Unexpected Expectations - FELIX

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

september 1, 2028

Ophelia stood in front of her new cottage just outside Hogsmeade, still reeling from the last twenty four hours. She had commuted to LIFE daily for her courses from her London apartment. The plan had been for Ophelia to get her healing degree from the new Upper level school on the old castle grounds and complete her training to be a mediwitch for Saint Mungos. But to her surprise, every time she left the campus started taking longer, and every time she was back in London she had started counting down the hours until she could go back to the Scottish Highlands. So when a training spot had opened up in the campus hospital wing three weeks before graduation, Ophelia took it as a sign.

What she hadn’t expected was her father to not only agree to let her rent out her flat in London (as trainee jobs do not pay well) so she could rent a room in Hogsmeade. He had also presented her with the deed and keys to a modest two bedroom two bathroom stone cottage, complete with a decent sized back garden. Ophelia had started keeping numerous plants, both magical and non-magical when she was studying at school. Now she had the room to plant whatever she liked!

She had asked her older brother Felix to come with her to walk the property for the first time. While she was always amazed by their fathers generosity, Ophelia had a hard time standing up for herself if she didn’t like something. Felix helped her do that. She looked up at him now as they stood on the threshold of her new cottage. “Ready?” she asked him with a grin.

FELIX CICERO TELLER

[FELIX CICERO TELLER]

Early September 2028

Being the head of the department of mysteries was not as straightforward as most department head roles. Felix had known that from his many years in the department, had known that it was a difficult task to maintain classified information whilst delivering on the ministries many performance targets. He'd found his time largely taking up in brainstorming sessions with the rest of his team, as well as other department heads to understand the best way to deliver to leadership. Felix's time with Hanna had grown less and less frequent, much to his dismay. He still couldn't quite pin down what she was to him - other than the fact that she made him feel a decade younger and a thousand times less heavy. They hadn't had any sort of relationship talk, but Felix, as he was, preferred it that way.

The other hardship of department headship mean that Felix had less time with Fee than he would have liked. They'd managed a few sporadic meetings, usually at his London flat, but between her healing coursework and his own duties, time was limitied. So when Felix found out that their father had handed over the keys to a cottage in Hogsmeade, Felix's first reaction was to be delighted. When he thought about it a bit more, he realised he was more than a little disgruntled - their father had always coddled Fee, but then again, she was far more fragile than Felix. He was the sword while she was the heart. In the end, Felix couldn't fault their father's decision, especially since Fee had taken on an apprenticeship at the school.

"I can't believe you're choosing to live up here," teased Felix as they approached the cottage. It was sweet and quaint, and exactly the sort of place he knew that Fee would love. "I bet it's well cosy in there. How many blankets have you got in there?" asked Felix, his grey eyes narrowing on the stonework.

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia chuckled at her brother. “It makes the most sense, Fee. My apprenticeship is just down the lane, and you know I was always destined for a quiet, country life rather than a life in the big city,” she told him good naturedly. It wasn’t as though Ophelia hadn’t enjoyed her time living in London; when she was freshly graduated from Hogwarts, it made sense as both her jobs were in the city, and she had always liked a good party atmosphere. But next year she’d be turning thirty, and after her miscarriage she had found herself again after a long period of grief, anger and mourning for the life she had lost. And this Ophelia was ready to settle down and get serious.

“I reckon I have about twenty, but I am sure I will get at least one more as a housewarming present,” she teased. She unlocked the door and stepped into the cottage. It was small but brightly lit; sunlight poured through the big windows. She took a deep inhale and paused; hadn’t her father said the cottage was in need of a little bit of love and care? It smelled…clean, too clean for an older home. Had her father hired a cleaning service to surprise her before the big move? Another scent joined the fresh linen and citrus in the air…chocolate? Casting an alarmed glance at her brother, Ophelia moved silently towards the kitchen, located just out of sight of the front door. There, humming merrily as she took out a fresh tray of chocolate chip cookies, was a house elf. At the sound of her sharp inhale, the elf whirled around, bright blue orb-like eyes widening in excitement. “Oh you must be mistress Ophelia! My name is Pixy mistress, and I is very happy to be serving you!” Pixy bowed low, then returned to the cookies and her humming. Ophelia stared at her, speechless, and remained so when her brother sought to join her in the kitchen.

FELIX CICERO TELLER

[FELIX CICERO TELLER]

Felix wrinkled his nose. He could understand the concept of living in a village, or the countryside. But it didn’t appeal to him. These were places to be visited and cherished, returned to seldomly as to maintain their magic. Not to be tarred with the brush of familiarity. But as his grey eyes scanned Fee’s face, he realised just how serious she was. How she had needed a change so desperately, and he had hardly seen it, with his head so wound up his own arse. His face softened, and he took her hand. ”You’ll do great things,” said Felix to his sister. He silently followed her into the cottage, and looked around. It was small, but warm, and perfect for his sister. He looked from his surroundings to Fee, and frowned at the perplexed look on her face.

Felix withdrew his wand without a second thought, though Fee had the habit of acting first and thinking later. He very nearly hissed a warning to her as she crept forward and into the kitchen. Felix’s stride was longer, but he didn’t reach Fee in time. He did, however, catch her sharp intake of breath. In a heartbeat, his wand was trained on Fee’s source of surprise. But his alarm was misplaced - and quickly faded to bewilderment as he took in the scene before him.

”A house elf?” said Felix. ”You’ve got a house elf?” Elf servitude had fallen drastically out of fashion, and usually they only remained in large manor homes. Ever since elf rights had been pushed into legislation by the late Hermione Granger, Felix couldn’t think of a single person he knew who had a house elf. ”I… you…” he stuttered, looking between Ophelia and the elf. He couldn’t imagine Fee condoning domestic servitude, but there had to be an explanation for such a thing. He fixed his gaze on his sister. ”Did you know?”

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia, who had been dumbstruck by the appearance of a house elf of all things, threw her brother an incredulous look.  "Did I?" she sputtered, going pink.  "No, I bloody well did not know Felix Teller, you know perfectly well how I feel about the house elf wizard relations," she hissed in a low voice.  She had been great friends with the house elves of Hogwarts, Hufflepuff's common room being close to the kitchens, and though she had never voiced it, she had wondered if any of the elves would have preferred freedom.  She knew they had options for wages and other compensations now, thanks to Hermione Granger's S.P.E.W. efforts in the Ministry - perhaps that was the agreement this house elf and her father had made.

Turning to face the house elf, Ophelia forced a smile down at her.  "Did...did my father hire you?" she asked Pixy, tentatively.  "Oh yes mistress, your father is telling me how you wouldn't like Pixy working for nothing," the house elf squeaked, looking up at Ophelia admiringly.  "He is also saying you was friends with the Hogwarts house elves, and Pixy knows that anyone who was a friend of Hogwarts house elves, could be a friend of Pixy's!" Pixy bowed low, beaming.  Ophelia looked back over at Felix, wide-eyed.  "Suppose I have a house elf now?" she asked weakly.  She really didn't see another way out of it.

FELIX CICERO TELLER