For A Moment - A Wonka AU

Chapter 12: I Will Find Her

"Tell me a little bit about your family, Charlie," Willy said as night began to fall.

The others had already gone back to the alleyway, but Willy was walking back with Charlotte. They were walking through the Galeries Gourmet, taking a more slower path to the alleyway.

"My family?" Charlotte echoed, looking at him.

"Mhm!" He looked back. "Your parents, your grandparents, anything! We've already heard Noodle's story and I told you mine a while back, so it's only fair for you to tell yours, right? Unless, of course, it's a secret."

She let out a small sigh. She didn't like talking about her family, but this was Willy. She didn't want to deny him an explanation, even if it meant opening up to him. "Yeah, I guess I do owe you an explanation."

He gave her a small, encouraging smile and patted her shoulder. "Go on! I won't judge you."

She nodded and began speaking. "Alright, well, to clear things up, I never really met my grandparents- they died when I was really little. So there's not much there. But my parents..." She went silent for a moment as she thought of what to say.

"Oh, they did?" Willy lips curled into a small frown. "I'm sorry..."

She shook her head. "No, don't be. I didn't know them, so it doesn't really affect me."

"Anyways, my mom was the best," she said, changing the subject off of her grandparents. "She was the reason for the entire concept of Fickelgruber Chocolates."

"Oh?" Willy tilted his head, intrigued. "I always thought your father ran the place.

"He does now," she corrected him. "But my mom was the one who started it. You see, before the company got famous, my family was very poor, believe it or not. It wasn't until I was about 6 years old that anyone ever really noticed us." She paused for a moment. "My mom started off selling on the streets. She'd sell maybe five or six chocolates a day- just enough to feed us a small lunch and dinner. It wasn't much, but we survived."

She stopped speaking and just listened to the soft crunch of the snow beneath her boots for a moment. "I still remember the first time I tried one of her chocolate bars," she whispered, a small smile appearing on her lips. "It was like Heaven."

She thought back to the first time her mother made a chocolate bar for her. She remembered helping her make it too, the way they'd crush the ingredients in a bowl and mix it all together...and the way the chocolate melted in her mouth when she ate it.

She wanted to make chocolate with her mother again.

"I see..." Willy breathed, his eyebrows furrowing.

She clenched her fists. "It was nothing like how they are now, mind you," she said, feeling a twinge of anger rising inside of her. "My mom's chocolates were so full of love and care. They were magical...kind of like yours, but without actual magic."

"What happened to her?"

She looked down at her feet and stopped walking. "She left when I was 10. I never knew why, but I never saw her again. And even if I did know why, I wouldn't have been old enough to understand it. So that's when my father took over the store. He started off warm and loving, just like my mom always was. And he and I would make chocolate together, just as we would with my mom. We carried on what she started, and that's how Fickelgruber Chocolates came to be. But it all went downhill when he met two certain people...He began working with Slugworth and Prodnose, forming the Chocolate Cartel we know of today." She sighed. "Fickelgruber Chocolates used to be a warm, happy company, so full of love and care. Now it's just..." Her voice trailed off and she shook her head.

"Charlie..." he whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Did you ever ask your father what happened to her?"

"Of course I have! Multiple times." She let out a sigh. "He would always brush me off. Sometimes, if I got lucky, he'd give me a small answer, but it would always be one-worded or unclear. I eventually accepted that I wasn't going to get anything out of him. So I stopped trying."

His eyes scanned her, his expression filled with sympathy. "That's so sad..."

She didn't meet his eyes. "Oh, what I'd give to have her back again...even if only for a moment." She glanced at him after a few seconds. "I'm going to find her one day, Willy."

He gave her a soft smile. "I know you will, Charlie. And I'll help you."

She smiled back and shook her head. "You don't need to do that, Willy."

He frowned. "Of course I do! You've helped me so much already- it's only fair I do something for you in return!" he insisted.

"Well...alright." She let out a soft chuckle. "But only after this whole ordeal is over, got it?"

He nodded, an excited gleam in his eyes. "Of course! Yknow what? I pinky promise to help you once this is over!" He smiled and held out his pinky to her.

"Willy..." She smiled back and linked her pinky with his. "Thank you..."

"Of course!" he replied.

Suddenly, she felt something cold pelt her.

"Hm?" She raised an eyebrow and touched her nose. There was something wet- like a water droplet. She then felt another one- then another. Was it raining?

"Hey, it's snowing!" Willy exclaimed, looking around.

She looked around the dimly lit city and saw it too. It had begun to snow! "Wow, it is!" She let out a small chuckle. "As if it hasn't snowed enough already!"

Willy chuckled as well, the snow seeming to have filled his energy up to max again. "Y'know, Charlie, in the few weeks I've been here, there's been snow all around, but I've yet to actually see it snow until now!"

Charlotte smiled, her expression softening. "Well...I'm happy to be the one to experience it with you," she said quietly.

It was odd. In her years of living, Charlotte had always tried to avoid talking to people. The only people she'd ever really talked to willingly were her father-before he became the person he was today- her mother- before she had left- and sometimes the employees at the shop.

But after meeting Willy...she found herself unable to not talk to people. After weeks of running around the city, selling his chocolates to random strangers, she'd found herself beginning to open up to the world.

She wondered how meeting one person made that possible for her.

She told herself that it was because he was a magician.

After a few minutes of walking aimlessly through the city as the snow fell against them, Willy spoke in a slightly sad tone.

"Well, Charlie, I'm afraid I've got to run back to the others before they think something's happened to me."

"Oh...alright," she said, snapping out of her thoughts. "See you tomorrow, Willy."

"Later, Charlie!" And with that, the two parted ways.

She stood in the middle of the streets after that, watching as he ran off.

She took that time to think to herself for a moment, before her eyes suddenly widened as she realized something.

I finally know what to write.