A new home and a big apology Solo Fin

March 28th 2021

The car turned off the road onto an unpaved path and bumped along for a few more meters until the car drove through a large gate and Haley could see her new home. On the way there, she was already marveling the whole time and taking in the surroundings through the car window. The road to the house led through a small forest and Haley already loved it here. When they drove through the big gate, which closed by itself when they drove through, she couldn't get out of her amazement.

In front of her was a large maison that was decorated with a beautiful and flowering front garden. Her father drove in a semicircle on the now resurfaced road and parked the car in front of the front door. As soon as the car came to a stop, she yanked open the door and ran around the car. Her parents looked at each other briefly and couldn't help grinning at the sight of their daughter. "That's amazing!" exclaimed Haley as she continued to run.

First she ran through the small front yard that was just starting to bloom and surveyed all the beautiful plants and flowers. She followed a small path that ran along the right side of the house and led her through a wooden archway that also had flowers growing on it. She came across the path into the back garden and could hardly believe how huge it was. The garden was surrounded by the woods, but the trees let through enough light that there was still sun here. Adjacent to the house she could see another small wooden hut, which she had already seen in pictures. She dashed once through the garden, through the arch back to the front where her father had already loaded her bags from the car and was on his way into the house.

Haley met him and took her small bag and together they walked to the front door. The house had a beautiful light colored stone facade and large white windows that were nicely decorated. The front door was the same style as the windows and was already wide open. As Haley stepped through the door she stood in a large entryway from which one passed through a large doorway on the left into the living area, ahead of her was a staircase to the second floor and on the right was a bathroom. If you went straight past the stairs you came to the wide patio door that led to the garden. To the left was again a slightly smaller passageway that led to the kitchen. The living area took up most of the basement and connected the living room and dining room. A passageway connected the great room to the kitchen.

Haley set her bag down next to the coat rack and set out to explore the large house. Her direct path led her into the large living area. The walls were very high and if you didn't know magic, you would have to use a big ladder to clean the windows. The windows allowed light to fall into the room, providing good illumination. On the left side of the passage was a fireplace that urgently needed cleaning. In front of it was a wildly jumbled seating group consisting of a large and a slightly smaller sofa and an armchair. Behind it was the piano on which Haley learned to play, and on the long wall behind it were bookshelves that stretched the entire wall. In front was a wooden ladder that was used to reach all the compartments on the shelves.

"The piano will be moved again and will go here in the corner to the right of the passageway." Haley's father now began to explain. "And here in the corner to the right is where the dining area will go." She watched him intently as he walked around the room telling her the plans and followed him through the doorway into the kitchen. "We finished the kitchen yesterday. That was a job you can't imagine." Still silent, she listened to her father's words, taking in every little thing in the room. The kitchen was huge compared to the one there before, and Haley couldn't wait for the next family gathering.

Aesthetic impressions of the house:

Reducio

Their new home was far from finished and there would still be a lot of work to do, but her parents were confident that everything would be ready by summer. Haley was exploring the top floor, which was still under complete renovation, except for her room. Her room was one of the first her parents had finished and she was incredibly grateful for it. Not only did she have her room here, also it was perfect.

Her room was also well lit by the large windows and green plants hung from the ceilings everywhere. In a corner by the window was her bed, above which hung shelves with books, cameras and pictures. Her parents had also put up decorations from her old room on the walls. There were pictures, fairy lights, records and other memories that Haley had collected. In the corner opposite her bed, an armchair hung from the ceiling, looking incredibly comfortable and surrounded by plants. Next to her bed was her wardrobe and a chest of drawers containing her record collection and record player. To the left of the door was another desk, still empty except for a lamp, and while she took it all in, she just stood there grinning from ear to ear. She loved it.

Haley spent the next few days exploring the house and garden, helping around the house as best she could and thanking her father for everything. She still hadn't spoken much to her mother and it was an odd situation between them, yet she enjoyed the time. She played the piano with her father, they cooked together and Haley talked about her time at Hogwarts. One evening Haley's mother tried to build up the conversation and even though Haley would have liked to get up from the table and go to her room, she stayed. She stayed and talked to her mother, only about mundane things, but she tried to be as friendly as possible. But she didn't do that because she was having a good day, but because she still wanted something from her parents.

And after they sat at the table for a few more hours, talking, laughing and playing board games, Haley decided that this was the right moment. And even if it wasn't, she couldn't wait any longer because the weekend was coming up. "Um, I wanted to ask if it was okay if I met a friend this weekend. We were going to meet in Diagon Alley and I could stay with her and her parents for the weekend." Haley looked back and forth between her parents with a puppy dog look, hoping they would comply with her request.

Haley's mother and father exchanged a quick glance before looking back at their daughter, "I guess if it's okay with your friend's parents, then we have no objections." Retorted Haley's mother now and Haley started to grin. Her plan had worked and her mother still had something to make up to her after all.

"I guess." Haley's father replied, looking more worriedly at his wife, "but which friend? And should we talk to her parents first?" he now asked Haley's mother more than Haley. "Oh, um, her name is Alina. Alina Rosier. She had already asked her parents a few weeks ago and they said its fine for them." That was a lie. True, she had had a friend named Alina Rosier, yet she was no longer at Hogwarts. She only hoped that her father would be content with that and not want to talk to her parents.

"But shouldn't we talk to them for a minute?" started Haley's father again but Haley's mother interrupted him, "Honey, that's okay. I'll take her to Diagon Alley on Friday and pick her up there on Sunday." And as Haley looked back and forth between her parents, nervousness rose in her more and more. Please, please, please she hoped inwardly and after what felt like five minutes, which was only a few seconds, her father gave the okay.

Haley stood up stormily from the table, thanked her parents and ran to her room to pack her bag. Haley was very happy that her plan was working, but she also felt bad because she had lied to her parents and she had never done that before. At least not anymore than she was at an age where she really understood the consequences lying could have. But she also knew that her parents would not have allowed her to visit her grandfather.

Aesthetiv impressions of her room:

Reducio

Haley could hardly wait for the weekend and it seemed to her that the hours were passing more slowly than before. She tried to be as friendly as possible with her parents and especially her mother over the next few days. It wasn't always easy for her to mask her feelings, but it worked and finally Friday arrived. After breakfast, Haley got ready, picked up her bag and said goodbye to her father. She set off with her mother for Diagon Alley and on the way there they didn't talk much.

Haley assured her mother that she could go back home as Alina was about to arrive and said goodbye to her. Once her mother was out of sight, she made her way to Gringotts and suddenly realised she didn't even know how to recognise her grandfather. They had never seen each other before and had not agreed on a sign or anything.

Arriving at her destination, she stood against the wall and looked around, a little lost. Nowhere could she see anyone who looked like they were a grandfather or waiting for someone. A few minutes passed and suddenly Haley realised that she didn't have a plan B. What would she do if Godric didn't show up? But just as she was thinking about that, she caught sight of an older man, obviously looking for someone, holding an ice cream in each hand. And when she could see his face, she knew this had to be Godric. She immediately saw the resemblance to her mother and never could the two of them have denied that they were daughter and father. Her legs started moving as if by themselves and when she was only a few feet away from him, she asked cautiously. "Godric?"

His searching gaze now darted to Haley and a broad smile quickly formed on his face. "You must be Haley! It's nice to finally meet you in person." As he continued to smile at Haley, many little laugh lines formed at the corners of his eyes and Haley immediately felt comfortable in his presence. "Yes, it's nice to meet you too!" she replied, smiling at him. "Fancy some ice cream?"he asked her as he held out both hands for her to choose one. Haley took the ice cream from his right hand that consisted of a brown and a white scoop, "Thanks!"

The two walked around Diagon Alley for a while longer, talking about everything and nothing. They laughed together and in general Haley was glad to finally meet her grandfather in person. At some point Godric took them to a portkey, as he explained to Haley, which would take them to his house. Haley had never travelled in this way before and was somewhat suspicious and impressed at the same time. She kept learning new things about this magical world everyday.

After touching the portkey, only a few seconds passed before she arrived at her new location and landed ungently on the floor. Godric reached out to help her up "Are you okay? The first time is always a bit awkward. Admittedly a few times after that too but eventually you get used to it." She reached for his hand and still swayed a little on her feet. She closed her eyes briefly to get the feeling of dizziness and nausea under control.

"Welcome to my Home!" Godric greeted Haley to the lonely hut on the hill, which was surrounded by green countryside. She couldn't see another house for miles, but she loved the silence here, the cool breeze she was sure came from the sea, and the green landscape.

"It's so quiet. But good quiet. I like the surroundings." Godirc laughed at her words, "Yes it is really nice here. Now come, let me introduce you to my family." Haley followed him into the house and she remembered that Godric had once mentioned that he lived here with others in a sort of community.

They went through the door and took off their jackets and shoes, put down their bags and a pleasant smell crept into their noses. At the same moment, her mangen began to growl. Her grandfather began to smirk, "I guess lunch is ready."

Haley followed Godric through the house to the kitchen and there were already many people sitting at a long table. Most were men and had to be her grandfather's age, but as her eyes wandered along the table she could see a boy sitting between a man and a woman who had to be about Haley's age. "Ah, you must be Haley." Spoke one of the men now and stood up to offer her his hand, "I'm Marcus." He introduced himself and Haley shook his hand.

Haley sat down next to her grandfather and everyone started to eat. After a few minutes, many individual conversations began at the long table, but Haley spoke little. She tried to take in as many details as she could and her eyes kept wandering between the different faces at the table until her eyes met the boy her age. He seemed to have been watching her and she looked at him with a questioning look. He smiled confidently at her and looked away again, joining in a conversation that Haley could not hear.

For the rest of lunch, Haley stopped looking at the boy and talked to her grandfather. It didn't take long for her to thaw out and laugh and also start talking to the other people around her. "So you're our new talent in the round. Let's see what you can do." Said one of the few women at the table and Haley looked at her confused. Godric gave the woman a dirty look, which Haley didn't see. "I told them you were a parselmouth, I hope you're not mad at me for that." And at that moment Haley understood and began to smile. Not only was she pleased that her talent was really considered a talent, but that she was considered a part of this.

"What do you want to hear?" said Haley, looking confidently at the woman with one eyebrow raised. But she spoke not in her normal voice, but the hissy sound she rarely heard from herself. Almost everyone at the table fell silent and exchanged glances with each other. Out of nowhere Godrich started laughing, "And you thought I was telling you fairy tales." Haley joined in his laughter, why would he have made that up?

The rest of the meal went normally and afterwards Haley was given a tour of the large house by Godric. There were three floors in total plus a basement. Most of the rooms were the bedrooms and bathrooms. On the ground floor was the large kitchen and a huge common room where, to Haley's delight, there was a piano. There wasn't much to see in the basement according to Godric, just a few storage closets and so they didn't look at it.

They spent the rest of the day in the living room looking through old family albums that Godric showed her. For the first time she really learned a lot about her family. She saw pictures of old relatives, all of whom Godric introduced to her. In some of the pictures she could recognise her grandmother, and in a few she found her mother. Haley learned more about the family that once consisted only of purebloods. All those who were also at Hogwarts were sorted from the Hat into Slytherin (the only exceptions being her and her mother). He also told her about the difficult situation between him and her mother and also later to Cecilia, Haley's grandmother. He didn't go into much detail, but he explained to her that there were often different views in the wizarding world and that they had grown apart in their opinions.

Haley didn't ask further because she was still processing all the other stories and pictures and was just glad that she had finally learned more about them. "Thank you." She said directed at Godric and smiled at him. "Of course." He replied and put his hand on her shoulder. Godric took the albums back to his bedroom and Haley was waiting for him in the living room when the boy came into the room from lunch. He walked wordlessly towards Haley and sat down in an armchair opposite her. "I'm Aiden." He introduced himself. "Haley." She replied, looking at him suspiciously.

Before they could talk further, her grandfather returned, "Ah, I see you two have met. Haley, Aiden is Rosa's grandson and is visiting us for the holidays. Aiden, could you show Haley to her room? It's right next to yours." Godric waited for no reply and left the room for the kitchen.

"Shall we?" asked Aiden as he got up from the armchair. Haley followed him without comment, gathering her bags in the entryway as she went. She followed him up the wooden stairs to the first floor, then to the second and then to the third. But it seemed they had not yet reached their destination. At the end of the hallway, a ladder was hidden around the corner, still leading under the attic. Aiden went up the stairs and Haley followed. It was hard with the full bags but when she was halfway up, a hand came towards her from above. She handed her bag to Aiden and climbed the rest of the way up considerably faster than before. "Thanks." Haley said as she took her bags again and looked around briefly. There were another three rooms up here, a good deal smaller than the ones on the floors below them. "So on the far left is the bathroom, then comes my room and then yours." He nodded his head towards the door on the right. "Um, okay, thanks." Haley spoke and went into the room to unload her bag.

The room was small, but it had everything she needed. A bed that stood against the wall directly to the left of the door, a small desk above which was a small skylight in the slope and a narrow wardrobe on the wall to the right. She glanced around briefly and when she turned back she found that Aiden was standing in the doorway watching her.


"Um, is there anything else?" Haley inquired, slightly annoyed. "So you can really talk to snakes?" he ignored her snarky manner and sat down on her bed. She was surprised by his confident and cocky manner and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "looks like." she continued to reply in her snarky tone. "Have you ever talked to a real snake?" he asked further, she replied with a shake of her head and looked at him questioningly. "Then we should try that." He stated, getting up from the bed and leaving the room.

Haley found Aiden totally strange and couldn't place him. But she was sure of one thing: she didn't like him. But somehow she was also curious, so she decided to put off unpacking until later and followed him out of the room. When he was at the ladder down, he turned around and noticed Haley following him. Haley's eyebrows drew together, had he just smirked? She wasn't sure but continued to follow him without comment.

When the two arrived on the ground floor Aiden turned, "We should meet right outside, I'll join you in a minute." Haley nodded silently, so many things and questions running through her mind but she said nothing. She put on her shoes and a jacket and went outside. It was windy and her hair was flying around, but she enjoyed it. It was so quiet, far and wide no house, no street, it was almost as if she was all alone here. She walked around the house and explored the place, but there was nothing to see. Green meadow and a tree here and there. But in the distance she could see a cliff. She knew they were on an island, but she hadn't expected to be so close to the sea and immediately her feet started moving.

It took a while, but slowly she could hear the waves softly and smell the sea. It reminded her in a way of Ireland and she fell in love with this place too. She started to run, the wind blew stronger through her hair, her legs moved faster and faster and after a few seconds she had reached the end. She stood on the cliff, her heart beating faster and her body demanding oxygen, but all that went through her mind was the sea. She sat down on the edge of the cliff and let her legs hang down. Her parents would admonish her immediately, but they were not here. She let her upper body fall backwards and closed her eyes.

"By outside, I didn't mean a kilometre from the house." Aiden's voice brought her back to reality. She didn't move, just opened her eyes and saw his upturned face. "Then I guess you'll have to be a little more specific in the future." Haley countered and continued to lie there. Her eyes twisted further upwards as she looked at something in his hand. She couldn't quite make it out, so she straightened up again and saw that he was holding a small transparent box with a small snake in it.

Immediately she scowled at him and took the box from his hand. "Where did you get that? You can't just keep it in such a small box! Does she always live so cramped?" Before Haley could bombard him further with nasty looks and questions, he spoke up. "Calm down again. It was just for Transport." However, Haley did not know that this was a lie. "Go on, talk to the snake." He urged her.

She was still glaring at him, but now turned her attention to the snake. She turned the box so she could see the snake's head. Haley felt sorry for it being put in that little box. "I'm sorry." She whispered softly, but it was no longer her usual voice but the hiss she so rarely heard. The snake's head moved in her direction. "That you're in that box. I wouldn't have done that."

For another moment it seemed the snake was just looking at Haley and Haley became unsure if the snake really understood her, but before she averted her gaze the snake began to speak. "Leave." Haley's eyebrows drew together. "What are you talking about?" she was interrupted by Aiden. She looked at him and rolled her eyes, "We're introducing right now." He rolled his eyes too, but she turned her attention back to the snake. "Do you want to go? I can understand that. I'd have an idea, but it would require me to take on my hands." Haley now spoke to the snake again in Parseltongue. The snake remained silent again but nodded at her. Haley opened the box but paused for a moment. She had never touched a snake before but she had given her the okay. She reached into the box and carefully took the snake in her hand. It wrapped itself once around her palm and rested its head on her wrist. Haley smiled softly to herself as she looked at Aiden. . He was standing there with his mouth open, watching Haley and the snake. "I'm going to put you on my legs now and when I say now, you're going to get moving." The snake again just looked at Haley, but she knew she understood. As Haley said it, she had now put the snake on her legs and was looking at sea again.

"Oh by Merlin's beard, did you see that?" Haley screamed excitedly, pointing her finger at the sea. "What, no!" Aiden answered, startled as he followed her gaze. "Now." She whispered in parsel as quietly as she could, answering Aiden directly. "There's a whale just appeared, I'm sure of it!" As Aiden scanned the sea, Haley glanced unobtrusively to her left, watching the snake move unobtrusively away. But it stopped and looked again at Haley. "Thanks. You should go too." Again her eyebrows quirked. "I don't see anything." Aiden said annoyed and Haley looked back at him and shrugged.

Aiden's gaze fell on Haley's legs and she knew immediately that he noticed the snake was no longer there. She pretended not to notice and continued to look at the sea. "Where is it?" Aiden inquired crossly. "What?" asked Haley, looking at him in confusion. "Don't act like that!" he was almost shouting now, "The snake! Where is it?" Haley looked at him crossly now, what was he thinking talking to her like that? "I don't know! It must have moved it when we were looking out to sea." She stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Don't lie to me! You did that on purpose!" Aiden stood up straighter now too, seething with anger. "Don't insinuate something like that!" Haley was getting louder now too, turning and walking back towards the house. "Don't you just turn your back on me when I'm talking to you!" Aiden now ranted after her, unwilling to drop the discussion. But Haley just ignored him and continued walking towards the house. "I'm talking to you!" he now shouted after her, but still no reaction from Haley. "I said I'm talking to you!" he now said again as he grabbed her arm and turned her around. Haley stopped, pulled her arm back with a quick jerk to free herself from his grip and took a few steps towards him with her fingers raised before standing directly in front of his face. "I'm only going to say this once. Don't ever do that again!" She stared at him with a scowl that had never been seen on Haley before and for a brief moment she could see fear in Aiden's gaze before he put on the same expression again. "Now leave me alone." She hissed at him, turning back around and going into the house to unpack her things.

For the rest of the afternoon and evening, the two didn't speak another word to each other. At dinner they just gave each other nasty looks but neither said anything. Her grandfather had noticed all this, but he didn't say anything either. In the evening, they all sat together in the big living room, talking, laughing and playing games. It was already late when Haley and Aiden were sent to bed and silently the two went up to their rooms. Haley got her things out of her room and went into the bathroom to get ready. When she was done, she ran into Aiden again and the two looked at each other for a moment, annoyed. But knowing that the two of them would still be here for the next two days, Haley decided to make the first move. "Good night." She said without waiting for a reaction and went to her room.

As soon as she was in her bed, she only realised how tired she was and it only took a few minutes for her to fall sound asleep. The next morning she was woken by a careful knock on her door and as she opened her eyes cautiously she saw Aiden's head poking through the door. "Breakfast is ready." He too left without waiting for a response from Haley and closed the door behind him. She quickly got ready and joined them for breakfast. "Good morning sleepyhead." Smiled her grandfather warmly at her.

As the day progressed, almost everyone headed out to run errands or visit friends, leaving only Aiden and Haley behind. "It won't be long before I get back." Her grandfather said goodbye and an uncomfortable silence spread. Aiden and Haley looked at each other and it was as if they had silently agreed that they would just forget about the previous day's argument and so they started talking normally again. They got to know each other, talked about home, school and many other mundane things. Haley realised that Aiden wasn't as bad as she first thought and they quickly became friends. Aiden still had to write a letter and after a while he went to his room while Haley lay down on the sofa and started reading a book.

A few minutes passed until she suddenly heard noises. She put her book aside and waited a moment. It only lasted a few seconds, then she could hear it again. She sat up and heard it again. She couldn't place it and tried to find the source of the noise and that led her to the door that led to the basement. She knew she wasn't allowed down there, but there was no one there and after a moment's thought, her curiosity had won and she slowly opened the door. As she went down the stairs very slowly and quietly, she could hear it again. But now she could better make out what it was. A scream, for sure. And it sounded agonising. Haley continued down the stairs and just as she reached the bottom one of the doors opened and her grandfather and another man came out. She must not have realised that her grandfather was back and as she looked at the other man she remembered who it was. She couldn't remember his name but he had asked her a lot of questions the night before about her and her talent and talked about great wizards who also had the talent and what Haley could do with it. When her grandfather overheard this he got angry but not with Haley but with the man.

"I told you, you have no business down here." Haley's grandfather said when he saw her. "I-I am sorry, I heard something and" before she could speak further she was interrupted by her grandfather. "Oh that was just my good friend here." He looked at the man who was looking down at the floor in embarrassment. "He's always a bit clumsy and he'd got his hand caught." When Haley looked back at the man he just nodded quickly but remained silent. "Now off upstairs with you." Haley's grandfather said as he shooed her up the stairs and they both started laughing.

The rest of the day passed quietly, even though Haley couldn't get the scene out of her head. They talked a lot, played games, her grandfather told her more about the family and showed her pictures. When he had something to do, she spent time with Aiden again and in the evening they all cooked together in the big kitchen.

The time with her grandfather passed too quickly and while they all sat at the dining table and ate dinner together, she wished she could stay longer, but tomorrow afternoon it was time for her to say goodbye. She didn't want to fill the last moments with sadness but she couldn't turn it off completely either. Aiden noticed that Haley was getting calmer and engaged her in conversation to distract her a little.

After dinner, everyone sat together again in the big living room and the adults told Aiden and Haley funny stories from their youth. Everyone laughed a lot and every now and then the two looked at each other incredulously before bursting out laughing again. The next few hours flew by and it was time to send them to bed again. Haley and Aiden had a race up to high under the loft and Haley managed to get to the stairs before him and won the race. The two got ready for bed in the bathroom and wished each other a good night.

Haley tossed and turned in her bed and just couldn't fall asleep. She reached for her book but put it aside after a few pages. Minutes and minutes passed and she was still wide awake in her bed, unable to fall asleep. Eventually she reached the moment when she just gave up on falling asleep and got up from her bed. She walked to her door without knowing where she was going and just as she opened the door she saw Aiden standing in front of her door with his right hand in the air about to knock on her door. The two looked at each other and started laughing. "Can't sleep either?" Aiden asked as he continued to laugh. Haley shook her head and took a step to the side so Aiden could enter the room.

The two of them sat down on her bed with their backs against the wall and talked about all sorts of things for the next few hours. Haley talked about Hogwarts, her new home, her friends at Hogwarts, the rumours that were told about her and she talked about Simon. Thinking about him reminded her again how much she missed him. Aiden talked about his home schooling, his family which was a bit special and the few friends he had as he hardly ever met other children his age.

Hours passed and the two talked and talked until the night started to get lighter again. As time passed they both grew more tired but neither would admit it and eventually they both fell asleep sitting up and were woken in the morning by a flash of lightning. Rosa, Aiden's grandmother captured the scene in a photograph and woke them both up to get ready for lunch. The two had slept through the whole morning and Haley had to make her way back home after lunch.

After lunch, Haley said goodbye to everyone and Aiden slipped her his address so they could write letters to each other. Godric took Haley back to Diagon Alley and the two hugged goodbye, agreeing that they would have to do it again sometime. Haley was picked up by her mother and they drove home together, where a surprise awaited Haley that she had not expected.

After Haley and her mother walked through the front door, a bunch of smiling family members awaited them. She could immediately see the nervousness in some of the faces - Ian rubbed his hands together nervously as Haley entered the house. Her mouth agape, she looked around at them, at a loss for words. "Surpriseeee" they all shouted together but Haley still didn't know what to do. On one hand she loved her family and under normal circumstances she would be really happy but on the other hand she was still disappointed.

But there was no need for Haley to say anything because her mother, who was still standing behind her and put both hands on her shoulder, started to speak. "I know, or rather we know, that we have not behaved correctly. First of all, I have to apologize to you. Haley, I am truly sorry and there is no excuse for my reaction but I hope you can still forgive me." Haley looked down at the floor, not knowing how to respond. She turned to the side to look at her mother and she could see it clearly in her eyes. She was truly sorry. "It was stupid of me. My past had caught up with me and I just overreacted." There it was again. The past that Haley knew nothing about. But instead of being upset this time, she was sorry. She took her mother into a hug without comment.

"We're sorry, too. After all, we were the catalyst for this." Shouted Taylor to Haley and she couldn't help laughing when she saw his guilty look. Taylor was the youngest of her cousins and she just couldn't stay mad at him. She gave him a hug as well, then greeted her uncle and aunt, who both whispered apologies in her ear as well, letting her know they were proud of her. Haley's grandmother also joined in, taking her granddaughter into a long, tight hug. "I told you from the beginning it was a talent. Don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise." After also hugging her father, Justin and Fred, the group had already dispersed and sat down at the table to eat together.

Only Haley and Ian were still standing in the entryway. "Haley." Started Ian speaking and before he could have finished his sentence, Haley took him in a hug."It's okay. I've heard enough apologies and I'm not mad anymore either." Ian returned the hug, but continued speaking. "I know. I'm still sorry, though. Really!" Haley waved the subject off and went with him to join the rest of the family.

They all sat together for the rest of the day, eating together, sharing news with each other, and laughing a lot. To Haley's delight, she learned that the visit would stay until the end of the vacation. Since the house wasn't ready yet, her uncle and aunt would stay with her grandmother, while her cousins would sleep in her room. This had not been the original plan, but they were able to convince her parents and after she spread the mattresses on the floor, there was nothing left of the floor.

The rest of the vacation everyone helped out around the house, spending sunny days in the garden and Haley and her cousins sharing stories about school days, friends and crushes. She laughed a lot and it was like everything was forgotten. She was incredibly glad that they had all spoken up and accepted Haley for who she was.

Time went by way too fast and already the last day had arrived and everyone had to say goodbye to each other before heading back.

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