"Come on Anthony," I said, grabbing the small boy's hand. "Do you remember what to say?"

With light brown skin, long black curls, and a doe-eyed expression, Albus's son looked nothing like his father, which was fine with me. It was hard enough living with my best friend then to have his son be an exact clone.

For a moment Anthony looked puzzled, then his face exploded with eagerness. "Nimbus Racing Broom Company!"

"Well done," I said. Grabbing a fistful of green dust from the pot above the fireplace, I threw it into the flames. Together, the small boy and I stepped into the flames. "Nimbus Racing Broom Company," I said.

It had been a long time since my office was mine. Now it had a refrigerator stocked with juice boxes and applesauce, a clutter of beanbags and blankets in one corner, and a scattering of books along the floor. But Anthony was quiet and happy there, which was all I needed. And I could always share a friend's office.

"Hello, June," I said, peering at the slender Asian above an armload of broomstick designs and sketches.

She laughed at my load. "Hey, Hazel. Need any help with that?"

"No—" In one big explosion, the papers dropped to the ground and slid under boxes, cabinets, and made the entire office floor blanketed. I managed to catch only a small paper which circled slowly into my hand.

June burst into raucous laughter, and soon I joined in.

"Maybe I do need... a little help," I said between gasps.

It took almost ten minutes to gather all of the papers onto my side of her desk. It took almost twenty before I could stop snorting like a pig in laughter.

"You're cheerful this morning," June commented.

I looked up at her and brushed a stray piece of curly white-blond hair behind my ear. "I guess it's just been a long time since there was anything to laugh about."

"No owls from your brother?"

I shook my head. "I hope the Americans haven't roasted him on their spit."

"Because that's what Americans do, Hazel," June said sarcastically. "He's probably just busy."

"Rose hasn't gotten any owls either," I added.

Knowing my brother's deviation to his wife, June nodded sarcastically once again. "Well, in that case, he's dead. I wonder how he'd taste," she mused. "Maybe like fish?"

I rolled my eyes but couldn't help joining in. "He's not salty enough."

The final drawing on my new model was just becoming more and more detailed when June's door swung open and promptly ricocheted off my butt. Anthony laughed. I rolled my eyes.

Crouching down so I was eye-level with him, I said, "Do you need something, honey?"

"Nope," the little six-year-old said. "But I was just thinking about something Daddy said last night. Is it true that your Mommy is dead?"

I stiffened and nodded tensely. My mother had succumbed to a heart attack last year. Almost a week after that, we held my father's funeral.

Trying to keep my tone light, I stroked Anthony's black curls. "Why do you want to know?"

"I wanted to know if you had a Mommy."

"Everyone has a Mommy," I said, then stopped abruptly. I realized what conversation I had just walked into.

Anthony stared at me with deep brown eyes. "I don't."

Thankfully June managed to rescue me by taking him and leading him out the door, promising cake from her lunch. He gleefully accepted, and a few minutes later my friend returned to find me sucking on a quill.

She sat down. "So?"

I stared at her. "So what?"

"Do you want to let it out now?"

I smiled gratefully at her. "You know me so well." I took a breath. "You know June, I think the only time in my life that I have been totally speechless is when Albus comes home with a little baby boy one day and asks me to help raise him." I shook my head. "I just never thought that Albus of all people would have an illegitimate son!" I buried my face in my hands. "And that's another reason why I won't marry him when he asks me— once we got out of Hogwarts— he changed."

June nodded sympathetically.

"You still love Albus, though."

"As a friend, as a sister." I crumbled a piece of paper and threw it into the wastebasket across the room. "I couldn't stop loving him because of one mistake, but I couldn't say 'I do', that's for sure." I looked up at her. "Not that Anthony's a mistake. He's like my own son."

"You'll figure it out, Hazel," June said. "You know why?"

I grinned, knowing the answer. "Why?"

"Because you're the amazing Hazel Malfoy. You can do anything, And..." her black eyes flashed. "Something tells me that Albus wouldn't hate you if you don't want to marry him. Friends are like family."

I shrugged. "Not exactly. But my friends are a lot better than the family I got stuck with." Momentarily I closed my eyes. Malfoy. I opened them again. "And that's exactly why I won't lose Albus Severus Potter.

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