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[Charles Abberline]

Charlie couldn't be happier with how things were turning out recently. With a job at the New Zealand Ministry of Magic now as well as an apartment which was not all too expensive, things were finally going great again. Not that things weren't great before, he just didn't feel at home in England anymore. Not after spending most of his teenage years in this country. He did feel a bit sad for leaving his father to his own devices, the man had become so dependent on Charlie taking care of him that it was scary to leave him alone without anyone there to take care of his father in his absence. Especially since his grandfather has passed away last year. If only his father would've stayed in contact with his friends from the Ministry. He couldn't dwell on that, however, or else he might decide to return to England after all. Wanting to celebrate all his accomplishments, he invited his only friend from New Zealand over to visit - he really needed to make more friends soon.

 

[Rose Holland]

Writing back and forth with Charlie had been one thing, but going to see him in the flesh was a little different. Rose was happy that her friend was back in New Zealand, but she also wondered if their past relationship would make things awkward. Rose had had a lot to thank Charlie for, as his letters had helped her figure out more what she wanted to do in life after Hogwarts. Rose was now working on her dream of being a Herbologist, though she still worked at Honeydukes as well. Rose was thinking of giving that job up, though that final step was intimidating. Charlie was so much more independent than Rose was, and she was curious how he was doing, living on his own without his family, in a different country. Rose hesitated, then knocked on the door, waiting for Charlie to let her in.

 

[Charles Abberline]

Upon hearing the knock on the door, Charlie straightened up from searching one of the boxes for glasses. ''I'm coming!'' the Hit Wizard replied, setting the glasses on the table and almost stumbling over some other boxes scattered around the living room as he moved towards the door. He was still very much in the moving process with boxes stored pretty much everywhere in the small living room, but he was clearing them away one at the time so it was beginning to look like an actual home at last. What with work and all he had barely had time to unpack everything at once and store it away in the assigned cabinets. He could only hope that it would all be done in the coming days. He opened the door. ''Rose!'' He smiled brightly after opening the door. ''Hey hello!'' Charlie pulled her into a hug out of excitement before beckoning her in, eager to show her his new apartment even though there wasn't much to show.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose was strangely nervous as Charlie opened the door, but she felt more at ease when she saw him. Somehow, he was still exactly like the boy she had known at Hogwarts, though she could also tell that his work as a Hit Wizard had made him a bit stronger. She didn't remember him having such broad shoulders before. "Hey!" She said brightly, leaning into the brief hug. It was nice, and Rose felt a flutter in her stomach. She decided to ignore it, following Charlie inside. "It's so cool that you live here, with your own place." She said, looking around excitedly even just in the hallway. "Are you glad to be back in New Zealand?" She asked him, taking off her coat. She was glad, but she didn't know if she should put that into words. She brushed her hair off her face and smiled brightly at Charlie.

 

[Charles Abberline]

Charlie nodded excitedly and said, "I know, right?" Still finding it hard to believe that he was actually living on his own now and not with his father anymore. ''You know what? I am! I missed it a lot while I was away.'' He had missed her company too while he was away but he wasn't going to tell her so just yet. He glanced down at her coat and looked around for a place to hang it on. "Eh... you can just... put it over one of the chairs?" he said after realising that he didn't have a coatrack yet. Did he even have one stored away somewhere or was that something he needed to buy still? He walked Rose through the living room and the dining room, explaining to her what his plans for the rooms were once he had settled in properly before showing her his ever so small bedroom filled with boxed stacked upon each other and the bathroom. He knew that he probably should not have rented it given how small it was, but it would do fine for him for a little while, it was just him after all. "So that's it, really. It's small but it'll do for now, I think," he told her, walking back with her to the living room. ''Do you want something to drink? I've got some juice in the refrigerator.'' He hoped. Charlie didn't know why but it almost seemed as if he was trying to impress her with his independence by showing her that he was no longer that awkward teenager but a proper adult now.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose smiled as Charlie said he'd missed New Zealand. It made her happy that he was back. "What did you miss?" She asked him curiously. When he'd been gone, she had resentfully imagined him living his best life in England, away from her. A part of her was pleased to hear he was happy to be back. She nodded and placed her coat on one of the chairs. Charlie's place was small, but cozy. She didn't think she would dare to move halfway across the world like Charlie, even if it was to a place that was familiar. "It's small, but it has character." Rose said with a grin. "I really like it. I'm sure you'll make it your own." She assured him. Rose nodded at the offer of a drink. "Yeah, sure! I'd like some juice." She said, taking a seat on the chair she had put her coat on. "So you transferred to the Ministry here, now?" She asked him curiously.

 

[Charles Abberline]

''Everything,'' Charlie began. ''I missed the castle, the students, the professors, my friends. It was all so different from what I was used to. I didn't actually sleep well the first two months while there, it just felt off, you know? Like I did not belong there.'' Had it been up to him he would have probably never left New Zealand. It had been his home ever since his first year. But it hadn't been up to him and all it did was make him wonder how things would be between the two of them now had he never left the school. He smiled at her words, glad to know that she thought there was something to it. He got out his wand and with a simple flick of his wrist made the two glasses he had put down on the table earlier float towards him. Pouring apple juice in both of them, he only now realised that he didn't actually have that much to drink either, Charlie walked back to her. He nodded at the question, excitement in his eyes. ''I did, yeah. I had my doubt about whether they would actually hire me or not since I was rather new to the job still, but here I am, surprised as hell about it even now,'' he told her with a slight chuckle. He put her glass down in front of her and sat down opposite of her. ''What about you? Did you find out what you want to do?'' he asked her curiously, his head resting in the palm of his hand.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose listened as Charlie explained what he had missed, and she felt sad for him. "But... now the castle and everything is all gone anyway." She said a little sadly. "I mean, I miss it too... but do you feel like you belong here now, after graduating?" She wondered if she was asking him questions that were too personal, but she was curious. She took the glass with juice, smiling as she took a sip. "Thanks." She said. She laughed a little when he said he was surprised. "I wasn't surprised, you were great there, you'll do great here." She told him. "Have you run into my mother yet at work? Or Phoebe, she works at the Ministry too now." She said with an amused smile. "I hope she won't bother you too much." She said, remembering how Phoebe had been a nuisance sometimes when they had been at Hogwarts. As he asked her a question, Rose nodded and looked down at the glass. "Yeah, kind of." She said with a shrug. "I've been doing more with Herbology, mostly working with my dad. But I still work at Honeydukes too, and probably will for a while."

 

[Charles Abberline]

''I think I do?'' Charlie said, thinking about the answer. Of course, it would be a shame that he could no longer go to Hogwarts, but that wasn't all New Zealand had to offer. ''I don't think there's much left for me in England, if I can be so honest with you. I didn't really make any friends while studying in Scotland, all my friends were and are still here. Dad's doing... better, too, so I thought 'why not try it now and see what happens?','' he told Rose. ''And if it doesn't, well, I've always got my bedroom at my dad's, right?'' he said with a soft chuckle. He didn't think it would happen, however, he was in need of some time for himself after taking care of his father for three years. It was very draining work. ''I haven't really seen either of them, yet. It's a rather small office so I was immediately given cases to work on. I think I've spent more time at the office than here. I like it, though!'' Charlie added to it quickly, not wanting to give her the impression that he wasn't enjoying his time here. He took a sip of his drink while he listened to her speak. It was nice to hear that she was doing more with Herbology after their back and forth, as it'd been very obvious to him how much she liked working with plans from just their letters. ''Well, as their best employee, I bet they wouldn't even want to let you go,'' he said with a grin.

this could have been better.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose nodded as Charlie told her he didn't have much left in England, and she was sad to hear he hadn't really made friends at Hogwarts in Scotland. He deserved better than that, and she wished she could have been there for him. She knew she would have been lonely without her best friends. "True." She said with a smile. "I am happy you're trying it. I get to hang out with you again." She said, smiling. "Oh, that's great!" She said as Charlie commented that he had gotten cases to work on immediately. "Good job!" She said with a smile. "Well, now you won't be surprised if you run into Phoebe unexpectedly." She added with a shrug. Rose blushed a bit as he called her Honeyduke's best employee. "You don't even know who else works there." She argued, though she couldn't help smiling at the statement.

 

[Charles Abberline]

Of course hanging out with Rose again had weighted a little in his decision to move to New Zealand. After getting back in contact with her again and then actually meeting her for the first time since he had left, he just couldn't help to feel a bit... well he didn't quite know how to the describe the feeling. It was nice though. That and the fact that this Ministry job would also pay him a couple of galleons more per month. ''Does she still like to experiment?'' he asked, genuinely curious in her family. Her sisters had always seemed like a fun bunch which in turn had made him wish for a brother or sister himself, wanting to experience what that would be like. Charlie tried to counterargue her statement but there was truth in it, he indeed didn't know who else worked there at the moment. ''Well, surely they can't be better than you, you're Rose Holland,'' he said, averting her gaze by taking a sip of his drink. He looked around the apartment for a moment before turning back to her. ''So what about you? Thinking of getting a place of your own yourself?''

 

[Odette Madison]

ok odette

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose laughed at Charlie's words, nodding. "She does. She really upset mum by using her favorite mug to practice spells on and making it explode only last week. I think they're counting the days until she moves out." She said with a slight shake of her head. "She works at the Ministry as an Unspeakable, so she also enjoys letting us know she's doing very important and secretive work." She said, smiling a bit. Her smile widened as Charlie said no one working at the store could be better than her, and she blushed as well. "Well, I happen to work with very talented sweets sellers." She said with a joking tone. At his next question, Rose shrugged. "I... have moved in with some friends." She told him. "Remember Harley and Hayley from Hogwarts?"

 

[Charles Abberline]

Charlie chuckled at what Rose told him about her sister, happy to hear that Phoebe was still her usual self. ''That would explain why I haven't seen much of her actually. We don't really deal with the Department of Mysteries, we just let them do... whatever it is that they do,'' he told his friend. Perhaps it was for the better too that no one knew what they were doing if he was to believe the rumours. He couldn't help to feel a little dumb when she told him that she had moved in with her friends from Hogwarts. She had told him this already in one of their letters but he must have forgotten about it in all his business with moving himself and work. ''Oh, yeah! Didn't Harley tease us that one time we went to Brightstone together?'' Charlie said, laughing a little a the memory. ''So how do you like living with your friends?'' he asked, sipping his drink and hoping that she wouldn't mind him for forgetting that she didn't live with her parents anymore.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose laughed softly at Charlie's description of the Department of Mysteries, then shrugged. "Probably wise, at least where Phoebe is concerned." She said lightly. "I'm sure she's doing a lot of very smart, very dangerous things down there." She said, a little wistfully. She'd always known Phoebe was smarter than she was, but to see her sister go after what she wanted immediately after graduating, when she hadn't done that, it made her feel a bit weak. She laughed again as Charlie recounted Harley, smiling fondly. "Yeah, that's her." She said, shaking her head. "It's nice. A bit like I never left the Gryffindor dorms, honestly." She said with a small shrug. "I don't know if I would be any good at living on my own."