Fred Weasley? A Slytherin? Merlin and Morgana...

Fred Weasley being the first and only Weasley to ever be sorted into Slytherin was a game changer. Not only for his family but for mine too.

“𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘦𝘭𝘣𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰.”

Unfortunately (at the time being) for me the bloody idiot had his sights set on me the day I stepped foot off the Hogwarts express.

“𝘏𝘦𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶!” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘐 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘗𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.

𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘐 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.

“𝘈𝘩 𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳?” 𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥. “𝘈𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦? 𝘚𝘓𝘠𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘙𝘐𝘕!”

𝘐 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘋𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭.

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘴.

“Jasmine! Are you even listening to me?” I turn to look at Hermione with an embarrassed smile. “Yes Mione, I'm sorry.” She laughs and drags me along with her to look into a shop window. “That dress is gorgeous!” I look to see a navy blue sundress.

“Mione, it matches your skin tone, you need to buy it!” She rolls her eyes as I drag her by her wrist into the store. I catch the attention of the shop attendant and point to the dress in the window and her eyes light up. She happily ushers Hermione towards the dressing rooms and I follow behind joyfully.

I pull my phone out of my bag to check to see if I have any notifications. I see a text from Harry in response to the wrist watch I had thought about purchasing for Neville's birthday but nothing else. It was unusual to go this long without any kind of contact from Fred.

Hermione whips open the door from her dressing room excitedly but frowns when she sees me checking my phone. “Jasmine I already told you I promise he’s fine. You know he’s helping Neville with moving things into his new shop. You’ll see him at dinner tonight.”

I roll my eyes and tuck my phone into my bag. “I know I know. It’s just strange I mean Harry responded and he’s helping too. Last time I went this long without hearing from him St. Mungos called and a healer had to fix his leg because it was literally backwards.”

She huffs and lets out a quiet tut of disapproval. “He’s fine, you know Neville would never put him in jeopardy. Now tell me how good this dress looks on me.” She does a twirl and it elicits a laugh out of me.

“Yes Mione, you look absolutely dashing.” She laughs and spins me around to the perfect angle to see a gorgeous floor length dress. “That is what you need for Draco’s birthday dinner. He did say dress formally didn’t he?” I roll my eyes and turn back around to face her.

“I already have that black dress I wore to that charity event last month. I was just gonna wear that.” She laughs and shakes her head. “Do you really think that a single one of the snakes is going to be re-wearing an outfit? One from an event so recent?” I roll my eyes and turn to look at the dress.

“You let me be so irresponsible with my money and it’s slightly concerning.” She laughs and calls out for the shop attendant. She points to the dress and I can see the shop attendant light up as she rushes to get the dress from the rack.

“What time did we need to be at the restaurant again?” She closes the door to switch out of her dress and the attendant comes back with what she assumes is my size. She hands me the dress with a smile before talking quietly.

“Let me know if you need a bigger or smaller size. And we can always use alter charms if you want a very specific thing changed.” I smile and take the dress as Hermione opens the door and we swap places.

“Restaurant time?” I roll my eyes as I unbutton my trousers and slide them onto the floor. “6 o’clock sharp. If there’s one thing Draco hates, it's tardiness. Are you coming to mine to get ready with the rest of us?” She lets out an unrecognizable noise as a response.

“No, I have to help Ginny with her hair. You know she doesn’t know a curling iron from a mascara wand.” I laugh and shimmy the dress up my legs, the tight ribbing accentuating my waist almost perfectly.

I turn to look in the mirror attached to the wall and smile at my reflection.

“𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯?” 𝘐 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢.

“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵.” 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳.

𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵. “𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.” 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥.

“𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.” 𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵.

“𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥.” 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘦- 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. “𝘛𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝘐 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘴.

“𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵.” 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳. “𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.” 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥’𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦.

“𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴. “𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 10 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴.”

𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦. “𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦. 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘶𝘴.” 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬. “𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺. 𝘉𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺?” 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺.

“𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘺. 𝘊𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭.” 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳. “𝘈𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰. 𝘖𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭?”

𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨? 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳.” 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦.

“𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥, 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. “𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧.” 𝘐 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱, 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬. “𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵.” 𝘈𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.

I smile at the image of their uniforms swapped and continue to fix the dress until it’s sitting properly in all the right places. I exit the dressing room and I can see Hermione's look change from bored to stunned. “How do I look?” I give an unsure turn to show her the back and she squeals.

“Oh my god you look gorgeous!” I smile at her as the shop attendant comes back over to check on us. “Is it possible to make this dress like an inch or two longer? I’ll be wearing heels but I still would like my feet to be completely covered.”

She nods and pulls a wand out of her apron pocket, gently bending down to mutter a few charms as we both watch the dress extend a few more inches. “Is that alright Miss Green?” The use of my name startles me slightly and I smile confusedly.

“I’m sorry I don’t recognize you, how impolite of me. Please call me Jasmine.” I reach my hand out and she hesitantly takes it. “It’s okay Miss Gr- Jasmine I mean. I was in 5th year when you were in 7th, I was in a study group you tutored sometimes on Saturdays.” I recall through all the study groups I had tutored over my 6th and 7th year and her face finally pops into my mind.

“Amelia! Hi! I’m so sorry I didn’t recognize you!” She seems genuinely shocked that I remember who she is but smiles regardless. “She may take a second but she never truly forgets a face.” I roll my eyes at Hermione and give my full attention to Amelia.

“You just graduated this past June right?” She nods. “Yeah! I got a job here right after because I really want to go into fashion. I start Classes at uni in September.” I smile and question her jokingly. “And the marks from potions?“

Her eyes shine with proudness as she tells me. “All marks from 6th and 7th year were outstanding.” Both Hermione and I laugh with amusement and I take one of her hands in mine. “I told you that you could do it! You just had to quit wasting your time on that Ravenclaw boy and focus.” I can see her cheeks blush at the mention of him and she smiles cheekily.

“Turns out his sister was better suited for me.” I let out an unexpected laugh and Hermione gasps. “See! I knew I liked you for a reason!” She laughs and shakes her head while inspecting my hand.

“No ring? I figured you’d be married by now, engaged at least.” I retract my hand from hers after her comment and rub my hands down the length of the dress. “We’re gonna start the courting process in a few months, he isn’t ready to make the leap yet and I respect that.”

I turn to look at myself in the mirror that was at the end of the hall and put on a tight lipped smile. “Mione, what time is it? I’m to be at Pansy's by 3:30 to help her pick a dress and back to mine by 4 so Astoria and Daphne can be let in.” She looks at her wrist watch and her eyes widen. “If that’s the case you’re already low on time. It’s 3:20. Get undressed and toss me the dress, I’ll pay while you put your clothes back on.”

I nod getting ready to comply with the plan but I take a quick look at the tag on the dress and my eyes widen. “Mione, that dress is expensive! You’re not paying 15 galleons for my impulse buy.” She rolls her eyes and shoves me into the dressing room. “We’ll call it even since you paid for my ticket and hotel to go and see my parents.” I huff and rush into the dressing room knowing we have no time to argue.

I slide the dress off and open the door quickly, throwing the dress at her and closing the door again. I quickly redress and fix my hair as it had gotten frizzy in the rush and leave the dressing room. I can see Amelia bagging our dresses in a hurry but she has an excited smile.

“Okay here you guys go. Have a good rest of your night!” She hands us two separate bags with a smile. “Do you perhaps have a floo here? I hate apperating with bags, I’ve nearly been splinched a few times.” She contemplates for a second but nods and motions to a nearly hidden door.

We hurry to the back and smile at the large fireplace. “It’s for employees only so don’t tell my boss.” I smile at her and she points to a small sack on top of the mantle. “It was nice seeing you again Amelia, we will definitely be back.” She smiles again and steps back so I can leave. I climb into the fireplace and smile at them both.

“Remember H, 6 sharp.” I throw down the powder calling out The address to Pansy’s flat while clenching my bag tight.

“𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯!” 𝘐 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭. “𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺!” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵.

𝘛𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵’𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤.

𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙧

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘪𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. “𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦?” 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘨, 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳.

“𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, 6 𝘱𝘮 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘺. “𝘖𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧. 𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥. “𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘨𝘰?” 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴.

“𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘪𝘵, 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵.

𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥. “𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘬? 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯.” 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮. 𝘞𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴. 𝘐 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴.

“𝘛𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰?” 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. “𝘋𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩.” 𝘐 𝘯𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘥. “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 5 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴. 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮.

𝘞𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴. “𝘚𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬?” 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰. 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. “𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰, 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰. “𝘊’𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘏𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘐’𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 2 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘨. 𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰.

“𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. “𝘕𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘦, 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.” 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦.

“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥. 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.” 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘑𝘢𝘻.” 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨.

“𝘖𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 6, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘺’𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺.

𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺. “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘧𝘪𝘵? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘧𝘧.” 𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭. “𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 6. 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘮, 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺.

“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 9. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰.” 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵.

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦, 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦. 𝘐 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦.

𝘙𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘭𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥𝘺.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺.

𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. “𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱- 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦-“ 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦.

“𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘮𝘦! 𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧𝘧!” 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴. “𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯! 𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬!” 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘯𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦.

“𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯. 𝘙𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘱. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.” 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘣 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴.

“𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴-“ 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. “𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸- 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸- 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘫𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨.

“𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘶𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘐 𝘢𝘮”. 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘱𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘴. “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘮. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰.”

𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘭𝘺. “𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦.” 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘨.

“𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵.

“𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐’𝘮 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.” 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩.
6“𝘊’𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘱.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘵.

“𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰. 𝘚𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮.” 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬.

When I stumble into her living room she’s sitting on the couch with a mug in her hand and she jumps up at the sudden intrusion. “Fucking Shit!” I drop my bag off on the couch and dust the soot off my trousers with a smile.

“Well hurry up and show me the options! We have literally 30 minutes to gather all your shit and get back to mine. Is Z here?” She shakes her head and sets down her mug. “Theo’s shirt shrunk when he had it dry cleaned so he had a mini melt down about 30 minutes ago because of course he waited until the last minute to try it on. Came through the floo half naked and made Blaise drop his mug.” She points to a wet spot on the carpet and I laugh.

“How lovely. Also Hermione made me buy a new dress so my jewelry options have changed. Show it to you when we get back to mine.” I move around her couch and towards their shared bedroom. I walk in and she has 3 dresses out and a pair of shoes for each.

“What’s the top running and what are the problems?” She points to the maroon dress and slips off the robe she has on. She steps into the dress and pulls it up so she can put her arms through the straps. “This is my favorite but the straps seem to be a bit too tight.” I roll my eyes and reach into the bag that’s still on my shoulder to grab my wand out.

I gently mutter a tiny extension charm and I can see her shoulders visibly relax at the space. “Didn’t peg you for a red kinda gal Pansy. Lost touch with your inner snake?” She laughs and slides off her dress, letting it pool on the ground.

“Please. Blaise secretly loves when I wear red. But I need help choosing a set.” She strolls into their closet, still nearly entirely naked and motions me to follow. I don’t mind considering we lived together for seven years but still laugh at her comfortableness.

“Okay we have black or white?” They’re identical besides the color but I smile knowingly. “White obviously. But you’re wearing black heels with the red dress because red on red is too much.” She nods and walks into her bathroom.

“Gold or silver?” I laugh, not even bothering to follow her into the bathroom. “Please. Was that rhetorical?” She laughs and walks back out, grabbing her robe off the bed and slipping it back on.

She grabs her dress and places it back on the bed. “Let me put some sweats and a bra on then we can go.” I nod and check my phone again, seeing a missed call from Fred and nearly dropping it by accident. I dial him back quickly and he picks up on the third ring.

𝘍: 𝘏𝘪 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦!

𝘑: 𝘏𝘪 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘩𝘰𝘸’𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘐𝘴 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯?

𝘍: 𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴! 𝘐’𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 5:45?

𝘑: 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧?

𝘍: 𝘕𝘰, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.

𝘑: 𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐’𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴. 𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘦.

𝘍: 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘨𝘰, 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 5 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘪𝘦.

𝘑: 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

𝘍: 𝘮𝘩𝘮 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘣𝘺𝘦

The ending dial tone is abrupt and loud causing me to frown. “Well that was unpleasant. C’mon I need a cigarette and we need to go.” She laughs and re-emergences from her closet in sweats and a sports bra.

“Let me put my dress in a bag and my jewelry in my makeup case and we can go. My cigarettes are hidden in my bottom drawer on the nightstand. I told Blaise I was trying to quit but I Only get to smoke weed every so often.” I laugh and stand up to rummage through her drawer before finding the pack.

I pull out my own lighter and light one before tossing the pack back into her drawer and going back out into the living room. I sit on her couch to wait while casually taking drags off my cigarette.

“𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦?” 𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘸. 𝘐 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.

𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦.

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘯. 𝘈 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘢𝘸 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘒𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴.

𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧. 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯” 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵. “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘮. 𝘚𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬?” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. “𝘌𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦. 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵?” 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘨.

𝘐𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘱. 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺. “𝘚𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 4 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴, 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴?”

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘐 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. “𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 4 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘴. 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘭𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳.

“𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬- 𝘑𝘢𝘻 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱-“ 𝘐 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

“𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦-“ 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦. “𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘤-“ 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴, 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱.

𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘺. “𝘐𝘧 𝘐’𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘹 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘧.” 𝘈𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘈𝘴 𝘐 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦, 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴.

“𝘖𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯! 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵.” 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥. “𝘊’𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥.

“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘥.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦.

I take a final puff off the cigarette before tossing it into the bottom of the fireplace. She emerges from her room with a dress bag, a large makeup case, and a grin. “C’mon we gotta get to yours so the floo will be open for the others.” She links her full arm in mine and braces herself as we apperate to my flat.

We land in my living room and she immediately takes off towards my kitchen to get a drink as I place my hand on the mantle and speak clearly so I can open the floo to the public.

I head into the kitchen and I can see Pansy pouring herself a glass of wine and it makes me laugh. “I’m glad you feel at home. Pour me one too please.” She grabs another glass out of the cabinet and fills it half way. “Do you have any crisps? I need some salt in my life.”

I roll my eyes and take a sip of the sweet wine. “Pansy, you practically live here you know you don’t have to ask. All your snacks are in the bottom of the pantry.” She lets out a squeal of delight and I hear a whoosh in the living room But instead of high pitched chatter following it’s a low grumble.

“Hello?” The voice calls out and Steps into the kitchen, I smile but soon frown at the sight of Mattheo. “Hi? What’s up? Where is Daph and Astoria?” He shrugs and looks at the wine glass before holding his hand out for it.

I give it to him slightly concerned as he downs it in a few gulps. “Remind me to buy a bottle of that.” I roll my eyes and move to refill my glass. “Care to explain why you’re stumbling into my kitchen drinking my wine when you’re supposed to be at dinner in-“ I look at the clock hanging on the wall of my kitchen and it reads a few minutes before four.

“-in two hours? You’re not showered, obviously on the verge of being tipsy, and something else is wrong but I don’t know what.” He looks to Pansy over my shoulder and shoots her a look I can’t decipher. She places a hand on my back to reassure me. “Go lay the dress out on the bed so I can see it, I’ll push him back out of the floo to where he came from.”

I decide to trust her and let the uneasy feeling in my stomach go as I head out of the kitchen and to my bedroom. I take a sip of wine and set my glass down on the dresser before walking over to the discarded bag on the floor. I pick up the dress out of it and lay it flat on the bed with a smile.

“𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦!” 𝘐 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺. 𝘐 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘦.

𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬. 𝘚𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘈 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘰, 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺.

“𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩.” 𝘐 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘺. 𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯.

“𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭! 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳!” 𝘏𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮. “𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵!” 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯.

“𝘠’𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦.” 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨. 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘯𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯. “𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘨𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘺𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘬?”

𝘏𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦. “𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 5 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘐𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦.” 𝘐 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘸𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘬.” 𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳. “𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥. 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦.” 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦. “𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘺. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘺𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘪 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘺?” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺.

“𝘔𝘳𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘧𝘰𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰!” 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴. “𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦?” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦.

“𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘺.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘴, 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘶𝘴. “𝘔𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘧𝘰𝘺.” 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱.

“𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘧𝘰𝘺. 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩.” 𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘴𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.

“𝘏𝘪 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦. “𝘔𝘶𝘮?” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 “𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.”

I smile at the memory and grab my glass of wine and head into the bathroom. I grab my makeup bag out of the cabinet. I hear the whoosh of the floo once more and some excited squealing. I laugh at the image of Daphne being surprised by Mattheo, whom she’s been fawning over for as long as we can remember.

I pull my hair back in a claw clip, not wanting to have it crease in a hair elastic. I sip my wine a few times before setting it down and reaching into my cabinet for my skin care. I’m applying my moisturizer when all three girls stumble into the bathroom excitedly.

“That dress is fucking gorgeous! You have to take me to the shop you bought it at.” I laugh and move to hug them both. “Of course! Do you remember that girl Amelia I used to tutor in 7th year? She’s a shop assistant there!” They all smile and start to unpack their stuff across the large counter.

I re-enter my room to grab my speaker and phone. Putting on some music for us to get ready to in the background. Everyone starts to apply makeup while casually chatting. I decide to go with a slightly dramatic look to match the green of my dress, smoking out some black eyeshadow against my sharp eyeliner to add boldness.

“Hey guys? Do you think I should be married by now? Amelia mentioned her surprise at me not having a ring on my finger by now. I kinda agree with her, do you think he doesn’t want to marry me?” I rummage through my bag to avoid eye contact and they all immediately start to reassure me.

“Of course he does! He loves you so much jasmine and you know that. You know how the courting process goes, you just gotta give it some time ok?” I shrug and finish off my glass of wine.

“Is it wrong if we just say fuck the courting process? I know my parents would be absolutely livid but they’ve already come to terms with me loving a Weasley so-?” I can see the sympathy in their eyes but they ultimately end up sticking to their words. “I promise it’ll be worth it Jasmine. You just need to give it a bit more time, ok?” I decide to nod in agreement but make a small mental note to bring it up to him later.

We continue getting ready, using magic instead of actual tools to do our hair. I leave my hair in loose ringlets, not wanting to look too crazy overdone at a simple birthday dinner. When the clock hits 5:30 we all scramble to get dressed, again not caring about stripping down in front of each other due to years of being confined into a small dorm together.

I slide the dress up my body, the silky texture feeling absolutely amazing on my skin. I quietly adjust small parts across my body and smile at the extra bit of length that pooled on the floor. I lift it up and trudge into my closet, grabbing my favorite pair of heels seeing as they had been modified by cushioning charms.

I look at my small jewelry box that I had gotten as a birthday gift a few years back. It was a simple black box that when touched a small Dragon flew around it and eventually landed on the top, spewing out a bit of fire.

It had been a gag gift for Christmas. Draco had bought it on the fact of “that way you’ll always have me somewhere in your home!” And although he had bought me a real present I still loved the little box and I keep my most important pieces of jewelry there.

I slip out the charm bracelet Fred had given me for our 2 year anniversary, it had a bunch of different charms that represented my Slytherin friend group. I slide it on before grabbing a necklace with a ring attached to it. The ring was Draco’s and since it was too big for me to wear at the time he put it on a simple chain for me to wear, another promise that he would always be by my side.

I smile at it before walking back out of my closet to find the girls adjusting their hair and jewelry accordingly. “Can someone put this on me please?” Pansy laughs but nods. “Why do you still wear this anyways? You guys literally have matching tattoos.” I roll my eyes and gently move my hair to the side so she can see to clasp it shut.

“His face lights up when he sees me wearing it, you know he’s my platonic other half pans.” She scoffs and places her hands over her heart. “You wound me jasmine.” I roll my eyes and walk into the bathroom to grab my pair of earrings I had set out. I hear a few whooshes through the floo and smile.

“Okay girls you know you can leave your stuff here and come get it after. Assuming you’re not all wine drunk and have to come get it tomorrow.” They all laugh and start to gather their things into one area so they can just come by and pick it up. I rush into the bathroom to spray a few puffs of perfume on and based on the chatter in my living room everyone was here.

I grab my small clutch out of the closet and my phone before turning off the lights in the bathroom and closet, grabbing my wand and sliding it into the front of my dress to hold for now. I turn off my bedroom light and head down the hall, the click of my heels echoing off the walls.

When I arrive in the living room the first person I make eye contact with is Draco. “Oh my fucking god.” His words cause all heads to turn to me and I suddenly feel very self conscious. “That bad?” I try to joke and he very gentlemanly walks over to me and takes my hand, spinning me around to show the whole thing off.

“You look wonderful jasmine. I forgot how good Slytherin colors look on you.” I roll my eyes and shoulder his arm as I walk by to greet my actual boyfriend. He seems stunned at my appearance and just gapes for a few seconds before spitting out a sentence.

“Godric, I'm the most lucky man on earth.” I laugh but before I can respond Theo does for me. “Damn straight you are.” I wave him off and turn back to Fred. “Ready to go darling?” He nods happily and kisses my temple to avoid smudging my lipstick.

He links hands with me and we apparate out of the flat and into the lobby of the restaurant. Of course it was fancy considering it was Draco’s birthday after all. We stand idly and wait for our other friends to arrive, soon the entire lobby is buzzing with chatter.

When Harry and Ginny arrive I leave Fred momentarily to say hi. “Gin! Looking stunning as always!” She smiles and hugs me, her head resting on my shoulder due to the height difference we already had plus my added height from my heels.

She smiles and lets me go gesturing down to her black jumpsuit. “Of course! I told you I was going to wear this jumpsuit until it falls apart, it fits so wonderfully.” I shake my head with a grin and politely greet Harry and her other brother along with Hermione before turning back to see Fred and George discussing something quietly.

Of course this made me slightly anxious due to their mischievous nature.

“Hey jaz, can I talk to you really quickly?” I turn from my chess match with curiosity and nod. “Of course honey, do you mind if I finish this match first or is it urgent?” He looks at Ginny and gives her an indecipherable look before she reassures me.

“Don’t worry bout it jaz, go ahead and talk, you know I’ll be waiting here whenever you’re done.” I smile and push myself up off the floor, following him out into the small hallway. “Okay so this is totally optional for you to say no, you know I would never ever push you into something you don’t want to do.” I feel slightly nervous at his statement but nod.

“Of course Freddie what’s wrong?” He smiles and gently grabs my hand. “Nothing is wrong, I just have a question for you.” I smile at his reassurance and nod. “Of course? What’s goin on in that noggin up there.” He laughs and starts to trace over the back of my hand nervously.

“Have you thought about moving out of your home?” The question catches me off guard. “Of course I have Freddie, Pansy and I were looking at possibly getting a flat together. Mione has been helping us look around for some place closer to the ministry because of jobs n such. Why do you ask?” I can see his facial expression falter slightly but he doubles up and stands straighter.

“Well since the shop has been doing so well George and I were thinking about moving out into a bigger flat than the one over the shop. And since him and Lee are getting serious he’s planning on asking Lee to move into their own flat so I was wondering if you would-?”

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence before I’m throwing myself onto him in joy. “Of course! Obviously we would have to work something out but yes I will move in with you.” His face is shocked but he hugs back with enthusiasm. “I love you jaz.” I squeeze his waist and nod into his chest.

“I love you too Freddie.”

When they see me looking at them they break apart and before I can question them the last few members of our party show up. Luna and Neville arrive with a loud crackle and everyone starts to say hi immediately.

I can see Draco nod to the maître d’ and the woman nods back before walking into the dining room. We stand around and idly chat until she comes back and politely clears her throat, silencing us all.

“If you would all kindly follow me into the dining room, you may take your seats accordingly.” We all follow her into the large dining room which had been cleared out minus an incredibly long table in the very center.

Draco sits at the very head of the table, Astoria gingerly sitting down next to him. The rest of the table fills in accordingly before the waiters and waitresses come out.

The maître d’ stands idly by the edge of the room, making sure the waiting staff is treating our group properly. The waiter taking care of our section of the table comes to me and smiles charmingly. “And for your drink tonight ma’am?” I smile and shrug slightly.

“Something sweet and red please. Preferably something with a note of berry.” He nods and writes it down in his small book before heading into the kitchen. Soon the first course comes out, some small appetizers being placed along the entire table followed by our drinks.

“So Neville, how was moving in? Did everything go okay?” He seems nervous to answer my question but before he can talk Harry pipes up. “It went great! We only broke 2 pots.” It seems like a rehearsed answer but I smile in recognition anyways.

“Are you excited? I mean opening up your own shop is surely nerve wracking. I remember when these boys were nearly killing themselves before I stepped in and fixed financials.” He smiles more genuinely at that and looks at Draco. “I was actually going to ask you about that. I know you are good with that kind of stuff and I most definitely am not. Is there any way you would be willing to help?”

Draco swirls his glass around, presumably an aged whiskey of his choice. “I can have my financial advisor contact you. She’s one of the best. I’m sure she’ll even give you a discount on your first consultation.” He smiles at Neville and it makes my heart warm. I gently toy with the ring around my neck for comfort.

We lock eyes across the table and he smiles when he sees me messing with it. He taps the tattoo that’s on his chest with two fingers and I roll my eyes with a smile.

“𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘵.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘹 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘦. “𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘵!” 𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.

“𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘧𝘵. 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦.” 𝘐 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴.

“𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮.” 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴. “𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯.” 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘹 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴.

“𝘜𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰?” 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰. “𝘖𝘩 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺! 𝘐’𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘹 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-“ 𝘐 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴.

“𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳. 𝘞𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴.

“𝘐’𝘮 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘭𝘺. “𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴. “𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭.”

𝘈 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰, 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘯. “𝘜𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭?” 𝘐 𝘴𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳.

“𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘨𝘰. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯? 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦.” 𝘐 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦. “𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦.

“𝘈𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.” 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳. “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘭, 𝘸𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.” 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺. “𝘏𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘰'𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥?” 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.

“𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭. 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺. “𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦.” 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 “𝘕𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵.” 𝘌𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘴.

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 ‘𝘤𝘶𝘻 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.” 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴. “𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.” 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺. “𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯.

“𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦. “𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺?” 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺. “𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰?” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵, 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦.” 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘰𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴.

“𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘵.” 𝘐 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥.

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 5 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮.

“𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶?” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘱. “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐’𝘮-“ 𝘐 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺.

“𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥. 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝘜𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. “𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰-“ 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯. “𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘭𝘺.

“𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶?” 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸. “𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘧𝘰𝘺-“ 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮. “𝘎𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵?” 𝘏𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵.

𝘐 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘭𝘺. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥.

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺? 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦?” 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱. “𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺, 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩” 𝘐 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘪𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘮?” 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳. “𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘬? 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥?”

𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯. “𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦?” 𝘐 𝘯𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺. “𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘐’𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘵. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘬?” 𝘏𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳. 𝘐 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘣 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦.

“𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴.” 𝘐 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮. “𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘢! 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦!” 𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

“𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨?” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘴. “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵.” 𝘐 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳. “𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬.” 𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦.

“𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺! 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵!” 𝘐 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯. 𝘊𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮.” 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘥.

“𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘱. “𝘈𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦. 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦.” 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥.

𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘱. 𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴.” 𝘐 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘥.

“𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘺? 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮? 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘦𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵.

“𝘑𝘢𝘻. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘖𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥.” 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬.

“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘈 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦. 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩? 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘱, 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺.

“𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘬? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰.” 𝘐 𝘯𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨. “𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘢𝘻.” 𝘐 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱. “𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘰.”

𝘐 𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘹𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮. “𝘚𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨.” 𝘐 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭.

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?” 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. “𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦?” 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦.

“𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘥. 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘭𝘺. “𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘺’𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥.” 𝘔𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬.

“𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘊𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐?” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯. “𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?”

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱. “𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦. “𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰.”

When the plate is set down in front of my face it startles me slightly. The waiter seems to notice my change in aura and smiles worriedly. “Are you alright ma’am?” I nod with a fake smile. “Yes, sorry! I just zoned out and you startled me.” He smiles again more genuinely. “Sorry about that.” I wave it off with a more believable smile.

Draco taps his glass with a knife to gather everyone’s attention. He stands up with a smile and looks around the table, his eyes hovering on Fred for a second and then continue like nothing. I look over to Fred and his entire Demeanor has changed. I place my hand on his and he smiles nervously.

“Thank you all for coming tonight. As many of you know we are gathered here for my birthday. Or that’s what some of us think anyways-“ the chair beside me scoots out gently and he retracts his hand from mine.

Confusion isn’t one of my favorite feelings to say the least. My eyes dart to Draco for stability and he has a smirk as he sits back down. When I turn to actually look at Fred I’m utterly shocked.

He is down on one knee with a silver band in his hand, looking up at me vulnerably. I immediately feel my eyes start to water as I look at him.

“Jasmine Elizabeth Green. I knew from the second our eyes met when we stepped off the Express we would be together. Okay well that’s actually a lie I didn’t know that at all.”

I laugh as I try to wipe away my tears. A tap on my shoulder reveals Theo’s hanker-chief and I take it with gratitude.

“From helping George and I sneak in and out of each other’s houses, our secret cigarette breaks, library studies, greenhouse dates, you dragging me around to go shopping, and everything else. I knew I would propose to you one day. Whether you said yes or not was the iffy part.”

The entire table laughs and Including me.

“I have loved you for as long as I can remember. Probably before I even knew what love actually was. I don’t want to spend my life with anyone else and I truly don’t think I could. So Jasmine whaddaya say? Will you marry me?”

I scoot my chair back and slide down onto my knees as best as I can. I cup both of his cheeks and nod while my tears are fully flowing now.

“Yes Fred Weasley I will marry you.”

The entire table cheers as I throw myself into him, nearly knocking us both over. He brings me back to kiss me gently, the glamor charms for my lipstick holding up extremely well. He helps me up and slides the ring on my finger. There was a snake that was wrapped around the band, its eyes two small green gems.

I turn to the table as everyone is incredibly excited. I squeal and rush to Pansy, the other girls immediately flying out of their chairs and rushing over to where I am to look at it. I smile as they all gush over how pretty it is and I look over to see all the boys rough housing with Fred in congratulations.

“I’ve almost broken like 5 times today. You guys have no idea.” Hermione pipes up from the circle, I roll my eyes and shove her shoulder. “Yeah thanks Miss I have to help Ginny. Or miss “just buy a new dress!” The list goes on.” She rolls her eyes and smiles back. “Aren’t you glad you listened to me though. Getting proposed to in Green Is fitting.”

We all laugh and I turn to see my boys waiting for me with large grins. I smile and open my arms and they all immediately flock to where I am and group hug around me. I’m entirely smushed and completely surrounded by mixes of cologne but I smile and laugh regardless.

I push them off and hold the hand out. They all fawn over it just like the girls did. “It looks even better than he described!” This stops me in my tracks and I raise an eyebrow. “You guys knew? For how long!” I smack Draco’s chest seeing as he was the closest to me.

“Yes we knew! He asked us for permission. And like 4 months maybe? He had to get it custom made.” I feel my heart skip a beat and look at them all seriously. “He asked you for permission?” They all smile at me genuinely.

“He wanted to make sure we were absolutely okay with it. He knows how much we mean to you and how much you mean to us. He would never cross our boundaries no matter how ridiculous.” I roll my eyes and pull out my wand muttering a charm for my makeup. “You’re going to make me cry again.” They all crowd me again in a large hug.

𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧

“Draco where the fuck is my bouquet!” I’m standing in my small bridal tent which was currently occupied by the 6 members of my bridal party As well as Theo and Enzo. They all scramble around the tent until Blaise raises it above his hand. “Here! It’s here! I have it!”

I groan and catch it effortlessly as he tosses it to me. There’s a small voice at the front of my tent that interrupts our nervous scrambling. “Jasmine honey, are you ready in there?” I freeze in my spot at her voice, my body losing all sense of direction as I flee towards the back of the tent.

“Give us 2 minutes and she’ll be ready!” Someone calls out as I’m slowly starting to hyperventilate whilst looking in the conjured vanity mirror. “Hey jaz you gotta breathe- look at me. Deep breaths okay? In. Out. In. Out.” I look at Draco in the mirror before turning around and fully throwing myself onto him. My puffy dress prevents him from hugging me properly but it’s enough for now.

“Jasmine, look at me.” He pulls me back and smiles calmly. He inhales heavily and exhales heavily as an example. “Now listen ok?” I nod and smile nervously. “You’ve dreamed about this day since you were a child. I’ve been planning this with you since we were kids right?” I nod, remembering all of the sketch books we filled up as kids of this exact day.

“And it’s just how we pictured it right?” I nod again, everything had been absolutely perfect. The planner we hired along with All of the decorations had turned out wonderfully. “So why are you freaking out right now?” I actually take a step back to think about it.

“I don’t know.” He smiles again. “Exactly.” I roll my eyes and shove him slightly. “Not the best pep talk you’ve given but I’ve also had worse.” He scoffs and crosses his arms over his chest. “Now that’s just rude.” I push him out of my small area and head into the main part of the tent.

“Okay. I’m ready. You guys go out there and look amazing for me ok?” They all smile and nod quickly, exiting the tent. I smile at Theo and Enzo who quickly take place on either side of me, wrapping their arms in mine.

“You ready for this Jaz?” I smile at them both.“I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life.”

We wait for the music for the bridal and grooms parties to finish before the tent peels back by itself. When the bridal music starts to play I feel my heart skip a beat as both boys gently nudge me forwards.

We start to walk down the aisle as everyone stands. I can see my mother crying silently, followed by my bridal party also tearing up. When I finally look at Fred he is smiling with tears leaking out of his eyes. George taps him on the shoulder and hands him a handkerchief.

He takes it and dabs his eyes as he continues to watch us walk down the aisle slowly. When I arrive at the altar I can feel both Both boys move the end of my train to the side and then sit down with my parents.

“Hi.”

I giggle quietly at him as he takes my hands in his.

“Hi.”

He laughs quietly back as the officiant starts to speak.

I end up zoning out on his face until the officiant says my name. “And your ring miss jasmine?” I turn to Draco behind me and he produces a silver band from his pocket with a smile. I take it and turn back forward with a childish smile.

“Jasmine. Do you take Fred Gideon Weasley to be your lawfully wedded Husband? Will you honor and cherish him ; love, trust, and commit to him , through joy and pain, sickness and health, and whatever life may throw at you both, until death do you part?” I slide the ring on his finger and nearly squeal with happiness.

“I do.” He lets out a deep breath and smiles as he moves to place his ring on my finger.

“Fred. Do you take Jasmine Elizabeth Green to be your lawfully wedded Wife? Will you honor and cherish her ; love, trust, and commit to her, through joy and pain, sickness and health, and whatever life may throw at you both, until death do you part?”

He grins toothily. “I do.” I feel any last bits of nervousness leave my body as we stand in front of each other. The officiant pulls out his wand and waves it in the air. A trail of sparks Emanates around us, whirling between us and back into the air.

“By the power vested in me by the country of the United Kingdom. I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your partner.” He leans in and gently cups my face, both hands softly gripping my jaw as we kiss. The cheers in the background are chaotically loud while we do so.

When we pull apart he links our fingers together and raises them over our heads. If I thought the cheers had been loud when we kissed then I was sorely mistaken.

I grin and look to him to speak. He raises his other hand and the crowd quiets down almost immediately. “If you’ll give the newly wedded bride and husband a few minutes we will meet you all over in the large tent for the reception! Thank you all very much!” He nods and the song that fills my ears is unexpected.

The sound of AC/DC fills my ears and I turn to him with a grin. “You did not!” He laughs and nods excitedly. “You wanted it but we’re scared so I took the liberty of doing it anyway!”

I roll my eyes and grip his hand tightly. We step down the few stairs onto the floor and he looks at me with a toothy grin. “dance down the aisle with me wife?” I feel a small shiver down my spine at the word but grin.

“Absolutely. Husband.” He laughs as we start to stupidly dance down the aisle, simply banging our heads and moving our arms to the music. Our friends' laughter fills the air and when I look over my shoulder as they exit in pairs they seem to follow our lead and exit in a dancing manner.

Fred and I rush back into my tent and the second the flaps close to the tent he’s on me. “You look fucking delicious in that dress.” I squeal as he picks me up and sets me on the edge of the large sofa I had set up.

“And you look absolutely ravishing in that suit.” He kisses me fiercely as his hands take a vicious perch on my hips. “I’ve never wanted you more than I do right now.” This makes me whine but before I can reply there’s a loud shout at the tent door.

“Other people need in here too, guys! I’m coming in within a minute!” I groan and Scoot off the edge of the couch with a smile. “Our port key to Italy leaves tomorrow at noon. Then for 3 weeks it’s just me and you. And I plan on using every second.”

He grins and scoots back slightly. “I’m gonna go take my suit jacket and put it up ok? I’ll meet you back here when you’re ready but I’m kinda starving so-“ I snort and nod rapidly. “Me too. I was too anxious to eat this morning even though Draco nearly forced me to.”

The tent flaps fly open and all my bridal party rushes in again. Immediately I’m flocked with hugs and congratulations and so is he. “Pansy, can you do the thing already? I’ve loved looking like a princess but make me modern again.” She laughs and pulls her wand out of her dress muttering something quietly as I feel pants wrap around my legs.

When I look down my beautiful dress has transformed into a jumpsuit and I grin. “Thank you very much. Now I can officially move in this.” I do a test movement and smile at the results.

“C’mon I wanna drink!” They all start to scramble around, tossing jackets off and loosening ties. Pansy changes into a simple black dress and Astoria changes into a Blue one while Daphne stays entirely the same.

Fred is standing outside the tent waiting for me and when he sees the jumpsuit he smiles. “And I thought you couldn’t look any more beautiful.” I roll my eyes and link our arms as we head over to the tent.

When they see us approaching the DJ we had hired stops the song and grins. “Now announcing. Mr and Mrs Fred Weasley!” Everyone cheers again and we walk together through the entrance accordingly.

The large tent was decked out with fairy lights. Each table is covered in a black table cloth with a bouquet in the center, a flower representing each one of my friends in the center. The head table is ridiculously on point and it makes me smile.

The long table is decked out in slytherin green with silver decorations draped across the top. I smile at the blatant reference to how we met and squeeze his hand.

I look around the room to see Narcissa Chatting idly with Molly and my heart nearly explodes. I nudge Fred subtly and nod my head towards where they are. When his eyes latch on to the scene he mutters out. “No fucking way.”

This catches the attention of a few of our friends and soon the entire table is watching them interact. “You know Cissy was a black at one point. Oh my god wait- is Dromeda here?!” I urgently look around only to spot her on the side drinking champagne with Tonks and Sirius.

I squeal with delight when I spot them but stay seated as the DJ still has to come over and give us a mic. When he does he nods to me with a smile, flicking it on before placing it in my hand.

“Okay hello everyone! I just wanted to thank you for coming to our wedding. I appreciate every single one of you and you all have no idea how much it means to us that you came. We will now let our men of honor do their speeches then we will eat!” Cheers ring through the room and I smile before looking at both George and Draco.

“Who’s first?” They both shrug and Draco raises his hand. “I’ll go I guess. But if you out shine me, just know my ego will be damaged.” They both laugh as Draco steps off the table platform to stand in front of the table.

“Okay. Hello everyone! I’m sure you know me but If you don’t I’m Draco Malfoy. Best friend of the Bride. I’ve mostly prepared for this but I will be going off the top of my head so forgive me if I do mess something up.” The crowd chuckles slightly and he turns to look at me with fondness.

“I have never met someone who knows me as well as Jasmine does. We were practically friends before we were born considering our parents had been friends years before. She is the most beautiful, kind hearted, loving person I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. The moment I knew she would end up with Fred was during our fourth year in school. His idiot of a brother- who I now enjoy the company of!”

The crowd laughs at his attempt to cover himself and so do I. “When his brother and their friends covered her in red paint. He was the first to rush to her aid, shielding her from onlookers and even threatening to harm those who spoke of the situation after.” I gasp and look at him, not knowing this information. He shrugs with a guilty smile and I roll my eyes in response.

“Anyways, he offered to compensate for her clothes and shoes. Knowing that it would be a stretch both ways. When she told me this I was completely shocked, I could see how much the gesture meant to her regardless of how it would affect him in the long run.” He turns to look at Fred with a smile.

“If It weren't for you being a Slytherin I truly don’t know if you two would have ended up together. But I truly don’t think there is anyone better suited for her than you. You help her on her bad days, flatter her when she’s insecure, praise her work consistently, constantly remind her how much you love her, and even make sure she has those special chocolate candies from Ireland even though they cost more than you could imagine to get shipped here.” The crowd chuckles again and I wipe a tear away from my eyes.

“I’ve never been happier for her than I have right now. Knowing she’s in safe hands is all that I could ever ask for. So a toast. To the bride and groom. For them to be ever blissful.” He raises his glass of champagne, cuing everyone in the room to do the same.

Everyone claps for him as he hands off the mic to George who immediately starts it off with a joke.

“If someone would have told me I needed to be that sentimental I would have asked Lee to write my speech for me. Merlin knows that man can talk for hours.” The crowd laughs, easing away the heavy feelings from Draco’s speech.

“I also planned to talk about the moment I knew he was absolutely besotted. It was well into our third year and she was in the library. We wanted to ask her to help with our latest prank but he had stopped me from moving any further. She had been tucked away at her table, the small reading lamp illuminating her space as she was reading a collection of Edgar Allen Poe stories. He looked at her with such admiration as she turned the page and when I asked why he had stopped me he shrugged and said. “Let her finish the story first. She gets annoyed when people interrupt her reading.” I had never seen him care like that before, putting someone else’s feelings over his own was a crazy thing to watch.”

My cheeks heat up at the image of me engrossed in a story. “Anyways after that I relentlessly teased him about it until he broke down and nearly cried about how much he liked her. Kinda felt like an arsehole after that one.” Everyone laughs again and he groans in embarrassment. “Anyways i couldn’t be happier for them both. She knew out of the gate that dealing with him meant dealing with me and if anyone knows how difficult that is then I sincerely apologize.”

Molly lets out a cheer of acknowledgment that makes us all laugh. “She is one of the easiest people to get along with, without her our shop wouldn’t have made it and I would not be the person I am today. So another toast, to the bride and groom. May they be forever happy and hopefully bring me a Nephew or niece soon.” He slips the last part in quickly and I nearly choke on my champagne.

The crowd cheers again and soon everyone is served food, there was a large table filled with snacks and finger foods if they were still hungry afterwards. The open bar was a must considering all of our friends could drink copious amounts of liquor.

When we finish our first dance he links his arm in mine and immediately drags me over to where the black family was sitting. “Darling how wonderful this is!” Andromeda throws her arms around me and hugs me tightly. I laugh and hug her back before Ted gently pulls her away.

“She’s had a few too many glasses. I do apologize.” I laugh and wave him off before seeing Tonks and rushing to hug her. “Congratulations you little minx.” I laugh at her and roll my eyes. “If anyone is the minx it’s him. He tried to shag me the second we stepped into the tent.”

She laughs and looks over to see him talking to Sirius with enthusiasm. “Can’t say I blame him. You looked stunning in that dress.” I roll my eyes and bump my hip to hers. “Oh hush. Did you like the exit?” She widens her eyes and laughs. “Remus and I were stunned! I didn’t think you would actually do it!”

At the mention of his name he looks over our way before tonks motions him over. He comes over and surveys my jumpsuit before gently taking my hand and spinning me around.

“Congratulations jasmine. What a wonderful reception.” I smile at him in thanks and tonks elbows him gently. “I was just telling her about how we were surprised to hear AC/DC.” His eyes crinkle when he smiles at her words.

“Yes we most definitely were. What a wonderful exit song.” I smile as Fred and Sirius come back over. “Congratulations love.” He kisses the top of my head and nods to Fred.

“Thank you. I do hope you guys enjoy the reception. Open bar and snacks are pretty much unlimited. And if you do end up too drunk to apparate Molly said she has the guest rooms prepared.” They all laugh in response and lift up their drinks in our own small toast to my newly wedded husband and I.

𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧

“Pansy what does it read?” She picks the test up and her jaw drops. “Jasmine. It’s positive-“ I snatch it out of her hand. “I feel like I’m going to pass out.” I sit on the toilet as she leans against the counter. “All three are positive.”

She hands them to me and I can already feel my tears starting to form. “Pansy you’re quite literally about to burst at the seams, Draco and Astoria are trying for a baby. Daphne and Mattheo just barely got married. Ginny just had her first kid, Hermione also wants a baby.” She laughs quietly.

“Jasmine, I don’t think anyone is going to be mad at you. You know we all wanted kids in the same age range, we wanted a group just like us and we’re going to get it. Do you not want kids yet?” She says with slight hesitation.

“Of course I want kids Pansy but Merlin. I just got a promotion. The shop is doing super well, We don’t even have a spare room for a nursery. What am I gonna do?“

She straightens back out and uses my hand to pull me up. “First, we’re calling a doctor to get you an ultrasound. Second, you’re gonna tell him.” I widen my eyes. “I need a cigarette.” She shakes her head no.

“Can't do that now that you have a child in you.” I groan and put my face into my hands. “This is karma for being kinky.” It takes her a second but when she realizes what I said she groans. “Gross! Ew! Goodbye!” She waddles out of my bathroom and I laugh.

We head back out into the living room and sit on the couch eating snacks until Blaise comes to pick her up. “Jesus Jasmine, she’s never going to eat dinner.” I laugh as Pansy pouts.

“That woman has an appetite like no other. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” He laughs and helps her off the couch. “I don’t know how long I can keep a secret for. So the sooner the better.” She looks at me knowingly and I nod.

“I know I know. I don’t like secrets either. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know how it goes.” She nods and they step out of my front door, leaving the muggle way. Blaise had been insistent on it when she had started her 8th month, she was having trouble walking and fitting into the floo so they had rented a muggle car to get them to and from for now.

I chill on the couch for another hour or so, watching tv mindlessly until the floo makes noise and Fred arrives in our living room. “Hello beautiful.” I smile and stand up, hugging him as he sets a bag down at my feet.

“What’s in the bag hm?” He smiles and reaches down, pulling out a few To-go containers of Chinese food. “Was craving and figured you didn’t mind? If you want something else we can get it.” I shake my head no and smile.

“No, that's perfectly fine darling. I have some news ok? And I want you to sit down for it.” He agrees and sits down nervously. “Is everything alright Jasmine?” I shrug and smile nervously.

“Depends on how you react?” He seems more curious at my answer and I gently take his hands in mine. “Okay promise you won’t be upset.” He gives a worried look but nods silently.

“I’m pregnant.” His jaw drops before he looks at my stomach with a wicked grin. “My baby is in there?” He gently places a hand against my stomach and I immediately feel relieved. “You’re not upset?” He scoffs and looks to be nearly in tears. “Of course I’m not, are you kidding? I’m gonna be a dad!” He shoots off the couch and does a little dance in celebration, making me laugh.

He then gets on his knees and turns me to face him, lifting up my shirt to show my stomach. “Hey little guy. It’s your dad. I can’t wait to meet you.” He places a kiss above my belly button and moves back to sit on the couch.

“Okay. You want to eat?” I nod eagerly and reach for a box out of the sack.

That night we had gotten out his work laptop and started to look for bigger flats. We started a list of baby names.

The next morning I floo to Hogsmeade with him to do some shopping while he works.

I stop at by a smaller shop, a baby boutique. I slip inside and start to look around before picking up a small rattle. It was simple enough and I could use it to tell my friends easily.

I smile and purchase it without a second thought before heading over to Neville’s plant shop. The bell rings when I step inside and he calls out a hello from behind the counter, when he turns to see me he smiles.

“Hi jasmine! You aren’t due for flowers until Saturday. Is there something I can help you with?” I smile and look around the store for a second before my eyes land on a bouquet.

“Can I get 2 medium bouquets of chrysanthemums and baby’s breath?” He seems intrigued at the combination but quietly gets to work picking out and placing them in bundles. “Are these for Pansy?” I smile with a shrug and he smiles back.

“Are you-?” I smile harder and he grins. “Oh my goodness! Congratulations!” I laugh as he rounds the counter to come hug me. “Thank you, but you have to keep it quiet ok? Only Pansy and Fred know so far. You’re just smart so If anyone asked you guessed by the flowers.”

He nods happily and rushes to finish his work. When he’s done he hands me two beautiful bouquets and when I reach into my purse for my wallet he shoos my hand away. “Absolutely not. These are on the house.” I roll my eyes and gesture for him to take my card anyways.

“Please, I insist. It is a special occasion after all.” I smile and take the bundles in my hand. “Thank you Neville. And you know I’ll order for our baby shower.” He smiles and waves goodbye as I step back out into the daylight or hogsmeade.

I head over to a cafe for a nice iced tea and scone. Grabbing a fresh peach tea and sandwich for Fred, and an iced caramel coffee for George. I head back over to the shop, and it was a bit quieter today thankfully. I stop at the front counter to say hi to the cashiers before heading to the back where the small office was.

When I open the door they’re in the middle of a conversation so I stay quiet until one of them notices me standing there. “Oh hi jasmine! What brings you by?” I smile and float the small tray of drinks onto the desk. “I come bearing lunch and drinks. I stopped by to get myself something and figured I could get you guys something too.”

They both smile largely and immediately take sips of their drinks with happiness. “Fred did you-?” I nod to George and he smiles excitedly. “I wanted to wait until you were here. So go ahead.” I smile and produce the small baby shop bag from my other bags.

“Here. Open this.” He sets his drink down and curiously peeks in the bag. When he pulls it out his eyes immediately dart between us. “Wait, are you guys serious?” I set the bundles of flowers down so they don’t get crushed and smile. “Holy shit- Oh my god! I’m going to be an uncle!” He rushes over to me and hugs me tightly.

“Careful! You’ll crush ‘em!” He lets me go and worriedly looks down. “Oh! I’m sorry!” I laugh and push him towards Fred who is grinning childishly. They bro hug for a second before George slugs him in his shoulder.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner!” He whines and reaches for his tea. “I only found out last night! Pansy is the only other person who knows!“ He rolls his eyes and takes a bite of Fred’s sandwich.

“Fine. I gotta go back out there but we will celebrate later ok? Also Jasmine I need your help deciding on flowers for the wedding anyways so I’ll bring my book.” I smile brightly.

“You know I’ll help with anything wedding related. I’m off to bother Pansy for a bit. Then I’m supposed to meet Draco to help him with something and I was just gonna tell them then did you want to be there?” He shakes his head no. “I have inventory tonight but I’ll be home by 9 at the latest. I’ll take tomorrow off and we can visit everyone to tell them. I’ll owl mum and make sure dad is home too.”

I smile and hug him tightly. “I love you so much.” He kisses my head before crouching down and kissing my stomach. “I love you both very much.” He smiles and comes back up to kiss my lips. “Are you going to use the floo upstairs?” I nod and pick my bags back up.

“I’ll see you tonight, does pizza sound good?” He laughs and sips his tea again. “Anything for you and the baby.” I smile larger. “Anything?” I can see his pupils dilate before they flash worry.

“Won’t that hurt the baby?” I snort loudly before shaking my head no. “No it won’t, of course you’ll have to be more gentle but some women even have sex at 8 months so I think we’ll be okay. I’m going to make a doctor's appointment on Monday so if you think we should wait and ask her that’s completely fine.”

He nods happily and comes to kiss me on my forehead. “I would appreciate that.” I nod again and head out of the room, hearing it click closed behind me.

I leave the shop with a final goodbye to him and his brother before heading around the back of the building to the stairs that lead up to the small flat now used for storage.

I head over to the floo and stand inside calling out the address to Blaise and Pansy’s flat. They had moved into a nicer flat when they found out she was pregnant so they could have a separate room for a nursery. I make a mental note to ask her about it later.

When I land in her Floo the living room seems to be in shambles. I set my stuff down and peek around the house to see the designated Go bag in the nursery gone. Before I can even process a small doe appears with a message.

“Pansy in labor. Call the others. St mungos maternity ward.” I let out a screech before whipping out my phone and calling Astoria.

“Pansy in Labor. You get Daph and Mattheo, I'll get Enzo and Theo. Meet me there in 15.” She squeals into the phone before hanging up. I quickly call Theo and tell him as well before ringing Enzo telling him the same news.

I call the shop And frantically tell Fred that Pansy is in Labor and Pizza tonight will have to wait. He joyously tells me to hurry and keep him updated.

I rush into the floo, before deciding to grab my small bag from the boutique and hurrying to the main floor of the hospital. I rush out of the floo and up to the desk.

“Hi, my sister is having a baby right now. Where exactly is the maternity waiting room?” The nurse looks highly unimpressed at my rushing but points to the lifts close by. “Floor 6.”

I thank her and quickly rush to the lifts, joining a healer and auror on the way up. They both recognize me and smile politely before the auror speaks up. “Miss Weasley, what floor for you?” I grin and press the 6 button, he smiles but soon his eyes widen. “Is Miss Parkinson in labor? I thought she wasn’t due for a few more weeks?” I shrug and my exhilarated smile never leaves my face.

“Yes she is, guess she’ll be needing that maternity leave sooner than planned.” He laughs and the door opens to the ICU. “Alright well this is our stop. I’ll see you in the office on Monday.” I nod as they both step off. I anxiously click the close button to the lift and it continues onto the 6th floor.

I step out anxiously and rush to the nurses desk. “Hi, my sister is in labor? Parkinson-Zabini?” The nurse clicks on her keyboard unhurriedly before turning to me and speaking in a monotone voice.

“Miss Zabini is in room 617. Go down this hallway and take your first right. It should be the third door on your left. Can I see an ID so I can print a visitor's pass?” I pull out my basic ministry ID and she scans it before printing a small paper pass.

I rush into the room to find Pansy on the bed with her eyes closed and a cup of ice in her hand. “Don’t worry, support is here!” She sits up and groans immediately. “Thank fuck! Where are the others!” I laugh and rush over to her, kissing her slightly sweaty forehead.

“They’re on their way. I called Astoria and she’s rounding up the troops. Did you want me to call any gryffs? You know they’ll all come in an instant.” She shakes her head no. “They can visit me after, just want you guys here now. How did yesterday go?”

I grin and nod. “He’s ecstatic. Do you mind if I tell them?” She grins wildly. “I can’t believe we’re going to have babies so close together, jaz. It’s a dream come true.” I hear Blaise choke on his drink and he looks at me with a crazy stare.

“You’re pregnant?!” I smile at him and shrug. “Just found out yesterday.” He rushes to me but hugs me gently. “Congratulations! I can’t believe this!” I smile at him and nod. “I can’t believe it either. But I’m honestly so excited to have a family of my own. I haven’t told anyone else yet I was going to wait until tomorrow but Pansy being here and everyone’s all together-“

He cuts me off with a laugh and a gentle shake of my arms. “It’s okay jasmine. Pansy already said it was fine and if she’s okay with it I’m okay. The boys are going to be so fucking excited, I can’t believe I’m going to have a son and a niece or nephew so close together.” He smiles again and kisses my forehead before we hear rushed footsteps in the hall.

I quickly let go of him and toss the bag on the side of the bed and move out of the way so they can see her.

Everyone rushes into the room as a collective immediately gushing over her. She lets out a loud groan mid sentence and everyone stops. Blaise immediately is by her side holding his hand out for her to take. She starts to breathe heavily for a few seconds before she opens her eyes again and eats a few ice cubes.

“How far apart are they?” She shrugs and looks at Blaise who looks at his watch. “Like 12 ish minutes and they only last about 30 seconds. They’re coming to check her dilation soon and I’m sure she will appreciate you all stepping outside for that.” He looks at her and she nods.

“Jaz do you wanna-?” She looks at me with a smile and I shrug. “You sure you don’t mind?” She shakes her head no and I smile. I pick up the small bag and hand it to Draco. “Open it so everyone can see.” He opens it up and pulls out a small purple baby rattle.

“For pansy’s baby?” He looks at me curiously but I place both hands on my stomach and his face drops. “No fucking way-“ everyone stands still, looking to see if I’m serious. “Jasmine if this is a joke-“ I shake my head no and he launches at me, sweeping me off my feet and spinning me around.

“Be careful! You’ll crush the baby!” He sets me down and places a big sloppy kiss on my forehead. “Holy shit! How far along are you?” I shrug and move to hug my other friends.

“Somewhere around 3 months I believe. I’m scheduling an ultrasound soon so we can get the gender.” They all squeeze my upper half tightly. “Holy fuck I can’t believe this. I’m going to be an uncle to 2 kids.” I laugh and turn to look at Pansy as she starts to have another contraction.

“Wait Blaise, that's way quicker than 12 minutes. Like 4 at the most.” He looks at his watch to time the contraction and his eyes widen. “Okay that one was 40 seconds. You’re getting closer sweetheart, you’re doing so well.” He coaches her through it brilliantly and it makes my heart happy.

The nurse comes in and smiles. “Okay if you could all step into the waiting room while I check Miss Parkinson here.” We all rush out of the room and to a small waiting room down the hall, Daphne and Astoria immediately start gushing about planning a baby shower and I indulge for a few minutes before looking at the boys.

“Fred and I are looking at a new flat so I will definitely need your help, also Enzo would you be willing to custom build the crib? I know that’s asking alot and it took you forever to do Pansy’s crib but it would mean so much to me.” He smiles and comes to sit beside me, kissing my temple gently.

“You know I can’t say no to you.”

𝙨𝙞𝙭 𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧

“Pansy, I'm utterly starved. Can we stop by your flat? All I’ve wanted for ages is a peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwich.” She laughs and nods, we step into the three broomsticks and head over to the floo.

She calls out her address and we arrive instantaneously. I sit down on the couch with a huff and she laughs. “I definitely don’t miss that. I Can’t believe you and Astoria are having babies 2 months apart. And then daph following behind a month after that.”

I laugh and prop my feet up on the couch so I can reduce the swelling in my ankles. “I know. I’m kinda bummed that Millicent and Enzo won’t have kids until later. I’m sure it’ll be a green grass situation. And I heard Ginny’s trying to get pregnant again.” She laughs from the kitchen and when she arrives she has 2 sandwiches and 2 glasses of milk.

“Here. Eat up.” We sit in silence as we eat until my stomach cramps again. “Jasmine what was that?” She looks at me slightly panicked and I brush it off.

“It’s been happening since yesterday. The doctor said it’s normal.” She looks at me as I continue to eat like no big deal.

“Jasmine seriously. What the hell.” I look at her and shrug. “Pansy seriously it’s not that big of a deal.” She shakes her head no and stands up. “I’ve been counting, you get them every hour twice an hour. 30 seconds each. You’re in labor.” Instant panic surges through my body.

“Pansy I’m not in labor, my water hasn’t broken.” She rolls her eyes and pulls out her phone, she types furiously and then shoves it in her pocket. “We’re going to the hospital. Draco is getting Fred from work and the rest of the boys will meet us there.”

I continue to fight her but eventually know I’ll lose this battle. “Fine! Fine! But I’m taking my sandwich with me.” She rolls her eyes as I grab the other half of my sandwich and waddle to the floo.

She grabs her bag and hops into floo with me quickly transporting us to the hospital. “Hi yes my friend here is in labor. Help please?” The woman takes one look at me and calls out for a wheelchair. They bring one to me immediately and the technician starts asking Pansy questions.

“How long and far apart? 30 seconds long and 30 minutes apart. She said she’s been having them since yesterday.” He nods and takes us to the lift.

I space out the rest of the time, only remembering key points of the day. I remember when the boys arrived and Draco was nearly in tears. When Fred and George arrived they were both in Shambles. I remember the technician taking me into the delivery room and giving me an epidural And I remember pushing.

When I come to once more I can hear distant crying and Fred coaching me back down.

“Hi pretty girl. There you are. You did such a good job. They’re both beautiful sweetheart. Everything is okay.” I smile as he brings a cup to my lips. The cold water feels like heaven when it goes down and I actually moan at the feeling.

“Babies? Where are my babies?” I start to sit up and he gently pushes me back down. “They’re safe, they’re okay. They’re cleaning them up right now ok? They’ll bring them to us when they’re all clean. For now you need to drink some more water, ok?”

I nod and let him hold the cup to my lips again. Soon the woman brings me my baby girl and I start to tear up. “My sweet Lyra.” She hands Leo to Fred and I start to cry.

“Baby what’s wrong?” I let out another sob as he hands the baby off to the nurse. “Nothing I’m just- if you would have told 11 year old me she would push 2 babies out of her body that are part Weasley I think she would faint on the spot.” He laughs, a confused smile on his face.

“I’m just- so happy right now. Can I please hold my other baby?” He nods and motions for the nurse to bring him over. She positions one in each arm and I sob again. “I promise I’m okay! Just overwhelmed.” He nods and continues to whisper praises and helping me drink for a few minutes.

“You should probably go tell them I didn’t die in labor. They’ll want to see me right away but I wanna be transferred to a room first so they can all come in at once. They won’t let more than 2 people back here at a time.” He nods and kisses my forehead again.

I continue to stare at my two precious humans for a while until I start to doze off. “We can hold them for you if you’d like to nap Miss Weasley.” I smile and shake my head.

“Is it too early to shower? I hate feeling icky.” The woman laughs but nods. “Unfortunately the stitches the doctor put in can’t get wet for 16 hours. We did clean you up to the best of our abilities but you will not be able to shower for 13 more hours.”

I groan quietly but nod. “Thank you. Is it possible to be transferred to a room soon? The bigger you have would be amazing because Fred will need a Cot to sleep on and I have many family members that will be coming and going.”

She nods and smiles as she takes Lyra from my arms. “Of course, I’ll see what we can do. Would you like to have someone come back here now?” I shake my head no and offer Leo to the other nurse.

“No, they'll want to see them all at the same time. I think that nap does sound nice though, if you need anything please please please wake me up. I love my husband dearly but I’ve been the one dealing with all the doctors and such.” She laughs and nods, smiling at my son fondly.

“Of course Miss Weasley, have a good rest.” I turn onto my side and for the first time in months I don’t need a support pillow for my stomach.

I wake up to my bed moving slightly and quiet chatter around me. “Ah hello miss Weasley. Was your nap good?” I nod groggily and sit up. “Where are we going?” The woman chuckles slightly and smooths my hair out gently.

“We’re moving you to a room. All of your friends have been frantic since you went into labor. I’m sure they’ll be very happy to see you and your children.” I giggle slightly, still delirious from pushing two humans out of me a few hours ago.

“Oh my goodness, did you guys call my parents? They need to see my babies as soon as possible.” She shushes me quietly and nods.

“They said they would arrive tomorrow morning. It’s well into the night now miss Weasley but your friends were insistent on staying until you were awake.” I laugh again and nod. “Those are my boys for sure. Y’know I pretty much raised them? Our parents kinda suck so we did it on our own. Love my boys.”

She murmurs in agreement and laughs once more. “Yes I can see they care very much about you Miss Weasley. They are very lucky to have you and you them.” I smile and nod, still mostly gone from my nap.

“We will bring the babies in here for you soon. Your husband is already in there, I believe he was trying to get some rest while you were.” She opens the door slightly and flicks on the light. I hear some rumbling before his figure appears in front of me.

“Hi sweetheart.” I grin like a child and make grabby hands toward him. “I missed you.” He laughs and sits on the edge of the bed. “I missed you too. Do you want to let them in here to see you? Everyone has been here since word got out.”

I widen my eyes and sit up in bed. “What do you mean everyone?” He smiles guiltily. “I mean like everyone? The entire waiting room is filled with every Weasley, all of your friends, Draco’s parents? Tonks and Lupin will be here in the morning Because they didn’t want to wake teddy, narcissa said she owled andromeda, Sirius is arriving soon, your parents will arrive in the morning. So erm yeah, everyone.”

I nearly faint but smile anyways. “Hand me my babies.” He laughs and walks over to the carts with my babies in them. He hands me Leo first and then Lyra. “I’ll go get your friends first, we do need to tell them about the godparents after all.” I smile at him and then glance down to my babies.

He leaves the room and a minute later returns with many different people. They all are silent as they walk in, simply admiring me and my babies. “Holy fuck-“ Pansy comes beside me and Draco Kneels at my beside. The rest of the group fills in accordingly, still silent.

“Hi guys. I would like you to meet Lyra Jade And Leo Alexander.” When I look up they all are fawning over them. “Constellation names?” I look at Draco and Smile. “Of course. That was the plan wasn’t it?” He looks up at me with tears brimming the corners of his eyes before turning to Astoria behind him and placing a kiss on her stomach. “Scorpius is going to love them.”

I smile, feeling tears of my own start to spring. “Do you want to tell them Fred?” He smiles happily and looks at his brother. “We’ve chosen 2 sets of godparents.” The group murmurs excitedly. “Pair one will be George and Lee.”

George ambushes his brother with a hug in response. “Seriously?” He looks at me incredulously and I nod. “You understand the importance of twins better than anyone else.” He grins and turns to Lee happily. “And the second pair will be-“ he nods to me and I turn to my side.

I look at Pansy before moving my eyes to Draco. “You two will be my babies other god mother and father. If you accept, of course.” They both look at each other before nodding wildly. “Of course we will!” I smile and scoot up slightly.

“Now everyone will get their turn to hold my babies but we have many family members here okay? So for now I’m gonna ask you all to leave for now so Molly and Arthur as well as Cissy and Lucius can come see them.” They all grumble but comply with my wishes. Draco gives me a kiss on my forehead and nods to Fred before heading out.

When the parents step into the room immediately both mothers rush to my side. “Oh my goodness. Look at them.” In the few years I had known Molly she had become as dear to me as Narcissa had. While my own parents weren’t the best, Narcissa did what she could do to help me along.

She would always take place in my heart over my actual mother and sometimes I feel guilty for that. But the look on her face when she first sees my children will always make up for that.

“What are their names dear?” I smile at them both. “Lyra Jade and Leo Alexander.” They both coo at the babies before looking at me fondly. “You’ll be such a good mother sweetheart.” Molly brushes the hair out of my face to place a kiss on my forehead.

“Any help you need just ask.” I nod and Narcissa smiles. “And the same from us, anything you need we will help you with darling. We couldn’t be happier for you.” I grin and nod.

“Of course. Do you want to hold one of them?” They both light up and nod. “Of course? Are you sure?” I nod and Fred pulls out his wand, gently muttering a cleaning charm on both of their hands.

“Extra precautions.” He smiles shyly. I laugh and hand Leo off to Cissy while Molly gets Lyra. They both immediately walk over to their husbands, fawning over the small children.

“I’m gonna go say hi to the others. Do you guys mind?” They both shake their head no as Fred and I link fingers, he helps me into the wheelchair seeing as my lower half was still numb from the epidural.

He wheels me out of the room and down the hall, stopping in the door frame of the waiting room. “Hi guys.” They all turn to look at me with excitement.

“Oh my gosh hi!” Hermione and Ginny rush forward and bend over to give me hugs. “Congratulations! We can’t wait to see the babies!” I smile knowingly.

“Yes yes I know! They’re with Molly and Cissy right now. I wanted to come see you guys. It’s so late. Why are you all here knowing you could have come to visit tomorrow?” I look at the clock on the wall and it was nearing 1 am.

“Oh bullocks. You know we wouldn’t miss this for the world.” I roll my eyes at Ginny before turning to Harry and Ron. “Thank you both.” The smile in acknowledgment, knowing that I know they came because their wives wanted to.

“Hey Mione. Did you ever-?” She looks down at me worriedly when I speak and nods her head yes. “Holy fuck.” She shushes me but I’ve already gathered the attention of the other people in the room.

“I was going to wait! Today is your children’s birthday. I'm not going to outshine that.” I roll my eyes and push her aside. “If you won’t tell them I will.” She immediately shushes me again by putting a hand Over my mouth.

Ginny looks at me with a knowing Grin and nods. “Mione’s havin’ a babyyyy.” She singly speaks in a childish tone. The entire room lights up once more with congratulations. “Oh my god Ginny I’m going to murder you.” Hermione's glare is cut off by all of our friends hugging her and speaking excitedly.

“My kids are going to have so many friends. It’s like we’re creating a cult.” Everyone laughs and Fred wheels me over to where a very pregnant Daphne and Astoria are. I place a hand on either belly and smile. “Can't wait for my Lyra to boss your babies around like I do you guys.”

They both laugh, knowing that was very likely to be true.

𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧

“Scorpius!” Lyra runs away from me the second her eyes land on the little blonde boy. I grin and roll my eyes as we head over to where Draco and Astoria are standing on the platform.

Lyra and Scorpius have a friendship similar to Draco and I. They would do anything for one another and it’s quite endearing to watch.

“Auntie Jasmine! Auntie Jasmine!” I turn around to see all 3 of Harry’s kids running up to me. I crouch down and open my arms wide to hug them all excitedly.

“Hi my babies! Say hi to your cousins!” All of the kids excitedly rush into a circle and are chatting in plain black robes.

A throat clears from behind us and when we turn to see Mattheo and Daphne with their daughter. “Hello sunshine, come here!” Their daughter Lizzie shyly comes up to me and hugs me tightly.

“I’m nervous auntie. What if I don’t get sorted into Slytherin?” She looks at all the adults around us with worry. I crouch down to her and push her hair out of her face. “Lizzie baby, You know that we will all love you and cherish you just the same. Your cousins and friends will think no different of you if you don’t become one. But remember if you want to be there, tell the hat ok? He’s a very nice guy, y'know.”

She giggles and hugs me again before she runs off to join the slowly increasing group of our children. I see another head of Fiery Red hair and immediately shout. “Oi! Weasley!” He snaps his head towards us and rushes our way with his wife and two kids in tow.

“Sorry! Sorry! I wasn’t paying attention to the time!” I snort and hug Hermione anyways. “Strange. So not like you Mione.” She rolls her eyes. “Go on rose, we know you want to see Scorpius.” Her cheeks turn pink and I elbow Fred very hard.

“I apologize for your dim witted uncle. It’s good to see you dear.” I kiss her forehead and gently nudge her to where the kids are. “Seriously. She’s 11 fuck off”. Ron shoves his shoulder and I laugh.

“Hi Hugo! You’ve grown so big!” He crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. “Duh auntie jasmine. It’s almost time for me to go to school. Mommy says 2 more years.” I smile and nod. “That’s right! Just in time to go with albus!” He smiles proudly and walks over to the group.

“Okay, who are we missing?” I look around the group and groan. “Where on earth is Theo?” We all start to look around before I spot him and Hannah rushing towards us.

“For Fucks sake.” He rolls his eyes but pushes his son forward. “Go on, say hi to the others.” His son rolls his eyes and marches Over to the group. “He refused to get ready. I literally had to hold him up and force a shirt on him.”

I snort and look back to all the kids excitedly chatting. “I say, we have a snakes night.” They both grin and Fred Beside me laughs. “You go ahead and do that dear.” I roll my eyes and nudge him. “You and the others are coming obviously.” He looks surprised and I smile over my shoulder at Ginny. “Gin! Call your babysitter! We’re having snakes night!” She widens her eyes and excitedly pulls out her phone.

“Mione you too. We haven’t been clubbing in ages.” She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest. “We are much too old for clubbing jasmine.” I roll my eyes and turn towards her.

“Then would you rather get sloshed at my flat and play truth or dare like children?” I see her head perk up slightly at that and I laugh. “Sloshed it is then.” I turn and walk over to where all the kids are.

“Anyone who is not leaving for school today come here please.” Lily, Albus, and Hugo waddle over to me. “How would you guys like to have a sleepover tonight?” They all light up and nod happily.

“Okay but you have to promise me you’ll be on your best behavior. I’ll give the sitter some money so you guys can get pizza. How does that sound?” They all squeal and run off to their parents to ask for permission.

I smile at my actual children and open my arms. “C’mon, you guys should know you're not leaving without me smothering you.” They both trudge over to me and hug me from either side. “I’ll miss you guys.” I start to tear up and when they pull back they both groan.

“Mom, don't cry! You’ll embarrass us!” I groan and wipe my tears off. “I know I know shush. But you guys know you have to write to me at least once a week right? And don’t forget about your allergy meds Leo you know how miserable you are without them.” He rolls his eyes but nods.

“Also here. Don’t tell your dad.” I reach into my pocket and pull out 4 galleons. “For sweets off the trolley. He told me not to but I know how much you both love those stupid jelly beans.” They both snatch the coins from my hand and tuck them into their robes.

“Alright go hug your father goodbye please.” They both run around me and lunge onto their father. I scoff and turn to see Pansy laughing. “You get used to it.” I roll my eyes and look at her.

“Snakes night extended, my place?” She looks at Blaise and nods. “Of Course, we haven’t had one in ages. We’ll stop by honeydukes and get some sweets and be over around 6?”

I nod and kiss her on the cheek. “Sounds like a plan.” I continue to make my way around the group to confirm the time and place. “Bring whatever alcohol you want, I don’t have that aged stuff like you do.” Draco laughs and nods, linking his arm in Astoria's and kissing her temple lovingly.

The express horn blares through the air and it startles everyone slightly. “Go on! Go get a car together! Owl me when you get settled in okay?” I see Lyra turn and nod at me, the only one who acknowledges my words.

They all rush off with laughter onto the train and I feel an arm wrap around me. “I can’t believe they’re already off to school.” I groan and turn into his chest to avoid looking at the train taking off. “You’re going to make me cry. stop it.”

He wraps his arms around me and kisses my head. “You know they’ll write to you and send you pictures. Lyra and Lizzie love that camera you got them. And they’ll be home for break before you know it.” I sniffle into his shirt and he pulls me back, kissing me softly.

“C’mon we can stop by the cafe to get lunch and then we can go home to prep for tonight.” I smile at him and turn to the group. “Lunch?” Everyone looks around to each other and murmurs in agreement. “Alright then. Lunch it is.”

𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙝 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧

Later that evening with our couches extended and blankets everywhere our living room was filled with pizza, snacks, sweets, alcohol, and friends.

“I can’t believe they’re off at school. What am I supposed to do for 4 and a half months before they come home?” I shrug in my seat, halfway buried into Fred with a glass of wine. “I was thinking of starting a garden. I could do with the fresh produce and I would love to plant my own flowers.”

They all murmur and Ginny laughs. “I’m still loving quidditch but honestly I think I could retire soon. Being a mother of 3, keeping in shape, and traveling all the time is exhausting.” Everyone laughs and agrees.

“No shit gin. I have no idea how you do it. I honestly think we could do with a vacation. Even if it’s just a weekend to Paris now that Lizzie’s at school we can lounge around.” I smile at her and take a gulp of wine.

“Absolutely daph! Go wine tasting! Eat chocolate! I mean for salazar's sake have sex, has that been a problem for anyone else?” Immediately all the girls nod in agreement.

“Merlin, I thought it was just us! It’s like every time one goes to sleep here comes another!” Hermione huffs and shoves a piece of chocolate in her mouth.

“I promised myself we wouldn’t buy a big lonely house like the one I grew up in but Merlin is it difficult when your child down the hall understands that a silencing spell means adult time. He does anything to ruin it because “mom that’s gross!” Like ugh!” Everyone laughs but understands her pain.

“I’m so glad we could do this guys. Like really. I know this was a stressful day for all of us.” I look around the room fondly and snuggle into Fred even more.

“It was honestly needed. We haven’t had quality time together with just us in a while.” Harry leans forward, already slightly tipsy with a smile. “We were promised the truth or dare no?” I roll my eyes and sit forward to match his pose.

“Seriously potter? We’re not children any more. And married? Respectfully I’m not kissing any of you.” Draco pipes up from the side causing laughter. “No Dray I think it could be a good catch up for us, rejuvenating maybe. But we play our way. Remember the enchantment?” He grins with the roll of his eyes and pulls his wand out of his side holster.

“Wait wait wait. What’s he about to do.” I roll my eyes at Ron’s concern and stick my hand out for him. Draco concentrates slightly and a stream of blue leaves the light of light leaves the tip of his wand.

“It’s like a contract. You do the dare or you get punished. Our punishment used to be a shot for each dare but I think we can figure out the punishments as we go along.” The rest of the slytherins do this including Fred and Ron looks shocked.

“Mate I think you forget I attended quite a few Slytherin parties. This is how they always did it and it’s always safe.” Hermione eagerly sticks out her hand and so does Ginny. “Might as well, I need some excitement In my life.”

I laugh at her eagerness and take another sip. “Either join or watch Weasley. Don’t tell me you’ve lost that gryffindor courage after all these years?” He raises his eyebrows at the taunt and sticks his hand out.

“Never in a million years Green.” A smirk paints my lips as Harry reaches in too. Hermione laughs at the realization I’ve just baited him into the game but doesn’t comment.

Draco waves his wand once more and small blue sparks form a circle around us for a second before dissipating. “Okay, now you have to finish the round before you can tap out. Otherwise you will be shocked by the spell you agreed to.” He smiles innocently and Ron gasps.

“Okay I did not fully understand this but that’s not fair.” I laugh and lean forward, chucking a jelly bean into the air before catching it swiftly. “Oi shut it Weasley. Now. Truth or dare.” I raise my eyebrow questioningly and he rolls his eyes in response.

We play a few rounds keeping it mostly mellow until Ginny gets her turn. “Mione’ truth or dare.” She has a mischievous glint in her eyes that Hermione doesn’t seem to take notice of immediately. “I’ll say truth for now.”

Ginny seems to perk up at her answer and grins. “Who was the most attractive professor at hogwarts.” Hermione freezes in her spot and shakes her head no.

“Nope. Absolutely not. Dare.” I laugh and pick up my wine glass, swirling it around. “C’mon H. We’re all adults here aren’t we? The past is the past.” She groans and puts her hands over her face before speaking quietly.

“Snape.” I choke on my wine and nearly drop my glass before Fred snatches it out of my hand and starts to pat my back. The rest of the group is in either hysterics or shock.

“No fucking way! I thought you would say something reasonable like Lupin!” Harry gawks from the side of the table at me. “Lupin? Are you serious?” I finally catch my breath and nod. “Are you joking? I’ve been attracted to that man since he came to Hogwarts. Girls? Back me up.” They all nod sheepishly and I cross my arms in victory.

“See! Oh and Sirius. Total dilfs.” Harry fake gags and it makes Ginny laugh. I turn back to Hermione who seems relieved that we have taken the attention off her. “No fucking way though! Why Snape! Out of everyone-“ she huffs and crosses her arms across her chest defensively.

“I don’t know! He always spoke in this low drawl-“ She squeaks and covers her mouth which makes the entire group laugh more. “Gin good on your part.” I reach over and high five her and she laughs. Hermione groans in embarrassment before narrowing her eyes on Harry. “Fine, you wanna play like that? Harry truth or dare.” His eyes widen in fear before choosing what he thinks is the better option.

“Dare?” She smiles wildly and Leans back, crossing her arms cockily across her chest. “Fine. I dare you to tell the group the weirdest place you’ve had sex.” His cheeks heat up as the group hollers at the question. “What! She can’t do that! That's not fair!” Theo shrugs and takes a sip of his wine. “A dares a dare potter. Now answer.” He grins mischievously as his eyes dart between Harry and ginny. Harry looks at Ginny and she shrugs with a grin. “Mione already knows, which is why she asked. Go ahead, I know jasmine has a spot that tops it anyways.”

She looks at me with a wicked grin and I widen my eyes with a rapid head shake. The girls all burst out at the same time in a chorus of remembrance. “HOLY SHIT! I FORGOT ABOUT THAT-” I shush them loudly with the wave of my hands and direct the attention off of me and back onto harry. He mutters to himself but I don’t hear him and neither does Daphne. “What was that potter? Who’s bed?” He seems to flush even more as he speaks in the quietest voice possible. “Mcgonagall's bed.” The room drops silent before I look over to Mattheo. When we make eye contact we both burst out laughing causing a domino effect and soon my whole group is in hysterics.

“Oh my gods-”even Draco is doubled over in laughter at his answer. The entire group continuously laughs for a minute or two before the wicked grin on Ginny’s face returns. “Okay my turn!” Harry pouts at his wife stealing his turn but lets her talk anyways.

“Jasmine! Truth or dare!” I roll my eyes and place my face in my hands. “Just give me the question I know you’re going to ask.” She lets out a giddy noise and pops a jelly bean in her mouth. “Go ahead and tell us the worst place you’ve shagged.” I feel Fred stiffen beside me and it catches the attention of Ron.

“I mean mate, it can’t be that bad right?” He looks over to me to confirm his theory but the flush of my face gives it away. I look at Fred, he shrugs and gives me a small smirk as a confirmation. “Okay fine! Hogwarts express, the first journey of our 6th year.” The room is dead silent besides the quiet giggles from the girls, all the boys gaping at my answer. “You- what?!” Theo spits out in pure shock.

“You just mean hand stuff right?” I see the gears turning in Draco’s head before pure horror takes over his face. “Merlin’s tits! No fucking way!” The entire group turns to him for an explanation but he just shakes his head.

“I knew I heard noises!” I turn to Fred in shock and he shrugs with a guilty grin. I smack his arm in embarrassment and it only makes him laugh. “At least I casted the glamor charm! They would have seen you bouncing on me otherwise!” I place my hands over my face and groan in embarrassment while everyone is in hysterics once more. The game continues on for a few more rounds before I look to Draco who seems to be seeking my attention anyways. His eyes flick towards the kitchen and I nod, escaping freds grip and grabbing my wine glass. “Refill anyone?” Daphne holds her glass out to me and so does ginny. Blaise raises his malt glass so Draco grabs it from him and mumbles to Astoria he would help me and be right back.

We go to the kitchen and immediately his arms envelop me in a hug.”dray whats wrong?” He huffs and lets me go before pouring a good helping of whiskey into his glass. “Nothin just miss you.” I roll my eyes and flick his arm before kissing his cheek. “I see you at work every day. We go out to dinner once every other Friday and we just got drinks not even a week ago.” He huffs and downs the whiskey with a gulp.

“Jaz I mean I miss what it was like before all this. Running around in all hours of the night in the castle, you girls going to our quidditch matches, getting unnecessarily sloshed every weekend, you know the fun times. Look at us now, in our 30’s sitting around the living room drinking wine and playing children's games while eating pizza and candy.” I give a sad smile and open my arms to him, he slinks over to me and places his arms in a bear hug.

“I miss it too sometimes hun, but now that the kids are all at school, minus a couple of them of course. Now that they are doing things on their own we can start to see each other more as well as everyone else will be more open too. Maybe we could all take a weekend trip to our cottages in Italy, yeah?” He smiles at me and kisses my forehead.

“You always know how to make me feel better, jaz.” I laugh and bump my hip into his. “I’d be a shitty best friend if i didn't. Now c'mon.” I grab the full wine glasses and motion for him to follow me. We get back into the living room just in time to see Harry get shocked. I give the girls their glasses back and cuddle up to Fred again.

“Everything ok love?” He asks softly enough for only me to hear. I nod and take a look around my living room. The boys are avidly arguing about a case from work while Pansy and Hermione are messing with Ginny's hair, mumbling about wanting to do something with it. Astoria is watching a chocolate frog jump around before her sister snatches it and takes a bite, laughing as her sister pouts for a second before rolling her eyes and opening a new one.

I look at the pictures hung up on the wall, a few from our most recent family reunion. All of the Weasley siblings with their spouses and children are posed for a picture for a second, after the flash goes off you can see all chaos break loose. Next to it is all of us right after graduation, smiling widely with childish grins. A photo of my wedding next to a photo of us in the hospital holding our kids, a picture of our parents and their friends all together when they were younger right next to it as well.

“Yeah freddie. I’m doing just fine.”