Andrew had eagerly took the glass orb into his grasp. It didn’t light up immediately in contact with his finger tips. Sometime it took a few seconds or so, the young girl didn’t know why. But at last, slowly, the orb began to emit a faint glow that deepened in colour with a few seconds that passed. Aurelia stared intently, eyes darting from the orb to Andrew and the orb again. Andrew’s eyes were fixated on the remembrall, most likely putting in much effort to remember what he had forgotten and he had succeeded about half a minute later as the glow subsided.

“So what did you-“ Aurelia has never gotten to finish her question when a voice, coming from behind them interrupted. Aurelia looked over her shoulder only to see three girls, two of which were the ones who had chased her off the swing a few minutes ago. They looked at her as if she was a disgusting pest. Aurelia who had been chatting enthusiastically with Andrew now wrapped her arms across her torso, rubbing both her elbows as if it was suddenly unbearably cold. Clearly, the girls knew Andrew and perhaps, even though Andrew was a year or two younger than her he might be able to stand up for her. It was not likely since they’d only met.

The girls proceeded to taunt both of them. Girlfriend, was something Aurelia had dismissed as gross mentally. She already knew of 5th graders in what they called a relationship. They were often seen holding hands when walking along the cafeteria that made Aurelia wonder if they’ve ever heard about cooties. There wasn’t a chance that Andrew would stand up for her since he too looked rather embarrassed. Young wanted to run, run from the girls and from the torment they delivered, surely she’d be called a coward in school the next day but for now, she simply wanted to get out of the situation she was in.

Then as if by a miracle, across in a distant down by the playground, Aurelia spot a familiar head of blonde hair. Her Mother seemed rather worried, though she couldn’t hear from such a distance, Her Mother was frantically calling out for her. Without another word, Aurelia sprinted down to her Mother, away from the bench and the nasty girls around. Her Mother would be able to protect her and they most likely wouldn’t dare to bully her in front of an adult.

Within a few seconds, Aurelia‘s hands was in her Mother’s and was walking in the direction of the nearest phone booth. “Aurelia, your Dad and I have made a decision,” Her Mother said in Dutch, the language they used most of the time, as they entered the booth. Thellea briefly checked if there were any muggles following them before closing the door.

“We were thinking that it might be better if... if we moved to Cheshire. It’s a much nicer place than London.” Her voice was kind as she continued, probably unsure how her Daughter would take the news.

“You can go to a new school and meet new friends. Is that alright, Aurelia?” She then asked. Aurelia dipped her Chin in a nod. She was smiling giddily, new school, no more nasty mean girls. Perhaps people there were nicer too. With that, her Mother pulled her wand out and extended her arm for Aurelia to take. The young girl was more than familiar with aparating since it was a common transportation method used in her family. Trellis flicked her wand and the two disappeared with a whoosh.

His cheeks felt hot with embarrassment, despite the crisp cold air. Andrew didn’t understand why the other girls had the need to bully and make fun of Aurelia, but he was too weak to make a stand against it. Quite frankly, he didn’t know how. He just wanted the situation between Aurelia and the other girls to be over, so when Aurelia did abruptly leave the bench and sprint away towards her mother, he was actually a little bit relieved. At least Aurelia was free now. Lizelle and Sierra didn’t give chase, although they laughed and threw a few last jeers at Aurelia as she left.

His fingers still wrapped around the hard glass surface of the orb that was still concealed in his right pocket, a slight squeeze was all to remind himself that he still had possession of Aurelia’s ball. Every fiber within him wanted to bolt from the bench and run after Aurelia, to call out her name so he could return her trinket. Maybe he would have gotten up and done so, if it weren’t for the presence of his sister and the other two girls. Aurelia and her mother were already walking away, disappearing around a corner. It was too late for him to try and catch up with her, without keeping the orb a secret from the others. Feeling guilty that he had unintentionally “stolen” Aurelia’s orb, Andrew remained with his sister at the playground until their father came to pick them up.

When he arrived home, in the seclusion of his bedroom, Andrew finally took the crystal orb out of his sweater pocket. He fiddled with it and held it in his hands a couple of times, but it remained clear and transparent, and would not turn red for him again. Aurelia’s warning for him not to tell or show the orb to anyone else echoed in Andrew’s ears. He hoped that she wasn’t mad at him, wherever she was. He thought Aurelia probably realized by now that her crystal orb was missing. No big deal though. He would return it to Aurelia tomorrow and explain.

He searched the next day for Aurelia at school, but the tall brunette girl was not to be found. Nor the next day. Or the week after that. After turning to some of the older students in Aurelia’s grade, asking them where Aurelia could be, Andrew learned that Aurelia had stopped showing to class and was no longer attending Hillstone Primary, much to his surprise and disappointment. Aurelia was gone. To Andrew, there was no hope of ever seeing her again.

With his last efforts exhausted in finding Aurelia B., Andrew retained the crystal orb, which he kept safely tucked inside one of his bedroom desk drawers. Months passed, and eventually years. A few spring cleanings later, the Rememberall found its way into one of the storage bins stacked inside the basement of the Vance family house, where it would remain undisturbed and forgotten. Until, by magical circumstances, the time came for it to be uncovered once more.