The Muggle Who Did Something: A marauders era fanfiction

Chapter 11: Lounging Around

Cynthia sat on the plush dark blue couch looking regretfully down at her coffee table. Her chin pressed into the palm of her hand as her arm rested on her knee. There in front of her lay the cracked black rimmed glasses she'd found on her walk home. The young woman had no doubt, these were probably James'.

Unfortunately the damage had rendered the pair unusable. Even if the carefully tempered glass was replaced, the rim was bent awkwardly raising one of the temples so it wouldn't fit over the ear properly. At this point there wasn't much use for them, probably best to just chuck them in the bin.

The young girl let out a small sigh. She's heard how costly a pair of glasses could be to replace. Cynthia lifted the glasses up carefully. Closing one eye she peeked through a relatively small undamaged part of one lens. The world she saw beyond the little window was heavily magnified and distorted. She scowled, setting the object down again. James' eyesight was atrocious! She hoped the curly haired man had a spare set to use in the meantime.

Cynthia grew ever more grateful that she didn't need such things to aid her. How different life must be when constantly seeing everything through two small windows.

The girl's thoughts halted as her stomach growled loudly. Glancing down at her watch she caught the time. It was indeed nearly noon. No wonder her body had cried out for sustenance.

Pushing up from the couch the woman chasséd into her small kitchen to prepare something. Cynthia tied her hair back as she moved forward. Grabbing the apron that had been tossed haphazardly on the counter she threw in on, tying it behind her as she came to stand before the counter that held her radio. The girl flicked it on, letting the easy disco rhythm fill the kitchen. The girl smiled widely, instantly recognizing the song as 'Ring My Bell', the perfect song to get her going.

She quickly began rummaging through the fridge fishing out a few ingredients as the song played. The young woman couldn't help singing along to the repetitive and suggestive lyrics, knowing her Aunt and Uncle would hardly approve. She continued on, letting one song after the next play out. She lightly sang along to each one she knew, keeping the volume low enough to not bother anyone outside her small oasis.

Before long, Cynthia sat herself down with a loaded ham and cheese sandwich and a cup of tea. She let the energetic music play in the background as she mulled over her own thoughts.

During the summer, her uncle often joked that her sandwiches were more like salads stuffed between two slices of bread.

'Too much fluff.' He'd say. 'We didn't have these fancy fillings in my day.' Not that that stopped him from asking her to make him one every time she had gone in to fix one for herself. The man would rest himself on an old rocking chair looking out the window at the summer countryside, only to look up and see her munching on a sandwich.

'Where's mine?' He'd say in a huff, one she knew was simply for show. Heaven forbid he actually admit he likes or wants something, the old fart.

The young lady smiled fondly at the memory. She truly needed to go visit, or perhaps they could pop in here? He might be able to get some time off from that private school, it was a holiday and it wasn't that far of a trip. They hadn't come over in ages. No doubt her uncle would complain about having to trudge his way here, but just like always he would just be acting 'tough', as her aunt called it. The woman had no qualms putting his odd and distant actions into words to show how deeply he truly cared, something Cynthia was grateful for.

The young woman hoped things would work out so she could see her family soon. It was hard having her uncle work during the school year. He basically lived at the school, only coming home on occasion looking weary from his work. It was nice, however, to enjoy the entire summer off with him during her childhood. They didn't do much together other than a small game of chess here or there, mostly they just talked. They talked about everything. Well, she talked and he listened.