Enchanted by freckles - Garreth Weasley & Sebastian Sallow x female MC

35th chapter

If my parents were still alive, I wanted to meet them. I wanted to know what sort of people they are.

"I don't really have a clue. Since you first came here in the fall, I've been thinking about where she might be. There are several places I've considered. At first I thought she might have gone to America. But I suspect, and that's a really vague guess, that she roams around England from time to time to see if you're all right.

So I'm assuming she stayed in Europe because of the Floo powder system. I think France and the British Isles can be ruled out. That would be too close. Fayette always wanted a home away from human civilization. Therefore, I suspect that Scandinavia is the most likely option. But that's really just a very rough assumption. And it's still too much area to look for them on site." Adaliz spoke and looked at the ground.

"Do you know where exactly the Lewis family lived?" Garreth asked. "Yes, in Inverness, but why do you ask? They were killed."

"Yes, but maybe we'll find a lead. And Inverness is easy to get to from Hogwarts. When we get back there we can start investigating. Maybe there are neighbors who knew her, or her house is still empty, like Marlee's. You've got to start looking somewhere." Garreth said calmly.

"But please promise me, if you have any information, let me know. I would like to accompany you. I may not be the youngest anymore, but I'm a good duelist. And besides, I really want to see Fayette again. Wait a minute, I'll prepare something. Wait a second.", Adaliz said and stood up. She took a piece of wood from the fireplace and cut out three small discs of wood with her wand. Then she closed her eyes and enchanted the stone plates.

She gave each of us one. "Keep me informed. If one disc changes, the others change too. So you can write information on it and it will appear on the other discs. But please don't tell Gawain about it. He wants me leave the past behind. But I can't. Not when it comes to Fayette."

We both nodded to her. She told us some other lovely stories about Fayette and Edvin. When she told us that Edvin was the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Garreth burst out laughing and told Adaliz how I regularly hurt myself when I tried. She told us how she and Gawain found to each other at Hogwarts and by the time of her exams she was already pregnant.

We sat together for a while and drank coffee. My head was still full and I was struggling to process everything, but Adaliz's stories really interested me. The thought occurred to me that it was probably a good thing that I never asked Marlee about my parents. How could she have conveyed all this to me believably? Surely I would have thought she was just saying that to not make me sad.

I also told Adaliz about my ability and what we've been able to find out about it so far. I asked her if she had heard the same thing from my mother, but she denied it. But she promised to research this magic in French history books.

It was all so unbelievable. I finally had information about my parents. We even had a lead that we could follow. If I never find them or find out that they are dead, at least I know that they left me with Marlee out of love.

Chaos reigned in my head. I experienced all feelings at once. I could feel Garreth's warm hand on mine. He tried to reassure me. He gently rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand.It was long after dark when there was a knock at the door. We overheard Garreth's father asking Adaliz if she had seen us.

Mr. Weasley walked in and scolded us for just disappearing all afternoon without saying anything to anyone. Adaliz tried to defend us and took all the blame. We said our goodbyes to Adaliz for now and trotted after his father to the Weasleys' mansion.

"Why is your family called Weasley anyway? That sounds so English and not at all French?" I asked curiously.

Garreth's father turned around, "The family is originally from England, then moved to France many centuries ago and with my father they started to settle in England again. That's what my grandfather told me a long time ago when I asked him the same thing," he laughed.

When we came back, all of the close relatives bitched at us because our absence had been noticed and Jennie in particular was worried that something had happened to us.

In the days that followed, I thought a lot about Adaliz's stories. Slowly, my thoughts cleared up and the chaos in my head calmed down.

Christmas day had arrived and it was already dark. In the morning I was very irritated that the gifts hadn't been distributed yet, whereupon Garreth told me that in his family gifts were always given right before the big feast because it was so more personal.

During the last few days I helped as much as I could with all the preparations for the big Christmas dinner. I've heard everyone rave about it over the past few days. Garreth, and especially the younger ones, were getting more nervous by the day.

When all the preparations were made, Garreth and I went to our room. We all wanted to be extra well dressed that night. Garreth enchanted our clothes again, as he did on our first visit to Paris together. He proudly handed me my dress and I immediately put it on. It was beautiful, quite snug but not constricting. "You look beautiful," he said in amazement as I looked at myself in the mirror.

It was long and forest green with golden embroidery. Garreth himself was dressed in a white shirt with a gold tie. Over his shirt he pulled a vest that was also forest green. We looked perfect together. Garreth gathered my hair and put it in a bun, embellishing it with a beautiful gold clasp.

The day before, Prof. Weasley had lent us all enchanted bags to put our presents in. So we both grabbed our bags and walked hand in hand towards the hall.

It looked gorgeous. The walls were covered with huge dark red cloths, from the ceiling it looked like it was snowing, but the room didn't get wet. The fireplace was burning and gave me a cozy, warm feeling. Countless candles floated around the room, illuminating the decorated tables. Garreth and I took the same seats as we had for the past few days.

When everyone was seated, Viviane knocked on her glass again and began the gift giving. Immediately the children got their presents first. Afterwards, Garreth got his gifts from all of us. His parents had invested a lot of money in a Muggle photo camera, which Garreth was very happy about and immediately took some photos of us.

I reached into my pouch and pulled out my gift for Garreth. It was a self-stirring cauldron. He has been raving about it for a long time and so I saved a little money to be able to fulfill his wish.His eyes brightened and he kissed me lovingly.

Adaliz then tapped me on the shoulder and handed Garreth and me their presents. She had bought a 15th century potions book for Garreth and gave me an exact copy of my mother's picture, which she had made especially for me over the last few days. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.

Adaliz walked back over to Gawain and Mrs. and Mr. Weasley smiled at me.

"Caelie, we have a present for you too," Mrs. Weasley said, handing me a very small package. I unwrapped it and started to cry. I recognized it straight away. It was the key to Marlee's house. "Marlee left it to you. We've been keeping it in good condition for the last few years so that it looks just like you know it. You'll be finishing school next year. So furnish it if you want and then you'll have your own house." , Mr. Weasley said, looking at Garreth and me. I ran around the table and hugged them both while weeping. Garreth walked slowly after me and gently rubbed my back while thanking me too. I heard his voice tremble slightly.

We went back to our seats and the giving of presents continued. Professor Weasley sat next to me and handed me a small package as well. "Garreth said you might need glasses. These adjust to your eyes. They should always give you perfect vision. And you can use the altering spell to adjust the optics. If you need help with that, we can practice together after the holidays.", she smiled at me kindly. I immediately put on the gold glasses and looked around.

Indeed. Everything was sharper than before. Especially when I looked at my hands, I noticed a definite difference. That's probably really why I was never able to catch the Quaffle."Wow, I didn't know that was possible, but you look even prettier with those glasses on!" Garreth said, blushing a little while smiling at me.

Now the others continued to give each other presents while I was still trying to calm down. I was so overwhelmed by the present from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Now I understood why nobody bought the house or demolished it. It belonged to me.

After a while the busy unpacking stopped.

Suddenly, Garreth stood up and pushed his chair aside. Trembling, he slowly took the last package out of his pouch, looked at it again, and handed it to me.

Because of all the crying, I had completely forgotten that Garreth hadn't given me my promised gift yet. It was also quite a small package. I peeled off the beautiful paper as Garreth took the small black box inside from me. I looked at him in surprise, but he just smiled while his cheeks turned redder and redder. He rolled up his sleeves and breathed in deeply.

He knelt in front of me on the floor and opened the box. Inside was a beautiful gold ring with a large red gemstone. I stared at him wide-eyed as he smiled and began to speak in a trembling voice:

"Caelie, ever since we were both sent to Gryffindor at the selection ceremony at Hogwarts, sitting side by side in the Great Hall and speaking for the first time, you have been on my mind.We quickly became friends and I realized that your character was just as wonderful as your looks.

You were always ready to help me with my silly pranks or just sit with me in the astronomy tower or at home on the roof and look at the stars. Or talking about anything and everything on the sofa in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. No matter what, you were by my side.

We've spent almost every day together for the last few years and I can't imagine life without you anymore. We're more than a couple. You are my best friend, my most important companion and so much more. No word can even come close to describing how I feel about you.

You know I would do anything for you and give anything for you. You are the woman that I want to raise redhaired children with and grow old with. You are the woman I want by my side for the rest of my life.

I know we're young, but we've known each other so long and so well that it just feels right to take the next step together once we're done with school.

You made me feel like I was special and not just another Weasley. You have given me a purpose in life and a reason to want to achieve something. You made me a better person and I am infinitely grateful for that.

You're the center of my world. The cauldron for my potion. You are the sun, which gives me new light and warmth every day. Without you I'm not complete.

I love you with all my heart and I know that nothing and nobody will change that. I told you a while ago that I want to make you my Mrs. Weasley after we graduate in a year and a half, so I want to ask you officially now.

Caelie Lewis, will you marry me?" he asked, smiling as a few tears trickled down his flushed cheeks.