The crowd was gathering on the cobblestone street of Diagon Alley. Your hands held tightly to a smaller, warmer one, so as not to lose it in the crowd. The cool autumn wind moved the feathers of the owls in their cages. Somewhere along the way, you lost your daughter, who wandered into Galdrags Wizardwear alone.

But how deceitful was fate that did not give you a minute of relief, since when she entered the store, your past was the one who found her.

That same boy with messy brown hair and an Italian accent that time had tried in vain to erase from your mind was now in front of your child. Your boyfriend from when you studied at Hogwarts, the same one with whom you separated in the middle of the magical war, barely seventeen years old, when only the Universe knew that you were carrying his baby in your womb. That mysterious boy, who was always surrounded by a halo of cigarette smoke, now seemed like a neat and refined young man. But he was the same boy with the sweet dates, the expensive gifts, the rough sex on the sly when his roonates weren't around.

Then Theodore turned around and found eyes he didn't know existed. Gray eyes, just like his, on the face of a little girl standing next to the cash register. The girl must have been about three years old.

"Hey, little one," he greeted her, crouching down with a slightly worried smile. "Where are your parents?"

"Mommy's over there." your little girl said, pointing to the door. And the last person Theo imagined seeing at the door was you. He felt like he was going to vomit.

The girl wasn't referring to you, was she? Because if you were the mother of that girl, he was her...

Theodore felt like someone had thrown a Petrificus Totalus at him. His hips were locked in place, as were his knees and ankles. It was as if his legs were glued to the ground. His stormy eyes were fixed on you.

You were that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but for some reason, you were here now.