Florence nearly forgot that she was already home when she had woken up that morning, momentarily startled at the change of scenery when she woke up, the walls of her dormitory room no longer greeting her eyes as she tried rubbing sleep off of them. She swung her legs off of her bed, her feet finding her slippers almost immediately.

There was a loud meow that came from under her bed, a ball of while fur rolling out into the open as if on cue. It was Miss Mimsy, Florence frowned at the sight of the cat, who now looked bigger than the last time she had saw her. "Who let you in?" Florence grumbled, "This is still my room. You shouldn't get used to whatever you do in here when I'm not around."

Miss Mimsy simply stared up at Florence, before letting out a soft meow as she sashayed out of the room. Florence scoffed, tying her hair to keep it out of her face before coming down the stairs.

There was a distinct burning smell lingering in the air the moment she drew closer to the kitchen, sprinting rather faster in fear of getting all her equipment burned out. Ofcourse, she thought, surprised at her lack of surprise at the sight of Sirius, trying to scrape off the charred remains of what was supposed to be a pancake, while her mother was trying to get rid of the grey smoke.

"Good morning, Florence," Remus greeted, who was seated at the dining table, watching the scene unfold casually, "Did you get a good night's rest?"

"Yeah," she gave him a smile as she slid into the seat across from him, "Never realized how much I missed my own bed until I got to sleep in it again....So why is Sirius trying to cook breakfast?"

Remus shrugged, an amused look on his face, "He said he wanted to.... Looks like we're eating charcoaled pancakes today."

"Excuse you," the man in mention scoffed, setting down a plate of decent looking pancakes in front of the two, "But I actually only burned that one—"

"No," Jane cut off, joining her daughter at the table, "He burnt five pancakes...and a couple sunny side ups. Found them in the bin."

"Tattletale," Sirius muttered, distributing the plates and glasses among them. The pancakes that he managed to save were actually decent in terms of taste, however they didn't taste good plain, so Florence's plate was flooded with maple syrup.

She was about to take another bite when Sirius cleared his throat rather loudly, "So...One of Molly Weasley's boys, then, huh?"

Florence choked on her pancake, coughing rather violently as she reached for her glass of milk. She chugged it down rather swiftly, hoping that eventually she'd drown in her milk and not have to tell them anything. It was not like she didn't want them to know about Fred, but she was just caught off guard, and now felt uncomfortable with the thought of having to tell them.

"Pardon?" Florence asked as soon as she put her glass down.

"He was definitely a Weasley, dear." Jane said, "I would know that Prewett-Weasley shade of red hair anywhere."

"Oh...you mean Fred..." she said, "Yeah, we're...together..."

"How long for...?"

"A couple of months now..."

"Meaning...?"

"Eight months....? More or less...? Less..."

"I see," said Jane, "And we're only hearing about this now because...?"

"It completely slipped, mum, I swear," Florence had launched into defensive mode, "I was going to tell you—I swear on Merlin's pants— I was going to.
But I was just so busy with everything else that I forgot to mention it in my letters."

"Calm down, dear," Jane chuckled, "I'm not mad at you for not telling me," she reassured.

"You're not?"

"No," she promised, "I completely understand. Everyone has secrets they keep during ages like yours. I had a few myself too." She smiled, before taking a sip from her mug of hot coffee

"Rumor has it your mum and dad shagged in a broom cupboard before their graduation ceremony."

Jane spat out her coffee, "Where in the world did you hear that rumor from?"

"Marley," Sirius chuckled, "It's okay Jane...nothing to be ashamed of."

"Yeah," agreed Remus, "You're not the only one sitting at this table who dragged lovely Ravenclaws into the cupboards for a shag..." he cast a sideway glance at Sirius, "...in some cases, you know, a quarter of the Hogwarts female population."

"Never Slytherins," Sirius said, slightly shuddering, "You'll never know which ones are your relatives."

Florence grimaced, "That's a thing?"

"Oh yes," replied Sirius, too nonchalant for Florence's liking, "My parents were second degree cousins."

"And I'm pretty sure I just threw up a little inside."

"Okay, why don't we establish this rule: no incest or shagging talks at the table." Jane frowned at the other two adults at the table. "Serious—honestly, Sirius. Please do regard that there's a child with us before going into those sort of things."

"Child?" Florence repeated, "Mum, I'm going to be of age in two months."

"Still a child."

She rolled her eyes, "If you must insist.." she muttered.

They continued to eat breakfast with light conversation, talking about Quidditch and careers when they heard a knock on the door. Jane's brows drew together in confusing, pushing herself off of her seat to check who was outside. She used the peep hole, and immediately went back into the dining area to warn the others.

"Remus, go hide with Sirius in the attic. Florence, clear their plates, darling."

The two men scrambled up the stairs, Florence watching warily, "Who is it, mum?"

"Ministry workers...It's okay, I'll take care of it. Now go clear the extra plates so it won't look as suspicious."

Florence did as she was told, rushing to bring the two plates into the kitchen as her mother opened up the door for them. There were two men, both dressed in slick uniforms that she hasn't seen before. They must have been from a different department, but as to why they were paying her mum a visit was the question. Jane looked calm, obviously holding herself back from being obviously rattled.

"Parkinson, Alton, to what do I owe this visit?"

The two strode across the threshold rather confidently, even when Jane had not invited them to do so. She frowned for a split second, before closing the door behind her. "I'm sorry, but you just don't get to barge in to my house without any proper greeting." Jane said, perplexed.

"You know what this is about, Price," Alton started haughtily, "You have not been responding to our letters during the past few days."

"Well I beg your pardon," Florence heard her mother reply, as she continued to scrub the plates as fast as she could. "I understand that ministry work is important, but I do not see why I have to work even on the very few days off that I get. I am trying to have a decent breakfast with my daughter—who had just came home from school, mind you—and I do not appreciate you two barging in and destroying my morning."

"I have my daughter waiting for me to get home, too, Jane." Parkinson replied, somewhat offended by Jane's reply, "Yet I took a few hours out of my day to come and sort out this mess that you're supposed to have on your priority list, considering your promotion."

She was silenced, managing only a frown on her face. He invited the two to sit down at her study, and shut the door.

Florence loaded the plates onto the drying rack, creeping closer towards the door, pressing her ear in to have a listen. But she was unsuccessful. It had seemed that they used an Imperturbable charm.

She saw Sirius stick his head out from the stairs, whispering to Florence as quietly as he could, "What's going on?"

"Ministry workers," she whispered back, leaning on the door again, "Can't hear anything, though."

"Florence," it was Remus, who had gone after Sirius, presumably because he had slipped from Remus' watch and had annoyed him, "Step away from the door...If they catch you eavesdropping you'll be in very big trouble."

"They won't," Florence reassured, "They've put on some kind of imperturbable charm. I'm sure they can't—" the doorknob started to rattle, making Florence sprint to the kitchen, while Sirius and Remus hastily disappeared back into the attic, their loud stomping stopped as soon as the door opened, Parkinson and Alton exiting her mum's study with a neutral expression on their faces.

Florence grabbed the sponge, scrubbing at the now spotless plate, staring straight at the sink to avoid suspicion. Jane was managing to keep her rage at bay, but didn't look like she was going to manage for long. She escorted the two out the door, but a loud crashing sound coming from upstairs made the two visitors pause, eyeing Jane curiously.

"Do you have guests over, Price?"

Jane could feel beads of sweat forming on her temple, "No, uh, it's just the cat."

However Miss Mimsy gave out a meow, appearing from under the couch before rubbing herself against Jane's leg. She froze.

"Florence, come here for a second will you dear!" Jane called to her daughter, slightly startling her. She dropped the sponge and wiped her hands dry, before making her way over to her mum.

"Did you leave the attic window open again?"

"Yes," she answered in a heartbeat, a well defined look of desperation on her mum's face, "I'm sorry. It was hot in my room so I slept in the attic.." Florence lied, "I think a couple raccoons got in."

"Right," said Parkinson, a slight cringe on his face at the mention of rabid animals, "We'll get going, then. You two take care. And Jane," she paused, "Please do get to work on the papers. You know the Minister hates it when he has to wait."

"I will assure you it'll be ready as soon as possible." there was a sharp tone in her mother's voice, the two visitors exiting the house for good.

As soon as Florence had shut the door for her mother, Jane had knocked over the coat rack in fury, storming in to the living room as Remus and Sirius cautiously descended down the stairs.

"What did they want, mum?" Florence asked, Jane running a hand through her greying blonde hair in distress.

"Fudge—the Minister..." she started, "He wasn't too happy with what Dumbledore had told all of you at your going away feast. It's caused a massive panic spread among the wizarding families."

"What's that got to do with you?"

"Dumbledore appointed me to be his representative in the Ministry.....before he made his announcement to the school. Others think it's suspicious that he switched out during the last minute. Fudge told him to be discreet about Harry Potter's statement, and now he's pissed."

Sirius frowned, "What do they want from Dumbledore's that so important that they're pressing you for it?"

"A statement, from Dumbledore, to contradict what he told the students at Hogwarts. They've been breathing up my neck since yesterday. Said it's better to do it before any more of the news gets to other people."

"I doubt Dumbledore's going to do anything like that," Remus scoffed, "Fudge can't suppress what's happening. He shouldn't."

"That's what I've been telling them," said Jane, "They won't listen to me... Dumbledore needs to tell them himself once he comes home from overseas."

"Dumbledore left?" asked Florence.

"Yes, but he'll be back. He's mobilizing the Order...reaching out to our international members to get ready. When he returns, it is possible that the Order of Phoenix will meet again."

The Order. Florence had heard of the Order a couple of times, from her mother, the first Wizarding War studies. Sirius and Remus looked sullen, memories from the past resurfacing. "What will it mean?"

"I can't say for sure, Remus." Jane sighed, "What I'm sure of is that a war is coming...We need to prepare for whatever comes next."