Hi, my dear readers, your author here. I apologize for the delay. I wanted to test how releasing a chapter near the weekend would affect my reader view count. I would like to try to get the chapters published at an ideal time to maximize exposure. I am unsure what would be the best time for this book to reach the most viewers' eyes. If anyone knows how the algorithm works on this site, please let me know. I am new to writing fanfic and couldn't find any info on this. With that spiel over, enjoy this chapter, my dear readers, and have a great weekend. Stay safe!
Yours sincerely - NoFearRuler
Francis POV
Francis had always known that his wife didn't marry him because of affection. But he liked to think that all changed when their son was born. That's when Clare had really started seeing him as her family.
He had been quite alright with the fact that she saw him as a convenience marriage. After all, she was way "out of his league", as his friends had liked to tease him with and remind him. She was the top student in their year, and their professors had touted her as a genius. She was also one of the prettiest girls by the end of their 7th year. She had excelled in everything, which his friends had constantly brought up.
'You don't have a chance with her mate,' they had said.
For the most part, he agreed.
He was average in the looks department, and let's not even mention his standing in academics. The only thing going for him at that was that he was born lucky, for he was the only child from a family of considerable fortune. But he had pursued her nonetheless because he was confident that he could make her fall in love with him.
It had taken 5 years, but he had done it. It had been hard at first as she didn't have any interest other than magic, and he had even briefly doubted whether their relationship was a mistake. However, that changed when he learned to connect with her in her own field. He had asked and expressed his own interest in learning more magic after they had been ambushed while shopping. She had been more than happy to teach him spells.
Things had started to change after that; the uncertainty and the thought that maybe she would never truly love him as he had loved her slowly faded. He knew that if they were to have a future, he would need to be more than he currently was, and they would also need something to connect them together.
In a way, Henry had been a blessing. Francis couldn't say for certain if they would still be together if they didn't have Henry. He often thought she would just slink back to her magic research after she one day came to a realization she didn't need him anymore.
The last of his doubts had completely disappeared when Henry was born. He watched as she held him close and whispered to him in a soft murmur. When her gaze had lifted to meet his, he saw, perhaps for the first time, the presence of love.
Around 3 years after he was born, the stories Clare regaled him with had become increasingly absurd. She would speak about what Henry did every night before they went to bed. Sometimes it would be simple things, like Henry laughing when she read him stories; other times it would be things like 'I think Henry is a genius'.
Once it was even, 'I think Henry can understand our conversations'.
'He is three years old, darling. Of course, he can't understand us. He barely says a couple of words.' He would usually indulge her, after all, what mother wouldn't want to brag about their child? It was a perfectly normal thing to do. Other times, he would respond with his own thoughts, and this was one of those times.
It only got more absurd when Henry was around 5, when she spoke of his unusual interest in magic and how they spent their time at home while he was at work. He had really started doubting whether she was exaggerating after she told him about his first accidental magic. He knew how important magic was to her, and she wouldn't exaggerate about magic; it was just not something she would do.
If half of the stories she told him turned out to be true and not just things seen through the lens of a mother's eyes, perhaps Henry really was a genius. After all, what 5-year-old would have enough awareness to try to recreate their first accidental magic?
One day, they had just finished dinner and were talking about their day in the living room after Henry had gone upstairs to his room.
"Henry almost reduced the house to rubble today," she spoke in her soft and airy tone, as she always did.
"Ahh, did accidental magic again, did he?"
It had not been long since he did accidental magic. He didn't know how often children did magic, so he had assumed Henry did it again.
"Not quite, I do believe he was controlling it this time."
"Controlling it?" he asked in confusion.
"Well, yes, you see Henry often sought to do magic, and as you know, I found him trying to replicate what he had done the day of this accidental magic."
Here he nodded, indeed, she had often shared with him what Henry got up to each day. He knew what his accidental magic was and how it had happened. Quite a funny story really, calling for food.
"Well, what you might not know is that even before that day, I had found him trying to do magic on his own," she continued.
She paused and said again, "Quite often at that".
He didn't know what to say; he felt confused, mostly at what she was saying.
After hearing no response from him, she continued.
"In fact, he has always shown an unusual amount of interest in magic, even back when he was 3, and has continued to do so. I think it all started when he saw me float a piece of laundry."
"Just to clarify, what you are telling me is that our 5-year-old son is doing magic intentionally?" he asked.
"Well, yes, that is exactly what I am saying, in fact, you wouldn't have a house to come home to if I hadn't used Reparo liberally," she responded, affirming him. He almost thought he heard pride in her voice.
"Quite an astonishing piece of magic, really. I think he might have been trying to levitate things and inadvertently lifted the whole house, ripping it from its foundation." he was indeed not mistaken; she was definitely proud of him for almost destroying the house.
"Blimey! Lifted the house, root and stern? Are you absolutely certain?"
"Yes, I am sure, Francis," she said in her light and patient tone.
"I don't know what to say," he said after taking some time to digest what she was telling him.
"I can tell you the full story and how it happened later, but today's event did get me thinking."
He looked at her, waiting for her to finish her thoughts.
"With the new baby on the way and Henry, well, let's say his passion and inclination toward exploring magic. I do believe it's about time we look for a new home."
"New house?" he questioned, wanting to make sure he knew exactly what she was trying to say.
"Yes, one that is isolated and big enough to raise magical children," she paused, keeping her eyes on him, probably to gauge his reaction.
When he just looked at her without saying anything, she continued.
"Henry is already wreaking all sorts of havoc; I can't imagine raising another magical child in this small space amongst the muggles. Just today, I had to divide my focus between making sure Henry was safe and putting up charms to make sure the commotion wasn't seen by muggles."
Merlin's beard! Although she had said Henry almost ripped the whole house up, he didn't quite comprehend the scale of the damage until now. She had to put up wards just to hide the scale of his magic. That had really brought things into perspective.
"I see, yes, right you are dear," he nodded, thinking, yes, maybe it was time to move. They were certainly in a good place financially. Plus, with the fall of the dark lord, there was a lot less to worry about safety-wise.
The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea.
"I will keep my eyes and ears open for any news about any sale of a property that suits our needs. I will, however say that I don't think we will find anything immediately. If we want to get an estate agent, I am sure we can find something sooner, within a couple of months if we're lucky," he said after thinking about it for a while.
Her long, flowy brown hair swayed as she shook her head.
"I don't think we should tempt fate by announcing to everyone we are moving or where we are moving."
"The fewer people who know about the location of our home, the better. "
With that, he could absolutely agree. He could see where she was coming from too, getting an estate agent, as he mentioned, would certainly accelerate the process of finding a property they liked, but it would also put them in the eyes of the public. The same could be said for going through an estate agency from the magical side. It was an unnecessary risk they could avoid.
"Yes, it's an unnecessary risk, even with you-know-who gone, one can never be too careful, especially now that we will have one more new family member," he said.
At his response, she smiled softly, and he once again saw the same glimpse of love he had been lucky enough to be graced with before. It wasn't something he got frequently, but when she looked at him with such love in her eyes, he thought it was worth it.