10 YEARS LATER

Sometimes, I couldn't believe the life I had now. There were still some mornings where I woke up, far earlier now that I was used to waking up right alongside Adrian, where I just lied awake, trying to go back to sleep. In those moments where I was half sleeping and half-dreaming, I sometimes, somehow, managed to forget the life I lived now - that the shop was mine now, that I had married Adrian and that we'd even started our family together. And then, all it would take was an arm around my waist, drawing me back against Adrian's slumbering chest, or the pitter-patter of insistent little feet as they ran into our room, refusing to allow us a lie-in, despite us having earned it.

"Mum!" the call had me drawing out from my thoughts, looking at the plate of sandwiches that I was supposed to bring outside for the kids. Walking out of the room and into the garden, I almost wound up dropping the plate in my surprise.

"Adrian!" I called out, knowing I sounded a little shrill. Setting the sandwich plate on the garden table, I hurried towards my husband who had the gall to laugh at my worry at discovering him putting our 5-year-old son onto a broom. "What are you doing?"

"It's perfectly safe," he assured me, even as he continued to hold our son, holding him steady on the broom that hovered a foot or two off the ground. "I'm right here next to him."

"He's too young!" I insisted, helping Adrian hold onto our son and keeping him steady. Over his head, I gave Adrian a pointed look so he knew that I was holding my true, more intense thoughts to myself. But he'd get an ear full when Noah wasn't around. "You waited until Maria was 8."

He made a face that had me narrowing my eyes, "Well…"

"You did not."

"Didn't you realise that she was unusually good at riding from her first lesson?" Adrian released his hands, rubbing the back of his neck and laughing when I gave a screech and held onto Noah more steadily. He even met my eyes, offering me a warm smile that had me narrowing my eyes.

"I just thought she was talented."

"And she is - but she'd also had secret lessons since she turned 5."

Pressing incredulous hands to my hips, I reminded myself that there were listening ears and that I would give him a good telling off tonight. He knew how I felt about these death traps and he even claimed to understand my reasoning that the brooms used at Hogwarts were even better regulated than the ones he was wanting to teach our son with - the one he'd already used to teach Maria. Good Godric, what was I -

Adrian's triumphant cry brought a halt to my mental practices of the lecture I was going to give him. I realised far too late, that I'd let go of Noah who was nipping away, hovering only a few feet above the ground on his training broom but travelling at too fast a speed for me to be calm. Noah was laughing, pleased and excited and Adrian had that same proud look on his face - the same one he wore when our kids walked for the first time, when they were successfully potty trained and when they said their first words.

"He'll be fine," Adrian assured me again, coming up beside me and wrapping an arm around my shoulder. I dug my feet into the ground, refusing to move and yet I was drawn so easily against his side that it was a little insulting. But my son's laughter, echoing around the garden melted my anger and I wrapped my arm around Adrian's waist, "He's under my expert guidance."

I held my tongue, to stop myself from reminding Adrian just how often he'd fallen off his broom. Instead, I sighed heavily when with a quick flick of his wand, he righted Noah who almost tumbled off his broom. Ignoring the death glare I had aimed at his face, Adrian called out to Noah, "Keep your hands on the broom handle!"

Noah, finally spooked by his near tumble, clutched at the broom and wasn't playing around anymore. Or rather, that was what I'd hoped. It took shockingly little time for Noah to be playing around and attempting to do tricks on the broom that he was way too unskilled for. They were going to be the death of me.

"Mum! Dad!" Maria, my saving grace amongst all this Pucey male madness, ran out of the house, holding hands with her grandmother and bringing her out of the house.

Adrian, surprised at seeing his mother, brought Noah's broom gently to the ground with a murmured spell. Noah let out a saddened whine, preparing to throw a tantrum. But only until he spied his grandmother and then he was running on stumpy legs towards her. Mrs Pucey, the older Mrs Pucey opened her arms for her grandson and cradled him close. She held both her grandchildren together, cooing to them. I realised quickly that I was the one on the receiving end of a silent look this time.

"Did I forget to mention that I invited your mother?" I started hesitantly, turning my eyes away from our children and looking to Adrian. He stood uncertainly, looking between his mother and me as if he didn't know how to progress. I was quick to speak, preparing to overload him with information until he made up his mind, "You know she loves the kids and that she's always been around whenever they needed her. Your father might not have been interested in the children - he didn't even turn up when they'd been born! - but she was there. She was even there in the birthing room and she's also in the process of leaving your father and she needs family around her whilst -"

"She's leaving my dad!" he asked heatedly in a whisper. He turned to face me, giving his back to the children and looking at me with wide eyes. "No one told me!"

"Oh, I thought you knew." Closing the distance between us, I put a hand on his chest and assured him, "She wants to be with her family and your father is still so angry all the time. She shouldn't have to live her life bearing the brunt of that anger. We can talk about this later when the kids are asleep, but for now, let's just have some time as a family. Alright?"

He sent a conflicted look towards his mother, "Alright."