phase seven
"I saw her, Ron."
15th June, 2013 - Thunderbird Headquarters, Ministry of Magic, London, UK (Underground Auror Organisation specialised in tackling dark wizards)
"Commander, you have visitors." A woman with bright orange hair in her black and purple uniform knocked.
"Who?" A deep voice replied behind the door. Before he could return to his work, his office door busted open, where a red haired man in the same uniform and a little girl with strawberry blonde braids came in.
"HELLO!" The girl boomed loudly.
"Hello Cesca." The man in the same black and purple uniform, but with a gold detail on his shoulder greeted calmly. "It's lunch isn't it?" The man asked.
"Yeah mate." The red haired man replied. "I don't need to bet on my life to know you'll miss lunch if nobody ever reminded yo… Francesca! Remember no touching anything in this office?"
"Sorry Dad." Francesca apologised and kept her hands at her back.
"S'alright." The red haired man replied.
"Okay, I'm ready to go." The man quickly took off his uniform coat and slipped on a dark hoodie, complete with a cap. "Where to mate?" He asked as he shut and locked his office door.
"Well we could have Indian at the Patils' or Italian at Albion's Sicily." The red haired man suggested.
"Maybe Italian." The man decided. "I still need to pick up the gift for Harvey's birthday tomorrow."
"Please don't let it a broom Harry, Lav's gonna kill me!" The red haired man pleaded.
"Well," The man, Harry started. "It's a Godfather's job to spoil, Ron."
"Why is it always Harvey's birthday?" Francesca whined. "I never get a birthday!"
"Cesca." The red haired man, Ron began. "Your birthday is in August. Everyone has their birthday once a year." He spoke to the five year old gently.
"But it's always Harvey's birthday! Last week was also his birthday!" Francesca complained.
"Last week wasn't his birthday, it was Nora's birthday." Ron corrected.
"He got to blow out the candles!" Francesca continued.
"Because your Auntie Ginny invited him to, remember? Nora couldn't because she's only one." Ron reminded and Francesca fell into a deep reflection.
"Oh." Francesca finally understood and stopped whining.
"Come on in then! You want pasta?" Ron led his daughter into the restaurant.
"YEAH!" Francesca cheered happily as they got seated.
"So, anything new on that weird cult in Germany?" Ron asked.
"Nah, nothing from Jürgen." Harry replied plainly.
"Huh." Ron mused. "Well I hope that cult disintegrates itself."
"Always." Harry agreed.
"Lavender told me there's not much going on in the media, besides the current debate of fashion." Ron informed.
"Well, calm before the storm i guess." Harry replied, spreading the butter on his bread. "How's little Rey?"
"Doing good. Mom's loving him. Bet he's favourite grandkid" Ron answered with a smile.
"Molly loves every single kid." Harry argued.
"That's true." Ron nodded.
—
15th June, 2013 - Diagon Alley, London, UK
"Nick, look!" Alura pointed at the stack of paper in front of the magical grocery store Magus Necesse.
"Their papers." Nicholas smiled and they walked towards the grocery store.
"Fancy a paper Miss?" The old lady beside the papers asked.
"We would like that very much, thank you. What do you have?" Alura asked.
"Daily Prophet, Parisian Quotidian, The Charmed Diurnal and Enchanter's Gazette." The old lady offered. "Though most people ditched the Daily Prophet after the war. The Charmed Diurnal though, it's a real charm."
"Can we have one of each please? Sans the Daily Prophet." Nicholas requested.
"Sure." The old lady picked out the papers "2 sickles and 5 knuts please."
"Keep the change." Alura handed the lady three sickles and walked off happily with the papers.
"So, the ministry?" Nicholas asked.
"Yup." Alura replied and they headed back towards the Leaky Cauldron for the floo.
"We should also pick up a list of where the important organisations are, like the publications and hospital at the Public Records." Nicholas suggested.
"Good one." Alura replied and dropped a few knuts into the bucket. She grabbed handful of floo powder and the next minute, an emerald fire took her place.
Half a minute later, Nicholas stepped out of the many fireplaces at the arrival halls of the ministry. Seeing his sister waiting near the enormous sculpture fountain of three fierce lions, he jogged over and tapped her shoulder playfully to announce his arrival.
"Geez! Nick!" Alura jumped and playfully swatted his brother's head. "Come on." Alura urged and they walked towards the reception.
"Good afternoon. Please state the purpose of your visit." The lady in a navy blue suit asked indifferently.
"We would like to visit the public records." Alura stated clearly.
"Wands?" The lady requested and Alura handed hers over, as did Nicholas. The lady then send their wands into a room through a metal tray.
"Um, I'd like to ask, will we get our wands back?" Nicholas asked nervously.
"Yes you will, we need to inspect your wands before you enter the premises." The lady explained. "Your names?"
"Alura Lilith Katherson." Alura replied.
"Nicholas James Katherson." Nicholas supplied.
"Very well." The lady jotted down something on a piece of paper until the metal tray with their wands came back from the room. "All clear." A voice from the room supplied.
"Alright, the Hall of Public Records is in level 3, you may access levels through the elevator there. State your destination to the figure head. Good day." The lady instructed and quickly moved on to the next person in queue.
The twins followed the lady's instructions and jumped into the elevator last minute, before it closed. Telling the figure head hanging from the ceiling of the elevator their destination, they stood at the corner of the elevator. A woman in a royal blue dress however kept glancing at the two of them, making them slightly uncomfortable. After an eternity of a ridiculously adrenaline-high ride and uncomfortable stares from a woman, the twins finally arrived at their destination and walked out hurriedly.
"That's the second time someone has stared at us weirdly." Nicholas said frustratingly as they proceeded to the Hall of Public Records.
"Maybe 'cause we're tourists?" Alura suggested.
"Well, Mom's British, as is our unknown father, we shouldn't look very different." Nicholas countered.
"True, but our accents, still very American." Alura pointed out.
"Well I hope that's it." Nicholas shrugged and pulled the door open.
"Woah." Alura gasped as they entered the hall. It was filled with rows and rows of shelves full of files. Each row carefully named and categorised to assist visitors. It was a much larger scale that that of MACUSA's, which they frequented to when they were little due to their mother's research on lost artefacts for the no-majs in secret, especially the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
"Let's start with Mom's birthday, 1979 19th September." Nicholas suggested and walked over to the row titled 1979.
"Well Mom's born in September so we should start from the end of the row." Alura raced down the row and started to trace where September is.
After some time of flipping over files they finally arrived at 19th September, which was still a whole lot.
"Fish out the birth list Nick, though now that I think of it, Mom might not be on it. Nana and pops are both no-majs." Alura mused. Nicholas scouted for the birth list file in the large pile of 19th September, before pulling out a red folder.
"Well, let's read." Nicholas flipped open the file and started reading.
"Laura Jo Addle, Walter David Alfonso, Nelson Morris Arlington…" They browsed the list page by page, marking down everyone with the middle name Jean, which so far only applies to one person- Louis Jean Pavilion.
"Well that couldn't be it. He's clearly a French guy." Alura sighed as she placed the list back into the shelf.
"How about Hogwarts' list of pupils? Mom started when she was 12, so 1991." Nicholas suggested and they walked down the aisle into row 1991, and searched for the 1st of September in the subsection of Hogwarts.
"There's no list of admissions here, only general reports on the opening feast, new house member totals, new school pupil total and new faculty. As well as lists of renovations and administration stuff." Alura sighed as she went through all the files in the section.
"Well, it's a bust then." Nicholas shrugged and helped put back all the files they went through. "We did get the address of The Charmed Diurnal."
"True. Let's find a place to stay, maybe in a hotel in no-maj London. I'm exhausted." Alura proposed as they returned to the arrival hall.
"Sure. Maybe somewhere near Charing Cross." Nicholas suggested. The twins then flowed back into the inn and went out back into nonmagical London.
"Lemme see." Alura fished out her tablet and started to scout for hotels nearby. 'What about the Amba Hotel?"
"It looks decent." Nicholas commented as they looked through the pictures.
"Well, let's see if we can get a room there." Alura said and they walked towards their hotel.
—
15th June, 2013 - Diagon Alley, London, UK
The pair of best friends and Francesca finished indulging in their delicious meal and left the restaurant with a satisfied belly. Seeing as there's still time left before lunch hours are over, Harry opted the chance to grab his gift for his godson Harvey tomorrow. Ron deciding to visit his brother George at his nationally renowned joke shop with his daughter, they parted ways and Harry made his way to Wingfeather's Broom Supplies.
Making sure he was well hidden from the public, he quickly shuffled his way through the crowd, hoping he could finish this errand without people pestering about.
As he walked down the busy street, he caught sight of something he hadn't seen in years. The loud, lustrous, bushy locks of hair that remained signature to one person till this day. Though the colour slightly darkened than the honey brown he was used to, it was nevertheless her.
It couldn't be, she left. He reminded himself repeatedly.
But could she be back? He asked himself.
Just as he was about to walk away, he locked eyes with a young man beside her, who quickly pulled her closer protectively. Harry's heart dropped at the sight, who could he have been? He fixated on the man's appearance, his wavy auburn hair and mysterious eyes, as well as a little glimpse of the woman beside him, the chocolate brown bushy hair and bright eyes.
Shaking his head to clear his overcrowding thoughts, he quickly padded to Wingfeather's and seemed sanctuary from the short encounter, distracting himself by talking to the owner, Pietro Litzvato.
—
15th June, 2013 - Amba Hotel, Charing Cross, London, UK
It was already late evening when they got to their room. Pulling their 'luggages' into their room, Alura dropped her jaw at the large room they were offered. Even though they went for a standard twin room, it was still a huge amount of space offered. Two full sized bed sat against the wall decorated with stunning emerald green paint. Between the beds were two modern nightstands with marble like decor. In front of the beds is a large aisle that could fit three large suitcases side by side, and on the other side of the aisle, stood a sleek black desk with an overstuffed leather swivel chair. Not to mention to comfortable armchair in the same emerald colour sat near the window, complete with an ottoman. The bathroom was also very spacious, with matching emerald green marble tiles all over the bathroom, and a double sink, with a very spacious shower and bathtub.
"Are you sure this is the standard twin room for 80 pounds per night we requested? I can't imagine the presidential suite here." Nicholas marvelled at their room as he vanished the suitcases.
"Well, I definitely need sleep." Alura replied as she expanded the moleskin pouch into the size of a backpack so her brother would be able to get what he needs. She then fished out her own pyjamas and disappeared into the bathroom.
"Be quick!" Nicholas yelled after her before he started to set up their work station on the desk.
He pulled out their tablets from the 'backpack' and stuck them to the wall with a sticky charm. He started fiddling with the clues and design the 'wanted poster' for their mother's roommate. He also made note to contact their friend Freya McKelsey, who moved to Britain recently because her father has been promoted as the Overseas Affairs Officer of MACUSA. This move has admitted Freya into Hogwarts, their mother's alma mater. Freya could probably give them many useful information from Hogwarts, seeing as Hogwarts' summer holiday starts on the first of July.
"Whatcha doing?" Alura asked, freshly changed in her pyjamas and the steam filled bathroom indicated a fulfilling shower.
"Designing the wanted poster, you know make it as friendly and approaching as possible without being threatening or indicating any possible danger." Nicholas showed his sister the rudimentary of their poster.
"I mean, if we could get The Charmed Diurnal to post this on their publication, we just need to write the words." Alura pointed out.
"That I know, but if they won't, we'll just have to do this like finding a lost cat." Nicholas replied and continued working on the poster while Alura happily sank into bed with a glorious sigh and fell asleep.
Finishing up with his draft, he quickly saved the draft into the biometrically locked folder of clues and hopped into the shower himself, finally letting himself relax after the hectic day and got ready for bed.
—
15th June, 2013 - Thunderbird Headquarters, Ministry of Magic, London, UK
Returning to his office, he hadn't been able to concentrate on his work. He paced around his room thinking only one thing.
Is she back?
Of course he knew he had work to do, reports to finish, contacts to make, judging by all the papers scattered around his desk, and some on the floor. But his stubborn mind wouldn't let him think about anything. Anything but her.
A knock on his door jolted him awake as he recollected himself and yelled back a "Come in!"
The door opened revealing his best mate, carrying a stack of papers and he kicked the door shut.
"Hey Ron." Harry greeted indifferently. "What's up?"
"Well, these stacks paper you need to sign, raid approvals from long before, validation of after action reports, that sorta stuff." Ron put them on his desk.
"Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork! I thought being an auror would get rid of the endless essays, or now reports we had to write since Hogwarts!" Harry replied frustratedly.
"I feel ya mate." Ron agreed with a curious eye on his best mate, he might be daft as hell when it comes to emotions, but being best mates with someone for twenty years does allow you a certain level of understanding to many things about them.
"What's with you?" Ron asked bluntly. "You look utterly frustrated."
Surprised at Ron's accurate interpretation, Harry replied, taking off the shield on his emotions.
"That's because I am." He sighed.
"It's been merely two hours since you went off into Diagon Alley alone! What could've happened?" Ron asked confused.
"That's what I thought, how could that've happened." Harry answered cryptically.
"What happened then?" Ron urged.
"I saw her Ron, well at least I think that's her." Harry replied softly.
"Her?" Ron furrowed his eyebrows.
"Hermione." Harry breathed out, ever so slightly. A loud silence dropped that room as that work was spoke. It was never easy speaking of their lost friend, best friend, one that they've searched for years, it was also one of the reasons the pair of best mates decided to join the Auror Corps, and worked hard to be a Thunderbird. Her name hasn't been spoken in years, there was a silent agreement to it, they'd allow themselves to think of her on her birthday, but she was never spoken of. Not after the search was deemed futile by the more rational of their group of friends. It's like there's a secret forbidden rule regarding their best friend that left. Maybe it's because they're angry, maybe it's because it was shocking, but most importantly-
It hurts too much.
"Are you sure?" Ron asked tentatively.
"I don't know." Harry shook his head. "But I could recognise her unique mane anywhere Ron, I'm sure you would too."
"Yeah." Ron replied simply.
"I never saw her face, but I don't know Ron. Could it be? After so long? After she decided it was okay to leave us all here while she fled to somewhere on Earth, without a note, without saying goodbye, without telling us why?" Harry vented.
"That's messed up mate. After we… you've finally gotten over the fact she's left, she- or some lookalike shows up again." Ron sighed. "I can always ask Lav to post that search for Hermione in TCD again." He offered.
"She has more important news to deliver." Harry decided after a long minute of thinking. "And, I'm not sure if I want to face reality again, it's too hard."
Ron didn't reply, he just sat there with his best mate, both of them trying to get their heads around the situation.
—
16th June, 2013 - Amba Hotel, Charing Cross, London, UK
"Come on! Nicholas James! Wake up!" Alura whined at tugged at her brother at eight in the morning. It would be a relatively early for the twins to wake up normally, but considering they slept since late evening yesterday, tired of time all the travelling, it is indeed a reasonable time to wake up.
Nicholas mumbled in disapproval through his pillow while Alura continued to tug at him. Tired of her efforts, she held up her wand and muttered a spell, which shook Nicholas awake immediately.
"WHAT THE HELL LOU!" Nicholas jumped as the dump of water splashed onto him via a sneaky spell of aguamenti.
"You know, I really tried to avoid using this. It was tempting, and definitely fun, but you really es…" Before Alura can finish, Nicholas sprang up to tackle his sister, which he failed as Alura ran away immediately. They continued to chase around the room until Nicholas muttered 'immobulus' under his breath.
"Alas, I won." Nick smirked victoriously and dried himself with a wave of his wand, before walking into the bathroom and cancelling the immobulus spell.
"NICHOLAS JAMES!" Alura yelled and was ready to burst through the bathroom before a loud "NAKED!" stopped her from proceeding. The one thing that's more daunting than being defeated by her brother was him naked.
The thought sickened her immensely.
Sighing in defeat (which she will avenge later), she sat at the desk and started to fumble around with the tablets. She pulled out the search poster from the folder and chuckled at his brother's bad attempt at being 'threat-less'.
ATTENTION!
~•~
We are looking for the person on the right (see picture).
If that is you, please will you meet us at
Caroline's Diner on 23 West Street?
~•~
THANK YOU
"HEY NICK!" Alura yelled.
"WHAT?" Nick yelled back.
"IS THAT YOUR ATTEMPT AT BEING FRIENDLY?" Alura questioned smugly.
"WHAT WILL YOU HAVE DONE THEN?" Nick retorted as he turned off the shower.
"UM, MAYBE GOING TO THE CHARMED DIURNAL AFTER BREAKFAST SO PROFESSIONALS CAN DO THE WORK? IF THEY AGREE?" Alura replied.
"WHAT IF THEY DIDN'T? IT'S OUR PLAN B!" Nicholas replied.
"Which only works if Plan A fails." Tired of all the yelling, Alura lowered her voice.
"What's breakfast?" Nick asked coming out of the bathroom, switching the subjects abruptly.
"Americano and some scones?" Alura suggested.
"Sure." Nick replied and they detached their tablets from the wall, putting them back into the now re-minimised moleskin pouch. They left some conjured clothes and toothbrushes hanging around though, and some fake suitcases in the closet, so the no-majs will not suspect them from being different.
—
15th June, 2013 - Katherson Residence, Hampstead, New Hampshire, US
Hermione put down her quill, her hands aching from all the writing she had done today. After drowning herself in her own pity party last night, a physically freshening shower and a nice signature cuppa from her mother, she coped with all her emotions in the only way she knew-
Work.
She worked and worked and worked, going through project by project, drowning herself in giant tomes, organising all the bills and salary of Donnish Attic, her bookshop. She even took the time to reorganise her closet from darkest to lightest, the type of clothing, material, season… and not to mention her book collection, adding her new tomes into the correct places, readjusting the sectional cards.
After washing her hands from all the ink, from her quills, and stretched her fingers aching from the typing she did on her laptop, where she found very convenient in storing her vast amounts of information. She freed her hair from the bun, letting her curls roam freely. Allowing herself to finally relax, she sat at her desk, putting back all the mess she had made while working.
As if a switch was automatically turned on, just as her hand let go of the last book, her emotions threatened to drown her again, like a dam was lowered. She blinked her eyes furiously, trying her best to hold back her tears. She tried to recall a happy memory, one that could make her smile for days on end, but nothing really helped. The moment she was giving birth to the twins had her smile ever so slightly but that was it. She had nothing against her tears.
Well, maybe one.
One that she never dared to recall, because if she did, she would be back home in an instant.
Because if she did, she would have to bear the aftermath of euphoric delight- infinite pain, regret and longing.
It's why she had never looked at any of the pictures sitting in her hidden drawer at her desk. It's why there's only one picture around the house that represented her past, the only picture of her past she could bear to look at without tumbling down the hill of regret.
The picture of her and her roommate, Lavender Brown.
—
16th June, 2013 - Lobby of The Charmed Diurnal Publications, Diagon Alley, London, UK
"Welcome to TCD. How may I help?" The receptionist greeted them politely as the twins reached the counter.
"Morning. We would like to post a searching advertisement on your newspaper." Nicholas stated clearly.
"Wait a second." The receptionist requested and scribbled something on a book. "Please may I have your names?"
"Alura Katherson." Alura replied.
"Nicholas Katherson." Nicholas replied.
"Take the elevator to level four, where the Advertisement Department is located. Present this note to the receptionist there and Editor Harlow will meet you very soon." The receptionist instructed and waved the twins goodbye as they thanked her and approached the elevators.
A thud brought them to their destination as the squeaky metal gate opened, bringing them to Level Four. The receptionist there was quick to notice new visitors as she quickly powdered her face and stood up in welcome.
"Good Morning. How can we help?" The receptionist greeted.
"Hi. Um I was told to present you this slip?" Alura passed the piece of parchment to the receptionist and she studied it carefully.
"Of course. I bring you to Editor Harlow." The receptionist waved her wand and a 'please wait' notice appeared on her counter. She then gestured the twins to follow her as they travelled through the hallways, eventually coming to a stop at a bronze coloured door.
"Editor Harlow, you have guests." The receptionist knocked and announced. The door soon flew open, revealing a woman in her late twenties standing behind her desk.
"Welcome, please have a seat." Editor Harlow gestured politely as the twins took their seat.
"I'm Marielle Harlow. Leading Editor of the Advertisement Department here at TCD. To what do I owe the pleasure?" The editor, Marielle introduced herself formally.
"I'm Alura, and this is my brother Nicholas. We would like to post a search advertisement."
"Ah! A missing persons alert?"
"Not quite, we're quite sure this person is not missing. But we'd like to find her through a picture."
"May I please see the picture?" Marielle requested.
"Yes of course." Alura reached into her moleskin pouch and pulled out a hardcopy of the picture of her mom and her roommate.
"We'd like to find this girl right here. It was taken at least a decade ago." Nicholas pointed towards the girl with curly blonde hair and a purple bandana.
"I see. Please wait." Marielle's eyes widened slightly at the picture, and disappeared through the floo, confusing the twins to no end.
—
16th June, 2013 - Office of the Editor-in-Chief of TCD Publications, Diagon Alley, London, UK
"Louise? Can you please free this afternoon for me please? It's Harvey's birthday." The Editor-in-Chief requested as her secretary, Louise brought in some more drafts for her to proofread.
"I already did Chief Weasley." Louise smiled and Lavender returned the expression genuinely.
"Brilliant!"
"If there's nothing else, I'll excuse myself." Louise said and left the room.
Just as Chief Weasley was about to go for an early lunch, the fireplace in her office bursted into life. Coming out of the emerald flames was none other than Marielle Harlow, the most competent editor she had ever hired.
"Marielle! I thought the Tressilky's ad was finalised and handed to Printing." The Chief sat back down as Marielle took her seat.
"Yes, it's already at printing. This is about something else." Marielle confirmed and the Chief raised her eyebrows in curiosity.
"It's more personal. I just came across a pair of siblings who want to post a search ad on our newspaper. Naturally I asked for a picture. This is what I got." Marielle pushed the picture across the table and the Chief bulged her eyes.
"They want to find Hermione?" The Chief asked, very confused.
"Not Miss Granger, Chief. You." Marielle corrected and the Chief was shocked to the bones. Why would someone want her? What do they want her for?
"Are the siblings still here?" The Chief asked.
"Yes, I told them to wait at my office." Marielle nodded.
"Please send them up." The Chief requested and Marielle nodded solemnly, disappearing through the emerald flames once more.
—
16th June, 2013 - Office of the Leading Advertisement Editor of TCD Publications, Diagon Alley, London, UK
The twins were about to leave when the flames reignited, revealing Marielle, the Editor.
"Sorry for the wait. Our Editor-in-Chief would like to meet you." Marielle revealed bluntly.
"The EC would like to meet us? Why?" Alura asked suspiciously.
"It's about the search ad." Marielle replied.
"There's nothing wrong with it right?" Nicholas asked tentatively.
"I assure you, it's nothing bad at all." Marielle reassured.
"How do I know it's not a trap." Alura asked.
"You will be travelling through this floo I just exited." Marielle replied.
"I'm sorry for being stubborn, but just for our safety would you please swear it on your life?" Nicholas thought for a while then requested.
"That's reasonable." Marielle nodded solemnly and raised her wand. "I, Marielle Raine Harlow do solemnly swear on my life and magic I intend you no harm, so be it."
"Lumos." Marielle then muttered to prove her words.
"Thank you very much and we're very sorry for the trouble." Alura smiled and stood up, and grabbed a fistful of floo powder before yelling 'EC office!". After a second of pitch darkness, she reappeared through the flames and arrived at a fairly spacious office, with a very light and airy design, despite the tomes of paper stacked on the Editor-in-Chief's desk.
Upon her arrival, the Editor-in-Chief stood up and gestured her to take a seat, while Nicholas stepped out of the flames several seconds later.
"Welcome to TCD." The Chief welcomed as the twins took their seat.
"Thank you." Alura replied.
"I'm Lavender Weasley, Editor-in-Chief of The Charmed Diurnal." The Chief introduced formally.
"I'm Alura, and this is my brother Nicholas." Alura greeted and Lavender nodded.
"Excuse me for being blunt, but where did you obtain the picture?" Lavender inquired candidly.
"You mean the picture I gave Editor Harlow?" Alura checked.
"Precisely." Lavender
"Well, why are you concerned about the origin of a photo? Do you do that to everyone who came to post a search ad?" Nicholas questioned.
"That's because the person you're searching for, according to my colleague, is me." Lavender imparted.
"You're the blonde girl with a purple bandana?" Alura queried cautiously.
"I'm sorry for this but I am going to have you prove your honesty, Chief." Nicholas stated frankly.
"Of course." Lavender inclined her head and stood up, raising her wand in the process. "I, Lavender Françoise Brown Weasley do solemnly swear on my life and magic that I am telling the truth regarding this matter, so be it."
"Lumos." Lavender lit her wand in return to prove her statement.
"You are her?" Nicholas asked disbelievingly.
"Yes, I understand it might come as a shock." Lavender smiled and sat down again. "May I please know where did this picture come from now?"
"It came from our Mom. Well, technically we copied it from her room, the photo was on the her wall. But it was hers." Alura replied.
"Your mother?"
"Well, her name's Jean Cecilia Katherson." Nicholas replied.
"I don't think I know any Jean Katherson." Lavender furrowed her eyebrows in concentration.
"Of course you don't. It's her alias." Alura answered.
"Alias? What about her real name?" Lavender asked, even more confused now. Why would a mother use an alias?
"We don't know." Nicholas shook his head. "That's why we're here behind her back. To find out the truth. Like for staters, her real name. She would undoubtedly be very angry at us, we knew that before we decided to do this. But she clearly misses Britain very much, and was too afraid to take the step to reconcile with her past. And we feel we have a right to these information." he elucidated as simple as he could.
"Behind her ba- Where are you from?" Lavender asked again.
"Biologically, we're 100% British. Locationally, we're American." Alura replied.
"And how does this involve me?" Lavender queried.
"We think you might know our Mom." Nicholas responded.
"We picked this picture for a reason. Well it's the only picture of when she was young at home but that's beside the point." Alura babbled. "That's our Mom." Alura pointed to the bushy haired girl beside Lavender in the picture.
"She's your mother?" Lavender balled her eyes out in shock as she asked them in a significantly softer voice tentatively.
"Yes." Nicholas replied cautiously, wary of the drastic change of expression on Lavender's face.
—
No.
They're lying.
Unbelievable.
It could not be.
I refuse to believe it.
She could not be their mother.
Lavender couldn't think straight. The fact that she couldn't have her early lunch as planned and return home to celebrate his son's birthday was already the least bothering thing in her mind. A million questions popped into her head. Why? How? When? Who?
She is in the state of denial.
Her heart was twisted in the knottiest way possible. All the questions, the longing, the anger, the confusion, the pain, resurfaced, all flooded out of the room locked deeply in her heart's abyss.
The joyous day had definitely turned drastically, so drastically it was almost staged, as if she was in some soapy sit-com, like the show Modern Family which her husband had started to binge on after they had installed the muggle television in their home.
"Wow." That was the only word she knew at the moment. Her mind was so distracted she couldn't think of anything.
"Um, are you okay?" Alura asked concerned.
"Um." Lavender recollected herself as best as she could. "Yeah."
Another silence drowned the room as she continued to organise her mind. She needed the clarity no more than ever, she HAD to stay calm.
"I… I…" Lavender took a deep breath and started again.
"I must ask for proof." She requested.
"Certainly." Alura replied and raised her wand. "I, Alura Lilith Katherson do solemnly swear I am speaking the truth regarding the matter."
Nicholas reciprocated the movement and also swore. "I Nicholas James Katherson do solemnly swear I am speaking the truth regarding the matter."
"Thank you." Lavender smiled weakly.
"So, do you know her?" Alura asked hopefully.
"Yes." Lavender blurted out after another long silence. "Yes, I do."
"Well?" Nicholas prompted. They could have their answer anytime now.
"I'd like to invite you two for dinner this Saturday, at my humble abode. We could continue this chat then perhaps?" Lavender proposed. She wanted nothing more than to escape this situation. Besides, it was definitely not her place to give them the answers, the answers that the pair of sibling in front of her want.
Harry and Ron would very much like to know about this.
They would also very much like to give them their answers, probably more accurate and in-depth that her own.
"You could just tell us now. We just want to know her real name." Alura asked.
"I understand, Alura. But it is not my place. I assure you, my other guests and family present at the dinner this weekend would give you better answers." Lavender answered apologetically.
"I guess that's fair. Well, how do we access your home then?" Nicholas decided.
"Would you like to meet me at the lobby here this Saturday. 4:30 in the afternoon perhaps? I shall then apart you to my humble abode. You wouldn't be able to get through the wards since you're guests."
"Of course. We thank you for your invitation." Alura smiled in appreciation. Seeing Lavender's expression, Nicholas tugged at her sister and stood up.
"Well, we're sorry to have occupied your lunch. We'll see you then?" Nicholas concluded.
"It's perfectly fine." Lavender reassured. "I hope you have a wonderful afternoon." She stood up and shook the twins' hands respectively before they exited her office with a bright smile.
This is one hell of a day indeed.