Princes in Exile

Alright, another chapter, kind of a bridge so pretty short. The next one is a bit longer and introduces a new character I hope will surprise everyone!

Here goes!

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It was weird walking through the fireplace at night and finding it the middle of the afternoon again. The twins were cranky, Seri was overly exuberant, and Emily wouldn’t stop talking about her new friends, the Weasley children. The Prince family left their neighbor’s home and drove back to their small farm. Mina was crying, but smiling through her tears while Toby remained quietly pensive while driving. Jennifer was unusually quiet, sitting between the two car seats, a frown on her young face.

“Mommy, Daddy? Why can’t I do magic? Vicky said she and her cousins could all do stuff like make their toys fly and stuff. Why can’t I?”

Jennifer watched her parents share a guilty look.

“We’ll discuss that when we get home. I’m sure the lot of you are tired from your trip and playing with all the Weasleys.” Toby blew out a frustrated sigh. He and his wife hadn’t even decided on their new future, how the hell were they going to keep the girls from knowing the full extent of their deception?

“But, Daddy…”

“Later. Your Mum and I have to talk about what happened today first. I do hope you all had a good day.”

As he’d expected two excited young girls began to tell him about everything they’d seen and done while at the Weasley stronghold. He carried the twins up the stairs to the room, tucking them into the single bed they insisted on sharing. They chattered about their day to him, forgetting that he’d been with them and seen everything they’d done while at the Burrow. Within minutes the girls were asleep. Sighing heavily, he brushed their dark curls from their flushed little faces and bent down to kiss each of them tenderly.

“Daddy, if I can’t do magic, then I can’t go to school, can I?” Jennifer stood in the doorway of her youngest sisters’ bedroom, a small frown marring her features.

“You can do magic, Jennifer. I promise you.” Toby left the room and guided his eldest daughter down the stairs to his office, lifting the wards with a flick of his wand. He closed the door securely behind him, making sure that only his wife would be able to enter if she so chose.

“Sit down, Jennifer.” Toby sat behind his desk, propping his feet up on the corner and leaning back in his chair.

“Mom says you’re going to fall out of that chair someday.”

“But I haven’t yet.” He grinned back at her. She smiled and mirrored his position, her plaid sneakers propped up, her ankles crossed.

“I have magic.”

“You do indeed have magic, Jennifer. A great deal of magic, actually. When you were born, I cast a spell on you, one that would keep you from accessing that power. Your mum and I have lived like Muggles for over ten years. Both of us had grown up in Muggle households and we were hoping to continue that. It was quite selfish of us, I know, but you know the reason why we left that world.” Jenn nodded slowly. “I’ll end the spell tomorrow, when I’m less tired, love.”

“The Weasleys were nice, and I really liked Vicky, but you’re my dad.”

“The Weasley clan is a loving, large, altogether smothering group of people. You would have the extended family you’ve always expressed an interest in; cousins, aunts, uncles, a grandmother and grandfather.”

“But they’ll want to tell me about him and I’m not interested in that. He was horrible to do what he did to Mommy.”

“I was a Death Eater also, Jennifer. I did horrible things.” His voice carried to her, although it was barely a whisper.

“Did you… nevermind. I’m going to go take a nap.” Jennifer got up and went around the table to kiss her father’s cheek gently. She left him alone to gaze out the window, a frown on his lips.

‘She is curious, like her mother. She will ask me about my Death Eater days, about the thing I did to satisfy not only the Dark Lord but Albus Dumbledore. Will she hate me afterwards; want to be a member of the Weasleys then?’

“You’re thinking so hard I could hear you down the hall.” Mina entered, bringing with her a scent of orange and vanilla, and took the seat just recently vacated by their daughter. “Do we end the spell for just Jennifer or for her and Emily?”

“I was considering doing it for all the girls, actually. Although, I do dread what the twins could get up to with magic at their disposal.” He frowned and rubbed his chin, thinking about Seri’s inability to speak also. It could help her communicate better, or the magic could hurt the girl. And, of the girls, she was the most sensitive and obviously quiet.

“I’m sure Molly could give us some pointers on raising twins with magical powers.”

“Are you saying you want to rejoin the magical world, love?”

“I think I’m ready. I didn’t realize how much I missed my friendship with Ron and Harry until we spent three hours talking today. And we’re not even close to finishing catching up on all that’s happened!”

Toby smiled at his wife, happy to see her… content again. That was the word he’d been searching for all week; content. Her eyes were red-rimmed from crying, but she didn’t seem as stressed and emotional as she had been before making the trip to Hogwarts and the Burrow. Seeing her two dunderheaded friends had put her more at ease with their uncertain future.

“When do we go to Diagon Alley?”

“Toby, we have to decide on what to do with the house here, and the business. What about all our regular customers?”

“I was thinking about that today. We could always turn it into a mail-order business for those customers whom we’ve had for years and those that order in bulk. We can ship from England and sell the house and land.”

“What about all the work we’ve put into this place? The girls have grown up here,” Mina asked, but knew she was going to be moving with her family to England.


tbc.........

there! Hope you review! I would love some constructive critiques.

Marti