never ending falling of snow.
"Sit." Phoenix ordered. Ricky did as he was told, taking his eyes off the orbs. He'd never seen them before, and he'd been in his mothers office plenty of times. "Did you think I didn't know about the crevice?" she asked, going around to her chair, but not sitting down, she gripped the back and kept her back to him.
"How fast does news spread in this school?" he wanted to ask. Instead he answered, "What?"
"Your father told you about every nook and cranny in this school," Phoenix answered her own question, "So did you honestly think it would be easy to hide?" Phoenix sighed, her shoulders sagged slightly and the largest orb brushed just out of reach. Phoenix placed a hand on it, letting it pass by her palm. "When your father was your age," Phoenix sat down, "He pulled me into that exact crevice." Ricky could have gagged, him making out in the same spot his parents had made out. "Out of all the girls in this school, why Phoenix Genio?" she finally asked.
"What do you mean, "why her"?" Ricky demanded.
"Ricky," His mother sighed sadly, sitting up straighter, "You know you will probably never see her again after this year, right?"
"Okay, that doesn't mean I can't make the most of the time I do have with her." Ricky argued, crossing his arms.
His mother looked at him as though he'd suggested cutting off his arm, "Fred Rick Lucius Weasley." Phoenix took a deep breath, "You cannot use a girl like that."
"How am I using her?" Ricky demanded.
"You're going to be involved with her till the end of the year where you'll just end all contact with her," Phoenix growled at him, "Am I right?" she demanded.
Ricky seethed, he could feel fire pulsing in his veins, "Just because you and Cyrus made stupid mistakes-"
"Do not compare this to me and him!" Phoenix shouted.
"Just because you and Cyrus made stupid mistakes doesn't mean we will!" Ricky repeated. "What if I really like this girl, mum?" Ricky demanded. "What if she's "the one"?" He demanded, standing up.
"Oh please, you hardly ever meet "the one" at school-" Phoenix scoffed, sitting back in her chair trying to remain calm.
"You and dad." Ricky argued, "Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione." he looked at her unblinking.
"That is different." Phoenix shook her head and stood up, "Do you even know anything about the girl?"
"I know her dad hates her." Ricky snarled, the fire was becoming unbearable, he had to get out of there quickly otherwise he was sure his mother would find out.
"Cyrus does not hate his daughter-"
"Yeah, because she reminds him of everything he could have had with you!" Ricky wanted to sew his mouth shut.
"How do you know that?" Phoenix demanded, "How do you know anything of me and Cyrus?"
"I know Phoenix hates you because you're the one that broke her fathers heart and the one she's always compared to!" Ricky shouted, the bell for class rang. He was late, and if he kept up his yelling her first years would hear some things best kept secret.
"Fred Rick-" Phoenix warned, the hurricane orb now wobbling slightly on it's calm orbit.
"I know she needs someone to tell her it's okay. That she doesn't have to fear her father!" Ricky shouted.
"So you're trying to play hero now is that it?" Phoenix asked calmly. Ricky squinted at the breeze that blew in from the window, his mothers normally neat braid was blown about.
"No!" Ricky shouted.
"Then what is it?" Phoenix demanded calmly, "What are you trying to do?"
"I don't know!" Ricky finally admitted. The hurricane orb exploded and with it's shatter his mother collapsed. Ricky was three years old again, watching his mothers eyes roll back as she collapsed on the kitchen floor back home. His fingers and toes growing uncomfortably cold as his mother sat slumped in the chair. He had to call for help, he couldn't move.
Luckily, he didn't need to call for help. Neville was knocking on the office door and entering, "Nix, I've got a question on transfiguring rabbit hide gloves to dragon hide-" Ricky didn't have to look back to see Neville's look of shock. "Nix!" Neville ran over to the chair, turning it away from the desk so he could kneel in front of Phoenix. "Nix! Can you hear me?" Neville checked her pulse, her eyes, patted her cheeks a few times, "Nix!" Neville looked around wildly.
"Ricky, what happened?" he demanded gently.
"I'm not sure." Ricky admitted weakly. She'd been fine up till the orb exploded. "Oh God, did a shard of glass hit her?" Ricky tried to peer around the desk to look for blood, but instead he spotted the other orbs. When the hurricane orb had exploded the others had dropped from their orbit as well. Ricky expected them to have shattered as well, but they were laying dormant on the floor. "Professor, what are those orbs?" Ricky asked.
Neville didn't have to look to see what he was talking about, "Now is not that time for that, Ricky. Go and get Madam Pomfrey, tell her your mother's fainted." Neville instructed, "Then go tell McGonagall we'll need a substitute professor for the day."
"Shouldn't we take mum to her?"
"And let her students see?" Neville asked harshly, Ricky flinched. The fire he had felt in his veins had solidified and Ricky felt as though he were going to be sick.
"Finally did it, did you?" Ricky looked up from the hospital wing floor, "Finally broke your mother." George walked over, Minnie and Mikey weren't with him, Ricky didn't question where they were. He wanted to tell his father he hadn't meant to. Ricky figured all his anger had caused pressure to build up and break the orb in his mothers office.
"But then how did the others break?" He'd been asking himself that all evening.
"Mikey is having supper with Hagrid and the others." George answered his unasked question. "They've all been told that she had a fit, something went wrong in her office and she got hurt."
"Yeah, I went wrong." Ricky sighed dejectedly.
"Well they don't know that bit." George clapped him on the shoulder gently.
"They can figure it out." Ricky sighed, George tweaked his ear. Ricky grumbled, knowing his father didn't want to hear him moping.
"So," George sat on the edge of the bed, his knees knocking into Ricky's, "What brought it on?" he asked, his hand unconsciously slipping to Phoenix's. Ricky watched as his father subconsciously stroked his mother's knuckles with his thumb.
"Genio." He answered shortly.
"Ah, the exotic lady." George smirked, "Can't say I didn't see it coming." Ricky quirked an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, did my time with-"
"I don't want to hear." Ricky shook his head, his cheeks heated till he thought he could fry an egg on his face. He buried his head in his hands, but he couldn't help but laugh at his father. He glanced up and saw a victorious smirk on his father's face.
"You sure?" George asked with a chuckle, "She was a Mexican beauty, actually I'm pretty sure her daughter is here-"
"Oh my God, Dad, shut up." Ricky wanted to shout and cover his fathers mouth. George laughed.
"But, seriously." George chuckled, "Weasley men have a thing for frustrating girls."
"Aunt Audrey isn't frustrating, and neither is Aunt Fleur." Ricky pointed out.
"Yeah, well Percy and Bill aren't normal." George shrugged, making Ricky laugh.
"And does that mean you think Grandma is frustrating?" Ricky asked smirking coyly.
"Never heard that from me." George smirked back. The two shared a laugh and slowly calmed down, "You shouldn't be upset for what you did. Not with Phoenix Genio, not with the orb exploding, not with your mother fainting."
"What were those anyways?" Ricky asked, "The orbs?"
George frowned and looked at Phoenix, Ricky noticed his stroking hadn't stopped or slowed. He looked between his parents, what was it like to be in love? How did they know they were "the one" for each other? Ricky looked at his father, George's brown eyes were half lidded, looking at Phoenix. "But not quite." It seemed more like George was looking in Phoenix, in her soul, her very being. As though they were the only two people in the entirety of everything. "How do you look at her like that?" He wanted to ask, "How can you?"
"The orbs were something we came up with together." George finally answered, "And it should be something we explain to you together."
"If mum ever wakes up." Ricky sighed, suddenly feeling dejected.
"When she wakes up." George corrected. "She always does."
Ricky frowned, "How often has she done this?" Ricky asked, "I only remembered the one time before Minnie was born."
"A few times." George admitted. Ricky groaned, his parents never actually answered his questions. At least not how he wanted them to. Ricky glanced at his parents hands, George's stroking didn't cease.
He frowned, how did they know they were in love? "Didn't they get engaged during a war? How can anyone be sure they're making the right choice in war?" He asked himself. Phoenix's thumb moved to catch George's. Both boys looked at her, Phoenix's brow furrowed and she scowled painfully.
"Little Bird?" George turned his body to face Phoenix, knocking knees with Ricky as he did so.
"Mum?" Ricky called.
"How long have I been out?" Phoenix asked not opening her eyes.
"Couple hours." George lifted the hand he'd been stroking and kissed the knuckles, "Missed the whole school day." Keeping her eyes closed, Phoenix pulled her hand from George's so she could run her hand through his hair.
"Ricky?" Phoenix asked.
George looked at him, "I'm here." Ricky answered weakly, his heart was beating rapidly in his chest.
"Are you hurt?" She asked, her familiar steel eyes fluttered open. Ricky shook his head, his mother absentmindedly ran her hand through George's hair, down his cheek, across his chin. He snapped his eyes back to her.
"I think it's time we told him." George whispered, his mother's thumb traced the corner of his lips.
"I know." Phoenix sighed, she pushed herself up, "I know."
"Told me? Tell me what?" Ricky asked, "About the orbs?"
"Do you know," His mother started, she motioned for him to sit on the bit of bed next to his father so when she sat up they were both sitting next to him, "about Weather Wizards?" she asked. Ricky had started to sit down when she'd whispered her last words, he jumped up as though she'd set him on fire.
"What?" Ricky demanded.
"Settle down," George grabbed Ricky's wrist, he wanted to pull away, but knew that fighting against his father would be futile, "relax."
"Relax?" Ricky asked, "Weather Wizards are hunted." He began to panic, his father released him as a flash of static sparked between them, "They're freaks." He quoted Phoenix Genio, "They're not natural. They can tip the balance-"
"In favor of good or evil." Phoenix finished.
Ricky paused, "Yeah." he said carefully, "I mean that's just rumored. There haven't been any public Weather Wizards since Merlin and Morgana and-"
"And me." Phoenix said gently, "And Draco, and you, and possibly your sister, brother, and cousin Scorpius."
Ricky's head swirled, "What?" George stayed silent through the ordeal.
"We are Weather Wizards." Phoenix said as calmly as possible.
"We?" Ricky asked. "How come you never told me?!" He demanded.
"What?" George asked, "Just at breakfast, "Son, you have the possibility of being a great force of good or evil and just so happen to be part of a magical breed that is hunted and killed for no real good reason, pass the salt?" Do you know what kind of effect that would have had on you?" George asked.
"You were young when we learned. Minnie had just been born, my powers were already all over the place-" Phoenix tired to reason.
"Because of him." Ricky nodded to his father.
"Do not try to pin the blame on him!" Phoenix ordered, "We decided it would be better if we waited to tell you for when me and your uncle could help you-"
"Help me?" Ricky began to shout, "Help me-" Ricky could barely get his words out as his mothers glared matched his own. It felt as though he'd been kicked in the gut, he nearly doubled over trying to gasp for air.
"If you are not careful, anyone like us can manipulate your emotions. Something me and Draco learned the hard way." Phoenix scolded as though she were back in her classroom with a bunch of rambunctious teenagers.
Ricky glared at his parents, "This whole time," he could feel his mothers emotions, a cool grey mist that pulsed red, he pushed it away from his own hot red emotions, "You let me believe I was a freak!" His mothers eyes widened slightly, "You let me think I was a curse!"
"Ricky." George warned.
"You left me alone!" Ricky accused, he shoved his mothers emotions back into her space, his fathers emotions were strained between his own hot emotions and his mothers wounded emotions. Without another word he turned and stormed out the hospital wing. He wasn't alone, he should have been thankful. But his parents let him believe he was alone in the world. They let him believe he was a freak, and they knew all along! Ricky grabbed a corner, he peeked around, tears burning the corner of his eyes. He was being unfair. He should have been overjoyed that he wasn't alone, that he wasn't cursed by some higher being.
But he had been so alone.
So I was stuck for a couple weeks on what to do when it sort of stumbled upon me and I just started typing and A lot of crazy rushing happens this chapter I know...but honestly...that's life...one moment you are carefree, happy, then something happens and you're curled up wondering if you should cry or scream or both.
Soooo more on Weather Wizards and the Foreigners Ball coming up I suppose
Don't forget to vote on the poll and comment and like and blah blah thanks!
