Chapter Three
On the second Saturday in August, Harry stood in the hallway of Potter Manor, a fully packed trunk at his feet and his beautiful snowy owl, Hedwig, in her cage.
At his side, Maia glanced at her watch and then rolled her eyes as she looked up the staircase, "James! It's nearly four o' clock!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" came James' reply, sounding quite far away, though a second later, there was a loud cracking noise, and he appeared at her side, grinning and ruffling his hair with one hand.
"Oh stop that, you still think it makes you look cool," Maia told him, rolling her eyes, though she couldn't help but smile fondly.
"I don't need to try to look cool," James replied, looking mock-offended.
"You're such a dad," Maia replied, shaking her head at him before shouting over her shoulder towards the living room, "Lyra! Come and say goodbye to your brother."
"But I get to go see the train again, don't I?" Lyra asked, hurrying out of the living room, a note of panic in her voice.
James laughed, wrapping an arm around his daughter's shoulders, "Of course you do, angel. I doubt we could stop you."
"And I get to come to Diagon Alley too?" she pressed.
"Well obviously, silly," James replied, ruffling her hair, "we can't go to Fortescue's without you, can we? But you're not going to see your brother now until we go to Diagon Alley, so say goodbye."
Harry had very eagerly accepted Ron's invitation to stay for the last two weeks of the summer, and an exchange had begun between the two mothers, to determine the arrangements for picking him up.
Mrs Weasley had been keen not to put the Potters out, and suggested that Arthur would be able to come and collect Harry whilst she stayed at home with their other children, but it later became apparent that Mr Weasley might have to work that day, and Maia was pleased to realise she wouldn't be working, and told Mrs Weasley that she and James would be happy to drop Harry off.
Maia had been to Molly's house – The Burrow – once when she was much younger, very briefly, and remembered it being cosy and warm, full of life. She'd met Molly a few times, most recently on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, when they were picking their children up, and she seemed nice enough, though they didn't really know each other. Arthur however, she hadn't actually seen in years, though James crossed paths with him often at the ministry.
Harry had been looking forward to going to Ron's ever since he got the letter, and Maia was pleased he was making friends and would be enjoying the remainder of his summer, but knew she'd miss him.
Still, she and Mrs Weasley had agreed that Mrs Weasley would write to her when the children's Hogwarts letters came, and the Potters would meet them in Diagon Alley to purchase Harry's school things, and they would also come to King's Cross to see Harry off.
Lyra hugged Harry somewhat reluctantly, though Maia knew that for all her pretence, Lyra did actually miss her brother when he wasn't at home, and she especially missed not being able to pester both Neville and Harry at the same time.
Neville had also been invited to stay with the Weasley family for the last two weeks of the summer break, but his formidable grandmother had told him that she'd much rather her beloved grandson stay with her, and practically guilted him into staying at home with her. Neville was such a sweet, loving boy, that there was no way he'd say no. Not to mention he was a little scared of his grandmother. Hermione had also been invited but wouldn't be going because she was on holiday in France with her parents and wouldn't be back until the week before term started.
Lyra disappeared off into the living room, and both Sirius and Remus came into the hallway.
"Time to go, is it pup?" Sirius asked, striding towards Harry with his arms open and pulling him into a big bear hug.
Harry laughed as he enjoyed his uncle's huge hug, and when he was released, he had an equally warm, though less violent embrace, from Remus.
"Make sure you write to us," Sirius said mock-sternly, almost elbowing Remus out of the way so he would stand in front of his nephew again.
"Uncle Sirius, you'll see me at King's Cross in about two weeks," Harry said with a cheeky grin that Maia thought he'd inherited straight from his father.
James laughed, patting Harry's shoulder, "Son, you're crazy if you think Padfoot's going to miss an opportunity to come to Diagon Alley and look at broomsticks, so you'll see him even sooner."
"You're one to talk," Sirius sniped, throwing a playful glare at his brother-in-law, and then reaching out to pat Harry's cheek, "make sure you write to us. You know your mother goes crazy when she doesn't hear from you."
Maia gave a short laugh at her twin, "You're one to talk," she said, throwing his words back at him. Sirius had always loved Harry and Lyra as deeply as if they were his own children, and it had always made Maia think he'd be a wonderful father, if only he'd choose to settle down, but he was perfectly happy being a bachelor, he assured everyone.
"Right," James said decisively when Harry had said his goodbyes, which Harry himself privately thought were rather dramatic, given that he'd be seeing them all again quite shortly, "are we ready then?"
Buttoning her cloak under her chin and withdrawing her wand, Maia stepped towards the front door.
They would be apparating to the Weasleys' home, and like most magical homes, although apparition was possible within the house, it was not possible to apparate inside from outside, for security reasons, and the enchantment meant it was also impossible to apparate out. Instead, they would apparate from the very top of the garden, just beyond the grand gates to the property.
James had had a muggle driving license for years, although they'd never really had use for it. Last year they'd borrowed a ministry car to make the journey to King's Cross, but they'd since bought their own car. James had been so excited about it, even though they'd probably rarely use it. Still, there was no use driving Harry to the Weasleys if they didn't have to. It was no good travelling by floo either – Harry's trunk would make it awkward, and they had Hedwig to think about.
Harry lifted a hand to wave at Sirius and Remus and followed his mother out of the house. As Harry and his parents walked to the bottom off the garden, Harry carrying Hedwig's cage and James levitating the drunk in front of them, Remus and Sirius stood in the doorway of the house to wave them off.
"Have fun!" Sirius shouted after them, as they got just past the gates of the house.
Harry waved with a grin as Maia wrapped her arm around his firmly, and James took a firm hold of the trunk, and took Hedwig's cage from Harry.
"Hold on tight, Harry," Maia warned him – it wasn't often they apparated with the children, and Merlin forbid something should go wrong.
Feeling Harry's arm wound tightly around hers, Maia closed her eyes tightly and concentrated upon their destination. The familiar unpleasant tugging sensation filled her, pulling at her stomach, and then seconds later, her feet hit solid ground. She felt Harry sway at her side, and quickly gripped his arm to right him.
"We're … in the middle of a field," Harry said, looking around in some confusion.
Maia rolled her eyes at him, though she was amused, "Honestly Harry, you should have been a Ravenclaw with insight like that. You're just like your father," she teased.
"Hey!" James protested, handing Harry Hedwig's cage to Harry and frowning at Maia, "you don't get to be where I am without having some smarts."
"Of course, darling," Maia replied, patting his arm and looking around at their surroundings.
She lifted a hand and pointed to a house at the edge of the field. It was a tall, narrow farmhouse-style building, crooked as though more storeys had been added to it over the years. The gardens looked like a charming little farm, and Maia thought back to the only time she'd been here before. It didn't look like anything had changed, though her memory of the occasion was vague.
"Come on then," James said eagerly, setting off towards the house, "they're waiting for you!"
Maia grinned at Harry as they both followed. Maia was sure that her husband was hoping that there was some of Mrs Weasley's baking on offer, since Arthur always spoke highly of it. Maia herself was curious to see inside the house again and see the Weasleys again – Ron was a nice boy, and they'd had him to stay for Christmas several months ago, and she thought his older twin brothers were funny. They reminded her of Sirius and James, and Harry said they were always causing chaos. She had a funny feeling that Lyra would love them. Then of course, there was Ron's shy little sister, who had taken quite a shine to Harry – probably because all wizarding children grew up knowing his name, as if he were some kind of mythical being. The eldest two boys lived abroad, Maia thought she remembered Harry telling her, and one of the middle boys was a prefect who took his role very seriously.
Molly Weasley herself was a warm and welcoming woman, and she often appeared frazzled due to keeping her children – mainly her twins – in check. Harry knocked somewhat timidly on the door, and Mrs Weasley's voice could be almost immediately heard behind it.
"Ron! That'll be Harry, I told you he'd be here soon. Ron, get down here!"
Mrs Weasley answered the door a second later, taking a moment to catch her breath and then beaming at them, "Oh Harry, hello dear, so nice to see you. Do come in! Mrs Potter, how are you? Here Mr Potter, give me Harry's trunk, I'll send it upstairs. Do come in, all of you."
"Erm, hi Mrs Weasley," Harry smiled, glancing around the kitchen, trying to take everything in.
"Thanks Molly," James added as she flicked her wand and sent Harry's trunk flying off upstairs, "and really, you can just call us by our first names."
Maia smirked slightly, jerking her head in James' direction and telling Mrs Weasley in a conspiratorial voice, "He's never been good at formalities."
"I call you Mrs Potter all the time!" James protested, raising his eyebrows at his wife.
Maia shook her head, "Yeah, because you like the reminder that you managed to snag me."
He smirked, "Well, true."
Harry focused his gaze on the staircase that led directly into the kitchen, hoping Ron would appear soon. It was great that his parents were so in love, and so happy, but their constant flirting was often … embarrassing, for lack of a better word. And most of the time they didn't even know they were doing it.
"Ron!" Mrs Weasley called up the staircase again, shaking her head in exasperation, before going over to the stove and flicking her wand a few times, ensuring that whatever she was cooking maintained itself.
"Lovely home, Molly," Maia said in admiration.
Mrs Weasley turned to face her, her cheeks turning slightly red, "Well, it's probably not quite as grand as your house but … it's home."
"It's lovely," Maia reiterated as they all heard footsteps on the staircase, and moments later, Ron appeared, beaming when he saw his friend.
"Harry!" Ron grinned, jumping down the last few stairs and hurrying into the kitchen, "good to see you mate."
Harry beamed, "You too. How are you?"
"Nice to see you, Ron," James added, without waiting for Ron to answer Harry.
Ron gave James a somewhat nervous smile – Harry insisted that his parents were perfectly normal, and Ron had stayed in their house for two weeks at Christmas, but he still felt nervous around them. Harry's dad was Head Auror for Merlin's sake, and he was younger and just cooler than Ron's own dad, and Harry's mum was cool too, and so different to Ron's mum.
"Hello Mr Potter," Ron nodded, "hi Mrs Potter."
"Hi Ron," Maia smiled, "having a good summer?"
"Good thanks," Ron agreed.
"Ron dear, why don't you show Harry where he'll be sleeping, get him all settled?" Mrs Weasley suggested, "Harry, would you like anything to drink? Juice? Tea? Anything to eat?"
"I'm fine thanks, Mrs Weasley," Harry replied, his voice trailing off as there were footsteps on the staircase again and a red haired girl appeared on the steps.
"Mummy, have you seen – o-oh," the girl started, cutting herself off immediately when she saw Harry. Maia smiled at the Weasley's only daughter, who she knew was quite in awe of Harry, maybe had a little crush on him.
"Yes, Ginny dear?" Mrs Weasley prompted.
Ginny flushed bright red and said very quickly, "Have you seen my cardigan? The blue one?"
"You left it on the sofa," Mrs Weasley supplied, and the words were barely out of her mouth before the little girl ran from the room.
Harry looked stunned at her behaviour and frowned at Ron, "What was that all about?"
Ron rolled his eyes, "Don't mind her. She's been talking about you all summer. She fancies you."
"Ron! Don't embarrass your sister. Go show Harry where he'll be staying," Mrs Weasley reprimanded, to which Ron's ears flushed at being scolded and he led a bewildered Harry up the staircase.
Once the boys were out of earshot, Mrs Weasley sighed, shaking her head a little, "Poor Ginny … six older brothers, always someone to embarrass her."
Maia grinned, "Blimey, I only had one older brother and that was enough for me. Mind you, James was just as overprotective and annoying as my brother. Still is," she added, jerking her head in his direction.
Mrs Weasley smiled at the pair of them and then confided, "Ginny really does have the sweetest little crush on Harry, you know."
Maia laughed, not unkindly, "Ah young love." To James, she added, "did you see the look on Harry's face? I'm sure he's still at the age where girls are weird and he doesn't understand them."
James chuckled, "I'm not sure I understand them either."
Mrs Weasley smiled – the Potters were a nice couple, they were easy to get on with, they were fun, and it was rare that she got adult company other than her husband, who was always at work. The next words were out of her mouth before she'd even thought about it, "Won't you stay for a cup of tea? I'll put the kettle on. And I made some fudge yesterday … there's still a lot left."
Maia smiled, "Oh Molly, we don't want to put you out …"
"Don't be silly," Mrs Weasley replied, waving off the comment, "I'd be glad of the company. Please, go through to the living room. Milk? Sugar?"
"Milk no sugar, for both of us, thanks," Maia said, before turning around to go into the living room. She felt James close behind her, resting his hand gently on her lower back, but once they were in the living room, James took a seat on the sofa, and Maia couldn't stop herself from drifting over to the mantelpiece and looking at the collection of photographs sitting there.
There were pictures of the many Weasley children at various ages, sometimes accompanied by a smiling, waving Molly or Arthur. Maia smiled – 7 children was certainly too many for her to comprehend, given how much of a handful her two were, but the Weasleys were certainly lucky to be blessed with such a large, happy family.
"Are you being nosy, love?" James asked in amusement, reclining back on the sofa.
Maia rolled her eyes at him over her shoulder, "I'm just … looking," she insisted, before turning back to the mantle.
Her eyes fell on what looked like a fairly recent picture of Molly and Arthur, sitting in some sort of tavern, tankards on the table in front of them, wrapped up warm in big thick coats, and a beaming, red-haired young man between them. One of the oldest two boys, she concluded.
In the other room, they heard loud footsteps on the staircase, and two new voices, nattering their mother, talking over each other. Molly soon put an end to this.
"Boy!" they heard her cry in exasperation, "honestly, can't you stop harassing me for two minutes? For Merlin's sake, you left your exploding snap in the living room, on the coffee table. But we have guests so at least make yourself useful and take this fudge in."
Without even looking around, Maia knew James' eyes had lit up upon hearing about the fudge.
"Guests?" identical voices chorused, and from a brief previous meeting, Maia knew that these had to be the twins, Fred and George. She and James had met them when Harry was in the hospital wing a couple of months previously, and they, along with the rest of the quidditch team had tried to visit Harry. They had also tried to send him a toilet seat, which James and Maia had thought was quite funny, although they were glad it had been confiscated before it ever reached him.
"Mr and Mrs Potter," Molly clarified, "come on, get the fudge. Be careful."
Moments later, Mrs Weasley led the way into the living room, suspending a tray laden with tea in front of her with her wand. Her twin sons followed behind her, one of them carrying a large tartan biscuit tin.
Mrs Weasley set the tray down on the coffee table and then leaned down to pick up a stray pack of exploding cards, turning to hand them to the boy stood closest to her, "Here," she said, "just don't play them outside Percy's bedroom door again – he's very busy you know, reading up on his subjects for the new semester. Oh I do hope he's got all the O. he needs."
"Don't worry Mum," the boy she had handed the cards to said, as his twin handed a beaming James the tin of fudge, "perfect Percy will have everything he needs."
"Thanks for the tea, Molly," Maia beamed, stepped away from the mantelpiece and moving to sit beside James, as Molly gave her son a sharp glare for making fun of his older brother. In an attempt to diffuse the tension, Maia smiled at the boys too, "Hello boys, enjoying your summer?"
"Yes thanks, Mrs Potter," grinned one twin.
"Just a shame we have to go back to school," the other added.
"Now, now," James tutted, "you won't be saying that when you're our age. I'd love to be back at the old place. Causing a bit of mischief, annoying old Filch-"
The Weasley twins were grinning, much to their mother's dissatisfaction, and Maia cleared her throat, throwing James a quick glance, "Now, now, darling, you don't want to be giving the boys ideas."
Mrs Weasley sighed, "Oh they don't need anyone to lead them astray. Sending a toilet seat to the hospital wing, I ask you!"
Maia failed to keep a straight face, "Well, it gave James and me a good laugh, I must admit. So boys – Fred and George - I'm sorry, which one is which?"
"I'm Fred, Mrs Potter," said one boy, who was wearing a navy blue jumper.
"And I'm George," the one in maroon added.
"Not that anyone can really tell them apart," Mrs Weasley added, settling down into an armchair and picking up her own cup of tea, "even me, sometimes."
Maia smirked slightly and winked at the boys, "No worry about that, I'm a twin myself."
James scoffed, his mouth full of fudge, "You're not an identical twin."
"So? I can still tell twins apart. It's a gift," she insisted, before adding to Molly and gesturing at the mantelpiece, "this is a lovely living room, by the way. Very homely. It's nice to see so many family pictures. My kids – and my brother – never sit down long enough for us to get decent pictures."
Mrs Weasley's cheeks flushed, "Oh, well, I spend all day here, so it's nice to make it homely. And with my oldest two boys living abroad, I like to have plenty of pictures. Do you know about them? My oldest, Bill, is in Egypt, with Gringotts, and Charlie's in Romania, handling dragons."
"Mum tells everyone about them, all the time," Fred told Maia, rolling his eyes and starting to shuffle the cards in his hands as he and his twin moved towards the kitchen door.
"Well if you two start taking your studies more seriously and do as well, I'll brag about you too!" Mrs Weasley retaliated, though she was grinning.
"The picture in the middle, of you and Arthur, and one of the boys," Maia started politely, "is that Charlie or Bill?"
Mrs Weasley glanced at the picture in question and then smiled lovingly, "Charlie," she replied, "from Christmas just gone – you remember, Arthur and I went out to visit him?"
"Handsome boy," Maia noted, "I can't believe the last time I saw him he was about 4!"
Fred and George were loitering in the doorway like typical nosy teenagers who didn't want to miss any part of an adult's conversation, for fear of missing something exciting.
Mrs Weasley chuckled, "That's right, I'd quite forgotten you'd met him."
"You have?" George asked curiously.
"Took quite a shine to you too," James added with a cheeky grin.
"He did?" Fred asked, grinning with all the mirth of a boy who had just found out a very entertaining secret.
"Oh it was years and years ago," Maia told the twins, "James and I were just married, and we lived not so far away from here. Used to occasionally cross paths with your mum and dad, and little Bill and Charlie, and baby Percy, when we were walking through the village. Or sometimes with your uncles."
"That's right," Molly said softly, "the first time you ever came here, Maia. With Gideon, remember?"
The twins looked most intrigued – their mother rarely talked about her brothers.
"Of course," Maia grinned. For the benefit of the twins, she added, "I was out shopping in the village, ran into your uncle Gideon. He was looking after your three older brothers, and little Charlie just kept asking me questions and clinging to me, bless him. Then he fell and scuffed his knee and he wouldn't stop crying, and Gideon had his hands full, so I carried Charlie back here."
"He was always trying to talk to you, or hiding shyly behind my legs and staring at you, if ever we crossed paths in the village," Molly laughed.
"Charlie, that is," James added to the twins, "although Gideon was just as bad."
George let out a low whistle, "Well, there's one to remind our dear big brother of."
Fred grinned too, "Little baby Charlie had a crush on Harry Potter's mum, who'd have thought it."
Maia laughed, a faint blush rising in her cheeks, before Molly warned her sons not to send over an immediate owl to tease their brother, and sent them out of the room.
The Potters stayed a while, chatting to Mrs Weasley and drinking tea, until their cups were long empty and they decided they should really be getting home.
Having called her son down to say goodbye, Maia rested her hands on his shoulders, "Ok sweetie, you know how to get in touch with us if you need anything."
"Yes Mum," Harry said with a faint smile.
Maia nodded, "And behave yourself. No getting into any trouble."
"Mum," he sighed, "I won't get into any trouble here."
"I should hope not. And we'll see you-"
"In Diagon Alley," Harry finished, "I know."
Maia smiled and leaned down to press a kiss to her son's forehead, "Have fun."
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, kiddo," James grinned, stepping up and hugging his son tightly when Maia let go of him, his words causing Maia to wince – what wouldn't her husband do?
About a week later, Maia woke up to a gentle tickling feeling. Eyes still closed, she whined slightly, trying to let sleep pull her back under, but failing against the gentle tickle on her arm.
" 'M sorry," she heard James mumble from beside her, where he was pressed up against her, one arm draped over her waist, sounding a little resigned, "did I wake you?"
"Mmm," Maia hummed in agreement, forcing one eye open, then the other, to find him leaning over her, hair adorably messy from sleep, hazel eyes shining happily, though he hadn't bothered to reach over for his glasses yet. " 'S'ok though," she said, lifting one hand to cup his cheek and brushing her thumb over his cheekbone.
"Missed you this week," James told her, turning his head slightly so he could press a kiss to the palm of her hand.
Maia nodded, "I know. Night shifts are the worst."
Maia had spent the last several days working night shifts at the hospital, which meant she got home from work in the mornings just before James left, and by the time he got home, she had only a couple of hours with her family before she was leaving for work.
"At least I have you to myself for a couple of days now," James grinned, flopping down onto his back and wrapping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest and resuming drawing invisible patterns on her body with his fingertips.
Maia chuckled, "Sharing me with the rest of the family, I think you'll find. For my two precious days off. Count yourself lucky that my "off" days fell this weekend, and not while you were working."
"Oh my darling, I'd have gone crazy," James sighed dramatically, "but instead, I get this wonderful lazy Saturday morning with my dearest darling wife."
"You're laying it on thick," Maia told him.
"Can't I tell you how much I love you?" James asked, suddenly turning onto his side and propping himself up on one elbow so he could hover over her, pushing her hair out of her face and cupping her cheek.
"I know what you're doing," Maia replied, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"I'm not doing anything," James replied, though his lips were turned up into a mischievous smirk as he leaned down and started peppering kiss along her jawline, up to the sensitive spot behind her ear.
Holding back a spontaneous giggle, Maia let out a shaky breath as his lips ghosted across her skin and she tried to muster up some words, "Jamie …. Jamie you're being … extra nice."
"I'm always nice, love," James insisted, one hand gripping her hip as he continued his ministrations, unable to resist kissing the exposed column of her neck.
"You're trying to cheer me up," Maia accused gently, reaching up and wrapping her arms around him, hands splayed across his back, pulling him closer to her.
Two days previously, Maia had revealed to her husband, for the fifth month since they had started trying to conceive their third child that she was not pregnant, and since they'd hardly seen each other, they hadn't really spoken about it.
James sighed softly, pausing to look into her eyes, bringing his hand to gently brush her cheek with the back of one large hand, "Can you blame me? I hate it when you get down."
"I'm not down," Maia replied.
"Yeah?" James asked, eyes narrowed slightly, not believing her because he knew her too well, "it's …. It's ok, love," he insisted, leaning in and kissing her lips lightly, his fingers brushing her waist, "it'll happen. It'll be ok."
"I know," Maia mumbled against his lips, though she wasn't so sure.
"We've still got plenty of time," James grinned, his hand sliding down to draw her leg up over his hip as he claimed her lips again.
Some time later, Maia curled into James' side, feeling satisfied and sleepy, with her husband's warm arms wrapped around her.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"10," James replied, after a brief glance at the clock.
Maia sighed, "Darling, we'd better get up," she mumbled, trying to sit up, "we're wasting the day here, and I was looking forward to spending a weekend with you."
James chuckled, tightening his arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him, "Oh love, a day spent in bed with you isn't a day wasted."
Maia laughed, full and loud, "Oh you absolute flirt," she told him, "let me up, James Potter. I need to get dressed-"
"But you could just spend all day in my dressing gown," James replied quickly, almost pouting.
Maia scoffed, "Sometimes I think you forget that we're not still teenagers. Lyra will be up soon. I'm sure she'd appreciate a nice breakfast. I feel like I haven't seen her in days either. And then I was thinking, a little walk into the village? Stop by the café? A walk on the beach?"
"Whatever you want, love," James replied, reluctantly releasing her, "did I succeed in cheering you up, at least?"
Maia smiled at her husband upon seeing how sincere he looked, and how he genuinely wanted to have pleased her, and she leaned back towards him and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, letting one hand run through his rumpled hair. She could hardly believe that he'd made the disappointment she felt at her negative pregnancy tests, feel so much better than it had an hour previously.
"You always do, Jamie. Thank you."
Maia dressed in a casual set of navy robes and let her hair, which was usually all pinned back for work, fall loose around her shoulders. As she left the bathroom, James, clad only in underwear, planted a kiss on her cheek before claiming the bathroom himself.
Breezing down the stairs and into the kitchen, Maia knew someone had already been up, as there were bits of crockery and cutlery in the sink. She turned the kettle on with a flick of her wand and started rooting through the fridge for something to eat, and hadn't been at it long before she heard a voice behind her.
"Morning sis, nice to finally see you awake!"
Maia turned to see her twin, clutching a mug of tea, the Daily Prophet under his arm. She rolled her eyes, "It's not that late."
"There's some bacon left," Sirius said by way of an answer, hopping up to sit on one of the counters, "I was going to have it all for breakfast, but left some for you."
"Very generous," Maia laughed, fishing it out of the fridge and getting to work making her and James some breakfast.
Sirius watched her curiously, taking in the way she almost danced around the kitchen, humming lightly to herself, a slight smile on her face. It was nice to see her like that – it was natural to not see each other much in the week, apart from quick breakfasts and dinners together, depending on her shifts, and he had always loved her company. Still, she was making him suspicious.
"Someone's in a good mood," he commented.
Not turning to face him, not wanting him to see her blush, Maia shrugged, "It's Saturday and I'm not working – that's always a reason to be in a good mood."
Before she could make any further comment, James came striding into the room, a wide grin on his face. "Morning Padfoot!" he grinned as he strode over to his wife, "and good morning, darling wife."
He planted an over-dramatic kiss on her cheek, and she laughed, cheeks turning a light pink and trying to shuffle away from her husband, so she could carry on making the breakfast.
As James busied himself with making two cups of tea, he hummed lightly to himself, and Sirius groaned.
"You two are sickening. Just … just gross."
"What?" James asked, throwing a confused look over his shoulder at his friend.
Sirius grimaced, waving his hand between the two of them, "You're … you know … all lovely and touchy, both humming away to yourself. As bad as newlyweds these days. You've got two kids for Merlin's sake, get hold of yourselves."
"What, you think after almost 13 years of marriage, you just stop getting frisky?" James asked his brother-in-law with a smirk, "we're still pretty young, you know!"
"James," Maia said sharply, a blush rising in her cheeks.
"Gross," Sirius commented, "that's my little baby sister!"
"Well you started this," James shrugged unapologetically, in too good a mood to filter his thoughts before he said them, "don't comment if you don't want to know."
Maia rolled her eyes fondly as she accepted a mug of tea James handed her, but she smiled widely when he accompanied the gesture with another kiss to her cheek. Sirius had no idea that she and James were trying to conceive another child, although Maia wasn't surprised that he'd noticed them spending more time in their bedroom – later lay ins on a weekend or heading to bed early.
"Still, sickening," Sirius said, though his lips twitched upwards into a slight smile at his sister's obvious happiness, "oh you have a letter, by the way. Arrived this morning. On the windowsill."
"Me?" she asked, crossing over to the windowsill, flicking her wand behind her at the bacon to send it flying onto the plates.
"Who's it from?" James asked curiously, sliding into a seat at the kitchen table after picking up his food.
"Molly Weasley," Maia answered a few moments later, scanning the letter, "oh. The Hogwarts letters have arrived. She wants to know when's a good time for us to meet to do the shopping? Apparently they were thinking about going on Wednesday, because Hermione Granger says that's when she's going, but Harry told her he thinks we can only do weekends."
James paused for a moment to think and then nodded, "Well, he's right. I don't much fancy shopping after work, although I suppose it's doable."
"I agree, weekends are better. Next weekend is cutting it a bit fine though. We could suggest tomorrow? Molly says they don't have plans," Maia suggested.
"Tomorrow it is," James agreed through a mouthful of food, "it's not as if we had any other plans, and it'll be good to see Harry. Padfoot, are you in?"
"Of course," Sirius replied, sounding outraged that James had even had to ask, "got to go check out that new nimbus, after all!"
"Ah," Remus chuckled as he strolled into the room, "is this a trip to Diagon Alley being planned?"
"Tomorrow, probably," James confirmed, "to get Harry's school things. Lyra will be ecstatic, I'm sure. Are you in?"
"I'm not sure that it takes all of us," Remus laughed, "I had planned on planning a few lessons for Lyra tomorrow. Got to get back on with the home-schooling once Hogwarts term starts again. It's my last year of forcing that girl into learning a bit of mathematics."
"Ah Moony, you're a saint," James beamed, patting his friend on the back as he took a seat, "I certainly couldn't do it but she just listens to you."
"I think he bribes her," Maia grinned, "chocolate. The answer to everything, right?"
"I do not bribe her," Remus replied indignantly, "I'm just her favourite uncle."
Maia clucked her tongue, "Speaking of favourite uncles, that reminds me, we'll have to make this trip tomorrow early enough that we'll back in time for Regulus, who still won't bring his girlfriend around."
"Speaking of favourite uncles?" Sirius echoed, "I wish you'd stop implying-"
"But Reggie is her-"
"No, he's not, clearly I-"
"Sirius don't be-"
"I'm not being ridiculous!"
Instead of continuing the disagreement, Maia stared down at letter from Molly, "Molly says the kids have been set all eight Gilderoy Lockhart books!"
"That man is an idiot," Remus chipped in.
Maia scoffed, "Tell me about it. You should see how some of the nurses at work fawn over him. Especially when he wins Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile for the millionth time running."
"The DADA professor must be some loopy witch with a crush," Sirius speculated.
"There's nothing wrong with being Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile though," James added, causing the others to all laugh at him.
"You would say that," Sirius scoffed, "you've won it twice!"
"Three times," James corrected with a very pleased-with-himself grin. He might not be an actual celebrity but he and Maia were incredibly well known thanks to Harry, often photographed out and about, especially if they were with their children, and those gossip magazines had a fondness for all things Potter.
"Well, you do have a charming smile," Maia admitted, "even though you know I hate every time that stupid magazine mentions a single word about any of us. Sirius you're just jealous that you've never made the cut, despite being almost as well-known as Jamie, and still a "handsome bachelor", as I'm sure Witch Weekly would phrase it."
"Three times though …. Really?" Sirius asked his brother-in-law, "when was the third?"
James held up three fingers, ready to tick them off, "Number one was not long after Voldemort fell and it seemed like every publication in existence was writing about us, you remember that time – Maia went mad. Number two, a few months later when we were seen out with Lyra for the first time. And Number three – just after I became Head Auror. You definitely remember that time. "
Maia burst out laughing – she'd almost forgotten all about that, "Sirius, you were fuming, remember? Because the issue had a huge article on hottest ever ministry department heads, and you said it was unfair, because you're clearly the hottest ministry man there is, and it was unfair that the article was restricted to department heads."
"It was!" Sirius defended.
"Don't be jealous," James teased him, leaning back in his seat and flashing his brother-in-law a smile, "see? Charming, right?"
Maia laughed before conjuring up a piece of parchment, "I'll write to Molly then. Still … all eight Lockhart books. They're not even defence books."
"I know," James, who had tons and tons of defence books both in his office at home and at work, not to mention in the manor's library, "that man is a fool. And his smile's not even as good as mine."
"Oh shut up," Sirius grumbled.
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, but Maia enjoyed spending the day with her family. Lyra was woken up when James bounded up the stairs and loudly announced that there were pancakes waiting for her. She was ecstatic at the prospect of a visit to Diagon Alley the next day, especially when James promised her a trip to Fortescue's.
Maia insisted that they go out for a nice walk into the village and then down to the beach, as she'd suggested to James earlier that morning. She strolled along happily, hand in hand with him, watching Sirius in his dog-form chasing Lyra along the beach, and at the end of the day, she revelled in being back in bed with James.
"Today was great," she mumbled as she climbed into the bed, pulling the duvet over her, flicking her wand towards the light switch on the other side of the room, before carefully putting her wand within reach of the bed.
James chuckled lightly, reaching out and draping an arm over her waist as he pressed himself up against her, "We didn't even do anything."
"Of course we did. I got to spend the whole day with my man and my devil child daughter, and tomorrow we can see our boy and go to Diagon Alley. Doesn't matter how old you get, that place is always so wonderful."
"I know. Especially when there's a new broom out. Maybe we could get Harry it for Christmas?"
"He hasn't had the 2000 long!" Maia pointed out, "and the 2001 will be a fortune!"
"But he's Gryffindor seeker," James protested, running his hand up and down her arm, pulling her closer to him, "he needs the best of the best."
"Don't think I don't know your game James Potter. You're desperate to have a go on it yourself but you know you're too old to spend so much money on a broom for yourself."
"You haven't said no yet," James replied simply.
"I can never say flat out "no" to you," she sighed, "but Christmas is a long time away. We can discuss it closer to the time."
"Fine," James sighed in a resigned voice, though she could feel his smile as he pressed his face into her neck.
"Night, darling," Maia mumbled sleepily, gripping one of his arms and pulling it tighter around her body.
The next morning, Maia pulled a lightweight cloak around her shoulders as she, Sirius and James stood in front of the fireplace in the living room.
"Oh, where is your daughter?" Maia sighed, reaching for the floo powder and looking up at James.
James grinned, amused, "Why is she my daughter when she's annoying you?"
"Surely you don't need me to answer that," Maia scoffed, as she crossed the room and looked out of the room, towards the staircase and shouted, "Lyra Alice Potter! You'd better get down here soon or we're going without you!"
She heard a thud upstairs somewhere and footsteps on one of the upper landings, "Coming Mum!"
"Well get a move on!" Maia added, "Your brother will be waiting for us!"
When Lyra entered the living room soon after, Sirius cheered and reached out to pull her into a big hug, "Here she is! Looking forward to seeing Harry?"
Lyra nodded, "And getting some ice cream. And going to look at the cats in the pet shop."
"Alright, alright, let's get going then," Maia interrupted, holding her daughter's cloak out and gesturing for her to come and put it on. Once Lyra had both arms in it, Maia squeezed her shoulders lightly and leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head, "alright sweetie, let's get going. Grab some floo powder."
Maia held out the pot of floo powder and James reached out and took a handful first, before stepping into the fireplace.
"Ok. Diagon Alley," James said confidently, before throwing the powder and becoming engulfed in emerald green flames. In a second, he was gone.
"You two next," Sirius said, taking the floo powder pot from Maia's hands and ushering them into the fireplace. Maia crammed herself into the back so there was enough room for Lyra too – at 10 years old, Lyra was getting a bit old to be travelling alongside Maia, but she couldn't even think of letting her daughter go alone. Grasping Lyra's hand tightly, Maia threw down the floo powder and spoke their destination.
After the usual unpleasant bumping journey, which always made her feel uncomfortable and left her lying on the floor in a most undignified manner, Maia found herself sitting the cold stone floor of the Diagon Alley floo network, coughing the soot out of her lungs, though still gripping her daughter's hand.
"There's my girls," James beamed, leaning down and holding out a hand to help Lyra to her feet first, then holding out a hand to Maia, grinning broadly, "every time."
Maia held his hand tightly as she got to her feet and she wasn't surprised when he reached out to wipe a smudge of soot from her cheek with his thumb. She was vaguely aware of Sirius appearing in the fireplace behind her but instead of turning to face him, looked around the large room full of fireplace, looking for her son.
"There they are," she smiled happily, upon seeing Mr and Mrs Weasley surrounded by their children. She started towards them, but the closer she got, the more she noted that she was yet to see Harry. And Mrs Weasley was looking too concerned for her liking.
"Molly!" Maia called out as she got closer to the Weasleys, "how are you all? Erm … where's Harry?"
James was only one step behind her, and seemed not to have noticed the lack of Harry yet, as he was busy chatting away to his daughter. Once he reached her side, he beamed at the Weasleys, "Molly! Good to see you." He nodded at Mr Weasley, who he saw regularly at the ministry, "Arthur, how are you? Ermm … have you met my wife? Probably not recently. Anyway, this is Maia. And our daughter Lyra."
"Arthur! Good to see you," Sirius grinned as he caught up to them.
"Molly, where's Harry?" Maia asked bluntly as she looked around at them all, a sinking feeling in her chest. She saw Ginny, Ron, the twins and Percy, but no Harry.
Mrs Weasley grimaced, "Not to worry I'm sure, but we think he might have accidentally travelled to the wrong place. Got his words muddled up, you know? Perhaps a grate or so ahead. I-I'm sure he can't be far. Oh Maia, I'm so sorry."
A short silence followed as Maia tried to process this – her son, missing. Mr and Mrs Weasley didn't seem to know what to say, instead waiting for some reaction, and the children were all staring at the adults in concern.
Maia took a deep breath, "He's …. He's missing?" she asked, unable to keep the note of hysteria out of her voice – especially when her boy was prone to disaster.
James and Sirius exchanged a glance, both concerned about their boy, but well aware of how best to keep Maia calm and try to handle the situation rationally.
Sirius gently rested a hand on his sister's shoulder, "Maia, we need to be calm. He's probably just the next grate over. Happens all the time when the words get a bit confused. You know that."
Maia swallowed hard and nodded, "Yes. J-James what's one grate over? Knockturn Alley? How about in the other direction? We need to get looking! He's Harry Potter for Merlin's sake! If anyone bad gets hold of him-"
"Maia," James interrupted her firmly, well aware that the only thing that could shake up his fearless strong wife, was the thought of anything happening to her children, "we should go looking for him. Sirius and I will head for Knockturn Alley. You stay here with Lyra in case Harry finds his way back here."
"I should be looking too," Maia protested, "we should be searching up and down Diagon Alley too."
"There's no time to argue," James pointed out, his expression serious, in Head-Auror boss mode, handing out the orders.
"I can stay here with Lyra and Ginny," Molly said quickly, "the rest of you can search alley. Boys, you help too. Don't wander too far, stay on the alley, return to here."
Maia practically ran out of the door, shouting a thanks to Molly over her shoulder. Logically, she knew that if Harry had ended up in Knockturn Alley, which he had never been to before and he probably didn't even know was next to Diagon Alley, he might stumble across a sign for the alley and find his way here. If he could do that, he knew they were supposed to be meeting at the floo network, and he had been to Diagon a few times, so he could probably find his way there.
She hurried up the alley, carefully scanning the crowds for any sign of her son, aware of Arthur Weasley following close behind her, while his sons scattered to look too. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ron getting stopped by a girl with dark bushy hair, but she had no time to stop and greet Hermione Granger.
Panic filled her as she hurried along the alley, tracing the route from the floo network to Knockturn Alley, pausing to look at the little crowds outside some of the shops, scanning them for her messy dark-haired boy.
Just as she was starting to think something awful had happened to him, the worst scenarios running through her mind, she heard a loud shout, "Maia! Over here!"
She looked up to see that the source of the loud noise was her husband, who was standing at the point where Diagon Alley met Knockturn Alley, Sirius at his side, and a hand resting on Harry's shoulder.
Relieved, Maia raced towards them, aware of the Weasley boys and their father, and Hermione rushing along behind them.
"Harry! Oh there you are!" she breathed, reached out and pulling him into a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Over the top of his head, she met James' eyes, "in Knockturn Alley?"
"Thankfully," James agreed, "Hagrid found him and was bringing him back here when we ran into them."
"I'm fine Mum," Harry insisted as she let go of him, after a final squeeze and reaching into her robes for her wand.
"Knockturn Alley of all places," Maia sighed, waving her wand at him to repair his broken glasses and wipe dirt and soot off him, "full of weirdos down there. Anything could have -"
"Mum, I'm fine," Harry repeated, "really."
Maia took a breath and nodded, not wanting to over-react and not wanting to scare or worry her son, when he was clearly fine, and it was an accident, and nothing had happened to him. "I know, sweetie. I know."
She took another moment to breath, taking a step back to allow everyone to group around Harry, feeling James move to stand beside her, taking hold of her hand and squeezing reassuringly.
Arthur Weasley was trying to catch his breath, a confused looking couple who must be Hermione parents had caught up to them and stood behind their daughter, and before Maia could suggest going back to go Lyra, they saw a frantic Mrs Weasley hurrying towards them with Lyra and Ginny in tow.
"We've got him Molly," Maia called out in relief, as Mrs Weasley got to them, clutching her chest as she tried to catch her breath, her entire body sagging in relief.
"Thank goodness! Mrs Potter, I'd never have forgiven myself if anything happened to him. Oh Harry dear, you could have been anywhere!"
"These things happen, Molly," James told her firmly, "nothing you could have done about it."
"What's Knockturn Alley like, Harry?" Ron asked excitedly, "we've never been allowed in!"
"I should think not," Sirius said darkly, raising one elegant eyebrow.
Harry shrugged, "Erm, dirty. Bit creepy. Wouldn't recommend it. Erm … hi Hermione, how was your summer?"
Hermione flushed a dark red as the whole group turned to her, not used to having so much attention, and she rapidly began to make introductions, excitedly introducing her parents to her two friends, who she'd told them so much about, before the adults introduced themselves too. Mr and Mrs Granger, both muggle dentists, looked overwhelmed by the whole of Diagon Alley.
As a group, they decided they all needed to first visit the bank, and set off towards Gringotts Bank.
Lyra held onto her dad's hand, staring around at everything, getting distracted by some off the shop windows and having to be towed along. Behind them, Harry walked between Maia and Sirius, who asked him how his week with the Weasleys had been, what he'd been up to, what was on his list, and everything they could think of, and Harry had to admit that it was nice to be back with his family, even if they sometimes drove him crazy.
Once inside the bank, Hermione and her parents went off to the counter to exchange their muggle money into galleons and sickles, and Maia heard Mr Weasley excitedly talking after them, suggested that they went for a drink afterwards and talk about muggle things. As she went to the counter, she also heard Harry telling Ron and Hermione that he'd seen Malfoy in Borgin and Burkes – a notorious dark artefact store in Knockturn Alley.
She knew he meant Draco Malfoy, a nasty boy in his year at school. The boy's father, Lucius, was from a notorious dark family and was married to Maia's own cousin. They knew he was a death eater, from their old days in the Order, but he'd made such generous donations to the ministry when he was accused after Voldemort's fall, that his story of being forced to do things under the Imperius Curse was readily accepted.
"I hope we don't see the slimy git," she mumbled to James as they joined a queue to get money from their vault.
"Me too," grumbled James, who sometimes crossed paths with Lucius as he skulked around the ministry, trying to cosy up to the Minister for Magic.
"Daddy can I come to the vault?" Lyra pleaded, tugging on his robes, "I want to see the dragon!"
"I tell you every time angel, I don't think there's really a dragon here," James chucked, reaching out to playfully tap the end of her nose.
"Please?" she continued, "last year Harry got to, and Uncle Sirius said I could this time. I really want to see the dragon. I love dragons!"
"You've never seen a dragon," he laughed, "How can you love them?"
"Please Daddy?"
James looked down at his daughter, who was wearing her best pleading puppy-dog expression and grinned, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "Well, Harry got to see the excitement of it last year, and it looks like he's not too fussed this year 'cos he's talking to his friends. So, I don't see why not."
"Yes!" Lyra celebrated, throwing both arms up in the air and running off to the side to go tell Sirius in excitement.
Maia smiled, looking up at James as they moved further forward in the queue, "You're so soft with her."
"How am I supposed to say no to her when she looks at me like that? And with your eyes? It's all your fault," James replied defensively.
Fifteen minutes later, Lyra and James came back from the family vault, James clutching a pouch of money and Lyra rushing towards her mother and uncle, as they waited on the white marble steps of the bank, with the Weasleys and Grangers, who had managed to get to their money sorted before them.
"Hey pup!" Sirius grinned, holding out his arms for his niece to jump into a pick up, swinging her around playfully, "did you see the dragon?"
"No, but I think I heard it!" Lyra told him happily, "and I got to ride in the cart!"
"That's great!" Sirius grinned, planting her back on her feet, "I'm jealous."
"Better luck next time on the dragon, sweetie," Maia smiled, reaching out to smooth down her daughter's hair and holding her hand out to accept a bag of money from James.
They agreed to split up to do their shopping, as there was such a large group, and they all had different priorities. They would meet at Flourish and Blotts later in the morning. Maia and James naturally went to spend a bit of time with their son, whilst Molly wanted to take Ginny to get her new school robes, Arthur was insistent on taking Mr and Mrs Granger for a drink, Fred wanted to go to the joke shop, and Ron and Harry were keen to reunite with Hermione.
James, Maia and Sirius took Lyra, Harry, Ron and Hermione to Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour as a matter of priority, where Lyra ordered a gigantic ice cream Sunday and the other three children had smaller desserts that they finished quicker, even as they excitedly tried to exchange stories of their summers. Lyra watch the three of them with interest, always keen to see what was going on with everyone, a talent for listening to other people's conversations.
When they were all finished, it was time to go for a stroll through the alley.
Maia took Lyra to stare at the cats in the Magical Menagerie, which she was fond of doing, even though the family cat hated her. They went to the apothecary, a little old junk shop where they found Percy Weasley pouring over a copy of "Prefects who Gained Power", stocked up on ink an parchment, stopped to gaze longingly at the Nimbus 2001 in Quality Quidditch Supplies, and crossed paths with Fred and George in Gambol and Japes Wizarding joke shop, where Maia caught James and Sirius trying to buy things without her noticing.
Finally, it was time to go to Flourish and Blotts and buy Gilderoy Lockhart's entire back catalogue. Maia didn't envy the Weasleys, who would need sets for their 5 school-age children.
As they reached the entrance of the shop, they were all surprised to see a large crowd outside, jostling to try and get in.
"Blimey," Sirius mumbled, "all this fuss over a bookshop?"
"The banner," James frowned, lifting a hand to point above the shop's entrance.
In huge purple letters, the banner read "GILDEROY LOCKHART will be signing copies of his autobiography MAGICAL ME today 12:30-4pm."
Hermione, to all of their surprise, let out a delight gap, "We can actually meet him! I mean, he's written almost the entire booklist!"
"My mum fancies him," Ron groaned to Harry, as they all squeezed inside the shop, through the crowd that was mostly made up of middle-aged women.
Harry was mostly confused – unlike Ron, he hadn't grown up with his mother an avid Witch Weekly reader. Instead, she seemed to despise it, though she always knew about its contents, due to the women she worked with. He hadn't grown up seeing the man's face or hearing his mother talk about her.
Ron sounded so disgusted that Harry wasn't sure what to say. As they spied the rest of the Weasleys and Mr and Mrs Granger ahead, and Sirius began leading the way there, Harry replied in an undertone to Ron and Hermione, "My mum fancies Ludo Bagman."
"Who?" Hermione frowned, though she was barely paying attention.
"Used to be a beater for England," Ron replied.
"Oh there you all are!" Mrs Weasley gushed as she saw them, clutching a copy of Magical Me to her chest, her cheeks pink with excitement and Ginny standing beside her, clutching her new cauldron and blushing when she laid eyes on Harry.
Maia saw Gilderoy Lockhart himself, wearing robes of forget-me-not-blue, a pointy hat set at a jaunty angle, and surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing that award-winning smile at the crowd, as a photographer with a huge black camera danced around him.
"Load of fuss for nothing," Sirius said lowly in Maia's ear as he stood behind her.
She fought off a smirk and shushed him, only to hear James add, "Look, so full of himself."
They were distracted by the camera man snarling at Ron, "Out of the way there, this is for the Daily Prophet."
Maia was suddenly well aware that they were standing quite close to the front, and the last thing she wanted was an ounce of attention from the press. They often had photos taken of them when they were out and about, and stuck into the Daily Prophet, usually with an accompanying article that speculated on how the Potters must be feeling, what they were doing, how they could ever get over the thing that had happened to Harry 11 years ago. If they ever spotted reports when they were out, Maia did her best to hide her children from them, and often the reporters were polite enough to leave them alone, given James' position at the ministry, but they weren't always so lucky.
As Ron grumbled at the reporter who had snapped at him, Lockhart, who had clearly had him, looked up from the book he was signing, and it took him about a second to spot Harry.
He leapt to his feet, and Maia groaned, reaching out and putting her hands on Harry's shoulders, gently pulling him back against her as she also stepped backwards, closer to James, feeling his hand come to rest protectively in the small of her back.
"It can't be Harry Potter?" Lockhart asked with a gasp.
The crowd began whispering excitedly – some had clearly spotted Harry before Lockhart had, as Maia knew they'd been getting some looks from the moment they walked into the shop, but this was ridiculous.
Lockhart stepped forwards swiftly, seizing Harry's arm. Maia was taken by surprise but her instinct, as ever, was to protect her children, and she instinctively found herself closing her hands tighter over Harry's shoulders and pulling him back to her, glaring at Lockhart.
Lockhart noticed her hesitation and flashed her what she imagined he thought was his most charming smile, "Ah Mrs Potter," he said good-naturedly, "can I borrow Harry for just a second? Great opportunity, and I have a little surprise for him. He'll love it!"
Maia was given no chance to answer as Lockhart tugged on Harry's arm firmly, and with everyone in the shop watching them, she couldn't stop him without making more of a scene, so she let it go.
Delighted, Lockhart manoeuvred Harry towards the photographer and encouraged him to give the man a smile. Maia sighed as she caught her son's eyes and mouthed a "sorry", knowing how much he was hating the attention.
As soon as the photographer lowered his camera, Harry tried to sidle back over to his family, where his parents were watching unhappily, and Sirius was protectively holding Lyra to him, his arm draped over her shoulders.
Lockhart kept a hand on his shoulder, preventing him from going anywhere as he beamed at the applauding crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen! What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time! You see, when young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography – which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge-"
The crowd applauded and Maia rolled her eyes – it was without a doubt, all about the publicity, but she couldn't imagine what the announcement would be.
Lockhart continued, "-he had no idea, that he would be getting much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his school fellows will, in fact, be getting the real, magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that, this September, I will be taking the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
The crowd cheered loudly, including Mrs Weasley, who applauded so hard Maia thought her hands must hurt. Maia herself looked at James, and over her shoulder at Sirius, who were wearing identical expressions of disgust. Lockhart may have had his battles with various dark creatures, but he was more of a showman than a learned man who wanted to pass on his knowledge to children. There must be plenty of better candidates out there somewhere, Maia thought. What on earth was Dumbledore playing at?
Lockhart presented Harry with a full set of his books, free of charge, before letting him go, and Harry ducked his head down and quickly, moving away from Lockhart, staggering slightly under the weight of the books, which James swiftly took from him before he could drop them all.
"We need a copy of the Standard Book of Spells Grade 2," Maia told James, "they're over there, by the tills."
"I'll get it," James told her, "why don't you and the kids go outside, where it's less hectic? We can all meet out there."
Maia agreed – Harry had already gone on ahead with Ron and Hermione, desperate to get out of there.
By the time they fought their way back through the crowds, Maia spied her son in a quieter corner of the shop, near the front entrance and immediately frowned on taking in his defence posture, fists curled up, chin tilted up defiantly.
Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny stood around him, Mr Weasley behind them all. Facing them was a boy with a shock of slicked-back blonde hair and an arrogant expression on his face. Draco Malfoy. Behind him, stood his face. It was very apparent that Maia, who was being closely followed by Sirius and Lyra, had just walked into an altercation, as Arthur and Lucius were glaring at each other, Arthur very red-faced, and Lucius pale and deadly, holding a battered old transfiguration book.
"Everything alright here?" Sirius asked as they joined the group, towered over the children and looking Lucius straight in the eye.
Lucius smirked even more upon seeing them, "Ah, and now the whole gang are here."
"Causing trouble as usual Lucius?" Maia asked sweetly, determined not to rise to him.
"Ah Mrs Potter," Lucius scoffed, as if her very name was a joke, "Might have known a pair of filthy blood-traitors like you and your brother here, would end up befriending the Weasleys."
"And very fine friends they are too," Maia said, glaring at Lucius hard but keeping her tone polite enough, "unquestionably good people."
Lucius' eyes flashed with anger because he knew exactly what she was implying, but before he could reply, Maia added, "Please give my regards to my cousin Narcissa. Are you leaving now?"
"Yes, why don't you take your poor son and your ridiculous hair bow, and get out of here?" Sirius suggested, sounding very bored.
Fred and George openly laughed at the mention of the bow, while Harry and Ron exchanged gleeful looks at the blush that crossed Draco Malfoy's face.
The elder Malfoy narrowed his eyes at Sirius then glared at Maia, "Foolish. You could have had so much more than …" he looked around at the Weasleys, gestured to James far away in the queue, and finally spied the Grangers hovering by nervously, "this." Looking down at the battered book in his hands, he tossed it back into Ginny's cauldron, looking disgusted, then glanced at Hermione, then her parents.
"Dear me, eh Weasley? What's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it? And all of you, to sink so low – to mix with such company. To think I thought you could sink no lower-"
With every word, Mr Weasley seemed to grow redder and redder, and although Maia and Sirius were brushing off the words and ready to give as good as they got, Mr Weasley was not containing himself anywhere near as well.
There was a sudden thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying, as Mr Weasley had thrown himself at Mr Malfoy, knocking him backwards and into a bookshelf, sending several books flying.
Sirius swore under his breath, stepping forwards at once to try and intervene, telling the children to move back. Fred and George were gleefully shouting "Go on dad, get him!" whilst Mrs Weasley had emerged from the queue, clutching piles of books and shrieking, "Arthur! Stop it! No!"
The crowd in the store had stampeded away from them and shop assistants were hurrying over, trying in vain to ask them to calm down. James hurried over to help, and together he and Sirius successfully pulled the two apart.
Lucius tried to look as dignified as possible as he brushed his long blonde hair out of his eyes and commanded his son to follow him out of the shop.
"You should have just ignored him mate," Sirius told Arthur grimly, "he's not worth it."
"Well, never mind that now," James added, "what's done is done. Have we all got everything we need? I think the shop assistant are pretty keen to see the back of you, Arthur."
As they made their way back to the floo network, after saying goodbye to the Grangers, Molly berated her husband furiously, repeatedly telling him how embarrassing brawling in public was, and what an awful example he was setting to the children – and with the media there too!
James tried to gently intervene, pointing out that Lockhart had been delighted and had asked the photographer if there was any way to work the fight into the article about him. Molly mostly ignored this, and it was a subdued group who headed home.
"What did Malfoy say to you?" James asked Maia quietly, as they walked at the back of the group, watching a still-excited Lyra walk directly in front of them, holding Sirius hand and chattering away about what pranks they could pull on Remus with they got home, using their new goods from the joke shop.
Maia shrugged, "Nothing much, just usual the usual drivel. Disgrace to the family, traitor, blah blah blah."
James frowned, "But you're alright?"
Maia laughed, reaching out to take his hand, interlocking their fingers, "Of course I'm alright. You know a few stupid words from someone like Malfoy don't bother me. We know he's a scumbag, so we just ignore him. If he ever says anything to my son though, I'll fight him myself."
"He shouldn't disrespect you," James said seriously.
Maia laughed again, coming to a standstill and forcing James to too, since she was holding his hand. "Who cares? Lucius Malfoy called me a traitor and said I could have done so much better, which is nothing I haven't heard from his kind before from the moment I ran away from home. But most importantly, he was wrong."
"Well of course he was," James said instantly.
"I couldn't have done any better than I have, because I have the best family and the best husband anyone could ask for," Maia told him, "so Malfoy can go to hell."
She was taken by surprise when James suddenly leaned in and kissed her firmly on the lips, right there in the middle of Diagon Alley, and when he broke apart from her, she blushed furiously, looking around to see if anyone was watching, half expecting to see the photographer from Flourish and Blotts there.
"Are you two coming or are you just going to stay there being gross?" Sirius called out to them from a few feet down the street, outside the entrance to the floo network.
"Coming!"