she looks like royalty ;

—

“Oh… Sorry…” Alice murmured with a smile. She hated coming across as rude, and she was pretty sure that the woman must have thought she was rude. It was really out of character for Alice to be honest. She was usually really on point. But she had just been so distracted lately. She knew she needed some proper time off work. Maybe she’d go to Moody tomorrow and book a week off. “These alleys can be pretty confusing….” The woman murmured, with a little laugh. She’d been coming here ages so that she knew where everything was. She’d also done some undercover work here, so Alice was pretty used to coming around here.

She smiled at the woman though. “Oh… I’m fine” She murmured with a smile. “Just distracted is all….”

.✰*

“I am not accustomed to these surroundings,” she said. “This is the first time I've been in England.  And the first time I walk down the alleys.” While it was certainly an interesting experience that aroused her curiosity, she nevertheless felt overwhelmed by all the crosses and turns and the behaviour of those around her. Quite different from what she was accustomed to. “I suppose you would be able to help me then?” Amal asked. “To find my way around here? If you're not too busy, of course.” The other woman didn't have to help, Amal realized that. After all, she was just another stranger.

It had been a tough few weeks. If she was at all honest work was always tough. There was always the risk of getting hurt or worse. Then there was the Order too, which was potentially even more dangerous. She knew she and Frank were running on a knife edge, running the risk of leaving their child an orphan every time they went out and fought. But she couldn’t step away. The Longbottoms were fighting for a better world for Neville to grow up in. There was no way she could stop now.

Isaac’s betrayal, and subsequant arrest had hit her hard. She’d thought she’d known the man well. They’d been friends. It had even been Isaac’s dad that she’d approached when she knew she wanted to be an auror. She’d been in a world of her own, and hadn’t heard the person approaching, until they actually spoke to her. So much for her good auror skills.

“Oh…. sorry…… Did you say something?”

.✰*

“I was just asking you if you knew where Rosa Lee Teabag was,” she replied, a confused look on her face. It seemed like the stranger was not truly present at the moment, the woman's thoughts were elsewhere. “It's supposed to be somewhere around here. I wanted to find it by myself,” Amal added. “But it seems that I may have gotten lost.” She was exploring Diagon Alley, taking a walk through the area because she wanted to see everything with her own eyes. It was so interesting and cute to her - the small shops and their arrangements. Amal had just arrived from America with her husband, and since he was still so busy in the Ministry, questioning and getting to know his British colleagues, she decided to entertain herself. “Are you all right?” she asked the other woman. “Do you need help?”

it was an average day of work for kingsley for… an average person was the best way to describe the older man. he had spent his days in the auror office. his mind had felt numbing recently. he had been here at long hours, kingsley could not even remember the last time he had properly slept. hearing the knock on the door, his head jolted up quickly from the papers though he did not leave them at the table. he brought them to the door with him and flipped thru the various pages, his brows furrowing in the meantime. opening the door finally his eyes didn’t peel away from the pages. “may i help you?” he asks eyes scanning the page before his eyes reaching her gaze. he pauses for a moment as his tired gaze reaches the woman in front of him. there was something familiar about her. he hadn’t seen his siblings in years, he doesn’t know what they look like anymore, but she had the same eyes as him almost. no, it couldn’t be? could it? could she be his sister? she looked roughly around his youngest sister’s age…. jesus, fuck, brows furrow, his wrinkles in his forehead showed against the fluorescent lights. closing the packet of pages in his hands he holds it to his chest. this could be a long shot, right? it could be. but he had to ask. “amal?” his voice calm yet deadly steady as he spoke her name and at that point he could feel his heart skip a beat for a moment as he speaks the name that appears to be so foreign to him after all these years. but kingsley had never stopped thinking about her.

He remembered her. Or he wouldn't have called her by her name. It was quick to her how he had made the connection. She had feared that he would send her away, not realizing that she was his sister standing before him. 

Her eyes were inspecting his features - it would be wrong to say that she remembered him, she was too young when he left. It was impossible. But she could swear that she could identify familiar features, features that looked like hers. “That's me.”, she said, nodding her head. What was the right thing to do in such situations? None of her friends had ever experienced anything similar - a long-awaited reunion with a missing brother. “I have come to England with my husband.”, Amal explained. “And I thought it was a great opportunity to see you at last. It has been a while.” Twenty-seven years, to be precise. “May I come in?”

“and open,” effie announced to no one in particular as she pointed her wand at the small sign in her shops window, causing it to spin from closed to open. “much better,” she commented, before moving through her store. her three weeks absence didn’t seem to have much of an affect on her store, which she chose to look a in a positive light- though she was sad to have missed out on the sales. what mattered was that she’d managed to return in time to thwart an attempted purchase. and left with nothing more than a little tidying up, she couldn’t have been in a better mood as she moved into the alley. “visit the inner eye!” she called out, “for all your divination needs!” she continued, raising her voice in order to be heard over the hustle and bustle of the morning commute, “we’ve got candles, crystals, incense-” she trailed off, having caught sight of a pedestrian without a mission, a wide smile appearing on her face as she rushed towards them. “you there! you look like you could use a new candle! we have plenty of fun scents, why don’t you come smell a few?”

It was a new day of exploring. Everything in Britain seemed so different from what she had become accustomed to in America. From the appearance of streets and stores to how people behave. They all spoke with an accent and had a temperament unlike that of the Americans. But she liked and appreciated the differences. She had always been curious and she did not want to miss the chance to explore Britain and learn more about it. Amal was open to the Brits and their lifestyle. She didn’t really have British friends, but she would like to find some and expand her horizons.

The upbeat attitude of the shop owner who came up to her startled her at first and she required a second to react, “A candle?” She was not one to collect candles, but wouldn't hurt taking a look. “Yes, sure. I’m not in any hurry.”

She must have asked a few people before she was finally told where the office was. It had been so many years since she last saw him. Couldn't even picture him properly. Amal had been only a toddler when her brother had left the family and gone to seek a new life abroad. Their lives had taken a different turn - him settling in the British wizarding community, while she was sent to study in Ivermorny and then had built her own life in America with her husband. Her brother had become an Auror, she was told. It was a good and wonderful profession, she was proud of him, regardless of the distance between them. It reminded her of what her husband had chosen for himself. Amal wondered if there was any difference between the Aurors in the UK, and those in the United States. Maybe she could ask her brother, once they’ve made a connection.

As she approached the door of the office, Amal gently knocked a couple of times, waiting for him to open. She just hoped he’d be pleased to see her.