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Charm Away the Storm by TrillianAstra [Reviews - 3]

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A/N: Thanks to Isi, for beta-reading this, and to all my readers.



- CHAPTER SIX -


Kathy climbed up the ladder into the hayloft. "What have you got for me today, then?" the man asked as she came over to him.

"I got some sausage, and cheese, and...and a custard slice. It all got a bit mixed up, I’m afraid."

"You didn’t bring any Firewhisky, I suppose?" he asked longingly.

"Firewhisky?"

"Yes, fiery red liquid…"

"Oh, no - I didn’t know you drank."

"No? Well, uh...I never used to..." He was trying hard to not spoil her illusion of him. "But I do now sometimes."

"Well, I’ll try and get you some; I think me dad has some."

"How did you get all of these things then?"

"I just took them. Is that alright?" Kathy asked nervously.

"It's alright if you don’t get caught. What would your mother say?"

"She wouldn't," she replied, "she’s dead, she’s in Heaven."

"Oh, I am sorry. Who looks after you now, then?"

"Well, there’s me Auntie Dolly, she lives with us. There’s me and me dad, our Nan and our Charles. It’s his birthday tomorrow, as you know," she said proudly.

"Yes... What day is it?"

"Charles’ birthday? The fourteenth."

"No, I meant today."

"Oh," she said, "Tuesday."

The man nodded. "I'm going to have to go soon."

"Oh," Kathy said sadly, "are you going a long way?"

"Yes," he replied simply.

"Will you have time to see some more children before you go?"

"No...Well, we’ll have to see...I don’t know."

They paused.

"Why did you let that kitten die?" she asked suddenly.

"Well, I've got a lot on my mind at the moment," he muttered. "Look; would you like to do something else for me? But if you do, nobody else needs to know. You cannot tell the others, understand?"

"Oh, I won’t," she said quickly.

"Good. Well, I seem to remember there’s a tunnel near here, where the train takes the students to Hogwarts. Do you know where that is? It's just that I haven’t been here for some time." His eyes latched on to hers.

"Yes, there is one. The Castlewood tunnel, that’s on a Muggle canal. We go and wave at the people on that big red train sometimes; it's only another year until I go there too."

He frowned and shook his head. "Well anyway," he said, "there's a parcel there; it’s just inside the tunnel, wedged under the line. Would you be able to find it?"

"Oh, yes, I’ll find it."

"Good, now, go by yourself. And don’t open it. Alright?"

"Yes, I’ll go now." She ran off and he watched her go through a chink in the wood.

She ran over the hill towards the railway line, and in the distance she saw a group of Law Enforcement wizards Apparating and beginning to comb the countryside, blasting things out of the way with a flick of their wands.

She ran into the mouth of the tunnel and quickly spotted the long thin parcel. She tugged it loose from beneath the rails, but froze as two Muggle workers started shouting, "Hey! What are you doing down there?"

"Who is it, some kid?" the other said.

"I don’t know, I can’t see. Hey! Come here!"

Kathy belted out of the tunnel and the Muggles, realising she was only a child, ignored her and went back to their work.

She ran back to the barn and left the package in the hayloft, where the man was apparently sleeping. As soon as she had gone, he sat up, and opened the package. His wand slid out of it and onto his lap. He sighed, happy to finally have it back. The Dark Lord had taken his wand away and told him to hide with some Muggles, whilst he used his wand to provide better protection for him. If he hadn't needed to stay loyal to the Dark Lord, he would never have agreed; surrendering your wand to the most powerful Dark wizard was not a sensible thing to do. But he had been true to his word and returned it, though how good this protection was he was not sure; he had seen a few Law Enforcement wizards wandering about. But that was only to be expected, surely? At least now he had his wand back he could get out of this place and try to find the rest of the Death Eaters.

xXxXx


The next day, Charlie's birthday party was filling the farm with noise. Charlie was popping balloons over a girl's head.

"Ha ha ha!" he chortled.

"Oh, don’t, Charlie!" she shrieked.

"British Bulldog! British Bulldog!" Charlie began to chant.

"We’re going to play my game now," Kathy said calmly.

"It’s my party; I can play what I like."

"Now, you mind, otherwise your party’ll be over, and I know somebody who might find themselves in bed," his aunt interjected between his whines.

"We’re going to play Blind Man’s Bluff," Kathy announced.

"I don’t like it, it’s too rough," a girl said.

"'Course it isn’t," Jackie Greenwood shouted.

"I’m gonna be a blind man and I’m gonna come and get you!" Charlie squealed.

"Oh, Dad, tell our Charles to stop it," Nan sighed.

"Now, come on, Charlie, watch it, love. You're getting overexcited now," Mr Bostock said benevolently.

"But I want to be the blind man, it’s my party."

"Here, you can use a duster," Auntie Dolly said, passing it to Kathy.

She began to wrap it around Charlie's head. "It’s too tight!" he shouted.

"I don’t want you peeking." Kathy twirled him around and the children started to shriek as he reached his hands out in front of him, groping the air between his fingers.

Mr Bostock moved over to the sideboard. "I’d like another cup of tea now, if you’ve got one," he said to Auntie Dolly.

"Well, you’ll have to use one of the best cups then, and be careful with it," she said.

He bent down and looked in the sideboard. "Say, where’s that bottle of Firewhisky, then?"

"I don’t know, don’t look at me."

"Well, it’s not here," he said.

"Well, you must have drunk it, mustn’t you? It never passed my lips."

"Kathy. Kathy!" Mr Bostock called, "Kathy, have you shifted a bottle of Firewhisky out of the sideboard?" Kathy, preoccupied with the game, ignored him.

"Now, give over, give over, that’s enough," Mr Bostock shouted, "now quiet. Quiet! Right. Now it’s cake time. Everybody who wants a bit of cake queue up in front of Auntie Dorothy."

The children clambered around her shouting, "Me! Me! Me!"

"Don’t drive me insane," she sighed.

Nan ran up to her and picked up two pieces of cake.

"Hey, miss, put that down. Who’s that for?" her Aunt shouted at her.

"Me," Nan replied, "it’s mine."

Auntie raised her eyebrows. "I’m not talking about that, I mean the other one."

"Oh, that’s for Merlin," Nan said, then, horrified by what she'd just said, she dropped the cake to the floor and clasped her hand over her mouth. The room fell deadly silent.

"Who did you say it’s for?" Mr Bostock asked.

"Merlin," she replied quietly. Her father just stared at her.

"It isn’t Merlin; it's just a fella," Charlie said sadly.

Charm Away the Storm by TrillianAstra [Reviews - 3]

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