She had come outside with her tutor, but had almost immediately darted off after the troublesome cricket who had now hopped to safety in the rushes along the edge of the lake.
Lacking the distraction of chasing insects Olivia settled for pushing her tongue against her front tooth, which was very loose. She wiggled it back and forth, but it stayed attached. Severus had offered to accio it out for her. It had taken Morgan the better part of an hour to convince her to come out from under the bed and that she was safe from having her teeth charmed out.
Hearing Eva call for her she ducked down among the rushes. She wasn’t ready to go back to her lessons quite yet, not when it meant giving up the freedom of the outdoors. She peeked around the browning foliage, and convinced that she was safely hidden away, she started constructing a little village out of pebbles and mud and sticks, complete with houses, and shops, and roads, and inhabitants made by braiding pieces of grass together so that they had arms and legs.
“I’d wager the chieftain lives there, in the largest house.”
Olivia looked up into the face of the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, “no, the princess lives there.”
“What is the princess’ name?”
“Olivia.”
“That is the perfect name for a princess.”
“What are you?” Olivia looked back and forth between the beautiful woman and the man who had come up behind her. She could tell that they weren’t human, even if they had hidden all evidence to the contrary.
The woman smiled sweetly, “it does not matter what we are.”
Olivia considered this for a moment and then decided it didn’t really matter to her whether or not they were human, “do you want to play with me? We can make more people to live in the village.”
The man made a gesture of impatience, but the woman hushed him with a few whispered words. “Of course child, “she turned back to Olivia, “we would be most honored to join you for awhile.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Nimue dropped the now hot charm hanging from her neck, she had hardly let it go ever since her vision of death. She was scared, and confused, and just wanted to go home. On one hand she understood why she couldn't leave, on the other... perhaps it was best to stay here in Greece. She wasn't sure if she could face her family after what she had Seen.
There were times when she thought her heart was being torn out. And she was powerless to stop it.
"You're late."
Nimue sighed, "I know."
Remus leaned against the low stone wall, "I don't know exactly what you Saw, but it seems to me that you need to talk about it."
"I don't want to talk about it," Nimue snapped.
Remus' eyebrows shot up. That wasn't a tone he was used to hearing from Nimue. Equally shocking was the fact that it wasn't immediately followed by an apology. He wasn't sure if he should scold her or not. It might send her over the edge.
“Do I have any chance of convincing you to take me home?”
“No.”
"I can't help you if you won't talk to me about it."
"I... I just can't."
"Why can't you talk to me Nimue?"
"I just can't!"
"Nimue..." Remus frowned, a confused look on his face, "I was going to use your full name for emphasis, but I realized I don't know it. I've never heard Snape use it."
Nimue smiled weakly, "I'm not sure he ever has... maybe once..."
"Well?"
"It's Jane."
"Fine then, Nimue Jane Snape, there are a lot of people here who are worried about you, including, but not limited to, myself, Kalliope, whom I really don't want upset in her condition, Cadmus, Theodora, Polykleitos, Aias..."
"I get your point," Nimue looked away, furiously trying to blink away her tears.
"Hey, I'm not trying to be the bad guy here. I hope that one day I will have a daughter who is as brave and kind-hearted as you." Remus took Nimue by the shoulders and gave her a little shake, "I just don't want you doing anything... rash."
Nimue raised her tear filled eyes to Remus', "I'm not sure I understand."
Remus forced himself to harden his heart and expression, "what I mean, Nimue Jane, is that I don't particularly care what you think you Saw. Just because you [I]think[/I] you know how it's going to happen, that is no excuse to go putting yourself into unnecessary danger. I will not allow it, you will..."
Nimue's eyes widened almost comically, "it wasn't my death that I Saw," she interrupted him.
Remus was completely thrown, they had all assumed that Nimue had seen her own death. If she hadn't... whose had she see? It must have been a member of her family to upset her like this... "if it isn't you...?"
"I... I..." Nimue looked so torn, so ready to pour her heart out, but she pulled herself together at the last second, "I can't tell you because you will tell them. And by seeking to avoid fate we only bring ourselves closer to it."
Remus sighed, "you've been reading far too much Sophocles." But he let it drop for the time being, "let's get to work then, you've been falling a bit behind in Transfiguration," he was convinced that she would come around eventually and tell them what she had Seen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Charlie!” Meg felt free to yell for her husband as all the children were outside playing, save Alan who was contently trying to scale the furniture, now that he had mastered the arts of walking and running he was into everything.
“Are you sure a leash is a bad idea?” Charlie asked as he intercepted Alan, who had made a dash for the door.
“For you so that I don’t have to shout for you?”
“Hilarious darling, but I assure you I do not need to be tied up, not when I have you as a ball and chain.”
Meg tossed her knitting needles at him.
“Those could have impaled me you heartless wench,” Charlie said as he retrieved them from the floor and returned them to his wife, stealing a kiss in the process.
“Brute.”
“Love of my life… my darling wife whose beauty will never fade…”
Meg smiled smugly, “flattery will get you everywhere Mr. Weasley.”
Charlie took the chair opposite his wife as he tried to hold Alan still on his lap, “what was so important that you felt it necessary to yell for me?”
“There’s a meeting tonight.”
“This wasn’t planned.”
“I know.”
“Any indication on the nature of it?” Charlie hated it when the Order called meetings at the last minute like this. It left the possibility that something bad had happened. That their plans had gone horribly astray. It was enough to make one’s blood run cold.
“Something about demons I think.”
“Well that certainly sounds pleasant. Don’t eat that,” he took the block from Alan, which the toddler had been trying to stuff in his mouth.
“Mine!”
“I’m sure it is yours, I just don’t want it in your mouth.”
Meg felt a small measure of contentment, as much as she could afford in times like these, as she watched her husband playing with their youngest son… or at least their current youngest son. She was beginning to suspect that the child she was carrying now would be another boy.
“Are you staying home with the children tonight?”
“No.”
Charlie frowned, “then who is going to watch them if we both go to headquarters tonight for the meeting?”
Meg suddenly became very interested in the half-knitted baby blanket laying in her lap.
“Please tell me you didn’t...”
“Who else is there to watch them Charlie? Besides, the girls love them.”
“Yes, well I had the… pleasure… of teaching them for five years, I have plenty of reasons to be hesitant about trusting them with our children.”
Meg rolled her eyes, “don’t be so over dramatic, I’m the only one entitled to dramatics around here. You have to be my steadfast rock while I weather this sea of hormones.”
“I think I’m the one doing most of the weathering,” Charlie said, sighing tragically, just because he knew how it would make his wife bristle. And he loved the way she would frown at him for that split second before she decided that his teasing wasn’t worth getting angry over.
“How many of them are there that I’m supposed to watch again?”
“I sincerely hope you don’t walk in on everyone like that,” Charlie said as he turned around.
“Pretty much, I do it to Mum and Dad all the time.”
“I told him to knock,” Celeste said as she laced her fingers through Kamen’s.
Charlie narrowed his eyes, “where’s your cohort?”
“He had other plans,” Kamen said evasively, not wanting too many people to know about how severely injured his best friend had been. William was still not feeling his best, and chasing after a horde of rug-rats would probably have killed him. “Aren’t you glad that I though to bring my own reinforcements?”
“I promise I’ll keep him in line Professor Weasley,” Celeste vowed, hand over her heart. She didn’t care if they were just baby-sitting. She was thankful for any time spent with Kamen. Between his training schedule and her working in the greenhouses of a prominent Herbology scholar in Wales their time together was sporadic and often very short.
“I am agreeing to this,” Charlie said sternly, “only because I know that she,” he pointed at Celeste with the hand still clutching the block Alan had been trying to eat, “will behave herself.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
