Hallowe'en at The Bower

[teaandsympathy]

Molly and Charlie had been busy. The cottage had been what Muggles call a fixer-upper to begin with, and it had taken time, work, and more than a little magic to turn it into a place that not only suited them, but felt like home. It was the sort of project that could have - and likely would, if Molly guessed right - continue for months and months. But it was often easier to work with a particular deadline in mind, and a Hallowe'en feast had seemed a good one to work toward.

They'd let everyone they knew know there would be a housewarming on Hallowe'en - some in person, others by the telephone Molly still wasn't all that comfortable using - and that the more, the merrier. Even Draco had been invited, although Molly doubted he would come.

When the holiday arrived, The Bower was ready for their guests. A fire crackled in the fireplace, and Molly had put Charlie in charged of decorations while she bustled about the kitchen where a half dozen things were going on at once: pumpkin stew being ladled into a giant pumpkin, carrot cake in the oven baking, dishes were washing themselves as quickly as Molly used them, and she was busy chopping vegetables to roast.

Various snacks were already set out on one end of the farmhouse table, and there was a bowl of candy by the door, although with the Muggle-repelling charms, they didn't expect trick-or-treaters who wouldn't be coming anyway.

Still, a bit of candy never hurt, did it?

~*~*~

Charlie, with a touch of whimsy, charmed several, small, floating pumpkins to hang about, guiding guests through the living room and into the kitchen. Each pumpkin bears a charming grin and a glimmering candle within; he's also cast a charm so that their home smells like the woods surrounding them, with a pinch of cinnamon and caramel apples tossed in for good measure. He's purchased some Muggle decorations of cut-out cats, skeletons, and, yes, witches, to place upon the walls, charming them to blink and smile as each guest passes through the house. Not an over abundance, but enough to emphasize the cozy nature of the place.

Of course, he jokingly brought up a chair into the air, as a reminder to the duel he'd had with Bill back at the Burrow, but one look from Molly was enough for him to cease those antics with a sheepish grin, even as he eyed the Muggle candy by the door with a look of distaste. What he wouldn't give for Honeydukes to magically appear one day.

Comments

[ghost_holder]

"They made us draw witches like this in school last year," Aggie observes tracing a finger along one of the paper decorations. "But they gave me detention when I refused to make them evil and ugly."

It had been stupid then and she thinks it's stupid now. If not for Mrs. Weasley and her family, Aggie wouldn't bother observing it at all. They hardly make it difficult either, not when everything looks warm and comfortable and the sweets smell so nice.

"This is much nicer."

[dragonsandquidditch]

"Your teachers sound like they're a bucket of laughs," Charlie tells her, charming a chocolate bar so that it floats right in front of Aggie's face, waiting for her to pluck it out of thin air. "They should know better than to reinforce the whole 'appearances say everything about a person' rubbish."

"I'm glad you like it," he grins at his friend. "Mum left me in charge of the decoration. Rather daring of her, really."

[ghost_holder]

"Yes, but they're not very good teachers," Aggie says, rolling her eyes. Her expression changes into a smile and she takes the candy and then reaches out with her own power, floating a caramel apple over to him.

[dragonsandquidditch]

"Rotten teachers are the worst," Charlie says, recalling his own experiences with them back in Hogwarts. Especially Snape, who took every opportunity to undermine a Weasley when he saw one. "So let's focus on rotting your teeth with delicious food instead, yeah?"

He grins as he grabs the apple out of the air and takes a large bite out of it.

[ghost_holder]

"Hey! I floss now!" Aggie says, mockingly defensive.

Smiling, she takes a bite and then looks around. "There's so much magic here." She uses her magic at home and around the city, but the Bower makes it feel welcome.

[dragonsandquidditch]

"Never said you didn't," he teases back. He's delighted to see how relaxed Aggie appears, considering the last time he'd seen here at school.

"It was bloody weird, living in an apartment without being able to use much magic," Charlie says, smiling as he glances around. "Now I actually feel like I'm back home; it's wonderful to have a place where we don't have to hide our magic."

[ghost_holder]

"Yeah, it really is." She's learned to strike a fairly comfortable balance between the two worlds she lives in, but there's something different and special about a place like this. It makes her own power feel more alive.

"It was even worse, at home."

[dragonsandquidditch]

"From what you've told me of your home, I can only imagine," he shakes his head, recalling Aggie's sad history. But tonight's a night for distractions and cheer, so he aims to take her mind off it as soon as he can. "I only wish I had a broomstick here; I could teach you how to play Quidditch. Something tells me you'd be a natural."

[ghost_holder]

"Couldn't you use magic on normal brooms?" Aggie suggests. She doesn't really know the rules of his magic. It seems different for almost everyone.

[dragonsandquidditch]

"We can charm brooms, yes, but it's a bit more complicated than that," Charlie remarks with a wistful sigh. "The broomsticks wizards and witches use for flying are well-crafted machines; kind of like Muggle cars. They're made specifically for the purpose of flying."

[ghost_holder]

"So you'd have to get a craftsman, wouldn't you?" Aggie says. She'd been tasked with helping the other children make brooms, but she's certain hers wouldn't be properly flyable like Charlie needs.

[dragonsandquidditch]

"Well, if I had at least one broom from my world here, I could poke at it and see how it works," Charlie tells her. It's a thought that's crossed his mind multiple times since his arrival; he might not be able to pursue his love of dragons, but by Merlin's beard, he could at least find a way to pursue his love of flying. "And then I could make brooms of my own, so we could have a proper Quidditch match here."

[ghost_holder]

"Things come from home sometimes," Aggie muses. Often, they aren't very nice but on rare occasions they've been known to get lucky. "Maybe you'll get a broom."

[dragonsandquidditch]

"I can dream, I suppose," he agrees, grinning at the thought of one of their old brooms finding its way to Darrow. And now, living in the country, with access to Muggle restricted property, Charlie would be able to fly about without a care in the world. He lets out something of a wistful sigh. "But come, let's grab some of mum's best food right when it gets out of the oven - she's absolute magic in the kitchen."

[ghost_holder]

Aggie nods and, feeling playful, draws a little broom in the air with her crackling lightning magic. With a wave of her fingers, it zooms across the air in front of them.

"It smells wonderful in here. That's for sure."

[dragonsandquidditch]

Charlie lets out a delighted chuckle at such a spectacle, watching the lightning broom fly about the room with a bright spark in his eyes. "Ah, and here I think I have a new favorite broom!"

"The perk of living with my mum," he tells her, leaning in as if confiding an utterly deep secret. "Is that I get to eat her amazing cooking everyday."

[ghost_holder]

"If only I could do I to some proper brooms, right?" Agatha teases. Maybe someday she'll figure it out, or get to watch.

"What did she make?"

[dragonsandquidditch]

"Well, if you want, if one of the brooms from my world shows up, you can help me poke it?" Charlie offers. She's a powerful witch in her own right and she's one of Charlie's good friends; they'd have fun together, besides.

"I think the better question is what didn't she make?" He chuckles as he leads Aggie to the kitchen, gesturing to the various plates spread out on the counters.

[ghost_holder]

Aggie brightens, nodding. For a minute, she's distracted from the conversation by the array of food. It smells wonderful and looks good, but beyond that there's just a feeling of...warmth to all of it. It makes her wonder of Molly's charmed the steam coming off the food itself.

"It's like magic," she says. "I mean, its own kind of magic."

[dragonsandquidditch]

"I think so," Charlie agrees, letting the warmth and the smells of the food wash over him. His mum possesses such a command of cooking in her own right; he can really only think of it as its own kind of magic. "Mum's got many skills, but her cooking is definitely the most magical of them all."

[ghost_holder]

"One of my teachers when I first got here," Aggie says, thinking of Tara a little sadly. "She talked about being a kitchen witch, using herbs and things to cast spells to protect a home. They used to think similar things in Blithe Hollow, that some flowers drove bad spirits away. But that's very different from all this."

[dragonsandquidditch]

"Really? That sounds like what we call Herbology in our world," Charlie muses. "The study and use of plants for magic. It was one of my favorite classes because I got to spend so much time outdoors." He smiles. "But I'm much better with animals then plants."

[ghost_holder]

"Like the dragons you love so much?" Aggie fills in for him. She can't imagine ever seeing something so magnificent in real life, much less making it a profession.

[dragonsandquidditch]

"Yes," Charlie admits with a grin, eyes sparkling. "Just call me the crazy dragon wizard." He at least has his new pet with him, to ease the pain of being separated from his dragons. "Speaking of, have you met my bearded dragon yet? I ought to introduce you."

[ghost_holder]

What Aggie imagines is far from Charlie's pet. Indeed, she pictures a dragon as big as a house with a false Santa Claus beard hung over its face. The picture is so absurd that she knows it can't be right.

"No! Could I see?"