I was proudly standing in our treasure cave, admiring the new addition I just made.
A giant blob the size of a tractor tire, made out of melted precious metals, gems, and whatever else was in Lestrange's vault.
We went there this morning for the second-to-last Horcrux, and I couldn't just leave all that treasure there. It was calling to me, whispering sweet things into my ears. There was no Voldemort to break the Lestranges out of Azkaban, so their vault was mine.
"Emily, that thing is absolutely unusable!"
" I don't want to use it, I just want to look at it."
" But it's ugly."
"Take that back, missy!"
"No"
"Yes"
"No"
"Yes!"
"No~! No~! No~!" Pyra sang and stuck out her tongue.
"Shhh~ She didn't mean it… You are very beautiful to me." I gently caressed the blob.
"Are you sure you were not a dragon in your past life?" She said mirthfully.
"Hmm… the desire to go and get another beautiful princess is there…" I tapped my lip with my finger.
Pyras's lips twitched. "Another?"
"Yes? Obviously, you're already with me." I said. Poor Pyra blushed so much her cheeks made her hair pale in comparison.
"B-b-but I'm not a princess?!" she managed to stutter out.
"Huh? Oh, then I'll make you one in the future." I said distractedly, still caressing the golden blob.
"H-how?"There was something to her voice I couldn't quite figure out.
"I'll conquer a kingdom, declare you one, and then fight anybody who says otherwise if that's what you want." I said, but then something hit me.
"Wait… conquering a kingdom would make me the king… oh, well, I'll just make you my queen instead then."
"YOUR Q-Q-QUEEN?! " Pyra got even redder and ran out of the treasure room. Leaving me utterly confused as to what just happened.
"Do you have any idea what that was about, Blob?" Silence was my only answer.
So the only thing left was to follow after her. I mean… if she didn't want to be a queen, then she could have just said so. No reason to run away.
"Pyra! Stop running! If you don't want to be a queen, then what about a king?! I don't mind." I yelled as I ran after her.
"S-Stop talking!!!" I heard the shrill reply echoing through the tunnel.
"Oh, for god's sake! Stop running! Why are you even running? I don't understand!"
"I'M NOT READY FOR MARRIAGE YET!!!"
"What the hell— Marriage?" Her reply made me stop chasing. What marriage? I just wanted to make her my queen…
My? Queen? Oh— Oh! Ooh~ Is this what they call a Freudian slip?
"Hmm~ Doesn't sound that bad. But does Pyra even like girls?" I wondered as I slowly made my way back into the house. Well, I like Pyra quite a bit, that's for sure. I put myself in this situation, so I gotta find a way out.
"Come on! I didn't mean it like that." I called out into the house once I got there.
"You didn't?" I saw Pyra poke her head out of the door. Did she sound disappointed?
"Of course not, you know I don't think before speaking, but I admit, it does sound very appealing though." Her face fell a bit during the first part of my sentence, only for it to light up a little at the end. I don't get it. If she likes the idea too, why run?
"I should have known… It's you." She sounded almost relieved, so I left the jab at me slide. I'm nice like that.
"Do you like women?" Full steam ahead. She did say she is not ready, yet.
"W-what? Umm~ yes?" She whispered quietly and didn't meet my eyes.
"Are you asking me?" I chuckled.
"No… I l-like women." She said, still not meeting my gaze.
"Great! Me too. How about we go on a proper date then?" Full.Steam.Ahead.
—
We had a lovely dinner at a small seaside restaurant overlooking a tiny port. The food was great, both Pyra and I enjoyed freshly caught fish. But because it was the nineties, and this restaurant was in the middle of nowhere, we did get an odd look here and there.
"How about we walk around the beach? The sun will set soon and we can watch it." I suggested. I saw something similar in a movie once. Watching the sunset was supposed to be romantic, I think? I've never done it before. All the dates I've been on, not that there were many, before I came here were in the city.
"Yeah, let's." Pyra nodded happily.
"Hmm~ I wanna hold your hand, okay?" I reached out to her hand but didn't grasp it, I waited for her to do it.
"O-okay." She said cutely, and our fingers intertwined. Pyra's hand was very warm.
"Hehe~ I have you in my grasp, and you can't run away this time. Sooo… why did you run away?" I said teasingly and squeezed her hand.
"Because you said all that s-stuff about me being your q-queen, and… and… my mind filled in the blanks. I got embarrassed." Her cheeks got rosy again, but unlike in the morning, she was not avoiding my eyes.
"Haha~ And your mind went straight to marriage?"I said, chuckling.
"You said you would make me your queen. What else was I supposed to think?" She asked with an upturned eyebrow, smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
"Pyra, we've been living together for almost an entire month. You know that I don't think before I speak, and I don't think I'm going to start. My stupid mouth got me a date with you after all. " I stuck out my tongue, and Pyra rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
"You know, I'm glad you like women, or this whole situation would have been a mess." She chuckled.
"Yeah, well, I do. So, mess avoided."
"Pft! Yeah… mess avoided. Living with an unrequited crush would have been difficult."
"Wait, you have a crush on me? How come I didn't notice anything?"
"Emily… you don't notice a lot of things." Pyra was giving me a look.
"Hehe~" I just laughed, it was true after all.
"Don't hehe me!" She said with a mock glare, and I was glad that her earlier nervousness and embarrassment were mostly gone. It was cute, no doubt about that, but I liked this Pyra more.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm a big Dum Dum. How about I summon a blanket? The sun should set any minute now." I raised my hands in surrender, summoned the blanket, and lay down on my stomach.
"Move over a bit." Pyra plopped down next to me and bumped me with her shoulder.
We watched in comfortable silence as the fiery ball set the calm sea ablaze, painting it with all my favorite colors before it finally disappeared below the horizon, giving way to the pinks and purples that emerged afterward.
"*sigh~*" Pyra let out a contented sigh and turned to face me with an expectant look.
"Mmm~ I can think of only one thing that would put a nice cherry on top of this already fantastic day." I looked at her, my question unspoken but understood.
"And what would that be, Emily?" She said with an airy whisper, and her face inched closer to mine.
"Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean~" I came closer, so close, that our noses touched and I could feel her warm breath tickling my lips. I saw the look in her eyes, she wanted me.
I made the move, and our lips touched. At first, it was just a small peck, to test things out. That peck soon turned into another. Pyra, emboldened by the kiss, grabbed my cheeks and went for a deeper one. It was clumsy, it was innocent, and it was everything I wanted at that moment.
"That was lovely, Pyra." I said, looking into her eyes and caressing her face with my fingers.
"Yes… It was." She leaned into my hand and closed her eyes. We continued lying there until the day's warmth slowly disappeared and was replaced by the cold air coming from the sea. After one particularly cold gust of wind, we both shuddered and slowly stood up.
"Let's go home, it's getting cold."
"*Uwaaah* Yeah, let's go, I'm getting kinda tired." I said with a big yawn.
—
The atmosphere inside our home shifted a bit after the date. Now that we both knew we liked each other, we behaved slightly less… restrainedly? I think that's the best way to put it. A lingering touch here, moments of longer than usual eye contact, and we even sometimes greeted each other with a peck on the cheek.
Maybe we were jumping into it too soon, but I don't think either of us cared about that. We were already doing stuff together every day anyway, so adding a date or two into the mix was not a big deal.
Speaking of dates, today we had a third one. Well, we went shopping because Pyra had no clothes other than the ones she borrowed from me, and decided to turn it into an impromptu date. We swung by Diagon Alley to check out some magical restaurants, and we were pleasantly surprised by the variety of foods offered. I guess when you can apparate to anywhere, getting the freshest produce is easy.
"Hey, Pyra, do you want to get brooms?" I asked when we were walking past a display showcasing the newest ones.
"Why not. I could be fun." She agreed and we went into the store.
As soon as we entered, the smell of wood and wood polish assaulted our nostrils. While not unpleasant, it was an abrupt change compared to the air outside.
"Welcome to Quality Quidditch Supplies, Ladies! What can I get you?" A clearly fit man in his early forties came out to greet us. Must have been a retired Quidditch player or something.
"Hello there. We are both interested in buying brooms for ourselves, but neither of us has a lot of experience with flying, so I'd like to ask you for help in picking them out." I said warmly to the man. He looked like one of those types who loved their job.
"Oh! It would be a pleasure. Now, ladies, what sort of budget are you working with, and are these brooms just for flying or are you interested in playing Quidditch too?" He asked with a smile.
"No Quidditch for us, just flying for fun. As for the budget… give or take five hundred galleons."
"Alrighty then. Hmm~" The man said, and his gaze settled on the stacked broom stands.
"If it's just for leisure then… How about this Cleansweep? Now I know it's not the newest model, but it is plenty fast if you ever need it, the handling is great, and they are not that expensive, only a hundred and ten Galleons a piece." He went over and grabbed the broom.
"The handle fits nicely into my hands and it's comfortable to sit on… I kinda like it. What else would you recommend?" I asked after trying out the broom.
"That depends entirely on what you're after. If it's more speed, then you can't go wrong with one of the two newest Nimbus brooms, but if you want something more manageable and safer, then the newest Comet is your best bet." He showcased the two other brooms. I tried them out, but I was not keen on the Comet. The Nimbus, however, I liked very much. I liked how the handle was shaped and how it curved upward, and I was not scared of speed.
"How much for the Nimbus?" I asked.
"That one is the newest model, and it runs at two hundred and forty Galleons."
"Great. I'll take it. What about you, Pyra?"
"I'll take the Comet." She said after looking between the Cleansweep and the Comet for a minute.
"Right then! That will be four hundred and fifteen Galleons. Do you want them delivered or are you flying home?" The shopkeeper asked with a conspiratorial grin.
"Haha~ We'll be flying, of course."
"How about I throw in two broom polishing kits for the price of one? Your purchase alone exceeded this week's projected quota."
" *Pft!* Why not. Throw them in!" I laughed.
"You ladies are my favorite kind of customer. The total will be four hundred and twenty-five Galleons." He smiled at us as he wrote up our purchase on a piece of parchment.
"Here you go, and if you're ever interested in trying your hand at Quidditch, do come back to my shop." The shopkeeper gave us our new brooms and walked us out of the shop.
"Don't worry, you'll be one of the first people who will know. Have a great day." With a 'you too', he closed the door and we were on our way.
"As soon as we get home, we have to take these babies out for a spin." I grinned at Pyra.
"I will not be spinning, thank you very much."
"It's just a saying. Hmm… but I will try it. Do you think I could make myself puke?"
"Eww…" Pyra scrunched her nose cutely.
"Hahaha~ Just kidding!"
"I'm not sure you are. Who knows what's going on inside your head."
"Not me, that's for sure."
We stopped for ice cream while we were wandering around the Alley, and this time I tried one of the strange flavours I saw there last time. Pyra stuck with the classics, and I had the Dragon's Breath.
Frankly, I was expecting something a lot worse than what I got. It was just watermelon and chilli.
"You want to try it? It's just a bit spicy." I offered her my ice cream cone, and she studied it with suspicion.
"How spicy? From one to ten." she asked after she sniffed it.
"Eh… like a three maybe? It's a little hot, but it doesn't hurt."
"I'll trust you, but if this is some kind of a trick, that ice cream is going to be all over your face." Pyra threatened me with a mock glare.
"Oh noo~ I'm so scared~ Here you go." I played up being scared and gave it to her.
"Not bad, right?" I asked with a grin when she licked it the third time. She must have liked it a lot more than I.
"This is tasty! I'll be taking it, and you can have mine." She stuck out her tongue and quickly bit into it.
"Sure, but I want something for it…" I grinned and tapped my cheek. Pyra rolled her eyes playfully, looked around, and gave me a quick peck.
"Hmpf! This is extortion."
"No, my dear, that's just good old-fashioned business."
But as luck would have it, our date was interrupted the next moment. I couldn't help but groan internally as I noticed Nymphadora Tonks approaching us.
"Look, Pyra. Our prisoner is back." I said when she walked up to us. Although her fear of me was mostly gone, the Auror was still eyeing us with great suspicion.
"That she is. I hope you have a good reason for interrupting our date, Auror Tonks." Pyra said, she sounded more annoyed than I was at the interruption, and it put Tonks on edge.
"A date? I apologize for that. I'm here on behalf of Dumbledore, he would like to invite the two of you to a meeting." At least the girl looked sincere when she apologized.
"A meeting, huh? Where is this meeting supposed to take place?" I asked.
"At Hog's Head Inn in Hogsmeade. The Headmaster would like to meet as soon as possible. Are the two of you free tonight?"
I looked at Pyra, silently asking if she wanted to go today. She nodded in agreement.
"Sure, we will be there by six."