Molly enter Charlie's bedroom with a stack of newly washed shirts.
"Charlie?"
She cannot see the boy anywhere. She sets down the shirts and moves to the bed - it is still warm to the touch, he cannot have been gone long. There is something on the floor; a torn-up shirt.
Molly's heartbeat quickens as she hastily leaves the room and calls downstairs.
"Arthur? Arthur, Charlie has gone missing again and his shirt has been all ripped up!"
"Yes, yes, he was, and the bed is still warm," Molly hastily replies, by now halfway down the stairs. "Oooh, I only hope he hasn't gone off to Malfoy Manor again. Or anywhere else, for that matter. But look!" She holds up the torn shirt. "Think he has been attacked? But how? By what, or whom? I didn't hear anything!"
She stops her descent. Maybe he has hidden in some upstairs room?
Arthur takes the shirt from her and examines it carefully, before glancing up to smile at her reassuringly.
"Now now, Molly. There's not a claw or a toothmark on it. This seam was just a little frayed, that's all, and it seems to have torn. He probably just got tangled up in his blankets, you know what our Charlie was like for tossing and turning."
He glances back up the stairs. "Especially if he's bored with napping. Most likely he's just gone exploring, to play with the ghoul or something. Why don't we split up and search for him? You can check the bedrooms, and I'll just pop into the kitchen - he wasn't in the living room or I'd have noticed while reading the paper - and then I'll go and look for him outside."
There's no sign of Charlie in the kitchen. Arthur pauses to inspect the pantry, just to see if there's a trail of sticky fingers leading away from Molly's ginger cake or jam tarts, but there's no evidence of disturbance at all. A little more uneasy now than he'd wish Molly to know, he whistles softly and is rewarded by a small grey striped head pricking up its ears and lifting from a curled coil on the mat in front of the stove
( ... )
Charlie was just about to pick up a long stick when he hears his father called out to him. He was going to go fishing but now...he sighed. They were probably going to make him take Percy. He picks the stick up and the bucket he had put aside and walks toward the clearing. "Hi dad," he calls to his father.
There's a moment when his mouth drops open and he looks utterly flabbergasted, and then he adjusts his gaze upwards, to the face of a boy who's suddenly much taller than he'd expected him to be.
"Charlie? Is that you, Charlie?" But the red hair and freckles and the features are right, even if the age isn't. "What's happened to you, Charlie?"
"Whatcha mean dad?" Charlie asked, looking slightly confused. He looked down at his clothes, maybe his dad had confused him with Bill? Boy must he really be tired.
Comments 27
"Charlie?"
She cannot see the boy anywhere. She sets down the shirts and moves to the bed - it is still warm to the touch, he cannot have been gone long. There is something on the floor; a torn-up shirt.
Molly's heartbeat quickens as she hastily leaves the room and calls downstairs.
"Arthur? Arthur, Charlie has gone missing again and his shirt has been all ripped up!"
Reply
"What's that, Molly? Eh? Charlie gone, did you say? Wasn't he having an afternoon nap?"
Reply
She stops her descent. Maybe he has hidden in some upstairs room?
Reply
"Now now, Molly. There's not a claw or a toothmark on it. This seam was just a little frayed, that's all, and it seems to have torn. He probably just got tangled up in his blankets, you know what our Charlie was like for tossing and turning."
He glances back up the stairs. "Especially if he's bored with napping. Most likely he's just gone exploring, to play with the ghoul or something. Why don't we split up and search for him? You can check the bedrooms, and I'll just pop into the kitchen - he wasn't in the living room or I'd have noticed while reading the paper - and then I'll go and look for him outside."
Reply
Reply
Reply
There's a moment when his mouth drops open and he looks utterly flabbergasted, and then he adjusts his gaze upwards, to the face of a boy who's suddenly much taller than he'd expected him to be.
"Charlie? Is that you, Charlie?" But the red hair and freckles and the features are right, even if the age isn't. "What's happened to you, Charlie?"
Reply
Reply
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