Potions and Parchment Match

Kingsley sat at a small table outside a café in Tangier. He had sent an owl to Endora Zambini requesting a meeting and she had asked him to meet her here. Apparently she was vacationing in Morocco and did not want to return to London until the wedding. He glanced down at his watch, saw that she was already five minutes late and picked up his mint tea for a sip.

He had originally though to refuse her request to meet here but quickly changed his mind. He knew how contrary she could be and he didn’t want her to refuse outright another request for a meeting. He needed to get to the bottom of Blaise’s parentage. He had thought to demand that Blaise take a paternity test but thought better of it. If his suspicions were correct and the young man was his son he didn’t want to start out on the wrong foot with him. He was reasonably sure that he fathered the kid, especially when he noted what his middle name was, but he needed to hear it from Endora.

He had know idea why she would have kept a secret of this magnitude for so long, but he thought he would wait and reserve judgment until he heard what she had to say. At this point not much was going to change the fact, but he needed to hear it from her. At one point in his life he had been very much in love with the young women that she had been. She had been funny and charming, witty and so beautiful that looking at her made his blood boil. He had wanted to marry her more than anything else but in the end he had walked away. He knew he couldn’t be happy with a woman who wanted to control him. He wanted his life partner to be his equal, and she would never be happy in that position.

He looked around at the crowded streets and listened to the music that played. It was the annual Tanjazz festival, which is what had brought Endora here in the first place. Kingsley tapped his foot to the lively music and leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. He was loosing his patience with her. The one thing that Kingsley hated the most was inactivity and the forced break at the table was making him edgy. He glanced down at his watch again and scowled when he saw that she was now ten minutes late.

He again looked around and smiled appreciatively when he caught the aroma of fresh baked bread and the spicy scent of saffron and ginger. He felt his stomach rumble and decided that while he was there he might as well eat. He signaled a waiter and asked for the daily special. A few minutes later a bowl of steaming mrouzia and a plate with fresh baked bread was set before him. Kingsley inhaled the rich aroma of the lamb, raisins, and almonds. He took a bite and closed his eyes savoring the rich spicy flavor.

“I see you still enjoy your food,” a cultured voice laced with amusement said. “Couldn’t you have waited for me to order?”

Kingsley opened his eyes and looked up into the still beautiful face of his first love. “I would have waited if you hadn’t already been over fifteen minutes late, Endora,” he drawled.

“A gentleman always waits for a lady, Kingsley,” she replied.

“Well then, there shouldn’t be a problem then, as I am no gentleman, and you are definitely no lady.” He dipped his bread into his bowl and scooped another bite into his mouth.

She gasped and glared at him. “Did you ask me here to insult me? After all this time that is what you want from me?” she demanded. She sat down in the chair across from him and signaled the waiter. “I shall have ‘Asseer Rumman and the Pastilla.”

“I see that your choice in food remains the same,” he said setting his fork down.

“I have my favorites,” she pouted. She looked closely at him studying his face. “The years have been hard on you, Kingsley. You are starting to show your age.”

Kingsley smiled. This was the Endora that he remembered. “And they have been especially kind to you. Unless of course, that is glamour that covers your flawless skin?”

Endora gasped and glared, and then laughed softly. “Same old Kingsley,” she said reaching out and patting his hand. “How have you been? Do you enjoy your job in the Ministry?”

“Most days, I love my job. Every once in a while I don’t. I guess that is the same with most jobs. I am content.”

“Of course you are. You have a very powerful position, who would not enjoy that.”

“Endora, it is not the power that I crave. You never understood that about me. For me, it’s about being able to make a difference, to help those who need an extra hand once in awhile. I enjoy being able to use my position to make changes for the greater good.”

“Still a bleeding heart, I see,” she said not unkindly.

“My heart does not bleed, it endures.”

“Ah, ever the poet as well,” she said smiling as her meal was set down in front of her. She inhaled the tangy aroma of the pie like meal. “This is my very favorite. I only order it when I come here so that I will always appreciate it.” Taking a bite, she moaned in enjoyment as the flavors burst through her mouth. “Delicious,” she said daintily wiping her mouth on her napkin. “Now, Kingsley, why are you here? What is it that you want?”

“My son, I want to know why you have hidden him from me for all of these years, Endora.”


“Are you hiding from me?”

Ron twirled around and looked straight into the brown eyes of his fiancé. He had been creeping around a corner trying to avoid her and she had snuck up behind him. He stood up tall and frowned. “Why would I be trying to hide from you?” he demanded belligerently.

“I have been trying for the past couple of days to speak with you, but every time you see me coming you run in the opposite direction.”

“Your blarmey, witch! I haven’t ran from you,” he said indignantly. Walked fast, perhaps, but definitely not ran.

“Ron, I don’t like this any better than you do, but we really need to discuss our wedding.” Millicent looked at his bright red hair and the spattering of freckles across his cheeks and nose and tried not to sneer in disgust. It was her rotten luck to be pair with a Weasley, and the worse one of them all. At least if she had gotten one of the twins she could have looked forward to a little entertainment in her life. Now all she had to look forward to was an idiot incapable of any type of conversation and children with bright red hair. The thought of having sex with him made her shiver in disgust.

“Harry told me it was going to be a double wedding. What do you need me for?”

“Nothing,” she muttered to herself. “Are you telling me to just plan it and then you’ll show up?”

Ron shrugged. He didn’t want to show up, but he didn’t want to loose his wand either. “Works for me. Listen, uh, Millicent,” he started.

“Do not call me by the ghastly name! My name is Millie!” she seethed.

“Alright, Millie, there might be a way to get around this you know.”

Millie perked up. “How is that?” she demanded. If she could not marry Ron Weasley she would be one happy witch.

“Well, we’d still have to get married an all, but we could live on our own. You could do your thing, and I’d do mine. We’d never have to see each other again,” he explained happily.

“Have you actually read the marriage law?” Millie asked in disgust. She should have known he couldn’t come up with anything on his own.

“Uh, well no, but its still a good plan wouldn’t you say?”

“The marriage decree states that we need to marry within sixty days and then have twenty-four hours to consummate the marriage. We are also required to live together for a period of five years. At the end of that time if there are no children born and we have a signed affidavit from a medi-witch stating that we are incapable of having children we can petition for a divorce.”

“What?” he demanded in shock.

“Exactly! We have to live together, and we have to have sex! I do not plan on loosing my wand you imbecile, nor do I plan to spend my life without having children, so if I have to tie you to the bed and molest you every night of the week until I am pregnant, then so be it!” she shouted and stormed away.

Ron looked at her retreating back with new interest. He kind of liked the idea of being tied to the bed and molested. He watched as her hips gently swayed under her robes and wondered how big her breasts were. If he closed his eyes and didn’t look at her face he might be all right. Perhaps he could talk her into some Muggle handcuffs as well. He whistled happily to himself as he continued walking towards his transfiguration class.

Neville had spent two days trying to get Romilda alone and finally just decided that it wasn’t going to happen. She had spent the time going from glaring daggers at him and breaking down in tears in the arms of her friends. He shook his head in disgust. Witches were more trouble than they were worth. Sure, sex was all right, it beat wanking in the shower or under his blankets at night, but he wondered if it was worth everything else that came with it. He remembered Ginny’s warm lips wrapped around his throbbing cock and grinned. He thought about how she would relax her throat muscles and he would pound away deep into her hot mouth and how it would feel when he would shoot his loud down her throat and she would lick off the last drops of his thick cum from his weeping head. Neville felt himself growing and quickly shook that idea away.

He set his book down on the table in the common room and walked up to the now sobbing witch. “If you’re done sobbing, I’d like a word,” he said.

“What?” she demanded. “How dare you talk to me that way, Neville Longbottom!”

Neville rolled his eyes. “A word, please?” he said stressing the please.

Romilda sniffed and nodded her head. “But my friends will need to come,” she said indicating the two witches next to her.

Neville shook his head. “In private,” he told her.

“If you can’t speak to me in front of my friends, then you can’t speak to me at all!” she shouted and turned her back.

“Fine, Romilda, but when your wand is confiscated for not complying with the Ministry decree, don’t come crying to me,” he said turning and walking away.

She spun around open mouth and stared at his retreating back. She was shocked that Neville Longbottom would give him an ultimatum like that. She glanced for a second at her friends and then quickly ran after him. “Neville, wait!”

Neville stopped and looked at her. “Ready to talk now, then?”

“You don’t have to be so mean!” she hissed.

“I am not being mean, I am being honest. I am sorry that you are having a hard time with this, but its not like I had any choice in the matter either. You are the last witch I would have chosen for my bride, and I would just like to try and make the best of this situation.”

“How dare you! Its not like you are any great prize either, Neville!”

“Oh, I am well aware of that, Romilda. I am quiet and shy, really rather boring. I find myself at home in the Herbology lab and I am not interested in socializing. I am awkward and not the best dresser in the world, however, I am loyal and honest to a fault. I would give my last galleon to help someone who I consider a friend, and I would defend them with my dying breath. You are not marrying a prince charming, but I will treat you well, and do my best to make sure you are content with your life. I believe that we need to set some ground rules, however.”

Romilda walked towards the door out of the common room. “Then I suppose we should do it in private,” she said, suddenly aware that the entire room was listening to them.

Neville followed her out of the room. “Would you care to walk with me to the green house? I need to check on the mandrakes.”

“If I must,” she said in her long-suffering voice.

“You can do whatever you choose to do, Romilda. I do not plan to boss you around and control your life. I also will not allow you to do the same to me. This marriage will be an equal partnership between the two of us. I won’t be told what to do by my wife. If there is one thing that I will have from you, it is your respect.”

“You can’t order someone to respect you, Neville. Respect must be earned!”

“Exactly. I will earn yours by treating you with kindness and respect, and you will earn mine by doing the same. We will not fight in public. We will not scream and yell at each other ever. We will not call each other names or throw insults in anger. We will talk rationally and calmly when we have a problem, and we will come to a mutual decision regarding the situation. We will talk to each other regarding any major decision that needs to be made and we will come to an agreement together. We will learn to compromise and be understanding of each other’s feelings. We will not always agree on everything, but if we calmly and rationally discuss our feelings, then we will come to a mutually beneficial decision and it will be a win win situation for both of us.”

“I really don’t think that this is possible, Neville,” she said folding her arms across her chest and stomping her foot.

Neville held out his hand to her.

“What?” she demanded.

“You might as well give me your wand then, because I refuse to marry anyone not willing to agree to those terms. I’ll turn your wand in to the Ministry at the same time as I turn in mine. I would rather live without magic than live in a battle zone. I had enough of war’s to last me the rest of my life. I have more than enough money and a nice manor to spend my days, I don’t need my wand,” he said bluffing. He hoped that she wouldn’t call him on it because he really didn’t want to loose his wand.

“What?” she shrieked.

“You say that a lot. Are you confused?” he asked feigning concern.

“You can’t do that! We have to marry! I don’t wan to loose my wand!”

“The only way that I will marry you is if you agree to the terms that I just set out.”

“Fine!” she said stomping her foot again.

“Swear a Wizard’s oath then,” he said pulling out his wand.

“What? No! My word is good enough!”

Neville sighed and shook his head. “I’m afraid that I do not know you well enough to take your word. It’s a wizard’s oath or there will be no marriage.”

Romilda was shocked. She had never realized that Neville had a backbone. She had figured that he would be wimp, someone she would walk all over and order about. She had figured that she would do her own thing living the life as a pureblood’s wife and shopping all day. She knew that the Longbottom family was loaded. She had envisioned dragging him from shop to shop making him carrying her packages and bossing him around. She sighed in defeat. She never got what she wanted.

“I swear my oath as a witch,” she said holding up her wand and reciting all of the things that Neville had demanded.

He held up his wand and said, “I swear my oath as a Wizard,” and repeated the same words back. The red magical light burst out of both of their wands and surrounded them briefly before disappearing. “It’s done.”

“Now what?” she asked.

“Now we pick a date,” he said in resignation.

“How about January twenty-eight?”

“That’s cutting it a bit close,” he said.

“We have until January thirty-first.”

“Fine. Would you like my help in planning?”

Romilda was shocked. “You actually want to help?”

“Sure. I wouldn’t want to burden you with all of the work. I would like to arrange the flowers myself. What is your favorite color?”

“I like red.”

“There are several very nice red flowers,” Neville said with a smile as he categorized them in his mind.

“Harry,”

He looked up and smiled. “Hi, Luna.”

“Harry,” she smiled.

“Would you like to sit?” he asked as she gently swayed back in forth in front of him. He was used to some of her idiosyncrasies.

“Sure.” She sat down and smiled at him dreamily.

“How are you today?”

“I was trying to find my shoes. They have gone missing again,” she said smiling.

“Need some help?” he offered.

“No. They’ll find me when they are ready.”

He smiled at her. He had heard from Ginny that she was engaged to George and wondered how that was going to work out. Their families were neighbors and it would be convenient for them all to get together, but Harry wondered what George and Luna would think of each other. As far as he knew they had barely said a handful of words to each other over the years. The twins had been three years ahead of Luna in school.

“So I hear you are going to marry George Weasley,” he said for lack of anything better.

“Oh yes,” she said smiling. “Daddy is giving us his house. He has decided that he is going to live the rest of his life with the snarkmorphins. He said that they are much more hospitable than Wizards. He didn’t have a good time during the war.”

Harry snorted. He couldn’t think of a single person who did. “I see. So when is the big day?”

“Oh I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him yet.”

Harry was surprised. “You found out three days ago that you were going to marry and you haven’t talked?”

“He sent me a few owl’s, but I haven’t decided what color robes I should wear to the wedding yet, so I am waiting to answer until I decide.”

“Luna, don’t you think that is something that you can decide after you meet your groom?”

“I have already met him, silly. I just haven’t spoke to him.”

“Have you ever spoken to him before?”

“He asked me to pass him the salt while we were staying at his aunt’s house.”

“I see.” Harry shook his head. “Don’t you want to get to know him better?”

“We’ll know each other after the wedding. Do you suppose I will have twins, Harry?”

“I have no idea, Luna.”

“It would be nice to have twins. I grew up as an only child, and I hope that my child doesn’t.”

“Well, the Weasley’s seem to have large families,” he said thinking that this was one of their more normal conversations.

“Oh yes, and I will be a Weasley. That would be lovely.” She stood up and walked away deep in though without saying goodbye.

Harry drummed his pencil on his desk and wondered what the point of the conversation had been. Speaking with Luna was like speaking a foreign language that you never really learned. He thought perhaps George might understand her, as it was hard to understand him and Fred as well. They finished each other’s sentences and spoke of things nobody else knew about. For all of Luna’s strange ways, she was very intelligent.

“Hey mate,” Ron said plopping down in front of him.

“Hey. What’s up?”

“I just had a talk with Millie. I told her to plan the wedding and I would just show up.”

Harry laughed. “You might want to rethink that decision. Pansy wants us to wear pink,” he said not telling him that he had already vetoed that idea.

“What? No! Well that’s not right!” he said angrily.

“You can’t just ask a witch to do something and not expect it to be girly, Ron. You have a sister.”

“Yeah, but she’s not a girl!”

Harry laughed. “I can assure you, she is a girl,” he said and then realized what he said and felt his face flame red.

“Hey! That’s my sister!” Ron said angrily.

“I didn’t mean it that way! I just meant that she looks like a girl,” Harry said quickly. He knew how Ron got about Ginny.

“Alright then,” he said letting it drop. “Millie said that she was going to tie me up and have her way with me,” he said with a big grin.

Harry’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

“Oh yeah, and I really think that I like that idea,” he grinned.




A/N:

I would like lots of reviews, lol!! I have the next chapter ready to go, so review and I will post!


If you are interested in the food that I mentioned, check out these sites:
http://www.chefzadi.com/2005/09/algerian_pastil.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Moroccan_dishes