Rest and recuperation — those were the words that best described the days that followed one after another, after handing the patients over to Smethwyck and returning to the Andersons' house. Not entirely, of course — the first two days everyone was tense, waiting for something unknown. But then things settled down.
A couple of moments from that time were worth noting.
Daphne had taken to sneaking into my room at night and simply sleeping in my arms. Naturally, the question arose: Does this cause any discomfort, given that we're technically alone together, yet Mrs Anderson has forbidden... anything of that sort?
— It doesn't, — Daphne lay beside me, pressed close, her head resting on my shoulder. — I can put such things entirely out of my mind. Body and mind both. When I need to.
And, predictably, this was discovered — Mrs Anderson caught us, simply noticing movement one night and coming to check what was happening. Nothing was happening, and in the morning I woke up covered by a light blanket. Together with Daphne. Though we hadn't covered ourselves — we preferred to stay in our house clothes and sleep with the windows open. The amulets ward off the night chill, but the cool air itself is pleasant to breathe. Mrs Anderson hadn't known about them and had decided to cover us. I hadn't even woken, though I'd been monitoring the situation — everything was retained in memory.
Mrs Anderson had even quietly brought my parents along and, cracking the door open, shown them the two of us sleeping soundly in each other's arms.
— Look at the little angels, — she whispered to my parents.
— They're both sixteen, — Mum whispered back. — Angels are somewhat younger than that. Considerably younger.
They didn't wake us, yet for some reason it all stayed in my memory. I'd very rarely slept in places where people might move about, so I hadn't known I possessed this ability to register events even while asleep.
In any case, after that incident Daphne had made a habit of sleeping beside me — that was the first notable development. And simply sleeping — her own words were that there is a time and place for everything else.
The second notable event was the visit to the beach. The first time was purely reconnaissance — to look, assess, and determine whether it was worth our while at all. I had a fair idea of what a beach in season might look like, particularly a public one. Daphne, on the other hand, had never considered it a worthy use of one's time, and was not especially won over by the spectacle of crowds of half-naked people — there's really no other way to put it.
The three of us — Hermione, Daphne, and I — stood on a rise not far from the beach, watching all these people below.
— I stand by my opinion, — Daphne shook her head. — Undressing in public is simply not done.
— I'd have thought, — Hermione said with a smirk, — that wizards were rather fond of standing out in one way or another. And with your figure, there's certainly nothing to be embarrassed about.
— My dear Hermione, — Daphne returned the smirk in kind. — Wizards do indeed take every opportunity to distinguish themselves. But through knowledge, possessions, dress. Not through the absence of it. As for my figure, as you put it...
Daphne took my arm.
— ...it's not for everyone's eyes. Not for display.
— So, — I smiled at her, — if the beach were private, closed to everyone, that would be a different matter?
— Now that's a far more interesting proposition, — Daphne smiled back.
As it happened, in the remaining days we never did find either a suitable location for such an undertaking or the opportunity. And if I'm honest, neither Daphne nor I were particularly burning to find one — though if something had presented itself, we'd have managed. The opportunity simply never arose. Somewhere around the sixth day of our stay, the weather began to turn, the sea grew rough, and the sky overcast. At least Hermione and our parents and the Andersons did manage to get to the beach. I needn't dwell long on whether Daphne and I made use of the opportunity their absence afforded. Let's just say — in broad daylight it's an entirely different story.
And so we spent our time in that little town, wandering through interesting places and establishments, sometimes all together, sometimes just Daphne and I. I'd naturally scattered my little spiders across the surrounding area to monitor the situation, and my phoenix-self circled above the town and its environs, scanning for any signs of magical activity — at any moment I was ready to counter a potential or real threat from our unknown enemies. But nothing. Nothing whatsoever.
And then... then came the time for us students to return to England, while our parents continued on their journey.
While Hermione and Daphne were packing, I stood with my parents by the cars under the awning in the inner courtyard of the Andersons' house, leaning against the wing of our Range Rover, discussing what came next.
— What are you planning to do from here?
— From here, son? — Dad smiled. — Simple enough. You'll take the girls back to England, however you do that sort of thing, and we... We'll be travelling in this magnificent machine...
Dad rested his hand reverently on the Andersons' Mercedes.
— ...together with its owners, to the airport.
— Far?
— Half a day's drive, — Dad said, waving it off. I was already trying to recall whether I knew of any large cities nearby with an international airport. I did, as it happened.
— Right. Perhaps I should escort you? Just in case.
— Hector, — Mum smiled. — We're perfectly capable adults, and we're quite able to manage a drive to an airport, boarding a plane, and all the rest.
— I worry. All these mysterious magical shenanigans from mysterious individuals...
— Well, we'll have a witch accompanying us, won't we?
— True, Mum, only Mrs Anderson is clearly not a combat operative. I worry, is all.
And worry I did, though not excessively — my parents were wearing my little gifts, and I could control those the same way I control the triangles on my bracelet, so there'd be no trouble on that front. Wizards don't seem to trouble themselves much with defence against small fast-moving projectiles. Foolishly, as it happens. But that's beside the point.
— Never mind that. The real question, — Dad folded his arms, — is how you and your sister plan to spend August, before school.
— Well, I'm hoping you'll leave us a key to the house? Though I could always rent rooms at the Leaky Cauldron or some other wizarding establishment, — I smiled.
— I was beginning to think you hadn't thought about it, — Dad grinned and produced a key from his pocket, holding it out. — Here. I've already given Hermione the spare set.
— Excellent, — I took the key and tucked it into my rucksack. — There's also the matter of bills and so on...
— All sorted.
— Ah, — I exhaled with a smile, — they really ought to teach us at school how to pay rent and manage that sort of thing. Far more useful.
My parents laughed, though there was a flash of recognition in their eyes — a shared awareness of just how bewildering the mundane business of life can be when it suddenly lands on you all at once.
— Right, that's settled then. Where are you headed? Australia?
— Yes, we've arranged everything. We'll be practising medicine there as well. So we won't be short of work, and some contacts there will help us with accommodation.
— You have contacts all over the world?
— Not exactly all over, — Dad scratched his greying temple. — Though if we were to really pull on every thread...
— Why not the States, say?
— Oh, — Dad dismissed it, and Mum backed him without a word. — America can keep itself. Australia is far more interesting. And unusual.
— Right, right, — I nodded with a smirk. — One unique venomous creature per square metre. How will we stay in touch? I could make a pair of enchanted notebooks so we could write to each other — you don't need to be a witch or wizard to use them.
— That would be wonderful. Why didn't we think of that sooner? — Mum agreed.
— And how were you planning on managing it?
— Well, — Dad said, with the expression of someone stating something perfectly obvious. — Nobody's banned us from using the telephone yet, so we'd have simply rung periodically, picking times when you and your sister were at home.
— And you're only mentioning this now?
— The idea was under development, — but from his face it was plain he'd only just thought of it. — Go on then, your notebooks.
— And to think I wonder where I get it from, — I shook my head, and right then and there, drawing my wand, I conjured two black notebooks from thin air.
I fixed the transfiguration with an additional charm to make them properly permanent, applied Protean Charms for the purpose, and handed one of the notebooks to my parents.
— It'll warm slightly when a message arrives.
— I know, you mentioned something like that once before, — Dad nodded.
He opened the boot of the Mercedes and tucked the notebook into one of the suitcases.
We chatted about various things for another couple of minutes, during which time I also shrank our Range Rover down and slipped it into my pocket. That was enough time for the girls to finish packing, and they came out to join us, along with the Andersons.
— Right then, ladies and gentlemen, — Mr Anderson looked quite pleased with life. — Shall we? Or do you need a bit more time to say your goodbyes? I'll go and warm up the car.
The Andersons had no luggage to speak of — and I suspect Mrs Anderson's small handbag was rather more than it appeared. Could any adult witch really get by without an accessory fitted with an Undetectable Extension Charm? I thought not. Daphne had stepped aside discreetly, giving us space to say our family farewells.
— Right then, kids, — Dad looked at Hermione and me with a smile. — Everyone knows what they're doing, means of communication are sorted...
— Are they? — Hermione blinked.
— Yes, — I said, producing the notebook and handing it over. — Protean Charms. You're our official correspondence officer.
— Oh, brilliant. Why didn't I think of that?
— Déjà vu, — Mum and I said simultaneously, smiling.
Farewells, embraces, wishes for all the best — that alone took the better part of ten minutes, after which my parents got into the Mercedes, and we, having cast Muggle-Repelling Charms on ourselves, stepped outside the house's grounds.
— They'll be absolutely fine, — I reassured Hermione. — What remains is to make sure we are too.
I held out my hands to Daphne and Hermione and waited until they'd taken firm hold, and only then did my phoenix-self appear and carry us to an alleyway a few dozen metres from our house, tucked between two others.
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