Between a Chinese Fireball and an Amaryllis





One of the things that represented the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes store, besides the wonderful exploding items, was its interesting clientele. Twins, Fred and George Weasley, the storeowners, watched many different people come by everyday. It was impressive how many people needed a little laugh in their lives, especially in these dark times. Most of the customers were students and parents of course, but elderly people also came in looking for a little spice that had long been lost. Even a few famous people visited who made Fred and George swear not to tell that they’ve they had ever been there.



Each day the twins waited eagerly to see who was going to come inside next, but they sure weren’t expecting the person that went in that ordinary Wednesday morning.



George and Fred were having a slow morning. They’d had only one costumer who hadn’t bought anything. He just browsed through the shelves for a couple of items and then left empty handed. Ginny Weasley sighed dejectedly; she had offered to help the twins in the store out of pure boredom. There wasn’t much to do at the Burrow, and she had said that she needed to keep her mind off other things.



Suddenly, the door of the store opened slowly. A woman in her late twenties, followed by an older slim man, walked in. Her light brown hair rested on her shoulders, and big sunglasses covered her eyes. Fred, George and Ginny stared in shock as the woman came in. She wore a small hat, a floral print dress and high-heeled shoes. One could easily tell that she was wealthy.



“Fred and George Weasley!” yelled the woman. She took off her sunglasses, revealing large emerald eyes, and waited for recognition.



“Heather?” asked Fred, not very sure.



Heather gave a big smile and ran to the counter where Fred and George stood. She gave them a crushing hug that barely let them breathe.



“You’ve grown so much since the last time I saw you!” Heather said, as she released them.



Fred and George wanted to say something, but they were speechless. Ginny seemed to have the same reaction. She was standing near one of the corners.



“Oh my god!” exclaimed Heather in joy. “Is that you, Ginny?”



“Yes…” Ginny managed to utter.



Heather ran up to the redhead and embraced her enthusiastically as she had done with Ginny’s brothers. If there was something Heather was known for, it was for her tight hugs.



“You’re unrecognizable!” Heather held Ginny by the shoulders and looked at her misty eyed. “You’re a woman!”



Fred and George observed the scene from the counter. They still had a hard time believing Heather was there. Especially George.



“Is that Heather Berkeley?” whispered George to his brother.



“Apparently,” replied Fred.



“The love of Charlie’s life?”



“Yep.”



“Heather that broke his heart?” asked George, still in disbelief. “That Heather?”



“Yes, George!” said Fred, losing his patience.



The last time any of them had seem Heather was in Charlie’s last year at Hogwarts. They had dated for four years. Everybody thought they would end up getting married. They made the perfect couple. Heather was one of those people who brought light into a room once she came in. Her charisma and charm were hard to top. She was always well mannered, and was attentive to others.



In their last year, Heather left Charlie for another boy. She never gave Charlie an explanation or a proper goodbye. Everyone was shocked when she left Charlie in such a harsh manner. Even though she had made their brother miserable, it was hard for Fred and George to be mad at her. Ginny was obviously a different story.



“What brings you here?” asked Ginny, in a distrustful tone.



“Yesterday, I read an article about the store in the Daily Prophet and got so excited that I just had to come!” said Heather, with a big smile. “I’m so proud of you two.”



There was an awkward silence for a few seconds until the tall, slim man, who had come in behind Heather, broke the silence by cleaning his throat.



“Oh,” said Heather, suddenly remembering him, “this is Birger. He’s my protection.”



The twins and Ginny had puzzled looks on their faces. What did she meant by protection?



“Since we’re living in these times my husband insisted on it,” explained Heather, as if it was something ridiculous.



“You got married?” asked Ginny.



“Actually yes,” admitted Heather. “I got married a year after I left Hogwarts.”



Ginny shuddered at the mention of getting married at such an early age. Heather didn’t seem so cheerful anymore. The expression on her face changed to serious. She looked at the floor and shook her head. Then she looked back up and displayed a smile once again.



“Show me what you have in the store,” she said to the twins as she took off her small hat.



George and Fred agreed and gave her a tour. They went through the store trying the items and showing her their effects. Heather found each object more hilarious than the next. Her laughter filled the store with warmth and joy. It got to a point where Fred and George were almost competing to see which one made Heather laugh the most. Ginny watched the scene rather coolly.



“What is that?” asked Heather, pointing at the cage with the Pygmy Puffs.



“Those?” wondered George. “We call them Pygmy Puffs. They’re miniature Puffskeins,”



“They’re so cute!” said Heather, walking up to the cage. “My children are going to love them!”



Suddenly, it was hard to breathe for Fred and George. Children? They never imagined that Heather would have kids, at least not so early.



“You have kids?” asked Fred, cleaning his throat.



“I feel so old!” said Heather. “I have a lovely daughter of two and a wonderful boy of three.”



Fred and George fell silent. They tried to imagine the children. Heather played with the Pygmy Puffs by sticking her finger in the cage. She giggled while one of them got stuck to her finger.



“I’m going to take four of these,” she said, between giggles.



“Who are the other two for?” asked George, opening the cage, still shocked. “I’m guessing two of them are for your… children.” George had a hard time getting used to the idea of kids as well.



“The third one is for a friend of mine’s daughter,” said Heather. “And the fourth one is for me.”





Half an hour later Heather had bought almost one of every single item at the store. She had spent around six hundred Galleons. The twins couldn’t hide their joy. They packed everything into four large packages.



“Thank you so much!” said Fred, while he put the Galleons in the money till.



“No, thank you,” replied Heather with a big smile. “Birger? Would you please take these?” she asked, as she pointed at the large boxes.



“Sure, Mrs. Lur,” agreed Birger. He walked up to the counter and without much effort lifted the four large boxes.



Fred and George looked at each other, and without saying a word they nodded and agreed on something.



“Before you go…” said George.



Fred went to the back of the store and came back with a rectangular purple velvet box.



“Take this,” said Fred to Heather.



She took it and looked at the box with curiosity.



“What is it?” she asked.



“Open it,” said the twins in unison.



Heather caressed the velvet cover and opened it slowly. A sad smile spread through her face when she saw the interior. It was a Wizard Chess board. Heather had never been good at many things, but when it came to Wizard Chess she was the best. Memories of long hours of play with Charlie came to the twin’s mind instantly. She let out a melancholy sigh.



“It’s a new product,” added George proudly.



“We haven’t started selling it yet,” said Fred.



This wasn’t a common Wizard Chess board. Each piece had an egg shape. It was impossible to tell which one was the queen or the knight. They were all the same.



“How are you supposed to play with these pieces?” asked Heather.



“Pick one,” said Ginny. Until now, she had been watching from afar.



Heather picked one of the pieces at random and saw what happened. The piece turned into a small tulip when her fingers touched it. A smile spread on her face, and she looked at the twins in disbelief.



“It’s customized Chess!” Fred beamed.



“The pieces change shape depending on the personality of who plays them,” explained George. “It’s a different shape for each person.”



Excited, Heather grabbed each of the pieces. They all turned into different flowers. The knights were lilies, the king was a rose, the towers were tulips and the queen was an amaryllis.



“How much is it?” asked Heather, as she opened her purse.



“Please don’t!” said Fred. “You have already given us more than enough money!”



“Take it as a gift from us,” said Ginny. Finally she had warmed up to Heather.



“Thank you,” said Heather.





Heather didn’t want to make Birger wait outside any longer and decided to go. She said goodbye and then headed towards the door with her purse in one hand, the purple velvet box in the other and one of the Pygmy Puffs on her hat. She was about to open the door when she turned around. It would haunt her for the rest of her life if she didn’t ask the question.



“How’s Charlie?” she asked in a serious tone.



“He’s great,” said Ginny. “He’s actually here in Britain right now.”



“He is?” This information made Heather suddenly nervous. “I must go.”



She was about to open the door, but someone else did it first from the other side. Heather took a few steps back so she wouldn’t bump into the person. Then there he was; the person she wasn’t ready to see.



“Charlie…” she whispered.



Charlie stood under the doorframe. He looked surprised. The both of them stood there silently for a few seconds. So many memories and feelings rushed through Heather’s head. She felt as if she was about to faint.



“I didn’t expect to see you here,” said Charlie.



“Me neither,” said Heather. Tears welled in her eyes.



Without too much thought Heather, rushed up to him and gave Charlie a hug. At first he didn’t respond, but then he slowly returned the hug.



“Would you like to have lunch?” asked Heather hopefully, letting go of Charlie. “You know, to catch up?”



Heather hadn’t wanted to see Charlie because she knew it would awaken many memories and feelings she had put to sleep a long time ago, but once she saw him she couldn’t help wanting to know what he had been up to. Where had her lost love gone?



Charlie didn’t reply right away. He studied Heather’s face for a moment.



“To catch up,” he said and smiled at Heather.





A bit later, Heather and Charlie found themselves at the Leaky Cauldron. It was the only place where they could have lunch and play Wizard Chess without being noticed. Heather had sent Birger to drop the boxes at her house. At first he was hesitant, but she convinced him that Charlie was a very powerful wizard and that he would protect her if anything happened.



Heather was happy to be there even though she had gotten used to fancier, more expensive places. She was happy to see ‘normal’ people and not the snobby stuck ups she had started to associate with since she married Anthony.



As the lunch progressed, Charlie and Heather became comfortable with each other once again. For a brief period of time it was almost as if they had never broken up. Heather avoided the subject of her marriage for as long as she could. They talked about Charlie’s job in Romania and old classmates.



“Katherine has a daughter?” asked Charlie in shock.



“Yes, she does,” said Heather.



“I thought she hated children!”



“She still does!”



They both laughed, and after they calmed down they fell silent for a while.



“You married Anthony, didn’t you?” Charlie’s tone changed to a more subdued one.



Heather looked into Charlie’s eyes. She realized where this was leading. She was finally going to have to give the explanation that she didn’t want to. The one she had been escaping. She had to admit the fact that she had married a man she couldn’t stand, lived in a house she couldn’t stand, and had two children she couldn’t stand, all because of her mother.



“Yes, I did,” she almost whispered.



“Why did you leave me?” Charlie asked. He was staring at Heather.



She understood his anger.



“I…” The sixteen year old Heather would’ve ran away or told him a lie, but she was twenty-seven years old now. She wasn’t going to lie anymore. Charlie deserved an answer.



“You know that my mother never liked you,” she explained.



“You’re not going to tell me you left me because of your mother!”



Her mother, Eglantine, had always controlled Heather’s life. Since the day she was born. What clothes to wear, how to behave, what boys to date. It got even worse when Heather’s father died. He had left the family a small fortune, which soon dried out thanks to Eglantine’s lavish life style. She married Heather’s twin sisters to very wealthy men who would ensure the family’s social status. Of course, she also wanted the same thing for Heather.



Eglantine handpicked Anthony Lur, the wealthiest boy in Hogwarts at that time. She threatened Heather with kicking her out of the house if she didn’t leave Charlie.



“I’m sorry,” apologized Heather. She couldn’t look at Charlie in the eyes. “I made the decision that seemed to make the most sense.”



As the words came out of her mouth Heather realized how stupid she had been. The right decision is not always the one that makes the most sense.



“Of course,” said Charlie. “I guess I didn’t have enough money.”



“You were going away to Romania!” yelled Heather. “Was I supposed to follow you?”



Tears started to slide down Heather’s cheeks. She knew she had made the wrong decision all along. She was living a life she had no desire to live.



How did this happen? thought Heather.



Charlie’s anger started to fade away, maybe he felt sorry for her. Charlie had always been protective of Heather. He caressed her arm across the table.



“Do you want to play chess?” asked Charlie, with a grin.



Heather wiped her tears away with her hands and nodded in agreement.





Heather’s pieces had turned into flowers; Charlie’s transformed into dragons. Charlie had gotten better in chess over the years, but he was still no match for Heather. There was no conversation during the game. Sometimes silence speaks louder than words and this was one of those times.



“Check-mate,” said Heather. The amaryllis queen made its way up to the Chinese fireball and bit it’s head off with the petals. “You were always a player,” she added.



“What?” asked Charlie a bit puzzled.



“You were always a chess player, I was a piece.”



With that, Heather looked at Charlie in the eyes, and shortly after she started to pick up the board.



“I have to go and pick up the children,” said Heather, as she put on her hat.



Charlie stood up at the same time as she did. Heather tried not to look him in the eyes; it was too painful.



“I’ll see you around,” she said as she started to walk away, but Charlie stopped her.



He pulled her by the arm closer to him. Their faces were inches away from each other. Charlie kissed her; it was a slow tender kiss on the lips. Time stopped for Heather. She remembered those lips better than she should have.



Charlie pulled away slowly, “Goodbye, Heather.”



Heather remained, with her eyes closed.





They never saw each other again.









THE END