❝ MERLIN'S GHOST! ❞
❝ I MEAN, YOU'RE NOT WRONG. ❞
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Albany Bronwen was no Chosen One by any means, but being haunted by the ghosts of the greatest sorcerer of all time and a former king had to count for something, right?
❃ in which a lone...
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THE BUZZ OF THE YULE BALL took several days to fully calm down, but Albany's good mood never faded with it. She was sleeping better than she had all year, and the smile on her face felt permanently ingrained; not that she was complaining. Her spirits were soaring, and she was closer to George than she'd ever been. Part of her wanted to keep an eye on him, innerly paranoid that he'd suddenly turn around and go back to how he'd been under the control of old magic — but then again, she thought, sitting so close to George in the Great Hall that their sides were pressed together, maybe that was just an excuse.
It was late in the morning, though the crowd was still sparse. Many students were taking full advantage of the holidays to sleep in as long as they could, and while Albany was usually among them, she had good company to look forward to spending quiet mornings with. Carly and Fred sat opposite them, conversing casually in soft voices over breakfast.
Albany was hunched over a short length of parchment, twirling the necklace George had gifted her with her left hand while her right fiddled with a sugar quill. She had intended on writing back to Charlie Weasley far earlier than late December, but had never properly gotten around to it. He had sent her a letter almost immediately after the first task, gushing over her talent with dragons and insisting she visit the sanctuary in Romania. Albany wasn't sure she had the time to make such a trip this year, but she figured Charlie deserved a response regardless.
Charlie,
Sorry for the late reply, it's been really busy here recently. I'm not sure if I'll be able to answer all of your questions, because there was a lot, but I'll do my best. Also, thank you for your offer to visit you in Romania — I would love to, and I'll let you know when I'm available, though it mightn't be for a while.
That was as far as she had gotten. Answering his questions was the problem; she had to come up with an excuse that actually made sense without outright stating that she was a dragonlord. Merlin hadn't said she couldn't tell people, but if she was really the only one left, her gut told her it was something better kept to herself.
She sighed, letting her head fall onto the table with a light thunk. George paused his sketching to glance sideways at her in amusement; he had been quietly writing into the notebook Albany had gifted him.
"Who're you writing to?" he asked curiously.
"Your brother."
"Wow, that really narrowed it down, Al—"
She sat up and elbowed him playfully. "Charlie," she clarified.
Fred glanced up from his conversation with Carly. "What are you writing to Charlie about?" he asked, and then paused, actually thinking about it. "Wait, nevermind — let me guess—"
