Ever since Sirius Black escaped from prison, everyone's been busy, including Diana.
She wasn't home today; the house was completely empty.
Chris went straight to the study as soon as he got back, continuing to work on his reports. Judging by his look, he's probably pulling another all-nighter.
A "branch" wobbled its way up onto Kael's shoulder...
"Long time no see, Groot."
"And you, Tom... Wait a second, why do I feel like you've gotten fatter compared to last month?"
Kneazle Tom originally wanted to come over and greet him, but after hearing that, he turned tail and walked away, leaving Kael with nothing but his raised, bushy tail.
Kael didn't mind. After saying hi to the two animal members of the house, he returned upstairs to his room, opened his suitcase, and dumped some things onto the table.
This was one of the reasons he didn't want to stay at the Leaky Cauldron.
Aurors have all kinds of crazy skills, like Mad-Eye Moody and his Magic Eye that sees through anything.
Though he's long retired, who knows if any of the other Aurors have similar abilities.
To be safe, after he noticed Aurors in the Leaky Cauldron, Kael always set his suitcase to Muggle mode. Annoying, really.
It's so much better now—at least he doesn't have to worry about someone barging into his room and searching his suitcase.
Newt had run into situations like that in his younger days—though he was in other countries at the time, it's always wise to stay alert.
After all, there's a fire dragon in his suitcase. If that got found, he'd probably get the same treatment as Sirius Black.
Kael sat down at the table and poured all the Dragon Blood he'd acquired in Romania into the small bottles he bought at Diagon Alley.
The previous bottles were way too big; this way's far more convenient. He sorted out his other materials—herbs and mementos and whatnot—then packed everything back in the suitcase.
There was so much stuff, and with Bowtruckle and Niffler messing about nearby, by the time Kael finished tidying up, it was already late at night.
After a month away, Kael barely got into his familiar bed before sleepiness washed over him.
The next morning, Chris—looking like he'd lost a fight with his own hair—drove him to King's Cross Station.
"Are you planning to wait for the Weasleys here?"
In front of Platform 9¾, Chris rubbed at his eyes and said, "I think we'll get there a bit faster than they do."
"Actually, Mr. Chris, they went in about five minutes ago."
A cheerful voice sounded from behind them.
They both turned. There was an unfamiliar witch standing behind them.
"You are...?" Chris frowned.
"Oh, nearly forgot." The witch quickly shook her head.
Her face instantly became much younger, and her hair shifted from chestnut to a very pale blue.
"I should've guessed." Chris rubbed his forehead, "Long time no see, Tonks."
"Not so long." Nymphadora Tonks smiled, "We just met last night, you just didn't recognize me."
Last night, that old witch sipping honey wine was actually her.
"It's not easy spotting a Metamorphmagus in the crowd." Chris chuckled, patting Kael on the shoulder, "This is my son, Kael.
Kael, this is Nymphadora Tonks, the youngest Auror at the Ministry of Magic."
Hearing Chris introduce her, Tonks's hair swiftly turned bubblegum pink and white.
Oddly, though, people all around kept walking by, not a single one noticed.
"We know each other," she said. "I watched little Kael get sorted—back then, I was in seventh year."
Kael nodded.
He had seen Tonks before, but didn't really know her.
They were both in Hufflepuff, but by her seventh year Tonks was already a trainee Auror, hardly ever at school.
Back then, Kael only saw her during the Sorting—just that one time.
"Almost forgot—you're only six years older than Kael." Chris rubbed his head.
With him looking utterly worn out, Tonks asked curiously, "Exactly how many reports did you write yesterday?"
"Eight." Chris sighed, "Started at noon yesterday, finished about half an hour ago."
"You just went to Romania—is it really necessary to write so many?"
"No idea, but ever since last year, the number of reports keeps growing."
"Same here." Tonks's hair turned gray, "I never thought after becoming an Auror I'd spend every day dealing with paperwork... I spend more time in the office than actually out on missions."
Tonks grumbled a while longer, only shutting up when a tall wizard walked over, switching to an 'absolutely nothing happened' face.
"Kingsley!" Chris called out.
That was the guy reading the paper in the Leaky Cauldron yesterday.
But Kael didn't join their conversation.
The train was about to leave; by the time Kingsley walked over, Kael had already gone through the wall onto Platform 9¾.
The Hogwarts Express was right where it always was, belching smoke as crowds of parents filled the platform to see their kids off.
Fred and George appeared on either side of Kael.
"What took you so long? The train's almost leaving." Fred said.
"We thought you'd decided to come by flying car this year, too." George slung his arm over Kael's shoulders.
"We just ran into someone we knew—lost a bit of time." Kael said. "Nymphadora Tonks—you know her, right?"
"Of course, the Metamorphmagus."
"Big deal a few years ago—pretty famous."
"But isn't she an Auror now...?" Fred thought for a second, then said, "Must be that Sirius Black business that brought her to King's Cross."
"Worried he'll hide among the parents?"
"That's about the only explanation that makes sense."
"Do they really think Black might go to Hogwarts?"
At that moment, a loud whistle sounded, and Fred and George stopped talking about Tonks, rushing toward the train with Kael.
The station guards were shutting the doors one by one; the three sped up and managed to hop on the train just in time.
"You've got to go see Percy."
In the corridor, Fred grinned wickedly. "We've upgraded his badge."
"He still hasn't noticed. The badge now says 'giant bighead' in massive letters."