Searching, Scavenging

"My family legacy. Gone with this battle. My family was a warring family. We never did manage to defeat the Dementors. We lost all our men in one battle. Just one. My great-great grandfather was in that sketch. But anyway, I do play the flute, what instruments can you play?" Barzini said, getting cheerful to the very end.

"Hey... How's that sketch you've been working on?" Barzini leaned over and tried to take a look.

Charlotte listened intently to the story of his family, it made her think of her own ring that sat on her slender finger, the silver metal and opals, how she resented wearing it. Charlotte did, however, find the story interesting.

"I play the drums."

She said with a smirk.

"Oh here."

Charlotte turned her sketchbook around so Bar could see the sketch of the tree she had been working on the last couple of minutes.

"Wow. Nice." Barzini whistled as he saw the picture.

"You have a talent for such things." Barzini gave her a thumbs up and sighed, and laid down on the ground beneath the tree, and closed his eyes.

"Listen... Peace at its very best..."

The wind... The leaves... Beautiful.

Charlotte smiled gracefully and bowed her head when she received the compliment from Bar, it was the only thing she was used to receiving compliments for, her art.

"Thank you, I have been practising a long time."

She listened as she was told to by Bar and she heard simple rustling of leaves and he was right it was quite peaceful here.

"Very peaceful...to be honest, I never thought somewhere forbidden would be...so nice."

"Forbidden fruits taste best, with reference to the innocent one." Barzini smirked and continued to keep his eyes closed.

"We never realise how things are beautiful until we lose them, don't we?" Barzini asked with a kind smile.

"Indeed, it always seems to be the way..."

Charlotte sighed, she never really had anything she loved so dearly as to loose, maybe Hannibal, if she lost him she would regret it forever he had been such a fast companion the last few months.

"But I have never really cared for something that I would bother loosing...bar one thing."

"Not necessarily. Sometimes when we deliberately lose something, we come to regret it only later. But it is of course,"Barzini threw up his hands, "Having what you like taken away forcefully from you is a much more excruciating thing."

Barzini took out a book titled, "The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers" and started reading, humming quietly to himself.

"I've never read that book...I'm guessing that it's Muggle in origin yes? What it is about?"

Charlotte nodded, she presumed that it would be something that would hurt a person to have their favourite thing or something they loved taken away from them. She supposed she could relate...to her art was her life and when it was take away she felt sort of lost.

"Its a story about how someone so small can save the world. A journey of trust and betrayal. How something so pure can be corrupted. That is just the meaning of the story of course. The whole thing is a lot more complicated." Barzini said as he took out another book titled Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring and offered it to her.

"Try. Just the first chapter."

Charlotte looked at the book in Barzini's hand, she smirked and shook her head, entertaining the plot line then actually touching the thing and reading it was a different matter...besides...if Arsen found out he'd probably massacre her.

"No thanks, I don't do reading, besides it looks thick and boring."

She smiled lightly and looked up through the canopy of the trees which was casting a shifting green light down to the bottom of the copse in which they sat. It was times like these that Charlotte wished she had a camera.

"Pity your so anti-muggle. If not, could get this on video!" Barzini said cheerfully as he held up a video camera, and scanned the woods, and then captured Charlotte's face on camera.

"Look, you got chocolate on your lips. It is on camera!" Barzini said loudly and laughed.

He took the book back and shook his head, waving the book in front of the video camera.

"Your missing out on something big!" Barzini said loudly and smirked.

"This is Barzini, his sixth time in the forest, with Charlotte Matthews, a really awesome friend who just declined reading Lord of the Rings. And now..." Barzini lifted his camera high and chanted,

"Brethren heed my call, Might is Pride, folks of Nature, come swiftly to my aid, for doom is ending and a new dawn is breaking!"

From deep in the forest, a low moan sounded, followed by more.

Barzini smiled and shook his head. He managed to do it again.

Charlotte looked curiously at the device that Barzini held in his hands she wondered what exactly it was and what it did, whatever it was he seemed to be talking to it. Charlotte moved her hand in front of the lens her brow furrowed lightly.

"What does it do?" She asked

Laughing lightly and shaking her head Charlotte wondered what he was doing with his mad sort of chanting, her eyebrows rose when she heard something coming from the forest...what the heck was that?

"What ARE you doing?" Charlotte muttered

"The army of our family is nature itself." Barzini smiled, and shook his head.

"But we became more peaceful recently. But we still pride ourselves in being able to communicate with nature's treasures like animals. No worries. They won't harm you. Nature is friendly by itself." Barzini smiled and looked at her seriously.

"This is our secret. Alright?"

Charlotte nodded, she didn't know why Barzini would be so careless as to show her his power, but she decided that she would just let it slide, she wouldn't exploit it unless he gave her a reason to. She looked around to see the full effect of whatever Barzini was doing.

"Very well, just between us."

"Come out, my little friends!" Barzini shouted and suddenly, with little scuffling noises, a group of animals slowly appeared, mostly animals like deers and squirrels.

"Hey... C'mere." Barzini said and a squirrel gave him a chestnut.

"Where in all this gloom do you get this?" Barzini bent down to the squirrel and said kindly.

After a moment, Barzini nodded and sat back up, and gave the squirrel a pat.

"Next time, Charlotte. If you want chestnuts, go a thousand four hundered and sixty two steps from here. South." Barzini gestured and laughed.

"Alright! You may go! Sorry for disturbing your sleep!" Barzini said cheerfully and the animals retreated, with a bear or two giving him a stare, which Barzini gave a smile to them and they left.

"Not bad, isn't it? They'll fight too. But it isn't nice that way."

Charlotte sighed and watched the interactions with a raised eyebrow, she didn't know or really have any desire to know what Barzini's power was but it was interesting, basically communicating with animals to get them to do what you wanted. Charlotte thought this over and although useful that was also what the imperious curse was for.

"I don't like nuts...but I'll keep it in mind thanks."

She smiled lightly.

"No offense or anything, but, you're never going to see my powers unless you're on the wrong end of them."

"I'd rather not. Friendship standing is better." Barzini smiled and nodded.

"More chocolate? Wait a minute..." Barzini showed her how the video camera worked.

"It records whatever you did... You see here?"Barzini pointed at the screen, and replayed the video of him talking like a mad man and capturing Charlotte's face.

Charlotte looked at the little screen of the video camera and her eyebrows raised, she sighed, Muggles did have some good ideas, just so happened that wizards had gotten there first. And done it better.

"It's like a wizard picture."

She muttered simply.

"No, no thanks, I think another chocolate would push me over the edge."

Charlotte giggled and lay down on the forest floor.

"Wizard picture, true. But coloured and able to capture voices as well." Barzini said matter-of-factly.

"True... I have had too much chocolate. Now, time for tea." Barzini groped in his bag and pulled out a chinese tea set.

"Want some?" Barzini asked as he started to warm the water.

Charlotte looked at Barzini, then back at his bag, then back to him with a confused look on his face, seriously, was his bag like the room of requirement, anything he wanted just sprung up out of there.

"Um..yeah okay."

She smiled taking cup and sipping it lightly.

"How many things are in that bag? Just wondering." She winked

"Its your basic Barzini family bag. Books, chocolate, drinks... Tea... Coffee... Luxury camping kind of bags, you know." Barzini shrugged and offered her a cup of fragrant Chrysantenum tea.

"Look at the sunset... It is beautiful..." Barzini whispered, him sipping his tea quietly.

The wind started blowing again, and the rustling of the leaves only added onto the serenity of the place.