𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 {𝐄𝐃𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍}

𝐕𝐈𝐈 | 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐍

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

★------------------★------------------★

"I CAN'T, ESME," HOLLY STUTTERED, GAINING HER BEARINGS. 

"Oh. Why not?"

"I'm going to be out of the country for a while. I'll be on . . . business."

"A rain check, then?"

Dammit. "Sure."

Holly tossed her phone on the sofa like it was on fire. She groaned, flopping onto the chaise opposite to said sofa.

"Well . . . that bought us some time," Neville tried to say cheerfully. 

Luna shook her head, sending a mental message to him: Sweet of you to try, but STOP!

"So . . . out of the country, huh?" Luna said, leaning on her elbow.

Holly raised her head slightly, nodded slowly, then let her head fall back. "Yeah. We're going back to England, guys."

★------------------★------------------★

"Is Mistress Potter absolutely sure Kreacher has to stay?" Kreacher asked for what felt like the hundredth time that day. 

Holly was close to snapping if he asked one more time, but as calmly as she could, she repeated what she felt like she had for the hundredth time: "I'm sure, Kreacher. We need you to protect the cottage. I know it isn't one of the Black residences, but . . ."

Holly stopped in the midst of her rapid packing. She hadn't exactly planned how long she'd be in England for—a week, maybe more?—so she hastily charmed every necessary item of clothing she could lay her eyes on to fold itself neatly into one of her suitcases.

She'd halted at a small framed picture—it was no bigger than the size of her petite hand. It featured a giggling ginger woman dressed head to toe in white hand in hand with a man who had messy raven locked and slightly crooked round glasses perched upon his nose. He too, was laughing. The shirt of his tuxedo was untucked and his tie wasn't tied right, but he, of course, still pulled off the look. They were holding hands and ducked slightly as they ran, the woman holding up her fluffy white wedding dress and the man occasionally tripping over the woman's incredibly long dress. 

Mum . . . Dad . . .

Colorful confetti was being shot out from canons (which hadn't been captured in the picture) as a man with shoulder-length hair to die for hooted enthusiastically, his suit and tie in the same condition as the bespectacled man. 

Sirius . . .

Next to the long-haired man was a scarred man whose face was mostly hidden by his hand covering his face. Two fingers were massaging his temples. Holly assumed his thoughts at the moment were something along the lines of "How the fuck did I become friends with these hooligans". 

Remus . . .

Holly choked back a sob, her knees turning to jelly. They gave out a second later and she collapsed, the back of her head hitting her hard wooden bedframe. She could faintly hear Kreacher calling her name in a panic, but it blurred with the other sounds of high-pitched laughter.