He couldn't believe it had been four years since he'd graduated and that he'd been teaching at Hogwarts and that he'd been working as a beast specialist at the Ministry. Everything had made him so busy that he'd forgotten about so many things. All he thought about was work and his family, like his younger sister and parents. He wanted to give them everything they wanted and needed for as long as he could. Mayleen had already begun to plan her wedding with her long term boyfriend Marcus. That was something Jake didn't have the luxury of going right now.
In fact he didn't even have a girlfriend at the moment. Or at least, not an official one. There was a girl who worked in his department that he liked though. And it was obvious she liked him back. Everyone in the department could see it, and though many had told him to ask her out, he'd never been able too. Both of them were so busy and even though they spent a lot of time together it was never for any personal reason. Besides, they thought that a relationship was too much of a distraction from work.
Now that he finally had a chance, Jake went out to lunch at Diagon Alley alone. He decided to go to Sparks, it had recently become his favorite place to eat, when he had enough time. If he didn't, he would go to the Cafe Twin Montez. Now, as he entered the restaurant, Jake noticed that it wasn't as full as it usually was and he wondered why. That place was usually packed with all sorts of people. Still, he didn't mind, it would give him time to enjoy his meal before he went back to work.
After the waitress had taken his order, he waited and looked around. His eyes stopped on a familiar face but he couldn't quite place a name to the face. And the little girl in a booster seat next to her also threw him off. He sighed and looked away from her quickly as the waitress came back with his order.