the witch next door [zarry] ✔️

vi

"He's gonna teach me magic, isn't that so cool?" Safaa asks, hopping along in front of him, randomly avoiding the puddles and sometimes jumping into them with gusto. 

She looks slightly ridiculous in her sparkly pink wellies and a summer dress, but Zain guesses she has to start practising if she really wants to be a witch. At least if Harry's sense of style was representative. 

"Very," Zain says, stuffing his hands in his pockets and hoping this wouldn't turn out to be a disaster. Mum would not be amused, but she also wouldn't be amused if Zain kept staying in the debt of a witch. And maybe Safaa would find being a witch to be utterly boring and change her mind about it.

"Are you really gonna cut his wood for him? You hate doing that, you always try and get Wali to do it instead."

"He found you," Zain says. "I'm in his debt. You know what happens if you're indebted to a witch."

"I guess," Safaa says, frowning. "But he seems nice. He won't give you boils or turn you into a frog or something."

"You don't know that," Zain says, doubtful. "And anyways, it's still nice to repay him. And cutting wood is not the worst thing in the world."

"But close, right," Safaa grins mischievously. 

"Right, you imp," Zain grins, catching up to her and grabbing her around the waist, swinging her around.

"Let me go!" Safaa laughs, kicking her legs and running away as soon as he sets her down. Zain gives chase, running after her and getting close from time to time to sickle her sides, making her squeak and twist away. 

He catches her just in front of the witch's cottage, hugging her as they stumble into the garden. She's still giggling when the door opens and the witch comes out, his hair standing up in a little tuff on top of his head and the most dressed down Zain has ever seen him, only an oversized hoodie and some jogging bottoms, his feet bare. It's hugely unfair that Zain still wants to kiss him very badly, and do a lot more beside.

"Hey," the witch smiles, pushing his sleeves up his arms. "You came. I like your boots Safaa."

"Me too," Safaa answers with her boundless confidence. "Are you really gonna teach me spells?"

"We'll see," Harry says, smiling down at her, stepping to the side to let her inside. "The wood is behind the house," he tells Zain. "Come knocking if you need anything."

"Sure," Zain says, stunned, and trying to look past him into the house. 

"Safaa is going to be fine," Harry says, easing something in Zain. He could be lying of course, of bewitching Zain to trust him, but Zain can't bring himself to be suspicious of him. He's usually good at trusting his instinct, and nothing about Harry's presence raises any alarms. In fact, it settled him, despite the way he lost his brain a bit at the same time. 

"Go on," Harry says gently, his hand reaching towards Zain before falling back to his side. "It's gonna rain soon. And come inside once you're done. I baked."

"I- sure," Zain says, feeling dumb, his eyes lingering on Harry for a moment too long before he can turn away. 

🌿

"It's raining," the witch says, turning up at Zain's side suddenly, startling Zain slightly. "Why didn't you come inside?"

"Almost done," Zain shrugs. The witch's umbrella has the worst floral pattern Zain has ever seen, still, he'd be more surprised if Harry's umbrella had been a plain colour, or even one of these rather conventional rainbow coloured ones. 

"You'll catch a cold," Harry says, "come inside."

"I'll be right in," Zain says because he's almost done and he's not gonna leave his task unfinished. He can be as stubborn as Safaa if he wants to be, and there was no way he'd get back to cutting wood another time, not if he could help it. "It's not much left."

"Well," the witch says slowly. "I'll have Safaa practise an immune boosting potion then. Don't take too long," he adds firmly before walking back towards the cottage.

Zain watches him go, still in the same clothes with boots on his feet that didn't exactly look like they were made for mud and rain. Shivering, he turns back to the wood. He had been fine while he'd been working, but now that he's stopped, even for just a moment, he is feeling the chill. The way his clothes stick to him is deeply unpleasant as well, and he pulls a grimace, putting the next piece of wood on the block and raising his ax.

He was right about it not taking long, but he's shivering when he finishes, pushing his hair off his forehead as he rushes around the house, slipping slightly on the wet grass. 

"Zain!" Safaa exclaims when she pulls open the door. "I made a potion! Here, try this!"

She presses a steaming mug into his hand before he's even across the threshold, bouncing slightly in excitement, vibrating. In the low light of Harry's cottage, the flickering of candles and firelight and the electric fairy lights he's put up everywhere, she almost seems to glow. 

The potion tastes like herbal tea more than anything. Perhaps Harry had only been trying to get her involved. Still, it is warming after the chill that's settling into his bones and he hums appreciatively and only partly to appease her.

"Safaa, he's soaked, let him inside," the witch chides gently, wrapping a towel around Zain and pulling him inside, closing the door. "I put some clothes in the bathroom," he adds to Zain. "That door down there, can't miss it. Any maybe take a quick shower."

"Okay," Zain says, letting himself be turned in the right direction. Somehow, the thought of the witch having a bathroom is the most baffling thing of all, like perhaps Zain's imagination had thought he only bathed in the river like Mrs Jenkins had talked about. Zain licks his lips and shakes his head slightly against the thought, wondering if witches could read thoughts. He hopes not, because he's not going to survive if they do. He'd definitely end up a frog then, or worse.

🌿

The cat is staring at him when he pulls the shower curtain back, hissing slightly when it catches sight of Zain.

"Your witch told me to," Zain defends himself before his mouth can catch up with his brain. He shakes his head at himself, grabbing the towel without looking away from the cat. It's a weird, drying himself and getting dressed with the cat watching him, almost unblinkingly. Zain can't bring himself to look away either, slightly freaked out.

"Better?" the witch smiles when Zain gets back to where Safaa and Harry are sitting around a low table, Safaa frowning at at book. 

"Your cat is watching me," Zain blurts instead of thanking the witch, like he definitely should.

"He does that," Harry shrugs, getting up. 

Zain keeps his eyes on his face, not looking at his legs unfold. "I left my clothes over the tub," he says. "Do you have a bag or something?"

"I'll just put them in the wash," the witch says. "You can pick them up the next time you bring Safaa."

"I-," Zain says, taking the mug Harry presses into his hand. "Are you holding them hostage?"

Harry laughs, his cheeks dimpling and his eyes crinkling. Zain's belly flutters. "No," he says. "Drink the potion Safaa made you. It'll help. And sit down, Safaa and I aren't done for today. You can have cake while you wait. It's in the kitchen."

"I- ok," Zain says, feeling slightly lost.

Harry smiles at him before sitting back down with Safaa and seemingly forgetting about him completely. Zain watches them for a moment, the way Safaa frowns in concentration and Harry's fingers point tap the book in front of her, his rings glinting in the lights of the room, not sure how he got here but definitely not regretting it yet.