Everyday Magic by SurprisedbyJoy

- Thanks for reading! These are just little one shots I write to myself... after being randomly inspired by whatever I run across day-to-day. I love HMC and Diana Wynne Jones, so this is all bookverse and fluff and probably fodder for future, more concrete stories. Apologies for any grammatical/other types of errors, this hasn't been beta-ed. I don't own anything contained herein, not Howl nor Sophie nor the worlds! Inspiration taken from my life & travels in Wales and Ireland. -

"The thing is, my curiosity about magic really being a possibility, not just my silly childhood fairytales, began when I realised it had the potential to be real in my world in small, mundane ways."

Sophie crunched another leaf under the heel of her boot as they approached the stile ahead of them. "Mundane magic?"

"Mm, like... it's hard to explain, since you're so accustomed to extraordinary magic. I guess I began to see it as the 'lucky'... that's not the right word... an occurrence of things... some people have some mysterious quality about them that draws animals to them more than others. Or others have perfect timing-I had a friend who could always accurately guess the time without seeing a clock, who usually made a lucky guess down to the minute. Other times it's just... the small surprises, joys in life. Hard to explain, till you look for it or experience it."

"Someone who naturally knows when a cake or pie is ready. Or senses when something's in the garden. Or can enthrall people with a story. Turn rubbish into treasures."

"I knew you'd get it!" said Howl, jumping down the other side of the turnstile, into the soft dirt. He turned and offered a hand, unnecessary to Sophie but still appreciated. She smiled as she took it. Howl continued, caught up this one thought. "You see, that was what my postgrad studies were all about. Commonplace magic. There's a whole paper with official terminology, but that's useless when it comes down to people relating to it. I tried explaining it to Michael, but it flew over his head like those geese."

"Did you try it with Suliman?" Sophie asked, watching said geese fly over the horizon in their triangle formation.

"Oh, he understands it better than a commoner off the streets of Ingary, but he's so careful and exact and doesn't quite get the whole random chance thing. It's more of an interesting theory rather than a likely possibility or fact of life to him."

Sophie thought about the university and the careful study of magic of which Howl spoke. As she gripped his hand, she imagined a gangly rugby player with skinned knees spending an afternoon watching a spider spin a web. She saw the same boy sitting on a bench, eyes attuned to the quirks of the passerby. The handsome, fresh face filled with concentration as his fingers flew faster and faster, churning out words about the new world he had only partially uncovered.

A tug on her hand brought Sophie back, and she stopped as Howl did. "What are you thinking so intently about, Mrs. Head-in-the-clouds?"

To her surprise, Sophie coloured slightly. "Oh, I... the university you talk about. And what you studied there. How you uncovered my-our-world."

"We'll go there soon-but, would you like to read one of the papers? I'm fairly certain I've got it in a box at Megan's, if she hasn't burned the lot already. It might not be terribly thrilling reading for you-"

"I want to read it. I never quite finished school... but I still want to learn, maybe catch up a bit." She paused. "And, I suppose, to find out what you were like before you were heartless Howl, to see what theories you had about my world."

Howl laughed, but looked pleasantly surprised. "Watch out, you're practically flattering me now, and I thought that was a practice you despised." Sophie snorted. Howl waved a hand. "No, no, I'm genuinely pleased, it's not the kind of thing I'd ever easily share with someone else."

Sophie nodded. Howl let go of her hand as they paused again, closer to the river. The air had that irresistibly energizing scent of fall, decay and fire and chill in a strange but appealing combination. He tested the ground with one hand, making sure it wasn't going to soak what Sophie considered to be already not-worth-saving clothes. The woman didn't and wouldn't ever understand the importance of a good denim pair of jeans, he thought, but boy did she understand magic.

He sat down, reaching back for Sophie and tugging her down as well. The wide river in front of them, carrying orange leaves, was the only noise in the otherwise desolate landscape. It wound through the mountains and down through the plain they had walked through as though it was a living thing; its water not only a life source, but a form of life and strength itself as it eroded and cleansed. Sophie pondered the rocks that weathered life in the stream, and lost herself in the thought until she felt Howl's arm around her waist, drawing her back to reality. She leaned her head on the his shoulder, breathing in the soft wool and his warm skin. Sometimes there was magic in the simple circumstances of life. Magic that had no mystery to it, but whose currents ran instead with simplicity and warmth.