Ariadne's Thread ⭒ h. potter

Smooth Sailing

Judith Gardiner of Number 5 Privet Drive was perfectly content with her lovely little life in Little Whinging, thank you very much. That's what she'd say if anyone ever asked, of course. But people don't ask very many questions in Little Whinging, for there wasn't much to ask about.

In fact, the most interesting thing to happen in the neighbourhood at all had been fourteen years ago, when a baby appeared on Petunia Dursley's doorstep. A baby, of all things, spotted first by Jan Saunders on her early morning power walk. That baby had grown up to be a bit of a troublemaker, evidently. For all the boy had been perfectly polite the few times Judith did interact with him, last she'd heard from Petunia was that they'd had to send him off to St. Brutus's to correct his behaviour. A shame, really, because there was something about the boy that Judith quite liked – something that made the vein in Petunia's neck tense whenever he was mentioned.

That had been the most interesting thing to happen in the neighbourhood indeed. Or perhaps the affair, several years back, when Elizabeth Gibbons of Number 32 Privet Drive began sleeping with Jonathan Edwards of Number 18, causing Jonathan's wife Mary to embark on her own affair with Elizabeth's husband Steven.

The boy on the doorstep was the second most interesting thing in the neighbourhood, then, but besides those two events, there really was not much else to comment on. All in all, not much changed around Little Whinging.

Which is why it was ever so exciting when the new neighbours moved into Number 6 in the middle of June.

Judith and her husband had been rather friendly with the Campbells all of their lives. Number 6 had been Ethan Campbell's own childhood home, and Judith knew for certain that he'd long planned to pass the house down to his own kids as well. Judith's eldest, Jane, was in the same class as the youngest Campbell daughter, and the two were close enough – running across the street for games or a quick question on homework, as two little neighbours are wont to do.

Everything happened so quickly that a lesser woman wouldn't have had the time to get any answers from Michelle Campbell. But Judith went over with a basket of muffins, determined to speak with Michelle before Elizabeth Gibbons-Edwards got the chance to, lest Lizzie made a move for the soon-to-be-open spot in the Little Whinging Women's Luncheon that Judith had been eyeing for years.

And it was a good thing she did, for Judith learned all about what happened over a spot of tea (which Michelle always served just a touch too weak), though Michelle remained tight-lipped around the nitty gritty of the details.

It was all very hush-hush, apparently, though Michelle shared that some lord (or duke or baron, what have you) had approached Evan on the doorstep with an offer that he couldn't refuse. Michelle had thought the man was homeless, at first, until he'd shown her the money himself. The uber-wealthy were truly bizarre, these days, what with the predilection they'd developed for rips in their jeans, determined to look as impoverished as possible. The man was one of those – long-haired and shabby. But who were they to turn away that much money?

It was so much money, in fact, that Evan had elected to quit his job and move the entire family to Portugal, where it seemed they would not have to work again for the rest of their lives.

Judith was sure to wish Michelle and the family well, sure to express how disappointed her Jane would be not to have a little playmate any longer. It was just as well, really, for Cecily Campbell had been growing up to be a bit of a swot, anyway, but Judith kept that bit to herself.

It was then that Michelle leaned closer, speaking lowly with a twinkle in her eyes that promised Judith information sure to intrigue. The same twinkle she'd had when she'd seen Mary Edwards-Gibbons picking up prenatal vitamins at the pharmacy before the divorce was even finalized.