Muggled

"I hate packing. Well, at least doing it the slow way," Kara said as she picked up a porcelain plate, wrapping it carefully in newspaper. She then handed it to her mother who put it in a medium sized box, which resided on the kitchen table.

"I know honey, but you chose to have a muggle for a roommate," her mother replied as she started to seal the box up with tape.

"Well, yeah, but it's a basic requirement of the MR program, Mom. You know it’s fundamental to learn to live with at least one muggle before you can even begin to understand all of them.’ Kara then looked over to see if they'd missed any dishes. Looking around satisfied she then exclaimed excitedly, “Yay! That's the last of the plates."

"Yes Dear, but now we have to do the rest of the kitchen," her mother chided as she put together another packing box. Kara turned around and stuck her tongue out at her mother as she climbed a stepladder to get to the mugs which were above her reach.

"Careful or your face might freeze that way,” her mother chided, yet again.

A soft sigh left her mother’s lips, all the while a thoughtful look crossed the older woman’s face as she watched her tall brunette daughter packing up her things, looking distastefully at all the dust that had collected up in the cupboard. She promptly set one down too quick and sneezed, cursing and then cocking her eyebrow as if challenging the offending mug.

“You know, you are so much like your father it’s scary, between your
oh-so-witty responses and your MR spiel, you sound exactly like him after he apparates home."

Kara responded with a roll of her eyes, and adding, as an after-thought, "Dad's heading over here as soon as he gets off work, right?"

"Yes Sweetie. I set the apparition point in your bedroom, just in case Misty is still here when he arrives and he forgets to call beforehand like usual." Mother and daughter both smirked.

Kara continued to hand her mother the mugs as she thought about what
tomorrow would bring. She'd be all packed and moved back home by tonight. She would have a whole summer of nothing but fun and play, which was something she was really looking forward to. The first thing she would need to do was update her room at home a bit, but that could wait till tomorrow. She knew she’d still be pretty tired tomorrow after the whole packing ordeal if Misty, her muggle roommate, didn't head out soon. She needed to plan out
what they were going to do next, after they finished the kitchen, if Misty was still in their shared apartment, then they would have to work on the bedroom. Though, if Misty was gone, of course it wouldn’t be a problem to do a few swishes and flicks with her wand, and woohoo, it'd be done. After her father got to her place they would shrink everything, wait until nightfall and go out to the parking garage, shrink her car and apparate home.

Once at home she could have Dinky, her family’s very sweet house-elf, draw her a bubble bath the way she used to love it as a child. She couldn't wait to see Dinky,she had been like another mom to Kara ever since she could remember. She loved Dinky like she did her family because essentially she was, Dinky had moved into the Stanton household when her mother had married her father. Of course she was freed by way of a shirt from Kara's mother, Elizabeth, when she had married her father and thus became a Stanton. Dinky still wore the old T-shirt Elizabeth had given her. But Elizabeth came from
a more traditional wizarding family and Dinky had basically raised Kara's mother.

Dinky was in charge of all the elves in the Stanton Manor, but she still loved to take care of Kara and Elizabeth especially. So whenever Kara was home, Dinky would tend to her because it made her so happy.

Kara was broken out of her reverie when her roommate, Misty, came into the kitchen carrying a large box labeled bathroom that she dumped on the floor.

"Well it’s time for me to head out of here if I want to make it to Dallas before tonight. Unless ya'll want me to stay and help you finish packing," Misty offered.

"No, that's okay, we're almost done in here and then dad's on his way over to help us finish up. Do you want any help getting that out to your car?"

"No thanks, it’s my last box and I kinda want the satisfaction of stuffing it into my car all by myself, but you better get down here and hug me goodbye."

Kara chuckled as she climbed down of the stepladder. "Okay, okay, I get the point.” Kara embraced her friend. “I'm gonna really miss you, ya know. And you had better call when you make it to Dallas to let me know you got home safe. You have my cell number right?"

"Memorized and programmed, gonna miss you too." Misty hugged Kara back, then picked up her box and headed to the door. "Well, bye roomie."

"Bye, roomie."

"Oh yeah, I forgot to thank your mom." As she opened the front door she hollered out, "Thanks for all your help, Mrs. Stanton."

"You’re very welcome Dear, drive safe."

And as soon as the door closed both Kara and her mom whipped out their wands in order to pack more in a small amount of time.

"I love my new wand, Mom. It was a great graduation present."

"Well it seemed like an appropriate present seeing as how you had your old one since you started at school; you're all grown up so it seemed a more grown up wand was fitting."

"It scratched my back up though," Kara said, unconsciously rubbing her back.

"Well if you would wear long sleeves you could get a wrist holster instead of the one you wear under your cutoffs to hold your wand. And you know when you start teaching at Salem in the fall you won't be able to wear things that short anymore."

"Yeah, but I still have two and a half months of freedom left."

Kara’s new wand, in addition to being much more scratchier than her starter wand, was much more powerful. Her old wand was 10 inches, maple, with a unicorn hair in the core. Her new wand was 12 inches, mesquite, and had one of those new liquid cores which contained one phoenix tear. It, in addition to her mother's 9-inch, pecan, with a hair from Bigfoot, made quick work of the rest of the packing and shrinking of the boxes.

************

Kara and her mom were settled onto the only piece of non-shrunken furniture left in the apartment, when Kara's pocket started beeping. "Oh that must be dad." She took out what appeared to be a cigarette lighter from her pocket and flicked it on; in the small flame an even smaller floating gray head appeared.

"Hey dad.”

"Hey Pumpkin. Packing all done?"

"Yep, we’re all ready to go as soon as you get here. We’ve already shrunk the car and everything.”


"I still can't believe my little girl is one of the first witches to
graduate from University with a degree in Muggle Relations. Of course in my day we didn't go to school for it, they just stuck you in the middle of a bunch of muggles and you had to deal with it. Anyway, I am so proud of you Pumpkin."

"Yeah, yeah I know dad, how was work?"

"Well actually I have some news, I'll tell you as soon as I get there."

"OK, love you, see you in a few."

"Love you too, Pumpkin. I’ll be there in about a half hour."

************

"Kara, Elizabeth, where are you? You had better not left without me,"
bellowed Kara's father.

"Dad, we’re in the living room. Mom put the apparition point in the bedroom in case Misty was still here when you came.”

"Smart woman, your mother. That must be where you got it from Kara."

“Well, she obviously didn’t inherit it from you. Not to mention she’s
lacking my promptness, and has obtained your procrastination. Now, Ray, enough already what is the news you have."

"Well you both may want to sit down for this.” Ray, Kara’s father and
Elizabeth’s husband, took a deep, excited breath. “I got a promotion."

"That's great dad, they finally made a good choice for director of Magical Oversight."

"Not that big of a promotion Kara, I’ve been named Ambassador to Britain's Ministry of Magic. We're moving to England next week!"

"What!?"

Both women looked at the tall wizard like he had lost his mind. Kara sank to the couch and stared at the floor with her jaw gaping open while her mother already had her wand out and was backing her father into a corner. She began poking him in the chest with her wand as she lectured him.

"HOW DARE YOU! Did you even think before you accepted? You big butthead, how could you do this without talking to your family about it first? You know Kara is supposed to teach at Salem in the fall, and what about the ranch? Are we supposed to just sell it? You know the elves are afraid of the horses, how are they going to get exercised and fed? What about the elves, they’re free, what are they going to do without someone there to take care of? I have been gone a week and I know they are already going crazy with just you there to take care of. You didn't even bother to think this through!" Mrs. Stanton continued her tirade as she finally finished.

Kara sat dumbly on the couch. England, she couldn't believe it. She didn't want to stay in the US without her family. She didn't want her parents to get rid of the ranch but she knew it was too far to apparate to and from the Salem Institute everyday. She still couldn't believe her father took a job in England.

But, she supposed, it would be fun to visit someplace cold for Christmas. When she looked up she saw that her small brunette mother was still putting her much taller father in his place but had ceased her yelling.

"Well, Mom, I guess this means you'll get to see Aunt Min more often."

Her mother poked her father a final time and turned to her daughter, heaving a sigh. "I guess it does honey."

*******************

Once again thanks to my beta DM.

Catylin- Thank you for your review. Snape is my favorite character
Luna- Thanks and I do plan on continuing, I will hopefully have the ready by sometime
this weekend.
Buttercup- Thanks for everything, and that is my favorite line too. Hope you like how it turns out.

And don't forget to review.