"You're awfully quiet."
I glanced at George as he spoke. He was sitting behind the steering wheel, driving the car.
We were gone to pick up our three eldest kids from London after another year at Hogwarts.
"Leah punched her bedroom wall." I said. "I had to fix the bruises on her hand and the hole in the tapestry."
"What?" George laughed. "She's eleven."
"She's got a bad temper."
"Wait... she punched a hole in the tapestry?!"
I looked at George and cocked an eyebrow.
"That's what I said."
"Jesus Christ. That's why I'm scared of her. One day, it's the wall, the next, it's my face."
George sighed loudly as he slid into his seat a little, resting his hand against his thigh.
"What do you mean?" I questioned. "Your face?"
"Alright, so Leah and I had a small fight earlier." He said. "I picked her up from school, she was fighting with this guy in the schoolyard and when I ordered her to get into the car, she screamed at me that I am not the boss of her because I'm not her dad."
Oh...
"I'm sure she didn't mean that."
"No, I'm pretty sure she did." He said. "But it's okay. Things have been tough with Malcolm lately and the girls are both big enough to start noticing. I mean... Elsie is off age and Leah is starting Hogwarts. They know when he's been drinking and they know he's an arsehole."
Malcolm had been sober for a while but he slipped again lately. I don't know why. I don't know what happened but I do know he's trying to change and be a proper father so I'm there to help him.
"Leah knows how much she means to you." I said. "Just like Elsie knows how much she means to you."
George didn't respond. He found a parking spot by Kings Cross Station and we got out.
George locked the car before walking around to meet me on the other side of it.
He sighed, then wrapped his arms around my lower back. He pulled me close to him and placed his forehead against mine.
"I just remembered I haven't kissed you at all today." He whispered, brushing his nose past mine.
"Then do it."
He pressed his lips to mine, kissing me gently while I ran my hands up his chest and behind his neck.
He was right. We hadn't kissed today. I had to meet at work early so he was still asleep when I left and when I got home, we made an early dinner so we could pick up the three oldest at eight in London.
"Let's go." He whispered, breaking the kiss. He nodded towards the entrance to the station.
Then he ran his hand up to cup the side of my face and I leaned into his touch.
I placed my hand on top of his and removed it from my face, bringing it down between us and as I laced my fingers with his, I started walking inside with George jogging up to my side.
He let go of my hand to wrap his arm around my shoulders instead.
"McGonagall came to talk to me this morning in my office." I said, and glanced up at George. "She wants me to be the new head of Slytherin when the new term starts."
"What?" He looked down at me. "You're telling me that now? Dia, that's amazing!"
I sighed.
"You said yes, didn't you?"
"I said it'd think about it."
"You—" George stopped and placed his hands on my shoulders, turning me towards him. "...you were offered the position head of Slytherin and you said you'd think about it?"
"It's a position with a lot more of responsibility." I said. "I'll have to be gone a lot more. I'll have to be there at every meal, and I'll have to be there during the holidays too. I might even have to live there during some days."
George seemed to realise how much I'd be gone if I said yes. He nodded and let go of my shoulders.
"Right." He breathed. "Why don't we go pick up the kids for now, then talk about it tonight?"
"We don't have to talk about it tonight. I just have to write McGonagall back about it on July thirtieth at the latest."
"Okay." He nodded and didn't say anything else as we made our way to the correct platform.
We walked through the wall just as the train appeared and pulled up at the platform.
"Listen, don't talk to Fred about his career choice, okay?"
George looked at me.
A frown was now plastered across his face, mixed with confusion.
"His career choice? Why can't I talk quidditch with him?"
I didn't say anything, but only smiled when I first laid eyes on Roxanne who got off the train with some friends, saying goodbye to them before she came walking over with a huge smile.
"Dia, he is gonna be playing Quidditch, right?" George asked but didn't say anything further when Roxi reached us.
"I've got a boyfriend!" She said as the first thing, causing George to inhale sharply immediately which caused him to start coughing into his hand.
"A boyfriend, eh?" I smiled. "That's new."
"It's Alex." She told me. "He just asked me on the train."
"Wait a minute..." George coughed again. "...you're fourteen."
"So?" Roxanne asked.
"Yeah, so?" I asked as well, cocking an eyebrow at George who looked between us, a panicked expression on his face.
He didn't do well when Fred first got a girlfriend and he obviously isn't doing well with these news either.
"Are we visiting uncle Fred and aunt Eloise over the weekend?" Roxanne asked. "I got some sweets from Hogsmeade that I want to give Georgia and Sebastian."
Sebastian is the name of Fred and Eloise's son who was born three weeks late, so a total of six weeks after my twins. They had to be induced to get the birth going. It was a long labour.
"I'll call tomorrow and ask." I told her before looking up to see Fred and Elsie approach, walking side by side.
"Did you know your sister has a boyfriend?" George asked them as the first thing, and Roxanne rolled her eyes before she walked over to get her luggage.
"Oh shit, really?" Fred grinned before he looked towards Roxanne and whistled to get her attention. "Scoring boys, eh?!"
"Fred, no!" George scolded. "She's fourteen... Jesus."
"So?" Fred asked.
"As long as they don't have sex." Elsie shrugged, which only caused George's eyes to widen and then he turned to look at me.
"They're not gonna have sex." I assured him. "They're fourteen. They're not even thinking about that stuff yet."
"Mum, it's twenty-twenty-one." Elsie said. "Twelve-year-olds think about sex."
"Elsie..." I sighed, chuckling.
"Don't call me that." She scrunched up her nose before she walked towards the luggage with Fred behind her.
I can't call her Elsie?
