"RAWWWWHHH!" Rose yelled as she jumped down from the playground. Albus shrieked and ran under the slide. He was petrified of this girl and how she always seemed to be yelling.
"Please don't… eat me!" It was the most plausible thing that came to mind when Rose came upon him. She giggled.
"Albus, I'm not going to eat you! I can't, to be quite honest." She smirked. "C'mon you're being a baby!" She sprinted off and grabbed her broom that was leaning against the swings. Parents nearby watched as she hopped on her broom. They all laughed as she whizzed around. Their robes signified they were all familiar with flying and the game of Quidditch.
It was a mostly wizarding neighborhood. There were a few muggles but that was because their sons and daughters were witches or wizards. It was a gated community that only let in witches and wizards with the password.
"Agh!" Rose ran into the tree she had flown around when she was practicing with her dad the other day. She frowned and backed up slowly.
"Rose can I have a try?" Albus said, running next to her as she flew on her broomstick.
"Maybe in a little bit…" She said and tried to go faster. Albus kept up with her though because the broom was moving at an extremely slow rate.
"C'mon, let's go back to the house. It's getting dark out." Albus exclaimed. He pointed to the sky which was turning a pinkish orange from the sun setting. Rose laughed.
"In a minute, I'm just getting comfortable!" Rose yelled as she zoomed away. Albus sighed and stopped running. He looked up at the sky again and admired it's pretty colors. Rose's broom whizzed around the playground, trying to go as fast as she could.
"Rose!" Albus called out after a few minutes of watching the sky lose it's color. "I...I think I'm going to head back. The parents must be worried and I don't want my dad and mum to leave without me." He whimpered.
"Alright, alright, let's go." Rose sighed as she climbed off her broom. She ran over to Albus and grabbed his arm. "C'mon stop staring at the sky. We've got to get dinner." She dragged him out of the park and onto the sidewalk.
Albus shrugged her off and started walking by himself back to the house. They walked shoulder-to-shoulder all the way back to the Weasley household. Once they arrived, Rose swung open the door and bellowed "WE'RE HOOO-OOOME!"
The parents peeked their heads out of the kitchen and looked at the kids who had just came in. They smiled at them.
"Dinner's almost ready," Ron exclaimed. "Go tell your brother, Rose." Rose nodded and grabbed Albus' arm. She threw her broom at a basket and it landed in there softly.
Rose pulled Albus up the stairs and into Hugo's room. Rose barged in and saw Lily and Hugo playing with Hugo's new lizard. Albus came stumbling behind her, shrugging off her grip once again. She scoffed at the little ones.
"Dinner's almost ready. Come on," She said. Hugo looked at her.
"Tell mom we'll be down soon. We're almost done showing Tim how do jump." He giggled.
"Ugh, you can't teach that ugly creature anything. It's lazy and ugly and…" She stuttered, taking a step back. "And disgusting."
Hugo whimpered as he grabbed Tim and clutched him to his chest. "Why would you say that about… Tim?" He cried out. Tears pooled in his eyes as he clutched the lizard tighter.
"Rose, let's just go downstairs." Albus muttered, putting a hand on her shoulder. She sighed.
"Alright, I'll see you two down there." She mumbled as she slammed the door behind her. She shook her head and walked with Albus, not pulling him anywhere.
"Hugo! Lily! Rose! Albus! James!" Hermione called. "Dinner!"
Rose smiled at Albus and walked down the stairs with him. She skipped to the kitchen to grab a plate and handed one to Albus. He took it and nodded at her, thanking her.
It was Ron's turn to cook that night so he had set out a nice dinner for the Potters. He had platters of roast beef, salad, broccoli and bread buns. Rose stuck her nose out to smell the roast beef. Albus did the same and they both piled it onto their plates. Hugo and Lily came running down the stairs and rushed into the kitchen. James came up, headphones still on and grabbed a plate.
"Now, don't be greedy. You can always come back for seconds, just take a little and go. Go on, now." Hermione gently pushed Rose into the dining room. Albus grabbed a bun and hurried after her to get a spot next to her. Rose sat down at a seat and Albus sat next to her. Hugo and Lily came in after to sit on the other side of them. There were three seats on each side and one seat at each end. They added one more for James on the end.
"James! James! Sit next to us!" Lily squeaked out. James turned his head as he silently carried his plate to the extra seat. He sighed and sat next to Lily. She clapped her hands and smiled at him.
"Obviously, he needs help and I want to but I love my job. I wouldn't need to change. Even though the shop is hard enough for him, I-" Ron commented, walking next to Harry. Harry sighed and set his plate down on one of the chairs on the end. Ron took the one that was meant for James and sat next to him.
"What are you talking about, Dad?" Hugo asked, gripping his fork that was full of roast beef. He shoved it in his mouth.
"Just about your Uncle George." Ron sighed, stabbing at his salad.
"What about him?" Lily asked, now becoming curious.
"His shop, as you all are familiar with," Ginny walked in, holding her plate. Harry smiled a little at her.
"Oh yeah! That place is heaven on earth!" Rose exclaimed, grinning. "That's where I get all of my trick wands." Albus nodded at her, laughing.
Ron nodded sadly. He glanced at Hermione who was right behind Ginny. She looked back.
"So, what did you two do at the park?" Ron asked, changing the subject. Rose bit into the roast beef and smiled at her father.
"Well, we played a game where I was the monster!" She exclaimed. "And then, I rode around on my broom!" She used her fork to pick at her broccoli.
"Did you give Albus a turn?" Hermione asked, looking at her.
Rose stared at her plate. Albus shrugged. "It's alright, Aunt Hermione! We were having fun anyway! I was chasing her around the-"
"Rose! That's not how you treat your cousin! You should've let him have a turn!" Hermione exclaimed, sitting down on one edge. Ginny sat on the right of Hermione and the left of Hugo.
"Honey, calm down." Ron mumbled across the table. She glared at him. Hermione opened her mouth, about to start a speech about raising their kids that Ron has heard many times.
"Hey, this roast beef is amazing, Ron." Ginny said, butting in. Ron gave Ginny a look of thanks. James rolled his eyes at the adults. They were such children.
"Thank you. It's a new recipe I've partly made." Ron grinned. "I used one of the recipes I found in Magdela's Magical Cookbook of Muggle and Other Foods and added my own touches to it."
"Hermione, do you and Ron switch off with the cooking?" Harry asked, seeming not to notice what Ron said.
"Well, most of the time yes. Ron likes to cook more so I let him. The woman doesn't always have to do the domestic chores." She smirked at Harry.
Just then, another owl flew in, with a message in it's talons. It dropped it on Harry's plate and flew out. Harry picked it up and stared at the address. Ginny looked at the letter in his hands. She recognized the type of envelope that was in his hands.
Harry got up and walked into the kitchen. Ginny followed, worried.
"It's from the ministry." Harry mumbled, sensing Ginny was behind him. She sighed.
Harry tore it open and pulled out the letter that was sealed in the envelope. He unfolded slowly and carefully and read the letter out loud.
Dear Mr. Harry James Potter,
We regret to inform you that there has been another attack on a combination of muggles and wizards. The situation, currently, is 13 people dead, 5 injured, and 7 missing. The Ministry is trying to handle the situation as you read.
The dementors are in the area so we will need more aurors to come and help. If you can contact them quickly, please tell Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
Best wishes,
Kingsley Shacklebolt