Obsession {~Gradence~}

Let's start over {4}

"If I choose to stay?" asked Credence after Mr. Graves placed a tender kiss on his forehead.

"Yes. It's your choice. I can't make you stay here if you don't want to....but I can't let you get back to-" started Mr. Graves but was cut off short by Credence.

"Of course I want to stay here." said Credence in an enthusiastic voice.

"You do?"

"Yes. Mr.Graves, I've never felt this safe and wanted in my whole life."

"I'm really glad to hear this, Credence." Mr. Graves said smiling. "But we need to set some rules first....you can't leave the house, at least for a while."

"Why can't I leave the house?" asked Credence.

"I'm not really allowed to have No-Majs or Squibs in my house. Of course, you're not any of that, but sometimes wizards tend to be not so easy to convince. And if they find you here, they would assume you are a No-Maj and since you didn't go to school as a kid, you can't prove them you have Magical blood in your veins."

"I-I have magical blood?" asked Credence surprised.

"Yes, you do. I can feel it in your veins and see it in your eyes, but don't worry, I'll teach you everything I know when the time comes."

"What are the other rules?"

"Come along." Mr. Graves grabbed Credence by his hand and they got out of the bathroom, going down the hall until they reached a big, fancy maroon door, that was different from the other ones.

"Don't ever enter this room." said Mr.Graves, his voice being so soft and tender." here are a lot of classified information from the Ministry which are also protected by spells and if you enter this room you may get hurt, or worse....dead." Credence nodded.

"And one more thing. Do as I say, always. And if you need anything, just tell me and I'll bring it to you." Credence looked at him. These rules seemed a bit too much, but he knew that Mr. Graves only wanted for him to be safe and well protected.

"Now let's go and get you warm. The paste is not dry yet so we might as well light up the fireplace until you can take your shirt on.

After not so much time, the two men were sitting in front of the fireplace with two cups of hot tea in their hands. The paste has dried up but since they were sitting too comfortable there, Mr. Graves just wrapped a blanket around Credence.

"So you can also use a broom." said Mr.Graves suddenly. Credence looked at him a bit confused but smiling. When he saw the confusion on Credence's face, he smiled as well. 

"You wanted to know how wizards travel, except for Apparition."

"Brooms?" asked Credence enthusiastically.

"Yes. And there are also sports you can practice on brooms. Quidditch, which is very popular in Great Britain, but Americans also like to play it sometimes. And Quodpot, which is played mostly by Americans. I honestly prefer the British one."

"And how is it played?" Credence's face lit up hearing all these things about magic that he didn't know. His mother always told him that magic is a sin and it is pure evil. But now, he is very happy to learn fascinating things about his kind.

"Well, there are two teams and four balls: a Quaffle, two Bludgers, and a Golden Snitch. Each of the teams has 7 players: three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper and one Seeker. Six ring-shaped goals are situated atop poles of different heights, three on each side of the pitch and the Chasers must put the Quaffle ball through their opponent's hoop. If they do, their team gets 10 points. The Keepers must defend their team's hoops. Those two Bludgers are made of iron and their purpose is to attack all the players and that's the Beaters' job, they knock the Bludgers away from the players with some wooden clubs. The Seeker must find and catch a tiny gold ball with wings, the Golden Snitch. If he catches the Snitch, their team gets 150 points and the game ends."

"Wow" breathed Credence through his opened mouth. Mr. Graves chuckled.

"It is fascinating but it's also brutal. I broke my arms and legs countless times back when I was in school."

"What did you play as?" asked Credence. Mr. Graves was slightly impressed to see that he understood how the game goes so quickly.

"I was a Chaser. Those Bludgers gave me a hard time. I used to think they were attracted to my face." he laughed.

"Can't blame them." Credence said without thinking. When Mr, Graves turned his head towards him still smiling, Credence turned bright pink and looked away in embarrassment. "Uhm...sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? You only said what you thought." when Credence looked back at him, Mr. Graves gave him a smile reassuring him that no harm was done. In fact, it didn't seem to bother him at all.

After some silence, Mr. Graves spoke again."We can also travel by Floo Powder."

"Floo Powder."

"Yes. It's a magical Powder. You just step into the fireplace, when it's not burning, of course, take some Floo Powder in your hand, say exactly where you want to go and then throw it in front of you. This one is also tricky. If you don't say the name of your destination clearly, you can end up God knows where." Credence put his hands behind him on the carpet and leaned on them listening carefully to Mr.Graves.

"Then there's also Portkeys. You just enchant a simple object like a boot or a hat, anything and it can take you anyplace you own. You can travel by trains or buses. There are some creatures that you can travel with. Like a Hippogriff. It's a bird-like creature of the size of a horse."

The discussion went on and on, forking into different topics. They both enjoyed this talk, so much that they've lost track of time. It was 2 in the morning when Credence started to get sleepy. He refused to go to bed when Mr. Graves asked him if he was tired. He eventually fell asleep on the carpet and Mr. Graves picked him up, carrying him in his arms to put him to bed. He placed him carefully on the bed, pulling the sheets on him and just stayed there a bit longer, watching this handsome boy sleep so peacefully and beautifully. After some time, when Mr. Graves started to feel sleepy, he got up and went to bed.

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I planned on updating yesterday but we had guests and I couldn't. They're staying for two days but I hope I'll have time to update tomorrow.

[EDITED]