"Why don't you join me in my study for tea?" asked Charles, looking over to me. He swept his raven hair back off his shoulders and knotted it into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck as he spoke to me.
"That's fine," I deadpanned. I was so curious to find out what his intentions were. As far as I knew, they were nothing good, but he was doing a whole lot to prove to me that he wasn't as bad as he came off. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it as of yet. After calling his house elf to prepare some tea, he led me up the stairs and down a hallway to the left before taking me through a set of double doors. His men followed closely behind us, and there were even more guarding the door to the study upon our arrival.
"If you don't mind," Charles stated, "I'd like for you to give up your wand, just for the time being. I'd like to get through one conversation with you without you trying to kill me." I hesitantly removed my wand from my robe and handed it over. He handed it to one of his men, and I made sure to remember which one had it, in case I needed to make any quick getaways.
The room inside was dark, but he quickly fixed that by pulling out his wand and lighting the candles in the chandelier and the fireplace. He motioned for me to take one of the two tall-backed leather armchairs that sat by the fireplace. I did as he directed and sat down. An awkward silence filled the space between us, and I nervously picked at my cuticles, trying not to appear uncomfortable. After what seemed like forever, his house elf brought up a tray with the tea and set it down on the small table between the two chairs.
Charles eyed me intently as he poured the steaming liquid into the two teacups, which made me feel uncomfortable. I squirmed in the chair a bit, really not sure what to make of this whole thing.
"Why am I here?" I finally asked. "And where is here?"
He raised an eyebrow, but answered, "You're still in Scotland, but I'm not going to tell you exactly where. As for the why... I think I'll leave that bit until I get to it. I was hoping to have a nice chat with you and get to know you some more. You know, since you're not trying to kill me this time, we might actually get somewhere."
I rolled my eyes at his half-answers. All he did was cause my head to fill with even more questions. Games- Charles and his stupid games.
"You don't need to worry your pretty little head about those things for now," he doted. "Let's just have a chat, shall we?"
"Whatever," I replied.
I held the teacup in my hands, but i didn't drink it. I knew he wasn't to be trusted, and there was a chance that he might've put something in the tea. After all, I hadn't seen him take a sip of his yet, either.
"So how is it that a student like you finds herself out past curfew? Must be rather sneaky?" he asked me.
"Something like that," I replied.
"I'd imagine they'd want to pay better attention to your whereabouts, given your track record."
I didn't respond to his statement. I really wasn't sure what he was trying to accomplish here. I crossed my legs and set the teacup back down on the table, before taking a small look around the room.
The walls of Charles's study were lined with bookshelves packed full of books and random bits of parchment, and on the far side of the room sat a large wooden desk which was a mess. The floors were an elaborate tile design made up of the colors blue, white, and gold, which shone brightly under the fire and the candlelight. I really wondered where we were though; there was a window on the far side of the room behind the desk, but it was too dark to see anything outside that might help me peg my location.
"Are you listening?" Charles said to me, snapping me out of my thoughts. "I suppose not. But I asked you what your opinion is on marriage."
"Excuse me?" I exclaimed, taken aback.
"Just the concept. Is that something you're interested in?"
"Frankly, I don't see how that's a relevant question," I replied with a frown.
"Well forgive me then; I said I wanted to get to know you."
"And go straight in for the kill with those questions of yours," I scoffed.
What was his angle?!
"You're very witty, I like that in a woman," he remarked with a Cheshire cat smile. I rolled my eyes once more.
"It's getting late, was there anything else you wanted from me, or may I return to Hogwarts?"
"I suppose I can let you return. Though I hope next time we can get further in conversation."
Charles took me back down to the main foyer of the house and grabbed his coat from his house elf before taking me through the front doors. I wish it hadn't been so dark, so that I might be able to tell where his home was located. He held his arm out to me and I took it, and as he promised, we were back at the lake in the Forbidden Forest.
"Thank you for joining me tonight, y/n," he said, clasping his hands together. "I hope you'll be able to come around to the concept that I'm not as terrible as you so desperately want to believe."
"Can I have my wand back?" I asked, ignoring his statement.
"Oh, of course," he replied. He snapped his fingers at the wizard who was holding on to it, who placed it in Charles' hand. "Here you are, my darling." I cringed as he handed me my wand back, taking my hand in his as he did so.
After he apparated away, I couldn't get out of there soon enough.