Darkness flooded the room like water on the sinking Titanic; the sun hadn’t risen yet. Quickly, I rose from my bed, dressed, drank my morning cup of coffee, grabbed my Silver Arrow, and apparated to Appleby Stadium.
When I got there, the locker room was empty. Perfect, I thought. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be playing with an all-male team (well, mostly male team “ whether they liked it or not, I was a part of their sports organization) with an ego the size of Scotland. Even though it was probably silly of me, I felt better to know that I would be done in the locker room before they even came.
But now, I wasn’t so sure of my plan. The locker room (well, at least I was pretty sure it was the locker room) was dark as night, and I had left my wand in my flat “ any chance of a ‘lumos’ charm was out of the question. Blindly feeling my way to the door, I smacked my shin into a bench. Cursing, I found the door and escaped my pitch-black peril.
I had been here twice before, but I didn’t really appreciate the splendour of the stadium “ not with Levia or that malevolent team around. Taking in my surroundings, I saw bright green, lush grass sprinkled with drops of dew that shimmered in the faint light of the setting moon and rising sun. The seats were chrome and gleaming, shining like hand polished medals of honour. I wish Charlie could see this, I thought sadly. I wish he could be here now. Turning around to see all of the magnificent seats, my eyes found Leo.
Leo? I did a double take. Sure enough, he was there, sitting in one of the seats, looking calmly at me. We stood (or, in his case, sat) there, staring at each other in silence. Finally, tentatively, I walked over to where he sat.
“Hey,” I greeted him gently, not wanting to spoil the softness of the sunrise by speaking too loudly. Leo returned the greeting, smiling at me. He had a nice smile “ no, a really nice smile: gentle, yet joyous and caring, with his eyes lighting up to prove he was happy to see me. Before I knew it, he was making me smile too. A minute later, though, my smile faded a bit. He must think I’m a grinning idiot, I decided. After all, I was smiling for no apparent reason, and Leo was beginning to stare.
“Do I have something on my face?” I blurted out, embarrassed.
Leo blinked. “Huh?”
“You’re staring.” I winced at how blunt my words sounded, especially when Leo was being so kind.
To my surprise, Leo looked away, a trace of pink blossoming in his cheeks. “Sorry,” he apologized. “Your smile reminds me of my sister’s.”
This time, I blinked. “Your sister?” I asked, not sure I had heard correctly.
“Twin sister,” he amended. I gave him an encouraging sort of look to go on with the story. “She had your smile, and she looked a bit like you do. We were really close friends. She was more studious than I was, but we were both active people. We both enjoyed a good game of Quidditch, although she wasn’t very blessed athletically. Neither of us could stay cooped up in the house for long. She loved Herbology, and I loved sports of any kind.”
“It sounds like you two had a great childhood.” I commented.
“We did,” agreed Leo. “We rarely fought. Our family owned a home right in the countryside. It was great since there weren’t many Muggles around. She hunted for new plants, while I practiced Quidditch.”
I nodded to show that I was interested. “Where is she now?” I asked.
Instantly, a wave of sorrow flashed across his face and pain shot through his eyes.
“Sorry,” I quickly apologized. “I didn’t mean to -”
“It’s okay,” Leo reassured me. He took a deep breath. “Like I said, she loved Herbology. One day, she was out researching Mandrake habitats. Her earmuffs must have been on too loose, or the cry was louder than usual, and she….”
He didn’t have to go on. I put my hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered, wishing I could say more to comfort him. I tried to change the subject, but I couldn’t help asking, “What was her name?”
“Her name was Cira. I always called her Cir. My mother called her Mimi.”
“Mimi?” I asked, curious how that fit in with the name ‘Cira’.
“It was short for ‘mi amore’, which means ‘my love’ in Italian. My mother grew up in Italy, with explains her love of wine, pastas, operas.” After a moment of silence, he suddenly grinned. “You know what? I should call you that.”
“Opera?”
“No.” He laughed. “Mimi.”
I smiled, and he smiled back. Mimi…I liked the way that sounded.
We both watched the sun rise, its rays illuminating the grass with glistening dew. The sky was pink and orange mixed together in a beautiful wonder that could be only found in nature; small ribbons of yellow shot across the sky, pulling up an orange circle of light up into the sky. In a strange way that didn’t feel strange at all, Leo and I understood each other completely. He was wishing for his sister, and I was wishing for Charlie.
Ultimate by Ivona Queens
Chapter Notes: A BIG thanks to fireflower for being my beta and catching the little things that I wasn't able to.