A lot of conversations and dialogue in this chapter. That's a thing you should know about me: I love dialogues. The idea of two people interacting, reacting, feeling, masking their feelings in another's presence. You'll be seeing quite a lot of that. The first part is supposed to introduce you to the other (main) characters a bit, even though this doesn't happen through descriptions. (I really hate descriptions, so I think it's obvious I enjoyed writing this chapter quite a bit more than the prologue, lol.)

My fancast for Charlize is (don't read this if you want to leave this to your imagination) Cara Delevingne.

I just wanted to quickly post this chapter before me being away for three weeks, completely unable to post any kind of stuff. So, I hope this satisfies you at least a little bit. The usual disclaimer applies.

CHAPTER ONE

"And you're sure the house is empty?"

"Mhm. Mum and Dad are at work — nightshifts — and Bonbon is at a friend's, sleepover or something."

"Didn't she tell you not to call her Bonbon?"

"She's my little sister; she doesn't get to tell me anything."

"Perfect," Charlize said smiling and swung her arm around the redhead's shoulders. Elenor promptly drew the other girl in for a kiss.

"Locate yourself on the couch, Charlie," she instructed in a whisper after releasing the blonde's mouth. Elenor slowly let go of the other witch's arms before disappearing into the kitchen. Charlize looked after her with a twinkle in her blue eyes.

While they weren't exactly a couple, the term 'friends' wasn't enough to describe their relationship. 'Friends with extensive benefits' hit the mark more precisely. It wasn't as though their bond was a forbidden one either — it just was… a secret one. (Except the one time Mrs Bones, Elenor's mother, had walked in on them engaging in more than purely platonic activities. She hadn't told anyone, at least they believed she hadn't, and for that both were grateful.)

"Can I put on the fire?" Charlize asked loudly as she took off her shoes in the living room and slid onto the black couch, looking at the ashes in the fireplace and completely ignoring the floating candles in the room, which currently were the only source of light.

"In summer?" came the disbelieving reply from the kitchen.

"It would be so romantic though," the blonde sighed again and began to play with thin strands of her hair. Cuddling, making out in front of a lit fireplace on a summer night… The ticking of the grandfather clock standing in the room echoed in her mind.

"If you want to reduce yourself to a molten pile of human remains, be my guest. But, fortunately, I know of other ways to warm you up if you so desire. Even in this heat," Elenor said gallantly, coming into the room holding a bowl full of sweets.

"Did you—"

"Put in sherbet lemons? How could I forget."

"You're an angel."

"I know," the redhead countered with a lopsided smile and put down the bowl on a small table in the seating area. A chocolate frog jumped out and was caught by Elenor's hands mid-air.

"I would have been a great Seeker," she said, pretending to sniff.

"I'm sure you would do a better job than that Malfoy brat," Charlize encouraged, popping a sherbet lemon into her mouth.

"Of course I would. He's all bark, no bite," Elenor said, content with the compliment.

"That is, if you weren't afraid of heights," the other witch smirked, playfully moving the sweet inside her mouth with her tongue. Elenor looked mildly scandalized, mainly to maintain the dramatic atmosphere.

"Oh, shut up."

In the next second, a whooshing noise could be heard. The girls looked at each other in confusion before a silvery blue lion appeared right in front of them, its bright light illuminating every corner of the room. They had to blink a few times to adjust, hardly daring to take a breath. In her entire lifetime, Elenor had only ever met one Hufflepuff to have a lion as Patronus: her mother. The voice of said person interrupted the eerie silence.

"There has been a Death Eater attack on the Quidditch World Cup match today. Stay inside, place charms on the whole house. You should know some spells. I have instructed Bonnie not to leave her friend's house until further notice. Your father and I are busy at the Ministry. Floo in case of an emergency — and stay safe."

Elenor woke up to the sun beaming onto her face. Skin was touching skin, and as soon as she opened her eyes, the blond strands of hair obscuring her vision revealed to her where she was — or, to be more precise, in whose arms.

"Goodmorneeng," she mumbled, turning over. The next moment she found herself in free fall — then hit the carpet with a thump. The redhead moaned quietly, trying not to let anything of the yellow material come between her lips.

"Y'alright'here?"

Elenor hummed in the affirmative and slowly hoisted herself up onto her feet. Pulling the red hair from her face, she looked at Charlize, who was smiling at her sleepily from her place on the couch, lying on it, clothes wrinkled.

"You fell asleep on top of me. The bowl isn't even empty."

Elenor quickly looked herself up and down. She, too, was fully clothed. (Oh well…) Glancing at the clock, she noticed it was just past dawn.

"No one came by?" she asked while swinging her ebony wand, checking if the protection charms were still in place. Of course, charms produced by a seventh year would hardly be enough if Death Eaters actually were to show up on the doorstep, but at least the magical alarm would go off, and provide time for escaping. Elenor had doubted anybody would be so bold to attack the house though — there was no logical motive to do so.

"No. We've been alone since yesterday," the blonde responded airily. As if on cue, the fireplace could be heard crackling, the room took on a greenish hue for a moment, and a second later a woman with golden shoulder-length locks stepped out of the emerald flames. Her eyes were of navy blue colour and her lips were covered with dark red lipstick, giving her angular face an even harder edge. Although Amelia Bones usually preferred things to be kept simple, she was still a traditional in some aspects of life — not necessarily fashion in general, but certainly make-up. (Or, well, she just had a fondness for dark lipsticks, particularly cherry-flavoured ones.)

"Hello, Mrs Bones," Charlize greeted nonchalantly. Elenor briefly wondered how she managed that.

"Hello, Charlize. Is everything alright in here, Elenor?" Mrs Bones asked. Both girls noted the slight exhaustion in her voice.

"Yes, everything's good. Dad's still at work?" the redhead said, picking up the half-empty bowl from the table. She deliberately ignored the hungry look Charlize was giving it, how the ocean in her eyes seemed to reach for the sherbet lemons through the white ceramic.

"Yes, the Auror division has been overly busy since yesterday. Speaking of which, do your parents know you're here, Charlize?"

"Yes, actually, though I really should be going. They're probably, uh, worried," the blonde replied, suddenly looking somewhat awkward in her current position on the couch. Elenor looked at her with an indiscernible look in her blue eyes, which had a lighter and colder hue to them than her friend's. Eventually, Charlize decided to stand up — she threw out a sweetish "See you, Ellie" followed by a quick "Goodbye, Mrs Bones" before taking her shoes from the carpet, taking a handful of dark powder from a small brown bag, hopping into the fireplace and disappearing with a flash of green.

"She slept here?" her mother asked (far too suggestively, in Elenor's opinion). She studied the older woman's face for a long moment — no trace of disapproval. But then again, Amelia Bones had always been good at hiding her emotions if she wanted to.

"Yes," the girl answered, quickly adding, "Nothing happened." Unfortunately. Elenor gripped the ceramic bowl a bit tighter. She didn't like the direction this conversation was heading.

"Elenor, don't be so defensive about it. Not when you are talking to me, anyway— I'm your mother, I love you, no matter what," Amelia said with pale furrowed brows.

"— And you're not lying?"

"What kind of human being do you think I am?"

Elenor, with her trust issues, thought it best not to respond to this question.

Seeing a chance to exit the conversation, she abruptly turned on her feet and walked into the kitchen, the bowl still in her hands.

"So you're still a couple?" The redhead had to resist racing upstairs and into her room, preferably with a defining slam of the door, as her mother appeared in the doorway from the living room. Bloody hell. What was it with the questioning today?

"Not a couple," Elenor treated the word as if it were poison, "We're just involved. No certainties." The older witch seemed to be slightly displeased, though the girl wasn't able to pinpoint exactly why.

"And are you planning on telling your father?"

"No." The idea was revolting — after all, her mother's knowledge of their arrangement hadn't been intended to happen either.

"Good. He is too conservative for his own good," the blonde approved, seeming… gratified? Elenor could have laughed. This response sounded so unlike her mother, it was ridiculous. Amelia Bones was and had always been a blunt woman though, so maybe she wasn't just imagining things.

"So you haven't told him yet? Aren't going to tell him?" the girl probed.

"I promise not to. You'll have to do so yourself whenever it's time," her mother answered firmly. Suddenly the redhead felt herself being pulled into a hug. As her head lay in the crook of her mother's neck, which seemed to radiate with warmth, blond locks tickling her whole face and solid arms interlaced around her slim, skinny body, Elenor had to silently admit she only felt slightly uncomfortable, surprised and— relieved.

(Amelia Bones wasn't a hugger. Amelia Bones kept her promises.)