"So, this is new," Connor said, settling himself down on one of the bar stools.

"What is, being in Hogsmeade with permission?" I said, raising an eye brow.

"Yeah, that too," he admitted, as Roscoe, Isaac and Sebastian joined him at the counter. "It's not often we actually get a teacher's permission to do anything these days, let alone leave the castle after curfew."

"It's as though they don't trust us," Isaac lamented.

"Hmm, imagine that," I said.

And sure enough, James was right next to me, leaning back on the counter, with strict instruction from Neville to make sure the four boys only visited me, and headed straight back to the castle afterwards.

He'd given me an odd look when I'd suggested them as my Hogwarts liaisons. And it wasn't hard to see why; they were serial troublemakers up at the school. But they were the students I knew best – partly because of all their illicit trips to the village – and I knew they were all good kids at heart. They liked Quidditch, they were well-liked and respected amongst their peers up at the school, and I suspected a little bit of responsibility wouldn't hurt them.

"I've got a little job for you boys," I said, pushing four tankards of hot Butterbeer across the counter. "Well, I say little, it's a pretty important job. But I think you're the best guys for it."

"Go on," Roscoe said, taking his tankard with what seemed to be disappointment. He had no chance; I wasn't serving them Firewhisky under James' nose.

"James' sister Lily is arranging a little Quidditch match for her Foundation," I said. "James is going to be playing in it, and so are a lot of his family. It's pretty much a massive Weasley-fest. It's going to be played up at Hogwarts, and we're going to sell tickets for it. And that's where you four come in. I'll be selling tickets, but I need people up at the school to be my eyes and ears, to sell tickets to the students, to advertise it, to generally hype it up. And you're my boys for the job."

"Sounds interesting," Sebastian said. "When is it?"

"The date's not settled yet, Lily needs to make it a weekend when Roxanne can play, if possible," I said. "But somewhen around Easter. As soon as the date's settled, we'll be issuing the tickets. But we can start hyping it up now. Do you boys think you can do that for me?"

"Absolutely," Connor said confidently, as the other boys nodded. "We've got this, Carla."

"How much are the tickets?" Roscoe asked.

"Two Galleons each for all you lot," I said. "And no charging people more and making a profit," I added sternly.

"You really should have been in Slytherin, with ideas like that," Isaac said. "Don't worry, we will be completely honest and transparent in all our dealings."

"Good to hear it," I said, trying to keep a smile from spreading across my face. "Oh, and make sure the kids all tell their parents about it as well, we want whole families turning out. This is all for a good cause, so we want everyone digging into their pockets."

"Oh, we'll make them all dig," Connor said. "So who's in the teams?"

"This is all the information we've got so far," I said, handing them a piece of parchment with the two teams on it, the team names as headings at the top. "As soon as I find out the date, and the colours they're playing in, I'll let you know."

"Ooh, that's interesting," Roscoe said, as they all leaned in to compare the teams. "Yeah, I like the match-ups, it's going to be a pretty even contest-"

"Excuse me?" James cried. "I'm going to kick my mother's ass, thank you! I mean-"

"It's okay, Prof, you don't need to pretend you're all mature and respectable in front of us," Connor reassured him. "And besides, you won't win if your brother plays as well as he did for Gryffindor; in his last year I don't think a single game lasted more than ten minutes."

"Oh Merlin, that would be a damp squib of a match," James said, his face falling. "Dad and Al are both awesome Seekers, one of them is going to catch the Snitch pretty quickly."

"What if you don't let them onto the pitch for an hour or so?" Isaac suggested.

"I think people would be pretty miffed if they didn't get to see much of Harry Potter," I pointed out.

"Okay, here's an idea," Sebastian spoke up. "What if the Snitch capture doesn't end the match, but it wins a team, say … fifty points? Then whoever's caught it, releases it again, and the game continues, and the first team to reach five hundred points wins? That way, we all get to see a few Snitch captures, and a lot of goals."

James stared at Sebastian for a moment, looking impressed.

"I really like that idea," he said.

"'Fifty points to Ravenclaw' like it?" Sebastian suggested.

"Don't push your luck," James said, doing a worse job than me of hiding his amusement. "And just so you boys know, this still doesn't give you permission to come down to Hogsmeade outside normal visiting times, unless you have a signed note from Professor Longbottom. So no trying to rope me or Carlotta into getting you out of trouble next time you get caught. Or, even better, don't get caught."

"That's more like it," Roscoe said. "Strict and authoritative really doesn't suit you, Prof."

"It is a sad and unfortunate responsibility that comes with my job," James said. "But I'm not about to shirk that responsibility, because I actually like my job."

"What, even the bit where you have to try to teach idiots who can't even sit on a broomstick the right way round?" Connor said scornfully.

"Some students are more challenging than others," James admitted. "That Gryffindor team, they're all right pains whenever I have to give them coaching."

"Yeah, I see what you did there," Roscoe said, as Isaac and Sebastian laughed. "Real clever, Prof, real smooth."

"I thank you," James said, sinking into a bow. "Anyway, I think that's all Carla has to tell you for now, so you guys had better get back up to the school before McGonagall has my hide."

"I think you mean Professor McGonagall," Isaac reprimanded. "Honestly, have some respect for your superiors."

"I could tell you the same thing," James retorted, smirking all the same. "Go on, scram. And don't go stopping off anywhere else en route, I've got eyes and ears all over this village and I'll know if you've stopped in the Hog's Head for a Firewhisky."

"Besides, if you do stop for Firewhisky and the school finds out, I'll be the one the Headmistress skins," I added.

The boys had had unconvincingly innocent expressions on their faces, but now they looked positively horrified.

"Don't you worry, Carly, we'll head straight back to school," Isaac said firmly.

"Yeah, we won't get you into trouble," Connor added reassuringly.

"I'm not sure what to think about you guys having more respect for your local landlady than your own teacher," James sighed, "but at least you want to keep one of us out of trouble."

"Yeah, well, I figured you've had enough practice at trying to get yourself out of trouble with McG, you don't need help."

"And if you do need help," Roscoe added, "it means you need more practice."

"Okay, and on that note, you boys can bounce now," James said, raising an eyebrow. "I'll give you fifteen minutes before I tell your Heads of House you should be back, and if you're not in your common rooms by then, it is not my problem."

Isaac cocked his head to one side.

"You really are getting authoritative in your old age, Prof," he said. "It's fine, we can take a hint. Come on boys, cough up for your Butterbeers, I'm not paying for you lot-"

"No need, they're on the house," I said, waving an airy hand.

"Really?" Sebastian said, having just thrust his hand into his pocket.

"Yeah, really?" James said, looking round at me.

"Thanks, Carls, you're the best," Roscoe said.

And with that, the four of them traipsed out of the pub.

"This," James said firmly, "is a terrible idea."

"And then you fold this bit over like this – and you just broke its wing."

"But swans are boring. Can't we make a peacock?"

"I don't know how to make a peacock, sweetie," I said, trying not to let my inner frustration leak out into my tone of voice.

"But mummy can make a peacock," Remus said petulantly.

"I'm sure she can, but I don't know how to make one with my hands, and I can't do magic."

"Why can't you do magic?" Remus cocked his head to one side, grabbing the injured swan and completely pulling it apart.

I was never babysitting again.

"Because I'm a Muggle, and Muggles can't do magic," I explained. "Don't you want to go and play outside with Dora?"

"She doesn't let me fly on her broomstick," Remus pouted.

"Well, that's because you're too young for her broomstick," I explained, "but in a couple of years, once you're bigger-"

"Did you go to Hogwarts?" he interrupted, now busy folding the napkin into a concertina pattern.

"No, because only magical people can go to Hogwarts-"

"So how did you meet James?"

I faltered. I imagined Victoire wouldn't be too happy if I told her son that I met James by getting insanely drunk and sleeping with him after his cousin had picked up my friend.

"We met in the restaurant that I used to work at," I told Remus. That sounded much more child-friendly. "Are you sure you don't want to play outside?"

"Can Cecilia come and play?"

I held back a sigh.

"Yes, but only if you put her in her run, or she'll get out of the garden, and James will be very upset if that happens-"

"Thank you Carla!"

Remus hugged me tightly round the legs, then ran through the door to the upstairs flat, thundering up the staircase like a herd of elephants.

"Christ on a bike, Potter, why do I always end up babysitting your godchildren?" I muttered under my breath, grabbing the napkin that Remus had been playing with and throwing it into the laundry bin.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't always me. In fact, Dominique, with a one-year-old of her own, was usually Victoire's first port of call. But Dominique and Leah were spending the day with Ethan's family, and Nana Molly was at some sort of knitting society, and even Teddy's grandmother Andromeda was busy. And given I was one of the only family members whose job was remotely compatible with also watching children, I looked after Dora and Remus fairly frequently – thus far I hadn't worked out how to say no to Victoire and Teddy.

"Next time," I continued to myself, as I busied myself washing tankards in the sink, "they can go and bake cakes with Aunt Ginny."

I didn't know why Victoire hadn't taken them to Ginny's house in the first place. Maybe it was because she figured I was practically Dora and Remus' godmother – which I disagreed with – or perhaps she liked the thought of James and me spending time together with small kids. Frankly, the implications of that scenario and all the thought processes that led off it just scared me.

A second clattering sound warned me that Remus was on his way back downstairs, and sure enough, moments later he hurtled back past me, Cecilia chirping away happily in his arms.

"It's okay," I muttered, "three hours and I can give them back."

"Are you opening a crèche now?"

I gritted my teeth – even with my back to the bar counter, I could tell from the lilting tone of voice that Ryan Murphy was smirking.

"You know," I said, turning to face him, "Dora's out there practicing her shooting, you could always trot on out there and help her?"

"Ah, that's Jimmy's gig, I wouldn't want to tread on his toes." Ryan winked, and I couldn't keep the smile from my face any more. "So how's it going with the terrible twosome?"

"Oh, it's not so bad, all Dora needs is her broomstick and her Quaffle and she's happy. Remus is another story, although I think I've just won myself twenty minutes of peace."

"Yeah, he's Teddy's son all over," Ryan grinned. "Just sneak a drop of sleeping draught into his pumpkin juice, that'll calm him down."

"Oh, I'm sure Victoire would love that," I said dryly.

"Well, she wouldn't need to know, would she?"

"How would she not know?"

"Teddy does it all the time." Ryan shrugged.

"Really?"

"Yeah, next time you think he's the model of parental perfection, check what's in Remus' evening milk."

"I was beginning to wonder how he did it," I confessed. "Do you want a Butterbeer? Or do you fancy something stronger?"

Ryan pulled a face.

"Better not, Mum'll hex me."

"I'm sure she's not that scary-"

"Until you've been coached or parented by her, you're not allowed to have an opinion on that. I'll take the Butterbeer, thanks. So, what did you want to see me about?"

"Lily had a fundraising idea," I began. "It involves a load of Weasleys and Quidditch."

"Oh. Oh." Ryan took the tankard of steaming hot Butterbeer. "Thanks. So I'm guessing she's taken the phrase "enough kids for a Quidditch team" and made it literal?"

"You would be correct," I said, pulling up my stool and taking a seat opposite him, cupping my hands around my own Butterbeer. "It's quite impressive actually, she's had to pull Scorpius in, but aside from that it's all family members and spouses. And I guess Scorpius sort of counts as a minor spouse anyway."

"Really? I would have thought she'd have been drowning in Quidditch players even without Scorpius."

"She had fourteen, but your sister pulled out. Any idea why?"

I watched for Ryan's reaction closely, in case he knew something I didn't, but the only expression on his face was one of surprise.

"Brie said no? I don't get why she wouldn't want to play…"

"Lil thought it might be because she's intimidated by you," I suggested.

Ryan frowned.

"Really? That's daft, she's … well, I never really got to see her play much, I mean we never played together, she only joined the Gryffindor team after I left, she replaced me … and she could have joined the team earlier, there was a tryout when Emily Wood left, Roxanne took the spot, but Brie never tried for it…" His face crumpled. "Don't tell me my sister's scared about being a worse Quidditch player than me and I never knew about it, that just makes me the worst brother ever-"

"No it doesn't," I said hurriedly, feeling beyond guilty for making him feel bad. "I'm sure that's not it at all, she's probably just got a lot on her plate and doesn't have any time to practice Quidditch. Anyway, look, I was hoping you could help me with something, I've kind of promised Lily I'll take care of the programme for this match, and she thought it would be a nice idea to have a feature on each of the players, written by an ex-teamate. Or maybe an ex-opponent, Lil did say some people might be short of non-familial teammates."

"Yeah, the Gryffindor team was sort of a Weasley-fest at one point, three Weasleys and two Potters. And a future-Weasley," Ryan added in reference to Brigid. "So unless you want Jeremiah McLaggan writing pieces for your programme-"

"No chance," I said flatly. "Anyway, my first question was, would you take James? You obviously played loads together, and I know he really admires you and it would make him so happy-"

"Course I will," he said with a grin. "I'd love to, he was my favourite teammate. Don't tell Della," he added hurriedly.

"Your secret is safe with me." I winked. "Although speaking of Della, maybe she'd write a piece on Roxanne?"

"I can tell you right now she'll say yes, but I'll ask her anyway so it looks like we haven't decided for her."

I laughed.

"Okay, and that's where I grind to a halt," I said. "I have no idea who else played Quidditch at Hogwarts, and as for the older guys, I'm completely stuck, I barely know any of their generation."

"Harry and Ginny are both playing, right?"

"Of course they are, I don't think anyone's pretending they won't be the biggest attraction after James and Roxanne."

Ryan grinned.

"Lots of people were inspired to play by Ginny, and anything Harry does gets the wizarding nation excited. I don't know much about previous Gryffindor teams, but I do know that Ginny played Chaser for Gryffindor and the Holyhead Harpies with Demelza Robins – you know, the England coach? It's well worth asking her if she'll do something for your programme – Rose could help you out with that, she'll be able to get in touch with her fairly easily. And as for Harry, go to Oliver Wood – Emily and Michael's dad, he's Puddlemere's coach. He was Gryffindor Captain when Harry first made the team. They're both still big names in the Quidditch world as well, and the more people you can name-drop when you're promoting this, the better. Actually, now I think of it – is Teddy in this as well?"

"Just work on the basis that if they played Quidditch, they're playing this match," I said dryly.

"Right, get Em Wood in for Teddy."

I cocked my head to one side.

"They played together?"

"Yeah, they were my first Chaser teammates on the Gryffindor team, then James took Teddy's spot when he left school. That was the start of the Weasley-fest, although it didn't really kick off until a couple of years later, when Freddie, Roxanne and Al all made the team in the same year. That was my first gig as captain, and let me tell you, there's nothing more terrifying than picking three people from the same family to join your team. There were calls of favouritism all over the place. Mind you, they soon shut the critics up. Ah, those were the days, Gryffindor were unbeatable for a good ten years or so. Course, it's all come crashing down now we've all left. I keep telling James he shouldn't be giving the other houses special coaching, no wonder Ravenclaw are trouncing everyone this year with him giving them advice."

"Quidditch really is special for you guys, huh?" I said.

"If you haven't worked that out by now, you're in the wrong place," Ryan said with a wink. "Anyway, other than that, I think you're gonna have to look at ex-opponents, there was pretty much a Weasley monopoly on the Gryffindor team for years. You got Ethan as Beater?"

"See aforementioned rule."

"Goldstein was my year at school, he was on the Gryffindor team for three years, and his Beater teammate for two of those was Freddie. That's how he and Dominique met – I mean, sure, we were all in the same common room and everyone knew who the Weasleys were, but she was in the year below us and most of the time you don't have much reason to know people in other years to you. But everyone knew the Quidditch team, and at one point me and Ethan were the only two players who weren't gingers, so it all became a bit of a family affair.

"But the point I was trying to make is that either you can write to the other Beaters who were on the Gryffindor team before Freddie and after Ethan, both of whom are relative unknowns in the world of Quidditch because they only played at Hogwarts, or you can rope in Beaters from other houses who played Quidditch against us and actually have recognisable names. And three of them happen to be my current teammates."

"Cato and Cleo and Jake," I said slowly.

"Yep," Ryan said, sounding far too triumphant. "Jakey joined the Hufflepuff team at the same time Freddie joined our team. They had a bit of a rivalry going on for a good four years or so. Mostly friendly, but when Beater bats are involved you can never assume it's going to remain non-violent. And you could pull Cato in to write about all the times he kicked Ethan's ass. Mind you, Slytherin never won a game against us in all that time, so it didn't get him anywhere in the end. As for Hugo and Albus … give me a couple of days on that, there are less Keepers and Seekers in the world. Am I missing anyone?"

"Well, there's Scorpius…" I said awkwardly.

"Ah, yeah, he was on the Slytherin team for years. Runty little kid, but he wasn't half bad with the Quaffle. Oh, there are loads of Chasers floating around who would have played against him. Quiggers and Sully, my Ireland teammates, they both played for Ravenclaw, or there's little Ruby Ellerby, she's pushing Roxie for an England spot at the moment, or Josh Wadcock, thank Merlin he's shoved McLaggen out of national colours … tell you what, I'll have a ring around and tell people to get in touch with you."

"Thanks, that would be a great help," I said, beaming. "Oh, and can you do me a favour and not tell any of the guys about this? Me and Lily want it to be a surprise for them when they see the programme for the first time."

Ryan grinned.

"Course I can," he said. "Besides, the last thing I need is Junior knowing I'm writing a testimonial about him, he wouldn't leave me alone about it."

"Make sure it's all good stuff," I warned.

"Course it will be." His grin grew. "Well, mostly good stuff. When is this match, anyway?"

"Not decided yet, Lily's working it all out," I said. "But somewhen over Easter, on a spare weekend, at Hogwarts."

"Sounds ideal," he said. "You'll want to get the Hogwarts kids interested, they'll get their parents to buy tickets as well-"

"Already on it," I said, "I've got my favourite troublemakers on the case."

"I don't doubt you have." He drained his Butterbeer. "Well, I'm looking forward to it, what with you and Lily involved it promises to be the event of the year."

"Should you be saying that, given your own event?" I said with a smile of my own.

"What event? Oh, wait, the wedding."

"I'll pretend you didn't say that." I topped up his tankard. "You're clearly very excited for it…"

He pulled a face.

"I'm not really involved in it, all I've got to do is turn up with my robes on and say 'I do', haven't I?"

"Again, I'll feign ignorance on that."

"You think that was a bad thing to say?"

"Absolutely," I said. "It's supposed to be the best day of your life, you should at least pretend to be excited for it."

"I'm excited for the party, does that count?"

"Here's a tip for you," I said. "If Della, or anyone else, for that matter, asks if you're excited, you say absolutely, you can't wait for the day when you can finally become one with the woman you love, and promise to devote the rest of your life to her happiness, and give up your entire being to her, and all that stuff."

Ryan cocked his head to one side.

"Y'know," he said, "I can't work out if you're incredibly romantic or hugely cynical."

"A healthy bit of both," I said breezily. "But don't tell James, it'll shatter the illusion."

"That you're a romantic or a cynic?"

"I think he thinks I'm unbelievably cynical but that he's restoring the romance to my life. For what it's worth, I was a hopeless romantic before old age got to me."

"Well, Jim was a hopeless romantic until fame got to him, and then you restored him. You truly are meant to be." Ryan smirked.

"See that? That soppy romantic mush right there? That's the kind of thing you need to say to Della if you don't want her leaving you at the altar."

"Do you give James this sort of life coaching?"

"I did for a time, but then he eclipsed me and now he thinks he has to coach me through life. It's the teaching gig, he forgets to turn off."

"Reckon he'd teach me how to do a Parkin's Pincer if I asked nicely?" Ryan grinned wickedly.

"I reckon he'd thump you one," I said, feeling damn chuffed for knowing what a Parkin's Pincer was. "Where is Della, anyway? I thought you'd bring her with you."

"Na, she's in Germany."

"Training?"

"Seeing family. Klaus has gone too."

"And you didn't go with? I would've thought the extended Brand family would be dying to meet Della's famous fiancé."

"We thought about it, but figured all the talk will be about the wedding, and how Dell's family think it should be in Germany, not Britain, and on the whole we decided it would be best if I wasn't around for that family dispute."

"They want it in Germany, huh?"

"Well, it's her home country, it's where she grew up, all her family still live there … but she's been living in Britain for years now, and as far as she's aware this is her home now. I guess it's hard for her, she wants to settle down here where her friends and her career are, but her family all want her back in Germany." He paused. "Do you ever feel like that?"

I frowned.

"Yes and no…" I said slowly. "I mean, I was born in Surrey and my dad's as English as they come. But my mamá's determined to cling on to every single piece of her Spanish culture and heritage, and she wants to pass that onto us. Which … well, it's difficult when you don't live there, you know? I've been brought up in England, I went to an English boarding school … sure, I can speak Spanish and I know Barcelona as well as I do London, but it doesn't stop me feeling like a bit of a fraud when we go to visit the rest of the family."

It was my turn to pause. I wasn't even sure I'd said as much on the matter to anyone before.

"But Della's different," I said with a shrug. "I mean, if anything she's more in my mother's situation than mine. And she chose to move here for work, and just happened to meet you here. My mother met my dad in Spain, and moved here to be with him, and I don't know how much of that was her choice and how much of it was him not wanting to live in Spain … and I think all of that combined makes her absolutely determined to hold on to every last bit of heritage that she can. But Della … she wants to be here, she always has, and she seems so self-assured, I don't think she'd ever be worried by the notion of her losing a part of herself. I don't know if any of that makes sense…"

"No, it does," Ryan said, and it was only then that I remembered his family came from across the sea as well. "What about … I mean, what you said about your mum wanting to hold on to where she came from … do you feel that about the Muggle world?"

"I mean, in a way they're different. You can't live in two countries at the same time, but … well, at least while James and I were still in the flat in London, I had the best of both worlds. I was in the Muggle world, but the Leaky Cauldron was only just round the corner. And the Floo network gets you everywhere, doesn't it? I guess it's a bit different up here, being so inaccessible to Muggles. But I can still see my family and friends, London is still only a fireplace away. It's just the logistics that are more complicated. But … it's all worth it."

Of course it was worth it. It had to be worth it.

James flopped into the flat that evening, looking sweaty and grubby but happy all the same.

"I love my job," he beamed, stripping off his Quidditch robes.

"Teach a kid something good today?"

"Nope, but I put five of them in detention."

I blinked.

"Giving you power over other people really was a bad idea," I said. "Why did you put them in detention?"

"They were causing trouble," he said simply, grabbing a bread roll from the bread bin and tearing it into bitesize pieces.

"Let me get this straight," I said slowly. "You, James Potter, troublemaker extraordinaire, punished Hogwarts students for trying to cause trouble?"

"Yep," he said simply through a mouthful of bread.

"The word hypocrite comes to mind…"

"Well," James began, then paused to swallow. "They shouldn't have got caught, should they? I can't go rewarding troublemakers for doing it wrong and getting caught, even if it was me who caught them. They need to learn to not get caught, like I did, and then they'll be rewarded by not getting put in detention."

"You had an interactive map of the school, I'd consider that a huge and unfair advantage."

"Hey, there are lots of other people who can cause trouble without maps. Roxanne didn't have the map at school, Louis didn't have the map at school, neither of them got given detentions for troublemaking – and trust me, neither of them are innocent."

"Yes, well, Louis could talk himself out of a murder charge," I said dryly.

"Well then, these kids need to learn that art, don't they? And until they do-" James swallowed the last piece of his bread without chewing it – "I'll put them in detention. It could be worse, they're just tidying up the broomstick cupboard. I didn't even take any points."

"Were they Gryffindors?"

"Yes, but that's irrelevant. Right, I need a shower." He leaned across the kitchen counter, pulled me close and kissed my forehead. "I missed you today, Royce told a funny joke in the staffroom at break and it made me think of you, you'd have loved it."

"That's a very touching sentiment," I said, wrinkling my nose, "but you were right, you need a shower, don't come near me again until you smell better."

Thirty seconds later I found myself dumped in the shower, fully clothed, with the cold tap turned on full.

Yes, living in Hogsmeade was proving tough. But it was worth every moment.