บท 51: Harry Potter Day
Rose and Scorpius ended up staying with the Saami for over a year. Albus remained until Christmas, but then went back home, skipping the winter as he had said. Draco was a bit back and forth but spent more time in Lapland than in England. His family was mostly in Lapland after all, as he kept reminding them.
Rose had never felt so free in her whole life. She had grown up in a loving home, but always with expectations of who she should be and always striving to be better. But here, no one expected anything of her. In a way, she enjoyed winter the most, since they did not move around as much then. Whole days just snuggling with Scorpius around the fire in their lavvo.
But they both knew that they had to go back eventually. However tempting it was to simply let go of all responsibilities and stay with the Saami, they both knew they couldn't do it in the long run. Besides, they knew that their family waited for them. Some of them had visited them, when the Saami tribe was open for visitors, but it was not the same. Her mother had spent almost a month with them in the summer, once she had finished clearing up the mess left from the escape from Azkaban and the Norwegian diplomatic blunders.
The Saami had been honoured by her presence. They had never had a leader of another magical community visiting them before. Rose had happily watched as her mother was taught the secrets of Saami's shaman magic and their traditions. Hermione had struggled with the language though, much more than Rose had. She laughed and said it must be because she was getting old. Rose was not fluent by any means, but she could communicate with the others fairly well. She had helped with the translations, when that was needed.
They both knew it when the time had come to leave. The Saami had just started the move towards the summer pastures, but Rose kept thinking about home. Scorpius sensed it too. When Rose said that they had to move on, the Saami people gave them a splendid farewell feast with reindeer prepared in every possible way and they got many gifts. And they were of course welcome back at any time. They had been accepted as honorary members of the tribe a few months back, after Scorpius had fought off a brown bear headed for the reindeer. Rose had taught the women many skills and learned others in return.
When they had packed their few belongings, and organised a Portkey to London, they felt almost like strangers. It was so strange to suddenly be surrounded by modern streets, cars and sounds again. They hadn't told anyone here that they were returning. They didn't want to make a big fuss about it, and they wanted to ease back into normal life.
The first night back, they just stayed at home. They turned on as few lights as possible, to avoid having to meet anyone on their first day. They took a long bath together, to try to get the worst smell of animals out of their hair.
It was nice sleeping in a proper bed again.
The next day, they went to see Rose's parents. It was late afternoon, but no one was home. They went by Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and it was closed. Almost all the stores in Diagon Alley were closed. There was no one in the Potter house either. At last, they went to Draco's house. He was home and greeted them warmly.
"Do you know where the others in the family are?" Rose asked once they had explained the situation. "None of them are at home and the shop is closed."
Draco looked at her with a strange expression. "Don't you know where they are? Don't you know what day it is?"
"No, I haven't really checked the calendar. Why?"
"It's May 2nd Rose. That is why everything is closed."
Rose had to stop and think for a moment. Scorpius got it first.
"Oh, of course. It's Harry Potter Day!"
"Oh, I see. That explains it. Do you know where they are?"
"Actually, I do. I am invited to the Burrow for dinner. The others are all there already, I presume. You know how they all gather for Harry Potter Day. There was an official remembrance ceremony at Hogwarts earlier today. Now they are gathering the family at the Burrow. I am invited there as well"
"Do you want to go there, Rose? To meet them all at the same time? Or would you prefer to wait until tomorrow?" Scorpius asked. "You're the one that wanted to ease into this social thing again."
"I suppose we could. What about you? You're the one that should be the most awkward about this."
"Oh, I don't mind. At least then we will get all the "wonderful to see you both" pleasantries over with all at once" Scorpius replied with a grin.
"Okay then. Let's go crash a party. When is dinner?"
"In about half an hour. I was just heading over there when you came knocking." Draco replied. "We can go together, unless you need to prepare first?"
"Why don't you go ahead dad. We will join you in about 10-15 minutes" Scorpius said. "If we are going to a party, we should probably wear something other than these travel-worn robes."
"Oh, I don't think they'll mind what you wear." Draco said with a smile. "But as you wish."
Once Draco had left, Rose looked at Scorpius. "They really won't mind what we wear. None of the others are going to be especially dressed up."
"I know. I just didn't want my father to have to let his own arrival be overshadowed by ours. It is special for him that he is invited to these sorts of gatherings, even when we are not present. Especially considering what day it is."
Rose smiled. "Well, in that case, we should actually find something else to wear. How about those traditional outfits the Saami gave us?"
Scorpius smiled. He hoped she didn't really mean that. They may not care what they wore but he would feel weird turning up dressed in that.
Rose changed the colour of their robes with a flick of her wand. That was enough of a change. Then they sat and waited for about 5 more minutes before heading outside and Apparated to the Burrow.
***
Draco had a hard time containing his excitement. His son was home! At least he could smile and pretend that he was just happy because of the dinner and food. He hoped they would arrive soon and that they hadn't changed their minds about coming.
He was the first one to spot the couple that came from the other side of the house. They walked quietly, clearly trying to get as close as possible before anyone saw them. Remarkably, no one else seemed to notice them for several minutes. No one looked up from the table until Molly Weasley came out of the house with the main course. Scorpius and Rose walked silently behind her. It was Ron that noticed them next, as he looked up when he heard his mother come with the food.
"Rose! Scorpius!" he shouted and ran towards them. That made all the others stop what they were doing and look up too. Molly actually dropped the steak, because she turned around so quickly. Draco saved it with a Levitation Charm. They all went over to hug and welcome them both. Draco couldn't help but smile. It was good to see how naturally his son was included in their embrace. It was not just because he and Rose were married. They genuinely cared for him. It made him happier than he could ever express. He gently placed the steak on the table.
Ginny walked up to him with a knowing smile on her face. "Did you know about this?"
"Technically, yes. But only for about 20 minutes." Draco said. "They came to my door as I was about to leave. Apparently, they didn't know what day it was."
Ginny laughed. "Well, I can't think of many better days for them to return on." Draco had to agree.
"I am sorry if we are late" Scorpius said once everyone had settled down again. "We honestly didn't know what day it was. We wondered where you all had disappeared to."
"I hope you have room for two more?" Rose asked, but with a smile.
"There is always room for more." Molly said. She was beaming. "And it is so good to see you both. I was beginning to worry that you would stay up there with the Saami forever."
Hermione didn't seem able to say anything. Tears ran down her face as she embraced her daughter again.
"Well, we considered it." Scorpius said with a smile. "But there are only so many ways you can cook reindeer. Besides, it's not like we can never go back."
"It is a wonderful relaxing place," Rose said, still holding on to her mother. "But I also missed all of you terribly."
It was a merry evening. Everyone wanted to hear what Rose and Scorpius had been doing. So, they told stories of travelling alongside the reindeer. Of sleeping in a lavvo. Of snuggling close to the fire in the cold winter months. They were all impressed when Scorpius told how he had fought off a bear all on his own. Scorpius had become more used to this sort of thing, large groups of people, and talking about himself. He remembered his very first dinner at the Burrow. It was a happy memory, one of the best he had, but he also remembered how nervous he had been when it came to small talk.
When they were done talking about their adventures, which took most of the dinner, Rose asked for news from the family. Scorpius tried to keep up, but he got lost in all the names. There were so many relatives, he still didn't know them all. He had meant to get Rose to draw him a family tree. But for now, he just listened and smiled. It was good to be back. And he hoped they could stay here for some time now.
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