Golden Locks, Spring Days and Stolen Kisses.

The broom was expertly crafted and flew like a dream. It was as if it was made especially for Elijah. He looked down at his parents stood on the veranda and he leaned to the right, bringing the broom down toward the ground level. He straightened it up and sped passed them, dropping a kiss to his mother’s cheek and snatching an apple from the fruit bowl as he passed. He heard his father’s shout of indignation but Elijah merely laughed in response. He released his hole of the broom and directed it with his feet in the stirrups. He threw the apple up in the air and leaned back, catching it before he and the broom out ran it. Elijah rubbed his against his shirt and took a bite out of the ripened fruit as he returned one hand to the broom.

Elijah leaned to the left and brought the broom back down so it was running just above the ground, over the expanse of lush green grass back towards the house. As he neared the steps of the veranda, Elijah began to pull up. The broom stepped out from underneath him and flew up into the air. His feet slammed down onto the veranda and he looked up, grinning at his mother who looked positively horrified. She burst out of her seat and ran around the side of the table, grasping her face in her hands. She turned his head sharply from side to side and Elijah gave a small cry of indignation. Marina dropped her hands and frowned at her son, her cheeks reddening slightly. Elijah grinned and kissed his mother on the cheek again before taking his seat.

“The Andersons will be coming over today,” Viktor informed his son, reaching forward to take a piece of bread from the bread basket in the middle of the table. Marina poured her husband some white wine and Elijah tapped his fingers against the glass. She tsked and poured a fair amount into Elijah’s glass before retracting the bottle and placing it well out of his grasp. “Don’t indulge him, Rina,” Viktor murmured in her ear with a smile. Elijah made a face at the soppy attitude and picked up his glass. Viktor turned back and reached over the table, taking the glass from his son. He handed it to Marina and she placed the glass with the bottle. “Elijah, focus. The Andersons are coming over which means you have to be sensible.”

Elijah sighed and ran his hand through his hair before grinning once more at the prospect of Mira and Alice coming over. Suddenly, Elijah jumped to his feet and Marina rose with him. Viktor began spread pâté over his bread and didn’t bother to look up, his attention placed back on the newspaper. Elijah pursed his lips and looked at his mother pleadingly. She knew what he wanted and it didn’t happen to be the wine – not yet anyway. Marina brought her hands up and rested them on her son’s shoulders. She brushed some invisible lint off of them and decided to relent.

“Alright go on,” She pushed his chest and gestured for him to take another broom. Only Merlin knew where the other one had gone. “That’s the eighth broom since you’ve been home, Elijah Nathaniel Krum. If you don’t start looking after them then you won’t have any more. Now get! I don’t want to see you or those Alice until they’re meant to be there-”

“Thanks, Mum!” Elijah kissed her on the cheek and jumped over the railing of the patio. He took off at a run, calling one of the brooms out of the broom shed as he did so. Marina whirled around, her hands gripping the railing as she called after him,

“Drop her home, Elijah! And don’t get caught!” But her calls went unheard as he took off and flew towards their home. Marina sighed and took her seat once more. “What are we going to do with him, Viktor?”

Her husband shrugged and looked up, a smile on his lips. “He’s besotted with her, Marina.”

“Then why is he betrothed to Mira, Viktor?!”

(Jamie! You can godmod Elijah appearing at her window!)

Alice sat at her small wooden desk in her room. Her face sat in her hand, making it appear almost squished and deformed. Her other hand grasped a school quill that she had found in her trunk. As her hand moved across the sheet of parchment a gentle scratching sound filled the room. Alice dipped the quill into the black ink. As she was pulling it out the house cat, Edward, jumped onto the desk. Alice was startled so badly that she jerked the quill, sending drops of ink across the cat, desk, and her face.

Alice groaned and hopped off the desk chair. She crossed started to cross the room, spine slightly hunched (the exact way her mother always told her not to). As she passed the window her eyes caught on the bright blue sky. With a smile she forgot all about the ink on her face and hair and crossed to the calling void of blue.

Writing letters was insanely boring. Especially to those random relatives and those in high society that your parents wanted you to get along with. Truth was most of those people were just dead boring. Alice was really worried that her sister would turn out to be just like them. Sometimes Alice really hated her sister. She hated her long hair, her perfect completion, her ability to please their mother, and most of all her betrothal to Elijah.

Alice would never admit it but she kinda sorta loved Elijah. The two of them spent nearly every day of every summer of their lives together. Playing Quidditch, climbing trees, having adventures. They used to be able to talk about anything, And they did. Alice knew exactly what Elijah felt about Mira. She knew who he hated, who he thought was hot, and exactly how much homework he had in each class.

Lately things had been feeling strange on Alice’s end. They were getting too old for her comfort. His and Mira’s marriage was always getting closer. Their time was running out.

Alice leaned out the second story window. Her hair danced around her ears from where she had cropped it roughly when she had been feeling rebellious. It was the same light blonde shade as Mira’s but just the change in style turned her from a princess to a tomboy.

Alice glanced around at the sloping lawns of her Bulgarian mansion. It was a nice day outside and she yearned to be out in the fresh air instead of cooped up with her quill. Alice thought of what fun she and Elijah would have on a day like today. As she was thinking his name she noticed a fremilior figure making it’s way towards the house. Elijah. A giant smile broke out on her face and she waved eagerly. “Save me, Krum!” she called. “I’m being tortured and held ageist my will!”

Who cared that her mother could probably hear? Alice just needed some time to be Alice.

There was something truly wonderful about sailing the air on nothing but two inches of beautiful Bulgarian maple. Elijah adored flying. He wasn’t as keen on Quidditch as his father would have liked but he played just like everyone else at Durmstrang. Elijah played Chaser, the role he was made to fill. He was streamline, fast; and those brooms his father gifted him with were well worth destroying. Every time those women in the mountains made a new one it was better and certainly faster. That was why Elijah made a point to destroy so many – because they just kept getting better and better.

As the house came into view over the tops of the trees, Elijah felt a carefree smile spread across his face. He pressed forward with the broom and urged it on as he found himself growing more desperate to get to Alice. He spotted her balcony, above the rose bushes and smirked as she showed up, wailing at the top of her voice for him to save her. Elijah could only do but oblige and so he landed on the balcony, discarding the broom and immediately straying to the French doors. He pried them open with minimal difficulties and threw the doors open, allowing the sweet, Bulgarian breeze into the room.

Elijah drew his wand like a sword and laughed. He tucked it behind his ear and took Alice’s hand. He swept down into a bow and kissed her knuckles, his lips lingering there for longer than would have been deemed appropriate. Elijah looked up at her through his lashes and a smirk took his lips as he rose up to his full height.

“Good morning, my lady.” He murmured before a cheeky grin spread across his lips. “Now tell me...what are we going to be doing today?”

(I'm sorry it's so short!)

Alice watched as the flying figure of Elijah come to her window. She laughed joyously as he landed on her balcony. As he opened the great doors to her room it felt a little too much like a fairy tale. Even scratched up, far from delicate, Alice was a princess with you had Elijah as your prince. 

Alice bowed her head and mocked at curtsy as he entered the room. He movements looked so strange on this body, where as on Mira they looked soft and elegant. Alice didn't want to be a real princess but she did want Eli to look at her and see a woman.. An attractive one. It was so hard with him going to Durmstrang and her going to Hogwarts. The different schools eliminated some common ground that they could share. There was no longer anyone to make fun of or have private jokes about. Except for Mira of course - but her sister was just a little too scary to mess with.

As she moved up from her curtsy Elijah took her hand and kissed it. Alice placed her tiny hand over her heart dramatically as if swooning. But inside she really was. So what if she couldn't help feeling the urge to faint every time he brushed up against her. It had been like that for almost two years now.. Their childhood friendship morphing into something new and complex. Elijah had kissed her once before, unexpectedly. It had been strange and foreign at the time, but now she longed for a repeat of the event. But she doubted it would happen. Elijah was too much of the perfect son, and his betrothal to Mira was actually starting to mean something. Not that Alice cared, but both of their parents sure did.

"I'm not sure" Alice said with a sly smile, hand back at her side. "Fly to our lake?". At a very early age Elijah and Alice had found a small pond in the middle of nowhere in the woods that could be found in-between the two manor homes. There was a small clearing around the pond and a few flat-ish rocks to lay out on. The two had spent countless hours of summer there. As far as they knew no one knew about it. Not  even Mira, who knew almost everything they got into.

"Then you could show off your amazing flying skills.. Again.." Alice said with a hint of sarcasm. Honestly she thought his Quidditch was sexy, not that she would ever have the nerve to admit it.

In the back of his mind, Elijah was aware that he shouldn’t have been embarking on such courting endeavours. Alice was his best friend but it was his sister whom he would marry; it was Mira who would eventually have his heirs. Elijah would have been a liar if he didn’t admit that, that prospect wasn’t daunting. He couldn’t imagine standing at the altar waiting for the unnervingly radiant blonde to glide down the aisle towards him. In fact, Elijah couldn’t imagine standing at the altar for anyone, let alone Mira. She didn’t strike Elijah the type to want to have children to ensure the survival of the Krum family; although really she didn’t strike him as the type that would have children period. That did throw Elijah off a little but he knew his ‘fate’. He was going to marry Mira and he’d accepted that. Whether he wanted it or not was a completely different matter.

Swallowing, Elijah straightened but kept his hand tucked around Alice’s. He pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her forehead before spinning her under his arm, laughing heartily at her offer. He was definitely tempted to take it up. He wanted to stay within the comfort of the home, really. Elijah knew though that anyone could walk in – from Alice and Mira’s mother or father to Mira herself or one of the House Elves. Elijah didn’t want to take that chance and neither, he assumed, would Alice.

“What’s this I hear about you and your family coming over tonight?” Elijah inquired gently, smoothing back some of the blonde tendrils of hair out of her eyes. “I was informed by Stelladora that my cousins would be gracing us with their presence. The Gods must be smiling down upon Bulgaria today.” Elijah smiled warmly at her and released her, striding towards the French doors. He held his hand out for his broom and the beautiful Bulgarian mode of flight flew into his hand. Elijah caught it without fail and walked out onto the balcony. He hopped up onto the wall, his knees bending as he landed, and looked over his shoulder at Alice. “Well come on then, sweetheart. I want to show you my flying skills,” he said, his words accompanied by his trademark smirk.