Class Reunion

Robert had had plans with Michael for lunch. They typically went to the Leaky for fish and chips when they could get away with it, but they decided to deviate in favor of the fresh summer salads at Sparks. They enjoyed the walk down Diagon Alley in the summer sun. There was just a wisp of a summer breeze but it was pleasant.

They were delighted to see Robert's wife, Kate, was already their with one of Khaat's daughters, Abbey--her two year old. Abbey loved her Papa, and she could spot him before they went in. The moment, Robert entered, Abbey reached for him, calling "Papa! Papa!" Robert could not resist joining them, and Michael followed to the table. They pulled over an adjacent table, so that there was plenty of room, and then Robert picked up Abbey and gave her a little kiss. She giggled and then hugged him.

"No fish and chips today, Boys?" Kate asked.

"Not when there is fresh seafood salad on the menu," Robert said. "Have you ordered?"

"Only just," Kate said, as Robert and Michael settled in, putting Abbey back in her seat. The tot immediately returned to silently watching the animated drawings of animals done in glittering sparkles that raced and played along the ceiling. It always fascinated her.

He flicked his wand and added a pink fish to swim along the ceiling with the other animals. It made her smile. A slight charm to occupy a two year old was nothing. But making his granddaughter happy? That was everything.

Many students would not have credited how similar the beginning of the school year was for teachers as it was for them. Being a new teacher to Hogwarts, Melinda was spared the shocked looks and awkward edging off. Let's pretend this never happened, whenever such a chance encounter occurred.

So those students would not have understood how much time their teachers were also forced to spend in Diagon Alley. Owl treats didn't buy themselves, especially if you wanted the owls fed right in which case you really had to buy whole mice because they (the owls) needed roughage in their diet. That was what those bleeding heart vegetarians didn't understand... Melinda's thoughts wandered off on this tangent as she entered Spark's only to be accosted by the sight of the Lupin family get-together.

Well, she ought to have known. They did own the place.

Now, usually, Melinda would have simply ignored them. There was a lot you could get away with if your profession was keeping undesirable children from growing up into undesirable adults, she'd found. However, her recent change in circumstance made that option somewhat less appealing than it would have been last year. Besides, the Lupins were probably in a better position than she was to know what had been happening at Hogwarts lately. A chat with them was better than going in blind.

Although Melinda was not the sort of woman to do anything hesitantly, this she had reservations about. With little family of her own and none of them close, she had no idea whether the Lupins would resent her interruption of what to her seemed an intimate lunchtime gathering.

"Hello, Robert?"

Damn. The slight rise in her tone had turned his name into a question. She sounded like an infant.