This is my second fanfiction on VTM, and I really enjoyed writing the first chapter because I know what I want to happen and how it's going to end, so I'm hoping I'll have a few comments so I can actually get that far. It's about a Wizard named Salement moving into a house next door to a Muggle named Maggie. Salement's Dad doesn't like Muggles and is afraid his son will expose their secret, so he tries to keep Salement and Maggie apart. But this doesn't work very well, and the two eventually fall in love. When danger strikes, though, Salement is forced to save Maggie and accidentally exposes his secret in the process.

The Untruth



It was one of those sunny summer days that ten-year-old Maggie Bellus loved so much. If you got past the sweltering heat and humidity that frizzed people’s hair, you’d be able to hear the birds singing in the background and see the brilliant, cloudless blue sky. But that was the problem, Maggie thought. People only complained about how hot it was, and that they couldn’t do a thing with their hair in this blasted humidity. Of course, Maggie knew differently.

And it was on this sunny summer day when the moving van pulled into the driveway next door.

Maggie took a quick look at the house the driveway belonged to. The house had been vacant for longer than Maggie could remember (which, since she was only ten, may have been a much shorter amount of time then she thought). It was made of wood, and the windows were the kind that had shutters covering them from the outside, and were without screens to keep the bugs out. Maggie’s arms got covered in goosebumps every time she looked at the house, no matter how warm it was outside.

She let her back lean against the tree trunk, dangling her legs over the sides of the branch she had been sitting on.

This was the position she was in as she saw another vehicle gradually making its way up the gravelly driveway. It was smaller than the big white van it was following. The car was black, with a tinted windshield and four tinted windshields on the sides. A mini-van, thought Maggie.

To Maggie, this was a bit odd. Both her parents had trucks. “It was easier,” her father had once told her, “to maneuver the gravel-covered roads.” If you were going to live in the country, you’d probably need a truck. But the mini-van followed the leading one, and came to a screeching halt as it came up to the garage.. Maggie, from where she was sitting, had a perfect view of the family that got out of the car.

There was a mother who came out of the passenger seat with sandy blonde hair, and she looked to be about her mother’s age. She was wearing a pair of blue jean capris with a purple, u-neck shirt. A man came out of the driver’s side. He was blonde, his very light hair almost white in the bright sunlight. He wore a navy blue polo, and khaki shorts. A younger girl, probably about three or four, came out of the right-side backseat. Her head was covered in golden ringlets that bounced as she skipped over to her mother, and she was dressed in a colorful pink skirt with a flowered shirt.

And then, finally, a boy of about Maggie’s age hopped out of the other backseat. He was a little short for a ten-year-old, and he was also very skinny.

Maggie, always curious, dropped out the tree, landing with a soft thump on the brown-green grass that dotted the yard.

The boy looked up just as Maggie ducked, running, hunched-over, to the fence. She scrunched herself down towards the ground and peeped through the hole in the white picket fence that separated her house from the other one. Then she watched as the family entered their new house—all but the boy.

Maggie heard him sigh loudly. “I’m not stupid. I know you’re hiding behind the fence.” His voice was close to the fence now.

Maggie stood slowly and wiggled her fingers at him; the fence came up to her chest, but only the boy’s head reached over the very top of it.

“Hi!” Maggie said. “I’m Maggie!”

“I’m… Salement Broche.” The boy replied.

Maggie tasted the name on her tongue, moving it back and forth in her head.

“Salement.” Maggie repeated. It was odd, and she had never heard it before… but she liked it. It much different than her boring name.

“My parents… it’s, uh, French… like my last name.” Salement said.

“Sale, come look at the new house!” his mom called from the doorway.

“Bye, Maggie.” Salement said, and walked away, leaving Maggie standing dumbfounded by the fence.


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~Angeline

Salement stared out the window in the back of the house. It had a perfect view of a large, open field that had once, obviously, been a cornfield. Tan-colored stocks were lying on the ground everywhere, in every direction, and only a few were left standing. The people who had lived there last must’ve been farmers, or something like it.
Salement had never been a fan of the country; it wasn’t his favorite place, but it also wasn’t his least favorite. He was fond of forests and closed-in areas, and he loved nature. He loved the smell, the look, the calm feeling he got whenever he was in a forest. Salement was also very mature for a boy who was almost eleven years old.

And he hadn’t exactly moved to the country without a fight.

The day his parents had told him and his sister, Sicily, he had stormed to his room in rage, while Sicily squealed loudly and ran around the house singing, “We getta move to da cunty” in her little 3-year-old way of saying things. But Salement had been in a horrid mood all day, stomping around and hoping he was dreaming and figuring out that he wasn’t when he pinched himself and didn’t wake up.

Adding the fact that he had to leave all his friends behind, the country wasn’t going to be much fun.

But he had thought that before he met Maggie, his first friend. She was different, and Salement was very excited about her.

Maggie was different because she wasn’t like him. She was a Muggle, and he was a Wizard. He had never had a Muggle friend before, although he had always wanted one. And he could show off his magic to her!

“Salement!” his father snapped, breaking Salement’s train of thought. “Come here.”

Salement went over and stood by his father, who towered over him, arms crossed.

“We must go over a few rules. Seeing as our new neighbors are Muggles, you are not allowed to show them any magic.” Mr. Broche said.

“But—,”

“Next, you are not to go past the fence in the backyard.” He paused. “And lastly, you will NOT befriend the Muggle girl who lives next door. I will not allow us to be found out in order for you to make a new friend. Be nice to her and her parents, but nothing more.”

Salement gaped up at his father. “Bu… but, Dad, why not? They’re not bad. She’s nice.”

“You’ve talked to her?” his father steamed.

“Oh, calm down, Michael.” Salement’s mom cut in, placing a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “Sale’s just trying to make some friends. He had to leave all his other ones behind, remember?”

Mr. Broche just sneered down at Salement and shook his head, walking away.

“Ignore your father. He can be such a sourpuss, can’t he?” Mrs. Broche smiled.

“Sour pussycat, sour pussycat!” Sicily giggled from the floor. Her mother picked her up in her arms and swung her around.

“Now, let’s go meet the neighbors!” Mrs. Broche said.



Salement, his sister, and his mother walked onto the neighbor’s front porch, Mrs. Broche knocking gently on the door.

Salement heard the sound of someone unlocking a door, and then it was opened, a woman with curly light brown hair and blue eyes standing in the doorway.

“Hello, there! You must be the neighbors. It’s lovely to meet you.” The woman greeted them cheerfully, grinning from ear-to-ear. “I’m Emily Bellus.”

Maggie peaked out from behind her mother’s legs, her ivy green eyes widening with recognition. “Salement!” she cried, coming up to stand beside her mom.

Salement gave Maggie a quick half-smile.

“And this is Maggie, my daughter.” Mrs. Bellus explained. “My husband, his name’s Jonathon, is at work. He'll be home soon.”

Mrs. Broche held her hand out and Mrs. Bellus shook it. “I’m Haven Broche, and these are my children, Salement, who Maggie seems to already know, and Sicily. My husband, Michael, is busy… unpacking; you know how men are. But he says hello.” She looked down at Maggie and smiled sweetly, running her fingers through Maggie’s curly, dark blonde hair. “You’re a very beautiful girl, Maggie.”

“Thank you!” Maggie grinned widely.

“You’re welcome to my home any time.” Mrs. Bellus told them.

“Thank you, Emily, but we were just stopping by for a quick visit. We need to get unpacked, and then maybe we can talk for a little.” Mrs. Bruche nodded towards the house. “And Sale’s birthday is coming up next week.”

“How very exciting!” Maggie exclaimed. “Mines on July first, so we have close birthdays. Right, Salement?”

“Um… yeah. I guess we do!” Salement was happy that he had at least something in common with Maggie, even if he wasn’t allowed to see her.

“We must be going. Thank you, Mrs. Bellus.” The Bruches headed off to their house.

“Bye-bye!” Sicily called behind her, hanging on to her mother’s hand. Mrs. Bellus gave her a little wave, smiling.

“They seem nice.” Salement’s mother said when they were past the fence and nearing their new home.

“Isn’t Dad going to be mad that we went and talked to them?” Salement asked.

“Well… maybe a little. He just doesn’t like Muggles. Thinks they’re too dependent and lazy.” She explained.

Salement nodded his head, not sure he knew what “dependent” meant.


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I hope it's not too boring... because it won't be, I promise!
Feedback: http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=26148
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~Angeline

Maggie watched from her upstairs bedroom window as Salement and his family walk to their house, little Sicily squirming in her mother’s arms. With a sigh, Maggie turned away and skipped down the stairs.

She then heard the garage door opening, and then a bump bump that signaled her father’s car pulling in. A muffled Slam! was heard from the garage as the garage door began closing.

“Daddy!” Maggie cried as she ran to her father and wrapped her arms around his neck. Maggie was so light that he picked her up quickly and swung her around.

“You’re almost too big for that, Mags!” her father laughed, putting her back down on the floor.

“We got new neighbors!” Meggie cried. “They’ve got a son, Salement, he’s my age, and a little girl named Sicily, but I dunno how old she is. The mom’s name is, uh, Haven, and the dad’s name is Michael!” she took a deep breath.

“Yes, and their last name is Broche. Isn’t that something?” Maggie’s mother chimed in from the kitchen.

“They do have rather odd names, don’t they?” Jonathon asked himself as he walked into the kitchen. He put his arm around his wife and kissed her cheek, then sniffed the air. “What’s for dinner?”

“Spaghetti and meatballs, Maggie’s favorite!” Mrs. Bellus replied, stirring the pasta. “It’ll be done in about ten minutes.”

“May I go outside `till then, Mum?” Maggie asked.

“Yes, dear, but do wash your hands when you come back in.” she said with a nod, not looking away from her simmering pot.

Maggie grinned and ran to the back door, unlocking it. She stepped onto the back porch and looked inside to see if her parents were watching, which they weren’t, and then she raced out to the dead cornfield that covered the expanse of her backyard, Salement’s, and a couple more blocks. She skipped nimbly over the dead stocks of old corn on the ground and went straight for the fence at the very edge of the field. She’d visited this place many times against the will of her parents, who still didn’t know about it.

With a jerk of her hand and a spin of the slide, she unlocked the gate easily and pushed it open. It made a satisfactory creaking noise and she sighed deeply.

Past the fence were rows and rows of apple trees that only occasionally bore apples. Whenever there was an apple, she picked it and ate it immediately; but there were none now because it was still the middle of summer.

She sat by one of the trees near the front of the rows and closed her eyes, taking in the sweet smell of the afternoon air, listening to the bluebirds.

But this time there was a different sound. The sound of branches being snapped underfoot by human shoes.

“Hello?” she called out, and the snapping stopped. Quickly, she hopped up, stealthily moving among the many trees. The other person was not so stealthy; there were so many tree branch snaps that she could’ve followed the disturber in her sleep.

And then the noises stopped again.

Turning another corner, Maggie spotted a flash of light hair and then Salement was standing by one of the trees, looking around nervously. Just as Maggie was about to go over to him, he spun around, seeing Maggie as she tried to hide.

His eyes grew large and he made an attempt to run away, but Maggie caught him by the back of his shirt and pulle d him over.

“What are you doing?” Maggie asked.

“What are you doing?” he asked back.

Maggie crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eye brow. “Nothing. I was just playing in my field behind my house.”

“It’s behind my house, too. I’m not supposed to be back here. I’m not even supposed to be talking to you.” Salement said.

“Then why are you if you’re just going to get in trouble?” Maggie questioned, taking a step forward.

He shrugged. “Dad’ll never know. He’s still unpacking. And Mom’s pretty cool, so she might let me off with a warning this time.” He paused and looked around. “It was just so… mysterious.”

“What’s mysterious about an apple orchard?”

“I don’t know. It was just… here. So I came back here to check it out. I’m really glad I did.”

“Oh. Alright. I guess we can share this special place, if you want.” Maggie offered.

“Yes, definitely.” Salement nodded with a smile.

“Okay.” Maggie smiled back. “Let me show you something first.” She led him to the very back of the orchard, where the trees were more packed in. They were a bit taller, too, and it was actually like a small forest.

“This is amazing!” Salement exclaimed, raising his arms to the sky. “I think I’m beginning to like the country.”

Maggie leaned against one of the bigger trees, watching her foot as she made marks in the dirt. “Do you know what time it is?”

“Um....” Salement pulled the watch he’d stashed in his pocket on the way out of the house from his pocket. “It’s almost six thirty.”

Maggie’s head shot up. “I have to get home!” She began to run to the house.

“Wait!” Salement called when she was almost to the gate.

Maggie paused and turned quickly to look at him. “Yeah?”

“You want to meet here again?” Salement cupped his hands over his mouth to form a megaphone.

“Sure! How about tomorrow, after lunch?” she shouted back.

Salement put a thumbs-up into the air and nodded. She nodded back, and then unlocked the gate, running as quickly as possible home.


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That was a bit longer than I expected it to be, but it needed to be that way.
Feedback (please?): http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=26148


~Angeline