sproutingxaster:
Aster had, of course, spent Christmas with her dad and grandmum in the little house in Hogsmeade where they lived - it was nice, close to her own cottage at Hogwarts but not close enough that they came to see her constantly. That might have been more due to Grandmum telling Dad not to interfere with Aster’s life, but she appreciated it either way. But the rest of the empty days left her feeling a bit … displaced. She checked in the greenhouses regularly, and had tea or dinner with her family, but other than that … she was at loose ends.
London had always been a nice distraction - Dad had lived in the Muggle world long enough that Aster felt comfortable there still. Even at night, even in this atmosphere, she didn’t really worry as she wandered the streets. She was fairly well aware of her surroundings, generally, but she’d been distracted by the passersby and didn’t more in time to avoid the collision.
She stumbled back a few steps before she regained her balance. “Oh, I’m so sorry! Are you all right?”
They ricocheted off each other, staggering apart, and Lucy’s face—in classic Weasley form—was flaming hot before she’d even righted herself and started to babble out apologies.
“Oh! I’m fine, I’m just so sorry! I was thinking about—well, it doesn’t matter, I just wasn’t looking. Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you? Hell, I really am sorry. I’m not even drunk so there’s really no excuse at all. Are you sure you’re okay?”
She pulled her bag back up onto her shoulder properly, but the hefty weight of paper files inside dragged it back down almost immediately. She should have thought to spell it lighter before she left, but of course she couldn’t do it now.
Flustered, she was suddenly sure that her wand was poking out of the top of her boot, clearly visible, and if this woman was a Muggle she was sure to be wondering why Lucy had a stick shoved into her shoes. Merlin, why hadn’t she just bought a holster for her wand like her dad kept saying?
