Talk To Me (Albus Dumbledore x OC)

10 - What We Keep to Ourselves

The penny dropped.

As did Jacob Kowalski when he came stumbling through the fireplace in a burst of green flames, landing on his hands and knees at Aberforth's feet with a thud. For a moment nobody spoke, stunned expressions passing between each other until the youngest Dumbledore stood, offered Aurora a small nod and walked away from the scene mumbling something about muggles and incompetence.

"Are we still not a fanatic for port-key travel, Jacob?" she snickered, though her eyes were soft and kind.

The muggle clambered into the previously occupied armchair with a sigh. "Does the nausea ever wear off? I feel like I'm spinning for hours and then just get dumped somewhere. It's embarrassing,"

"I can't say I know much about the side-effects of no-mag teleportation, but it wore off eventually for us wizarding kind. It's the quickest way to get around!" she chirped in response.

It wasn't until Jacob's stomach had stopped churning and he'd rubbed his face to rid the dizziness that he honed-in on Aurora's injured appendage, a look of concern growing. Aurora just sat quietly, watching as he pointed at her and opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out – instead he shut it again, head tilted and waved at it in exasperation. When she didn't offer an explanation, merely a blank stare, words finally formed on his tongue.

"Are you kidding? Please tell me this is just something minor, something Newt can fix when he gets back?"

"It should be healed within a few days but my brother needs to find a spell to repair some of the damage," she offered, a tight-lipped smile gracing her features. She didn't want to go into detail right now, it was getting late and the pain was rearing its head once more, though she was sure Newt could offer an explanation once he'd talked Theseus down. He, too, was yet to see her condition.

"Well, uh, that's good," he stuttered awkwardly, clearing his throat before changing the subject. "What do you think he'll serve for supper tonight?" Jacob asked quietly, motioning to Aberforth behind the bar of whom was currently cleaning glasses with a cloth and glaring at the muggle as he did so. It was rather disconcerting if he was to be honest with himself.

"Whatever it is, I am positive it will be a delicious, wholesome meal," she proposed, glancing to where Mr Kowalski seemed to be staring nervously and smiling in amusement at the youngest Dumbledore's intolerant expression. "Or he may poison us all for the inconvenience," she joked.

Jacob's only response was the raising of his brows in disbelief of her jest.

They continued to converse, speaking of the muggle's misadventures of the day, up to the point at which he had fallen through the fireplace. Newt had advised him to return to the Inn to check on Aurora though hadn't offered any prior warning of her condition which clarified the look of horror on the muggle's face upon realising. As it turns out, the group had split up to gain inside-intel on Grindelwald's plans which was why Yusef had not returned since their meeting on the train, and why Jacob's face was now plastered over most of the daily newspapers. The title 'Murderous Muggle!' in bold, capital letters, combined with the terrified look on his face and the inaccurate description of events caused Aurora to let out a series of giggles, each getting louder until she could hardly breathe and her shoulder ached. Jacob's anxieties seemed to settle after hearing the girl's laughter as he, too, joined in mockery of the article.

As they calmed, Jacob subtly produced a miscellaneous white bag of sweets from his inside coat pocket, stretching out his arm to offer one. Aurora's eyes narrowed at him suspiciously after a glance at its contents.