Scorpius had been sad to see Rose go. But she had her own obligations back in Chudley. Though it had been fun to see her get more and more animated over the course of the day and by the time she left, Scorpius suspected that she was a tad tipsy. But Rose had insisted that she could make it back via apparition on her own and so he decided again to let things slide. He still wondered though, what had made her so thoughtful and subdued when he had discussed Quidditch and Chudley? Perhaps Rose was homesick and she didn't want to admit it to him. He could empathise. Scorpius wouldn't want anyone to know that he might be having second thoughts or regrets about anything. The both of them were strong personalities, they valued their pride and both hated to be wrong about anything. Scorpius once more convinced himself that if Rose really was upset about something, she would tell him and till then, he should assume that what she was going through was a minor adjustment phase.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he realised he had to prioritize. He was supposed to see Muriel and her husband Eddie today for tea. Which was just half an hour away. Scorpius had been trying to figure out what to wear. Rose had suggested a couple of outfits before she had left the previous day but he couldn't decisively choose any of them. There was a smart casual pants and shirt, a t shift and 3 quarter pants or a shirt with casual pants. If only people could just go out in the pajamas he imagined... At least he knew what he would be bringing for them. That had been a challenge as well at first but Rose had sorted things out. They had decided not to bring food so finally Scorpius was ordered to purchase a book from the small town centre. It was a beautiful book, the one they had decided on. It was called, "Falmouth, history through images." The book told the development of the town through old photographs and watercolour landscapes. Scorpius was nearly tempted to buy a copy for himself. Together Rose and him had wrapped the gift and set it ready on the kitchen table.

Now looking at the time, Scorpius decided it was time to get going and finally he decided to go with the shirt and casual pants. Looking at his reflection, he imagined what the outing would be like for him. He had never really been friends or at least friendly with people out of his generation group. Socialising with Muriel and Eddie would be interesting.

Heading out of his house with his present tucked under his arm, Scorpius walked down the front path. He chuckled as he saw the plants he had planted the day before. They were already fully sprouted and one could see little buds beginning to appear. He took a left turn and opened the gate to number 16. Walking up the path, he could see that Muriel invested a lot of her time in her garden. There were huge rose bushes, with begonias and violets. There was also a small water feature tucked in the corner against the flowers. Two sun chairs were propped up against the wall in anticipation of a sunny afternoon. Scorpius walked up the front steps and politely pressed the doorbell. He could hear voiced inside and the shuffling of feet before the door was opened by a beaming Muriel.

She was a pretty floral dress that went to her knees and her hair was swept up in a bun.

"Ah Scorpius you're just on time!" she smiled warmly.

"Thank you I was worried I was a little late." he nodded in reply.

Muriel shook her head.

"Not at all, do come in." she gestured him into the house and shut the door behind her.

Scorpius politely took a step inside. Muriel took his coat from him, it had been a little nippy outside and he took a quick look around. The Thistlewech's home bore a slightly different layout from him. They had knocked down the dividing walls and the front of the house was a large open space. The staircase was not in the middle but at the left side of the house. To the right was a sprawling parlor and Scorpius could see a toasty fire going in the fireplace. The room was dim, not dark and had a lived in atmosphere to it. Towards the back of the home, Scorpius could see a dining table and the kitchen.

"Welcome to our humble abode!" Muriel chirped. "Eddie will be around in a moment, he's just getting the tea going. Won't you take a seat?" she asked.

Scorpius nodded quickly and walked over to the large settee before the fireplace.

"By the way, before I forget, I brought this for you." he smiled, pulling out his gift.

Muriel shook her head in surprise as she took it from him.

"You didn't have to bring anything dear..." she assured him

"No but I wanted to." he insisted.

Muriel smiled, touching the wrapped paper.

"Well it was very thoughtful of you, thank you."

She gently placed the gift on a coffee table.

"I'll be back in a second with Eddie and the tea. Make yourself at home."

Scorpius watched her as she trotted off to the back. He walked slowly back to the fireplace where he saw several pictures atop of it. He could recognise Muriel in almost all of them. Her face had aged but her features had remained the same. There was a man that kept appearing in the pictures beside her. He was tall, dark brown hair and dark eyes. He wore a pair of spectacles and he had a pleasant smile. Scorpius assumed this was Eddie. He saw the couple with a young girl in many of the pictures, perhaps their daughter? Scorpius had little time to think this over when he heard Muriel re-emerge from the kitchen. She was carrying the tea and the same man in the photographs was behind her. His face was worn, his hair was grey now and he walked with the aid of a stick but he was still the same person. Scorpius nodded politely at him and he reciprocated. Muriel set the tea down.

"Scorpius this is my husband Eddie. Eddie, you know Scorpius."

"Nice to meet you sir." Scorpius extended his hand.

"No the pleasure's mine." Eddie responded. "Great to have new folk around this neighborhood. Lumping too many Gerrys together is a bad idea for everyone." he chuckled.

"Ed..." Muriel sighed, exasperated.

Scorpius laughed.

"Well I'm certainly glad to be here. I'm really looking forward to playing with the team."

"I bet you are." Eddie nodded. "cracking team they are."

"Tea?" Muriel offered Scorpius a cup.

"Thank you." he smiled as he took it and the three of them sat down.

"So I hear your a fan of the Falcons?" Scorpius asked Eddie.

"Been a fan since the beginning. Even when I was a young lad. Was terribly upset when Keitch left you know. Thought they'd never find a replacement. But based on what the papers say about you, I think we've got a pretty good deal!" he chuckled.

Scorpius smiled modestly.

"Thanks but I think I still have a lot to learn." he commented.

Eddie raised his tea cup.

"True that is but you'll learn fast I reckon. That Horton will see to that."

Scorpius felt a lump in his throat being reminded of Horton.

"Let me know if he really is as mean as they say he is." Eddie winked obliviously.

"I'm sure he can't be that bad..." Scorpius nodded, trying to comfort more himself than Eddie.

"Did you always like playing Scorpius?" Muriel asked.

He nodded.

"Pretty much. I loved flying so the game came pretty naturally."

"Well I hope you stick with the Falcons for a long while yet." she smiled.

They sighed and there was pause as they sipped their tea. Muriel had also brought out some tea cakes which Scorpius had helped himself to. Muriel had been right. She was quite the baker. These cakes were delicious and so was the tea! He felt a little piggish gorging the food but Eddie and Muriel seemed to have hearty appetites as well so this lessened his guilt.

"It's nice having a young person around us again." Muriel remarked.

"Do you have any children?" Scorpius asked, thinking of the young girl in the photographs.

"We had a daughter." Eddie murmured, setting down his tea.

Scorpius caught note of the word, had. He blinked for a second.

"I'm so sorry I didn't know." he murmured.

Muriel waved her hand.

"It's not your fault. We had a lovely daughter. Joy was her name. She was the world to us you know. Doted on us, made us feel spoiled. She was so bright, more intelligent than us put together. She was a straight As student. Would have made any parent proud. She graduated and became a writer. She wrote columns for the paper. I would frame them up, until there were too many to count. She would get embarrassed and scold me but I'd laugh it off. She even got married. Had two little girls. Sarah and Emily."

Eddie sighed. Scorpius could see his eyes were misted up and he was biting his lip.

"Oh Joy was our whole existence."

"What happened?" Scorpius asked curious.

"She got sick." Muriel whispered. "Apparently not even magic can rid a tumor. We nursed her. I had to watch my baby die in front of me..." her voice cracked.

Scorpius set down his tea and immediately withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket which he handed to Muriel. She gratefully accepted it and blew her nose.

"It happened so quickly I couldn't quite believe it." Muriel continued after a pause.

"Nobody could." Eddie sighed.

"That wasn't the worst of it either. That husband of hers, he took the children, they moved out of Falmouth. Said he couldn't bear being around the place. Completely cut us off from the children, we don't even know where they are anymore. We understood why he was upset, why he wanted to leave but they were our grandchildren. We didn't just lose Joy, we lost them too. I don't think we'll ever see them again." Muriel cried. She was now crying openly, with tears streaming down her face. Eddie was sobbing slightly as well. Scorpius felt so helpless looking at the two of them. Poor things. They had lost their only child and then, this.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up. It's my fault..." Scorpius shook his head.

"You would have found out sooner or later. Best to hear it from us." Eddie reassured him.

"Still..." he sighed.

For what seemed like an hour there was a hushed silence as the couple dried their tears.

"We should be over crying by now. "Muriel shook her head in embarrassment. "It's been 5 years now. But I suppose we never really discuss it openly. We always hoped the pain would just... leave."

"Obviously not." Eddie muttered.

Scorpius gently placed his shoulder on Muriel.

"It's good for you. To get it out. At least you make it clear how you feel. Don't bottle it up."

"Yes, yes you're absolutely right." Muriel nodded.

"I suppose seeing you, you remind us of her. Full of life, ambition and pride in what you do." Eddie smiled at him.

"Joy always was proud of herself." Muriel added.

Scorpius could only nod.

"Look at us!" Muriel got up suddenly. "Crying like children when we have a guest!"

"No, no please I'm fine." Scorpius insisted getting up.

"No really, I mean how inhospitable of us! You must think we're rather pathetic?" she asked.

Scorpius frowned and shook his head.

"I think to the contrary how brave you are. You've suffered so much pain in your life but yet you don't let that weigh you down. You try to be optimistic. No, I have a great deal of respect for you." he stressed his words.

"We thought this was going to be a pleasant tea about us talking on Quidditch and the weather." Eddie chuckled.

"We can still talk about that." Scorpius shrugged his shoulders. "And I can tell you a little about my family in return."

Muriel smiled as she looked at Eddie.

"I think we'd like that very much."

"Good." Scorpius sat down once more. "Thank you, for sharing that with me though. Even if you didn't intend to at first, it was very brave of you."

"Thank you for listening." Eddie replied.

"More tea!" Muriel laughed as she picked up the pot. Scorpius nodded and glanced at the couple. Their eyes were dry again and there was a new glow in their eyes now. Anyone who said old folks were boring was sorely mistaken, he decided. Somehow as the threesome sat around the fire, talking about Scorpius' school days and how he had grown up, he knew for sure in his mind that Muriel and Eddie were going to be true gems in terms of friends and that there would definitely be more afternoons like this one. Scorpius felt at home with them and comforted by their sincerity.

By the time tea was over and it was time for him to head back, Scorpius wished with all his heart that he was a possessor of a time turner.