Faint autumn sounds filtered into the room as I opened my eyes. It was still early and I rolled on to my back and stretched. There was still a pleasurable ache between my legs and I smiled thinking about what happened last night. A light was coming from the window, the room's door was opened and I could hear Remus tinkering downstairs. The scent of fresh coffee filled my nosе and I wrapped the sheet around my body. Padding into the kitchen, Remus noticed me and smiled sweetly. He had made two plates with scrambled eggs and bacon. There were fresh fruits, a teapot, and a jug of coffee on the table. He was already showered and dressed and I couldn't help but smell him as I wrapped my arms around him from behind. I took a deep breath of his scent - of chocolate, of books, of a forest after rain, of home. He touched my hand on his stomach before dragging me to the table.
"I'm quite underdressed for breakfast," I laughed.
Remus' eyes appraised me and I blushed. Why did this man do this to me?
"Underdressed would be you in nothing more ... than me on top of you, " he said before sipping his tea. "Did you sleep well?" he asked when I sat down and started eating.
"Mmhmm... very well. I was so exhausted. You're better than a sleeping pill," I teased him. He smiled; his eyes fixed on me. I was mesmerized. "What? It's something wrong?"
"Absolutely nothing. You're beautiful. "the features of his face had softened.
I blushed. Again. Could I behave normally? To blush like a schoolgirl? My brain didn't work properly when Remus was around.
We had a quiet breakfast. It was so nice to be around him. I enjoyed the smallest ordinary things we did together. My heart would burst. I wanted to stay in this moment and not have to leave.
"I managed to sneak into your room and get you some clothes. As much as I like your dress from last night, you shouldn't wear it again today. I won't be able to let you go. " Remus hugged me.
"Was the house in its place?" I laughed, remembering Sirius.
"Yes, it was even surprisingly quiet. Given his reputation at school ... "
"Save me the details, please," I shuddered. "He's my uncle after all."
"I feel a little uncomfortable about that. Look, he's my best friend. I can't hide my relationship with you from him for a long time. "
Relationship. That word sounded so good on his lips.
"I know. I still didn't get the right moment. That tortures me too, and he obviously trusts you a lot as he lets me sleep in your house. "
"Yes, you'll have to pretend how uncomfortable my sofa was."
"I'll play with his guilty conscience of abandoning me for the sake of the redhead."
We both laughed. I walked to the bedroom when Remus stopped me and turned me around to face him. He cupped my face and kissed me deeply. This kiss was different. It wasn't demanding and so passionate, but it was soft and tender, I unconsciously returned it and wrapped my arms around him. Slowly our lips parted breathlessly and I stared at him. Remus smiled at me and gave me another quick peck.
"Off you go to the shower, you smell like sex," he grinned.
"I'd ask you to join me ..." I teased him
"If I joined you, we'd never leave this house today," he teased back.
The shower felt good and when I dried off, I could see the clothes Remus had laid out for me. I combed my hair and pulled it back before going downstairs.
"When I will see you again? "I asked him, while I was looking to collect my bag and shoes from last night.
"I'm leaving for Galway today. I was offered a job in the area. Old acquaintances of Dumbledore. It's not something much, but at least the people there aren't interested in this anti-werewolf legislation" the last words were soaked with a lot of pain and anger that I hadn't seen in him. I stroked his cheek, his features relaxed slightly, but he didn't look me in the eye, he was focused on some point far behind me. He sighed wearily shortly afterward and turned to me, "Don't worry about me. The first week will be quite intense, but by the end, I will find a way to get out and see you. " He kissed me goodbye. "Send greetings to Sirius from me."
A whole week without him. That thought bothered me from within. I always considered myself an introvert, I preferred to be alone, immersed in books, coffee, and my own thoughts. But now I couldn't imagine all this without wanting Remus to be by my side. Even Sirius noticed my rotten mood.
"What's going on, sweetling?" Why is this mood?
"Not that I have the right to complain about something, but I'm dying of boredom. I want to do something, to occupy my thoughts, to intrigue me. Do you think that I can apply for a position in the Ministry? I have no plan for my future and that is quite depressing. And I can't count on your money forever. "
"A lot of people wouldn't complain about that," he smiled at me. "If you only care about money, don't worry. I have enough. After I die, I'll leave everything to you and Harry. But if you want something to make you feel useful, I understand. Have you ever thought about what you want to do?
"I don't know - at school I was good at Transfiguration, Charms and .... Curses. I know languages too. "
"How many? "
"I do not know the exact number, somewhere around 140. "
"How manyyyyyy?" he looked at me in disbelieve."Bartemius Crouch Senior will kill for you to take you to his Department. "
"Is that the mustachioed man with short gray hair split in two? He was at the Triwizard Tournament. Honestly, it seems a little sinister to me. "
"He's a great wizard, Barty Crouch, powerfully magical — and power-hungry. Oh, never a Voldemort supporter. No, Barty Crouch was always very outspoken against the Dark Side. But... I would say he became as ruthless and cruel as many on the Dark Side. He was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement during the First Wizarding War, and a candidate for Ministry of Magic, but when the war ended he was demoted to the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. He had a reputation for "fighting fire with fire", exhibiting the sort of ruthlessness and brutality against criminals that could be compared to some Death Eaters to their victims. "
"Why was he demoted?"
"His own son was a Death Eater and had helped drive two Aurors — Alice and Frank Longbottom — insane through use of the Cruciatus Curse. During the trial against his son, Crouch did not make any difference for it despite his son being among the convicts. Ignoring his son and wife's pleas, as well as the apparently not completely certain evidence that his son was guilty in the first place, he sentenced him to Azkaban for life, while cruelly claiming that he had no son. In fact, his decision was met with the roaring approval of the court. In my opinion, and by all accounts, this court was nothing more than a sham trial for Crouch Snr. to express his hatred for his son and to publicly disown him in front of the entire Wizengamot. "
"Terrible story, this does not help me in my choice of where to apply for a job. "
"Forget it, Crouch is unscrupulous, but he's a good leader. And now I heard that they urgently need people in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, especially during the tournament. Someone who knows how to speaks with trolls would be useful to them. " he winked at me
"Troll language is easier than talking to you, " I joked back.
Despite Sirius' story about Barty Crouch, I decided to try and apply for a job in his Department. I sent my owl with my candidacy to the Ministry, trying to make my CV looks good. I also attached my exam grades for my last year. In Drumstrang we have similar ones to the Hogwarts N.E.W.T. with very slight differences such as some of the subjects and grading scale. I hoped that graduating from another school would not affect my application. To my surprise, the next day I received an official invitation to appear for an interview at the Department of International Magical Cooperation.
On the day I had to go to the Ministry, I got up very early. My stomach had clenched into a ball, and it was as if someone had shoved a large piece of pie down my throat. I couldn't breathe evenly. Not only my anxiety but also that I hadn't received any notice from Remus since we have been at his house. I hoped he was very busy, not that he forgot me.
I chose my clothes carefully. I stopped at a black plain robe with silver buttons. Underneath, I wore a black straight skirt and a gray shirt. I tied my hair in a careless bun. Nothing intrusive, but not very casual too. With one last look at Sirius, who had raised his thumbs, wishing me success, I left to the Ministry via the Floo network.
The Department of International Magical Cooperation was located on the fifth level of the Ministry of Magic. My way from Grimmauld place to the door with the "Head-office" sign had passed in a fog. I was so nervous. A man around my age appeared at the door. He was tall and thin with vivid red hair and freckles. He wore horn-rimmed glasses.
"Yes," he began in a slightly arrogant tone, "you must be Ashling Karkaroff. Come in. "And he stepped back from the door to make a path for me. "I'm Percy Weasley, Mr. Crouch's assistant. " I held out my hand to shake hands, but he didn't seem to notice and continued. "In principle, I conduct the interviews, but he has explicitly ordered me to do it himself now. " It became clear from his tone that he was a little offended by this fact. " Come and sit down. Mr. Crouch will be here shortly. "- and with these words, he came out.
So arrogant. I hoped if I started working here, I wouldn't have much to do with this Percy Weasley. Great start - a terrifying boss and an arrogant colleague. Why do I want to be involved in this? The moment I thought about leaving without waiting for the interview, Barthemius Crouch himself stormed into the room. I had only seen him from a distance, and now he seemed even more impressive. Although he had large shadows under his eyes and his hair was not as smooth as when I first saw him, I still had the same feeling that he was piercing me with his eyes. I stood up and held out my hand.
"Good day, I'm Ashling Karkaroff and I'm here for the job interview. It's a pleasure. "Unlike Percy Weasley, he shook my hand tightly. Then he sat down at his desk and waved me to sit back in my chair in front of him.
"So, I checked your application. Your grades are quite impressive. Your Multilingualism abilities too." He looked at me inquiringly and then continued without stumbling in my mother language - Bulgarian. – Нямате против да продължим интервюто на различни езици, нали? (You will not mind conducting the interview, speaking in different languages, do you?)
"Pas du tout. En fait, je serai ravi." (Not at all. In fact, I will be pleased) - I answered in French and smiled.
"Ghood. Uhff Oosoyyo Haarduuh " (Good. It is not hard. – Mermish) Wie gesagt, ich war beeindruckt von Ihrem Lebenslauf, bis ich sah, dass Sie Karkaroff heißen. Hast du irgendwelche Verbindungen zu Igor Karkaroff? (As I said, I was impressed by your CV until I saw that your name is Karkaroff. Do you have any ties with Igor Karkaroff? – German) – he narrowed his eyes at me, waiting for my answer.
"Y si y no. Igor Karkaroff es mi tío. Pero no tengo un contacto cercano con él. Mi abuela me crió. " (And yes, and no. Igor Karkaroff is my uncle. But I have no close contact with him. My grandmother raised me. - Spanish)
His features relaxed slightly. But his gaze remained focused. I had the feeling that he wanted to read my mind.
"「ここイギリスに親戚はいますか？」" (Do you have any relatives here in England? – Japanese)
" עם מי ליצור קשר, לא. " (With whom to have contact, no. - Hebrew) - I lied.
"Abbastanza coraggioso da parte tua venire da solo in Inghilterra. Se davvero vuoi questo lavoro, ti chiederò la massima riservatezza per i compiti che ti assegno. Non tollero disobbedienza, ritardi, arbitrarietà. Sei assunto. " (Quite brave of you to come alone to England. If you really want this job, I will ask you for complete confidentiality for the tasks I assign to you. I do not tolerate disobedience, delays, arbitrariness. You are hired. - Italian)
His last words startled me. Did the interviews go usually that fast? A little more details about what is expected of me? As if reading my mind, he added:
"Weatherby will give you additional information on when and where to start. This is from me for now. I will look forward to our work together. "
"Thank you, "I said still a little confused, getting up to leave.
"For what? " he asked me. His gaze suddenly seemed distracted.
"For hiring me", I told him with mixed feelings.
"Right? Okay .... Um, enjoyed it," he replied, sending me to the door. This man didn't seem to be quite sane. Great, and I will work for him.
After receiving some instructions from Percy Weasley, I went straight back home to Sirius, still shocked by the way the interview was being conducted.
"And..? " My uncle asked me, looking forward to my answer.
"I'm hired," I told him simply. He clapped his hands happily. " But I do not know. It was very strange. In the beginning, it started interestingly, Crouch asked me in different languages, he was interested in my family ...
"He probably doesn't want to have anything to do with someone who is related to a Death Eater."
"An ex-Death Eater, I hope. But that was not strange, in fact. He hired me after only a few questions, and suddenly he seemed carried away. Suddenly he was a different person. It was as if he didn't know where he was.
"Odd indeed for Barty Crouch. But he can get very tense along with the Quidditch World Cup and the Tournament. Come on, let's celebrate. I'm going to have connections in the Ministry. You can say another good word for me. " Sirius laughed ." I received a letter from Remus this morning, by the way "
"Did he write to you?" I swallowed with a lump in my throat. " Only to you? "
"So who else? He's obviously pretty busy with his new job. Which is good for him. All he needs now is a woman to shake his life a little. I hope he's going to meet someone there."
I suddenly felt sick. The world began to spin around me. The lump in my throat reappeared. Why had Remus written to Sirius but not to me? Did I make a mistake in our last meetings? Or he really did meet someone there.
"I'm thinking of going up to my room, Sirius. I want to rest, I had a lot of emotions today. "and without waiting for his answer, I quickly went up to my room. My heart pounded in my chest as I slammed the door. Turning around, I opened my eyes and screamed at the figure leaning against the bed frame.
"Why so nervous?" He asked, startling me. With my hand on the wand, I was ready to curse the man in front of me. I was so angry with him. Remus. I was angry with him although I relaxed slightly.
"What are you doing here? Weren't you in Ireland? Sirius just told me you wrote him a letter from there."
"A letter to him, A kiss to you." He smiled at me, his eyes were soft and shiny. All my anxiety from a while ago has evaporated. " I managed to sneak into your room a while ago. I do not have much time."
He held out one hand to me and pulled me to sit on top of him on the bed. He kissed my shoulder, then my neck, slowly and gently. I bit back a moan when his lips found a pulse beneath my jaw. He suckled that pulse point and I felt myself giving in to his kisses. His hands slid down my back, under my shirt, unbuttoning my bra. Lifting my skirt, his hand slipped under my lacy knickers, discovering my wetness already.
The moment when Remus growled at my neck and began kissing me even more passionately, the door to my room opened. I turned around almost immediately.
Sirius was standing in the doorway of my room, a shock on his face. He was holding champagne and 2 glasses. Realizing what was happening, he threw them aside. They shattered into thousands of pieces. I couldn't move in horror, Remus was also frozen strained, his hand still under my skirt.
"You son of a.... I'm gonna kill you" Sirius said, his eyes burning as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.