Novo Nachalo

Chapter 6: Not Personal

Saturday, March 15, 2008

When Hermione got back outside to where the rest of the party attendees were gathered, it was just in time to see the Flints arriving. Marcus was on the Falcons too, and his wife Natasha had taken a shine to Rosen after Hermione and Rosen had spent most weekends in the team family box last season. The Flint children were younger, closer to Scorpius' age, but Rosen had liked them too. She got along well with younger children.

The sight of Rosen leaning in to ever so gently kiss Corinne, their youngest daughter, on the forehead the way Viktor always used to kiss Rosen, warmed Hermione's heart.

"Marcus, Natasha, hello," Hermione said as she approached. "It's good to see you."

"Hermione," Natasha greeted her warmly. "We have missed you in the booth."

"We don't come to quidditch now because Tatko is dead, so it's not our team anymore," Rosen said bluntly.

Hermione winced.

"The Falcons will always be your team, sweetheart," Natasha said quickly.

"It will?"

Natasha looked a little helpless, and Hermione knew she had to step in. She knelt down next to Rosen and said, "If you want them to be. You can still support the Falcons even though Tatko is gone, svetlina. But the box we used last year is just for family of players, and that's not—"

"We are still family. She just said it's still our team!" Rosen said. "We can still go?"

Hermione swallowed hard and said, "If you want to go, we can talk about it, but—"

"You'd still be welcome in the family box," Natasha said quickly, clearly trying to help. "I'm sure everyone would agree."

"Is that why you came today? To see me? To ask us back?" Rosen asked hopefully. "We can go back, right Mama?"

Hermione felt at a loss in this situation. She couldn't imagine going and sitting in a box, watching a match that Viktor should have been playing in, surrounded by other families who knew she didn't really belong there anymore. But she also couldn't imagine telling Rosen she couldn't go.

"We'll talk about it," Hermione said again. "But right now, we're celebrating Scorpius' birthday."

"Right, that's why we're here," Marcus said awkwardly, his arm going around Natasha. They were both looking at Hermione with such pity.

"How do you know Scorpius? Mama said she used to go to school with Mr. Malfoy. Did you go to school with Mr. Malfoy too?"

"Yes," Marcus said. "But Corinne and Colin met Scorpius in the box. They're friends just like you are."

Perhaps he was trying to normalise everything, trying to cheerfully show things in common, but it was the wrong thing to say. Rosen, smart girl that she was, frowned and asked, "Why was Scorpius in the box? He was never there when I was there."

"Mr. Malfoy is on the team now," Hermione said softly.

Rosen's frown deepened. "He wasn't before."

"No, he wasn't," Hermione said softly. She wasn't sure how Rosen was going to take this news, but she hadn't reacted much when Sebastien Selwyn had teased her at school a few weeks ago. Perhaps Rosen already knew and just hadn't thought about it this way yet. Hermione had never been the sort to be dishonest, even about the hard things, so she said, "He's the new Seeker."

"He took Tatko's spot?" Rosen asked, her voice wavering.

"Yes."

Before Hermione's eyes, Rosen's expression screwed up, her fists clenched into tiny, tight balls, and she went tense all over.