Disclaimer: You should know by now, Harry Potter does not belong to me
I don't think I would have noticed her if the window wasn't open. Liam had decided to roll down his window and holler out to the family walking by.
"Hello strangers!" is all I heard before my Husband quickly shut the window again. I looked around in time to see a mother, pushing a pram and keeping a careful eye on 2 little boys in front of her. The oldest (or as much as I could make out) was wearing the same navy blue uniform my own son, Liam, was wearing. Odd I thought. Why start in the middle of term? Unless they're new. Actually, now I'm certain they are new. I've never seen them before. Where Robert and I had decided to live was a fairly small area, and nice and woody. Liam and Mabel adored going down into the woods and paddling (only in the summer, mind) in the little lake. It was perfect. Everyone knew everyone. Well, almost everyone. This family was new. And, as Liam rightly said, strangers.
I started as Robert suddenly vocalised his obvious thoughts,
"Blimey, you reckon anyone can actually have hair that colour?"
I glared at him. I bet he didn't even notice that her little boy, was going to the same school as mine.
"What!" he protested, swerving to avoid a fallen tree on the road. I shook my head and looked out the window.
When we finally got to the school, I loaded out Mabel and stood her on the floor. At 3, she didn't really need the pushchair anymore, so I gladly gripped her hand as Robert got out Liam. Liam had started school back in September, and still, in May, didn't really have any friends. He slunk around to my other side and looked sadly up at me.
"I don't wanna go to school" he said, for the umpteenth time. I sighed, and reached into the boot to get his bag out. I found it hidden underneath his coat, which I was shocked to find, covered in woodlice. I screamed, much to the people's around me dismay, and quickly threw it out the car. Liam looked furious.
"Mum! You just hurt all my wooflies!" he cried. Robert was stifling his laughs behind his hand and Mabel looked incredibly bemused.
"Woodlice Liam" I automatically corrected. He ran forwards and bent down on the floor to retrieve the crawling bugs. Then I saw them again. That family. The boy in the uniform spotted Liam and pointed, laughing. I scowled, as I thought he was laughing at him. But I soon realised that he was running towards us and before I knew, he was squatted down next to Liam, helping him pick up all the Woodlice.
"Hullo. Your bugs are good for the bowtuckles" he said, picking one up, and giving it to Liam. Liam, who had always been shy, replied,
"Bowtuckles? No. These are my wooflies. I collect them" I sighed again, before turning back to Robert. He shrugged. Unhelpful.
"I'm James." Said the boy, with the uniform. He stood up, and held out his hand. I noticed this as unusual behaviour for a 4 or 5-year-old. Liam looked tentatively at the hand before deciding to give it a high five. James laughed out loud and looked over his shoulder, sensing the presence of me.
"Hello" he grinned. He was overly confident, something my Liam had never been. I found it, in a way, slightly unnerving. He had raven black hair, and a pair of happy hazel eyes. I looked up, and saw that his mother (I assumed it was his mother anyway) had arrived over. She smiled at me, the same smile her son (I assumed it was her son) had given me seconds prior. The second little boy, who looked a little younger then Mabel, also had black hair, though his eyes were the greenest green I'd ever seen.
"Ginny," the woman said, "Ginny Potter. Nice to meet you" She held out her hand and I shook it.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Katie Williams" I said, smiling in reply. She was very nice. Robert appeared at my side and also shook hand with 'Ginny Potter'.
"This is Liam," I said, indicating Liam, who was still loosing leg and limb in order to find all his woodlice, "and this is Mabel" Mabel looked up when I said her name, but looked down again, when she realised it was only 'the grown-ups talking'. Ginny grinned, and waved to my children.
"This is James," she said, "though he's probably introduced himself already. This is Albus, and this," she said, as she reached into the pram, and picked up a new, a brand-new baby girl, "is Lily." The baby didn't look more then 2 weeks old and she mewled in protest having been removed from the shady comfort of the pram.
"Baby! Look Mummy! It's a baby!" cried out Mabel. At this age, Mabel was utter adoration of baby dolls and prams and bottles and dummies. She was obsessed, to put it simply.
"That's right Mabel," I said, to please her. Albus (I had to remember to look up the origins of this name on google when I got home, it was unusual) was looking at Mabel, and the look on his face was making me smile. You're too right it's a baby. I wanted one now all I want to do is take it back. Mabel looked back at him, totally misunderstanding his expressions, and mutually decided it was stare off. Albus hid behind his Mum when he noticed this.
"Mummy I want a sister" Liam suddenly exclaimed. I opened my mouth to reply but he snapped my words up.
"Not Mabel. I want a different sister. James gets a brother and a sister." Liam looked teary and Mabel looked upset, so I glanced at my watch and pointed out that it was school time.
"What's your name?" I heard James ask Liam, as we strolled through the school gates. I heard Liam's muffled reply, but Robert had spoken before I had to process what he said.
"So you new?" That's it. Questions out. No time to get to know her first.
"To this area, yes. We moved from London a couple of days ago" she replied. They came from London. That's something to tell the school gossiper, Helen. I thought suddenly, quite out of the blue, came to me. Where was the Dad in all this? His son's first day of school. Was he still in the picture or did he do a runner? I decided not to ask Ginny this, it technically wasn't any of my business anyway.
Without warning, Liam turned on heel and ran up to me and Robert.
"Mummy! Daddy! James said I can get magic wood from a magic tree if I give my wooflies to the bowtucks"
"Woodlice" I said under my breath, unable to help it. Anyway, none of what Liam had said to me had made any sense, magic what from a what tree? Robert saved me a difficult answer by simply saying,
"Of course you could." Liam smiled brightly and turned around again and ran back up to James. I watched Ginny throughout all of this. She gave no reaction to Liam's words but turn to frown slightly at James, who shrunk back a bit. Albus grinned at his brother. Mabel, in the meantime, was still trying to get glimpses of baby Lily, who was back in the pram. Albus glared at her, and held protectively onto the side of the hood. Mabel glared back and stood on tiptoes, getting much taller then little Albus. It was funny to watch, the silent argument between boy and girl.
When we got to the school entrance, James ran up to his Mum.
"Mummy, Liam, that's him over there, is havin' lunch at school. Can I?" Ginny looked bewildered at this.
"Lunch? Is your name down for lunch James?"
I felt sorry for her at this point, she was worried that her son was going to go without Lunch. I decided to help out.
"If you don't have a packed lunch, James is probably down for school lunch. If you've paid." I l turned to look at her, "have you paid?"
She shook her head. "Har – My husband – was meant to organising everything. He was meant to be here today, but he had an emergency call at his work and couldn't get here on time." She looked utterly miserable.
"Come on, we can check if James has his name down, if not, you can pay here." I said, steering Mabel, who had got incredibly close to the sleeping baby, away. Albus smiled smugly. Mabel stuck her tongue out at him. He replied by doing the same. I shook my head in despair.
Ginny grinned, and together, (Indeed, my husband as well) we walked up the school hallways and into the Liam's, and should I say, James' too, classroom. Ginny left the pram outside, putting Lily into the crook of her arm. Mabel stood as tall as she would go, but couldn't see properly. Ginny smiled and crouched down, giving my daughter a full view of the baby. Mabel looked at me excitedly. Lily was awake now, and was looking, big eyed, at my little girl. Lily had a head full of downy red hair and she was so small. I never remembered Mabel or Liam being that small.
"How old is she?" I heard Robert ask.
"13 days" Ginny replied, stroking the baby's cheek. 13 days! She was spanking new! Mabel just looked at me and announced,
"Mama, I'm getting a shiser"
Robert and Ginny laughed. I grimaced.
"It's not that simple, darling" I told her sweetly. No way was I having another child. No way. Ginny stood up and clasped Albus' hand. Liam was busy showing James around the classroom, so I decided to give Ginny a tour myself. She looked impressed by the displays and the colours. I looked at my watch again and told her we had to scarper.
"I hope he's alright" I heard her murmur,
"He will be" I assured her. She smiled gratefully at me, as we headed back.
