A Meeting, an Ice Cream, and a Little Playboy
A week had finally passed, and Wanda accompanied Susan to Diagon Alley. As expected, they took Harry and Hermione with them. The purpose of the trip was to get the new book by Gilderoy Lockhart"something that, apparently, many other housewives had also planned to do, since Flourish and Blotts was packed.
A long line stretched outside the shop, even wrapping around the corner.
"Hmm... Why don't you take the kids for a little walk while I wait?" Susan suggested quickly, raising her voice a bit over the noise. "If they stay here, they'll just get bored."
"Sure, I don't mind," Wanda replied with a calm smile. Then she turned to the children. "What do you say, shall we go for a walk?"
"Yes!" Harry exclaimed immediately.
Hermione hesitated for a moment as she looked at the endless line, but eventually nodded as well.
Wanda led them down the street and, as expected, they ended up in front of a small magical ice cream shop that enchanted its products so they wouldn't melt. Harry eagerly ran ahead.
"Wanda, I want one with chocolate chips!" he exclaimed, so excited he wasn't watching where he was going"and in his distraction, he accidentally bumped into a woman who had just placed her order.
"Ah! I'm sorry," Harry said quickly, lowering his gaze.
The woman turned with elegance. She was an imposing figure: tall, blonde, beautiful, with cold eyes. She was dressed entirely in black, wearing a robe that radiated elegance and refinement. Her gaze rested on Harry for a moment, quickly scanning his face until it landed on the scar on his forehead. For a brief second, she seemed to analyze him with a strange mix of interest and detachment, then replied in a calm voice:
"It's all right. Don't worry."
She looked up, and her eyes met Wanda's, who had been watching the scene with one eyebrow slightly raised. The woman remained composed.
"Your son seems quite cheerful," she remarked as she waited for her ice cream. "I wish my daughter could behave with that same energy... though now, I suppose she'll have that chance."
"Here you go, ma'am," said the vendor, handing her a carefully wrapped cone.
"Thank you. Hopefully, this will cheer Draco up," the woman added, more to herself than anyone else. She gave a slight nod to Wanda and the children, then walked away with elegant, purposeful steps, her robe trailing smoothly behind her.
Harry watched her go.
"She was pretty..." he said, then after a short pause, added with a shy smile, "But Wanda is prettier."
Hermione looked at him with an amused expression.
"That's something playboys say."
"What's a playboy?" Harry asked, blinking in confusion.
"I don't know," Hermione admitted honestly. "But my mum always says that when the men in her novels say nice things to all the women."
Wanda couldn't help but laugh.
"All right, pick your flavors. We'll take a walk afterwards," she said in good spirits.
"Yay!" both children replied in unison, running to the counter.
As they walked ahead, eating their ice cream and arguing over which flavor was better, Wanda's attention was caught by a strange smell in the air"potions. Her instincts reacted before her mind, and she turned her head out of pure curiosity.
As she did, her eyes met those of a man who had just passed by... and who turned at the exact same moment, as if sensing her presence.
He was tall, pale-skinned, with a mane of jet-black hair that fell down his back. His face was serious, with sharp features"not particularly handsome, but not unattractive either. He wore a neutral expression, until his eyes met Wanda's. Then, he froze.
Wanda held his gaze for just a second longer, showing no interest, then turned away to keep walking alongside the children, who were still deeply engrossed in their ice cream debate.
The man remained where he was for a few moments, watching Wanda's red hair sway in the wind, and only then seemed to snap out of his trance. He adjusted his robes and continued on his way... though he glanced back more than once over his shoulder.
.
"Aunt Susan, we brought you ice cream!" exclaimed Harry with a radiant smile as he and Hermione ran toward the bookstore, where Susan was still waiting in line, now very close to the entrance.
"Thank you, sweetheart! I was melting from the heat," Susan replied with relief, eagerly taking the ice cream.
Without any warning, Hermione launched her question with all the innocence in the world:
"Mum, what's a playboy?"
Susan, who had just taken a spoonful of ice cream, nearly choked.
"Cough, cough! Where did you hear that, Hermione?" she asked, eyes wide, trying to recover.
"You always say it. Like when you say Lockhart must be a playboy," explained the girl, completely serious, as several women in line turned their heads curiously toward Susan.
"Um… was I wrong?" Susan tried to justify herself with a nervous laugh, glancing around.
The other women nodded amid chuckles and murmured comments of "she's right."
"I was telling Harry not to be a playboy," Hermione added. "He calls every woman pretty."
"That's not true! I only said it about Wanda… and that lady we saw," Harry protested quickly, blushing slightly.
"It's true. He never called me pretty," Susan chimed in, giving him a teasing smile.
"Well… um… Aunt Susan is kind of pretty too," Harry said, a bit nervous.
"See?! You are a playboy!" declared Hermione, pointing at him like a judge passing a sentence.
"Aaah! But I only said it so she wouldn't feel sad!" Harry defended himself as those around them chuckled at the childish conversation.
"Your kids are adorable," commented a woman standing right in front of Susan in line. "I've got a bunch of little crazies at home"can't compare."
"Oh, thank you, but actually… Hermione is my daughter. Harry is the son of Wanda, my friend," Susan clarified kindly.
"Wow! I thought she was your eldest daughter. She looks so young and beautiful…" the woman said with genuine surprise, glancing toward Wanda.
"Oof! That one hurt," Susan joked, placing a hand on her chest as if wounded.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean any offense," the woman apologized quickly, flustered.
"She's just joking," Wanda chimed in with a soft smile, shaking her head.
"Haha, don't worry. It's not the first time it happens when we're out together," Susan added with a resigned air. "Though it might not look like it, Wanda is older than me. I still haven't figured out what potion she uses to look like that. She's literally a witch."
"Hey, hey! I'm a witch too, and not even in my prime did I look like that," added the woman with a conspiratorial laugh, looking at Wanda warmly.
"Allow me to introduce us," Susan said with a polite gesture. "I'm Susan Granger. This is my daughter Hermione, the little heartbreaker is Harry, and this is Wanda, my neighbor and friend."
Harry frowned at the "heartbreaker," but didn't say anything.
"A pleasure. I'm Molly Weasley," the woman replied with a warm smile. Then she leaned in a bit, lowering her voice. "By the way… Harry? Is that Harry Potter?"
"Yes," Wanda answered calmly, not making a fuss about it.
"I figured, when I saw that scar," Molly said, smiling again as she affectionately greeted Harry. "Lovely to meet you, Harry. And you too, Hermione. You're both adorable!"
"Thank you," the two children replied in unison, with a mix of shyness and pride.
Hermione leaned toward Harry and whispered:
"Are you going to tell her she's pretty too?"
Harry glanced quickly at Mrs. Weasley, who was already chatting animatedly with Susan, and shook his head.
Wanda observed the scene from a step behind, wearing an amused expression and a barely hidden smile.
Just then, a red-haired boy, about eight or nine years old, approached with a scowl. He was carrying a two- or three-year-old girl on his back, who was happily playing with a rattle.
"Mum! George and Fred made Ron cry again," he said in frustration.
"By Merlin, those boys! Tell them if they keep it up I'll hang them by their ears when we get home," Molly responded, losing her patience. "And where's Charlie? He was supposed to be watching them."
"Charlie's flirting with a girl from his class. Bill stayed at the bookstore reading something about dragons, and Fred and George ran off the moment they saw me coming," the boy said without remorse, efficiently ratting out all his brothers.
"And Ron? Where did you leave Ron?" Molly asked quickly, now clearly overwhelmed.
"Uh…" the boy's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. "Oops…"
"For Merlin's sake, go find him right now!" Molly ordered in a powerful voice, attracting even more attention.
"We'll wait for you at the tea room," Wanda said kindly, trying to ease the situation. "I'm sure the kids are hungry after all this."
"Please order that raspberry cake I love," said Susan before they walked off.
"Of course. Don't worry," Wanda replied with a smile.
As Molly continued ranting about her children in the distance, Harry and Hermione watched her with wide eyes, and Susan just laughed along, full of understanding.