The one where Howl is found
CHAPTER - 1
THE ONE WHERE HOWL IS FOUND
For all the magic in the world, daisy didn't know where to find him. She knew he lived somewhere in Wales, but where in Wales she had no clue. That's when one day while checking through her possessions, she found some old letters he had sent her, and luck would have it she found an address on them. So on a late June day, she set forth to find him.
After the apparition, she found herself standing in a corner of a suburban street. As she looked around, she found the house, she was looking for. House number 497 has been just in front, it was a cozy little house with a pretty front garden. Daisy despised unnecessary interactions with people unless it was absolutely necessary, but she needed to find
him quickly. So she took a huge breath and rang the bell.
The door was opened by a stern-looking lady who looked like she just had a breakdown.
"Hello, I am so sorry to interrupt your day, but does Mr Jenkins live here?" daisy asked nervously.
"Mr Jenkins is my father and I am afraid he's no longer with us," the lady said rather unkindly as if she wished daisy would vanish on the spot. "Oh no, I am terribly sorry I was asking if howl Jenkins lived here?"
"Howl," she said despondently and at that precise moment, someone called from inside the house, "Megan I know it's hard for you to understand-" and that's when daisy found Howl Pendragon after three years.
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Howl and Daisy stared at each other's face for 5 minutes and at last daisy broke away and said "good god Howl, where have you been" and then Howl smiled that charming smile of his and said quietly so that his sister Megan wouldn't hear "daisy you are a lifesaver" and he turned to Megan "I'm terribly sorry Megan but daisy here has come to get me on urgent matters and I need to rush back."
Looking unconvinced, Megan said, "you have to bring her home, I want to meet her," and shut the door on them.
"Well, that certainly was a lovely goodbye," Daisy said to Howl.
"Daisy, it's nice to meet you again".
"You don't have to use that card with me; I'm not here for pleasantries".
"Then why are you here?" Howl asked with his usual arrogant voice, which Daisy knew all too well.
"Not here."
"Not here?"
"It's an open space, anyone could overhear us. I will tell you all about it tonight," daisy said with a small hidden smile because she knew she had got his curiosity. "Tonight where?" Howl asked her and she could see the curiosity right in his eyes
"My home," and suddenly she disappeared away.
As expected, Howl came to meet Daisy. She knew he would come and when she went up to the door as the bell rang, she saw him there, wearing a sage green robe.
"You're early," Daisy said as a way of greeting and moved aside to let him enter. "Well, one learns to be early," Howl said with a small smirk which Daisy missed.
"Drinks?" Daisy asked him as they entered the living room. The living room was a brightly lit room with many beautiful paintings hanging on the wall. "Whiskey" Howl answered back. Daisy took a bottle of whiskey from the shelf and poured them both two glasses of it. Even though Daisy invited him here, she didn't know how to start the conversation. Suddenly, they both spoke at once.
"I send our research to them"
"I got married"
For a moment, they stared at each other's eyes. "You got married? Er...congratulations?" Daisy said very confusedly. Howl getting married was a very strange thing for Daisy.
"You send our research," Howl asked with bits of disappointment and anger clearly visible in his voice, "I thought you would wait for me. Both of them suddenly had lots of things to say. "You begin first," Daisy said to Howl.
He didn't know where to start, so he started from the beginning when he and the Witch of the Waste had their fight. He told her how she was going to kill him. He talked about Sophie and how she helped him get his heart back. He told her everything from the beginning to the end. He apologized for disappearing. He apologized for leaving her alone because this Howl has a heart and cares. He apologized for the past three years.
Daisy was glad Howl got his heart back. She was also glad that he was not dead. " I'm glad you came back," said Daisy with a sob. She took a handkerchief and wiped her tears off. "I missed you, idiot", and everything was back to normal because they both knew holding grudges won't help them.
"I came to find you to tell you about our research, I send it to them."
"But how did you finish it? As far as I remember we never finished it," Howl asked Daisy. "I found the solution to our problem," Dasiy told him. "You gave me the idea actually, and it worked and this leads me to why I came by today. Dumbledore sends us both a letter, he read our research and wants to give us a job."
" A job?" Howl asked very confusedly. "Apparently he wants to start an alchemy class at Hogwarts and he wants us to teach it," Daisy said in an excited voice. "Whatever our answer is, he wants to meet us both next Monday"
"Us? professors at Hogwarts," Howl said. "This is going to be mad, isn't it?"
"This is going to be very strange," Daisy said back to him with a strange smile on her face.
The day of the meeting was a warm, breezy day. It was one of those days which were perfect for picnics in parks, but Daisy didn't have time to do that today. She was already late for her meeting with Albus Dumbledore. After a quick breakfast, she ran to the fireplace, and took some floo powder, which was placed in a bag near the mantel, and shouted, "The Three Broomsticks." After she stepped down from the fireplace and removed all the dust that settled on the robes, she realized she only had five minutes till her meeting. So she ran out of the place and sprinted towards the castle.
At last, she finally reached the entrance of the castle even though she was ten minutes late. Waiting for her inside the castle was Howl, who was looking impatient.
"I'm sorry... I got a bit caught up in things," Daisy panted.
"Did you just run all the way from Hogsmeade to here?" Howl asked her. "Maybe, but let's not just stand here; we have to get going," Daisy replied. "But where should we go?" Howl asked her. That's when she realized that she had never been to Hogwarts before.
Just then, they saw someone passing by the corridor. "Um.. hello... can you tell us where to find Albus Dumbledore's office?" Howl asked the lady awkwardly. "We are here for the new alchemy position," Daisy chimed in. A look of recognition came on the lady's face "oh yes, I'll show you both the way."
After going through some moving stairs and the strange corridor's, they finally reached a giant gargoyle statue. "Sherbet Lemon," shouted the lady who had shown them the way, and suddenly the gargoyle moved to reveal a circular, moving, spiral stone staircase.
They thanked the lady and climbed up the stairs. When they reached the door leading towards the headmaster's office, Daisy stopped Howl and asked:
"are you going to take this job?"
"yes"
And with a smile, Daisy knocked on the door. The door opened on its own, and they both entered a circular room. It was one of the most unusual room she had ever seen, the whole room was full of strange silver instruments, and the walls were lined with portraits of people sleeping.
"Mr Pendragon and Miss Castel, It's nice to finally see you both in person."
Both Daisy and Howl turned to look at the smiling face of Albus Dumbledore.
The meeting, in Daisy's opinion, went well. It was a bit strange and not at all like how she imagined a job interview would go, but it was something she'll never forget. She was excited about this. She was glad to be doing something new and different. There were some anxieties, but this was her opportunity to be far away from her old life.
Daisy left the meeting excited for a new future where she was going to be happier. After the meeting, Howl went back and she decided to go to Hogsmeade and visit her favourite store, Honeydukes was filled with people as usual:
"They should definitely start a new store in Diagon Alley", Daisy thought as she went inside looking for some fudge flies.