yar hello It had rained for several days, and the fog that settled across the coasts of County Donegal shone off the dawn's light to project upon the trees an orange glow which danced within the pewter of the cool wet air. An auburn path of worn earth carved its way through the woods and the sweet sounds of robins and blackbirds drifted through the clearing just long enough to settle upon the echoing wind. Woosh the cutting sound of air displacing rapidly exploded; ceasing the songbirds' melodies. A tall and handsomely pale gentleman dressed in a delicately pressed three piece suit of grey tweed had apparated onto the quiet path. Across his pasty face lay a red sunburn which blended the freckles so precisely they almost seemed a piece of his soft scarlet sun kissed rash. While he had clearly taken care to prepare and clean his suit the dust of another land seemed to have found its way into the seams and pits of the beautifully stitched tweed. With a swift brush off and pat down to push any loose bits of dirt which was unsettled from the ground that may have found their resting place upon himself the figure continued down the path towards a small suburban home just on the edge of the woods.

yar hello "Aedan, my love. Dun' look so gloomy. You're going to 'ave a wonderful time." crooned Roisin as she put the finishing touches on a morning breakfast of fried eggs, boxty, and grilled peaches. A soft powdering of cinnamon atop the peaches and the plate floated towards the small dejected looking blond boy that sat on the far end of the room pressed up against the counter top, head on his fist, looking out the window. Roisin's strawberry blond hair hopped and swung in the air as she shifted from the workspace next to the stove top to peer at Aedan again. Celadon eyes rested upon the boy's pathetic slouching, but just before she could continue to comment on her son's sorry state of being he burst from his seat and raced towards the door.

yar hello "He made it!" Aedan blustered as the heavy rubber of his dress shoes thudded hard against the cedar flooring; unwilling to dampen his sudden flame Roisin said nothing of the deep scuffs left on the floor. Just through the window not but a few hundred feet off, Donal was coming down the old forest path towards the house.

yar hello "Ohp!" Donal hadn't carried the boy for many years at this point and when Aedan soared off the dirt path and into Donal's arms he couldn't help but lose his balance, staggering to bring a leg back to right himself. "Morning dathúil, where's your mother?" The boy's head jerked back towards the house where Roisin now stood, back pressed against the door and waving towards the two of them. For a boy who rarely said a word the short walk home along the path was an eventful one, Aedan went through every development of the past five months since his birthday. Aedan tried to at least, for as soon as the pair got to the door they were being ushered back indoors. Donal gave his wife a longing kiss that prompted the eleven year old to escape into the dining room. Aedan suddenly found himself hungry where he had been so downtrodden and put off of eating moments ago. "Alright A leanbh, eat up and get your things, the weather's going to be stuffy in London so you'll want to put on something a bit better for the summer."

yar hello "You're one to talk, comin' 'ere lookin' like you're teachin' at Hogwarts yourself this year." Roisin's teasing tone forced a blushed smirk from her husband's face.

yar hello With a theatrical bow and exaggerated wink he replied, "Professor Donal de Faoite, expert on muggle studies here to whip you louts into shape." There was a snicker from Aedan, deep down he'd have done anything to make his father a professor at Hogwarts, that alone would change the pit in his stomach. "Nay, it ain't for me." said Donal, the manner he dismissed the notion brought the sunken feeling to the boy's innards.

yar hello Roisin swooped in to rustle her son's hair, " What did we agree to, no mopin' until you've tried Hogwarts." Roisin planted a soft kiss upon the boys cheek, pointing at the half eaten breakfast. "Now eat." She returned to the stove and began to prepare two more plates, "Mo shíorghrá, You look like you haven' had a thing to eat for days."

yar hello When breakfast had ended the family gathered around the tall fireplace at the end of the den and waited for Aedan to step inside. With floo powder in hand and a nervousness about him, Aedan murmered "Diagon Alley," just as he had done the first time he'd gone to London. Just before letting the powder go the small boy looked past his parents and into the rest of the home, how the smell of fresh herbs and his mother's vanilla perfume hung to everything. How he would miss it here, it would be months until holiday break, and the mere thought of it bunched tears at the corners of his soft blue eyes. Unable to wait another second he cast the powder into the furnace and felt the flicking flames dance across his legs, and he was gone. Soon after Roisin and Donal would join him, and the cozy two bedroom along the forest's edge was silent.