DIS: I do love Diana Wynne Jones's humor. I was going mad when I read Howl's Moving Castle, so it was a nice change. Anyway, I finally got a hold of House of Many Ways and read it. Although not as satisfying as the previous two, I still enjoyed it.

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Title: Mirror Image

Rating: K and Up

Genre: Humor/Romance

Summary: Sophie visits Wizard Norland with Howl and discovers that Charmain and Peter are quite similar to themselves in presenting their feelings for each other, excluding the blowing up houses part. One shot.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Diana Wynne Jones's works.

Notes/Warnings: Howl/Sophie; Peter/Charmain; one shot; first attempt at HMC fandom

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Mirror Image

Wizard Norland, or better known as Great-Uncle William by Charmain Baker, his great-great-niece, furrowed his brow, hearing a rather loud noise from inside the living area. Almost immediately Waif began to yap wildly, while two young voices rose among it all, sounding as though a heated argument was about to ensue. He raised his tea cup from his saucer, drinking it mildly as he listened to his two apprentices. His eyes rolled upward as he touched the edge of the cup to his lips, tilting it back to take a drink.

" – foolish girl, you don't know anything!" Peter Regis, the Crown Prince of High Norland, was bellowing.

"I've told you a million times and I bloody well am not going to tell you again after this! My – mother – sheltered – me! You call me stupid, but you're the one – " Charmain was interrupted by Peter's indignant voice.

"I didn't say you were stupid!"

"You may as well have!"

It's nice to see romance blooming between those two, Wizard Norland thought pleasantly as he took a drink of his tea. He vaguely wondered what that loud noise had been a moment ago. Waif was still yapping her little head off, so clearly it had startled her enough to cause such a racket. He heard a sudden, brisk knocking on the front door and distantly recalled that the Wizard Howl and his wife were to be visiting from Ingary that day. Waif was suddenly silent, as well as the two young persons.

He smiled, turning his head the slightest bit, curious as to whether they intended on answering the door or not.

Meanwhile, in the living area, Peter and Charmain were staring at the door, hearing another knock sound politely. There was a mess near the trolley, the reason for their bickering in the first place. Charmain, with her usually fair features flushed with irritation, shot a glare towards her companion, whose face had turned quizzical. Noticing her dirty look, his eyes narrowed warningly.

With a huff, she flung her plaid of rusty coloured hair over her shoulder haughtily and flounced to the door, throwing it open with a distinct attitude. Her temper did not cool one bit at seeing the Wizard Howl and Sophie at the door. If anything, her mood became even fouler at the thought of having to deal with Morgan wrecking havoc upon them. Surprisingly, though, Morgan was not with them. Charmain ruthlessly stomped on the slight rise of hope, warning herself that simply because she could not see the monster, that did not mean he was absent.

"Hello, Charmain," Sophie greeted kindly. "Wizard Norland is expecting us."

"Of course," she replied, stepping back. As soon as she shut the door, she snapped at Peter, "Great-Uncle William has guests! Since you made that mess, you ought to clean it up, Peter." She said his name with a venom disguised with a sugary smile. His eyes lit up in outrage, while the wizard and witch watched interestedly, standing near the door.

"I didn't make this mess!" Peter protested, flickering a look to their spectators nervously.

"Bother you," Charmain ground out, giving her foot a little stomp of frustration. "You'll have broken Great-Uncle's trolley with the way you go around so violently." He opened his mouth, but her hand flew up before he could get a word out, thrusting a finger at him threateningly. "Don't you dare mention the laundry!" She folded her arms over her chest and, despite her being shorter than him, did a good job at sneering down her nose at him. "I can at least do magic properly. You could manage to blow up the house with the way you cast spells."

"What?" He sputtered in disbelief, his face suffusing with righteous anger. "Oh-ho! Hoity-toity!" He stepped towards her, looming over her. She simply stared up at him with her cool, unbothered expression, as if he were one of her servants and she a princess. "I might not be able to do magic as well as you can, but I can certainly take care of myself, unlike a certain other person that needs people to wait on her so that she can survive. Leave you out in the wild with no money, food, or magic, and you'd kill yourself from a poisonous mushroom."

At this, she blushed and appeared to prepare herself to retort. Howl cleared his throat loudly, catching their attention. Both young wizard and witch turned to him, scowling irritably at being interrupted. "As amusing as this may be – " He began, ignoring the horrified expression Sophie sent him. He was not given a chance to finish as both Peter and Charmain rounded on him.

"Wizard Howl, am I to assume that you find him abusing me entertaining?" Charmain demanded of him. He blinked, surprised.

"What? Of course I don't – "

"She is beating on me like a common fish wife," Peter added, "and you simply stand there and laugh at it?"

"Er..."

For once, Howl was struck silent, unable to slither out of his current predicament. Thankfully, Wizard Norland chose that moment to intercept, chuckling at his apprentices, saying, "Don't you two get enough out of each other? Looking to the dear Wizard Howl for a fight seems unnecessary, mm?" Peter and Charmain stared at him for a moment, exchanging sheepish looks. Charmain had the grace to send an apologetic look to Howl. Peter simply cleared his throat and cast his eyes towards the heavens, as if they would save him from embarrassment. "Please, would one of you join me and our guests?" He ushered for Howl and Sophie to follow him.

They glanced behind them to see both apprentices start forward and glare at each other. Charmain flashed a charming smile, stunning the male briefly. She sped past him then, pushing a hand out to knock him over. The look he sent her was murderous, a none-too-subtle promise of retribution.

"I am glad you came, my friends," Wizard Norland said as he led them outside to his garden bench. There was a table and a few garden chairs situated around it comfortably. By the briefly puzzled look that crossed Charmain's face, Sophie suspected they were not usually there. "Please, have a seat." They did as asked, with Charmain settling on the bench beside her great-uncle in a prim, respectable manner. Anyone would assume she was quite a charming, agreeable young woman until they witnessed her rows with Peter.

It reminds me of Howl and myself, Sophie realized as she spoke with the wizard. They discussed all kinds of things, ranging from the weather to Morgan to magic. Howl was as charming as ever, easily speaking with Wizard Norland as though he were a close friend rather than someone he had only recently met.

"What a nice little place you have here," Howl remarked, giving a beaming smile. Sophie noted that Charmain was staring fixedly at something past her shoulder, as if she was quite unaware of where she happened to be. Sophie did not dare look behind her to see what it was in case of drawing attention from Howl or Wizard Norland. "Makes me want to settle comfortably myself, especially in a magic house like this." His eyes drew upward towards the house's walls. "Never can have too many rooms, if you ask me."

"Oh, yes, you can," Sophie flatly told him. He cast her a wounded expression, as though she had mortally offended him. "You already disappear enough already. I quite prefer to have you where I can see you."

"Do you think I make mischief? Sophie, how distrustful you are! I take such good care of you, too! What ingratitude! What selfishness!" Charmain had finally drawn her gaze to them, appearing more than a bit baffled at their exchange.

"You say that, but you and Calcifer are always causing trouble in the town. I daresay that you have gotten worse ever since Calcifer's contract was broken with you. He is just as bad."

"Now you have resulted to slandering my friends," he mournfully said, giving a dramatic sigh. "Sophie, you treat us so terribly. How could I have married such a heartless wench?"

"Hmm..." Wizard Norland remarked. "I think you may have just signed your life away, my friend." Howl smiled at him carelessly.

"He certainly has," Sophie growled. Howl made a point to not look at her, pretending to observe his surroundings very closely.

"Well, that must be the end of your visit." There was a twinkle in the elderly man's eyes.

The four rose to their feet, Sophie looking behind her to see Rollo watching them with his usual disdainful expression just as a sudden explosion came from inside, causing them to throw themselves to the ground. When it seemed to calm a bit, they leapt to their feet and ran inside the house, Charmain in the lead. Waif was yapping again, sounding a bit crazed. They arrived in the living area to see Peter with a blackened face, coughing and waving smoke away.

"What have you done now?" Charmain screeched, staring with wide eyes at what was left of the furniture of the living area. "Are you trying to destroy the whole house?!"

"For your information," he responded matter-of-factly with a dignified sniff, "I was cleaning up the mess you had made."

"By blowing up the living area?"

"Well...No," he confessed. "I was using a spell I saw and, um..." Charmain's mouth turned into a straight line of rage as she stared at him, her hands fisted at her sides.

"Ah, you were right after all," Howl commented brightly in the stunned silence. "He did manage to blow up the house with a spell!"

Sophie groaned at her husband's statement.

Finis

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DIS: I couldn't help but write this. Peter and Charmain's interactions were so like Howl and Sophie's that I had to write this down. In any case, please tell me how I did for a first fic in this fandom by reviewing. Ciao!