Theme: What Comes Next? (Next-Gen)
Beater 1: Write about someone trying to start over.
Prompts:
[genre] Family
[object] Newspaper
[object] Broken Glass
Words: 1537 words
Dear Diary,
My mum is dating my best friend's dad...in secret.
Well, to be completely fair, it's actually my brother Al's bestfriend, Scorpius. But he's so much a part of the family that he feels like my best friend too. My real best friend is Pandora Frazer. My brothers don't know, and I don't think Scor knows either, but I see the signs.
Let me tell you how I think it began. First, my parents divorced in the summer after my second year at Hogwarts. The world made a big deal about it. It was all over the newspapers. The-Boy-Who-Lived and the Harpies Star Chaser were no longer together and people lost their minds about it. At home, all was friendly. Daddy stayed at Grimmauld Place in London and Mum bought a house in Devon near Grandma and Granddad. We would go between the two houses. Scorpius, Pandora and James' best friend Alex Parkes would stay with us wherever we were. Scorpius started spending a lot of time with us after his Mum died. I think all the noise in our house was a good distraction.
I first noticed that something might be happening between Mum and Mr. Malfoy when he came to collect Scorpius from Mum's house one Sunday. James, Al, and Scorpius were outside playing with Mum's quaffle when he arrived. Panda and I were in the sitting room playing gobstones. They spent a lot of time in the kitchen. I mean a lot, a lot. I think they had about a million cups of coffee. Anyways, Scorpius and his dad left before lunch. At the door Mum and Mr. Malfoy held hands for a really long time. I don't think the boys noticed that but they don't usually notice things. Boys
-Lily
Dear Diary,
I noticed something out of the ordinary with Mum and Mr. Malfoy while shopping for school supplies in Diagon Alley. James was getting fitted for new robes at Madam Malkins.
Al and Scorpius were looking at the new Firebolt X7 in Quality Quidditch Supplies. Al hopes to convince Dad to buy him one, since he had a Firebolt when he was at Hogwarts. But I don't think his plan is going to work. James could probably get one though, because he was made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. Mum and I had finished getting all the school books from Flourish and Blotts and were sitting outside Fortescue's when Mr. Malfoy asked if he could join us. They talked a lot but I don't think they said anything special. There was a lot of whispering and smiling. I didn't notice any photographers at the time but the pictures of us eating ice cream were all over the newspapers the next day. At least, all the pictures of them showed up in the newspapers. All the pictures showed them staring at each other, or showed them leaning in real close to talk. It didn't even look like I was with them at all. They must have taken the pictures when I went to the loo. After those pictures came out Grandma said Mr. Malfoy had to come to the end of the summer barbecue that we have at the Burrow. She kept mumbling that he had to get to know the rest of the family. I didn't really understand what she meant because the Malfoys already know the family - Al and Scorpius have been best mates since they were first years.
-Lily
Dear Diary,
Al and Scorpius finally found out something was happening when the Malfoys came to the Weasley family barbeque. Mum and Mr. Malfoy were bringing empty trays back into the kitchen. Al, and Scorpius went in shortly afterwards to get refills on their punch and I guess they walked in on them kissing. At least I hope they were kissing, because the next thing we knew, there was broken glass everywhere and Scorpius yelling, "My eyes!" Why they had to be that dramatic, I'll never understand. It's not like they haven't seen people kissing before. We are Weasleys after all. It's not like the family is shy about public displays of affection. Uncle Ron can't be in the same room with Aunt Hermione for more than two minutes without kissing her all over her face. There's always a new baby on the way here.
I helped them clean up the broken glass and bandaged Al's hand. Apparently he squeezed his glass so hard it broke. Ridiculous. After that, there was no hiding it. The newspapers went wild.
Star-Crossed! The Weasley/Malfoy Romance
What you need to know!
How is The-Boy-Who-Lived Taking This Recent Heartbreak?
Blended Families. Are They the New Normal? The Weasleys and the Malfoys Show You How It's Done.
That last headline showed the picture from Diagon Alley, except this time I was in it. Funny how they managed to find a shot with me in it then.
There were cameras everywhere they went, judging by the front pages. Mom couldn't go to work, or to the shops without camera flashes going off in her face. Dad wasn't happy about it, but not for the reasons you might think. He and Mr. Malfoy had squashed their issues when Al had brought Scorpius home that first summer. He and Uncle Ron and Uncle George tried to duel him but Grandma wouldn't have any of it. Aunt Hermione had to heal all the boils on their butts when Grandma was finished with them. Everyone became fast friends after that. Grandma's wand made sure of that.
Dad was unhappy because the cameras were following him again. He had just stopped being 'special' to them. They had also started calling him The-Boy-Who-Lived again. Uncle Ron thought that was really funny, because he was in his forties, hardly a boy anymore. Aunt Hermione would set the copy of Witch Weekly on fire every time she saw Rita Skeeter's name. Apparently there is some history there. Thankfully, we mostly didn't have to deal with the cameras when we were at school, but they did show up for quidditch.
That was the next time we saw Mum and Mr. Malfoy in person. It was October when Gryffindor was playing their first quidditch match of the season. Mum and Mr. Malfoy came to watch James - he's the Seeker for Gryffindor. She always came to his matches. This time, Mr. Malfoy came too, even though Scorpius doesn't play quidditch and Ravenclaw wasn't playing.
Pandora and I saw them standing in the Entrance Hall when we were walking down to the Quidditch Pitch. They were talking to Professor McGonagall and laughing about something Mr. Malfoy said. He was standing behind her with his arms around her waist. She looked really happy. It felt good to see her looking so relaxed. Dad didn't make her unhappy, but this looked different. I've never seen her look this happy before. When we got to them, Mum gave me a hug. Mr. Malfoy squeezed my shoulder. Then Jonathan Higgins-Smythe, he's in Al's year, passed us and said hi to me. He never says hi to me. Pandora squealed and dragged me out the door. When I looked back at Mum and Mr. Malfoy, she just gave me a wink and he threw his head back laughing then continued talking to Professor McGonagall. Pandora thinks Jonathan likes me but I don't know about that. I thought we would be sitting in the Hufflepuff stands with our own house but Panora made us sit with Al and Scorpius in Ravenclaw. She likes Scor but she won't admit it...yet. Mum and Mr. Malfoy sat in the teachers' stands with Professor Hagrid, cheering enthusiastically. In the end, Slytherin won but James caught the snitch. Everyone was happy. We only talked to them for a little while after the match. They ate dinner in the Great Hall with us, but they couldn't sit at our table partly because we were scattered across so many houses. I think I saw Mr. Malfoy look the other way when James got a firewhiskey-shaped package, no doubt from Uncle George. The victory party in Gryffindor is going to go all night.
-Lily
Dear Diary,
It's Valentine's Day and Scorpius delivered some chocolate frogs for me from a 'Secret Admirer'. The hurt look on Pandora's face made him quickly say they weren't from him, he was just the messenger. I think that made her feel a little bit better. The Daily Prophet has a weird photo of Mr. Malfoy walking out of the jewellery store in Diagon Alley. Al and Scorpius think he's just getting a watch fixed but James and I know better. We expect an announcement any moment now. It's funny that Al and James are supposed to be Ravenclaws considering they are both as thick as two short planks. I'm so sorry for their future girlfriends. James is going to Hogsmeade with Melanie Hopkins. He doesn't know that I saw them snogging behind the Quidditch stands but I guess I should expect an announcement there soon as well.
-Lily
Dear Diary,
Malfoy-Weasley Feud Ended!
Al and Scorpius aren't only going to be best mates now, they're also going to be brothers. Mum said, 'Yes'!
-Lily