"You were in Slytherin? You're kidding!"
"What a Gryffindor-like thing to say, Charles"
Far from every Slytherin is a dark wizard or witch.
Some of them use their cunning to get cookies.
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IT WAS THREE DAYS UNTIL RIKIN WOULD LEAVE ROMANIA. Jessica decided to go sightseeing with him in Bucharest since they both had the majority of the day off. It wasn't too hard to apparate there from the sanctuary and the weather was really nice that day.
The two friends walked the streets of the Romanian capital at a slow pace, pointing out landmarks and sharing the knowledge they had about them. It was mainly Rikin who provided the facts. He usually did his homework on a place before going there. Some people found it irritating and thought he was always bragging about his extensive knowledge. Maybe he was bragging sometimes, but he didn't care much what people thought about it. He enjoyed getting to know a new culture anyway he could and Jess happily listened to his ramblings as he would get very excited when he learned something new himself.
After a little while, the two friends stopped in a square, sitting down at a bench to people watch and study the locals in their day to day routine. You could learn a lot about people that way. Humans, much like all creatures, were best to study in their natural habitat.
"It's around lunchtime - a lot of locals seems to enter that restaurant", Jess observed and nodded in the direction of a rather crowded place. "Must be good".
"We should try it later", Rikin suggested. "I'm not that hungry right now. Not for food anyways". Jess shoved him - a little harder than necessary. Rikin almost ended up on the ground, snickering from Jess' response.
"I don't need to know".
"How's Charlie?" Rikin asked out of the blue, wagging his right eyebrow suggestively.
"What are you on about? I'm not sure he's interested in you Rikin", Jess said and wished deeply that her friend would not ask any more questions related to the redheaded wizard.
"Unfortunately for me, his eyes are set on you, love", Rikin rubbed his shoulder a bit where Jess had pushed him earlier - laughing at Jess' uncomfortable looking frown.
Jess did enjoy the company of Charlie. He was easy to talk to, easy to learn from. He was an expert in his field and still highly passionate about it after almost twenty years at the same place. He made her laugh without even trying and at the same time he had a very calming presence that was comforting.
Jess thought back to her time together with Rover. She thought about how she had felt toward him in the beginning. It wasn't the same feelings she had toward Charlie.
Her feelings back then had been strange and exciting since it was the first time that they had surfaced in her life. She didn't feel any of those feelings toward Charlie. She felt something, but it was more like a strong sense of admiration for the man. Besides, she did not think he felt any more than comradery toward her. She was his junior in many regards after all.
She didn't have a problem with the age difference. Her father was twelve years older than her mother after all - but she honestly did not believe that Charlie would look at her as more than a friend and she didn't mind that at all.
"Give it a rest, will you?" Jess asked, a warning tone to her voice.
Rikin shook his head no. "I know that look, Jessica". Rikin turned serious for a moment, his whole face was humorless for once.
"You think I'm being ridiculous, but I think that he really likes you, Jessie. At first, it was just a shallow crush - he was attracted to you since the breakfast at the Rees' house", Rikin sounded sincere. "I thought it would go away, but every time I've seen you two share an interaction... his looks have become deeper in a sense".
"What do you mean by that?" Jess asked in confusion.
"I don't know how you are so blind to how men look at you, Jessica", Rikin sighed and leaned back against the backrest of the bench, crossing his legs.
Jessica was thankful that the conversation around the redhead died down after that and the two went to eat lunch at the restaurant that Jess pointed out earlier. Their conversations after that surrounded everything except for redheaded wizards.
The rest of their sightseeing was spent finding souvenirs for Rikin's younger siblings and his parents. Rikin managed to charm some of the vendors and cashiers to get a discount even though some of them only spoke very broken English and Rikin only knew a few phrases in Romanian.
"I can't believe you know more Romanian than me. I'm the one staying after all", Jess said as they turned a corner into a narrow and empty alleyway. Rikin shrunk all his purchased goods so they would all fit into his pockets before he took one of Jess' hands in his.
"You never know when you will run into a fit Romanian man", he winked at Jess and before she could retort she felt the familiar sensation of being pulled out through an impossibly small tube as Rikin side-alonged her. Being a bit caught off guard she lost her balance, not only for the sudden apparition but also for the fact that she had almost landed on top of someone.
Jess started to fall backward, but the wizard in front of her caught her by grabbing her upper arms. She inhaled sharply as she looked into the eyes of none other than Charlie Weasley.
She could feel his body heat even if his hands were the only thing touching her. His eyes were wide as he probably got just as startled as Jess.
Then she saw it. She saw what Rikin had said. Charlie's light blue eyes softened and Jess recognized the familiar gaze she was given. It was a tenderness, a longing in those wise eyes that she had seen before.
Charlie Weasley was looking at her the way Rover once did.
Shocked at the newfound revelation she took a step back, just as Rikin and a stranger with the same shade of red hair as Charlie started to laugh like madmen. They were even slapping their knees, pointing at Jess and Charlie as if they had just told the greatest joke of all time.
"Are you alright Jess?" Charlie asked, making her glance up at him.
"Yes, thank you", she answered shortly, avoiding looking him in the eyes.
"I'm just going to feed Rikin to the Ironbellies tonight!" She gave Rikin a pointed look as she raised her voice so that he would clearly hear her plans for him during their shift.
But Rikin Kobir was busy cackling away, supporting himself on the redheaded stranger with deep scars on the side of his face.
