Trina Ray, auror, sighed as she packed the last of the files in to a box. It was an end to a case, that should be enough. But the capture and conviction of a 13 year old serial killer left no sense of celebration.
Yes, they had helped the muggles a bit. Fresh eyes on a case often did produce new leads. But none of this would fill the holes left in the hearts of parents, siblings, family and friends. Still it had provided some excellent learning experiences for Lupin and her trainees. It had also pointed out some of their strengths and weaknesses. Weasley showed a real talent for working, and blending in, with muggles. Malfoy liked a good puzzle. He followed a lead like a kneazle on a mouse. Both were a bit weak in seeing the big picture. That could be taught. Lupin was out of the country currently, so she had both of their trainees to look after. Gathering together the files on a case that hadn't been solved until Ron Weasley, as a year one trainee, had been given the cold case to review. She was certain this would provide insight that would help Weasley and Malfoy understand stepping back and viewing the whole.
Albus Potter sat with his feet up on a beautiful wrought iron railing. A large well used book, devoid of dust cover, open on his chest.
A heady perfume of spice, sugar and flowers drifted along on the moist breeze. A ceiling fan languidly pushed the heavy air in an attempt to cool it.
It was the off season, but the Harpies and Cannons players would be hard pressed to recognize it as such.
Immediately after their championship game they had begun a world tour of sorts. Twice weekly they were playing exhibition games somewhere new.
First day of training camp was three weeks away and they were finally done.
James and Fred had talked Al in to spending a long weekend in New Orleans Louisiana, USA. A beautiful, exotic city near where their last game had been played.
Present, throughout their tour, had been Al's law books. He could not start school until his quidditch career was over but that did not stop him from studying.
Fred, whose long term plans involved magizoology, was off on a week long trip with Luna and Rolf Scamander somewhere in the bayou. James was currently snoring softly, spread eagle on one of the beds in their hotel room.
Yesterday the three cousins had eaten their way through the French quarter.
They had ended their evening at a small bar with excellent cold beer and an even better house blues band.
His brother had developed a taste for coffee his NEWT year. Al thought he would walk over to Cafe Du Monde, pick up some bennetts and a cup of their rich, fragrant coffee. That should revive his brother enough to spend their afternoon shopping.
He was certain that a few cans of Cafe Du Monde's signature chicory coffee blend would be heading back to James' place in Chudley. Al, who was the family's pepperhead, wanted to revisit the store where they had grazed the samples yesterday. No doubt a few cases of sauces, pickles and salsas would be heading to London with him.
Then there was the open air market. Both brothers thought there might be a chance to pick up a few unique gifts. Quidditch season was in full swing during the Christmas holidays. Buying gifts as they found them during the year cut their stress levels.
Then James and Al would leave tomorrow to meet their parents and sister in Boston. They were combing a long overdue family vacation with finding Lily an apartment.
August began the 12 long years of training she needed to become a pediatric specialist in magical medicine.
James and Al had wanted to find a small house to buy for their sister, but Lily firmly put a stop to that. So instead, after the family, minus Lily headed back to London, Gringotts would be transferring the equivalent of two years rent in to her account.
Yes, she had her trust, as did the boys, but they were also paid incredibly well as rising quidditch stars. Lily would never make the amount of money they did. They both felt she had chosen a much more important career and wanted to help relieve some of the financial burden.
Lucy Weasley was knee deep in muck. She had spent the winter working at a ski resort in the German alps. After a brief stop to see her mum, sister and grandma she had headed toward Mexico with vague plans to hire on as crew for a pleasure yacht. She had spent a pleasant season working as crew on a charter boat in Australia, as one of her many odd jobs, sometimes magical, sometimes muggle, that Lucy had held during her travels. She was searching, adrift in a becalmed sea of indecision and doubt.
Then the earthquake happened. It was centered near Mexico City. Thousands of people has been injured, some fatally. Many more were left homeless. A call for volunteers had gone out. She had volunteered and was on a mixed magical/muggle recovery unit.
Uncle Ron had been sent by the British Ministry of Magic to help establish law and order. Teddy was still in country, leading a team. It was imperative that people were helped quickly. Torrential rains were turning the area into a muddy swamp. If there were no muggles about the witches and wizards used magic to travel above the muck, but so many people had volunteered, most of the time they were reduced to muggle means.
Some of the magical folks grumbled but Lucy never did. Instead she began to emerge from the haze she had been in since her father had kicked her out of the house.
Melinda, 5 years her senior, was the liaison between the international red cross for their small work team. Lucy was intrigued by her job and, frankly by the deeply caring, but no nonsense witch.
As she moved rubble one thing had become clear to her, she had found the purpose she had been looking for. She intended to sit Melinda down and find out how she could do disaster relief full time.
Lucy and the other volunteers paused, out of respect, each time a funeral procession passed the small school they were working on. So many families were mourning lost members. It had opened her heart just a bit. What if something happened to her father before they reconciled.
When her work here was done she would be going back to London. She had made the first move. Teddy had stopped by the makeshift camp the volunteers were using. He had access to Ministry owls and offered to include any letters she wanted to send in his next bundle home. It was the only reliable way to get messages out. Both the muggle and magical telephone system had been damaged. Service was spotty at best.
Separate from the notes she had sent to her mum, sister and grandma, she had poured her heart out in a hastily written note to her father. Maybe, just maybe he would read it and consider working to repair their relationship.