Alone in the Cernunnos Box

The walk to the Quidditch stadium has been in silence. Annie had not just turned uncommunicative, she seemed so inside herself. The vision she'd had was tearing her up, Kerry could tell. He'd only been with her two months, more or less, but he was getting good at seeing her moods.

This mood was very bad.

The divination professor was so clear about everything--and the part about their auras . . . Kerry understood some of that from the books he read back at The Warts. It's just that he didn't remember what they mean when you saw the colors. Though he knew that going dark gray wasn't going to be good--

The damn stadium was huge. He'd never gotten a good look at the stadium at Hogwarts because--well, the season was delayed on account of butt-sniffing Death Eaters. So, really, this was his first chance to see one up close. Though there wast much to see here, from the outside. It took about five minutes of searching to find the entrance to the Cernunnos student box, and he led Annie up the stairs to some seats.

They weren't up as high as he thought they might go--looked like maybe 60 meters--but once in the seats he saw the stadium was counter-sunk about 20 meters into the ground, putting them some 80 meters over the pitch. Everything around the field was painted sort of a . . . light pumpkin orange . . . sure. Should have expected that.

Kerry sat Annie down and, once he was next to her, put his arm around her and pulled her in tight. It wasn't cold or anything, but he figured she could use the warmth. This wasn't like Kerry at all--then again, nothing before last night was like Kerry. He knew the last two months had changed him quickly.

And if that vision was any indication, things would probably change more.

He didn't waste time with preamble. "Annie, please talk to me. I said last night I'm here for you." He hugged her. "I'm here now--again. Don't worry--or be sad."

Annie was really shaken. Sitting in the stands at the quidditch field should have made her feel better, but it only reminded her about how disconnected she was from her father. Today was probably the most conflicted she had ever felt in her entire eleven years on the planet. How do I explain this…properly? There really is no good way to begin…

She felt the tears sting her eyes. She wiped them away, but they refused to stop. “Kerry, do you remember what I told you this morning in the Great Hall about experiencing our first magic?”

Kerry nodded. "You said you were worried it wouldn't happen, or it would backfire." He wanted to hug her tighter, but was afraid he would hurt her. "You said you were worried you could hurt someone--"

Oh, yeah . . . light bulb time. Kerry was seeing things a little more clearly right now because--he didn't know. He was getting a very strange feeling sitting here, like he knew something . . ..

"Annie," he said, his voice soft and almost like a whisper, "did something happen back with the professor, when you had that vision, and you're afraid whatever it was it's gonna hurt me?"

He kissed her on the forehead. "You know, you should have seen your face before you snapped back and spilled your tea. You looked so perfect. Like whatever it was, it was the best thing." He swallowed hard. Yes, this was a bit spooky, but this was her world, and things like this happened. "If I was there, then I hope that was what made you happy."

“I was wrong about the experience,” she sat up and faced him—he had to know, and she was going to tell him. “More wrong than I could have guessed.

“I did have a vision. This one was…different. It was perfect.” She managed a weak smile, as she thought of him, asleep in their bed…

“You were there…and I was there, we were, kind of,” her mouth went dry as she struggled for the right words. “there.” She finished lamely.

Nodding slowly, Kerry tried to think of a situation where Annie and he were "there", together, perfect. Nothing was coming to mind, though. But it had to be good, he thought.

"Annie, you told me back at Hogwarts, you've never been on a broom," he said, changing the subject. "Right?"

Annie would have given her right arm willingly to have seen her and Kerry on a broom in Memory’s End. She smiled and caressed his cheek. “I didn’t see us on a broom, Kerry. It was more like a lake.”

She lowered her hand and got ready for his reaction. She could not stand watching him worry for another second. If he hated her forever, it was better than putting him through the torture she was now.

“We were married, Kerry.”

There was a pause of about 10 seconds where nothing was heard but the wind in the rafter. Kerry felt something drop like an elevator in his stomach. So, yeah . . . definitely not us on brooms, he thought. It was a very heavy revelation to get laid on you by your girlfriend of almost . . . oh, 10 hours and change.

He cleared this throat as his mind raced. So what do you say to that? he wondered. Annie gave a lot of credence to these visions, and try as he might convince her that they might not come true--something the professor said as well--there was a different dynamic at play right now.

Annie said last night she was seen at my side, he thought. And now, it sounds like the vision she had confirmed it--

He looked out on the stadium and, in a low voice, said, "I've been thinking about that damn Conor for the last 10 minutes or so. I don't know why, but he kept popping up. Then it hit me right before you told me that, um . . ..

"He was a Quidditch nut, and I can hear him talking about it all the time, particularly on the train. I don't know why I would think about him talking about it, but now--here, I do.

"I didn't so much have a vision as I did feelings. There was air rushing by my face and I heard something zip by. I could hear something flapping in the breeze. I was moving side to side, like I was ducking.

"And then you came down from above. And I yelled your name and gave you something. And then I turned and dived--"

Kerry reached over and gently took Annie's hand, holding it again like he did last night. "We were playing here, Annie; I know that now. Not like soon, like this year. Maybe not even next year. But, here, in the future, you and I will be in this stadium. You are I are gonna work together. We're gonna be a team."

He stood and positioned himself on a bench a level below where Annie sat. "I think I gave you the ball, but it really felt like a lot more. I don't know what, but it just felt like, at that point in our lives, things were so different. We were different people, and I don't mean we knew more. We . . . I can't say because I don't know, but when I gave you that thing I felt great. I felt . . . I felt pretty proud, Annie."

He looked up into her dark eyes and smiled. "Yeah, I'm a little freaked, no lie. But I'm learning more about magic and I know while you might be able to change these things, you might not want to change all of them." He kissed her hand. "Know what I mean?"

Annie sat, dumbfounded. He did not seem at all bothered by what she had just revealed; he even seemed a little—happy…he seems happy about it.

She stood and climbed down, positioning herself closely in front of him. “You really are quite remarkable, you know that?” She said, placing her arms casually around his neck, pulling him closer into her. "I know this might be a little uncomfortable for you now, but trust me, you'll grow into it." Annie hugged him tightly and then stepped back a bit, still keeping her hands around his neck.

“You say you saw us together…flying…on brooms…” she crooned. “I believe you promised me something, Mr. Malibey.” She grinned at her own joke, content to keep it secret until the time was right.

Annie knew how to make him feel good. And she knew how to be so . . . aggressive. Kerry likes that, really. Sure, he was told he liked to be control, but having Annie take the first steps relaxed him. It didn't make him feel like he was--unwanted.

"Yeah, I saw us flying . . . here," he said, looking over his shoulder. "Miss Krum, she of the 'I Can't Fly!' Family." Kerry gave her a short kiss on the lips, something to make him feel good about being with her. "And, yes, I know what the answer is. It's love." He looked off into the distance. "I think I knew that . . ." He furrowed his brow. "A while."

Kerry stood up and looked around. "Oi, it's gonna be lunch soon," he said. "So should we head back, or you want to 'orientate' some more?"

Annie giggled. It was going to be all right between them, and that was a huge relief. “Remember it, Kerry. Never forget.” She kissed him softly on the lips.

“I think we should start heading back,” she said. “I would love to yell my order at the table again."

Victoria wanted to get in a little workout before people started showing at the Bastion, and morning at the Stadium was the best time. Getting astride her Firebolt Mk II she lifted off smoothly, getting a quick circle of the infield as she gained altitude.

She was starting to make a run for the East Goals when she noticed movement in the Cernunnos Student Box. What have we here? To Vicky it looked like maybe, perhaps, a couple of first years . . . ooooooh, but the way they were touching didn't seem very first year at all. Vicki smiles--ah, I remember when I was like that . . ..

She lifted straight up and came to a slow over over them, keeping very still--

She heard them speaking . . . "Miss Krum--" "Kerry--" And talk of love? Whoa. These kids are--

And then it hit Vicki just who they were. And introductions were in order.

She slipped down the 5 meters or so she'd been hoving above them and braked out, "Hold on there!" She flashed them a broad grin. "You two are so busted."

Kerry about jumped when the . . . the witch on the broom told them to hold on. When he looked up he saw someone in a tee shirt and . . . jeans and sunglasses? "You two are so busted," but she said it with a smile.

Oh, god, don't let us get detention. "Ah, um . . ." Kerry was stammering like mad, trying to make it seem like he wasn't ditching Annie. "Sorry, Ma'am."

Annie grabbed Kerry’s hand and held on. She had never seen him so flustered. I really hope he’s not embarrassed that she might have seen us kiss…

“Good morning, Professor.” Annie spoke quickly. “We are very sorry to have bothered you,” Annie made a move to leave. “We’ll be going now.”

Victoria flew in closer. "Hold up!" she said. She slide parallel to them but a level below where they stood, threw one leg over the broom and dismounted. "Don't run off; I'm not gonna get you in trouble."

She pulled the Firebolt in close to her and let it hover. "You two are our 'transfers', right?" She looked to Annie. "You're Annie Krum. So you--" she said, turning to Kerry, "must be her shadow, AKA, Kerry." She held out her hand to them both. "I'm Victoria, your flying instructor. Just remember to call me Professor Salomon when you are in class."

“Uhm, we really aren’t supposed to be talking about who we are, I think.” She glanced over at Kerry, a little uncomfortable with the way the professor called him her shadow. Honestly, I think it has been the other way around.

“In any case, it is lovely to meet you Professor.” She smiled and admired her brrom. "That's a Firebolt Mk II, isn't it? It's a very lovely broom."

Victoria almost slapped herself; damnit, we were warned about talking like that. "As long as we are among friends," she told Annie, "and don't mention anything special about you . . ." She shrugged. "My bad. I'll watch myself from now on."

She grabbed the broom and held it out for Annie to inspect. "Yeah, I picked this up last year; it's a heck of a lot nicer than the originals. Quick and turns like mad." She handed it to Annie. "Go ahead, check it out."

Victory watched Kerry as she gave the broom to Annie; his eyes told multiple tales of desire and want. Oh, my; this kid can't wait to get on one of these. She told Annie, "I flew against your dad in the '94 and '98 World Cups. Hell of a nice guy." She turned on Kerry. "My boy, you're looking at that broom like a starving man looks at a steak. You've never flown, I take it?"

Kerry snapped out of his daze when Victoria spoke. The moment he realized they weren't in trouble he relaxed and sort of listened while Annie and their . . . instructor spoke a bit of shop.

Kerry couldn't believe she was actually a teacher. The people in the Great Hall last night--the way they carried themselves and dressed, it reminded him a little of Hogwarts. But Holoc was dressed pretty normal today--no robes at least--and this Victoria . . . cross-trainers and faded jeans, wrap-around sunglasses and a white tee shirt with "Real Witches Do It On Their Brooms!" printed on it--complete with a stereotypical witch on a broom right below the writing. She seems about as far from an instructor from Hogwarts as anyone they've met already . . . well, not counting Nurse Hottie--

He almost jumped again when she asked if he'd ever flown. "No, um, Ma'am. I'm not a real wizard; my parents are normal." He eyed the broom. "But I'm really wanting to learn."

"Don't say that," Victoria snapped, probably harder than she wanted. Softening her tone she added, "I'm Muggle-born as well, so don't act like you're at some huge disadvantage because you don't have 20 generations of pure blood flowing through your body. And if you weren't a real wizard, Kerry, you wouldn't be here." She looks around, as if surveying the land, then turned to Kerry, smiled and shrugged. "No one here but us witches, right?"

She stepped up to him and touched Kerry on the shoulder. "It's not your blood that matters, it's your head and heart. That's what makes you a good wizard." She turned and gave Annie a slight grin. "So, am I keeping you kids from anything?"

Annie’s heart broke as she heard Kerry say he was not a real wizard. Of course he is a real wizard, he has to see that…

She grinned when their professor gave it to him, nodding her head in agreement. “She is right, you know.” She nudged him with her elbow. “I don’t care what your parents are or what type of blood runs through you.” She winked at him and turned to their professor.

“We were just on our way to lunch,” she said, “but it’s such a long hike back. How is it students are able to make it to classes on time?”

Taking her broom back from Annie Victoria said, "We usually build in enough time to get from place to place so you don't have to run here and there to make classes." She pointed off to the next tower to the west. "The main entrance is between that tower and the next, and you'll find the entrance to the tunnel system. The one here goes right to the Bastion, and then from there to the Great Hall dungeon."

She prepared to take off. "And, somehow, it seems like when you're down there you can get from place to another a lot faster--particularly when you need to." She let the broom hover before her. "What's the song? 'It's a kinda magic'?" Victoria laughed. "See you guys Monday!"

She jumped forward and onto the broom, diving the moment she was astride. She was already 20 meters lower before she put her hands on the broom and turned hard to the left. Oh, yeah, she thought as she leveled out, they've got Chaser written all over them.

Kerry watched Victoria depart, then turned to Annie. "You're right," he said. "You both were. And that was a stupid thing for me to say. Kick me if I ever talk like that again, Pumpkin."

He took her hand and was going to kiss it, then said the hell with it and kissed her cheek. "Lets check out the tunnels and maybe head back to the tower for a bit. We got all weekend to look things over."