12:30pm, 9th of November 2011
Sellaphix Home
34 Upper Montagu St
Marylebone, London

Zelda directed Figaro to Apparate home and meet her there, and there was no argument. He was relieved and looking forward to getting clean and changing clothes. There were loads of things to dread now - explaining his absence at the Daily Prophet, the complete wreck of his friendship with Fauna, and yeah, what Zelda was going to do to him.

Fig had a long shower, brushed his teeth, and got dressed. Frank’s belongings had taken over the small bedroom they once shared, and even though Figaro had moved to his own flat at the beginning of summer, he still had clothes and other stuff here.

All he wanted to do was sleep, but he didn’t need to be summoned down to know his mum wanted a word. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he saw her on the sofa with a cup of tea. There was another cup near the pot on the table.

“Mum, I’m really sorry.”

“I know you are,” she replied with very little affect. She didn’t know what to say to him that he didn’t already know, that he hadn’t been told before. The answers to all her questions about why her oldest son so often chose not to do right by himself were never satisfying. Sometimes he was sticking up for someone else, other times he was pushing too far for the sake of it. Still yet, she’d known him to be just plain thoughtless. What had happened yesterday and today was a vexing combination of all of the above.

“Sit.”

Figaro sat at the other end of the couch and rubbed his neck. “I should have owled. It just all got away from me. I know I put you through it. You shouldn’t have had to deal with that. With what dad did -”

Zelda let him go on a minute while she poured him tea. She handed him the cup.

“Listen now. I don’t ever - Figaro, look at me,” she said firmly. Figaro did.

“I don’t ever want you to try and cover for me or you dad again. There’s nothing you could do that I wouldn’t drop everything and protect you. There’s nothing more important to either of us than you and Francis. Do you understand?”

Figaro realized he didn’t believe her. Zelda saw the doubt on his face.

“I mean it. Your dad going to Azkaban - Figaro, sweetheart, we planned for that.”

Figaro was shocked. “What?”

“We took a risk. It went dog-legged, but we had a plan. Your dad would go, and I would stay, and you and Francis would have what you need,” she explained. “I’m telling you this because I want you to know that it’s not your job to protect us. We wouldn’t put you in that situation. ”

Figaro put the cup down and rubbed his face. This didn’t make sense.

Figaro blurted out, “sorry, but how does that make this better? Your plan for Nate fucking up was Dad Goes to Azkaban? What’s your plan for Figaro Fucks Up?”

Zelda gave a slight shrug and an even slighter smile. ‘This,’ she seemed to say.

She said, “I’m telling you, all you have to do is keep your head.”

Figaro was still flustered. “But they had papers about you, what if they searched the apothecary! I could have ruined everything.”

Zelda shook her head, “no, sweetheart, there’s nothing you could have said that would have hurt us. I lost my temper, I know that, but they search the shop on the regular. I told you, we wouldn’t put you in that situation. You don’t know anything, Figaro. Just, don’t talk to Aurors and it’ll all be fine.”

Figaro fell silent and just shook his head. He knew that. He’d been told many times, and he always fully intended to, but when actually faced with trouble, he’d panicked.

“But what if it isn’t?”

Zelda gave him a steady gaze. “We’re careful. Learned a lot from Briggs, if you can believe it. Drink the tea, Fig.”

He did, a bit. After a minute, Zelda asked. “Do you ... want to talk about Fauna? I was angry before, but that must have been ... difficult.”

Figaro gave Zelda a very teenage, suffering look. No, he did not want to talk about Fauna. Zelda held up a hand in retreat, a bit relieved. She thought she ought to ask, but really, had no idea what to say.

“I’m gonna go sleep,” he said. Zelda nodded and watched him go. She’d get him up later for dinner.