The Last Lotus Blossom

"D'you know what I just heard?" Katja Tenisoviska sat down on one of the rough logs grouped around a sizzling campfire.

"Katja, honestly, none of us are capable of reading your conveluted mind," Charlie Weasley replied taking a sip of the vegetable soup he held.

She shot him look, then continued. "We're getting someone new on the Reserve."

"Are you serious?" Eight pairs of formerly uninterested eyes turned to Katja.

"Yeah...let's see...I wrote her name down somewhere." She proceeded to dig through the pockets of her robes until finally a crumpled napkin was withdrawn from their depths. "Crap, the ink smudged." She squinted at the wrinkled note before her. "Something with a 'c'...Chang."

"Where's this C. Chang from?" Alan Saywell asked curiously.

"How am I supposed to know?" Katja demanded, annoyed.

"Forget it," Alan mumbled. "It looks like somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

"My bed's against the wall dumbass."

"It's a tent. There's nothing stopping you from rolling right through the wall," he pointed out.

"Would you two shut up?" snapped Keira George. Everybody looked up. It was a rare occurance that Keira spoke outside of work, and it always took everyone by surprise.

"What? Have you got something against Chang?" Charlie asked Katja.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," was the reply.

"You're so freaking impossible," Charlie sighed.

"She's going to be new! Why should she get to handle the Chinese Fireballs instead of me?" Katja exclaimed. "I've been working here since I was like fourteen or something!"

"Dropout," muttered Keira.

"You shut up!" Katja whirled around to face her interuptor. She was greeted with a withering stare.

"Do you always have to mad at someone?" Joe Caplan asked. "Is it some pathological need of yours?"

"Why do I even try?" Katja sighed.

"Why do you care about the Chinese Fireballs anyway?" Charlie said. "You told me yesterday that you liked the Welsh Greens better."

"I just do." The conversation fell silent and stayed that way for quite some time. Charlie looked around at the colorful personalities he had come to call his co-workers. I was hard to imagine that this time tomorrow another face would be present. It had been so long since anyone had joined or left the Reserve, he had forgotten what it was like.

He would have the chance to introduce himself to the supposed Chang tomorrow during the workday. He couldn't help but feel that perhaps the manager was putting the new woman on the Chinese Fireballs with him for a reason. He looked at Katja, who was brooding silently. As much as she annoyed the crap out of him, he knew he'd miss her flair for drama during the day. He had worked with Keira before, but as she seldom said anything that wasn't a searing three word criticism or a warning to duck or get your head fried, she wasn't an enjoyable companion. Joe and Alan were so alike they could have been brothers, but if you got to know them you could see their different proclivities. Alan was more inquisitive and laid back, while Joe had more of a temper, was quite blunt, and hardly ever sought excess information. Catherine Harris was friendly. She was funny as well, but Charlie had been forced to distance himself from her after they had dated and broken up, as a means of avoiding the awkwardness that was always present when they worked together. Sam Goodale was the oldest of the group at thirty-five, but you could mistake him for a silly eleven-year-old, the way he often behaved. He was nothing short of completely lovable. Peter Magee was quiet, like Keira, but if you introduced a topic he was happy to make conversation. Rounding out the group was Lizzie Marquee, the youngest. She was only sixteen, another dropout. Despite her poor academic record, she was quite intelligent. Her defining trait, however, was that she loved to argue about absolutely anything. It was always a goodnatured debate, though, much unlike the vicious feuds that often took place between Katja and Joe.Charlie didn't know where Chang would fit into the group, but he was certain she'd find her place.

"Charlie!" He was immediately shaken from his thoughts by Katja screeching his name. "You're not listening to me are you?"

"Is anyone?" he asked distractedly.

"This is important! I will bitch-slap you if you don't pay attention," she threatened.

"You know I'm incredibly frightened of you, Katja, but I'm going to bed," he replied. Charlie stood, emptied the remainder of his soup into the woods, and made his way back to the large canvas tent that housed his cot. Slipping on an oversized t-shirt and a pair of plaid pajama pants, he lay down on the lumpy cot and was asleep in an instant.

He was awakened the next morning by two popping sounds, one after the other. The rest of the workers were jolted from sleep as well, and went to see who had apparated. Pushing open the canvas flap that served as a door, they stepped outside.

Greeting their tired eyes were Larry Fraiser, the reserve manager, and a young, Asian witch. "Er...sorry to wake you all," Larry stammered. "But you've got a new co-worker. This is Cho Chang." The witch gave a slight smile. Charlie blinked, trying to shake the blinding sun out of his eyes, but his thoughts were immediately diverted. Cho Chang was, to put it bluntly, beautiful. She was just standing there, unassumingly, her navy blue robes billowing around her in the cool morning breeze, her long, black hair playfully tossed by the wind.

"This is Charlie," Larry said gesturing to where the redhead stood. "You'll be working with him daily. He'll show you all the ropes, but of course you probably already know. Er...I'll leave you to it, shall I?" With another pop he disapparated.

"Er...right. Give me a minute to get dressed and then we can get started," Charlie mumbled sleepily. She nodded and he disappeared inside the tent, emerging several minutes later sporting their customary uniform of black robes, and leather boots, pads, and gloves. "Here's a uniform." He tossed her a bundle. "You can change over there," he said pointing to a little bathroom shack. "Watch out for the bugs, they're kinda nasty."

She laughed. Her laugh was smooth and even, like melted butter and sparkling cider in the ears. "I'll be sure to," she replied in a sultry voice as she set off across the camp. She returned only moments later, sporting her new robes. It should be illegal to look that good in a uniform, Charlie thought.

"Right," he said as she came up to him. "There's a Chinese Fireball with a pretty nasty tumor in the western corner of the Reserve. It's under her eye and she's having a fit." He grabbed a rope and handed her a tranquilizing gun. "It sucks that we can't use magic to get there," he sighed. "We're going to be walking for a while."

"It doesn't suck," she told him. "Well, maybe it sucks for you, but I love to walk." He laughed.

"You're a bit of a freak, aren't you, Chang?"

"I've heard." She tucked the tranquilizer gun under her arm. "It's one of my better qualities."

Charlie laughed again. "Then you're in good company. There's not a normal person for miles." Cho would fit in just fine, he thought. He could already tell.