April 4th, 1890 — Padmore Park

Eros did not have a care in the world as his governess took both himself and Artemis to the park to get them out of their parents hair. Eros had his toy broom with him and was eyeing the ponds. Ducks had slowly begun to come back and he was watching them as they settled into the pond.

Truth be told, he was bored. And then Artemis started kicking up a fuss which made Eros roll his eyes. His sisters half-veela temper was - as always - a lot more dramatic than his own tended to be. At least in his opinion. Looking away from the ducks, he opened up the Quidditch magazine that he had brought along, eyes eagerly taking in the names so far of Quidditch players who had announced their intention to try out for the National Team.

  

---

eros is half-veela which means females tend to feel drawn to him with older ladies feeling protective of him

For the first time in her life, Charity had a governess who was concerned about her becoming more worldly. Seeing things, doing things—it was no longer just mindless book work and arithmatic. She was a witch, she'd been told, and she needed to know what it was like to be a witch, which meant spending the day in Hogsmeade for some more practical lessons. She'd already successfully played a tune on a flute designed to draw fairies when properly played, and she'd made it down one of the rockier paths while keeping the correct posture.

She thought back to her adventure with Uncle Darrow when walking near the Black Lake—which was rumored to have merpeople!—and had begged (to no avail) to buy a cookie on High Street in the shape of a sail boat. If only Uncle Evander had decided to live here instead of boring old Irvingly!

After a long morning, Charity and her governess had set up a picnic in the park, and had been allowed to go play as long as she didn't dirty her dress. She was surprised to find that magic children were doing very magic things. Some older children were playing on their broomsticks, while another pair of girls around her age (who, in her opinion, couldn't have possibly been so night with how they turned their nose up at her as she passed) were playing with a board game with moving pieces.

The only child not paired off with anyone was a boy who seemed a year or so older than her if she would have had to guess. She stopped a few feet away and tried to catch a glance at his magazine.

"What's that you're reading?" she asked with a timid smile.

---

  

---

Eros's attention was drawn from his magazine by a girl who looked closer to Artemis's age than his own. He glanced over at his still-tantruming sister and the governess that looked near tears before smiling back at the redhead. His governess and his sister were both at a distance enough that it was easily possible for anyone approaching Eros to not even realize he was with them. Which was a good thing right now, as far as he was concerned. Sometimes Artemis could be embarrassing when she got like this!

"I'm reading the Quidditch Gazette - do you like Quidditch?" He asked curiously. His toy broom resting beside him made it obvious what Eros's answer would be if it were turned on him. "The World Cup is coming up and a lot of professional players are hoping to be picked for the National Team!"

  

---

eros is half-veela which means females tend to feel drawn to him with older ladies feeling protective of him

Charity had never heard of The Quidditch Gazette, nor did she have much knowledge of quidditch beyond its existence, but looking down at the magazine she couldn't deny that it looked interesting.

"I've never watched quidditch before," she admitted, hoping that he would not think less of her for it. She was beginning to understand that of all the things in the magical world, she had knowledge of only a small portion—and moreover, that other children knew a lot more than she did. It didn't take much to guess that he not only knew about quidditch but also played it, because he had one of the fancy toy broomsticks that she'd seen in one of the shop's windows earlier.

"Will you tell me how it works?" she asked. There was no loss if he said no; she could always ask her governess if the need was pressing enough, but despite her desire to know everything about the magical world, she was under the impression that quidditch was not very ladylike.

---

  

---

Eros looked at the girl almost as if she had said her parents starved her in a cellar when she misbehaved. He couldn't imagine never having watched Quidditch! This girl had been deprived of one of the wizarding worlds greatest pasttimes, in his opinion. "My father used to play and he was the best!" He was also very biased but never mind that.

Eros was more than happy to tell this girl all he knew about Quidditch. "A team is made up of seven players: three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper and one Seeker," he began. "They face off against another team on broomsticks in an oval pitch. The World Cup is coming up - you should find a way to go. Even if you don't like it, it will still be pretty cool to see all the people from all over the world."

  

---

eros is half-veela which means females tend to feel drawn to him with older ladies feeling protective of him

Charity was a good listener, but she was fairly awful at trying to paint a picture in her head. So there were... three... five... six... seven players on each team—meaning there were fourteen players total—and they flew in circles on a pitch chasing balls in the air. It seemed simple enough, but with the different types of players she imagined it was more difficult than simply chasing the balls (that was probably the chaser's job, she decided).

"Even if I was a fan, I doubt I could go," she said, not too bothered by it. She would like to go, but only because it was an international competition. She'd rarely seen people from outside of Britain expect for the merchants that came from the boats to sell things. Now that she lived in Irvingly, there seemed to be no outsiders at all! "I don't think my Uncle Evander likes quidditch."

She paused, her mouth open in a little circle, upon remembering that she also have Uncle Alfred. He'd never mentioned quidditch or broomsticks, but he would be the person to ask. He liked adventure, and nothing about the idea o an international competition seemed to lack adventure.

"Well," she said sheepishly, "maybe I could. But you must tell me more first. What do I need to know about the game?"

---

  

---

Eros was sympathetic to the fact that she doubted she would be able to go. For a short time, his parents had gotten protective though Eros hadn't known why (his mother had been outted). And it was a definite misfortune that they were often at the whims of their guardians on where they could and could not go.

"Well, the chasers sound like what they are - they chase the ball called the quaffle and try to catch it. Then they try to get through the other teams hoops - there are three - and the Keeper tries to block it," and on he went, explaining the details of the game in the best way that a ten year old could do for another child. She seemed attentive enough, at least which was enough for him.

"I bet you would like it a lot better in person but some people think it is too violent so I guess it depends on if that bothers you or not. If you get to go, we could watch it together!"

  

---

eros is half-veela which means females tend to feel drawn to him with older ladies feeling protective of him

Charity had a good imagination—or she thought she did—but even after years of delving into vivid daydreams she found it difficult to imagine what a game of quidditch looked like in action. How fast could broomsticks go? Were they like slow like bicycles, or faster like horses? Could they rival dragons in speed, or would they succumb to their fiery breath mid-chase?

"It does sound violent," she agreed, taking a seat beside him and being very careful not to dirty her dress. She couldn't disappoint Miss Clearwater after begging for a pause to their lessons! "And very dangerous, too. Do the players go very high in the sky? Is there a net to catch them if they fall? I don't think I'd like to watch someone fall." She shuddered at the thought. No, Charity decided right then and there that she did not like the idea of being so high in the sky.

---

  

---

"It can sometimes be," Eros conceded when the girl said it sounded very dangerous. "They do go very high and there isn't usually a net. But don't worry! There are mediwizards that attend the game and if someone falls, they cast a spell to slow their fall." He wanted this girl to like Quidditch, not worried about its dangers so figured assuring her was a good step towards soothing her worries.

  

---

eros is half-veela which means females tend to feel drawn to him with older ladies feeling protective of him

He was convincing, sure, but that didn't change the facts. Charity stared off towards the lake, her face scrunching as she imagined how a player might look after hitting the ground. Mangled... bloody... maybe with a dented head? Did people get dents in their heads after falling from large heights? She felt her stomach turn.

"And it... works... every time?" she asked, a concerned expression on her freckled face as she glanced over at the boy.

---

  

---

"I think so," he said with an enthusiastic nod. "And there's referees to also cast cushioning charms." That was what had happened at the last Quidditch game he had seen, at any rate. He figured that the Quidditch World Cup could only be even more sophisticated.

  

---

eros is half-veela which means females tend to feel drawn to him with older ladies feeling protective of him

That didn't seem all that bad, then. As long as safety precautions were in order, she was sure Uncle Evander would consider taking her. Maybe they could get some ice cream beforehand, as long as Uncle Evander was not averse to giving her sweet treats on special days.

"You said the cup was coming up, soon? When? I'll need at least fourteen business days to figure out how to ask him. It's not next week, is it?" she asked.

---

  

---

"It's in June so thats a lot more than fourteen business days," Eros said enthusiastically despite not really having any idea what she meant by business days. "And definitely not next week. They only just started taking in names of players trying out for the national team for Britain." It would be amazing if she went. He didn't know much about her but he had a feeling they could be great friends. "My name is Eros Mohr, by the way."

---

  

---

eros is half-veela which means females tend to feel drawn to him with older ladies feeling protective of him

June. So much could happen between now and June. She could be shipped off again, or Miss Clearwater could decide that she needed more help than most girls her age and she could be thrown into a girl's school. She hoped none of that would happen, but June was so far away.

"Definitely more than fourteen business days," she agreed with a nod. She wondered who the quidditch players would be, and what they would be like. Were they older, or younger? Did girls play quidditch, or was it only the boys? No matter what, she was glad to have something to look forward to, assuming she built the perfect argument to present to Uncle Evander.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Mohr. My name's Charity Lloyd," she said with a smile.

---

  

---

Eros nodded along with her as she agreed with him. At least she would have plenty of time to talk whoever looked after her into going to the Quidditch World Cup matches. Eros supposed he was lucky that his father would take little to no convincing.

"And now that we have formally met, do you want to play hide and seek?" Because he had decided they were friends now and that was what friends did.

---

  

---

eros is half-veela which means females tend to feel drawn to him with older ladies feeling protective of him

Hide-and-seek? Is that what friends did? Charity thought they sat around and talked about how good their favorite books were, or attempted to converse in French without calling each other a horse! Hide-and-seek, in comparison, sounded much nicer.

"Sure," she agreed, offering only a half-glance over her shoulder in the direction of Miss Clearwater. Surely she wouldn't mind... only for a moment?

---

  

---