✔️ 𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 → 𝑐.𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

03 | P R I M R O S E S

   "OI, LITTLE WANDERER! Got lost in the forest?"

   She kept hidden in the shadows, what had the fortune that he couldn't see her. On the other hand, she didn't properly see him as well. Only a bunch of flaming red hair seemed to glow in the semi-darkness surrounding them. He seemed tall. Maybe he would try to fight her. Anastasia almost hoped he would. She got pretty bored lately. There weren't many people left daring to enter this forest.

   The man seemed to be frozen. Anastasia's feet moved her forward, twigs cracking, leaves rustling under her feet, but still hidden in the shelter of the darkness — not that she needed such as shelter. It was him of the two of them who should be afraid; and she could feel he was.

   "Anastasia Voinescu, I assume?", he spoke, and somehow his voice surprised her. It was deep and firm, no trembling in his words, no uncertainty in his voice.

   "And who are you to assume such?" Sauntering in a wide circle around him, Anastasia tried to get a better view of the intruder. His silhouette was quite impressive. Tall and toned, muscular arms, strong shoulders, a straight nose, a masculine jawline. He must be a warrior, a fighter. Maybe an assassin? Did they sent him to murder her? She shook her head. No one would be that silly!

   "I'm Charlie Weasley", he replied, and Anastasia's eyes fell on the wand in his hand. "I am looking for you. Well, for Miss Voinescu of course, who I still assume is you."

   Miss Voinescu. She hadn't been called a miss what felt like in ages. They had many names for her. Creature. Monster. Murderer. Just to name the friendliest of those.

   "Let's pretend you're right, Charlie Weasley", she said, close to getting her first glimpse of his face, "tell me, do you always come to talk with your fist around your wand so tight I could almost see your bones shining through your skin?"

   To her surprise, he chuckled. "We're in the midst of a war, Miss. Nowadays no one should go anywhere without their wand glued to their grip. Also I must admit, this woods are kind of scary even without all those stories I heard about it."

   Anastasia stepped out of the shadows, her head tilted, as she examined the young man in front of her. A freckled face, brown eyes like molten caramel. His red hair was wavy, almost curly, not that long, but framing his face down over his ears. He was a strange thing to look at; innocent on the one hand, seeming soft and kind, but in this molten caramel there was a fire burning, and his crooked grin revealed a little scar on his bottom lip, having him look kinda rebellious.

  "You know that those stories are true?", she asked, keeping her voice dangerously low.

   "I must admit I had the hope they weren't", he replied, sounding less impressed than he should be. "Still you haven't confirmed to me if you are who I'm looking for."

   "Must be your lucky day", she snarled, sarcasm swinging in her voice. "Say, Charlie Weasley, what do you want from me? And let me tell you that usually my visitors hardly get the chance to speak up to me."

   "How come you allow me to?", he asked, lifting an firey red eyebrow as well as one corner of his mouth.

   "You kinda owe this to my boredom. So now, Charlie Weasley, use your chance before I change my mind."

   Charlie let his gaze wander over the shadows beneath the trees, before he looked back at Ana. "I would prefer to not speak about this in the middle of the forest. This is for your ears, and for yours only. Maybe there's a place that'll grant us a bit more privacy?"

   Ana couldn't surpress a laughter. "Believe me, no one but you is silly enough to enter this forest, not even with the brightest daylight shining from the sky." Grinning, she noticed his smile flickering, as he recognised that there was no one to save him but himself or her mercy. "But as you wish, Charlie Weasley. My home is not far from here. Don't trip."

 •✧• 

   "Tell me about you, Charlie Weasley", she suddenly asked after ten minutes of silence. When she'd said 'not far from here', Charlie had hoped for a five minute walk. But now after double as much time had passed, he didn't dare to hope to arrive anytime soon any further.

   "What do you want to know?", he calmy replied, while his heart was still racing. She turned to him with the smile of a devil, once more having him recognise that she was extraordinarily beautiful. A porcelain skin, flawless, framed by long, strawberry blonde hair. Her eyes were dark and mysterious, as her whole personality, her body was the one of a warrior, firm, wiry, perfect. At was difficult to not admire her.

   "Whatever you want", she laughed. "I don't talk to people that often. Their presence is exhausting."

   "Seems like we have something in common, Miss Voinescu", he replied, smiling. "I prefer the presence of dragons most of the time."

   "Dragons, you say?", she replied, her accent ringing like a melody in his ear. "So you indeed are a brave man, Charlie Weasley? Are you one of those dragon people in the south of Transilvania?"

   "You heard about us?"

   "Dragons are fascinating creatures", she said. "When I went to Durmstrang, we once had a practical lesson with a dragon. Cute little guy. Three of your people had brought him to our grounds, and of course attempted that class for security measures. I always dreamt of a job like yours long ago, before —"

   She suddenly stopped speaking, shaking her head. For a second she looked startled, as if she had been close to say something she shouldn't. Now she had fallen silent, uncomfortably silent, until, "Here we are, Charlie Weasley." And she shoved herself through the branches of a fir tree, Charlie right behind her, finding himself on a glade of the forest, flowers blooming on a wide meadow, and in the middle stood a tiny wooden cabin, looking like something Charlie only knew from the fairytales his mother used to tell him, when he had been a child. She exited the shadows, stepping into the sunlight, crossing the grassland to get to her hut. "Don't step on the primroses, Charlie Weasley!"

 •✧•