New home, fresh Start.. Or not..

[Grakul Gellantara]

The bungalow in Mount Lyford Village in which Grakul currently lived was not big enough for him, Mrs. Gellantara and Larissa.
It was a fact which he had noticed for some time and although Larissa was at Hogwarts for most of the year, the bungalow just didn't have the room.. Not for the plans he had.

Grakul thought about this as he lifted another of the heavy boxes into the removal van his wife had insisted on getting saying that should all the furniture just 'disappear' it might stir suspicion amongst the neighbors.
So it had been Grakul's duty to move the furniture into the removal van while Mrs. Gellantara convinced the neighbors that they had nothing to do with the family wanting to move and that it was purely because her and her husband had 'plans'.
Grakul shook his head as another female neighbor walked past him giggling.
He hadn't planned on telling anyone about the plan they had. Not yet.
The Gellantaras had recently decided they were going to have a baby but Grakul didn't want the neighbors- "Filthy muggles- knowing should Larissa find out.
He knew she'd hate the idea.

 

[Larissa Gellantara]

Larissa finished talking to Mrs. Cross, a 64 year old widow with a frail appearance but the heart of a concrete elephant.
She smiled with her wrinkled face as Larissa bid her goodbye.
The old woman nodded and simply handed her a neat little blue letter with golden writing on the front.
"Just a little something." She had said with gummy grin before they parted company and Larissa joined her husband by the van.
"Right," She said, her eyebrows raised at the letter, feeling she should save it until they reached their new home.
"Are we done yet?"

 

[Grakul Gellantara]

Grakul was just pushing in the last few boxes.
"Yes," He said, banging the doors shut, "'we' are done."
He walked round to the front of the van and climbed in the passenger seat.
Grakul had never learnt to drive a car but fortunately Mrs. Gellantara had.

 

[Larissa Gellantara]

Larissa climbed in the other door of the van, started the engine, released the handbrake and began the drive to their new home.
It would take some time to get there and on the way they stopped off at a restaurant for a bite to eat.

Their new house in Bushside, New Zealand, was a little larger than the cramped bungalow.
The house was at the end of a street with very few residents but it still seemed like a lovely house with a beautiful white picket fence surrounding it along with a nice chunk of garden and a large tree.
Such luxuries had not been present at the bungalow.

Larissa left Grakul to get the things as she walked to the house, turning the key in the door and pushing.
The door had stuck and immediately Larissa took out a notepad, scribbling down this detail.
She then forcefully pushed the door which swung open to reveal pale blue walls, several wooden doors either side and a glass door at the end of the hall leading to the kitchen.
Larissa stepped inside her new house and began her inspection of the rooms.

 

[Grakul Gellantara]

Grakul shook his head as his wife hurried to the house.
He yanked open the back of the van and pulled out one of the boxes, moving it to the garden.
His wife would kill him if he just 'assumed' where to put these items.

A man cane and an obviously glass eye stumbled towards Grakul, smiling broadly.
He was about mid-forties with shaggy brown hair and an otherwise perfect appearance.
Grakul nodded to the man as a greeting, wondering if this was a new neighbor of his.
"Hello," he said politely to the man who stopped and stared at him.
The man smiled once more and reached out a large hand.
"I haven't seen another one around here in ages." He muttered in his coarse voice, shaking Grakuls hand.
Grakul simply blinked. "I'm sorry," he said, looking puzzled, "I have no idea what you mean."

Grakul continued moving the boxes onto the grass, the man hovering by him.
"I said I haven't seen one of us in a long time.."
Grakul froze and turned slowly. It then occurred to Grakul what he might mean.
"A wizard, you mean." Grakul replied quietly, thankful he hadn't said Death Eater as the man began to nod and grin.
"Ey," the man said, "Come by number 7- That's my place. Artie's the name."
He smiled as he hobbled back to his house further down the street.
Grakul moved the rest of the furniture from the van and onto the grass before sitting down on the sofa.

 

[Larissa Gellantara]

Larissa had just finished taking note of the house:
They had a staircase hidden behind one of the brown doors, a study and a living room.
Upstairs she had found three bedrooms, two of them large enough for double beds and one large enough for a crib perhaps..
Larissa had sighed and come back downstairs to peer around the lounge.
They had a lovely big fireplace which when she attempted to light and accidentally knocked the back of, revealed there was another room in the house.
Larissa had pushed through the fireplace to discover a set of stairs leading down to a nice sized room with a large wooden table, set of chairs, candles and a sturdy fireplace.
This one had a dish next to it.
Larissa smiled.

As Larissa walked outside, she noticed all the boxes were on the grass and her husband was on the sofa.
"I've found something very interesting," she grinned, grabbing a box and beckoning Grakul to follow her with more boxes to begin the great unpacking.

 

[Grakul Gellantara]

---

It was dark outside and the only light coming from the house was from the bedroom window.
Grakul and Larissa were both sitting in their bed, Larissa with a pair of reading glasses, peering down at a muggle magazine's crossword and Grakul sitting silent, deep in thought, his eyes on the ceiling.
It occurred to him after much thought that his wife, though they had been together for a few months now, had never seen his mark.
Grakul always made a point to wear a long sweatband over it when he wasn't wearing one of his fitted suits which perfectly his the mark. Surely it was Larissa's right to know? Larissa- his step-daughter- already knew of the mark thanks to her grandmother.
Perhaps it was time to reveal the truth.. But how do you go about such a thing?

There was a long silence which Grakul noticed as his thoughts stopped and her looked over at his wife.
He thought her the most beautiful thing in the world with her soft blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes...
"Larissa," Grakul said, rolling up his pajama sleeve to reveal the sweatband.
"There's something I need to tell you.." He slid off the sweatband, his dark mark in full view.

---

 

[Larissa Gellantara]

Larissa was in the middle of her crossword.
"5 down, 3 letters, another word for 'policeman'..." She was busy muttering to herself and hardly paying attention to her husband.
She heard him speak to her and sighed. "Not now, Grakul, I'm not in the mood."
Larissa began to write the word in when she noticed something white in the corner of her vision- Grakul had taken his sweat band off.
She took off her glasses and turned to Grakul, "Darling, why did you take it off? You know you get cold.." Larissa's eyes froze, fixed to Grakul's arm.
A skull and a snake.. He had a dark mark.

There were no words to describe Larissa's feelings and for the next five minutes she sat in a stunned silence.
"Are you still working with them?" Larissa said, her voice weak.
Silence.
A burst of anger hit Larissa and she hopped from the bed staring angrily at her husband, her wand in her hand.
"Are you still one of them?!" she screeched, anger boiling.

 

[Grakul Gellantara]

Grakul was taken aback by the sudden anger from this woman.
He felt weak sitting in that bed in his pajamas, his dark mark showing and no wand to defend himself.
Grakul hung his head in shame.
"Please," He said weakly, "I can explain."
What was there to explain? It was all obvious and Larissa knew that.

Grakul stepped from the bed and began to dress.
He had a feeling it'd be best to leave for the night- Perhaps Artie wouldn't mind a guest..

 

[Larissa Gellantara]

Larissa hardly noticed Grakul dressing. She was shouting after his answer of being able to explain.
She knew this meant yes and she didn't want a Death Eater in her house.
She had a right mind to turn him in now.
"..And what about the kids?!" she screeched more painfully than any owl, ranting loudly, "What about them? You could have killed them and I've let you into my home.. I must be insane."
She turned her back on the man she loved and sat down on the bed in her silky nightie, angry tears pouring into her hands.

 

[Grakul Gellantara]

Grakul was pulling on his trousers and doing up his belt when he saw Larissa sit on the back.
He leant across the bed, taking one of her delicate arms with his hands. "Hey.." he said, trying to comfort her.
Unfortunately, this was not what Larissa wanted and she turned to him, fierce eyes and and a beak growing from her face.
"Don't you DARE touch me!" She shouted, jumping up and slapping Grakul. "Out, now!"
Larissa ran at the only man to cheer her up since Mr Sedgwick's death.
She pushed him from the room, down the stairs and out the front door, slamming it in his face.

Grakul stumbled for a moment, leaning against the door.
"Please, Larissa," he called through the door.
No answer.
He sighed, and began walking to number seven, still wearing his pajama top.
Maybe things would cool down the next day..