Chapter 2
"Shit!"
The glass shattered into pieces as it hit the floor of the tavern, having successfully evaded Rosalie's grasping hands. She stared at the mess in dismay, only looking up at the sound of poorly-repressed giggles.
"Oi!" she growled at the sources of the snickering. "Not a sound out of either one of you!"
"But Mum," Cameron started, his eyes wide and innocent.
"You swore!" Lucas completed, his expression identical to his brother's in every respect. Rosalie mock-glared at them both, only breaking off when the bartender reached their table.
"I'm sorry about that," she smiled sheepishly at the man, who chuckled in response.
"Not to worry, luv. Happens all the time. Reparo!"
Rosalie watched as wide-eyed as her sons as the fragments of glass reassembled themselves into an unbroken whole. Wonderingly, she picked up the repaired glass and held it to the light.
"Wow," Cameron and Lucas breathed as one. The barman chuckled again.
"Muggleborn?" he asked quietly. Rosalie blinked at him, while the boys exchanged puzzled glances. The man nodded, as though that was an answer. "Thought so. Not to worry. You're expecting someone from Hogwarts, then?"
"Er - yes," Rosalie admitted. "A Professor Weasley, actually. We haven't missed him, have we?"
"Hermione Weasley?" he frowned. "Been waiting long, have you?"
"No, not really. We're a little early, as a matter of fact. We weren't quite sure how long it would take to find this place." Finding the Leaky Cauldron had taken far less time than Rosalie would have expected, considering the strangeness of the directions that had been in the letter accompanying the invitations to Hogwarts - invitations which had come as a relief, as they proved that if she was going mad with all her sons' odd mishaps, then at least she wasn't alone in her insanity. The letter had stated that the boys would be the only ones to be able to see the entrance to the tavern, for one thing, when it was Rosalie herself who had led them straight up to the door. She hadn't noticed any attempts at concealment either, which deepened her doubts about the veracity of the letters. Not even the strange costume-like clothing the tavern's occupants were wearing had reassured her until the barman had brought out his wand...
"She shouldn't be long, then," the man nodded knowingly. "She's not one to keep people waiting." He headed back to the bar, returning with an extra glass, a full pitcher of water, and a couple of dubious-looking drinks that he placed in front of the boys with a wink. "On the house," he informed Rosalie, shaking his head as she brought out her purse. She smiled in response, and settled back to watch in amusement as her sons exclaimed wildly over the taste of their drinks, making short work of them. It wasn't long, however, before both boys were fidgeting restlessly in their seats.
"Shouldn't she be here yet?" Cameron complained, looking up from the game of noughts and crosses they'd been playing using the water and the table.
"It's been ages already," Lucas chimed in.
Rosalie sighed, and glanced around. The barman who had spoken to them before was busy serving customers, and she felt reluctant to ask anyone else. She glanced at her watch for what felt like the thousandth time. "Come on, then."
"Where are we going?"
"This way." She led them to the doorway she'd noted as they'd waited for their guide to show up. It was on the other side of the room to the door they'd entered by, but it seemed to have even more people using it. Once again, the letter had stated that only people with magic could open the way to Diagon Alley, but considering how easy it had been to find the Leaky Cauldron, Rosalie was willing to take a chance on Diagon Alley. It would be better than waiting around for the entire day, especially considering the amount of work she had to do when she got home...
"Uh, Mum?"
"I don't think it's this way."
She blinked, her son's voices recalling her from her thoughts, only to frown at the barrier before them. A brick wall. In an empty courtyard. Right.
"Maybe it's a secret passage?" Cameron wondered, prodding at one of the bricks.
"Do we need to say a password?" Lucas contributed. Not that Cameron really needed the encouragement.
"Open Sesame!"
"No one would ever seriously use a password like that!"
"The thieves in Aladdin did!"
"That was only a story!"
Years of practice allowed Rosalie to tune out the bickering as they somehow moved from passwords to genies to evil wizards to Hogwarts, all the time staring determinedly at the bricks in front of her. There was a familiarity to them that itched at her mind in the most irritating manner. Lifting her hands, she laid them tentatively on the wall, running her fingers across the bricks. Three up, two across...
"Wow," Cameron and Lucas chorused again as the brickwork seemed to fold back on itself before their mother's touch.
Rosalie could only stare at her hands, afraid to look beyond them to the new world that had opened up before her eyes. But was it truly all that new?
"Mum, you must be a witch, too!"
She stared at Cameron with the same disbelief she'd directed at her hands. He grinned back up at her with laughing quicksilver eyes, delighted at the prospect. Lucas, however, frowned slightly and surreptitiously pressed closer to her side.
"Mum?" he queried softly. "Could you have been a witch, before - ?"
'Before' was a loaded term in their family.
She shook her head, not in denial, but in uncertainty. "I don't know, Lucas. I honestly don't know."
Her hands were shaking. She clenched them tightly, then took firm hold of her sons and stepped forward into the world of magic - her sons' future.
If only I could remember the past.
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