“Cheering Charms”
“Trunks”
First in a set of humorous flashfics featuring Filius Flitwick, Hogwarts Charms master. A “Cheering Charm” flashfic on the Petulant Poetess. A Resolving a Misunderstanding universe fic.
Filius and Pomona each have a surprise waiting for them. Set in June 1959.
Written in response to a Charming Roots Board flashfic challenge. Challenge word: Trunk.
Characters: Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, others
Rating: K+
Genres: Humor, Flashfic
by MMADfan
Filius whistled as he entered his cottage. A glorious summer stretched out before him. He had plans to travel, but first he’d spend time in his cottage in Berkshire, just relaxing. He skipped up the stairs, tossing a small box over his shoulder, then flicking his wand. A quick swish, and the unshrunken trunk bobbled happily behind him.
The sun streamed in through the south-facing windows. His charms had held nicely: the air was still fresh, and all the furniture, dust-free. As soon as he’d unpacked, he’d hardly feel as though it had been months since he’d been in his little home. Filius settled his trunk at the foot of the bed, noting that it seemed a little worse for sitting in a Hogwarts storage room for the last ten months or so, but he ignored that and waved his wand with a flourish, casting his own efficiently elegant unpacking charm.
The trunk opened and garments began to fly toward the wardrobe and dresser. Filius’s mouth fell open as he gaped. . . .
Pomona watched the last students disembark from the Hogwarts Express. Albus liked to have a teacher take the train with them whenever possible. She hadn’t minded, since she planned on visiting Colleen Murphy, anyway. Colleen and Pomona had been apprentices together under old Dimmity, and Colleen now was the first assistant to Professor Gold at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Wizarding Division, so Pomona was looking forward to her visit.
The only thing Pomona didn’t like was arriving at King’s Cross Station. Disapparating from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was prohibited by the Ministry, so Pomona Levitated her trunk behind her and set off to find a Muggle trolley to put it on before she walked through the barrier.
As she settled her trunk onto the trolley, it struck her that it was a bit . . . cleaner than she remembered it, but Hogwarts house-elves were always looking for ways to be useful. They’d probably polished it up for her. The brass fittings fairly shone. At least when she arrived at Colleen’s flat, the trunk would make a good impression even if she was a little unkempt. Though she’d cast cleaning charms on her robes afterward, her early morning work in Greenhouse Two had left its traces.
Pomona ignored the stares of the few Muggles who weren’t cosmopolitan enough to pretend not to notice her unusual garb, and she trundled her trolley out into the hubbub of King’s Cross. Glad that she had thought to put a Featherlight Charm on the trunk before loading it on the trolley, she found a cab, declining the cabby’s offer to help her with her trunk. She closed her eyes and dozed, her feet up on her trunk.
When the cabby told her they had arrived, Pomona woke and found her Muggle wallet to pay him and again declined his offer of help. For the benefit of the Muggle driver, she made a show of wrestling the trunk up the front steps. She turned the bell handle, and moments later, Colleen was there. Colleen always seemed all elbows and sharp angles, but her smile was bright and her eyes, warm, as she welcomed Pomona with a hug.
“Let’s get that to your bedroom, then we can have a good natter over a cup of tea,” Colleen said cheerfully, Levitating Pomona’s trunk and leading her to the guest room.
“I’d like to put on a fresh robe, if you don’t mind,” Pomona said as Colleen set the trunk down inside the bedroom. “It’ll take just a min –” Pomona stopped, speechless as she opened the trunk and saw its contents.
Many miles away, frilly underthings rained down on Filius’s bedroom floor as his unpacking charm failed for the first time ever.
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