The Flow of Our Years

They had decided to wander in the garden after dinner. They had stuffed their stomach with delicious food and had felt the need to escape from the crowd of guests. The grass felt now all fresh under Agnes' bare feet. She was holding her heels shoes in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. Jeanne led them to a riverbank at the end of the garden, and they sat there, their back against a thick apple tree.

The chirping of cicadas gave rhythm to the early warm night, and Antoine lighted up a cigarette he had hidden in his pocket. Jeanne grumbled her unapproving opinion on such practice, but let him do it anyway. Agnes was looking at them three, enjoying every second she had with them. 

Nothing had changed. Their friendship remained the same as before. Their appearance had transformed and shifted into an expected and natural evolution of themselves, but it felt as if they were still 12-year-olds hanging out in the Beauxbatons lands on one of their free times. Antoine had now his ears pierced, and his eyes carried a certain mischief he must have earned from Pierre throughout the years. His hair had lost a bit of its curls, but remained sort of messy.

Pierre on the other hand, seemed tidier in his style, and his hair was combed in a formal manner. His skin still had a few scars from his teen days troublesome acnee, but were now barely visible. 

After having chatted about how Pierre had failed his second attempt for the apparition test, Antoine leaded the conversation towards Agnes.

- How's it going there, lil' Agnes? You're doing alright with... your peculiar skill? He asked, carefully looking around to check that nobody was around. 

- Well... Since Dumbledore is now aware of my power, I can't really escape it. He insists I practice regularly to better control it.But it's become quite hard to hide it from the others. she admitted, looking down at her bare feet. 

They marked a silence, and Jeanne grabbed Agnes' hand with a soft smile. 

- You're doing great. Plus, having the world famous Albus Dumbledore by your side is the best thing that could have happened. He will support you, I'm sure. She said, calmly.

Agnes returned the smile, and looked at the river, which was gracefully following its natural current. She focused on it, and slowly felt her heartbeat connecting with the continuous flow. The magic ran through her veins, like a powerful fluid wanting to escape the limits of Agnes' body, and access new elements. 

The water emerged smoothly from the ground to lift itself up to the friends' head. Jeanne let out a surprised gasp. In a controlled manner, the water soon covered everything around them, like a dome protecting them from the outside. The water was so clear they could see the starry night through it.

Agnes felt at peace. She knew that water was the element that matched perfectly with the essence of meditation state and soothing atmosphere. In such a calm and peaceful night, she'd let herself dive into her elemental magic. She wanted to share the beauty of it with her dearest friends. It was so hard to refrain using it when she was at Hogwarts, and reserved it for her practices with Dumbledore or when alone. It was sort of lonely, she had to admit.

Pierre had lied down on the grass, enjoying the scenery, and Antoine was finishing his cigarette, looking up at the stars reflecting in his eyes. No one said anything, confidently letting Agnes perform the rare magic in front of them. 

Jeanne was looking back and forth at the sky and her friend, an impressed smile on her lips. She grabbed her knees and kept turning her head to look at every corner, making sure she grasped each detail of it.

Slowly, the water returned to the river, and Agnes let out a sigh of happiness, content with herself. She lied down as well to feel the connection she had just created with the surrounding nature. 

- You are incredible, Agnes. said Antoine sincerely, almost whispering in a last breath of smoke.

***

It was hard saying goodbye. 

The Dunbars had stayed at the Delacours' for a couple of days and it was already time to head back to London. Joshua and Jimmy had played some Quidditch with Pierre and Antoine, while Agnes and Jeanne had enjoyed some quality time, discussing all the matters in further details. It had been such a refreshing trip, that even Mr Dunbar looked more relaxed he had been for the past year and a half. Mrs Dunbar, on the other hand, had spent the few days exposed in the sun, and was now the one with the most sunburns out of the whole family. 

For the journey back to Britain, Mrs Dunbar and her sons had departed early, having a long trip ahead of them. Mr Dunbar had accompagnied them to the nearest portkey and had come back to pick up Agnes. The latter was hugging and thanking the Delacour family for their hospitality when her father arrived. 

In one last embrace, she promised her friends to visit again, now that she could apparate legally. Jean Delacour and his wife had waved happily before Agnes had left. 

They arrived in the afternoon in London. The temperature was indeed cooler than in the South of France, but the sun had warmed the streets and they was an air of nostalgia in Agnes' heart, she was glad to be back. She preferred the countryside, but she liked the Dunbar's house, and their proximity with Diagon Alley, and the multiple muggle parks of London. It was not so bad, really.

She had helped Cosmey unpack her things and they had dined all together to celebrate the success of this first family trip. Jimmy kept telling everyone about the new french vocabulary he'd learnt and the friends from Morroco he had made at the wedding. Agnes was glad everyone seemed to have enjoyed France. 

She had still the sound of the cicadas resonating in her head, the feeling of the smooth grass under her bare feet, the nice silk of her dress on her skin...

A few days later, Agnes had finally agreed to join Joshua at the Potters', as he had promised she would not have to be the additional player of their weekly Quidditch game. She was a terrible chaser.

It was her first time at James Potter's house. She had never been to Grodic's Hollow, but the neighborhood seemed nice, filled with wizard's family houses. The Potter were another wealthy clan as James' father (or was it his grandfather?) had found his financial success in a revolutionnary hair product brand. 

She knew James was rich by the way he acted and talked about his childhood. It showed that he had not once worried about money. Nor did Agnes, for sure. She wondered if she also carried a sort of aristocratic aura, or if she just looked... plain...normal? She didn't know which word to use. She had always cared about her appearance and her mother had taught her from an early age the importance of a first impression and looking appropriate when meeting people in general.

But she had never really thought of how people perceived her, really. She knew Jeanne didn't. Although she had earned a lot of compliments back at Beauxbatons, and a lot of their boy classmates had confessed their feelings for her, she had never talked about her own appearance or whatsoever. But Jeanne was truly beautfiul, she could akcnowledge that.

Agnes was never jealous, since she had no interest in the boys at school. She had grown with them and it felt more like her own siblings or neighbors's children than potential romantic partners. 

She did have a small crush on Antoine, the first week she had spent with them back in their first year. He had something cool to him, calm and grounded. And the fact that he was a muggle born added something charming and mysterious to him. But her feelings had vanished after a while. It was more of a fantasy than love, she had thought.

After that, she hadn't truly thought about love so much. And they didn't talk about it between her friends. She was always suspicious of Jeanne and Pierre, as they were really close and looked at each other in a way that was... different. She couldn't explain it, it was just different. In a good way. But this summer, they had not shown any signs of a love connection, so she assumed what could have been there had faded as well.

Maybe it was attending Jean's wedding. Maybe it was just normal to start thinking about love at her age, but it started to fill her dreams at night and her daily fantasy. Many people around her were already dating at Hogwarts. One of her dorm mate was dating a Slythering in secret, and had revealed it on the last night before the end of the school year, when the girls had gathered in their room to gossip and retrospect on the events of the year.  

Another dorm mate was openly flirting with another Ravenclaw, but still had feeling for Hassan Shafiq, the prefect. It was a whole lot of drama that Agnes found an unexpected interest in (although she was trying her best not to take part in it). 

They reached Godric's Hollow on their broomsticks in less than 30 minutes. Joshua was the fastest, followed by Jimmy. Agnes was the last one, still bittersweet Mrs Dunbar had asked her not to apparate but travel with her brothers. She should not not have to restrain her new acquired skill just for the sake of her step mother's worries. But she had said nothing and had followed the boys. 

When they'd landed in front of the house, they could smell the sweet scent of a cake being cooked in the oven. At Agnes' surprise, it was Sirius Black who welcomed them at the entrance. He acted like he was a permanent inhabitant of the house. He asked the house elf to take care of the guests' broomsticks and he led them towards the kitchen. There, Mrs Potter was focused on a muggle recipe book and was trying her best to follow the instructions by hand. Her wand was resting on the counter, a bit of flour spilled on the edge. 

Agnes politely saluted the woman, who welcomed them kindly. She directed the whole lot to the garden where Sirius was already heading. 

There, James Potter and his father were debating on whether the table should be on the terrace tiles or on the grass. Peter Pettigrew, the short slightly-fragile-looking boy was sitting in the corner, admiring the two arguing from afar. Joshua quickly went to hand check James while Peter waved to the little group to salute everyone at once. 

There was a peaceful summer ambiance at the Potters, and Agnes felt comfortable right away. While the boys started to get ready for their quidditch game, Agnes went back to check on Mrs Potter, attracted by the nice smell emanating from the kitchen. 

- Not a fan of Quidditch, dear? Asked the older woman, eyes focused on the stirring movement on her hand in the pot. 

- I enjoy watching the games, but I'm not the best at playing it, I'm afraid, Agnes answered, resting her hands on the back of a wooden chair. 

- You can join Remus in the library, if you'd like.He's been there since we finished eating lunch, you see! Or maybe you could both come and help me with this.. disaster. 

She was looking desperately at the pot from where a burning smell started to fill the room. Agnes nodded and explored the house in search for the library. She did not know Lupin was among the guests, as well. She went through the living room and another door led to Mr potter's office room, which she closed really quick. On the other corner, another door was half opened. There it was. 

Remus was sitting by the window, his head facing an open book, but his eyes were stuck on what was happening in the garden. 

Agnes knocked on the wooden door frame to announce her presence. Lupin closed his book at once, like a reflex. They stared at each other for a second before Agnes smiled to him.

- Mrs Potter needs one more hand to prepare a cake. Care to join? She asked simply.

- I'm right behind you, he said, letting his book rest by the window, standing up from his chair in a quick move. 

Remus was now sightly taller than her, adding a manly trait to him. He had turned 15 years old the previous March, and Agnes could still remember how messy that breakfast at the Great Hall had been, the marauders having prepared a howler singing non-stop Happy Birthday. It had made everyone laugh, although Professor McGonagall had to intervene, interrupting her morning tea (which she dearly valued). 

Agnes could somehow see their 2 years age gap. The Marauders (as they kept calling themselves) were still children, although their vision of friendship was true and sincere, in a very mature way. They had strong ethical values (according to their own perspective of course) and shared a bond Agnes could recognize as the same she had with Jeanne, Antoine and Pierre. But they were still frivolous and craved for their peers' attention. Their constant search for mischieves seemed to Agnes as an attempt to keep on going with their childhood, instead of accepting to grow up. But maybe she was still a child herself, after all. She was about to begin her final year of school, and then would be thrown into the adult world at once. It was a bit scary, still.

Mrs Potter seemed relieved when the two teenagers came to assist her in her attempt to cook 'the muggle way'. She refused house elves helped her with any magic. 

Remus seemed very attentive to the instructions Agnes gave him. After a few minutes, everyone was focusing on their task. Agnes had cooked a few times with her mother, when she was younger. They had prepared all sorts of dishes, but her favorite remained baking cakes and biscuits. She was not the best at it, but it seemed to be enough to finish their preparation. 

From afar, they heard the boys shouting every time Mr Potter would blow his whistle, announcing a fault on one or the other team's part. 

The sun was lower, falling slowly to the west, when tea time was announced by James' mother. The cake was ready, and it was finally time to taste it. 

Everyone gathered at the kitchen table cleared by a cleaning spell, and compliments were given to the chefs. 

- Remus, I didn't know you had it in you, mate! That's bloody delicious! Admitted Sirius, a mouthful of cake in his mouth.

- Language, Sirius. Scolded Mr Potter while taking the cup of tea to his lips. 

- Sorry, Mr Potter! 

- Agnes was a great instructor, and Remus a clever student. Added Mrs Potter, smiling towards the two.

- You're the best duellist at school, you have good grades and you can bake ! Said Peter enthusiastically, enjoying the dessert.

- What can't you do, Lenoir? Added James in a laugh.

- Oh, stop with the compliments! Or my cheeks will be redder than Joshua's! 

Everyone laughed at her comment, while Joshua slapped his hands to his sunburnt cheeks in a desperate expression.