The atmosphere in the car was not very pleasant, to be quite frank. I opened the door to the driver's seat, and rather forcefully shut the door behind me. Sarah was sitting in the passenger seat, her face contorted in a somewhat ugly scowl, and looking incredibly childish as she stared stoically out the front window.
The gates opened as I backed out the driveway and onto the road and started the drive to Layters Lane. I cleared my throat before I spoke, and I saw Sarah almost sigh as I began to reprimand again.
"I think you're being incredibly unfair and in-just, Sarah." I said, and she turned to look at me, a look of curiosity in her eyes.
"Can you please tell me what exactly you supposedly adore about them?" she asked me, quite accusatory.
I ignored her, so she asked again. I bit my answer back before she could finish for the second time.
"I've told you many times about how kind the Potter's have been to me." I said, "I'm sick of being a mediator."
"You have to see it from my perspective though," Sarah argued, "They haven't really taken Maisie's unhappiness seriously at all. 'He's just a child' is a horrid excuse and I don't buy it for one second."
"Have you ever actually had a civil conversation about this? You broached the topic yesterday and expect it to be sorted before you even get the chance to talk to the kids after school? Having a shouting match in a public park was not the way to introduce this topic." I explained.
"I was trying to let them know in the best way possible," she replied, "I didn't know they would be so childish about it."
I took a rather sharp right turn onto Layters way, causing Sarah to grab the overhang, and scowl at me. We swung into her driveway, and I stopped the car.
"I think you are the one being childish, Sarah. I do not want to be associated with you if you want to carry on acting like this is the correct way to treat others. I know you aren't like this, which makes this whole scenario that much more annoying, to be honest." I said, after a short silence. Sarah did not reply. She simply turned away, and got out the car, and left. I could have sworn I heard her sniffle.
I let out a huge breath as I got out after her, remembering that I needed to collect my child from inside, and stepped over the gravel towards the house.
The door was still open as Dillon stood there looking confused but a little frustrated.
"What happened?" he asked, but I shrugged, keeping my mouth tightly shut as Mabel came running into the hallway and barrelling into my knees complaining that she didn't have anything to do besides boring boy things.
"Thanks, Dillon." I said, and turned to leave, but before I could step away, I felt a firm hand on my shoulder that made me feel a little unnerved.
"What happened?" Dillon repeated, a little more forcefully.
"Nothing she won't tell you later." I said, proud of myself for not withering next to the height of a man. I shook his grip off me, and strode to the car, buckling Mabel in, and very quickly driving out the driveway. I wasn't a reckless driver, but right now, I was borderline.
"What did you play with Alex, Mabel?" I asked, once I had let off enough steam to speak properly. I looked into the mirror and saw her furrow her brows, "What's wrong?"
"Alex won't play nicely." She said, "He won't play my rules. Only his rules."
"What did you do?"
"Nothin'".
I huffed in amusement as we drove past The Hollies. For the first time in a while, we didn't stop to drive down the long drive, instead continuing on the road and turning at the next right.
My fingers subconsciously brushed against the gleaming new keys tucked in the side compartment of the car. This would be my first time opening the house with it being under our name.
It felt almost angelic as the sun flared up over the windscreen as we pulled into the front of the house. The freshly trimmed bushes were much less unkempt than what I could ever maintain, and the windows gleamed from the work of a window cleaner that had obviously been present within the past few days.
Overall, my house looked like it was some fragment of a reality I was yet to witness, and I instantly felt a bit giddy at the thought of how quickly my life had gone over the past 2 weeks. I had gone from living my rather mundane life, going to and fro dropping my child at school, making small talk with my husband, and entertaining my three-year-old all day, to living down the road from magical celebrities. I laughed at how ridiculous that sounded.
"Will Al be inside, Mummy?" Mabel piped up, swinging her legs as she peered out the window.
"No," I said, twisting round and unbuckling her, before getting out myself, "This is our new home. Remember we came yesterday, and you saw your new room?"
"Issit to stay?" she giggled as I picked her up and plonked her on the floor, straightening out her skirt as I did so.
"Yes, Mabel, this is here to stay. Your toys are in Al's Daddy's car, so we'll go and get them later, okay?" I told her, holding her hand as she skipped happily down the new pebbled path to the front door.
I felt a bit shaky as I turned the key in the lock and opened the door to the house.
We were here yesterday, but right now, in the tranquillity of the surrounding fields, it felt like home.
The movers had been in and placed our belongings in various rooms in positions I would not have chosen myself, but I dismissed the slight chaos when I realised Robert and I could quite easily move everything into the places we wanted.
It smelt like new paint, which was always refreshing. I trundled into the kitchen, Mabel following me, and took the kettle from the counter, plugging it in to a nearby socket and letting it boil.
At the absence of clocks on the wall and a microwave not connected to any power, I checked my watch. I realised we didn't have much time at all to ponder here, as it was already 3 in the afternoon.
"Don't get too comfortable, Mabel," I said, as she peered out the back door into the garden, "We need to leave and collect Liam soon."
"Will we come back here?"
She had still not realised that this was our new home, despite me reminding her a few minutes ago upon our initial arrival.
"This is our new house, Mabel," I explained, "Do you know what that means?"
"I play princess here?" she asked curiously.
"You'll sleep here, have your dinner on this table, watch the tele in the living room. This is where we'll stay from now on, sweetheart. We won't be going back to Al's house to stay anymore."
"But who will play with me?!" she asked in horror, her blue eyes widening in panic, "I cam't play on my own!"
I laughed, and brushed her hair out of her eyes.
"Of course you can! You didn't know Al two weeks ago. You've played on your own before, you know."
"It won't be as fun," she said sadly.
"I'm sure Al can come round for lots of playdates," I assured her, walking over to where the kettle had just pinged.
"Today?" she asked hopefully, but I just grinned, pouring myself tea as I began to think about getting back into the car to collect Liam. I stopped when I remembered I'd have to see Sarah again.
"God, friendships aren't meant to be like this." I mumbled to myself.
It was 3:15 when we left to get to the school. I would have loved a few more minutes but knew the roads to the school would get clogged with parents in no time, and liked getting there a little earlier.
I spotted Sarah's car as I pulled into the carpark, and noticed Harry's too, in his spot under the tree. I didn't see anyone when I glanced through the window. They must already be at the classroom.
I stopped in one of the only free spaces, and headed into the gates, Mabel in tow. I made my way to the Potter's when I saw them, feeling relieved I didn't have to go past Sarah and Dillon as I did so.
Ginny still looked as incredible as she did this morning, and I had to do a double take when I saw that Harry did too. He had changed from whatever he was wearing this morning to an outfit straight from vogue.
Ginny must have noticed my surprise, as she grinned, poking Harry in the side.
"I've told him to put in more of an effort," she said, "He needs to showcase his good looks more often."
Harry spluttered a cough in alarm and frowned.
"Leave me alone."
"Oh, I'm sorry love, did I embarrass you?" Ginny pouted, making me chuckle.
"You're lucky I love you." Harry replied, avoiding our eyes and leaning into the pram to coo over Lily.
"How's the house going?" Ginny asked me, "Harry told me all your stuff's been moved over."
"It's fab," I beamed, "I can't wrap around the idea that it's real."
"I'm thrilled for you," Ginny smiled, "I'm glad you found somewhere so fast too."
"A pleasant surprise," I said, "Robert keeps saying the universe felt sorry for us."
Ginny laughed, "Well, I can't think of someone who deserves it more than you."
I smiled, just as the bell rung, and the children came running out.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dillon narrow his eyes at James and Liam, who giggled happily as they trotted over to us, each holding a clothes peg with a little tuft of rainbow hair.
"We made peg people." James announced proudly, thrusting his creation into his mum's hand.
"Wow, James," Ginny grinned, "How creative. What's he called?"
"Liam." James giggled, "And Liam's one is called James."
Harry scoffed as I looked at Liam's little figure in bemusement. I had no recollection of doing this sort of thing in primary.
We trundled back to the cars, James and Liam walking just ahead, playing out roles with their peg people. We had just reached my car, and were about to say our goodbyes when a voice made us all stop.
"Potter."
It was Dillon, and he did not look happy.
"Oh, fuck off." Ginny said, rolling her eyes, taking Lily's pram and striding over to their car, Al right behind. Harry, however, turned to where Dillon came strolling over, his whole family alongside.
"Afternoon, Dillon." Harry replied, a little stiffly, but otherwise very amicably.
"Oh don't pretend like everything's okay." Dillon snapped, and Harry frowned, his eyes darkening as he gently nudged James more closely next to him, "I will not stand for this childish treatment of our family."
I glanced at Sarah, who refused to meet my eye, instead staring steadfastly at Harry.
"I have not treated your family in anyway other than polite." Harry said calmly, "May I remind you that it was you who started this so-called dispute."
"Of course," Dillon scowled, "Just a dispute. So, you weren't the reason why Sarah came home crying this afternoon?"
I looked over at Sarah again, a little bit ashamed, but she looked down.
"I'm sure she told you about her foul mouth in our kitchen earlier today," Ginny interrupted, reappearing at Harry's side, childless, "Probably would have made me cry too if I weren't so used to it."
"I only heard that you two completely dismissed the fact that your son is purposely picking on my daughter and denying any responsibility at all!" Dillon said, his voice raising.
"Then you've had a sugar-coated story, I'm afraid," Harry said, "I don't think you would appreciate someone accusing your wife of 'marrying a nice rich man and not working a day in her life' so I'm sure whatever Sarah has told you, has vital parts of that conversation missed out."
James looked on in confusion, his gaze shifting from his parents, to Maisie, who also looked bewildered.
"You must know that you both give off that impression," Sarah said, speaking for the first time, "It's no wonder Katie adores you."
"Don't bring me into this," I glowered at Sarah, "This is your problem."
"We're used to fabricated tales," Harry said slowly, "And we aren't all too bothered about what others think, but it does get a bit complicated when you try and turn our own friends on us."
It finally clicked. This is what Sarah has been doing. Trying to sway my opinion on the Potter's.
"That's not what I've been doing." Snapped Sarah.
"Well it sure as hell looks like it," Ginny argued back, "I'm sure you probably care about first impressions just as much as the rest of us do."
"I do not know who you are," Sarah said stoically, "And I don't really care who you are. I just don't want you manipulating my friends into thinking they're apart of this fun false fantasy of-"
"Right, we cannot continue this here." Harry said firmly, "We invite you all to our house to sort this out. We can head straight there."
"Harry!"
"We can not settle anything in a car park," Harry continued, at the look of disbelief on the Coleman's faces, "Either we solve this graciously or not at all. I trust you know the way. Katie, please come along too if you can."
And with that, he put his hand on the small of his wife's back and led her to the car. She smacked his arm away and gave him a scowl as she opened the door for James.
"I'll see you there." I told Sarah and Dillon and hurried into my car. Thankfully I had already put the kids away, so I could speed off down the road.
"Where are we going?" Liam asked, having not heard, but seen, the exchange happen.
"We're going to James' house for a bit," I said, "And then we'll go to our new house. Your bed is there."
"Oooo, in my new room?" he asked excitedly, and I smiled.
"Yes."
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"I told you not to invite them into our house, Harry." Ginny muttered from the passenger seat, watching as they drove down the lanes back home.
"I didn't want to argue in front of everyone," Harry explained, putting a hand on her leg, but she knocked it off.
"Don't play that game," she said, "I'm angry at you."
"Of course," Harry said, "How long for?"
"Until they leave." Ginny snapped, before turning to look at him in exasperation, "You can't honestly want to have these people willingly in our home? They're nuts!"
"No," Harry agreed, "But as I said, they wouldn't have let it go if I hadn't suggested we do this."
"Whatever," Ginny murmured, making Harry grin slightly.
"Why are you cross?" James said curiously, "And why was Maisie's Daddy cross too?"
Harry and Ginny glanced at eachother.
"I'm cross at Daddy because Daddy is annoying me."
Harry rolled his eyes.
"Were you nice to Maisie today?" Ginny asked, and James nodded earnestly.
"I was. She played with us all play time and I shared my tools with her. She's nice." He said honestly, and Harry's brows furrowed, "And I said sorry. She said it was okay and that we can be friends."
"What the-" Harry muttered, and Ginny shot him a look.
"So you and Maisie got on today, did you?" She asked, and James nodded again, looking apprehensive.
"Am I in trouble?" he asked nervously.
"Of course not," Ginny soothed, "Daddy and I are just trying to figure something out, okay? You're not in any trouble."
"Okay," James said, "Liam says he's got a new house."
"He does. I'm sure we can go and visit soon," Ginny smiled, giving Harry an apologetic look, at which he only grinned and waved her away, "He'll be much closer to us now."
"Really?" James asked excitedly, clutching the side of Lily's car seat, "Does that mean more sleepovers?"
"We'll see," Ginny said, unclipping her seat belt as Harry stopped outside their house. Harry took Lily, whilst Ginny unbuckled the boys and let them run over to the door, James hopping happily from left to right – a little quirk he had gained when he had started to walk.
Ginny looked to see Harry faffing around at the car, so she opened the door to let the kids in before ambling back over to Harry's side.
"I'm sorry for snapping," she sighed, "Just don't want a quarrel over something like this."
"They're the type of people that will quarrel either way," Harry said, lifting Lily into his arms, "Might as well make them spill all their thoughts before we try and fix this."
"How very auror of you," Ginny snickered as they walked back to the house together, "Glad to see you haven't lost your knowledge just yet."
"Witty," Harry replied, "Full of jokes, aren't you?"
"I am a Weasley," she shrugged, kicking off her shoes, "We're known for our humour."
"And after all this time I thought James got it from me," Harry said in shock horror, placing Lily in a crib as he feigned a dramatic fall onto the sofa.
"You never thought that." Ginny scoffed, pulling him back to his feet, "And can I just say, I think I'll forgive Katie for giving you the once over at the school today. You look so damn hot you best be glad I didn't strip you off there and then and shag you in the playground."
"I am glad," Harry murmured, "How long do you think we have until they all arrive?"
"5 minutes?" Ginny breathed, their lips brushing, "Reckon you could make it?"
"Absolutely."
He closed the gap between them and spun them around.
"Let's hope the boys are entertained enough. This is quite brazen, even for us, Harry." Ginny said, as his hands started working themselves lower and lower down her body. He gently encouraged her towards the sofa as she heard the door click shut, safely ensuring there would be no traumatised little visitors.
"Oh, you've offended me," Harry sighed, "We need to up our game if you think this is brazen, love."
Ginny gasped as his hands finally reached their desired spot and began working.
"So many things have changed recently," Ginny whispered frantically, "But I'm so glad you haven't."
"That's good to hear," Harry muttered into her cheek, kissing her deeply, "I love you so much."
Ginny only responded by returning the kiss, her hands also now dropping from his hair.
He was just about to slide out of his trousers before the bell rang.
"Fuck." Harry huffed, at once plunging back into reality, and clambering off Ginny, who looked flushed against the pillows of the sofa, and now incredibly put out, "Early night for the kids do you reckon?"
"If they'll settle," Ginny grinned, "You've ruined me, Potter. I'll have to go and sort myself out before I put on my angry face again."
He returned the grin, and took her into his arms, feeling instantly comforted at how well they fit together.
"Let's just stay like this from now on," Ginny suggested, "You coming home earlier, collecting Jamie from school, then straight home to this."
"That's my dream, Ginny," Harry admitted, "But right now, I do need to open the door for Katie."
"How do you know it's not the others?" Ginny asked, tracing a pattern on Harry's chest.
"They can't get through the gates without us knowing." He said, untwisting himself, and heading towards the front door, "I can call you down when they do though."
"I won't be long," she said, moving upstairs, "Don't let me miss out on the fun."
"Oh I need my backup," Harry grinned, "You're much more formidable than I."
"I know."
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
They were taking awfully long to get to the door, and I was starting to contemplate whether or not to ring again when Harry opened it.
"Hi, Katie," he smiled softly, "I can't imagine the others are too far behind you are they?"
"I'm not sure," I admitted, "I left before they could even get to their car."
"Ah, well I suppose we have a good 5 minutes then." Harry said, shutting the door once all of my family entered the house, yet again, "All your stuff is in my car, too. I forgot to say at the school, otherwise I would have dropped it off on the way."
"That's fine," I smiled, "Do you think you could drop it back later today? The kids might riot if you kept their toys hostage."
"Oh, I wouldn't dare," he replied, "I'll take it back when you all head home." He suddenly frowned, "I'm not too sure how long this will take. Ginny's not happy with me."
"Oh?"
"She explicitly told me not to invite them round," Harry said, shaking his head, but failing to hide his grin.
"And you went and did so anyway." Ginny said, gliding down the stairs, "And don't think I'm not still upset about that."
We took ourselves off into the living room, letting Liam and Mabel hurry up the stairs to find their friends, whilst we sat down.
"I hope they don't make this too difficult," Harry said, but Ginny rolled her eyes.
"You've put this upon yourself," she tittered, "And on one of your only days off, too."
"Don't remind me," Harry said, "I'm off tomorrow too."
"I know," Ginny grinned, "I've cancelled my plans to have lunch with Angelina."
"Oh I'm honoured," Harry said, turning to me, "What time did you say Robert would be back tonight?"
"Oh, uh," I said, jumping at the sudden question, "9 I think."
"Does he always work such long hours?" Ginny asked curiously, but I shook my head.
"No, not at all," I explained, "Monday just so happens to be a later shift. Normal days are 9 till 5."
"I don't think we ever hear too much about Robert's work," Ginny said, "All we ever do is harp on about Harry's. Do you know he works in the Aurors?"
"Ha ha," I said sardonically, "As a matter of fact I did. Rob's a security guard down at Tesco. Honestly nothing more special than that."
"Is there often a need for a security guard?"
"Hm, not really," I said, contemplating, "But he moves around a lot. He does do a good job at keeping everything running smoothly down there."
"Crime rates are indeed low in Downlow," Harry said, "Let's hope last week's fiasco didn't drop down that score."
"Surely not if it's a magical crime?" I said, not knowing if that was rhetorical or not.
"I'm not sure on how it all works," Ginny said, getting up when Lily decided to whinge, "Because I don't think a crime report was ever formally issued."
"Look at you, detective," Harry said, "One wouldn't think you worked at the Prophet not the DMLE."
"What's the Prophet?" I asked curiously.
"The Daily Prophet. It's our- "
"Newspaper," I remembered, "I thought you were an athlete, Ginny, not a journalist."
"I was," Ginny said, "But after Al, it wasn't a sustainable job. I started writing for the matches I used to play in."
"Do you still write?"
"Oh yes," Ginny sighed, falling back down onto the sofa, Lily snuggled contently under a blanket as her mother fed her, "But I'm on maternity leave right now, looking after this one."
"I never knew," I said, leaning back into the sofa, wringing my hands, "Good for you, Ginny."
"It's a good job I have been home," she continued, "This case has got us all out of whack and the boys are terrible not being on a routine."
"They haven't been too bad," Harry said, but quietened when Ginny shot him a sceptical look.
"Switching to writing meant I could work from home most of the time, but more often than not they call me in to work at the Ministry."
"What did you do with the boys?" I had no idea about this part of Ginny's life. Maybe Sarah was right; I did not know Ginny or Harry at all.
"They went to stay with my Mum and Dad," Ginny said, "But we didn't want to overuse our childcare privileges."
"What did that entail?"
"Sending James to school," Harry said, "Most wizards don't bother with sending their kids to a muggle primary school, instead teaching them at home, but James was driving us all bananas."
"Well, you can't say he hasn't thrived," I countered, "He was built for this."
"He's got such charisma," Harry said, "I definitely do not claim any credit for that."
"No one ever gave you credit," Ginny grinned, "You are the most awkward bloke alive."
"No, I'm not," Harry bristled, "I'm head of the Aurors."
"Didn't you just quit?" I pointed out, and Ginny laughed.
"Too true!" she said, "You can no longer use that as an escape from everything my dearest husband."
"Watch it," he warned, "Or else I'll make plans with Oliver tomorrow."
"Liar," Ginny huffed, catching my eye with a grimace. I only grinned.
"James has asked when he can go and visit Liam in his new home," Harry said, briskly changing the subject, making Ginny scoff.
"Whenever he pleases," I smiled, "Mabel is concerned that she'll have to play on her own, so Al is invited whenever too."
"It's a shame you don't have another Lily's age," Ginny winked, "Then they'd all have playmates."
I groaned, "Don't you start. I am absolutely, categorically done. Even if I decided to pop out another child right now, I'd be leaning towards 40. I don't want my children to have old parents."
"You're not old, Katie," Ginny said, "How old did you say you were again?"
"I'm 36," I said, a bit of resentment on the tip of tongue, "And I know you're going to say that's not too old, but I feel done."
"Well, I'm sorry Lily, but you'll just have to tag along after your brothers for the foreseeable future then," Ginny mock sighed.
"And you're sure you're done?" I teased back.
"God Katie, I can't believe you just asked me that, yes." Ginny replied, but I put my hands up in surrender as Harry laughed.
I buzz around the house drew my attention away from our playful banter, and Harry stood up.
"Good. I was beginning to wonder whether they'd just gone home."
"Prepare for chaos," I said lowly, and Ginny made a sound in agreement, looking beneath the blanket to check that Lily was still content.
I heard voices at the front door, but Ginny shook her head when I made to stand up.
"Don't worry, Katie," she said, "It'll be fine."
When the Coleman's entered, I was slightly surprised to see that the only child accompanying them was Maisy.
"We dropped Alex and Posie with their Nanny on the way," Sarah said, catching my look, "They don't need to be here."
"Sure," Ginny shrugged.
Harry offered tea to everyone, and at their acceptance, headed into the kitchen. Ginny cast us all a glance before following him out, but not shutting the door behind her.
I refused to talk to Sarah or Dillon, so instead turned my head away, pretending to be really interested in the photos on the wall.
Harry returned a minute later, with a tray of teas. He furrowed his brows in slight concern when he didn't see Ginny sitting down opposite me. He gave me a questioning look.
"To be honest I thought she went with you," I said, speaking for the first time, "I'm sure she'll be back soon."
Harry nodded once, before giving Sarah, Dillon and me a mug of tea. I clutched it in anticipation of the imminent conversation, just as Ginny returned downstairs, James following her apprehensively.
"Where's Liam?" I asked curiously.
"He's with Al and Mabel," Ginny assured me. She had removed Lily from under the blanket and had her held in the crook of her right arm. She set her down on her back inbetween her and Harry, and James scurried to sit on her other side as she took a mug from Harry's offering hand.
"We spoke with James in the car," Harry said, initiating conversation, and instantly everyone was alert, "Did you speak with Maisy?"
"No," Sarah said, "She would have said if things were any different."
James looked at his Dad imploringly, "I'm tellin' the troof!"
"Maybe you should have spoken to her," Ginny said, "Because from what we've heard, they got on fantastically today. I do not believe this whole situation is about our children, because to be frank, that is ridiculous."
"No, what is ridiculous is your constant dismissal." Sarah replied sharply, before turning to Maisy, "What happened today at school? Was James picking on you again?"
James' eyes instantly started welling up as he tried to put on a brave face. Ginny noticed this, and took him into her arms, holding his head against her as he started to silently cry.
Maisy's eyes widened as suddenly all the adults were watching her. She glanced at her mother before shaking her head.
"James was nice today," she squeaked, "We played."
Sarah and Dillon exchanged a look.
"Why didn't you say anything after school?"
"You were both shoutin' in the car," Maisy said, her own face getting red and puffy too, "You wouldn't hear me!"
"We would have listened, sweetheart," Sarah said in concern, "So you and James played today, yes?"
Maisy nodded tearfully.
"Enough," said Harry, "Stop interrogating her like this. This is how we treat criminals." He looked over at Dillon, "I'm sure you know this."
"I don't interrogate criminals, Potter," Dillon growled, "If you actually paid attention you'd know that that isn't my job."
"I think we're done with the kids," Ginny said swiftly, "I think we've established that this is a lot more than what we initially thought. Jamie, you can go back up to Liam."
He didn't have to be told twice. He wriggled off the sofa and scampered up the stairs.
"Maisy, you can go too." Dillon said, "Is she okay to upstairs to find the others?"
Harry and Ginny both nodded as Maisy tentatively followed James up the stairs. Harry pushed the door shut as he rounded on the Colemans.
"Right, what exactly is your issue?" he said bluntly.
"We have many issues with you." Dillon replied, just as shortly.
"Well, now's your time to share," Harry said, wringing his hands together and slumping back, carefully avoiding Lily who was kicking her legs out happily.
"I think you are both way too self-righteous," Dillon said, "Why do you see yourselves as anything more than the average person?"
Ginny gave him an incredulous look.
"I'm very sorry you've got that impression of us," Harry said steadily, "Because I most certainly only see as the same as everyone else. What gave you the notion that we don't?"
"The way you pretend like you can't tell me anything, that just because you're in kahoots with the top of the department means you should get any special treatment, or else just ignore everyone you deem lower than you entirely." Dillon defended, "Like the way you acted when you had to come down to the station that morning. How dare they make such an important person hang around with us lot."
"Ah, you see, my job is a rather complicated matter," Harry said loosely, although I could sense the slight tension in the room, "I don't understand how you expect me to know you all by name. I promise I'm not that vital to you."
"I've heard rumours that you've stepped down from whatever department you used to run."
"Rumours spread quick," Harry said, not even pretending to not be surprised, "But I'm confused on what exactly is the most pressing issue with all of this."
Dillon huffed out a breath and turned away.
"How can we reverse whatever opinions we've got of eachother and try to reform?" I suggested.
Harry and Ginny nodded, but Dillon and Sarah didn't look so sure.
"Look, you don't have to get on with us," Ginny said, "But can we at least try not to turn every conversation into an argument that can most definitely be prevented? We're not horrible people, I promise."
"We can share a friend without having to be friends, too," Harry pointed out, "Katie can make up her own mind."
"You don't know Katie," Sarah said quietly, "You rocked up into her life a few weeks ago and apparently think you sail the boat."
"That's not true," Ginny said, trying not to look hurt, "Did you move here for the sole reason of getting at us for being friends?"
Sarah shifted uncomfortably and I slammed my empty mug down on the coffee table, flinging Sarah a dangerous look.
"Piss off," I told her, "You cannot be serious."
"Not to get at them," Sarah said quickly, "But to remind you that you do have friends in this world that have been around a heck of a lot longer."
"Sarah," I said, trying to contain my anger at how stupid she sounded, "I am a grown woman who can make my own decisions rather well. Your jealously is revolting."
She sighed as she turned to Harry and Ginny, who's faces were very hard to read.
"I'm sorry," she said, but their faces didn't shift, "A part of me deep down knows it's irrational, but you must trust me when I say it's not easy watching one of your best friends enjoy the company of others more. It makes me doubt myself as a person in general."
"I did think it something like that," Harry muttered, scooping Lily up, "But that does also confirm that we never once introduced ourselves with ill intent. Maybe it's just a sore coincidence that I also happened to be working with the police that made our relationship rockier."
"Sure," shrugged Dillon, "We'll just have to make this work for the sake of our children."
"Again, I'm sorry on James' behalf that they got off on the wrong foot. He was very apologetic about it." Harry said, bouncing Lily slightly as she started to cry. With a swift practiced moment, he gently placed her on his thigh, belly down, and began to rub circles on her back. At once she went quiet.
The Colemans watched this and Sarah looked at him curiously.
"I've never seen anyone do that before." She said, "Do you think it would work with Posie?"
"Pardon?" Harry said. Ginny also looked a bit lost. The action must have been so second nature he hadn't realised he had done anything.
"What you just did with the baby," Sarah said, gesturing Lily, who was now back to sleeping soundly.
The Potters followed Sarah's gaze and Ginny grinned.
"Oh," she said, "We were taught that trick when we had Al. He didn't sleep very well in the first few weeks we took him home and wouldn't settle either. Wish we had known this when we had James."
We small talked about lots of little things, and it was nice to see The Colemans and The Potters slowly start to rekindle a relationship they never had time to formulate in the first place.
I didn't interrupt much, as I felt like I needed to let them figure this out without my involvement.
The conflict in the room was quickly fizzling out as both couples became more comfortable with eachother, and by the time any of them began to make a move to leave, it was coming up to 5.
"Thank you coming round," Harry said, as The Colemans began to put their shoes back on, "I'm glad we've managed to smooth things over."
"Us too," Sarah said, shooting me a grateful look, "I'm sorry."
Maisy came skipping down the stairs, looking happy, but a little upset that they were leaving. She asked when she could next come over, to which the Potters smiled, and said whenever.
They left not too long after, and I began to gather Liam's school bag, getting ready to leave too.
"I'll follow you down," Harry said, pulling a car key from the row of hooks that adorned the underside of the stairs, "There's no point shifting it all into your car now."
"Well as you've offered," I grinned, "Go on then. I can give you a tour inside, too."
Liam and Mabel came into the hallway from upstairs, James right behind them.
"Liam says he's going to his new house now," James said sadly, "I might not ever see him again."
"Aren't you dramatic," Ginny said, "Har- Daddy's going to take some of Liam's things home. Maybe he'll let you go with him."
"Please?" James asked, turning to his dad, who nodded.
"We're not staying too long," Harry reminded, "You'll need your dinner."
James nodded in understanding, before attempting to put his shoes on. He didn't do a good job, and Ginny bent down to help him untuck the tongue and do up the Velcro.
"Can I go with Liam in his car?" James asked excitedly, and Liam nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
"We don't really have time to mess with the seats," Harry sighed, "Just come with me, okay?"
James huffed out the biggest breath but nodded none the less.
I got my two into the car, and waved goodbye to Ginny. I didn't know when we'd next have time to chat outside of the school run, so it felt a little bittersweet.
The drive out of The Hollies felt sadder than it ought to. I wondered when I'd next be back.
Hopefully not for a long time a little voice said. We've had so much trouble within the past week I just needed life to calm down a bit.
Harry's car followed us towards the house, and our car crunched over the gravel as I came to a stop. There wasn't as much space in the drive to our house compared to Harry's, so he had to pull in right on my bumper before getting out himself, sliding over to the boot and starting to unload our stuff. James hopped out, and ran over to Liam.
"Daddy said he timed it!" James said excitedly, "It only took 6 minutes to get from my house to your house!"
"We're like next door neighbours!" Liam cried in equal excitement, "Let me show you my new room!"
Harry nodded as I glanced at home for confirmation that James was allowed to go feral inside, and so I reached the door and turned the key.
At once, Liam and James tore up the stairs, and I heard them excitedly explore the rooms.
I went over to help Harry with the bags, although he seemed to be doing okay, 3 of the Ikea bags floating next to him that made me look twice.
"Magic," he grinned, and I rolled my eyes. "You've come to terms with the whole magic thing quicker than I thought, you know."
I sighed, "I don't feel like we've had much choice."
"Well, there are ways we could have made you forget," Harry said slowly, pulling each bag down to the floor gently, "I- Ginny did have to erase a moment from before you knew about it all."
"What?" I asked incredulously, "You mean I've had a part of my memory erased?!"
"Don't worry, it hasn't done anything but take away that specific moment," Harry assured quickly, "In fact, I probably shouldn't have told you, forget it."
"And I wouldn't be able to remember at all?!" I continued, more intrigued than worried. Harry shook his head, fidgeting a little.
"And you can't put it back?"
"No," Harry said, "I'm sorry, Katie, but-"
"Were Liam and Mabel there-"
"Yes," Harry said, a little harsher than I expected, so I piped down, and glanced at him nervously.
He sighed, putting the last bag down as he straightened up properly, "Sorry. I didn't mean for that to sound quite so aggressive. I'm cross at myself for mentioning it. Please, don't tell Ginny I told you. She's quite sensitive on that… part of magic."
"Sure," I said, "But you do have to get my point of view too. Harry, you're saying a whole memory has been removed. Do you get how insane that sounds? Maybe I've got loads of memories removed?! What if I had a whole life before this one, but I wouldn't know because my memory's been removed?!" I was stressing myself out saying this, but I didn't miss the flare of annoyance that flittered through Harry's eyes. To be honest, I was surprised at myself for getting my point across like this.
"You haven't," Harry said, looking more patient than he obviously felt, as the fiddling with his ring was becoming more agitated. "Please don't dwell on it too much. I'm sorry for telling you in the first place. It wasn't anything major."
"Right," I said, feeling annoyed myself. How could he be so dismissive of this? "I just don't-"
"Katie," Harry said firmly, "Leave it, please."
"Do you not get how-"
"Yes, I do," Harry interrupted bitterly, "I understand how you feel; It's a horrible feeling not to have control over something like that, which is why Ginny absolutely hated having to do it. She cried for about an hour that evening. It's not easy for us to do, but I promise, you were better off learning about magic through us, and not Teddy's grandmother shooting through the fireplace."
I didn't reply. I instantly felt guilty about the fact Ginny cried about it.
"Sorry," I muttered, crouching down to see what bag was what, "I guess there's still lots to learn about everything."
"You have no idea," Harry said, backing out the house to gather the other bags.
I turned around when I heard thundering footsteps coming down the stairs, and I turned to see Liam and James giggling as they raced through the house.
"Can we go into the garden?" Liam asked me, and James nodded excitedly next to him.
"As long as you behave," I told them both, and they both nodded firmly. They followed me into the kitchen, and giggled furiously as I unlocked the back door. It was only 5:30, so we still had plenty of sun before it began to get dark. And Robert gets home.
"Mummy, where is my toys?" I heard Mabel whinge from behind me, and I grinned.
"They're all packed away somewhere. Shall we go and find them?"
She nodded.
The pile of bags in the hallway had crammed up to the foot of the stairs, and I caught Harry just as he was bringing in the last one.
"Thank you, Harry," I smiled, and he nodded, "Any clue which ones has Mabel's toys in?"
"Don't hold me on this, but I think, this one," he said, gesturing to a big blue bag in the middle of the pile, "You don't want any help moving the furniture into place, do you?" Harry asked, but I shook my head.
"Thanks, but I'm sure Robert can do that part."
"Well, I'll leave you to it, then," he smiled, "Where's James, do you know?"
"They're in the garden," I replied, "They've been breaking the house in, I think."
"Don't be surprised to find him here every evening from now on," Harry grinned.
"They're something else, aren't they?" I agreed, leading Harry out though the kitchen, and towards the open back door.