The walk home was chill and silent, the walkers stunned into submission. Not one of their four spoke as they clambered down the hill and around the bend. Even as they came up upon the neat, white frame of their home and slipped through the white fence. No one felt the urge to, exhausted and disbelieving. Muggles suspended from midair, Death Eaters roaming the campground. It was like a nightmare come to life, fierce and burning. And then, to top it all off, the Dark Mark floating like hellish mist in the night sky.
Shay and Catrina were still dirt-smudged, twigs buried in their hair from running through the forest. The moment her father had whipped his wand from his pajama pockets, Shay had grabbed onto Catrinas\'s wrist and dragged her, blinking and mewling in protest, into the woods surrounding the camp. Yet even here it was a riot, a whirling mess of confused and fumbling people, mostly children exiled from family tents into relative safety.
"Well," Emily said, opening the front door, "Here we are."
They stepped inside, the home as neat and quiet as it had been when they'd left. As if none of the insanity of the World Cup had happened at all. "Anyone want breakfast? Tea?"
Shay smiled hazily at her mother's efforts, but shook her head. They'd been up for so long, all she could think about was sleep.
"I'm off to bed," she said, kissing her parents' cheeks and ruffling Catrina's hair. "Hopefully, when I wake up, this will all have been some strange, nasty dream."
"One can only hope," her father said with a yawn. "I've got to get off to work, Emily, but some tea would be lovely…"
Shay left them to the boiling of water and sorting of cups, kicking off her shoes and climbing the long staircase to her childhood bedroom. It was at the very top of the house, a round room rounded windows. Much like Ravenclaw Tower, in fact, she thought as she fell into bed, still wearing her Muggle jeans and shirt. Though it did not take her long to fall asleep, it was a fitful and light one. As if someone had her on the string of a marionette and jerked them taut whenever she was on the verge of blissful unconsciousness. Her dreams were brief and disturbing, hung over with silvery-green mist and hissing snakes.
Around noon, she gave up the battle for sleep and got out of bed, opening the largest window and leaning out. The summer air was warm and bright, the sun beating pleasantly on her face, reminding her of all the rest of the summers she'd spent in this very room. Waiting for now, in fact. She remembered sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring up at the sky and wondering just when she was going to be able to strike out on her own. To grow up. To really grow up, not just turn-another-year grow. And now here she was, on her own, of age and out of Hogwarts, and she yearned for the trouble-free days she'd spent during Hogwarts.
"Shay?"
She jumped, cracking the back of her head on the top of the window. Rubbing the sore spot emphatically, Shay turned sharply. Catrina stood in the doorway, freshly dressed with braided hair. The younger girl looked as if she didn't know whether or not to laugh.
"Ow," Shay whimpered, sinking down on the bed. "Ow. Cat, I think you may have killed me."
"I have not!" Catrina said, finally giving into the giggles and jumping up to sit next to her sister.
"Mum said we could go to Diagon Alley today. Will you come? Pleasepleaseplease?" Her eyes were enormous. Shay laughed.
"Fine, fine. I'll come. Just let me get ready, alright? I'm hardly fit to be seen, at the moment."
"Yes!" Catrina sprung off of the bed and out the door, her footsteps audible as they pounded down the hallway. "Mum!" She called as she ran, "Mum, Shay said she'll come, we just have to wait…"
Shay shook her head and turned to her bag, extracting and shaking out a new set of clothes. She changed and combed her fingers through her hair, finally wrestling it into a semi-presentable braid. Hopefully they could avoid the gossip and chatter that was inevitable following the World Cup. Much as it was…interesting…that the Death Eaters had appeared, Shay could remember the night well enough without reliving it.
With a pat to make sure her wand was still in her pocket, her money still in another, Shay jogged down the stairs, back into the kitchen.
"Dad still at work?" She asked as her mother shoved a sandwich into her hands. Shay glanced at it a moment, then took a bite.
"Yes, last night was quite a problem for the Ministry, obviously," Emily replied. "He didn't say when he'd be back. I figured now was good a time as any to get Catrina her school things."
Mouth full, Shay nodded, chewing through bread, lettuce, and turkey.
"Floo?" She asked after swallowing heavily, reaching for a glass of milk. Emily raised an eyebrow and nodded.
"Cat hates Side-Along, so I'll be taking the Floo along with her. You can go ahead and Apparate, if you'd prefer. Of course."
"Meet you …"
"Outside of Ollivander's," Emily replied. "First thing first." Then, she turned to her younger daughter. "Cat, fetch the Floo Powder, please. You know where it is?" Catrina nodded, dashing away. She reappeared a moment later with a satchet of Floo Powder in her hand. Shay gulped down the last of her lunch, and watched with a grin as her mother and sister approached the fireplace. After watching Catrina whirl away (having said, very clearly, "DIAGON ALLEY!") Shay waited for her mother to cast a handful of Floo Powder into the fire before she Disapparated with a pop, vanishing from her childhood home and reappearing, moments later, at the Leaky Cauldron. She waved to Tom, the bartender, on her way through. Counting the bricks, Shay tapped the right one with her wand and watched, fascinated as always, as the wall opened up into the bustling wizard commons that was Diagon Alley.
It was, as Shay had expected, abuzz with the news of the World Cup. Everyone was talking, in whispers and full-blown debate, about what had happened and the conduct of the Ministry in response to the event. No one seemed to be in agreement about anything, unless it was the fact that this merited much discussion. Yet it quieted as she neared Ollivander's, as if out of respect for the little old wizard who sold wands to young students. She had always been fond of Mr. Ollivander and his endearing, if eccentric, memory for each and every wand he sold.
Her mother and Catrina had yet to arrive, so Shay leaned against the building's wall, watching people pass. Wizards and witches of every class, age, size, and shape meandered past. Some had the shady look of those coming or going from Knockturn Alley, but most were pleasant enough. And then, finally, two familiar faces.
"Shay! Oh, good, you made it. Not that I thought you wouldn't, of course, but…"
"Shall we go in?" Asked Shay, cutting her mother off mid-sentence. "I'm sure Catrina is bursting to get a wand of her own."
Sure enough, Catrina was bouncing on the balls of her feet, light brown curls bobbing.
"Yes, quite right," Emily replied. "In you go, girls, let's get this wand."
Instantly upon stepping inside, the atmosphere closed in and the silence was complete. Chimes rang out their entrance in quiet, decisive voices, and Mr. Ollivander appeared from behind a shelf almost instantly.
"Ah," he said with a wispy smile, "The Morse family. This must be the youngest, yes?"
Catrina nodded shyly, trying to hide behind her mother.
"Yes," Ollivander said, "I remember your sister's wand very well. Willow, fourteen inches, with the heartstring of a quite impressive dragon, I remember it quite well. Still in prime condition, Miss. Morse?" Shay nodded.
"Works like a charm, Mr. Ollivander." The little old wizard chuckled, turning back into the store.
"Let's see, let's see," he murmured, fingers trailing over the many stacked boxes. "Let's try…this one."
Roughly an hour and a half (and a good headache) later, the three emerged from Mr. Ollivander's shop with Emily's wand: willow, eleven inches, with the tail hair of a unicorn Emily pressed a hand to her forehead as they made their way back into the street.
"Shay," she said finally, "Why don't you take your sister to look for a pet? I'm not sure I can stand the noise. I'll go to Flourish and Blotts…give me your list, dear." Catrina handed over her Hogwarts envelope quickly. "I'll meet you both in an hour outside of Madame Malkin's for Catrina's robe fittings. Mind the time, please."
Shay nodded and her mother walked away, still wincing at the clamor around her.
"C'mon, Cat, let's see what we can find," Shay said, taking her sister by the hand and leading her through Diagon Alley with an expert's navigation. The Menageria had, of course, always been her favorite shop.
It was dense and dark inside, the walls seeming to move as the owls and cats shifted to peer down at these new intruders. Eyes gleamed up at them, rats squeaking.
"Here from Hogwarts, dears…? Ah! If it isn't Saoirse Morse. I remember you."
Shay grinned, remembering the long, seeming-pointless stints she had spent hiding from Madame Malkins' excursions in this very shop. "How are you doing, my dear?"
"Quite well, thanks. Working with winged horses."
"For the Ministry?" "Partly," Shay replied. "Beauxbatons likes to keep in touch with us for our Abraxans, as well."
"Oh, of course. Who are you here for, today?"
"My sister's going to Hogwarts this year," Shay said. "And she could use a friend."
"Owl, cat, or toad, then dear?"
Catrina looked up at the woman, appearing to consider her options.
"Not a toad," she said finally. "Or anything with red eyes."
The shopkeeper chuckled, turning into the store.
"No toads, nothing with red eyes," she repeated. "Are rats out of the question?"
"Just so long as they're not black,"
"We have some white ones, would you like a look?" Catrina moved deeper into the store, cuddling with white and spotted rats before peering into owl's cages. The door chimed as someone new entered, and all of the eyes in the Menagerie turned.
"Oh, hello!" The shopkeeper chimed, her voice denoting recognition.
"Hello, again," a deeper voice replied. Shay glanced up from examining a particularly pretty calico cat to see who had spoken. There in front of her was Charlie Weasley, the Hogwarts Quidditch legend himself. Well…before Harry Potter had stolen his Seeker fame, anyway. Their eyes met for an instant, and Shay smiled, nodding to him. Charlie Weasley nodded in return, the corner of his mouth turning up just slightly.
"My owl's not taking too well to Romania," he said. "Anything here that can help?"
"Well, what seems to be the problem, dear? And have you tried Eyelops, yet?"
"I have, but they didn't seem to have anything I haven't tried," Charlie said.
"Shay!" Catrina hissed, "Shay, where'd you go?"
"Right here, Cat. Come and take a look at this one, isn't she pretty…?"
As Catrina fawned over the calico in the cage before them, Shay listened as Charlie and the shopkeeper discussed owl cures. She'd thought she had heard something about Romania, but that seemed strange: what could Charlie Weasley possibly be doing there? She, like the rest of Hogwarts, had always assumed that he would go on to be the next Quidditch star.
"I want this one, Shay, she's perfect!" Catrina said, voice soft with admiration. "Can I get this one, Shay?" "Hmm?"
She tuned out of her eavesdropping and back to her sister. "I want this one, Shay."
"Alright. How much is she, Cat, does it say?"
"That one? For you, dear?" The shopkeeper asked, having spotted a sale even while distracted, "She's one of my favorites, too. But I'll tell you what: seeing as I know your sister so well, she's just seven Galleons. How's that?"
"Still a bit pricey, if you ask me. The thing is downright scrawny," Shay said, noticing Charlie's smirk from over the witch's shoulder. She allowed a half-smile before returning to business. "I'd say four Galleons, at the most."
"Six Galleons and four sickles is my last offer," the other witch said. "And anyway, she's the kitten of two of my best; you'd basically be stealing her." Shay's eyes narrowed.
"Throw in half price Perseus' Best, and you have a deal."
The witch scowled, but moved behind the counter and plucked up a small silver canister emblazoned with a gorgon's head and placed it in front of her.
"Deal. I can't remember why I like you, Miss. Morse. You drive a hard bargain."
Shay grinned, placing a handful of coins down on the counter.
"Who else are you going to sell hoof shine and mane trimmers to?"
The shopkeeper let out something like a "harumph", passed the cat (and a small bag of treats) to Catrina, and slapped the hoof shine into Shay's hand.
"There, now. Go before you end up with half the store, would you?"
Shay laughed, gripping the silver canister tightly and heading out of the store (Charlie Weasley nodded, and she returned the gesture), an enamored Catrina in tow: the shopkeeper had given her a basket in which to carry the cat, and the basket was currently mewling unhappily.
"I wish you could put them on a leash like a puppy," Catrina said sadly. "She sound so unhappy in there."
"She just doesn't like not being able to wander around," Shay said. "She can hear the street but she can't see it, which she doesn't like."
"Exactly. Which is why I wish I had a leash."
"She'd get upset at that, too. Cats are independent little buggers."
Catrina giggled as the sisters headed down the street toward Madame Malkin's where their mother was already waiting.
"Is that why you had an owl at Hogwarts?" Shay shrugged.
"I like cats," she replied. "I just thought it would make a bit more sense to have an owl while I was away from home. We got a new one at the farm, did I tell you? His name's Oberon."
"Oberon? That's a funny name. Especially for a cat."
"Addie picked it," Shay explained. "But speaking of names, what's this one going to be called?" She tilted her chin in the direction of the basket. Catrina tilted her head to the side, studying the top of the basket as if the name would suddenly appear there.
"Sabia," she said finally. "I think she's a Sabia."
"Good choice," Shay said, smiling as they approached their mother in front of the robe shop. "Here, hand me Sabia while you get your robes fitted." Taking the cat's basket and a handful of bags from her mother, Shay stumbled across the street to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour where she ordered raspberry-and-chocolate ice cream and sat down to wait.