The First I've Heard of You

Chapter Three

Thanks to magic, the next day Ginny and Brynlee were ready to leave. The mother shrunk their belongings with a charm and apparated them to the front of their slightly run down flat. Their new home for, if things went as she hoped they would, only a few weeks. If that wasn't the case, she'd do everything she could to fix it up so it was somewhere they could live. Then, at the very least, Bryn would grow up around wizards and get to go to Hogwarts when she turned eleven.

Though her daughter begged her almost constantly to visit their family, they spent the first couple of weeks in London settling in, exploring, and making their house feel like a home. Ginny also spent a lot of time preparing how she would introduce herself back into the family. That's what took the longest.

Finally, one day, when Ginny had run out of excuses to keep them from facing the inevitable, she gave in. Kind of.

"Can we please go visit the family?" Brynn asked for about the fiftieth time that morning.

"Soon," the young mother promised just like every other day. This time, however, she felt like she meant it a little bit more. "I have somewhere I want to show you first. Is that okay?" The girl sighed dramatically but agreed.

Ginny smiled again and apparated them to Diagon Alley.

Brynn didn't seem to want to go into any of the stores, too distracted by the sights around her. Or, more likely, she wanted to visit all the stores and just couldn't decide which one.

Ginny watched her daughter's wide eyes taking in the street, looking this way and that. They went in to just a couple of stores along the way, the Magical Menagerie where Brynlee begged for a kitty just like her friends at school had, Flourish and Blotts, where Ginny couldn't help but pick out a couple of books she had loved as a child to read with her daughter.

The witch felt a pang in her heart realizing how important magic had been in her childhood, and while Ginny didn't live as a muggle in America, she didn't really incorporate any wizarding culture into their lives, and Brynlee attended a muggle primary school.

There was nothing even comparable to Diagon Alley in America, certainly nothing they had ever visited. Somehow Ginny felt Diagon Alley was a momentous moment in a young wizard's life that everyone needed to experience.

"Brynnie," Ginny pointed out as they passed Ollivanders, a place that had been switched to 'new management' after the war. "This is where I got my wand when I was only eleven. That was a really long time ago."

"I'm not even eleven yet, mama," Brynlee reminded her.

"I know. Hopefully you'll get your wand here when you're old enough too."

"I want to get a wand now."

"You can't get a wand until you're eleven, hun." Ginny kept walking.

"Why not?"

"You're not old enough to learn how to use it properly yet, you could get hurt." Brynlee, ever the cautious one, seemed satisfied enough with that answer and slipped her small hand back into her mothers.

The two walked in silence for a couple of minutes, just taking everything in in the bustling street, when finally Brynlee spoke up again. "Everyone here sounds like you, mama."

"What do you mean?"

"At home all the people sounded like me but here they sounds like you."

"Oh! That's true baby because this is where Mama's from. People from different places in the world sound different. Isn't that cool?"

Brynlee, in typical four-year-old fashion, was already distracted by something else. "Mummy, look!" She ran forward, pulling Ginny along behind her, pointing at a tall building that loomed ahead of them. "Can we go in there, please?"

Ginny gasped. She hadn't remembered their store was here. It definitely wasn't how she envisioned reintroducing herself into the family, but truth be told she had been stalling while she tried to figure out what her plan actually was.

"Okay. We can go inside." She squeezed her daughter's hand as they pushed their way inside the crowded store. It was as if a day hadn't gone by since she left. The shelves look the same, the atmosphere was the same, and Ginny felt strangely at home. Brynlee was immediately drawn to the display of Pygmy Puffs, reminding her mother starkly of herself at a younger age. That was the exact display Ginny would have dashed for as well.

As they approached the display, there was another family who seemed interested in adopting a Pygmy Puff.

"We have to ask an attendant to help us," The mother, older than Ginny, explained. Her children, who looked to be about five and eight, were adamantly discussing what color they would get, presumably to share. "I've already called the nice young man over, but as the store's so busy I would expect to be waiting a while." The woman sounded vaguely annoyed but also slightly impressed. "These Weasleys have done pretty well for themselves if you ask me. I remember hearing about how they left school to start this business years ago, and I never thought it would work out this well for them."

Ginny nodded along politely, desperately hoping that her brother would send another one of his workers to help his customers rather than himself. She knew she had literally walked right into where he was, but was now dreading seeing him more than ever.

Then, bringing her out of her mile-long train of thought, she heard his voice.

"I heard you're interested in bringing home one of our Pygmy Puffs here!" He was speaking to the two siblings, either not having seen Ginny yet, or perhaps not recognizing her. She guessed that was entirely possible, it had been half a decade since they had seen each other.

She whirled around to face him but didn't make herself known, content to just momentarily study her brother's features. "Well I'm glad. These little guys definitely need a home." He knelt down to the level of the children. "Do you know which one suits you two?"

"This one!" The older girl pointed excitedly at a vibrant pink puff.

"Oh, she's beautiful! Do me a favor and grab her one of those containers there, and I'll get her all situated here so you can take her home." George did just that. Ginny watched carefully as he interacted with the kids, giving them tips about caring for them and asking them questions. Maybe it was even better than she thought, bringing Brynlee to her family. George seemed like he'd make a wonderful uncle.

"Now head up front for me and my friends will get you all checked out. It was brilliant to meet you all!" He waved as they walked away and then turned to face Ginny. "And how about you, are you interested in one of these little-"

Ginny's breath caught as her brother's sentence was cut short. "Gin?" He whispered, looking as though he were about to faint. She nodded slowly, still wary of his reaction. "You came home?" She nodded again, cracking a forced grin.

"Figured it was about time."