A Hot day in the States

[Luke Bennett]

Luke gave an exasperated sigh as he swaggered into the house that he had grown up in. Having already done his time in Basic training he could be called away from home any day, but at the moment he had not been informed to go on duty. Today was hot, excruciatingly hot, weather that Minnesota had not harbored in a long time. While it usually got into the high nineties at the worst part of the summer it was never so persistent. Long, hot summers usually indicated long, cold winters, something that the nineteen year old was not looking forward to.

He couldn't have picked a possibly worse day to offer to fix the transmission, but what could he say? He hated being bored. Thus, he found himself outside while his mother and father ran a few errands. Further, he had been dumb enough to wear a white shirt. In no time he was drenched with sweat and oil, beads of moisture seeming to seep out of every pore in his body. He groaned as he moved across the tiled floor. The air conditioning, it seemed, was taking a hell of a long time to kick in. The young man swore as he opened the fridge, and reaching into the cabinet he grabbed a glass for water. Taking a long drought of it he poured the rest into his hair. Realizing that sitting in a sticky, wet shirt would be uncomfortable, he peeled it off, throwing it in the hallway towards the laundry room.

Drawing another glass of water he sat shirtless in the kitchen, quite glad that no one else was around. His mother would have yelled at him for being indecent or something of the sort, and he knew she would just flip if she saw a dirty shirt sitting on the clean floor. Well, what she didn't know wouldn't kill her. With a sigh he kicked back in one of the wooden kitchen chairs, figuring he would wait a bit before going back outside. It was nice to get out of the sun for a while, despite the fact that it was quite warm inside as well.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella was quite tired from her journey back home, although her excitement overruled her exhaustion. The first she noticed upon returning was the heat. Whether it was an usually hot summer she couldn't tell, as she had adjusted to the temperatures of an entirely different climate. Wiping a bead of sweat from her brow, she looked to Lily. She was glad that they didn't have to lug their unnecessarily heavy trunks around the states, as first off, they would attract attention, and second of all, they just took up too much space.

She thanked the cab driver that had brought them out of town, gave him a tip, stretching as she stepped out of the car. Grabbing her suitcase, she exclaimed, "Well, this is it!" Carl owned a small farm but he didn't really farm much. Her eyes drank in the sights around her. She could see some newly acquired cars parked out by the barn, no doubt a hobby of her uncle's. She smiled widely as she breathed in the fresh air, elated to be here. Unable to stop grinning at her friend, she added, "I hope you like it. Not a city house or anything but, I was raised here." She couldn't wait to see the faces of her family members, her cheeks rosy with delight. Part of her wanting to drop the suitcase and run around barefoot, like she used to when she was younger.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily got out from the taxi and looked around. It was hot, but not any hotter than she was used to when she visited California with Blake. She picked up her suitcase from the ground and stood next to Estrella. She looked around and noticed the barn, a number of cars, and the house. It was nothing like the castle they just came from, but a nice cozy house that reminded her of her home in Wisconsin. "This looks great! Nothing to worry about. It reminds me of my house in Wisconsin. So, shall we go and let them know we are here? I hope they have air conditioning." Lily chuckled at the comment, then smiled. The house looked inviting, and she was tired and ready for a shower.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella grinned at Lily, saying, "Well, that's a relief. Shall we head in? I don't know if anyone's home but we are going to be a surprise either way." A well received surprise, she hoped. Nodding her head, she replied, "Yeah, it's hella hot here! Although, I think anything would be warm considered to Norway." She was eager to get inside and see her family, whom she was sure would keep her up all night. She sighed, shouldering her messenger bag of space. Looking back to her friend, she started to walk towards the door, glancing around the yard. "Oh, I forgot to tell you- they have a really big dog. His name is Duke- he's loveable but just as keen to knock you over as lick your face." She didn't see the Saint Bernard anywhere but was keeping her guard just in case.

With a deep breath she rang the doorbell, standing back and waiting to see if anyone would answer.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily followed Estrella up to the door, and watching out for the dog. "Okay. That scares me a bit, but I will get over it. Not a huge fan of dogs licking me to death," she admitted with a laugh. She stood still, her messanger bag on her shoulder, wondering what to expect.

 

[Luke Bennett]

Luke started as the doorbell rang, spilling the rest of his water all over himself. Surely, his family couldn't be back yet. They had gone to the cities to do shop, which was a good hour away. Figuring it would take too long to grab a shirt, he moved over to the door, opening it and wondering who in the world would be visiting the Bennett household on such a hot day. He rested a well toned arm against the door, not recognizing the two girls at first.

The young man's eyes widened as he registered the face before him. Not having seen his cousin in years, he exclaimed, "Well, if it isn't Stray!" and enveloped her in a bear hug. "Where in the hell have you been, Missy?" He looked to his cousin's accomplice with a warm smile. "Hello there," he said politely, having no idea who the girl was. He continued to constrict his cousin with a grin on his face, wondering if he was hallucinating in the heat.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily just about died as the door opened and a shirtless man opened the door. Oh. My. Goodness. I have not seen anything so hot since I walked in on Josh coming out from the shower over Christmas. Blake is amazing, but damn! He is just ripped! Wow. She blushed a bit, then opened her mouth, hoping to speak normally. "Hi. I'm Lily. Who are you?" she managed to say without too much trouble and a smile on her face.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella's heart was pounding in her chest as she heard someone come to the door, her mouth breaking out into a wide grin as she realized that it was Luke. Before she could get a word in edgewise, her cousin had grabbed her, enveloping her in a bear hug. He seemed to disregard the fact, however, that he was shirtless. Hugging him back quickly she tried to struggle away, feeling like a five year old again. "Gross, Pukey! You're all sticky and sweaty and you have no shirt on! What would Maggie say?" Laughing, she managed to squirm out of his grip, stepping back and smiling. "Mind if we come in? It's hotter than hades out here." With a smirk, she added, "It's good to see you too. And this is Lily." She was hoping to explain inside, where she hoped there was some form of air conditioning. Muggles did have perks when it came to their dwellings.

 

[Luke Bennett]

Luke grinned widely at Estrella's friend. She was pretty cute, but a bit too young for him. "I'm Luke," he said, extending a hand. "Luke Bennett. Stray never told me about any of her friends. It's nice to meet you, Lily." Smiling a little sheepishly, he let his cousin go. He had to realize again that indeed, he was shirtless and standing in front of two girls.

Rubbing his knuckles against his cousin's head, though not too hard, he said, "Aww, poor Stray. You'll get over it. A little sweat never hurt anyone." Winking at her, he stepped back, saying, "Well, you two, the air conditioning is a piece of crap at the moment so it's not the greatest- but, it's better than being outside." With a smirk, he moved to the hallway and picked up his dirty shirt, holding onto it.

Smiling at Estrella's friend, he asked, "Can I get you guys anything to drink? Take your bags? And by God, you haven't even said why you came here yet!" While he had had some attitude issues when he was younger, ascending into adulthood had cleared it up just a little bit. "Mom and Dad are going to freak."

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily shook Luke's hand. She laughed at Estrella's name-calling. "Pukey? Did you just call him Pukey?" She was fully aware that Luke was shirtless and looking rather fine, silently wondering how old he was, then chastizing herself for thinking thoughts like that when she had a gem of a boyfriend like Blake.

"I could use a drink," she said following Luke inside. "What'cha got handy? Oh, and yeah, if you want to take this, that would be cool. I warn you though, it's heavier than it looks." She chuckled, knowing what all she had packed in her magically-charmed messanger bag.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella gave Lily a wicked smirk. "Yes, indeed, Pukey. He's much more evil than he lets on." Laughing, she added, "You learn that well enough by living with him." Winking at her cousin, she was eager to move inside the kitchen.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, she stated, "Hell yeah, I could use a drink! Water or something would be cool. And I'm sure, Lily-" she chuckled, handing Luke her messenger bag of space, "That our Army boy here can handle them just fine."

Taking a seat and making herself at home, she grinned at Luke. "We'll get to that in due time! How in the world have you guys been? You're looking rather- ripped these days." She felt no infatuation with her cousin(which would positively be disgusting) remembering how scrawny he used to be as a kid. She smiled, anticipating the reactions of her aunt and uncle. Would Alex even remember her? Her little cousin had been only three when she had been here with Kale.

 

[Luke Bennett]

Luke rolled his eyes. "And you shall forever be immortalized as Stray. Run along now, little kitty." Smiling broadly at Lily, he retorted, the sarcasm dried out of his voice, "Well, we've got water, of course, milk, grape kool-aid, and maybe some pop..." After reaffirming that there was not another variety of beverage here that either of these two could legally consume, he said, "So, what would you like?"

He nodded to the bag, and then to his cousin. Taking the bag, he was surprised by the weight of such a little thing. "What in the world do you put in here?" he asked, his eyes wide as he looked to Lily. "An anchor? Piano maybe?"

Setting the bag down, he replied cockily, "Of course I am. You, however, are looking rather short." Sticking his tongue out at Estrella, Luke shrugged. "We've been doing just fine. Ain't complaining."

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily felt a huge smile come across her face watching Estrella and Luke give and take the sarcasm. She thought over the list of options for a beverage that he presented her, then decided to be a bit snarky herself. "What? No butterbeer?" she said, sticking her tongue out a bit at Luke, "Then I think I want a soda. Got any Cherry Coke? I haven't had one of those in a while."

When he commented on her bag, Lily blushed a bit, then admitted, "Well, no pianos, but a few, um, dozen pairs of shoes? Maybe a few books too. I don't remember what all I have packed in there to be honest." She giggled a bit then moved to the bag where he set it down. Opening it, she looked inside it. "Make that four dozen shoes."

Standing up, Lily moved to take a seat at the table in the kitchen. "So, when are we going to meet the rest of the family, Strella? How many are there anyways?"

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella's eyes brightened at the mention of Cherry Coke. "Scratch the water- I'll take some of that heavenly stuff if you got any," she laughed, smirking at Lily. She hadn't had the soda in forever, at the mention of that she hadn't had any kind of soda in a long time. Butterbeer was good but it could get old.

Not really sure how else to comment besides sticking her tongue back out at Luke, she turned to Lily. "Uhm, they should be around somewhere- where are Maggie and Carl?" Thinking about it, she said, "Well, living here you've got my aunt and uncle, Pukey, and Alex, who should be what- six now? And then grandparents and a random scattering of cousins. Oh, and I have an aunt in Appleton, if we have enough time it'd be cool to see her too." She sat back, wondering what reuniting with her family was going to be like. Carl, Maggie, Luke of course, and probably Alex knew that she was a witch, but the rest were deluded into thinking that she was going to some esteemed boarding school overseas.

 

[Luke Bennett]

Luke grinned, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. "We should have some cherry cokes- can't guarantee they'll be cold..." With that he turned to the fridge, bending over and looking through the bottom for the rather elusive cans of pop. Snatching two of them he stood up again, grinning at them both. Popping it open for both of them he said, "Well, at least you guys won't have to drink any nasty warm pop."

He smirked at the girl. "You have to be kidding me! Girls and their shoes..." Shaking his head, he said, "Well, I'll go toss these in the guest room." Grabbing both of the messenger bags, feigning contentness despite the fact that they were ridiculously heavy, he was quick to run upstairs. Setting the bags in the extra room he ran back down the stairs, his muscles still tingling with the weight of their luggage.

Grabbing himself a mountain dew from the fridge, he took a seat down at the table. He had forgotten all about the car in light of the new arrivals. Grinning, he said, "Mom and Dad should be back in fifteen minutes or so- they went shopping in the cities." He shrugged. "Really have no idea who wants to shop in this hellish weather, but to each their own I guess."

Smiling at Estrella's friend, he said, "So, where are you from? I was expecting some kind of crazy accent like the rest of the people Stray has brought home."

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily leaned back in the chair, taking and savoring a long drink from the can while Luke took her bag upstairs. She was surprised when Luke commented on her lack of accent. "Well," she said turning and looking at him, "I am actually from Wisconsin. My family lives in the Appleton area. But I have not been home since I started at Hogwarts. There is this whole issue with me being a witch that does not sit well with my father. And it's his fault anyways! I would not have magic in my blood if it was not for him!" She took a deep breath, then spoke again. "I'm sorry. Not really anything you want to hear about, I am sure. I have a tendency to ramble sometimes.

She picked up the can of Cherry Coke and took a sip. "So, what kind of accents have you heard that I am so surprising?" She smiled at him, then took another drink realizing that she might be accused of flirting with Luke, and that was not what she wanted to do at the moment. She was totally committed to Blake, but Luke was amazingly cute and she was having a hard time being faithful at the moment.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella decided to sit back and let her cousin and Lily talk to each other, content to sip on her Cherry Coke. Glad that they at least got along, she wondered when Carl and Maggie were going to be home. She knew that they were going to be surprised by their new visitors.

 

[Luke Bennett]

Luke raised an eyebrow. "A Wisconsinite? Wow!" The nineteen year old took a sip of his Mountain Dew, fighting the urge to belch. If it had just been Estrella he probably would have done it and laughed about it, but around company he was a little more courteous. "This really is a small world..." The muggle man gave the girl a slight smile. "That is too bad that your family feels that way. You seem like a nice enough person." He swished his can around, determining that it was still about half full. He had grown up with the knowledge that his cousin had magic in her blood, although it had taken a lot to get used to. "People with magic don't seem to be that bad."

"Accents? Well, I remember years back Estrella brought home this girl from Britain- what was her name; Emily or Elizabeth or something?" Shrugging, he added, "And then, there was that Kale kid she was dating." He avoided glancing at Estrella. Back in those days, Luke could be a real jerk, and he was sure that neither Estrella or her ex had too many positive memories of that time.

"Oh, you said Appleton, right?" He grinned. "We have a first cousin who lives there. You should pay her a visit, in fact. Heck, there's a lot of family you should visit."

 

[Lily Drage]

"Shut up! You have family there?!" Lily exclaimed. "That is just wild! I actually live in a little town outside of Appleton called Neenah. It is basically like a suburb of the city." She laughed then continued. "Wow. This is a really small world."

She smiled as she thought back. "Liz? As in Liz Malfoy? Man I miss that girl. She is being homeschooled now. And Kale is a good guy. He is one of my boyfriend's best friends and roommates. I used to play on the same team as him for quidditch." She looked to Luke over her can of soda, wondering if he actually knew what the game was.

 

[Luke Bennett]

Luke thought about remarking on Lily's suggestion to shut up, but he decided to clam up for the time being. He nodded. "Neenah? I'm not sure if I've ever been there- if I have I don't remember it." Grinning, he added, "Actually, we were just there visiting Julie for Christmas. I'm sure she wouldn't mind you guys hanging out for a few days..."

The young man shrugged. "I'm really not sure what her last name was. Although that's probably it." Looking to Estrella for affirmation, he asked, "Where did she go?" He chuckled nervously as Lily talked about Kale. "Yeah- he's a good kid." Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "What in the world is kwyd-itch?" He wondered if it were some type of irritating rash.

 

[Carl Bennett]

Carl surveyed the yard as he pulled into the driveway, noticing that Luke had abandoned his post at the old car he had just bought. Shaking his head with a chuckle, he figured that he would have to give the boy grief. He didn't condone working on hot days like this but, Luke was Luke. With a smile to his wife he killed the ignition, listening to Alex plead in the back.

---

"Daddy can we go swimming? It's sooooo hot," the six year old boy goaded. He wanted to play with his friends and today was as good a day as any.

 

[Maggie Bennett]

Maggie had rolled the window down all the way, feeling absolutely overwhelmed by the heat. The sooner she could get inside the better. With a sigh, she cooed in her motherlike tone, "Sorry, sweetie. Maybe you can go swimming with Danny tomorrow. It's just too hot to be out. Do you want to get a sunburn like you did last year?" With a fair complexion the little boy didn't stand a chance when it came to the sun. She opened her car door and shut it, grabbing a bag with stuff that she had gotten at IKEA. She could spend hours in that store contemplating buying new things to decorate with.

The redhead smiled as her son ceased to complain. She loved Alex but he was sure a chatterbox. Grabbing as many things as she could she made for the door- with this heat, she didn't want to be out any more times than was necessary.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily blushed a bit in her cheeks as she realized that Luke would not have heard of quidditch before. "Sorry. I forget that you are a muggle. Quidditch is a wizarding sport played on broomsticks. It's kinda like a blend of basketball and soccer and football. I play on the house team along with Strella. Its kinda my passion. I am actually Captain of our team." She flipped her hair back behind her shoulders with a flick of her head, and smiled at Luke. Her ears perked up, and her stomach started to flip just a bit. "I think I hear a car."

 

[Carl Bennett]

Carl grabbed a few of the things that they had picked up at the grocery store, opening up the door for his wife. Seeing his son at the table, he stated loudly, "Slacking on the job again, huh, Luke?" With a smirk he stepped further into the kitchen, his expression melting with the summer heat. It wasn't due to lack of adequate air conditioning, however- sitting in the kitchen were a stranger, and someone that he had not expected to see for a long, long time. His jaw hanging open, he blinked to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. "Estrella?" he asked incredulously. She was definitely older looking than he had last seen her. The girl she was with couldn't be too much younger than her. His face was a mask of shock and curiosity as he looked between the three sitting at the table. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to say anything else.

 

[Maggie Bennett]

"Watcha hanging around the door for?" Maggie asked her husband curiously, having fully expected him to move out of the way. With bags held every way possible on her hands and arms she was eager to abandon her post as the human grocery rack. She nudged her way past him, wondering what was holding him up. She looked about the table, about to chastise her son for hanging around half naked, but her attention was caught by the two visitors, one of which she recognized. "Oh," was all she could manage to say, her smile crooked as she glanced about the motley group. She moved to the counter, faithful in the fact that she was going to get some kind of explanation in due time.