Waiting for Love {Maria Sanchez}

[George Miller]

George Miller quickly signed the last of his autographs for his latest book. He was trying to escape, as his daughter, Emily, was getting rather fussy and tired of the store. He didn't think it would be the smartest thing to make her stay inside the store any longer than necessary. Not only was he popular because of his book that he had written, but he was also the Minister of Magic and some of the people inside the store had come only to get a glimpse at him. People from the Daily Prophet were buzzing around him constantly and it was starting to get annoying. George picked up the bag that contained Emily's stuff and quickly looked for the exit of the store.

As he headed for the exit, more people surrounded him and he was trapped in a circle of fans. Sighing miserably he managed to push his way through again to a more secluded area of the store. Thankfully, no one followed him. Emily was trying to pull her tiny hand out of his in an effort to get away from him. It was obvious that she wasn't a happy camper. George sighed miserably and stared as his daughter wandered off. George sighed and messaged his forehead before dashing after his two year old daughter. She was beginning to frustrate him, but to be honest he understood why she was getting the urge to explore. She'd been stuck by his side the entire day, and she was used to having the whole house for entertainment.

George looked in between the isles of the store but still couldn't find his daughter. How far could she have gone in only a few short minutes? As each moment passed he was beginning to become more frantic. Surely someone couldn't have taken her? George spent the next five minutes searching the entire bookstore. He searched in the children's section, where he assumed she had gone; she loved all the charmed stuffed animals that were floating in the ceiling of the section, but she was not there. He continued to search in desperation for his daughter and finally called out her name.

"EMILY! Emily?! Where are you?!" George ran frantically through the store and was probaby looking quite ridiculous. Suddenly, he saw a woman standing near the autograph table holding his daughter. With a huge sigh of relief George walked up to the woman with an apologetic look on his face. "Emily Anne Miller, don't ever do that to me again! Do you know how scared daddy was? When I say stay by my side, I mean stay by my side!" George didn't mean to sound so angry, but he really was scared. The thought of loosing his daughter was too much for him to handle. The two year old was definitely a handful.

[Maria Sanchez]

The older woman had been walking around Diagon Alley for the better part of the morning and early afternoon. She had not set it in her mind to go into Flourish and Blotts since she really had no reason to, but when she saw the crowd of people and the reporters from the paper, she realized that something big must have been going on at the store. Whatever it was, she had no idea, but she was not going to stand there and just wait. She wanted to know what everyone was so excited about as well as what was so important that the reporters and magical paper paparazzi were there. Surely something was going on, and the woman wanted to know just what it was…

Silently, she walked over to the shop and stood outside it for a moment. Much taller people blocked her view from seeing into windows, so she pushed her way through the crowd near the door. When she finally managed to see through the large crowds of people leaving the shop, coming into the shop, and just standing there (in the shop), she realized that the Minister of Magic was there signing a book. She lowered her brows in slight confusion and tried to recall the minister’s name. Her mouth dropped to the floor when she realized it was George Miller, the author of a book she had read several times, especially after her husband passed away. She had never seen him before in person, so this was all quite eye-opening for her. She made her way through the crowd a little bit more and found herself standing off to the side of the room and out of the way of the crowd.

She watched the minister as he signed several copies of his book. She admired the way that he seemed to handle the crowd around him. She had handled the crowds fairly well back in Cuba, but that was only because they were not going entirely insane when they walked up to her and asked for an autograph. It was different in her country; that had been many years ago, too. She smiled lightly as she watched his interactions with his fans and the simple smiles he gave—whether they were genuine or forced, she could not tell; she didn’t really care either. She blinked a few times and felt herself staring at him for no apparent reason until she felt a tug at the side of her robes. She looked down and saw that there was a dark-haired little girl standing there staring at her with electric blue eyes. She grinned and leaned over to pick the girl up. If she was not mistaken, the child belonged to the minister. Surely he would want her back. If not, Maria would gladly take her home with her. The little baby was so adorable, and she looked just like her father.

By the time Maria managed to make her way over to the table where the minister had given autographs, she realized that he was no longer there and sighed heavily out of slight frustration. It was then that she heard the minister’s voice calling for Emily; the older woman assumed that Emily was his daughter, the baby she happened to be holding. Though the baby’s name was Emily, she did not appear to actually know her name very well because she was looking around at the other people walking by and playing with strands of Maria’s hair as well as her small hoop earrings. The woman gently grabbed the baby’s hand since the earrings were pulling at her ears and hurting her. The baby eventually gave up and settled for pulling at the long strands of brunette hair.

“Daaaa daaaa….peeeee….” Maria glanced at the baby and giggled lightly just as a man approached her and started talking to his infant daughter; he sounded quite upset. Maria frowned as a response to this; it made it seem like he was yelling at the baby. She didn’t like the idea of that, but she decided to say nothing since it was his child he was talking to and not hers. As if trying not to get in trouble by the Minister of Magic, she offered him the little girl in her arms and spoke as she handed him over.

“You should keep a close eye on her. She’s so cute…someone could come up and take her. I was very tempted myself…” She let out a faint laugh and spoke once more. “I can guarantee that if she has legs and knows how to use them, she’s going to use them. You can’t expect her to stay put, especially not in a big place that’s not home.” Maria spoke from personal experience and hoped the minister would not take offense from her words. She was only trying to be social, and that was rare for her these days…

[George Miller]

George had heard his daughter say that the woman was "peeee" which was her way of saying the woman was "pretty". George had to admit that she was acttractive; her chocolate brown eyes caught his gaze and then he heard her say, “You should keep a close eye on her. She’s so cute…someone could come up and take her. I was very tempted myself…I can guarantee that if she has legs and knows how to use them, she’s going to use them. You can’t expect her to stay put, especially not in a big place that’s not home.” George sighed and counted to ten before speaking. He knew she was right, but he was tired of people telling him how to raise his own child. George looked at his daughter and shifted her so that she was in a more comfortable spot on his waist. "I'm sorry if she bothered you...usually I would have kept her at home, but today was important, I couldn't just not come to the book signing."

George looked at the woman standing in front of him and thought that she seemed slightly familiar, but he couldn't think of her name. He tried racking his brain for any recollection of having met her before, but he couldn't remember. George had never thought of hiring a nanny. With his position of power in the magical community he feared that people would take advantage and think they could kidnap his daughter for a high randsom. He knew he was probably being a little paranoid, but he couldn't help it. So, he had simply adjusted and taken her with him wherever he went, ever since she had been a baby.

The crowd that had been near him before had slowly started to gather around him again and George sighed miserably. The Daily Prophet snapped a few photos and he glared in their direction. Didn't they have any sense of privacy whatsoever? He could only imagine the article in the morning addition of the Daily Prophet in big bold letters: "Minister of Magic has romantic interests." George sighed inwardly and said, "May I ask your name...since my daughter seems so taken with you?"

Emily was already squirming in his arms and he knew that she wanted "down" as she put it often. He wasn't about to let her go again, he knew that she would just wander off. A few moments later the little girl had managed to squirm out of his arms and slide down his leg. The first things he did was waddle over to his new acquaintence and raise her arms for her to pick her up. George sighed with some frustration. Emily was being difficult, and it wasn't helping his mood.

"Well, since she seems to only want you at the moment, I guess we'd better get out of here...." George frantically looked for a clearing through the crowd and when he didn't spot any he raised his voice so that it could be heard over the noisy fans. "Please let us through! The book signing is over, you can come again next week, same time, same place." The rest of the customers that had been waiting for quite some time moaned their complaints, but they parted and let them pass. Once they were quite a few feet from the book store, George turned to the woman and said, "I feel like I know you from somewhere...have we met before?"

[Maria Sanchez]

“Oh, no, she wasn’t bothering me at all. I just thought she was so cute, though,” the older woman said with a trace of giggles in her voice as she spoke. She blinked a few times as the minister situated his daughter on his hip so that things were more comfortable for the both of them. He mentioned about how he would have left her at home, but since he had no one to watch her, she had to bring her with him; the event had been far too important for him to cancel. She nodded in understanding and looked around, her eyes roaming the bookshop a bit nervously as several people planted their eyes upon the three of them: George, Maria, and the baby. She swallowed as she heard the people’s whispers to each other. She could only assume that they were being talking about. That thought made her stomach turn on the inside somewhat. She was curious as to what the people were saying and could not help but glance back at George with an obviously embarrassed sort of expression on her face. She could only imagine what their whispers were about. The Daily Prophet flashed their cameras a few times, and Maria blinked to adjust her eyes to the flashing lights of the cameras. She was glad that she did not read the paper and that it was all lies. She could only imagine where her picture would be in the morning edition of the next paper.

The minister had then questioned her name. “Oh, I’m Ma—” she started but was cut off when the little girl managed to get out of her father’s grip and make her way to Maria. The older woman giggled a few times and then bent over to pick up the two-year-old. Maria rested the baby on her own hip and wrapped her arms around the child’s lower body so that she would not fall. The woman grinned broadly as the baby tried to play with her hair once again, making baby noises and saying baby words. The woman was almost seemingly intrigued by it all, but she said nothing as George allowed his voice to reach higher intervals to tell his fans that he would be back the same time, same place in the coming week. Maria made a mental note of that; maybe she could see him again.

Once they were out of the bookshop and a little ways away from it, the minister turned once again and questioned for her name. This time Maria was not interrupted by anything as she spoke, so she managed to get it out. “We’ve been in each other’s presence before; I don’t think we’ve met properly though. I’m Maria Sanchez. You were at…my son’s funeral a few months ago. Nayib Sanchez?” She looked at the baby she held in her arms and grinned as the baby continued to play with her hair and pull gently at her earrings. She then started to put her small hands on Maria’s face and touch her nose and her eyes. Her touches were not forced, but they were gently and baby-like. The woman was quite used to such babyish actions since her children had done many of the same things to her when they were babies. She actually missed it a lot and was glad that this baby had wandered over to her.

She allowed her gaze to fall upon the minister again. She studied him for a few seconds and realized that he looked a lot better up close and in person than from his pictures in the paper or even from afar in the bookshop. She said nothing to him as she studied him and then turned around out of slight embarrassment. She hoped he hadn’t caught her staring at him and admiring his handsome features….

[George Miller]

George had heard her comments that she had thought Emily was cute, and he agreed but didn't say anything. He was too busy trying to get away from the crowds and the people watching them. It made him feel uneasy, as always. When Maria confirmed his suspicions that they had met before he stopped and turned to look her in the eyes. He remembered Nayib's funeral, and how he had felt responsible for his death. He still did feel somewhat responsible, but he knew that he would have made the same decision to send him on the assignment if he could go back in time.

Everyone that worked at the Ministry knew it was risky. Even he, the Minster of Magic, knew of the risks. The only difference was, was that he was not normally the one sent out on assignments. In some way, he felt that he had sent the young Nayib Sanchez to his death, and for that he did feel responsible. George had seen Nayib's mother at the funeral, but her face had been covered by a black veil and he hadn't had the courage to approach her and offer his words of condolences.

George's face was full of compassion and he nodded his head affirmatively. "Yes...I remember now. I'm truly sorry...I meant to say something to you on that day...but...I failed to have enough courage." George knew he was being brutally truthful to her, but he felt that she deserved at least that much. His eyes were pained, and the familiar guilt that he had felt that day sprung to life. "I feel responsible ...because I sent him on the assignment, but looking back...if I had known...I don't think I would have made a different decision. Nayib...was one of my most trusted employees. It isn't the same without him."

George watched as his daughter touched Maria's face lightly and played with her hooped earrings. The little girl seemed taken with Maria, and for that, George was impressed with his new acquaintance. It wasn't often that Emily approached someone as openly as she had done with Maria. Maybe the little girl had sensed Maria's motherly nature, or maybe the little girl was just in need of some female companionship. He knew that has her father, he could take care of her and support her and love her, but he also knew that filling the place of a mother was something he could never do, no matter how much he wanted to.

"I really need to get a nanny for her. I've just been hesitant because I have a hard time trusting people with her. Emily seems quite taken with you though..." George gazed into Maria's eyes for a moment he was lost in their chocolate brown coloring. George blinked and blushed slightly and refocused his attention to his daughter. He hoped Maria hadn't caught him looking at her in the way that he had been doing. Emily was still playing with Maria's hair and making funny baby noises. Every once in a while one of her words were understandable, and mostly they were descriptors of how pretty Maria was. George agreed with his daughter, but it would be inappropriate to tell Maria that so he kept his thoughts of appreciation to himself.

He figured she was younger than he was, because she looked it. Most women he met were younger than he, and so he assumed that Maria fell in that category. There really wasn't any evidence that would make him think otherwise. Maria was different than all the other women he had met. She wasn't being flirtatious or embarrassingly foolish. For that he was impressed, and he hoped that he would be able to see her again or perhaps have dinner with her sometime.

[Maria Sanchez]

“It doesn’t matter,” Maria said, shrugging the apology off after mentally accepting it. “Not many people did come to speak to me; most thought it best to leave me alone. You’re one of the many who didn’t speak to me. It’s fine though. I don’t care. It’s really not that important anyway,” she explained with a sigh following her sentences. She was being honest when she said she didn’t really care. It had not bothered her that barely any of the people at the funeral came to speak to her. Most of them knew that she would not have responded anyway to anything they said, and she did not blame them for not wanting to waste their breath on something she would shrug off only moments later just as she had done when the Minister of Magic apologized. She wanted his apology to mean more to her than it really had because she knew he meant what he said, but that wasn’t what had happened. She just took it as another one of those funeral apologies where people apologized only because they felt they had to. His voice had been sincere and honest enough for her, and she believed that he truly was sorry, but the apology was just another funeral apology.

The minister had then taken the liberty to explain that he felt guilty about the entire thing because it had been him who sent Nayib out on the assignment. She looked down at her hands which were locked together from where she was holding the baby. Though it would seem she wasn’t paying any attention to him, Maria was listening to each word the minister said. She just didn’t want to look him in the face as he said it or else she would probably cry. Once he had silenced, she looked up at him with a somewhat distant look in her eyes. “It’s not your fault. We’re all given time on the earth to fulfill our duties as human beings; when that time is up, it’s up. You can’t prolong your time; you can’t put a pause on it. That was Nayib’s time. Everything happens for a reason, and there’s nothing that stops me from believing that God took Nayib from this earth because he needed more help in His heavens.” She paused for a moment and let it sink in. “There’s nothing you can tell me that will make me believe otherwise.”

It seemed that the woman’s eyes had clouded over with tears. They weren’t really tears though. Her eyes had clouded over with thoughts she had not thought about for a while. She hadn’t thought about Nayib’s death since Emily had gone missing, just like she hadn’t thought about Emilio’s death when Nayib died. Everything seemed to be happening at a steady, yet negative, rate. Maria had learned to just push all the negativities to the side and allow the better things to take over even though there really were no “better” things in her life. She had lived alone since her own daughter, Emily, was kidnapped from her, and things had not been the same since. That was her reason for moving into Hogsmeade and working at Hogwarts. She was getting away from it all, so to speak, and she was finally doing something she had wanted to do for the longest time—teach.

At the mention of getting a nanny for his daughter, Maria nodded faintly. She agreed that he needed a nanny, but she also knew how hard it was to trust other people with their child. She sighed faintly as he mentioned that Emily seemed to have taken to her. She looked at the little girl who was looking around wildly with her large eye staring frantically in obvious awe of the things around her. The older woman switched the baby from one hip to the other and looked around at the things surrounding them as well, just not as frantically as the little girl she was holding. She glanced at George for a moment but said nothing. There really was nothing to say….

[George Miller]

It seemed Maria was shrugging off his apology and treating it like the apologies she had probably already received from others who had said similar things in response to the demise of her family. It pained George that his apology had seemed like all the others; he had truly attempted to make it personal, but it seemed that his efforts had fallen upon deaf ears. He understood how Maria felt though, because when his wife had died he received apologies and condolences from people all the time. Eventually he had grown accustomed to thinking that they didn't really mean the apology, and that they had said it because they felt sorry for him. Maybe Maria felt the same way. George sighed inwardly and he listened as she told him that it wasn't his fault that Nayib had died.

He knew her words should have given him some comfort, but the truth of the matter was that what she had said had made him feel worse about the whole thing. All George could do was hope she would remember his apology and forgive him if she hadn't already. A few moments of awkward silence passed between them before he said something. "I'm sorry if I've made you feel uncomfortable, Maria....I just had to get that off my mind...." George mentally smacked himself. He must seem completely unfeeling to her. Maybe he should just try and change the subject or say goodbye before he made anything much worse.

One look into her eyes made him stay though, to attempt an actually conversation with her. Maybe if he invited her for an early dinner this would be a little more relaxed. He knew of a Muggle restaurant just outside of Diagon Alley that he had visited frequently. They called him Minister only because he forgot to take off his Ministry robes and so they assumed he was a Minister of the church. George didn't mind the deception and actually appreciated the fact that people in the Muggle world didn't know who he was. It was the only place that he could escape his fame.

"May I invite you to an early dinner? I know Emily will be getting hungry soon and I know a quiet restaurant near Diagon Alley that we could go to. They know me, but they don't know I'm the Minister of Magic. They think I'm a Minister of the church." George grinned angelically and winked at her. He didn't feel at all guilty for making them believe that he was something he wasn't, simply because they had been the one to make the assumption, not he.

George reached his arms out and took Emily from Maria, even though the little girl wasn't too happy about it. Emily gripped his arm and George ran his hand through her baby curls. "Shush, now Emily." Emily blinked and her eyes watered yet she knew her daddy was serious. Emily looked at Maria and quivered her lip a little. She wanted to go back to the pretty lady but her daddy had a strong grip on her this time. George looked at Maria and then at Emily again and realized that his daughter obviously still wanted Maria to hold her. However, he was a strict enough parent to not let his child have everything that she wanted. "It's totally up to you...don't feel pressured into joining me. I know you probably have things that need to get done." George gave her an understanding look hoping that she would take him up on his offer. He really did like Maria and thought that they both had things in common with each other.

[Maria Sanchez]

“Oh, I’m not uncomfortable…really. I understand,” she said to him somewhat quickly and decided to clarify a little bit more than her simple responses. “It’s just… I haven’t really talked about Nayib or…or Emilio’s deaths since they died. And…I’m just not used to it.” She swallowed and looked around as the little girl rested her head upon Maria’s shoulder. The woman carefully tilted her head so that it was gently resting upon the little girls. The little girl’s eyes closed as if she was going to fall asleep. Maria could sense that she was tired and probably needed to be put down for a nap. Even though she knew this and George probably did too, she hoped that he would not want to go home since she really did wish to sit and talk with him. She figured it would be a nice time to get professionally acquainted with the Minister of Magic as well as the author of a book that had helped her greatly through the past year or so. It taught her how to cope a little bit better than she had been.

His invitation to dinner had been completely unexpected by Maria. She looked at him with an obvious amount of surprise in her face. However, at the mention of attending a Muggle restaurant, she spoke up a bit quicker than she meant to. “A Muggle restaurant?” she sounded a bit worried or something. When he mentioned that they thought he was a church minister, she blinked a few times. “Uhm…Ministers don’t go on dates; they don’t even marry. What would those Muggle people think of you if I were to talk in there with you and your daughter? I don’t think they would take too kindly of that,” she said to him, her voice obviously trying to shrug off a sense of nervousness and anxiety along with the fact that she was sort of trying to hide something. She was usually pretty good at making up somewhat minor excuses for things like that, but this was something completely different.

When the man reached his arms out and took the baby from Maria. The baby started to get somewhat fussy, and Maria offered her a gentle smile. The young girl did not seem pleased at all because she was squirming in her father’s arms in hopes of being able to go back to Maria. However, her father told her firmly to hush and quiet down. The little girl, though she looked extremely upset, started to whine a little bit and muttered a few baby words in her squeaky sort of voice. Maria laughed faintly and lightly pinched each of her cheeks to make her grin. She did, and her four small front teeth showed from behind her lips. Maria grinned at the sight of the teeth and then rubbed the girl’s cheek gently. It seemed to have cheered her up—like Maria’s touch had some special charm.

“Oh, no, I’d love to join you for an early dinner even though I don’t generally eat until around nine or ten,” she said with a distant and nervous laugh in her voice. “I just…don’t want to eat at a Muggle place. Sorry.” She smiled faintly and looked at George in the eyes and noticed how blue they are before averting her gaze to look at his daughter who was resting her head against her father’s shoulder while chewing on her fingers and getting them all slobbery. Maria tilted her head so she could see the little girl straight. “Aww…someone looks tired.” When she spoke to the little girl, it was in a babyish voice. She took her hand and gently pulled the girl’s hand from her mouth and wiped it with the end of the sleeve of her robes. “Eww…yucky…” she said playfully and ignored the dampness of her sleeve.

[George Miller]

George chuckled slightly as Maria played with Emily. He could tell his daughter was tired, and if he was lucky she would go to bed early and sleep through until morning. He watched as Maria took Emily's fingers out of her mouth and told her it was "yucky". George grinned but didn't say anything. He was trying not to think of how nice it would be to have someone around that could teach Emily the things he didn't know he needed to teach her. He tried of course, and he hoped that she wouldn't be too greatly affected by his poor parenting skills. George rubbed Emily's back hoping she would go to sleep, or at least start getting sleepy. Amazingly she put her head on his shoulder and he grinned.

When Maria mentioned that going to the Muggle restaurant may not be a good idea because Minister's didn't have wifes in the Muggle world, George nodded his head. She did have a point. At first he was disappointed because he thought she didn't want to eat dinner, but then she said she did and so he thought of other possible options. There was always the Leaky Cauldron, but the pub was usually crowded and George didn't feel like drawing a bunch of attention to himself. He blinked and then looked at Maria. "How about my house? Don't get the wrong impression...I could put Emily down for bed and then we can enjoy a quiet dinner. My cook loves cooking for company..."

George hoped Maria wouldn't think he was trying to coerce her into a romantic encounter. He truthfully wasn't. He just thought that if they went to his house they could get away from the crowds and then they wouldn't have to worry about Emily as much. It seemed like the perfect solution if only she would agree. He hoped she did, because he had to admit that he didn't want say goodbye to her yet. He wanted to get to know her, even if it was just to find out her interests and maybe some information about what she did for a career.

He was definitely interested in Maria, and if he was to be honest with himself he would say he wanted to get to know her in a "more than friends" type of way. But he knew he couldn't rush into things, and the likelihoods of a relationship between them was just...out of reach right now. He knew she was still grieving for her family and he didn't want to overwhelm her. All he wanted was to share a meal with her and maybe a conversation. That was it, for now anyway.

[Maria Sanchez]

The little girl was drowsy. It was not unlikely that she would soon fall asleep. It had been a long day, especially for a two-year-old girl like Emily who had spent the entire day running around with people. The older woman was sure that the baby had received just as much attention as her father, just for the simple fact that she was cute. Blinking a few times, Maria averted her eyes from the minister and his daughter and looked around the path where several people were walking by. A few slowed down their pace to look at them while others didn’t seem to take notice of the people standing there. That wasn’t a bad thing, of course….

As she stood there with the minister just off the main cobblestone path of Diagon Alley, she gathered her hair in her hands and pulled it neatly over her shoulder. She ran her slender fingers through it as if combing it and then started to gather the tips of her hair to look at the very ends of the many strands. She had no particular reason for doing this; she was just waiting for the man’s response in regards to going to that Muggle restaurant he had suggested. She honestly did not want to go to a restaurant anywhere outside of the magical world. She did not need to attract attention to herself; besides, if the Muggles through George was a church minister, they really would get the wrong impression if Maria was to walk in there with him and his daughter. She thought it best to avoid that since people seemed so keen on judging others just because of the stupidest things; no one really had respect for anyone else these days. It was sad really….

When the Minister of Magic finally spoke, she looked up from her hair and looked at him as he offered for them to go to his house. She blinked a few times in a questioning sort of way, but the rest of his words clarified her thoughts. As soon as he had suggested his house, she thought automatically that he was trying to get something from her—maybe not something physically, but just something. However, when he gave his reasoning, she nodded faintly. Usually she would not have done that, but she had a reason to believe that the Minister of Magic was being honest. So, faintly, she spoke up. “Your house is fine. I’ve never seen the Minister’s house anyway, so it would be nice to visit.” She grinned slightly. She was being honest as well, of course. She had never seen the house that the Ministers of Magic would reside in during their time, however long that may have been.

“I’m sure everyone will be flocking around like a gaggle of geese if we don’t hurry up and get out of the alley,” she said matter-a-factly and lifted her brows as she looked at him. “So it would be best to get out of here as soon as we can; we don’t need angry mobs coming after you for not signing them an autograph.” While she was joking around with him, she was also being quite serious. People would start to leave Diagon Alley, and it would be in large groups. It was best they get out of there…and soon.

[George Miller]

While he waited for Maria's response, George glanced at Emily who seemed to be very close to sleep. Her eyes kept flickering open and shut and she was twirling a strand of her curly hair around one of her fingers. He had observed over the past few months that she only did that when she was tired or going to sleep. As he watched his daughter play with her hair, he noticed Maria out of the corner of his eye. She was doing the same thing. He grinned slightly and continued to rub Emily's back hoping it would help her relax.

Finally, Maria spoke and said that she wouldn't mind going to his house. George tried to contain his excitement and simply offered her an appreciative grin. Maria then suggested that they leave the Alley as quickly as possible because if they waited any longer they would risk the chance of his fans finding them. He nodded in agreement and said, "We can apparate. The house itself is charmed so that only people who are invited can apparate there, and since I have invited you then we shouldn't have any problems. We can do a side-by-side apparition just to be safe, if you would prefer?" George didn't mind side-by-side apparition because he did it quite often with Emily. If he was lucky Emily wouldn't even notice; although the times he had done it with her she had been a little flustered after wards.

George looked around him and noticed that several people were giving them strange looks of curiosity. He was used to it though, and he knew that he would have to deal with the rumors that the Daily Prophet would start. He didn't care though and thought it would be worth it. In his opinion, his personal life wasn't anyone else's business but his own. Of course, some people would disagree. Since he was in a position of leadership some people thought that that meant they could observe his private life and make it public. This is one of the reasons why he hated the Daily Prophet. They seemed to love finding anything they could about his past and plastering it on the front page of their newspaper.

George glanced back at Emily, and she was out cold. Her eyes were closed and her body was limp and her light breaths of sleep could be heard if one bent down close enough to her face. She really had been a good girl. He knew it was hard for her to stay still in a cramped store all day. He had tried to keep people away from her, as she seemed uncomfortable around new people and crowds. He didn't blame her; she was only two and people flocked to her just as much as they flocked to him. Most of the day she had sat on the floor by him and played with her toys. Every so often she would wander away from him and he would have to go after her, but other than that she'd been as good as a two year old girl could be expected to be.

[Maria Sanchez]

The older woman had never been too keen on side-by-side apparition. She could trust herself to apparate, but she had never been one to trust another person to apparate and take her with them. It was just something that she was a bit odd about. However, the minister was a powerful man, and she assumed that he could apparate and do side-by-side apparition without any complications. Three people was different, much more complicated, so Maria was somewhat worried. However, since she had no idea as to where the exact location of the minister’s house was, she would have to apparate with him in side-by-side. So, nodding faintly, she agreed to apparate to his house with them.

Maria looked at the young girl resting quietly against her father’s chest and shoulder. She smiled when she realized that the little girl was sleeping soundly. The thought of apparition upset Maria when she realized that it might wake the little one. She young child looked so peaceful as she slept there within the embrace of her father. Maria loved watching children sleep. They were just so quiet and angelic and made her appreciate the fact that they were as they were—so small, helpless, and adorable.

“Are we ready then?” she asked the Minister of Magic as she stood in front of him and waited for him to take her hand so they could apparate to his house. It would not be that hard, especially if Maria thought and concentrated on where it was she wanted to go.

CONTINUED AT MINISTER OF MAGIC'S HOUSE