We spent the 25th at home, enjoying ourselves with the new members of the family. There was nothing particularly interesting, it was a quiet but fun day.
What I did take the time to do in secret is use a clone to travel the country on the flying broom looking for our destinations for the next few days, and I had good results.
On the morning of the 26th, we left as agreed and went to Muggle London to wander the streets and enjoy this side of Christmas. We bought some things and had lunch at a restaurant, where we attracted a lot of attention.
We dressed more in accordance with the muggle aesthetic but even so the colors of our hair stood out a lot due to the disparity and our attitude that seemed from a few decades past, more with Xenophilius with his translator hat that made him look a bit like an Italian mobster from the movies. As always I had to cover the color of my eyes, my hair was already enough to stand out so it was better to hide them
In the afternoon, in addition to walking and buying trinkets, we spend it going to the movies, where we all enjoy the tastes that cannot exist in the magical world.
I was actually doing the same thing with my clone with a couple of other people but in different places as I didn't want to mix the two groups up and interrupt the fun.
In this way, we continue for the next few days, either at home playing and cooking or walking through the muggle world.
...
Amelia finished her morning reports and was getting ready to go home by noon, all thanks to the method she used with her assistant to get her work done.
"I think everything is ready" Amelia said "You should go now, now it's you who hasn't slept at all"
"Do you see me tired?"
"No, but..."
"You go and spend time with your niece, I'll stay here and continue working to move things forward and prevent things like yesterday from happening again... you better not come back tonight without having slept at all"
"But you haven't slept at all in who knows how long?!" Amelia exclaimed.
"When you leave I will do what you do, I will sleep here for a while, and then I will continue"
"But if..."
"We can continue wasting time here or you can go and do what you have to do"
"...just...rest, once I get back you can take the day off" Amelia didn't want to argue now so she let it go.
Amelia left and through the chimney, she returned to her house where Susan was waiting anxiously for her. Amelia was pleased to see her niece in such a state of mind, and they both enjoyed their lunch together. She asked her niece about today and she told her that in the afternoon Red would come to pick them up.
Everything was normal until one hour in the afternoon someone had come to the house. Susan ran excitedly, already dressed to go out, and Amelia could only sigh at that as she removed the wards once Susan yelled at her that was her friend.
Red entered the house, being greeted by a big hug from Susan and a very deep look from Amelia when she saw it.
"Where are we going? Can my aunt go? Sorry for not letting you know she was going, I forgot, no problem right?" Susan looked like a hyperactive hamster.
"Yes, no problem, calm down..." Red tried to reassure her.
"Sorry... Red, I want to introduce you properly to my aunt, Amelia Bones" Susan introduced her family to her friend.
"A pleasure to meet more formally" Amelia extended her hand while her eyes tried to judge the child she had in front of her.
"The pleasure is mine" he returned the greeting formally.
"Where are we going? Hogsmeade?" Susan asked, still excited.
"Susan... calm down, first you need to change a bit..."
"Change us to what?" Amelia asked, somewhat curious and confused.
"Let's go out first... and I'll buy you clothes on the way" Red seemed to think for a moment before saying that.
"Okay, I'll look for some money" Amelia said without hesitation, seeing her niece's emotion with the idea. There would be no problem letting her enjoy these days.
"No, I'll pay, I was the one who took you for a walk, I'll invite you all day today"
"But we can't let you pay for everything..." Susan said.
"Susan...trust me, I'll take care of it" Red stopped Susan "You too Miss Amelia, trust me"
"Okay, I guess if there's no money we can stop to look for more" Amelia agreed for now.
"Okay, so let's go... Can we use her chimney to go to the Leaky Cauldron?"
"Yes, no problem"
With that, the three of them headed for the Leaky Cauldron.
When they were there, the two girls were on their way to Diagon Alley, but Red stopped them and took them towards London, surprising them.
Once they got out, Red led them to a taxi that was waiting for them. During Red's exploration yesterday, he ran into the taxi driver and stopped for a moment to talk. That day, Red told him that he would possibly require his services today and that he would wait for him here around this time, as well as bring him a Christmas present.
The two witches were a bit surprised, they didn't expect to make a trip like this. When they entered the car, they could see the Muggle vehicle, which they rarely had the opportunity to appreciate from so close.
"Mr. Red" The taxi driver greeted "Just at the agreed time" He said looking at the new watch on his wrist, which was a gift from his passenger, along with the new suit he was wearing.
"Take us somewhere where we can buy clothes for the ladies, then we can continue our journey"
"As you order" he said respectfully, he had gotten into character at the sight of the two curious-looking but strong-presence women.
"Is your friend?" Susan asked whispering when she saw Red's interaction with the Muggle, likewise, Amelia without saying anything also raise her ear to listen.
"Let's just say something like that, consider him my personal driver when I need to travel this 'side of the world'. Isn't that right, Alfred?"
"Of course, Henry Alfred Watson, at your service," he greeted in the rearview mirror.
"Hello" Susan greeted shyly.
The journey was uneventful and they soon reached their destination. When they went down, they saw how there were many people everywhere, Susan even held on to both Red and Amelia because of her nerves.
Red led them through the crowd to a women's clothing store, while getting stares from everyone along the way for the two witches' clothing and the boy's hair.
Already in the clothing store, Red asked for some help from the saleswoman, who was surprised by the appearance of the guests but still did her best to help them.
They took their time to choose the clothes and although Amelia did not like this kind of thing very much, seeing her niece being happy, she decided to sacrifice herself. Sometime later several outfits were bought for both Bones and although Amelia wanted to pay for them, she realized that she didn't have any Muggle money on her and she had to accept that the red-haired boy paid for it for the time being.
The three returned to the taxi and headed to their new destination. On the way, Henry, more relaxed and out of the role of a serious and respectful driver, spoke.
"I see that the clothes fit the ladies well, your girlfriend looks beautiful" he joked amicably.
"She is already beautiful, so she wanted to take her and her daughter out for a walk, she is a very good girl" Red joked stroking Susan's head as if she were a child.
The taxi driver laughed, Red laughed, Susan was confused and Amelia's eyes widened when she heard him but she didn't say anything as she was kind of tense traveling through Muggle London like that out of the blue and she didn't feel very comfortable, she didn't it frequently.
The taxi driver and Red had to explain to Susan that it was a joke and what it joke was. When she understood it more thoroughly, she stared at Red and her aunt for a while.
They arrived at their next destination, the cinema. There, Red told Henry where and what time he could come to pick them up.
Red took the Bones girls to the cinema to see a Christmas movie. Yesterday, Red took the time to visit several theaters to be able to choose freely and see where it would be less crowded and enjoy the movie.
Red and Susan sat together on two seats next to each other, and Amelia sat on a seat behind them, partly so as not to disturb in the children's chatter, and partly to keep an eye on them better.
The movie started, and the two witches were a bit amazed. It's not that they didn't know some Muggle things like this or that in the magical world there aren't such impressive things, but it was something new for both of them.
Amelia was able to witness how her niece every two minutes... or two seconds... she would ask the red-haired boy about what was happening in the movie or things that she didn't understand. She eavesdropped very carefully to understand more about the two's relationship, plus many of Susan's questions were the same as hers, but she didn't have the courage to ask about it personally.
The pair of children enjoyed the film and Amelia, in part, also. It was a typical family Christmas story, and it made her reflect more on how little she had been in Susan's life lately.
When they went out, Red wanted to take them to a place so they can eat something, since it was dinner time. He gave them the option to choose if they wanted something elegant or something more casual. Amelia left it to Susan to choose, and she decided on something more casual.
They walked back to where Henry would be…and there he was, trustworthy as ever. Red gave him some directions and after a while, they arrived at a less central and more neighborhood place, particularly a small business on a corner that despite its size was quite busy.
The four of them went downstairs and Red led them to a table, he had seen this place the day before and from what he heard, it was pretty good. Red and Henry went to the counter and both ordered the same thing, hamburgers.
Red sat down with the girls again and talked a while longer with Susan while Amelia watched them in silence, without interrupting them, just observing. When the orders were ready, Red went to pick them up for the three of them. Henry also went to get his, but he didn't stay here to eat it, he left and leaned against the car to enjoy the food while he waited for the trio.
Susan loved the hamburger, it seemed that whenever she was with Red she tasted something delicious, although because she was not used to eating things like this she had some accidents that Red took care of cleaning up, since he was the most accustomed among the three on how to solve problems without magic. In addition, he made it clear to Susan that he must not eat this in excess or she would gain weight, frightening the girl.
Amelia didn't like it the way Susan did, because she thought it is a bit greasy, but she didn't deny that they had a good cook here. She also saw how the red-haired boy helped and took care of her niece, she wanted to do it, but when she realized that she couldn't use her wand here she was too late to act and Red had done it. Instead of being relieved by the care of the child towards her niece, she became worried.
After eating, they returned to the Taxi and went back to the Leaky Cauldron to return home. Red thanked him for his services to Henry and as he promised, he paid him to double the normal rate, plus the burger.
The three said goodbye and headed to their own homes. Amelia, still caught up in her thoughts, forgot to give the boy the money for all the day's expenses as she had planned.
She also wanted to talk to Susan about today and her upcoming interactions with her friend, but seeing her so happy, she decided to leave it for another time.
When Susan went to sleep, Amelia received a letter from her assistant telling her that she had better not show up at the office at night and that if she wanted to work, he sent her some reports to sign.
Amelia knew that her daughter enjoyed the trip very much and she might want to repeat it these days if possible, but she was not sure if she could accompany her. So she took her time buying or creating some protective enchantments for her safety and making it clear that without them, she was not allowed to go out.
...
Amelia was back in the office and she could see how her assistant was still there next to a mountain of finished papers ready for her to review and approve.
"Aren't you going to leave?" Amelia asked, but without getting too upset, she began to believe that this young man was similar to her in regard to work.
"If I told you the same thing, what would you answer me?" Tenebrius replied without stopping typing.
"I guess what you're thinking...here, Merry Christmas and thanks for your help these days" Amelia walked over to her assistant's desk and handed her two packages.
"Thank you…" Tenebrius replied, somewhat surprised. He took one of them and saw that inside it was a very luxurious feather with several enchantments. Then he opened the other one, and inside there was a hamburger, which made Tenebrius stare at Amelia.
"My niece found out that it's thanks to you that I spend more time with her, and she wanted to thank you. She loves this, so she asked me to buy one of them to give to you"
"Send her my thanks" Tenebrius said as he moved his chair away from the desk with the paperwork and began to eat it "It's good"
"They're from a place…" Amelia tried to explain, though she didn't quite remember.
"I know where they are, I go there sometimes" answered Tenebrius.
"Do all the youngsters know that place?" She asked him, a little intrigued.
"Only those who have a bright future assured" He joked.
Then they both got to work, but Amelia wasn't completely calm and that was something Tenebrius saw and got up to go and massage her like before.
"Why are you doing this? I'm not tired like last time, I slept quite well" Amelia asked, but she didn't take her hands off, she felt more relaxed and comfortable that way.
"Could be, but you're not calm, something's bothering you..."
"Yes..."
"We can talk about it, at least it will take my head off these documents for a moment"
"..." Amelia hesitated to tell her assistant something so personal, but she needed to talk it over with someone "My niece has a classmate in Hogwarts... and I think... she is somewhat fascinated with him"
"And the problem is? Isn't it normal for something like this to happen with children?"
"But I'm worried that my girl will be deceived. It's not that he's a bad boy, I don't know him well enough to say it, but... I feel that with how dependent my daughter is becoming and with all the love and care that he gives her, she can end up doing anything he asks of her without hesitation... Am I thinking too much?"
"Maybe, maybe not... although I wouldn't be surprised if next year you find out that your niece is pregnant"
"WHAT?!" Amelia screamed as that image formed in her head.
"Just kidding, I'm not saying it can't happen, but I don't think that soon... they're still kids and unless he's a perver... and it's possible that none of that will happen"
"I don't know if your words help me or cause me more concern... Do I think it's partly my fault? I didn't pay attention to Susan's letters before when she was talking about him... he gives her the care that I have not given her lately... I just want them not to take advantage of her for my carelessness, for not educating her about this"
"Isn't it time for a mother-daughter talk on the subject?"
"Maybe... but I don't know if I can do it well, I'm not the best suited for these things"
"You can also make the boy disappear under mysterious circumstances" He joked "I mean, if I had a daughter and a son of a bitch wanted to do something to her... he would already be so many meters underground that they could possibly find him digging a little well on the other side of the world... but possibly your Susan's friend is a good boy."
"I have many things to discuss with her"
"Can I give you some advice?"
"It would help me a lot...at least all the ones you've given me about work are pretty firm and practical" she replied sincerely.
"Don't tell her to stop seeing him, to walk away or doubt him...it will only have the opposite effect. You have to tell her what she needs to know, but don't push her"
"And what do I do if my doubts turn out to be true?"
"There are things that you cannot prevent or teach, she must learn it herself, but what you have to do is be there when it happens to reduce the impact or solve the problem...advise her and give her freedom. If you are going to intervene, let it be from afar and that she doesn't know
"...I'll see what I can do" Amelia replied
She removed her assistant's hands from her shoulders, going back to work, and Tenebrius did the same.