November 1, 1893 — London, Near the Diagon Alley Entrance
Avery Davenport Philomena Sprout

It was a lovely day. Harry had made a trip to Flourish and Blott's this afternoon and come away with a number of new books on Potions. It had been a bit since he'd made the trip to Diagon Alley, despite the fact that he spent most of his days in London. He was usually sequestered in his lab unless he had somewhere he needed to be, and Merlin knew he was bad at remembering to leave for even that much. One of these days, he was going to become a complete recluse, and it was going to happen completely on accident. Regardless, the end result was that today he'd made the effort to go out, and had been very successful indeed.

He had just left the Leaky Cauldron and was out on the street, happily making his way back towards his lab, purchases secured away in a bag. He didn't quite realize he'd caught someone's attention at first--he was, as ever, not very perceptive when he was distracted. Still, he became aware as he walked along that one of the people walking in the opposite direction seemed to be looking at him. Unfortunately, given his distraction, he realized this about ten seconds before he had to step to the side avoid their paths crashing into each other. "Pardon me, miss," he said.

---

  

---

Set by Bee <3

If she’d thought Avalon Glen had rattled her, London was a different beast entirely. It was noisy, it was crowded, and Avery never thought she’d be jostled so much as she had been that day. She was about done with muttering ‘pardon’ under her breath; the only purpose it served was to draw odd looks to her and Marigold, and that was the last thing she wanted until she got a better grip on their bearings. Tilting her hat down over her eyes, she bustled the both of them through their shopping errands before she was about ready to snap if one more person bumped her shoulder or made Marigold trip.

In the midst of the crowd, her daughter’s hat had gotten knocked askew and so before they stepped another foot, she pulled Marigold aside and knelt down to fix it, then swiping a bit of mud from her cheek before looking down at her jacket. The child had been proud of herself that she managed to button up her coat for the day. At the beginning of their trip, Avery didn’t have the heart to point out that Marigold had skipped a button and now the whole hem was uneven. But now that she felt grated by the stares of every passers by, she quickly fixed the coat, eyes flicking up to check their surroundings.

That was when her eyes caught him in the crowd, and she stopped dead. Throughout her life, Avery had made it a point to never forget a face. There were too many people to look out for back in California to think she was safe walking around the town. And yet that’s what this feeling had to be. This cold dread trickling down into her chest and seeping into her belly as she gazed at the man standing in the crowd. He was tall enough. He had the right build.

Jesus help her.

Before she could snap herself out of the reverie, he was in front of her; then side-stepped her. It was only thanks to fielding people left and right throughout the day that saw Avery automatically draw Marigold behind her, shielding her from the man who was now addressing her…as if he’d never seen her before. Avery blinked. She hadn’t thought to change her appearance before they left. And she hardly expected the man to recognize her, perhaps it was the fatigue from the past few weeks that had Avery all in a jumble. “It’s quite alright, sir.” she responded, angling slightly away from him and tilting her hat down. She was too flustered to disguise her accent.

---

  

---

avery speaks with a mixed south appalachian drawl

Was he imagining things, or did she seem... distressed? Possibly. Harry thought it might have also been a case of "why is this strange man speaking to me?" Which was fair enough.

Harry stepped farther to the side, intending to make way for the woman to pass him easily. Still... he couldn't quite help himself, so he said, "Are you all right, miss?" He thought he saw a small shape behind her when he moved, but he kept his attention on the woman in front of him.

---

  

---

Set by Bee <3

Well, he’d moved at least, but he was still gaping down at her like a frog to a fly and she wanted to reach up and flick his nose so that he might actually have something to be startled at rather than look at her. Unfortunately both her hands were occupied with their purchases for the day and keeping Marigold close; nose flicking would have to wait. Fatigue, however, was not the best ally in the moment and she huffed a sigh. “Yes, I’m quite alright,” She repeated in a short tone, stepping back once more only to hear a small, sharp squeak emit from behind her; she’d accidentally trod on her daughter’s toe.

“Mamaaaa, that huurt!”

Shit. She grimaced before tearing her gaze away from the tall man. “I’m so sorry, darlin’.” Avery glanced down at Marigold who had skittered as far away as she could, which only resulted in her moving in a small arc seeing as her mother was currently holding her hand with a vice-like grip. Shooting another look at the man, she turned away and crouched down to Marigold’s level murmuring platitudes to her and promising sweets as recompense.

---

  

---

avery speaks with a mixed south appalachian drawl

"Right," Harry said, nodding and feeling suddenly a bit embarrassed. Obviously, he was bothering this poor woman. He supposed he would be bothered, too, if he was trying to get somewhere and some random stranger was in his way.

He was about to apologize--again--and move on, when the tiny shape of a child emerged from behind the woman, and the sight of the girl made whatever he was going to say immediately die in his throat. It wasn't even a clear, conscious thought that stopped him--not yet, his brain hadn't quite had time to catch up--just the instinctive feeling of recognition that was, in the moment, so confounding that Harry didn't know what to do with it, and merely found himself freezing in place, mouth slightly agape where he'd started to speak.

---

  

---

Set by Bee <3

Her gloved hands flitted over Marigold’s jacket and to her hair, brushing aside a few locks that had come loose; all the while, her ears strained to listen to what she was looking for: the sound of the man turning away so she could gather her daughter in her arms and apparate out of there. After a few second, she heard no such thing. Lips pressed together, Avery stood up, readjusting her grip on Marigold who was now attempting to cling to the hem of her coat (both of them were adjusting to their dexterity with the thicker winter gloves).

The seconds it took for her to stand up and turn around to face the man were some of the longest - and shortest - she’d experienced in quite some time.

Sure enough, when she took his expression in, he looked as if she’d slapped him across the face. Her stomach turned over, and Avery clenched her jaw to distract herself from the sudden impending feeling of having been thrown into a dark tunnel. God couldn’t have given her a few more weeks before running into him?

Taking her lower lip between her teeth, Avery looked up at him reluctantly from under neath the brim of her hat. After a moment or two of silence of enduring being looked at by someone whose expression resembled that of an oversized fish, she sighed. “In my experience, puttin’ your tongue back in your mouth makes it easier to speak, you know.” She drawled, taking a look around them before pitching her voice to a lower decibel. “But then again, you probably don’t remember me do you?”

---

  

---

avery speaks with a mixed south appalachian drawl

It took a moment for Harry to fully comprehend that he was gaping, and he dutifully closed his mouth, though he was too distracted to truly be embarrassed. The little girl in front of him looked... familiar in a distant way--he thought, impossibly, that she looked a great deal like a photograph he'd seen of his sister Anna at that age. Which was... he didn't know what to do with that.

Turning at the woman's words, Harry's brow furrowed. Should he? Absent-minded as he was, Harry was still fairly good at remembering people, regardless. Still, rather than say that, Harry said, "Perhaps this is a conversation we shouldn't have... here." Certainly not out on the street.

---

  

---

Set by Bee <3

She could only frown at him. Of course. Not only would he not want a girl like her to make a scene or be seen with her; he needed a plan to make his escape. “Yes, of o’course whatever you say, Daniel.” She kept her voice low, pitching it even lower as she hissed out his name. Avery her hand on the top of her daughter’s head. “Y’know if you didn’t want to talk any more, you don’t have to come up with whatever elaborate ruse you’re about to spew at me.” She flitted her gaze amongst the crowd before stepping back.

“We might as well part ways here darlin’.” Averting her gaze, she fished in her pockets for her wand to apparate the both of them away.

---

  

---

avery speaks with a mixed south appalachian drawl

"I'm not--wait." Harry's hand was on the woman's arm to stop her before he even thought about what he was doing. He was not the sort of man who put his hands on random women in the street, to stop them from leaving--a preciously low bar for decency, admittedly--but still he didn't move his hand right away. "Please, wait. I'm not Daniel Berkwood. I'm his brother. Harry."

---

  

---

Set by Bee <3

At the contact, Avery felt a spark of rage fly through her and she whipped her head to pin the man with another glare. Had she not had Marigold with her, who was now peering curiously up at both of them with her mouth slightly agape, Avery would have immediately thrown the man off of her. But -

She blinked.

He wasn’t Daniel. Could this just be an elaborate trick to try and make her even more confused. Her lip curled in disgust at the thought. But she didn’t forget faces or names, and had tried even harder to make sure she remembered those nights with as much clarity as she could. At the man’s name, she felt only a slight flicker of recognition. “Harry.” She could have sworn it wasn’t Harry, but then again it was naïve of her to think all of her clients gave their true names; just as the girls never showed their true selves. Everyone hid behind a shield of their own making in order to get what they wanted in the end.

“And I reckon I should just believe you?”

---

  

---

avery speaks with a mixed south appalachian drawl

"I--" Well. Yes, that would be preferable, wouldn't it, since it was the truth? But Harry was aware that wasn't exactly a convincing argument. But really, what was he supposed to do? He couldn't magically summon his brother to answer for himself. So, he offered, "I... can show you my card?" Which was probably the most useless thing he could have said, but he nonetheless reached into his coat pocket and produced two cards--his calling card for social calls--that he rarely used--and his professional card, both of which clearly said "Mr. Henry Berkwood." He felt foolish even holding them, but the whole situation had scrambled whatever part of his brain was usually capable of problem solving.

He was not a violent man. But he might punch his brother for putting him in this situation. Damn it, Daniel.

---

  

---

Set by Bee <3

“Your card?” She echoed, reaching out to take them, even as her skepticism swam over her. There clear in black and white was his name. Avery wasn’t a stranger to magic tricks, but short of dragging this encounter out longer (something neither of them appeared to be in favor of at the moment) she didn’t see any other option except to pocket the cards. “Fine then, if you’d like to take this somewhere else or call another time.” She sighed, taking a step back and purposefully not moving to give him anything of hers that might help him identify her. “I have appointments open next week.”

---

  

---

avery speaks with a mixed south appalachian drawl

Harry relaxed a little--by the tiniest of degrees, at any rate. "Next week then. I'm in London most days, at my lab." He didn't need to specify where his lab was, it was on one of the cards she'd just pocketed. "Tuesday?" he offered. That was six days away. Time enough for Harry to figure out how to ask his brother about this.

---

  

---

Set by Bee <3

The relief across the man’s face — Harry — seemed to be real; palpable even, and Avery took note of it as he offered up a date. Pressing her lips together, she nodded before adjusting her grip on Marigold’s hand. “Tuesday then. I can stop by early afternoon.” Lord only knew if she would feel up to keeping the appointment by then. A week was a long time from now, and it would give her time to think over her options. Her mind was buzzing with the possibilities, the outcomes of what this could mean for her and Marigold; none of them were good.

---

  

---

avery speaks with a mixed south appalachian drawl