The New Year ushered in another shocking set of circumstances that this rag-tag group of friends could never have foreseen.
Well maybe Sam could have, if he'd taken Greg a little more seriously but to be frank, he still saw some of his friends as teenagers.
When he left Britain he'd put all his friends in a timeless bubble and expected to come back and find them exactly the same.
Even though some of them had beards, and some of them high profile jobs, it was still strange to think they weren't just a moment away from running down the halls of Hogwarts finding trouble… or making it.
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In any case, no one suspected a thing when Greg invited the whole gang over for Saturday lunch to catch-up in the New Year.
"The food better be good," Jen snarkily commented as she inspected the dishes laid haphazardly out on the table.
"Well if you don't like it Jen dear, feel free to stay hungry," Corey grinned as he shrugged off the frilly pink apron he'd brought especially from home.
Annie patted Jen's shoulder "Don't be snobby Jen."
"That's just because you're used to the food on Guernsey Annie," Adam piped back, as everyone laughed raucously (the food on Guernsey was notoriously… lacking in flavour).
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Suddenly, a knock at the door surprised everyone.
A hush fell over the room as everyone looked quizzically around the room trying to figure out who might be coming.
Jen and Annie had come in together, Sam, Al, Corey and Adam had been there all morning helping to prepare the meal, Rose and Aaliyah had taken the Floo Network in from Puddletown and Bee had walked over from down the block just moments ago.
Greg casually sauntered over to the door and opened it, "Ah! Hello! Welcome, come right on it."
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The door swung shut and in entered a suave looking wizard in thin, sweeping cotton robes in deep burgundy and magenta. They were covered by a thick overcoat, which had specks of unmelted snow still settled on the tops of the shoulders.
"Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Rafi."
He had a gentle accent and soft-spoken voice, obviously from somewhere in South Asia. His dark brown skin was flushed, probably from walking through the snow, and despite the coat, his robes looked out of place in the British winter.
Greg followed Rafi into the dining room, smiling jauntily - obviously very proud of himself, but most of the room simply looked on in stunned silence.
Sam, managing to put two and two together - his memories of the conversation he and Greg had at the snowball fight running back through his mind - snapped into action.
"Hello, I'm Sam, it's nice to meet you to." He walked forwards and shook Rafi's hand.
"This is… well everyone," he gestured quickly to the rest of the room.
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"Let me take your coat Rafi, where have you come in from?"
As Sam hung up his heavy overcoat, Rafi slightly illuminated just exactly what he was doing in Greg's living room.
"I landed in Britain this morning from Bangladesh. I'm staying at a place, funny name, it's called the Leaky Cauldron," he chuckled slightly. "I hope I have not surprised you."
So he had noticed all the shocked faces...
Not to mention, as soon as he said the word Bangladesh, Bee got extremely suspicious.
"Greg, can I talk to you in the kitchen for a moment?" She said through gritted teeth.
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Greg considered saying no, but the look on Bee's face told him this was not something he was going to avoid.
When the got to the kitchen, Bee whipped around and started terely whispering.
"What on Earth have you cooked up now Baddock!"
Greg mumbled something incoherently.
"Speak up you bastard," she whispered aggressively, trying to remain unheard from the dining room.
"I found you a wizard from Bangladesh," he whispered back coherently this time.
"Are you insane?" Bee threw her hands in exasperation.
So Greg had followed through on his ridiculous plan to find her a husband, one who both she and her parents would approve of.
"He works in magical transportation at the Bangladeshi Ministry, he's progressive, he's not very religious and he did a governmental exchange program in Britain for a year in his early 20s. He'd be happy to move back here-"
"Bee?"
Someone was calling out from the dining room, it seemed their time to fight had run out.
"We are not finished with this," Bee hissed at Greg before exiting the kitching and plastering a smile on her face.
"I mean, I think it's kind of sweet," Jen offered as the girls sat around Bee's flat discussing the unexpected turn of events at lunch.
"Sweet? He didn't even ask her permission," Rose said with a look of distaste on her face.
Annie reached over and rubbed Bee's shoulder as she sat dejectedly on the couch, "What's the harm in just going out to dinner with him tonight? He's gone to all this trouble to come to Britain to meet you, it's not his fault Greg's cuckoo. Besides, you'll regret it if you don't at least try - it really could be the solution to all your family drama."
Bee just let out an exhausted sigh.
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Rafi had been rather perceptive and quickly realised none of them knew he was going to be joining them at lunch that day. He eased the tension by keeping the mood light with his charming knack for conversation. And of course questions about Rose's family (for who would not ask a few questions to a descendant of The Golden Trio?).
Lunch, while not entirely natural, had finished up soon enough and Rafi had quickly excused himself, despite Greg's protestations.
Before leaving however, he'd let Bee know that he was sorry for any confusion but if she was interested in talking again, to send him an owl at The Leaky Cauldron.
Rose's opinion on Greg's behaviour and the mess it had turned lunch into didn't stop her from agreeing with Annie, "She has a point Bee… there's no harm in going on one date."
Bee mmhmm'd non-comittantly", Can someone grab me some parchment?"
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The girls had to hold in their squeals of excitement as Bee penned a quick letter to Rafi.
They tried to peer over her shoulder but she looked over at them darkly, "Can you just give me some space?"
Rose ushered them all away with a worried look on her face, Bee wasn't usually one for secrets.
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When the letter had flown off with Bee's tawny owl she sighed again deeply.
"You can all go home, I think I need some time alone to get ready for tonight."
After a few 'are you sure's and some 'we're happy to stay's, Bee finally managed to shoo them all towards the door.
She did indeed have something to get ready for.
When Bee came tumbling out of Greg's fireplace, she was fuming. She'd been working herself up for an hour before she arrived.
Greg came straight into the living room to check what all the commotion was about so Bee took her opportunity to launch right into the tirade that had been fomenting all day.
"Greggory Baddock. Do you have any explanation for the absolutely bizarre day I've just had? I just had to owl some poor wizard to go home because I have absolutely no intention of marrying him."
"What? You didn't even go on one date-"
"No, I didn't even go on one date. What could have possessed you to bring someone to lunch from Bang - la - desh?"
She punctuated each syllable with a hard poke to his chest.
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"OW! I was trying to help smooth things over with your parents. He's handsome, charming, with a good job and the right outlook on life. He's perfect for you! Now you can stop fighting with them."
Bee changed her mind about wanting his explanation "Greg, just stop okay. You're trying to be this bizarre matchmaking knight in shining armour and it's not working. You can't save me from my own life."
"I am not trying to save you, I am trying to help you!"
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This only infuriated Bee more, "Do you know how patronising it is to have you try and tell me what I need? I know what I need!"
She felt almost alight with rage but Greg wasn't going down meekly.
"Then tell me! Tell me what you need," he fired back.
Bee rolled her eyes, "You know, even Rose knows when to keep out of my business, it's called boundaries."
"Well I'm sorry for caring about you-"
"No you bloody aren't, you were basically smug with pride when you wheeled poor Rafi out like a prize hippogriff. Greg, I know you care about me but this isn't helping. You crossed a line!"
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Greg looked downcast, his whole body feeling heavy with the knowledge that he had monumentally fucked up.
"I'm sorry Bee, I'm so sorry, I messed up. Just tell me how to fix it and I'll do it, I swear."
"You can't fix this Greg… That's the whole point. My life is complicated and messed up and it hurts, but that's just how it is."
Greg grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, "Do you know how hard it is for me to bear seeing you every day just caught in this limbo? At least if you cut your parents out you could just be free of this-"
"Yeah and I also wouldn't have a family!"
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Bee let that sink in for a moment.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered, "I just…" His voice trailed off without finishing the sentence.
Bee's chest swelled with emotion as Greg look deeply into her eyes, as if he could just drown in their inky darkness. Her voice quietened too, "If you knew just how contrary all this is to what I want, you would die laughing…"
She looked down and scoffed darkly.
A look of confusion flashed across Greg's face, "What do you mean?"
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She pulled away in frustration, "You shouldn't have to know, I was supposed to decide if I was going to tell you."
"Bee, what in Merlin's name is going on..."
"I mean, I wasn't trying to hide it, not in the beginning, but we're just such good friends and I didn't want anything to change."
Bee sighed and muttered, "I never properly admitted it to myself, let alone anyone else."
Greg could feel his blood pressure rising, what had she been hiding from him?
"You never admitted what?"
But Bee ignored him, rambling, "We have a business together, we have a life, I've never wanted more. I'm not jealous, I'm not pining, I'm not sad. I've loved you in my own way for as long as I can remember and in my mind, you've never needed to know the details. I could have loved you forever like that, but now?"
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He raised his voice in a panic, he just needed to know now, the suspense was going to give him a heart-attack.
"Beena Hossain, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that you've forced my hand, because you decided to do the most ridiculous thing known to wizard-kind and find me a husband! I have to tell you. Now? You have to know. Rafi is not what I want. Rafi can never solve my problems."
"Why?" Greg all but yelled, his face flushing like it was about to burst.
She could think too long, it had to escape, "Because I'm in love with you!"
It practically leapt out of her mouth and a weight that had been heavy on Bee's shoulders for so long was finally lifted.
But the silence that filled the room was bearing down on both of them and even though Bee knew there hadn't been any other way out but to tell Greg the truth, she still wondered if she'd made a horrible mistake.