16th June, 1888 — Lovegood Household
Adelia Lovegood

“I rather suspect the Ministry might be as in the dark as the rest of us,” Orlando said as he folded up the Daily Prophet and looked over to where his sister was sat at the dining table. The children were eating upstairs, safely tucked away in the nursery, and Orlando had yet to touch his own food: the churning feeling of anxiety in his stomach would not allow anything to settle.

Whatever was going on was a mystery to everybody and Orlando wished he had taken the initiative to leave the village when they’d had the chance. Of course he had never imagined for a moment that it would lead to this – magic gone from Wellingtonshire too and he, for the first time since childhood, having to navigate life without it. Thank Merlin they had staff. Orlando didn’t rate their chances of survival if left entirely to their own devices!

“Perhaps we ought to have gone to London for the season?”

  

For the first time in a long time Ada had had a reason to be anxious about her future and it had nothing to do with poor life choices and marriageable gentlemen. A small part of her, she was ashamed to admit, was even a little bit glad of the distraction and the shared experience. At least the malicious fog was something she could fret over for the same reasons as Orlando. She felt closer to her family than she had in months which was more reassuring than she felt was decent. It was shamefully refreshing to be worrying about something outside herself and as guilty as she might feel for it, it still felt better to be worrying over her family rather than her loveless and childless future.

All the same, Ada picked at her breakfast distractedly and with little interest, her eyes almost glazed over as she stared out the nearest window. The fog seemed to be spreading with no sign of anyone being able to diagnose or thwart it which was worrying, but subconsciously she was confident it wasn't the end of the magical world. It was this unwitting belief that allowed her to derive some relief from the change of pace, rather than regard it as an insurmountable doom that would never end. The fog would pass eventually, it simply had to. Her thoughts occasionally drifted to James Herondale and what sort of chaos the fog had thrust his life into. Such thoughts were thankfully fleeting as they did much in the way of restoring her melancholy. Thankfully Mr. Urquart was no longer Minister and so it was harder for the fog to direct her thoughts in his direction.

"The fog there isn't much better, although we would be able to use magic..." she murmured. Finally, she seemed to drag herself out of her daydream and back into the present where her hand was making a poor attempt to spear a piece of egg onto the end of her fork. An inexplicable chill ran down her spine and she involuntarily dropped her fork to the plate with a loud clatter. Ever the one to be superstitious, she felt a sudden sense of foreboding bearing down upon her and the color started to drain from her face.

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His eyes shot up at the noise, bizarrely startled despite having seen its origin for himself and Orlando supposed it was a sign of quite how frayed their collective nerves were that silverware rattling on china made his heart beat faster. Either that or he could hear the housekeeper grumbling about the potential scratch and her wrath was an equally terrifying prospect.

“Don’t fret Ada, at least we’re all together,” he said soothingly as he set down his own cutlery, not even slightly hungry. “I’m more worried about Rex than anything, what if this drags into the new term and he has to start later? I know everybody else would be in the same boat but he’s looking forward to it so much.”

He reached out to cover his sister’s hand with his own, smiling wryly, trying to make her do the same. “Merlin help him if the three of us have to become his teachers.”

  

The color started to return to her face a little as she looked to her brother apologetically. She delicately rearranged her silverware on her plate, almost not trusting her ability to do so quietly. The feel of his hand on hers provided more comfort than she'd thought she'd needed and she met his smile tentatively. "Hopefully it won't come to that." Not that they'd be the worst teachers ever, but Hogwarts would always be the better option.

"Astronomy lessons would be particularly dull." Her smile relaxed some as she made a faint attempt at humor. She hadn't seen a star in ages thanks to the fog which had made it impossible to divine anything from the night sky. "And Andren would have difficulty with flying lessons."

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Chuckling Orlando leaned back in his seat, glad to see his sister smiling and tickled by the thought of their brother teaching anything at all, though he supposed flying would be the most logical thing. And she was right, poor Rex would have a very limited education if it were left to the three of them!

“I imagine he’d just fly through the house, sending all of us mad and the ornaments to the corners of every room,” if it came to it he would have to put the heaviest bolt he could find on his library. And maybe have a key made for Rex that would be their secret… “With any luck the Minister will save us all from such a calamitous eventuality.”

  

"Yes, we can only hope so." The mirth started to drain away at the mention of the Minister, even though it was another Minister she had thought of. Not wanting to drag the mood down, she continued, "He's a bright boy, I think he'd find his feet easily enough should it come to it." No one wanted to start their first year of Hogwarts late though, even the most jaded 11 year old looked forward to starting school. "Do you think he's worried about it?"

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Had he misspoken? There seemed to be something off in her demeanour but it lasted the merest of moments before her face was clear again and her tone as pleasant as ever. The old Minister had been a touchy subject, unsurprisingly, but surely this one was a safe enough topic of conversation?

“The Minister or Rex?” He grinned, but it quickly turned into a frown as he sipped his tea and contemplated the concerning fact that Rex might genuinely be worried. “Worried about what? The fog? I’m sure he’s being as level-headed about it any of us.”

  

"You're probably right, he's a sensible boy." Ada exhaled heavily and stared vacantly straight ahead of her. Absently, she brushed her finger back and forth over a small patch of the tablecloth. "All the same, perhaps we ought to think of a distraction. For all of us. Some sort of activity." She fell silent for a moment before continuing. "Maybe a play? There'd be something for all of us to do. Scripts, directing, costumes, scenery, special effects - without magic those ought to be a real challenge. What do you think?" She turned to look at him, curious to find out if it had sounded as good of an idea as it had to her before she'd given voice to it.

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Distracting Rex wasn’t a bad idea, all things considered. He had not said as much, but Orlando detected a deep concern about something in his step-son that he had never noticed before: he could only assume it was to do with the fog, but beyond the worry that it simply existed he wasn’t entirely sure. Of course Rex wasn’t the only person he worried about and as he watched his sister staring at nothing his heart ached.

“Would it make you happy Ada? To do something like that I mean?”

Orlando was more inclined towards sitting in his study as much as he could be allowed to do but if Ada, or Rex, would be cheered by a play then he would find a skull and deliver Hamlet’s soliloquy to half of Hogsmeade. Not well of course, but he would do it.

  

"If it would make the children happy, then yes." The dramatic arts had never really called to her but in the company of family for the sake of fun and distractions, she thought it had the potential to be enjoyable. "They may not be interested anyhow, I just thought it might be something to keep us all busy and really it's the first thing I thought of..." It had sounded silly, hadn't it? Since when had any of them shown any particular interest or flair for the stage? "Nevermind, I'm sure they'll be able to suggest much better ideas than that." Ada smiled a little and dipped back into her thoughts.

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It was on the tip of him tongue to point out that her suggestions were perfectly fine and she ought to be kinder upon herself, but it died when he watched her sink back into her thoughts. It was a place she seemed to spend most of her time these days and Orlando was reluctant to pull her out of it if it gave her some comfort.

He poured out two cups of tea and resolved to do something, anything at all, that would keep them all occupied for however long this terrible fog held them hostage.