Dream Girl

TWENTY SIX - MUFFIN AND COFFEE

"He is not coming back." Blaise words were like a sharp knife right into her heart. She knew that that one day during Christmas break was pure miracle and she should be happy for those few hours of normalcy. And she was. But deep down she still had a little sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe, he would show up again before they all would have to go their own way, even for the price of another painful goodbye and another heartbreak.

She had her hopes up until now, when Draco's owl delivered that small piece of paper. See you in Hogwarts. The message was short but clear and Alora wondered if something happened in Malfoy manor that made him stay.

"In that case, we should leave," Theo said firmly. "We already stayed too long."

"There are still a few more days before I have to go back to school. You can stay," Blaise disagreed.

"No. Theo is right. We are putting you in more and more risk every passing minute. I am surprised no one found us here yet. How are you feeling, Teddy bear?"

Theo took several deep breaths before answering. "Great, considering the fact that I almost died a few days ago."

"Not funny," Alora slapped him gently.

"Fine, but I am not letting you go empty handed. If any of you will appear on my doorsteps half-dead again, our friendship is over." Blaise pointed his finger at his two friends menacingly.

He quickly ran away from his room. Theo and Alora looked at each other, both with confusion written all over their faces. Blaise came back with a box full of glass objects, judging by the tinkling sound coming out of it as he put it down on the bed. But before either of them could ask something Blaise disappeared again without a single word. Alora's curiosity won over so she carefully lifted the top of the box and peaked in. It was full of potions.

"You said you ran out of muggle money, right?" He came back with a thick packet of banknotes.

"We can't take all of this," Alora refused immediately.

"Alora, don't. It's already bad enough that you have to run like a criminal, even though you two did absolutely nothing wrong, while I can go to school like nothing is happening. If something bad happens to any of you I wouldn't stop blaming myself. So shut up and take it. It's the least I can do."

"Thank you, Bumble-bee," Alora stood up so she could hug him tightly. Blaise was even taller than Draco, she felt so tiny in his arms.

Blaise found himself not wanting to let go. She was too soft and delicate to be on the run like that. She was, as Theo rightfully said, the constant ray of sunshine in their lives and he was worried that this experience could kill everything good in her. He squeezed her for the last time and kissed the top of her head lovingly before he went to Theo to say goodbye to him.

After a half an hour later they were all standing in the middle of the room, all packed and ready to go.

"Please take care of him," Alora whispered softly.

Blaise knew exactly who she meant. He nodded with a sad smile. "And you two take care of each other. I hope the next time we see each other, everything will be normal again."

"See you, Blaise." Alora accepted Theo's arms and apparated them away before she got overwhelmed with emotions.

And so they started again, traveling from place to place, spending every day hiding, doing absolutely nothing and worrying they would die to pure boredom and not to some Dark Wizard. The only things keeping them sane were the happy memories they had and the promise of a better future. They just wished they at least could do something useful, something that could fasten the end of this war.

"We should do some more shopping soon. I was barely able to cook something from what we had left," Theo mumbled absently, standing in the tiny kitchen they had in the magic tent.

"Look at you, what a chef you are. One day there will be hundreds of women fighting over you," Alora smiled at the idea, stealing one of the carrots he had prepared to put in the soup.

"And now we have even less food to cook from," he chuckled.

"We can go tomorrow morning, the town shouldn't be too busy," she agreed, munching on her carrot.

"Deal."

They enjoyed their soup, listening to the radio as always. The news was getting more and more depressing but they couldn't stop listening to them. Alora was thinking about her family, especially her grandmother. She was sure her father would be able to take care of them and they would be able to find each other at the end of this.

The next day they woke up bright and early. The sun was only starting to rise. The days were more and more warm each day as the spring approached. Alora was thankful for that. Theo was now completely healthy again, but as long as the weather was cold and gloomy she was still worrying about him.

They packed up their stuff in comfortable silence, cancelling the protective spells, obliterating every evidence of their presence. Their camp was right next to some small town, so they decided to walk there just to pass some time. It was actually quite a pleasant walk. The sun was shining bright, warming their stiff bodies and there were even a few blooming flowers next to the road.

They arrived in the town in no time, buying two bags full of ingredients and even managed to found a lovely little bakery to buy fresh muffins and coffee. Alora quickly stored the food in her bag and took a big bite of the fluffy, sugary goodness, letting out a small sound of satisfaction.

"Careful, Alora. Somebody might think my cooking is terrible considering the noises you make at an average muffin," Theo chuckled, sipping his hot coffee carefully.

"I already said you are a chef yesterday, your cooking is almost the quality of a Michelin star restaurant. But you never baked anything for me yet," Alora retorted with an amused smirk and broke a big piece of his muffin.

"You have a point. I will work on my baking skills next then."

"You can bake a cake to celebrate when Potter will defeat Voldemort," she mumbled between chewing. 

"Putting all your trust in a teenage boy. I hope we can throw the celebration party before we turn eighty," Theo laughed, offering Alora the rest of his muffin.

They were so caught in the little friendly banter that they didn't even notice the several dark figures following them. Usually they were much more careful and cautious, never letting their guards down. But the lovely weather, delicious food and lovely surroundings made them forget for a single moment that there were still refugees, they were still on the run and in the war.

At the last second Theo noticed the sudden suspicious movement with the side of his eye, quickly threw the rest of his coffee away so he could pull Alora aside. The stream of light missed her just by a hair. Alora didn't hesitate a second. When she realized what was happening she pressed her body even more firmly to Theo's and quickly apparated them away.

The last thing Theo saw before they disappeared in the air was a very angry face he recognized all too well.

They just barely escaped his father.