Thinking of You (Post-Battle of Hogwarts Fan Fiction) [ON HOLD]

When you've had a taste

Summer went like summers always do, slow at first before sprinting into autumn. Before Rowena and her siblings knew it, the morning of the 31st August dawned, bright and breezy. Whilst Rex, Riley and Kitty headed out to Diagon Alley in a flash of green flames and soot, Rhea and Rowena found themselves a day free of parental supervision.

Unfortunately, neither girl had inherited their mother’s cooking skills and so the day started with a frenzied dash into the Muggle village situated less than a mile from their home. The Staffords rarely went into the village, preferring the seclusion living almost in the middle of nowhere brought them. But for the rare occasion they actually did venture into the highly prestigious and proud Middle England settlement, they kept a jar of Muggle money on top of the fridge. Rowena pulled out a few notes from the said jar and with a bored-looking Rhea in tow; the pair exited the house and headed down the country lane.

The Stafford residence, in all fairness, was more than just a simple house. Richard and Kitty had first bought a secluded, little cottage seventeen years previously when they had wanted to save having children until they were at least thirty five. Seventeen years later and now both nearing forty, the cottage they had first built was almost unrecognisable.

The small patch of weeds and mud surrounding the cottage had been replaced with three acres of woodland and lawns, thanks to Kitty buying land from a neighbouring farmer. The cottage, perfect for a couple in the intense heat of first love, now held several extra floors to accommodate their brood of energetic children. The main lawn, where the children often played, was surrounded by tall, coniferous trees and, if that failed, a hoard of protective spells. Any Muggle, peering up at the cottage, would find themselves, walking back home hurriedly after realising that they had left a cake in the oven/forgot to lock the front door/left their clingy goldfish for longer than two hours.

The village was rather bustling, even at the frighteningly early time of nine in the morning. The local church was hosting a second-hand sale and elderly women, hobbling along on zimmer frames and walking sticks, raced each other in their bid to lay their wrinkly paws on some pretty china ornament. Rhea hated anything second hand. This was an aversion that she labelled a phobia and she whinged softly as her big sister steered her into the church car park.

“The dust will give me a rash,” she scowled, fingering a stained nightdress. “Who do you think died in this?” She sniffed at the dress. “How did they die in this?”

“Stop moaning and just look at it in a different light. It’s like treasure hunting.”

“Muggle treasure hunting at that!”

“Muggles are still human too, whether we like it or not, and don’t forget! Grandma and Granddad Stafford are both Muggles and they’re alright.”

Richard’s parents lived only a few miles away from the cottage they occupied. Grandma Stafford only came up to both Rowena and Rhea’s chests but she was a haven for cuddles and warm apple pie. Granddad Stafford spent all of his free time fishing, drinking or sleeping. Both had lived in the village for a number of years before they settled down into an ancient farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. The fact that their only son was a wizard was a huge source of pride for them.

Kitty’s parents were a different sort of grandparent to say the least.

The Huntington family traced their ancestry back to Rowena Ravenclaw herself. Due to this, the Huntingtons were a staunchly pureblood family and marrying cousins was a family tradition. Whilst Aunt Tabitha married her second cousin timidly, fiery, little Katritta broke all the conventions by hitching up with a Hufflepuff. A Muggle-born Hufflepuff at that!

Even when Kitty had named her first daughter after the founder of their family, none of the Huntingtons bothered to contact their disgraced relative. And when the first daughter, named after Ravenclaw herself, was placed into Gryffindor by the Sorting Hat, in front of her pureblooded Ravenclaw cousins, the shame was just too much to bear. Kitty received a copy of the family tree, by owl the following morning, with her name and her children’s names burned out.