in the end ~ d. malfoy

Chapter Two

𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟒

TWO DAYS LATER, MAYA IS BOTH CONFUSED AND INTRIGUED at the sight in front of her.

Her mother is holding the map in utter confusion, the yellowed edges of the parchment contrasting greatly with her crimson-painted nails. It's a little after seven in the evening, the time where the sky is streaked with beautiful hues of pink and gold with strips of white clouds floating here and there. The sight is ethereal, majestic, an idyllic backdrop of the English countryside.

"Mom, are you sure we're in the right place?" Maya asks, apprehensively looking at the house - if she can even call it that.

"That's what these directions say" replies Nandini, frowning, "Wait, let me try Google Maps-"

"There's no signal out here"

"Oh, hush"

Maya sighs, knowing that her mother's mind clearly isn't in any discernible place on the earth at this very moment. Nandini has been oddly distracted ever since they arrived in London, the day before yesterday, barely speaking to her only daughter for a reason she can't even begin to imagine. She knows it's probably just separation anxiety, that her mother is preparing herself for not being able to see Maya for nine months.

But some deep instinct tells her that there's more to it.

The structure in front of her is quite....bizarre, to say the least. It looks like someone has stacked two different houses on top of each other, with little to no support from the ground. Rooms are haphazardly jammed in between the slats, made of vastly different materials. It reminds of her of a patchwork quilt, mismatched yet oddly comforting. Warm light spills from the inside, the smell of baking bread drifting out towards them. A shabby pair of boots lay haphazardly next to the door, followed by a trail of feathers that indicate the presence of domesticied chicken nearby. It fills Maya with a sort of longing, a brief happiness at seeing a house look so much like home.

Though she bets that Magnus would be horrified if he saw the architecture.

Her thoughts are abruptly cut short, as a plump, red-haired woman makes her way out the door, her face lighting up the moment she catches sight of the two clueless young women standing in the grassy field.

"Nandini!" she replies, rushing over to her mother with open arms, "It's been far too long!"

"Bloody hell, Molly, it has" states her mother, sweetly, as the two older women embrace, "How're Arthur and the kids?"

"They're a riot, as usual. Arthur's in Surrey to pick up Ha-"

A crash resounds from inside.

"And they're back" finishes Molly, tutting in disapproval as the faint sound of voices start to resound from the house.

When they walk in, two teenagers are congregated around the fireplace, chattering excitedly, along with a skinny, black-haired, bespectacled boy with a lighting-shaped scar on the side of his forehead.

"..Did he eat it?" asks one of the tall ones, animatedly, a devious grin spreading over his freckled face.

"Yeah" replies the black-haired boy, straightening up, "What was it?"

"Ton-tongue toffee. George and I invented them, and we've been looking for someone to test them on all summer...."

The tiny kitchen explodes with laughter, mainly from the four boys sitting at the fresh-scrubbed kitchen table.