A Quiet Life in Mystic Falls

Chapter 3: The Grill

As soon as they arrived Azalea made a beeline for the toilets, while Stefan and Elena headed to the table where Bonnie and Caroline where already seated. When she joined them she knew the attention would be back on her. She cringed at the thought, but she had been desperate.
True to her prediction, she sat down and all four heads turned.
"So Lea, when did you actually move here?" Bonnie asked.
"I moved here yesterday I got people to do my decorating for me so I just had to put the pictures up. I've been lucky," she said "What about Stefan?" she wanting the spotlight off her.
"Well my family is from Mystic Falls –"
"Oh right you're a founding family right?" Caroline interjected; Azalea didn't miss the way she was looking at him. However it was extremely obvious that he liked Elena.
"Aren't you in this elusive club?" Azalea asked Bonnie who chuckled.
"Nope, the Bennet's apparently according to my grandmother come from a long line of witches."
"Yeah I remember you said in the car," the redhead smiled. "So, were you born in Mystic Falls?" she asked Stefan so that once again she wasn't the centre of attention.
"Yes, I was but I moved away a long time ago," he said.
"Parents?" Bonnie asked, the English girl relaxed they had all focused on him.
"My parents passed away," he said.
"I'm sorry," Elena said. "Any siblings?"
"None that I talk too," he said. The way he said it made the redhead frown, she would give almost anything to have her siblings back. All of the Weasley's were lost in the war. As she thought about it the hole where that had once been full of warmth and family fondness tugged reminding her she was now alone once again. "I er, live with my uncle." Stefan finished, the redhead barely heard him.
"So you don't know about the party tomorrow," Caroline said.
"Back to school thing at the falls," Bonnie explained to both newbies.
"Are you going?" Stefan asked Elena. Subtle, Azalea thought amused.
"Of course she is," Bonnie answered for her, she smiled at their behaviour it was so cute.
"Hey guys, what can I do for you?" a waitor asked.
"Erm, American classic cheese burger with chips." she grinned at him, and was confused when she heard the group laugh "Am I missing something?"
"Azalea, chips are crisps, you want fries," Stefan informed her; she nodded and smiled at him.
"What language do you speak?"
"English," Caroline said confused.
"Great, so I'll have chips please," she said sweetly. They all laughed.
"Alright cheese burger and chips." He said with a smirk. He went around the table taking everyone's orders Bonnie said she was eating at home so didn't order anything. When he left everyone stared at her; she looked at them nervously, wondering if she had crossed a line.
"I'm not offending you am I? I was just teasing," Azalea said. She hoped she hadn't made life even harder for herself, though she supposed she could just move again. And yet... the little town of Mystic Falls had grown on her.
"No, no, just relax were not going to turn on you or anything," Bonnie said. Azalea smiled.
"Thanks, but I think I'll stay clear on the 4th of July," she said, they all laughed again. "You know, when I first got off the plane someone was there to welcome us and he said "hello have a good time, sorry for ruining your language," I thought it was rather amusing," she said smiling.
"Wow, I could just hear you talk all day." Caroline said. "Say, I had tea with the queen? Actually do you know the queen?"
Azalea laughed.
"Do you know Obama?" Bonnie said laughing too.
"But I did have tea with the queen while eating crumpets and reading Sherlock Homes after that we played cricket and went to the fish and chip shop." She said amusing the table. "Now we got the stereo type out of the way... Oh I want to go to a diner!" she finished excitedly.
"What like Denny's,"
"Yeah, we don't have them they look so cool,"
They laughed at her excitement.
"There is one in Grove Hill we could go in a few weeks, the weekend before the Founders Ball or something," Bonnie said.
"Thanks that would be so cool," Azalea said enthusiastically. They chuckled again.
"Anything else?" Bonnie said.
"Oh I want to try a corn dog and beef jerkyand peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! Oh and –"
They all laughed loudly.
"Root beer," she said slowly pouting.
"Oh Lea, you're so adorable," Caroline said.
"Shut up, did I say your question about me knowing the queen was adorable?" she asked the blonde, who scowled at her. She beamed back, the table laughed at the two.
"Here you go; sounds like you're all having fun." the waiter said she he gave Azalea, Elena and Caroline orders to them. "I'll get yours now," he said rushing back to the kitchen.
"Wow how big is the burger," Azalea gasped as she picked up the large slab of cow. "And chips with it, bloody hell!"
They all laughed at her as she prodded the meat as though she was going to eat her.
"I'll share it with you, Grams is cooking her stew tonight so I best eat up now." Bonnie said taking a chip from her plate, the redhead looked at her gratefully, picking up the burger, trying to calculate how she was going to fit the burger in her mouth.
"Squash it," Caroline suggested, Azalea experimentally did as Caroline told her, then took a bite.
She made a noise in approval as her mouth was full.
They all chuckled at her again. Stefan looked at the redhead in amusement she was adorable, yet despite the fact she had been nothing but playful as of yet, he couldn't help but think that she had been through something. Something that made her older than she was... He was curious to find out what.
"Here is yours," the guy said to him snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Thanks," he said...
"Thanks for today Elena," Azalea smiled at the girl climbing out of the SUV. They paid the bill.
"No problem it was fun," Elena nodded. "You're definitely coming to the party though."
"Well –"
"Nope you're going, non-optional," Elena said grinning at her, the redhead smiled back.
"Alright, I'll be there," she said smiling.
"Great," Elena beamed, "So what did you make of your first day at Mystic Falls High?"
"Different, but I enjoyed it. A lot calmer than back home," she said smiling thinking about the multiple teachers who had tried to kill her, Voldemort, troll, three headed dog, basilisk, dementors, triwiazrd tournament the way she felt when the school thought she was a lying lunatic, compared to all of that joining the Muggle school seemed like riding a broom.
"You really mean that don't you," Elena said.
"Yeah well I was judged by a magical talking hat on my first day at Hogwarts so compared to the pressure of everyone staring at you as the hat decides how your life at school will be, this was easy."
Elena laughed.
"That joke is stuck now you know that right?" she said amused.
"I know," Azalea said just holding back her laughter.
"See you tomorrow, Lea," the brunette said warmly.
"Night," she replied as they both went to their own home.
Hoping that she would sleep better after the flight and the day at school again Azalea headed straight to bed putting on her pyjamas and brushing her teeth. She plopped into the queen sized bed she closed her eyes.
Azalea turned to look where Neville was staring. Directly above them, framed in the doorway from the Brain Room, stood Albus Dumbledore, his wand aloft, his face white and furious. Azalea felt a kind of electric charge surge through every particle of her body - they were saved. Dumbledore sped down the steps past Neville and Azalea, who had no more thoughts of leaving.
Dumbledore was already at the foot of the steps when the Death Eaters nearest realised he was there and yelled to the others. One of the Death Eaters ran for it, scrabbling like a monkey up the stone steps opposite. Dumbledore's spell pulled him back as easily and effortlessly as though he had hooked him with an invisible line -
Only one pair was still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Azalea saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: he was laughing at her.
"Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.
The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest.
The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock.
Azalea released Neville, though she was unaware of doing so. She was jumping down the steps again, pulling out her wand, as Dumbledore, too, turned towards the dais.
It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the ragged veil hanging from the arch.
Azalea saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on her godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind, then fell back into place.
Azalea heard Bellatrix Lestrange's triumphant scream, but knew it meant nothing - Sirius had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second...
But Sirius did not reappear.
"NO! NO! SIRIUS!" Azalea yelled. "SIRIUS!"
She shot up gasping, her mind taking a few seconds to organise the past and present, she turned into the pillow and cried. She missed her godfather so much. He was the first person she knew and truly cared for that she lost in the war, soon followed by everyone else. The redhead cried herself back to sleep.
Next thing she knew her alarm was blaring at her demanding she rise and continue on with the day. Finding her glasses she put them on and made her way to the bathroom to put in contacts and shower.
Today she opted for a denim skirt that stopped half way up her thigh, stripy blue and white shirt had a heart line and clung to her in a flattering way. Grabbing a black cardigan and her light brown suede shin high boots her made her way downstairs to pack her bag and make herself a small breakfast and cup of tea. Bracing herself for another day at an American high school she picked up her bag and headed out the door to meet Elena and Bonnie.