#hphm ask

“I know, I know. I still have a few minutes…”

Grimoire hissed in disappointment and disappeared again.

Charlie cleaned the remains of the shaving cream that were left on his jaw and nodded at his work before heading to the fireplace in the living room, where Grimoire was pacing.

He chuckled at the invisible circles that the cat was making. 

With the floo powder in hand, he kneeled next to Grimoire and tried to concentrate on the words that Kate indicated him to say.

Durmstrang’s chimneys were not connected to their home in Romania, but she said to give her two weeks and, in that time, true to her words, found a way to connect them.

“Doorm-strang.” He pronounced, throwing the powder to the logs. The green flames appeared, and he waited for her face to pop out of them.

He rubbed his suddenly sweating hands on his thighs while staring impatiently at the fire. Grimoire had time to spin several times around him, making him consider locking the tedious animal inside his closet. Giving it a second thought, the idea of having to deal with him after that seemed equally, and even more horrible.

“Hey, you” Kate’s voice dragged him back to reality.

He knew he had the stupidest grin all over his face and prayed for the green fire to distortion it a bit. He observed her features: her forehead, her nose, her impossibly long eyelashes, those thin but very well-shaped lips, back again to her moderately thick eyebrows and the gorgeous honey eyes that gazed at him. He couldn’t see her ears, or her neck, probably covered in all of those tangled waves he loved spending hours combing with his fingers. 

His eyes darted back to her lips, now moving again, but he couldn’t identify what they said.

“Charlie? Is there something wrong with your side of the floo? Can you hear me?”

The crinkle between her eyes formed like many times before, and he smiled at it.

“I can hear you, love, loud and clear.”

“How have you been? How are you?” Not even the flames could hide the concern.

“I’ve been better. It’s ah... somehow more difficult being away after living together than... you know.”

He heard how she shifted in her place and tried to get more comfortable.

“I know…”

“I have been busy, though, working, writing, I did some cooking, but it’s infinitely more satisfying doing that for two rather than one.”

Her face lit up with the flames and expanded a little as she leaned in. If he concentrated enough, he could imagine that she got closer to him.

“Did you finish your papers?”

“Not yet, the text is there in my nightstand and I stare at it daily, waiting for it to write itself. Wait, someone wants to see you.”

Kate chuckled, and the flames danced around her when she shook her head.

“That’s not writing.”

“It’s not? Well, maybe I’ll have to plan another strategy, then.” He said equally amused. He lifted Grimoire to the fire level, and the cat mewled in delight, seeing his master for the first time in months. He mewled again, and Charlie had the impression he was telling her his version of the story.

“Hello, Grimoire, is that ginger over there being rude to you? Want me to give him a lesson?”

Charlie huffed and practically threw Grimoire out of his arms, before brushing the hairs out of his sleeves.

“Bloody demon, that poor excuse of a cat of yours.”

“What happened? You’ve never had problems before?” She said with a chuckle.

“It appears we are a tad territorial with your things. I wanted to sleep on your side of the bed these days, and I tried to trick him and put your favourite blanket on the couch, but he won’t have it. He always returns and curls up in your pillow, mocking me.”

“I miss you both, too.”

The light atmosphere evaporated and was replaced by a way too familiar sadness. They had walked this road before, and yet it seemed that it would never end.

Kate gave a sharp inhalation, holding back something that could have been words, tears or both. 

“How did you, ah... get rid of the smoke? Of the fire you said…” Charlie cleared his throat, holding back something that could have been words, tears or both.

“I’m holding my wand up the chimney, vanishing it. Do you know how hard it is to practise ‘evanesco’ on actual smoke?” She chuckled, barely believing how she managed to perfect the spell in just two weeks. “What’s the physical form of... smoke? I have no idea.”

She was just rambling, now. Not wanting to end the conversation, but guilty about not having anything to talk about, or better said, anything safe to talk about.

Charlie puffed out a disbelieving and proud huff at her brightness, and out of pure instinct he stretched his arm to caress her face, immediately regretting his dumb behaviour.

Kate grinned when he brought his fingertip to his mouth to soothe the pain.

“I see some things don’t change, then. Always attracted to the fire.”

Catching her eyes, he was captivated by their sudden shimmer that had nothing to do with the floo powder.

“I like the warm feeling of it.” he whispered.

“You want to be cautious; you might burn.” her voice sounding equally low, and in the silence of the night, it resembled a purr. But it might have been the floo interferences. He chose his words very carefully, selected them to have the desired effect.

“I would happily let the flames consume me.”

Grimoire’s angry hiss covered Kate’s shuddering breath, and she thanked Merlin when Charlie turned around at the cat and didn’t see her face.

She looked up, probably checking her spell, and then behind her before focusing on Charlie again.

“You must go already?” He intended to sound as disappointed as he felt, selfishly wanting her to stay at least one more minute.

“I have a bit of time. There’s plenty of healers here, and night-shifts are relaxed. They will survive without me. Now tell me, are you putting on enough sunscreen?”

Charlie’s entire face brightened at the question and proceeded to tell her the amount of work he’d been putting on the sanctuary.

“Some of my teammates have been asking about you, you know?”

“Really? What did you tell them?”

“That you were on a trip around Europe. I don’t think they believe that. They think we broke up.”

“Stick to the Europe story. It’s pretty accurate, anyway. By the way, are you familiar with the book... uh... The Tales of Beedle the Bard?” Her voice above a whisper.

Charlie was taken aback by the question and answered full of curiosity.

“Sure thing, love. Mum used to read it to us when we were kids. Why the sudden urge to read bedtime stories?”

“Someone recommended it...”

“Wait... you’ve never read it? It’s very famous.”

“I don’t remember there being any children’s stories in my house. Arithmancy books, yes.” As the conversation came to a halt, Kate settled down on the floor, adjusting her arm.

“I hope you’ve been watering my plants...” she threatened after she settled.

“Each and every one.”

“And have you been moving Ypsilon? He likes the sun at all times, otherwise his leaves close up and then he gets mad at me.”

“Plants can’t get angry, Katie,” he let out with a laugh, “and yes, every day; in the morning I put him by the window with white curtains and in the evening on the chairs on the other side.”

“That they can’t get angry, he says. You paid little attention in herbology and it shows.”

“You left me an endless list of instructions for each pot and I’m following them to the letter. If you think I’m not doing a good job, come home and see for yourself.”

The smirk that had planted itself on her face deflated to leave only a sad smile.

“I would love to...”

Charlie’s expression suddenly darkened. He adjusted on the carpet to be more comfortable, but Kate noticed the agitation.  She gave him time to say what he had to say and after a long sigh he spoke again.

“Katie, you’ve been receiving letters... letters from your father.”

“Have you opened them?”

“Of course not. But there’s three of them now…”

“But... Oh, shit.” Charlie frowned and leaned into the fire. “A few weeks ago someone from the ministry came looking for Igor Karkarov,” Charlie’s eyes opened like plates “He must have recognised me. I know he was from my father’s department.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Me? Nothing. Well, my job. The important thing is what you do. Open the letters. Probably he’s just asking why I don’t respond. Send an owl saying I have a lot of work.”

“What if he comes here?” Kate snorted.

“Joseph Williams? Getting his trousers dirty to go to a cabin? Don’t worry, he won’t bother.”

“I’m worried, Kate. What if something happened?”

“All the more reason to read them. Don’t tell me anything, don’t send me anything, I don’t want to know anything. The less traceable, the better.”

“Katie, we’ve been sending each other letters for over a month.”

“I know...” They were silent for a few moments, listening to the crackling of the flames. Kate adjusted her arm again, moving the fire, and inhaled to speak.

“Don’t tell me we should stop because I’ll have a heart attack,” Charlie rushed before she could say anything.

“No, it’s just... things can get ugly real fast and I don’t... I don’t want them to get to you.”

“I’m not the one who can’t go home. Besides, if someone intercepts our letters, what will they find? Dumb words of love?”  He managed to get a laugh out of her for the first time in two months.

“Hey! They’re not dumb!” Charlie rested his head on the palm of his hand. “No, they’re not...”

“One question.” Charlie started out of nowhere, “What do you know about giants?” Kate arched her eyebrows before pursing her lips, pensive.

“They’re usually big...”

“Yes, thank you very much. You remember that Hagrid…”

“Yes.”

“Dumbledore asked me to fix it...”

“No. Absolutely not. No way...”

“Katie, I already went.”

“Damn you, Charles! Giants, are you mad?” She looked behind her shoulder and murmured, “What were you thinking?”

“About you, and on how useless I was feeling by keeping a low profile.” She tsked and shook her head. “It didn’t go well, but it was worth a try.”

“What made you think it would work, if Hagrid failed?”

“My charm.” He threw a proud smirk at her, trying to tease her a bit. She shook her head again, this time trying to keep the corners of her mouth from curving.

“Are you all right?” She asked in a completely different tone.

“A little bruised, but fine. Though I would have preferred you being the one who healed me.”

“Sweet talker.” She accused. He flashed her a grin again, attempting to make her forget his little adventure.

“So they’re on His side, irrevocably, right?” Charlie slowly nodded.

Asking her to wait, he reached for the flu-powder bowl, and threw a handful into the fire, rekindling the green flames.

He looked at her again, without saying anything. The fire was the only thing that lit up the little room in his home, and if he concentrated enough, he could imagine that she was there with him; reading or writing, both of them in silence, enjoying a quiet night.

“What’s wrong?” She whispered.

“Nothing, just looking at you. Lovely views.”

Kate’s face contorted in worry all of a sudden. She ordered him to be quiet with her finger against her lips and turned around. He saw the back of her head for one solid minute before she faced him again.

“Someone’s outside,” she whispered, “I need to go now. I promise we’ll talk like this again.”

“Katie... Kate!” She looked at him with fear of being caught and with a pointed look, hurried him to talk.

“I love you.”

She softened, and a hint of a sad smile appeared on her face. He watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath.

I love you, too

He barely heard her, but her lips didn’t move at all, and he had to blink several times to register what was happening. It felt like she was there, right next to him, and in his head, and everywhere.

“How…”

“A connection. An unbreakable bond lets the mind do wonderful things. And the vanishing spell isn't the only thing I've been practising.” She checked her back again and returned to him once more before grinning. “You look handsome, by the way, as always.”

And with a wink and a smile she left him staring at the now cooling logs, touching his recently shaved face and with a devastated expression that would stay with him for the next months.

“Thanks…” he whispered into the night.

She glanced around to make her eyes adjust to the darkness and picked up the heavy skirts of her uniform so that she could stand up. Groping around, she approached headmistress Rhode’s desk and opened the top drawer. Feeling only papers and parchment, she closed it and opened the next.

 Kate made the remaining smoke disappear quickly, as well as the burned logs. She raised her hand to her necklace and then pressed it against stomach, thinking that perhaps, if she put enough pressure, she would make the horrible feeling in her body disappear.

Something cold touched her hand. Bingo.

She lifted the bottle and extended her arms before pressing the valve at the end of the tube. The characteristic smell of the headmistress’ office flooded the room, making all traces of the smoke disappear.

She grimaced at the new fragrance and quickly returned the bottle to the drawer. Just as she was closing it, a new set of voices echoed through the door.

She stood very still, at first, hearing them closer and clearer.

She hurried to her feet, and at her haste, the corner of the desk collided with her hip. Taking her hand to her mouth, she pressed her eyes so hard that she began to see stars.

When the pain became tolerable, she went on her way to the door and bent over the doorknob. Moving the flap that covered the lock, she dared to look.

“You can’t get very far, Marek.”

She could make out Libor Marek’s legs, limping rapidly out of reach of his pursuer. Another pair of legs appeared beside him and Marek halted.

“You’re a lunatic. All those weird herbs of yours can’t be doing you any good.” He lowered the volume of his voice as he stood in front of the door, yet the irritation was evident in his tone.

“I’m only going to ask you once...”

“You mean, ‘once more’...”

“I’m just saying, if you need painkillers for your leg, don’t steal ingredients. You can ask for them. I didn’t say anything the first time, but it’s getting repetitive.”

“Don’t get amiable with me, Jorgensen. I didn’t take anything from your stinking office. Maybe you should ask yourself who decided that poisoning teachers is the order of the day in entertainment.”

“Well, that would be perfect, wouldn’t it? You’d kill two birds with one stone. You never liked her."

Marek didn’t respond. His legs turned away from the potion teacher. Although he said one last sentence, Kate could only make out the word “cretin”.

Jorgensen stood in front of the door before turning around and walking away in the opposite direction.

Kate let out a long sigh and squeezed her wand more tightly. With a grimace, she lifted the latch of the door and pulled. She tiptoed out of the room, trying to avoid the heels of her boots to touch the floor, and slipped through the shadows. To the rest of the world, she had never been there.

She walked through the halls calmly and quietly. The floating candlesticks barely lit the way, enough to keep from tripping.

Darkness had never been a problem for her. In fact, it was preferable. Everything was different; the people seemed good, the problems insignificant, and the world was at peace.

However, everything was out of the ordinary now. Even the night could not avoid that feeling of being watched. There weren’t too many pictures on the walls, but if the stone had eyes, Kate was sure it would squint as she walked.

I’m not very good at this spy stuff, she thought. Suddenly the question she had asked Astrid Rhode on her first day echoed in her mind.

Why me?

I’d never get a clear answer from Dumbledore, that was clear. She could only resign herself to accepting her mission.

Before entering the infirmary, she sniffed the inside of her elbow and shirt collar, and when she saw that Astrid’s potion to eliminate odours had worked, she plastered her healing face on and opened the hospital wing’s doors.

 With the events of the past two weeks related to the herbology professor in mind, she went over to Flavia Hodges’ bed to review her status report. Just a few days before, Flavia suffered another accident; she rolled down the stairs in, what appeared to be, a moment of distraction on her part.

Poisoning. Unknown. Possible Weedosoros. (Symptoms: convulsions, foaming at mouth) - Antidote for common poisons. Effective.

Anxiety attack. - Calming draught. Effective.

Hip fracture- 3-4 days, Skele-gro. Effective.

Looking up from the paper, she observed how the teacher moved in a restless sleep. As she approached to blow out the candle on her bedside table, a hand grabbed her tightly at the wrist.

Professor Hodges took a deep breath; her eyes were wide open, and they looked at Kate with a horrified expression. With her free hand she gestured frantically, and her mouth opened and closed, trying to pronounce the words she so desperately wanted to convey.

“Professor Hodges, breathe with me.” Kate tried to get Flavia to compose herself, but she was getting more and more agitated.

Some sounds came out of her mouth, and Kate sat down on the bed.

“What do you want to tell me?” She put her hand on her forehead and didn’t need a thermometer to know that her temperature was not normal.

“I need help! Fever-reducing potion and... and more antidote!” She screamed over her shoulder, not caring if she woke up other patients.

Two mediwizards rushed to the cabinets to provide the necessary potions. Kate reached out her hand that wasn’t being squeezed by the teacher and flew a cloth hanging from a chair on the other side of the room.

“Aguamenti.” She mumbled. The cloth became wet in her hand, causing several drops of water to travel to her elbow. She placed the cloth on the teacher’s forehead, who winced at the contact.

The promised potions arrived quickly, and the three mediwizards set about healing their patient. Flavia resisted, squirming and holding Kate tighter and tighter.

“Ig...” She put her index finger just below her eye for a second before dropping her hand.

“You saw something. What did you see?” Kate insisted.

“Ig... ov...”

“I’ll give you what’s left of the calming draught.” Kate heard her partner say.

“There’s nothing left but that?”

“Don’t give her anything yet!” Kate interrupted. “Professor. Professor Hodges. Look at me. Do you mean that...”

Before she could finish the question, one of her companions raised Flavia’s head and made her drink from the bottle of the potion that would take effect in a few seconds.

Kate stood up and as she watched Flavia Hodges go into a deep sleep, two dots connected in her mind. It was possible, and almost certain, that Professor Hodges had had an encounter with the Death Eater Igor Karkarov, and that he was roaming the castle at that very moment.

--

[Part 8]