My first week being grounded wasn't so bad. No one had contacted me to hangout yet, so I couldn't disappoint them, and somehow, Mr. Lancaster, James' father, hadn't come by the shop yet. Maybe for the two weeks that I would spend here, I would be lucky enough not to encounter him at all.
But I wouldn't get ahead of myself just yet. Week two had only just begun.
Today, I was in the backstore with my father and he was showing me how to decide on pricing.
"So, the first thing you need to know is how much it cost you in terms of ingredients to create that potion. Then, you multiply that amount with the amount of hours it took to brew it. Then, you divide that amount per potion bottles per cauldron. And finally, you multiply whatever amount that is by three, and you'll get the cost."
"That's it?" I said.
I obviously didn't feel the need to tell him that I had been miscalculating the prices of my potions by a large margin.
"Of course, you can always just calculate the base value per potion and then adjust the price to the amount you want to get paid per hour, but that's too complicated. My method is better."
"How does Mum feel about it?" I asked him. My father scratched the back of his neck. We both knew Mum was the one who took care of all the finances.
"Well, she came up with it," he answered rather clumsily.
"So, it's her method," I clarified.
"Well, without me reporting the required information to her, she wouldn't even know how to calculate this. So, in a way, it's our method. Your mother and I are a team," he explained rather terribly.
We both knew Mum was the brains in the operation. My dad never even considered selling his potions until my mother came along with a business plan and the keys to this location she found in Diagon Alley. Apparently, they weren't even dating yet and she wanted to start a business with him. Not surprising, considering she'd always been the ambitious type.
Aunt Véronique even told me that when they were at Beauxbatons (before my mum got expelled), my mother would illegally sell cursed objects such as quills and ink bottles to students who wished to harm others. Strange business model, but apparently it was successful until she got caught.
Come to think of it, maybe that was why my mother got expelled from Beauxbatons. And good thing that she did too because otherwise my parents never would have met.
"Right, Maeve?"
I snapped back to reality. Apparently Aiden had been here for a minute now, but I'd been so busy thinking about my mother that my brain didn't register that someone had entered the room.
"What?"
"Earlier, you said you wanted to get ice cream?" Aiden asked.
"Oh, right, yeah. Right now?"
"Yes, right now," he said with a tinge of impatience. "See you, Dad."
"Oh, well. You two may go home after. I'll just tell your mother you both felt a little ill," our father said with a dismissive wave of the land. "Although, stay away from the shop so she doesn't see you both."
"Thank you!" I beamed. It was just two in the afternoon, which meant that I had the whole day ahead of me. Only five more days to survive in the shop and to hopefully not meet Mr. Lancaster.
"Bye, kids," Dad said as Aiden and I started marching towards the backdoor so that our mother wouldn't see us leave (she was at the front desk).
The backdoor led to our small garden in the back. We had all sorts of plants, mostly the most common and useful ones for potions. I often got my ingredients for school in here. My Dad would probably flip if he saw me in an Apothecary ("I have the same suppliers as them. Better get your ingredients from my orders!" he would say.)
We shimmied between some asphodel and dittany and reached the exit door, which led to the back Alley. We didn't often used this exit, so there were loads of overgrown plants in the way, which we had to push to the side to get out.
"I hate this way," I groaned as I picked at my sleeve, which had a few cactus spikes stuck to it.
"Well. That's how we get ice cream — Besides, we wouldn't even be here if you had just waited for Mum and Dad at home, last week," Aiden derided.
I didn't really have a retort to that because he was right. Even though it was totally unfair because my parents were late, I understood why Aiden would be miffed with me because he got punished too for what I did.
Thankfully, Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour wasn't too far. We got there in no time and got in line for our long awaited ice cream.
I'd been craving ice cream for a few days now, and I'd been harassing Aiden to have him go with me because Mum and Dad would never let me go alone (especially not after that recent incident that got me grounded). I got lemon and mango, while Aiden got pumpkin and peach.
We sat outside the ice cream shop, eating our delicacies as we sunbathed. The sun was nice and warm on this mid-summer day. Not a cloud in sight.
Well, the ones in sight were far away enough that I wasn't too worried about them, anyway.
"How's your summer, so far?" I asked Aiden. His dark curly hair, which had grown a lot these past few months, was unkempt and frizzier than usual.
"Pretty good."
He didn't say anything else, so I added, "Not gonna ask me how mine is going?"
"Nope."
And he kept eating his ice cream.
"Why, thank you for asking, Aiden," I said suddenly, knowing that would irk him. "My summer is going splendidly. I got to experience what a muggle movie theatre is like, and I ate muggle pizza. Quite a nice summer, so far. Of course, I just got grounded by Mum and Dad, recently, but you know, that's just life."
Aiden was not having it. He was the type of person to enjoy peace and quiet. I was the type of person to enjoy blabbering to irritate him.
"If you keep going like this, I'll keep this trip short and have us go home immediately," he warned.
"Hah. I'm only joking. Merlin, can't you take a joke?" I teased, knowing that would vex him even more.
"That's it. When I'm done with this ice cream, I'm bringing you home," he decided. Unlucky for him, I was already done with my ice cream.
"Not if you can't find me!" I taunted.
I got up as quickly as I could and started sprinting away. I got to the corner of an alley and ran in. I laid my back against the wall and waited for his footsteps.
But there were no sounds of footsteps. I peered around the corner and found my brother still seated at Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, enjoying his ice cream. He sure was confident that he could find me.
Perhaps not in Knockturn Alley, however...
I looked down the alleyway, which if I kept going down would lead me straight to Knockturn Alley. The idea sure was tempting.
But I wasn't crazy. So, I didn't go.
Instead, I took a pathway to another street entirely. That street was full of bright lights and buzzing with lively wizard life. There were stands of various foods aligning the street, vendors all over. Some even looked like they were traveling from other countries, seeking to sell their products here.
I reached a vendor that sold dragon beards and other types of sweets, but I was particularly looking forward to some dragon beard.
"I'll have the pink dragon beard," I told the lady behind the stand. As she grabbed the stick of cotton candy, I rummaged through my pockets for some coins.
Oh, no.
I didn't have any coins on me. Aiden had paid for our ice cream, so I didn't even think about whether or not I had coins on me back there.
"That'll be two sickles, please," the lady said.
I fumbled with my words.
"Er — I forgot my purse..." I trailed off.
"No money, no dragon beard," she said as-matter-of-factly, though she looked slightly annoyed with me.
"I've got it," someone said behind me. Apparently, they were waiting in line.
"Malfoy!" I nearly cried out.
There he was, slicked-back platinum blonde hair and all, grey eyes narrowed, and of course, pockets filled with coins.
When he paid for my dragon beard, he didn't even give it to me. Instead he started eating it himself.
"Erm..."
"I don't hear you saying thank you," he said, still taking small bites from the dragon beard.
"Excuse me? You're eating it."
He forced the cotton candy stick in my hand, and said, "I just wanted a taste. Gods..."
"Ah. Well, thank you," I managed to say.
He peered down at me, eyes twinkling with what I only knew was mischief.
"What?"
"Weren't you grounded?" he said, crossing his arms at me as I took a bite from my dragon beard.
"How do you know about that?" I queried, narrowing my eyes at him.
"Relax. Your mother told my mother, and I heard everything."
My stomach tied into knots. "Oh, no. What did she tell her?"
I hated to give Narcissa a bad impression. She'd always been like a second mother to me, especially since my parents were often too focused on the shop to spend time with us, so Aiden and I were often at The Malfoy Manour as kids, under Narcissa's care.
"Just that she was afraid of the trouble you would give her now that you're a teenager," Malfoy said with a shrug. "Pretty standard stuff."
"Well, I've been a teenager for over a year now," I said, huffing a laugh.
"And you've made that quite obvious."
"What does that even mean?"
"You have illegally brewed and sold potions for two years now, you have dueled and scarred the face of a fifth-year student, and you've been, er... growing."
I frowned. "Growing?"
"Not in a weird way," Malfoy clarified, though I didn't think it helped. "I just mean, you don't — you don't really look like a kid anymore."
"Well, yeah, that sort of comes with hitting puberty. Have you not hit puberty yet, Malfoy?" I said, evidently trying to poke the bear.
"Obviously I have — I'm taller than you," he insisted.
"You always have been," I pointed out. He shrugged.
"In any case, what are you doing here if you're grounded?" he asked again.
"My father let me out for an afternoon — although, I just remembered, I'm supposed to hide from my brother, so if you see him, pretend you didn't see me."
I was about to leave, but Malfoy gently grabbed my arm.
"Hang on, where are you going?" he asked.
"I'm off to, erm, I don't know. Anywhere that isn't where my brother ought to be," I said. "And this looks like the type of street he would go on looking for me."
"I'm not leaving you alone," Malfoy ground out.
"Pardon?"
"I'm not letting you walk around Diagon Alley by yourself. Besides, knowing you, you'd wander off into Knockturn Alley by accident."
That was only slightly insulting because it was absolutely true. However, I was still allowed to act offended.
"Merlin, how pathetic do you think I am, Malfoy?" I scoffed.
"Fairly."
"Well, that's nice—" I was about to elaborate with something clever, but then, I spotted Aiden at the end of the street, almost sniffing around like a dog looking for me.
So, without another thought, because I couldn't trust that Malfoy wouldn't rat me out at this point, I grabbed his arm and dragged him away with me into another street.
But Diagon Alley wasn't that large. Aiden would find me, eventually.
"I'm starting to think Knockturn Alley isn't such a bad idea, afterall," I said, half-joking.
"You're mad," Malfoy said as if it were a fact.
"What's a shop that you wouldn't find me dead in?" I asked Malfoy suddenly. We did win that ball questionnaire a few months ago, so perhaps he could help me figure this out about myself.
"What?"
"I'm trying to figure out what's the last place Aiden would go in looking for me — so, what's a place Aiden thinks I wouldn't be found dead in?"
"He's probably considered that you would think like that," Malfoy pointed out.
"Salazar, you're right. I'm screwed."
We kept at a reasonable pace down the street. I kept looking behind us in case Aiden would show up. When I finished my dragon beard candy, I threw away the stick in a trashcan at a street corner.
Finally, we reached another possible entrance to Knockturn Alley. I gave Malfoy a look that said "what's the worse that could happen?" and he responded with a look that said "you're mental."
"Maeve, what are you—?"
But I was already out of his grasp. When he stumbled forward to follow me, he stayed close to me, almost as if he thought he was my bodyguard.
"I may know a place," Malfoy said as we wandered down the darkened street. "But we can't stay there long."
"Of course you do."
He sneered, but still guided me down the dark and narrow streets, his hand gripping my wrist as if afraid that if he let go, I would vanish from the face of the Earth.
There were very sketchy-looking people around here, as expected. No one looked like they wanted to be caught dead in this place. There were two types of people: those who wore hoods and steered clear of others, and those who looked unwell and stared at any passerby.
"I forgot to ask you, Draco," I said as we neared an ancient-looking window-paned shop called Borgin and Burkes.
"Stay quiet, for now," he said in a hushed tone.
"But I was just wondering..."
He shushed me and opened the door to the shop.
The interior was filled with shelves upon shelves, holding all sorts of trinkets, odds, and ends. Surely, this was a cursed artifact store.
"Keep your hands to yourself," Draco said.
At the counter was a slimey-looking man, eager to sell a certain item to a customer that was already there.
"Nonsense," the customer said. He wore a black suit and had silver hair, but I couldn't see his face from this angle.
"Ah. The young Mr. Malfoy," said the shopkeeper. "What brings you here?"
"Just... browsing," he replied.
"And who might that young lady be?" asked the shopkeeper. I widened my eyes at Malfoy, wondering if it was safe for him to tell the shopkeeper my real name. If my parents found out through word-of-mouth that I was here...
"Agnes," he said. I blinked. "Agnes Thorns."
The silver-haired man who was originally facing the counter turned around and my heart dropped to my knees.
Of course, of all people, it had to be James' father looking straight at me, clearly very aware that my name was not Agnes Thorns. He raised a perplexed eyebrow at me, but did not comment. He obviously thought my name was actually Amirah Flowers.
"Er — nice to meet you," I said awkwardly to the shopkeeper.
Malfoy's face was pale now that the silver-haired man had seen us. Was he afraid of Astarion Lancaster because of those rumours he had told me about? Or was this something else entirely?
"We're actually just waiting here while my father is in another shop," Malfoy said suddenly.
"Well," the shopkeeper said, tapping his fingers on the counter impatiently. "If you're not really here to buy anything, I would kindly ask you to leave."
"Of course. We're sorry for wasting your time," I said before Malfoy could come up with another lie, or worse, buy a cursed artifact to keep up with appearances.
Without another word, I grabbed Malfoy's arm and pulled him out of the store with me. We seemed to have both agreed not to say another word as we stormed out of Knockturn Alley, ignoring the strangers trying to approach us for coins in the streets.
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Malfoy said when we finally reached Diagon Alley again. At that point, we stopped running and took a break by the side of the pathway.
"What? I didn't talk you into going into a shop. I was just planning on walking around—"
"Which is nearly just as dangerous," he interrupted. "If I hadn't been there, you would have died, Blackwood."
"Let's not exaggerate, Malfoy," I scoffed a laugh. "I knew what I was doing... sort of."
Malfoy shook his head at me in disbelief.
"No wonder you got grounded."
"Oh, shut up, you don't know the whole story," I said, irked.
Malfoy scrunched his nose at me.
"Blackwood, you—" but he didn't protest or give me a witty reply because something caught his eye behind me. I wondered what was wrong and looked behind me.
Ah. Yes. Mr. Lancaster. That man had perfect timing.
"Miss Blackwood," he said rather formally. I felt my cheeks go pink and my stomach twist and turn into knots again. "Unless, you have lied to Mr. Malfoy about your identity, you are Maeve Blackwood, are you not?"
Dammit Malfoy. Why did you have to say my name just a second ago? I would've gotten away with it, too. Probably.
I couldn't seem to be able to speak. My lips parted but no words came out as fear struck my body.
"I shall take that as a yes," he said. "I take it, you know that I have been seeking you out."
I nodded weakly at him.
"So, why is it that you have been making it very difficult for me to find you?" he asked rather sternly. I tried not to gulp.
Instinctively, I grabbed Malfoy's wrist, in case we had to make a run for it, of course.
"Well, nevertheless, you are here now, and I may speak with you, at last. Mr. Malfoy, I would like a moment of privacy with Miss Blackwood."
Malfoy nodded slowly, though he looked like he didn't want to leave. I didn't want him to leave. I didn't want to be alone with this man.
"He can stay," I insisted.
"Very well. I shall be frank with you, Miss Blackwood," Astarion Lancaster said. "I know that you and my son have prepared this elaborate ruse to make it seem like he got his scar from your duel."
I blanched.
"Pardon?"
"Oh, yes. I know that a measly third-year student could never cast a spell so strong and so dark that it would permanently disfigure my son's face — and now, I urge you, Miss Blackwood, to tell me how exactly my son has gotten his scar."
I didn't even know what to say. Maybe Malfoy shouldn't have been here, afterall.
"I — he didn't have a scar before our duel," I lied. The best thing to do was probably stick to the facade until James said otherwise. I would never want to break my word with him. His father shall never know how he got that scar.
Mr. Lancaster eyed me suspiciously.
"What has he offered you for your compliance? Gold? I'll have you know, his fortune is only a fraction of mine. I could reward you with far greater gold than he has."
"Excuse me, Mr. Lancaster, if I may?" Malfoy interjected suddenly. Blimey, what was he going to say, now?
Mr. Lancaster looked at Malfoy as if he had forgotten that he was there in the first place.
"Maeve Blackwood is a very gifted witch. Her spellwork is very impressive, and she is an excellent dueler. I have seen the duel with my own eyes. She, without a doubt, gave your son that scar," he said in such a convincing voice that even I almost believed him. Why was he lying for me? Was he lying for me? Or did Malfoy really do believe all of this? And if so, why the bloody Hell was he sticking out for me?
"Very well," Mr. Lancaster said at last, although, he didn't sound like he thought that this was very well. "I have nothing else to ask."
"So, you're not upset with me? For what I did to James?" I asked.
"I have no reason to begrudge you, Miss Blackwood. My son shall learn his lesson from this," Astarion Lancaster said.
"Ah," I said simply. James' father was harsh.
"Very well, then, Miss Blackwood. I shall wish you a good day."
I nodded awkwardly as Astarion Lancaster left and went back into Knockturn Alley, his silver hair flowing behind him in the light breeze. He and Lucius Malfoy should get together sometime and talk about how they maintained their luscious shiny hair.
"Oh, Malfoy, I was going to ask you something earlier," I said, suddenly remembering my question.
"You're not going to talk about whatever just happened with Lancaster?" he asked, puzzled.
"No. I just wanted to ask you, what were you doing in Diagon Alley by yourself? You know, before you found me."
He eyed me suspiciously, but then, his face softened a bit before speaking.
"My parents had business here today. I wanted to see what they had at the stands, this summer. I hadn't come by yet." Suprisingly, he answered my question and didn't pry into the meaning of the conversation with Mr. Lancaster. Maybe he knew that I was not in the mood for that right now.
"And you were alone because..."
"Because I don't have a knack for running away and putting myself in danger like you," he replied with a playful smirk.
I gasped. "I do not. My mum is just scared because she still thinks I'm a helpless little girl. Also, when I asked why you were alone, I was referring to your lack of Crabbe and Goyle, or even Nott."
"Well, it was a last minute trip. I didn't have time to owl them. And I could ask you the same thing. Where's Greengrass and Davis, or even Parkinson?"
"It was a last minute decision too. I was supposed to stay at the shop all day, until my father took pity on me and let me go."
"They're really trying to make you the new owner, then?" he asked, almost in pity, which almost made me want to barf, coming from him.
"Yes, well, Aiden is a lost cause. He doesn't have the talent nor interest that I do in Potions."
"Talent is a stretch, but your optimism sure is refreshing," Malfoy said airily. That git.
I didn't say anything to that, but I did roll my eyes
"So, what do you want to do, now?" I asked as I casual put my hands in my pockets.
"Are you asking me out on a date, Blackwood?" Malfoy asked teasingly.
"No. But if you're going to view it that way, then you can forget about hanging out together," I warned him, pouting at him with annoyance.
He laughed. "Well, I can't anyway. My parents are probably looking for me now."
"Maeve, you little shit," someone said behind me. I panicked and hit anywhere behind me, but I missed, and he grabbed my wrist.
"Ow, stop, Aiden," I said. It didn't actually hurt, I was just being dramatic because he was my brother and I loved villainizing him — he loved antagonizing me, so it was only fair.
"You didn't wander off into Knockturn Alley, did you?" he asked me with concern, his eyes darting between me and the narrow pathway behind us.
"No, of course not. I'm not mental," I said as if the mere suggestion of it were ridiculous. But Aiden eyed me suspiciously.
"I was with her the whole time. Although, she did consider it, I didn't let her," Malfoy chimed in.
"Okay. Well, we're going home, now," Aiden said, believing me now that Malfoy backed me up.
I threw a quick grateful look at Malfoy before saying, "Okay, let's go home, then."
Malfoy didn't say another word as I departed with my brother, but I could practically feel his eyes on me as we left. I knew he would ask me about that conversation I had with Mr. Lancaster on a later date.
When we arrived home, all I could think of was that I had to tell James about how that confrontation with his father went and about his old man's suspicions. I didn't know if I was supposed to owl him first about us hanging out together or if he was the one who had to approach me about it since he brought it up in the first place.
Either way, the day ended with me not having drafted any sort of letter to him. My parents got home, and my father immediately went to the kitchen to prepare our supper.
"Maeve, come in here for a second," he said as he was prepping the chicken breast. He had a hand towel over his shoulder and his kitchen napron on.
"Yes, Dad?" I said. I was previously just in the dinning room nearby.
"There was a young man who came looking for you, today," he said. "Forgot to ask for his name, but he had dark hair, dark eyes, and a peculiar scar above his eye—"
"James," I said in surprise. "What did he say?"
"Oh, he just wondered when you would be here. I told him you had left just thirty minutes before for ice cream. Did he end up finding you?"
"Oh... No, he didn't. I went home fairly quickly after my ice cream," I lied smoothly.
My father, thankfully, didn't question it and said, "So who is this James? A boyfriend, perhaps?"
"No!" I said immediately. "No. We're just friends."
"I see," he said, though his tone was laced with a modicum of doubt. "I did always think, however, that you and that Draco boy had something going on. Is that why you and James are just friends?"
Why did everyone always feel the need to pair up any boy and girl who were friends? Why wasn't anyone pairing me up with Daphne or Tracey, or something? I was closer with them, afterall.
"No. Mal — Draco and I are also just friends. You know, Dad, a boy and a girl can be just friends,"
He chuckled at that. "Oh, well. Your mother and I said the same thing when we started the potion shop together — it started off as a partnership, and now it's a family business."
"Well, I can guarantee you that none of that will happen between me and James nor between me and Draco."
"We shall see about that..."