I paced the floor of the bedroom that Anthony and I shared nervously, fingers deep inside the pocket of my jacket. Nothing I had ever done been this nerve-racking before— not being Sorted all of those years ago at Hogwarts, not my test to become an Auror, nothing.

Relax, Albus, I told myself, trying to put the facade of the normal me on my face. Just wait until she gets home.

While pacing I caught sight of myself in the mirror, and stopped dead. It had been a long time since I had seen myself. My dark brown hair still didn't lay down straight, and there were worry lines on both my forehead and around my green eyes. My grey jacket was emblazoned with the Ministry of Magic logo, as well as the Auror office's insignia that was unique for each and everyone of it's employees.

Suddenly the bedroom door burst open, and Anthony came running in with a huge smile of his face.

"Daddy!" he yelled. I smiled and wrapped him in a giant hug, so large that he whispered, "Daddy, you're suffocating me.

"Sorry, buddy," I whispered back, and released him. My heart jumped as I saw Hazel leaning on the doorway with a gentle smile on her face.

"Hey, Hazel," I said goofily, and fell silent, just looking at her.

"Hey, Albus," she said, and proceeded to stare at me with large bug-eyes. "Can you not stare at me like that?"

I looked at her with sad eyes. "You mean I'm not a fish?"

She smiled and began to withdraw to her own room across the room.

"Wait, Hazel," I said, crossing over to her. "Can I take you to dinner tonight?"

Hazel opened her mouth, momentarily looking saddened, than brightened and nodded. "Sure," she said.

"We'll leave at six," I said.

"Sure," she replied again, and slipped inside her room.

Butterflies of nervousness built up inside me as I gripped the black velvet box in my pocket again. Then I looked at Anthony, who was stretched out on the bottom of our trundle bed. His sweet, gentle nature needed a mother. And I knew exactly how to get one for him.

"You look amazing," I said. "Even more beautiful than in our seventh year when I took you to the ball."

Hazel blushed and rolled her eyes. "You've said."

I tipped my head. "I just wanted to make sure it sunk in." For a moment we stared at each other, then I broke the silence. "Thank you so much for taking Anthony to work with you. I know it's hard, but I don't want him doing anything else magical around Muggles."

Nodding, Hazel said, "He's fine. And June is a great sport for sharing her office."

"And it's only until be goes to Hogwarts." I grinned. "In five years."

"There is one thing I want to talk to you about," said Hazel, leaning forward. Her stormy gray eyes reflected with sadness. "A week ago, he asked me about my mother, and well, long story short, took my words about everyone having a mother and said that he didn't have one."

I winced inwardly, but tried not to show it. I stiffened. This is not the conversation I wanted to have at the moment. "What about it?"

"Albus, you've got to talk to your son about his mother! He doesn't know anything about her."

I pursed my lips together. "Hazel, I don't want him to know. He's fine."

"Really?" She sighed, and her tall frame shrunk slightly. "You know, maybe you're right. If you're afraid he'll be ashamed of his mother, than it's better not knowing." She paused. "Sometimes I wish I had never known my grandparents."

I curled a piece of unruly hair around my finer absently. "I'm afraid he'll be ashamed of me." Hazel's face showed her interest. I sighed heavily. "Fine. I know you want to know— don't deny it."

She didn't, but to be fair I had never told her anything at all about Cora.

"When I went to Africa to meet some Aurors there, I met this doctor named Cora." I hesitated. "She was very beautiful, but not very... compassionate. We dated for a while, but when I told her about being a wizard she left me. A half of a year later, a baby showed up on my doorstep with a note from her." I swallowed. "To be honest, Hazel, she was my second-biggest mistake."

My friend stared at me, then blinked like a startled rabbit. "If I can ask... what was your first?"

Slowly I stood up and sank down onto my right knee. "Not asking you before now. Hazel Bellatrix Malfoy— will you marry me?"

Hazel stared at me in shock. It was almost as if I could read the emotions flashing in her eyes— fear, joy, sadness. She opened her mouth, but was at odds at whether or not to answer. For the first time ever, I seemed unsure of my decision. The tension increased as the rest of the restaurant caught sight of me and watched us intently.

Hazel, say yes. Please.

That was when a bolt of red light slammed into Hazel, knocking her backwards until she fell limp on the floor.

"Terrorists!" An extremely fat lady screamed and ran out of the room, dropping her cocktail glass onto the ground where it exploded into billions of little shards.

I reached inside my jacket and grabbed my wand, scanning in all directions to look for whoever cast that spell. For a moment I thought I saw a flash of bright white, but it vanished in a split second. I stared at the pandemonium all around me, watching my fellow diners run around in circles. This was going to give the Ministry a huge workload tomorrow.

"Damn it," I hissed.