The girls were back to school already. Not even two weeks and they were gone again, leaving everything quiet and without cat hair. And it made an opportunity to chat with an old friend seem much better than returning home right away.

There was a little bit of sun peeking out out from behind the clouds, and while it felt a touch chilly in Diagon, it was not so cold as to require anything but one of Aisling's lighter coats.

She ran her thumb across the simple rings she wore, then lifted her hand and knocked softly on the door. After everything that had happened, she could use this. Or a drink. But tea was probably a far better idea. It had been a very long time since she'd had the chance to sit down with Morgana, after all.

After the knocks, she clasped her hands together and waited.

It was rare that Morgana had guests in her flat, especially because anyone wanting to get into her house would have to either sneak through a first-floor window or, more conventionally, walk through her shop's storeroom to get to the stairs. Then there was the issue of guests in the first place - the company of criminals made her wary of most people.

She mulled over this as she reverentially laid down the small tiered plate of biscuits on the round table in her living room, glancing around it in occasion. Her small flat had only three rooms and didn't look like it could be for entertaining guests at all. But it was homely, and for those occasions that needed a touch of ambiance an actual glowing plant[1] was curling itself around the space dedicated to her kitchen.

Because of the way her flat was set out, Aisling's knocks on the shop door were magically transferred to the small silver bell hanging next to her flat door. Morgana wiped her hands and went downstairs. She had not bothered to put on any makeup save for her usual eyeshadow today, and in contrast to her usual indulgent woman image she just had jeans and a loose blouse held around the waist with a burgundy belt.

She opened the shop door with a smile. "Hey Aisling, glad to see you could make it!" After making sure the sign on the door was still showing CLOSED to the street, she held the door open for Aisling to enter. "My flat's through the storeroom, I'll take you through so you don't get lost in my stock," she joked.

1.	Her Malayan Blue Lantern.

It wasn't long at all before Morgana appeared, and Aisling found herself feeling just a little overdressed for the occasion. At least she'd worn flats. "I could hardly miss this. Tea sounds like the most wonderful plan at the moment."

Her posture relaxed somewhat as she made her way in, no longer quite as stiff and straight as it had been publicly. "Just try to keep me away from whatever books you have. It's a wonder that I ever make it out of any library," she said, smiling. The best exaggerations had their roots sunk so deeply into truth, after all.

"How have you been? I know it has only been a couple of weeks, but it seems like longer." She glanced over the store, enjoying the familiarity of some of the Muggle items.

""Just try to keep me away from whatever books you have. It's a wonder that I ever make it out of any library."

Morgana smiled. "That part of you still hasn't changed? I shouldn't be surprised. Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep an eye on you."

"How have you been? I know it has only been a couple of weeks, but it seems like longer."

"It's been fairly quiet, but I like quiet." She led the way through the storeroom, occasionally re-allocating a boxed item out of the way. "The only thing I don't like is being alone, but these days I don't notice it so much anymore. Being a shopkeeper is a big responsibility, after all."

Morgana pushed open the door at the other end, still leading the way. The narrow staircase had formerly been dank, dark and full of rubbish, but now a warm light bathed the clean steps and repainted walls. She had been adamant about touching up the place, even if it meant spending money (not that she was worried about that).

"But enough about me, how have you been, Aisling?" she asked cheerfully. "Work and family going well? I imagine you'd be so much busier than I am on a daily basis. We have so much to catch up on."

"I don't think that will ever change, as I've rather been that way towards books since I first learned to read." Aisling seemed to be more at ease with each step she took, as if a certain weight were slowly slipping away.

This entire place felt calm,  and peaceful as she followed Morgana through it. "Quiet is one thing I've missed this month. Work was not too busy, but my daughters were home from school and then it seems as if I have attended every possible social event as well." A sigh. "All that dancing made me feel rather old. Though at least I can be grateful that I'll never be expected to wear heels for them." She brushed a hand across the top of her head.

"Can't say that I ever expected to be performing the high society routine. Tarron is better at it, of course, but I do like to think that I'm learning." She shook her head. "At least I still have more books than clothes."

At long last, the actual flat. Morgana felt slightly self-conscious as she opened the door at the top of the stairs, but urged it down. There was nothing to worry about, it was just very comfortable and homely. At least it was neater than her storeroom.

"High society? You?" She smiled. "If you'd said that years ago I wouldn't have been able to imagine you even being in that part of society. But now we're a little older and things have changed." She stood aside to let Aisling pass, gently nudging her cloth-shrouded Omniscope further into its corner to make space.

"Here, I'll hang your coat up. Make yourself at home," she said, waving in the direction of the small table sitting near the kitchen. "Tea should just be about ready, so help yourself if you like. I don't have much of a view outside the kitchen windows, unless you consider the back of someone's house a view, but there's the rest of the flat." Which wasn't much, she had to admit, but it was at least something.

"I know, it's a rather strange thing. But it's better than being cut out of it, I suppose. Even if it has led to me having a ridiculous quantity of clothing." It didn't hurt to have a nephew who was a tailor, either.

Aisling made her way over towards the kitchen, and poured herself a cup of tea before sitting down. "It's a nice flat. Better than most I've lived in.  And you do have quite the good eye for decorating. My idea of that process involves leaving books and vases of flowers about. Also, more books. That's rather a trend." She warmed her hands around the tea, smiling.

"There's so much to catch up on, I'm rather unsure where to start." Once her hands were warm, she moved to rest her chin on one of them, contemplating. "I did just start gardening again. Hadn't done much of it since I was in school, but it seems I haven't completely forgotten the knack."

Morgana smiled as she sat down opposite Aisling - which wasn't very far, since the table was small. "I used to wonder about people who didn't have a variety of clothing in their wardrove, Ais. But it's good to know you've settled more or less into it...high society is tiring sometimes." She waved a hand at the rest of the interior. "It's like a bachelorette pad, this place, but at least it gives me some respite after a night of partying."

She chuckled at the idea of book clutter. "I suppose you're keeping the mess of books in check too?" she asked wryly. "But knowing you, you might just want your own room to create a little bit of clutter. I'm not surprised if you have. It's a healty hobby at least." Compared to my side job, she added mentally.

"Oh, well, gardening." Morgana glanced at the lone potted vine sitting on her kitchen windowsill. "Maybe you could start by suggesting windowbox flowers better than geraniums? Ha, no, I'm joking."

She leaned forward, supporting her chin with both hands like a child, her eyes wide. "Tell me about your family life. How is it like? You mentioned a name earlier - your husband? The last time we met you were still single, what magic did you do to change your life?" The cheeky smile that followed complemented her lighthearted tone.

Aisling slid her hands around her neck . The muscles were tense there, still. "I didn't need much for clothing, then. Now, well, let's just say it's good that Darian Morgan is my nephew." A bit of a smile peeked out in her expression. "And I have an actual library now. It has taken a while to fill up."

The smile grew a little wider as Morgana continued, with the husband question even bringing a bit of a blush to Aisling's cheeks. "My husband, yes. Tarron Knight. We've been married almost sixteen years now." The blush grew deeper, and she looked down into her cup. "But the magic was all on his end. Never thought I had a chance with him until he asked me."

She lifted the cup and sipped a little tea from it, raising her head so she could meet Morgana's eyes. "He was a couple years ahead of me at school, though we didn't really interact there. When I joined the Ministry he was already there, and so we'd play chess or discuss theories occasionally. He's quite the intelligent man, and has such impeccable manners. Oh, but listen to me." A little chuckle at herself.

"In any case, the Knights are very traditional. No chance they would approve. And Tarron still had much of that to him, so I never believed myself to have a chance." One slow, deep breath. "It just took him about twenty years to make that first move."

"Ohh, Darian Morgan." Morgana smiled. "Yes, he's an absolute genius with cloth. He does things with it I could never imagine; having no new outfits with him as family would be almost unthinkable."

She watched Aisling's face, grinning at the blush and listening to her tale. At the end she chuckled. "Twenty years? That's more than enough time to get to know you and your hidden depths, Ais. He must have just been making sure about you all that while."

Morgana took a sip from her cup, glancing into her tea for a moment. "But it's no surprise that you've found an intellectual spouse for yourself." She looked back up at her. "How did the rest of the Knights take it? And yours, for that matter? I bet your family was thrilled at you marrying into the upper class."

"He does have quite the talent. Rowena-my eldest daughter-wants to work under him when she's older to learn about it. Or to study law, or play professional Quidditch, it rather shifts from day to day. But she is only twelve." Her voice faded a bit. It seemed as if her daughters had just returned home and yet they were already gone.

The sentiment was broken by Morgana's laughter, and Aisling shook her head just slightly to clear it away. "You have rather the knack for guessing at it. He did want to be sure." A sip of tea, her fingers curled delicately around the cup. "His father disowned him for marrying me. Most of his family cut off contact entirely."

A bit of self-reproach had seeped into her voice. "But yes, my parents were thrilled. They'd rather started to believe that I would never find anyone, let alone a proper gentleman." This memory, at least, was more pleasant, and her tone was warmer. "Even though he was so confused by the telly. He still is, even though we visit there most every year over Christmas."

Morgana listened, dropping her smile from her face and replacing it with an expression of attentiveness. When Aisling mentioned her daughters, she sensed a touch of sadness. She didn't comment on this; besides reminding Ais of her children, Morgana had had very little experience with kids and family. Adults were her forte, more or less.

One corner of her lips turned upwards a little when Aisling confirmed her guess, but it disappeared just as quickly at the mention of disowning. Now that Morgana could understand, but for the sake of her own memories she let the sleeping dogs lie. Thirty years of slumber were still not enough.

"Ha, telly." Morgana drank a bit more of her tea. "I still get confused by it myself, but when you're not really Muggleborn it's tough understanding those...talking boxes. You know how I've always described them." She smiled a little. "Sounds like it's been quite a journey for you, Ais, but it's good to know after all that you're still the lovely person I remember."

"I end up confused by the telly some days myself. Seems I miss more references with it every year." It didn't help that she tended to only watch it a few times a year. Didn't allow her to retain much familiarity with characters or basic plot points, let alone finer details. "But it is far easier for me to just watch it-rather than attempting to analyze what arcane creatures make it work." Her lips quirked upwards into a teasing smile.

"Some of my younger family tend to ask Tarron if he's a character from it. Always leaves him a bit confused. Suppose it says a great deal that he'll come over and visit my family for Christmas, though." The poor man, dealing with that many Muggles. And her father always had to go on about Rugby.

"Sounds like it's been quite a journey for you, Ais, but it's good to know after all that you're still the lovely person I remember."

That made her blush, deeply. "Thank you. Sometimes I worry that I have changed far too much." There was a little bit of a flinch, and a sigh. "How have you been, though? You look well." Far, far too many years. They left so much to catch up on.

Morgana smiled in amusement about Tarron and the Muggles. Apart from all that Muggle technobabble with their fancy "electronics" or whatever they were, having to masquerade in front of unsuspecting Muggle suppliers had been difficult in the beginning. She now tended to have a chuckle at those old memories, though.

"Oh, I've been fine." Morgana waved a hand at the shop. "I left the country during the Second War...I don't think I could have possibly handled it after the first." She rested her chin on her hand as she looked thoughtfully into her cup. "Spent all that time in Europe pretending to be an amateur Muggle antiques enthusiast so that no one would suspect me." This was true, although the actual reason was less legal.

"When I heard it was over, I came back here and opened up my shop. Didn't think I would be able to break even in the first month, but I've apparently underestimated the wizarding population's love of Muggle novelties just because they don't have magic and therefore don't spout profanities or dance a jig whenever someone walks past." She paused and then added, "Actually, some do, but I make it a point never to stock those. I have standards, after all." Her smile was of amusement.

"Love-wise, not as lucky as you." Morgana kept her gaze downwards. "Seems time hasn't changed for me on that aspect. But sometimes it's gratifying to know that my old friends are out there finding that special person and maybe that's enough for me, for now." She looked up at Aisling and smiled at her.

Something in Aisling's expression twitched, then relaxed at the mention of her friend avoiding the war. It was good to know that not everyone had been so touched by it. "Muggle antiques? They must seem positively modern compared to the wizarding sort."

Tarron dressed like an antique, by Muggle standards. Though he wore it very, very well.

"It's easier to admit to an interest in Muggle things, these days. And you do have good stock. You've a good eye for that, among other things." Her smile was as warm as the memories behind it. Sometimes she missed being young, but never for too long.

She rested her chin on one hand, leaning forward. "Sometimes it seems as if love is the only area in which I have had luck,  but in truth that is just my being cynical. It was slow coming, though." A bit of a chuckle at herself. "You're not the only one I've seen struggle with finding love, though. Wish I had some secret to share."