Fancy Meeting You Here

[Crispin V. Cold]

In the time it would take for him to blink, his world would be changed again. A different city, a new mission, a different hotel bed that smelled of moths. It was tiring but it paid the bills. Not that he needed to work really. He had the sizable fortune from his grandfather at his disposal, should he ever wish to take a cent from the dead bastards hands. No, it wasn't that which he had squirreled away. What,or should he say, whom, did he have to spend his money on? There'd been nobody in his life since - he stopped that train of thought. It was rare nowadays to think of her. For some reason, ever since his boots had hit the New Zealand soil, he found himself thinking of red hair, green eyes and a wolfish smile.

Crispin Cold shook the memories off. He preferred living in the present. The past had no place for him anymore. He straightened to his considerable height, dressed in muggle wear of dark jeans and white tee shirt and boots. Turning, he spotted golden hair and blue eyes.

"Sweet Merlin," he breathed, mouth slightly agape in shock as he counted the number of seats in her pram. He wanted to turn away, before she saw him. He started to do just that when his hand came up and he heard himself shout, "Lily! Lily Potter!"

 

[Lily Drage]

Maternity leave was not really a leave. Lily still had to go check on the store, despite having a great staff. There were just some things that only she could do. Sumner was at practice, so Lily had all four kids at the store with her. The twins were easy. They mostly stayed in their carriers that were attached to the oversize stroller that she used to keep the crew in check. Rosie and Rora were a bit more work, but they were used to the shop and were pretty good about staying in the back office that Lily used for her paperwork. The girls had toys stashed there that were only for play at the shop. Lily also had part of the room painted with chalkboard paint so the girls could draw on the walls and then erase when they were done. "Ok, Mommy is done, kiddos. How about we go find some food?" Lily said to the brood in the room with her.

"Can we get burgers, Mommy?" asked Rosie, "And fries? With ketchup?" The 5 year old loved that combination and would eat it any chance she could get.

"Sounds good to me. Just watch your pickles. You know Rora loves to steal them on you and I really don't want to hear any arguments." She gave the pair a look that said she meant business. The girls were well behaved in public, but sometimes needed a subtle reminder.

"I get pickles?" piped up Rora, a huge grin on her face. "Pickles!" The 3 year old was obsessed with them.

"Yes, you can get pickles, sweetie. Let's hop in the stroller!" She waited for them to climb in the front seats and then they were off into the Harbour. As she was moving down the street, she really wasn't paying too much attention to who was around. Suddenly, she heard her name yelled out. Lily looked around trying to figure out who was trying to get her attention, especially since they used her maiden name. A tall man not far from her with familiar dark blonde hair was waving at her. She looked at him, a bit confused for moment, then noticed his eyes. One appeared black as night while the other was blue. Surprise registered on her face as she realized she was looking at a face that she hadn't seen in close to 10 years. "Crispin? Wow! How are you?" she said excitedly as she crossed the short distance between them to give him a hug.

 

[Crispin V. Cold]

Crispin stiffened for a split second as Lily came into contact with him. The thousand year stretch, as it seemed most days, between adolescence and adulthood stretched and snapped. He remembered the smell of the grass on the Quidditch pitch, the young curvy body in a gangster costume, the fun and excitement that came with the friendship of this woman. She was the first girl he'd ever danced with. His arms came around her and he hugged her to him for a moment, only a moment. It was the first welcome contact he'd had in ten years.

Stepping back, Crispin raised his eyebrows and studied her face. "You haven't changed," he said, his eyes flicking to her children with good humor, "well, I can see some things have." One girl stared at him with a look that froze his brain, he was reminded of a devil may care teen with a quick fist and even quicker temper.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily knew it had been forever since she had seen the man before her. He had released the hug quickly, and stepped back, confusing her just a bit. She wondered what he had been through these past ten years to make him be so distant. They had been pretty decent friends at one point, a bit more than friends for a short time period. "Thanks," she replied when he complimented her still looking the same as she had. Time had been good to Lily so far. She hoped it would continue to allow her to age very gracefully. She had noticed this morning a hair of a suspicious color. It got plucked immediately despite the old wive's tale her mother would say about its friends coming to its funeral.

Once Crispin's attention turned to the children, she smiled. "Oh yes, lots has changed there," Lily said with a smile. "This is Rosie," she said, touching the top of her head, "our oldest and future Quidditch star. Rora," she said moving her hand over to the blonde, curly head, "is three and in love with pickles." It was the running joke between her and Sumner. While she was pregnant, Lily couldn't stand anything remotely pickled or dill without wanting to throw up. Now Rora was obsessed with the treat and would eat them at any chance she could. "And these two are Ries and Riel, our newborn twins." Lily was in love with her little family and proud to show them off any chance she could.

"Momma. Who's that?" Rosie asked, staring intently at the stranger talking with her mum. She wasn't sure if she liked her talking with him yet or not. Plus, he gave her the strangest look just now.

 

[Crispin V. Cold]

"Quidditch star? I can see she took after her mum's talent." Crispin was slowly starting to become more relaxed around his former schoolmate. His body was still straight but less rigid, something the presence of children always had an affect on him. His mouth quirked slightly at the mention of the pickle obsessed little girl. He rather liked them on his sandwiches.

"They're beautiful children. Does their father play Quidditch as well?" He didn't want to blurt out his suspicions of who he thought her husband might be.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily couldn't help but blush at Crispin's complement about her Quidditch skills. He always did know the right thing to say to the girls back in school, when he spoke to them that is. He was always the quiet one, and his eyes were only for one girl. Andromeda. The namesake of her darling Andromeda Rose and good friend of both her and her husband in school. Finding out about her death was a shock, and so was her darker life post Hogwarts. Little had she known what had become of her, but when the couple heard, there was no doubt in their mind that they needed to name their first born in her honor.

"Thanks," she stated, smiling, "I am kind of proud of my little brood. And yes, their father plays as well." Lily was starting to realize that Crispin forgot what happened shortly before they graduated. "I believe you remember him. A certain Ravenclaw with a penchant for smashing Slytherins in the face at Halloween Balls." She couldn't hold back a smile at the memory. As much as it hurt that the fight she spoke of was the nail in the coffin of her and Blake, it was really a huge part of her and Sumner coming together as a permanent couple. Once in a while she wondered what would life have been like had she and Blake stayed together, but anything she was able to imagine paled in comparison to reality with Sumner. "I was just taking the girls for lunch. Come join us." The way she spoke hopefully would let Crispin know that she was not taking no for an answer. "It's on me."

"Mama. Pickles!" Rora added hearing the mention of lunch. "I want pickles now!" Her face turned into a pout, knowing that her famous puppy dog expression worked best on her Daddy, but maybe it would hurry her Mama up.

 

[Crispin V. Cold]

Memories of Hogwarts were good and bad for the former Slytherin. But the Halloween night Lily spoke of stood out brightly in his mind. The food, the dancing, the gorgeous girls, the epic fight that he remembered with more than mild amusement. He had yet to see grown men take a beating and keep going as had his former roommate Blake and his rival Sumner Drage.

"I'm sorry I forgot you'd eloped, it was a very busy year." He smiled and the thought of how he'd spent it with Andy flashed across his face. He squashed thoughts of her and turned his attention on the offer.

The offer of food was hard to turn down after the journey he had had. Even more difficult with the adorable little girl pouting for pickles. "How could I say no? Lead the way, good ladies." He hoped his stomach did not rumble too loudly at the thought of the food he had enjoyed as a boy.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily couldn't help but grin as the lightbulb clicked on inside Crispin's brain. He made the connection to her love, Sumner. "It was a crazy busy year, but I wouldn't trade any of it for a million galleons. All the heartbreak for me that year and all the fights showed me exactly where my heart belonged. I have never been happier or more in love than with Sumner." She smiled, thinking of her beloved and feeling her heart skip a beat. Even after ten years of marriage, he still took her breath away. She was beyond lucky to be married to her best friend. During her 7th year of school, she could have easily ended up with any number of snakes, Blake, Ford, Ashton or even Crispin, but she was so happy that she realized that the love of her life was in her own house.

She was glad that Crispin accepted the offer for dining with them. She led her friend to their favorite spot, chattering along the way with him and her girls. Once they were settled at the table and their orders placed, she finally relaxed. Rora had a pickle and she was happily munching away in her booster seat while Rosie crunched on a few crackers that had been placed on the table by the waitress. Lily sat back in her chair and relaxed with her glass of iced tea. "So, what have you been up to since graduation?" she asked her dining partner as the burgers were delivered. She had not heard much of what Crispin had been doing with his life. He had always been rather private so she knew she would have to pry it out of him.