Still Delicate

New Years, Old Years, They're All The Same

Boxing Day, and I'm alone in the flat because Aidan's spending the next few days with Scorpius and Daisy. With nothing better to do I decide to clean Aidan's bedroom. This doesn't take me long, considering the room is so small and all I really have to do is throw all of his toys into his toy-box and hang up his clothes. And when you do everything by magic, it's even quicker. I even empty out his schoolbag of old food wrappers and pieces of paper. Aidan, like Hugo and I did, goes to a Muggle primary school. I don't have the time to home-school him like most magical parents do. Besides, being sent to a school develops social skills. I'm not quite sure where I went so wrong.

When emptying out his bag, I find a letter with the words 'Mrs Weasley' on the front. I resent the fact that the person writing this letter just assumes I'm married. I open it and find that it has been written over two weeks ago.

Dear Mrs Weasley,
I wish to discuss with you your son's recent behaviour in class. I consider this a matter of some urgency and would appreciate it if you could make an appointment to meet with me, at your convenience.
Sincerely
Mrs L. Murphy

"What did he do now?!" I hiss angrily to myself. This isn't the first time Mrs Murphy has contacted me about Aidan's behaviour, except the first time she rang me to tell me that Aidan had called a fellow pupil a word that rhymed with "banker" ("you mean wanker?" I asked her at the time. She now thinks I'm a negligent mother). James was the one who taught him the word. I wonder what the hell James has taught him now. And now Mrs Murphy will think I'm an even worse mother for not making an appointment straight away. Shit.

A loud knock on my front door makes me drop the letter in fright. It's an angry sort of knock. I creep to the door quietly and look out the spy-hole. It's Draco Malfoy. I open the door – he's fuming.

"Did you know about this?" he spits and barges into my flat.

"Hello Mr Malfoy, won't you come in?" I say ironically.

"You knew, didn't you?"

"Had a nice Christmas then?"

"Do not annoy me!" he shouts. I glare at him and he backs down a bit. I think he's finally realised that I'm one person he can't intimidate. "Did you know?"

"Did I know what?" I ask, annoyed.

He takes a deep breath. "You knew that my son was going to America to get married in some cheap Muggle casino!"

I stare at him. Is he for real? He thinks I knew?

"Oh yeah," I say sarcastically, "I was maid of honour, didn't you know?" He looks at me, as if trying to figure out if I'm being serious. You'd think after knowing me for five years he'd get me, but apparently not. "Of course I didn't know!" I yell.

"Y-you didn't?"

"Why the hell do you think I'd know about it? Did you inform all of your ex-girlfriends when you got married?" It's sort of strange to think that Draco Malfoy ever even had a girlfriend. Maybe he didn't. Maybe he just met Astoria and bribed her to marry him so people wouldn't think he was a big loser.

"Well...no," says Draco, "But it's different! I didn't have a child with any of my exes!"

"That you know of," I add.

"I thought it was just some sort of joke," says Draco, ignoring my last comment and pacing around my living room, "I thought Scorpius had a head on his shoulders. I thought he'd just marry you and be done with it!" Funny, a few years ago Draco Malfoy would have paid anything to cut me out of his son's life. Now he wants Scorpius to marry me 'and be done with it'. "How could he be so stupid?"