Too Honest ~ James Potter

Chapter 45

The next five weeks of Mariya's life seemed to take an age to pass. As nice as it was spending time in a country she knew almost as well as England - having had the good fortune to be placed in Spain - she missed her friends and family, especially James. Though the two had been exchanging letters every day or two, it was not the same as being in each other's presence most of the time in the way they had become so used to. Mariya was thoroughly looking forward to getting back and seeing him, she missed the sound of his laugh and the way he towered over her.

On the upside, Mariya had become good friends with Valeria, who it turned out was actually from a town not far from where they were working - though her parents lived in Scotland. Both Mariya and Valeria had become very useful tools for the rest of their group as - though almost all of the students had a basic grasp on Spanish - they were the only two who spoke the language fluently, aside from Señor Garcia Hernandez who was not really meant to help them. This meant that they got the best experience from the trip as they were able to converse more easily with the officials and were not fooled by any strange wording of clauses which might have tricked anyone less fluent in the language.

On the final day of their time in Spain, they were allowed free rein to make their way to the market nearby or hang around the Ministerio de Magica if they wanted. Valeria pointed out that they would probably be needed to help the others around the stalls in the town and she herself hoped to find a souvenir to take home from the trip.

They therefore found themselves in a busy market-place surrounded by people and suffering less than their companions from the warmer climate. Mariya's hair fell loosely around her shoulders and her white top was designed to provide a good airflow as she made her way around the square. There were all sorts of goods on offer: newly picked fruits and vegetables fresher than any you could find in Britain; bolts of fabric and balls of wool and thread lining various tables and often trailing across the ground as well; the tantalising scent of cured meats and seafood drifted towards her from all directions.

The stall which really drew Mariya in however was kept by a woman with curling brown hair and bright green eyes, her table was covered with tiny cases and boxes each holding sparking items of jewellery. Mariya looked most of them before coming across something which made her pause - a bright silver with little Celtic knots. Each knot contained a glittering purple precious stone and they led to the centre where a silver dragon reared its mighty head. Picking up the ring in its box, Mariya held it out to the woman and pulled out her bag.

"¿Cuánto cuesta? (How much does it cost?)" She asked.

Mariya had forgotten how much she hated Portkeys, they had travelled to Spain by apparition but they hadn't been granted permission to travel back in such fashion and so were using the rather more uncomfortable method of teleportation.

Once she recovered from the feeling of being tossed around like a ragdoll, Mariya looked around the atrium and was surprised to find that they were the first group to return. Having been debriefed shortly that morning after their return from the market, they did not have to stick around any longer and so most of the adults picked up their bags, wished farewell to those they had become well acquainted with during their time together, and began walking towards the fireplaces or the lift to the Muggle world. Mariya walked over to one of the great marble pillars which held up the ceiling, and flopped down onto the ground beneath it. She let her head fall back against the stone and closed her eyes in the knowledge that she probably wouldn't have long to wait.

Sure enough, only a few minutes later she heard a whooshing sound closely followed by the sound of groaning young adults and opened her eyes only to see her mother's group in front of her. Pulling herself up from the floor, she quickly spotted James on the close side of the group and left her bags lying on the floor as she began to stride towards him. He noticed her fairly quickly and started to walk towards her too, sweeping her up into his arms and spinning around on the spot.