29.08.2020 - Chester

Carolyn was just playing with Morgana in the garden when her maternal grandmother strode in as if she owned the place. The young witch wasn’t fond of her from the very beginning but now that her fraternal grandparents ended up in hospital under rather suspicious circumstances, she despised the woman with passion. Such feeling was almost foreign to the girl. She hardly ever experienced so deeply negative emotions. Unfortunately, it looked like that was about to change.

“Well hello darling,” the old woman greeted her without any hint of fondness. That much was nothing new to Carolyn. What was new however, was the person Anemone brought with her. She has never seen the boy before for sure. “This is Charles Magnolis a son of a good friends of mine. Say hello.” Ah…pure blood family son then. Her brain supplied almost immediately. Anything else would be very much out of question. The Hunts hated muggles or even half-bloods after all. They only suffered her because they had no other choice. “Hello?” Carolyn greeted the boy hesitantly. Surprisingly, Morgana wasn’t growling at him but the young witch was still skeptical. “Hi,” the raven-haired boy greeted her with a hint of smile. Polite enough but not overly friendly. He seemed a little out of place, as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do. “Well, young Charles came to visit…” The boy grimaced signaling that probably wasn’t completely true statement. “…but I have some matters to attend to. Be a darling and show him around, will you? I’m sure you two will get along perfectly.” This whole situation was bizarre. Carolyn was sure the woman had some hidden agenda. What is she planning? She was considering refusing just to be safe when her grandmother spoke again. “You wouldn’t want to be rude, would you? I was under impression that you have been raised well?” Damn the old hag! She sure knew how to be manipulative. Yes, Carolyn was raised to be polite and it might very well lead her to her doom in the future. Charles didn’t do her any wrong for now though and perhaps he knew what the hell was going on. “Sure…I’ll do my best,” she agreed begrudgingly, eyeing the woman suspiciously. Her target didn’t seem to care too much though. After all, she achieved what she came for.

“There is not much to do around here I’m afraid,” Carolyn finally spoke to the boy when Anemone left. Charles shrugged. “I hear the city is quite beautiful to look at. Perhaps we could take a short walk?” He suggested. It was as good idea as any and so she took Morgana and they ventured for a little tour. They were mostly quiet for couple of minutes, neither of them quite sure what to say. “How come I have never seen you at Hogwarts?” Carolyn decided to start with an easy question first. Of course the boy was probably couple years older than her and Hogwarts had many students so just because she hadn’t seen him there, didn’t mean he wasn’t. She was just attempting to sound friendly before questioning him any further. “I don’t go there. Because of some…family business, I’m attending the Ilvermorny School instead.” That sure sounded suspicious to the girl. Family business? What family business? Wouldn’t they want him to graduate among the Slytherins? There was another pause after that until Charles finally stopped and turned to look at her. “Do you understand why she brought me here?” He asked, probably done playing games. Carolyn actually appreciated his decision. “No, but I have a bad feeling about it…no offense.” The wizard nodded in understanding. “I know what you mean,” he said calmly. “Look, at this point everyone in the Hunts’ social circle knows about your mother. Obviously, everyone judges you as usual but your grandparents are not people who would give up easily. While most of the families they know don’t want to have anything to do with you, mine is somewhat indebted to them and we have our own stain on the name.” It was surprising to Carolyn that he was willing to share such sensitive information with her. “Anemone took an advantage of that and she wants to join our families so their pure bloodline would get back on track. I don’t like the idea and I’m sure neither do you but it is not in my power to oppose my parents. Not yet anyway.” Carolyn was horrified. Did that mean her grandparents planned to marry her off to this young man? What right did they have to do that? She was sure her parents would ensure that would not happen but her grandma would indeed not give up easily. “No, I do not want to marry a stranger and I’m not planning to go along with her plan.” She confirmed resolutely. Charles nodded, looking quite relieved. “Good, then we are on the same page. Nevertheless, I suppose we will see each other from time to time. Do you think we can be at least civil towards each other? Perhaps even become friends?” The young girl was a bit hesitant at first but soon realized how similar they were. Both put into an uncomfortable arrangement they did not agree to. It was not Charles’ fault and she should probably give him a chance. It wouldn’t help either of them if they were hostile towards each other. “All right, I think I can do that. I promise I won’t pass judgement on you until I truly know your character.” That seemed fair to her. It could happen that she would come to dislike him for him after all. “That’s fine with me….I suppose it’s a deal then?” He offered his hand to shake on it and she carefully accepted it. His grip was confident yet strangely gentle. Perhaps there was a hope for him yet.