Rose walked down the street her three-year-old son excitedly pulling her towards Quality Quidditch Supplies. Diagon Alley was busy as per usual and Rose hoped her son wouldn't notice the exciting façade of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes down the alley, where children and adults alike were excitedly entering and exiting her Uncle's shop. Orion pulled Rose inside Quality Quidditch Supplies, just as Rose caught a flash of red hair in the WWW's window. She looked away and played along with Orion's act of convincing her to buy him a toy broom. Rose, distracted, thought to the toy broom already packed in her closet for him.
This was Orion's first Christmas in England, and he'd just recently discovered Quidditch. His obsession with Quodpot and Quidditch had melded together and he was dead-set upon convincing his mother to teach him. Rose although often considered a great beater and keeper, had taken no interest in either game.
Rose felt her cell-phone buzz, and she left Orion to tour the store as she picked up the call. The phone had been magically altered so that Rose could use it in a magical setting.
"Hello?" she answered, getting a few odd looks from the other customers in the store.
"Hey Rosie! Are you there yet? I'm running a little late."
"Yes, I know, you were supposed to meet us over an hour ago."
"Sorry?"
"Al, don't bother with the excuses. We're at Quality Quidditch Supplies, just meet us there."
"I'll be there in like twenty-ish minutes."
Rose turned around to find Orion as she saw him bump into a tall, blonde stranger. She felt her face go hot as she muttered "Scorpius", before turning around and heading for the bathroom at the back of the shop.
Scorpius told the boy "Watch where you're going little guy." Before setting him straight and the little blonde boy ran off again. When Rose exited the loo, Orion had become entranced in all the Quidditch books and Scorpius was nowhere to be seen.
A few minutes later Albus walked into the shop, "I saw your husband out there."
"God Albus, stop. I don't need to hear your condescending tone."
"I'm just saying, you're going to need to talk to him, to all of them for that matter. I'm surprised you haven't bumped into any other family members as of yet. Diagon Alley's usually crawling with Weasley's of every shape and size."
"Haha. I've been extra careful."
"Yeah? Well, I don't want drama at my wedding, they better know you're still alive in the next few months."
"I can't wait," Rose said sarcastically grabbing Orion by the hand and pulling him towards the door.
"Well, I can't wait till your dad finds out your kid has an American accent. I'll be taping it, for the record." They exited the shop onto the busy Diagon Alley, Albus turned one way and Rose the other.
"Where are you going?" Albus asked noticing Rose was no longer standing beside him,
"I'm not walking past that shop"
"Right, your apartment then?"
"Yeah, we can take the Leaky Cauldron passageway."
When Albus and Rose arrived at her home. Albus was in shock.
"I thought you got an apartment." he said as Rose searched for her keys.
"Well, I meant it was small."
"This place must have cost you a fortune!"
"I have a good job" she replied, letting them into the home. In the entryway of the brown brick home.
"I wasn't sure about the place at first, but it's in the right area, there's a great private school not too far away that I'm going to send Orion to, and there are parks all around. I found a nanny earlier this week and when I start Monday, she'll begin to take care of him. I'll be home otherwise." she explained as they entered.
"And you're going to avoid family at work too."
"Albus, I work in the Department of Mysteries, no one's allowed to speak about what happens there. All my employees will know me as …"
"What?"
"I'm not sure what they should call me Malfoy or Weasley?"
"What did they say in the US?"
"Malfoy, less known and recognizable. Even there, everyone seems to know the Weasley's."
"Want to make food?"
"Why? Are you hungry?"
"Of course… And if you make food I won't have to go home and cook anything." He shrugged off his jacket and helped Orion with his boots and coat. While Rose unbuckled her own boots. She looked around the entryway of her new home. The home was nice and Rose had decorated for months online and via phone, but despite the few pictures of herself and Orion and a couple of photo albums she had hastily put on her shelf, it didn't feel like home. The house was cold and empty of love, even Orion's giggles as Albus chased him down the hallway, couldn't fill the void in the room.
As she walked into the white kitchen, Rose couldn't help but think back to her brownstone in New York. She had bought with nearly all her money just months after she'd arrived there from Boston. It had accumulated furniture over the last few years and Rose couldn't help but think about the books that covered the walls of her living room or the plush green love seat her new neighbour had helped her move in, before they accidentally spilled coca cola over it that, no matter what spell she tried, just wouldn't come out.
She thought to Orion's room up the beautiful wooden staircase that was just the right shade of blue and had flying pigs flying all over the walls because he'd heard that pigs could fly. And how happy she'd been when she found out that his bed fit perfectly in the space between the window and the closet. Her neighbours had convinced her to put some sort of shelving on the wall above the bed and they'd spent the day wandering expensive boutiques before heading to Ikea and buying a shelf and screwing it to the wall.
She could still remember the look on her toddler's face when a book that hadn't been properly put away on the shelf had fallen on his feet and he wouldn't sleep in his own bed for a week.
She remembered the bar down the street where she'd first met up with Al after many months of little contact. And how he went out the next day and got an ugly rug to welcome her new home. She remembered how the whole street had come out to try and put Christmas lights along the tops of the houses around the block before they all found out that one of the neighbours had a rooftop garden that he could easily find a way to fix their problem.
As Rose pulled the food out of the fridge she thought back to the people she'd left behind in New York. Sahara, whom she'd met at the library her first week in New York when they'd both reached for the same book. And Annabelle who wouldn't respond to anything but Annie who Rose had met one day after dropping Orion off at a friend's home and bumping into her while walking. Rose had spilled her entire mug worth of coffee onto Annie who immediately yelled "holy hippogriff". Rose had angrily responded, "the hippogriff isn't holy! I'm fairly certain you must have meant 'hold your hippogriffs'. I'm so sorry for spilling coffee on you". They had spent the following hours discussing wizarding idioms.
Rose found some eggplants in the fridge and began making eggplant Parmesan as Orion gave Albus a detailed tour of the house ("last week I fell here and, don't tell mummy but the scuff over there is from my shoe").
When the boys had finally returned, the eggplant was baking in the oven and leftover tomato soup had been prepared. They were about to sit down when the doorbell rang. Albus, surprised to hear the doorbell, got up to grab the door. A flustered woman stood at the door staring at Albus. Rose came up from behind him.
"Hi Sonia!"
"Er, Hello."
"This is my cousin Albus, he's just been helping me out." Sonia visibly relaxed.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know you had company. I was just going to invite you and your son over to my home for lunch sometime next week. We want to meet the new neighbours."
"Oh, that'd be nice. How does Sunday work for you?"
"Sorry to interrupt, but you can't." said Albus, "Remember, Sunday is always the family brunch and those things always seem to last till after dinner. Granny wouldn't want you to miss all the food now would she, Rose?" Rose glared at Albus.
"I think that no one will mind if I don't come once."
"Oh, see, but Grandmum invited Scorpius over. She's been trying to get him over for ages, and he told me today that he was coming." Rose felt her fingers get cold. Her body tensed up.
"You know what, I don't want to get between family matters. Maybe another time."
"No, that's alright. How about Saturday?"
"Yeah, that's great." Sonia waved, before turning around and walking away. Rose quickly closed the door.
"What was that about. I'm not going to Gran's this weekend! I'm barely settled in. Orion doesn't know anyone. Everyone would be freaking out."
"Fine. But, you're going to need to do it sometime."
"I'd rather not."
"How about we disguise you. We won't bring Orion, the place will be full because the Hogwarts kids are home for Christmas and Scorpius is coming. Plus, knowing everyone they'll all have brought family and friends from every corner of England. I swear it'll be completely chaotic."
"Albus, I don't want to ruin Christmas."
"I said we'd disguise you. You can pretend to be my girlfriend."
"For a healer, you're awfully dumb. You're engaged, you can't bring some unidentified girlfriend!"
"But you can be a friend. Please let me tell Georgia. She can introduce you as one of her bridesmaids."
"Oh, I don't know. Our family members aren't stupid. And Georgia doesn't want me as a bridesmaid."
"She doesn't even know you're still alive. I've kept this from her long enough."
"I suppose it would be nice to see everyone somewhere other than gossip magazines."
"Yeah. I'll ask Lily for some polyjuice potion."
"Lily won't have polyjuice potion."
"Lily has every kind of potion. It's literally her job."
"Why would she give you the potion?"
"I'm her brother."
"Exactly," Rose said.
"What do you mean?"
"Knowing you, I doubt you'll pay her back. She's going to want to know why you want it and she'll probably keep an eye on you as it is. As soon as she sees me she'll figure it out." Rose helped Orion out of his seat and he raced upstairs to get something done. She sat back down and looked Albus right in the eye. "I love our family. I really do. But, they're not as naïve and ignorant as you think. Either they'll figure it out or they'll make assumptions."
"Then what do you want to do?"
"I'll come with Orion to Ottery St. Catchpole and you will take Hugo that I'm here. The two of you will think of some excuse to leave the party and you will meet me there. Together we will discuss what to do."
"Do I tell Hugh before or after we leave?"
"After of course. If not, he'll probably make a giant scene or draw attention to himself."
"Where will we meet?"
"The old park near the ice cream shop."
"Can I bring all the kids?"
"First of all, someone is bound to remember me or figure it out. Second of all, the children are bound to blab about this ginger they saw while getting ice cream. People will be suspicious." she said angrily. She put the dishes in the dishwasher and they moved into the living room.
"Ok so?"
"You can't tell Georgia. We will meet at the old park and you will bring Hugo, but you won't tell him anything until you're out safe earshot of the burrow." They discussed it more, but soon it was late and Rose wanted to spend some time with Orion before he had to go to sleep. She bade Albus a good night and they resolved to meet up that Sunday afternoon at the old park.