"We'll meet up next Tuesday, yeah?"

"Will do! Stay safe guys!"

Blair waved to the three that departed on their separate ways. She had enjoyed their get together and had been filled in with what had been going on with all her old friends. Mina was dating a boy and will be going on her fourth date with him this Friday. She was hoping that he'd ask her to be his girlfriend and Poppy stated that if he didn't, she should drop him then and there. But Mina whined and said that she really liked him. Poppy hadn't had much happen since leaving Hogwarts. She'd gotten a job at a local post office for Muggle post and said that she was happy laying low while the safety of Muggleborns was currently being threatened. As for Nancy, she was training to be an Auror for the Ministry of Magic. Blair knew that the girl was talented in charm work, but she never knew that she'd sign up and be accepted in such a difficult and challenging course. But she wished her well and wanted to hear about her training through their weekly meet-ups.

Instead of heading towards the Leaky Cauldron to head back to the flat, Blair decided to take a short detour. She turned down particular streets and found the bustling crowd that came with walking through London disappear, leaving individual trailers who were on their way home or heading to specific places. Blair walked along the path as if she was coming home from King's Cross station. She would walk this same route every time she'd leave for the holidays and could remember the heavy stone that would be in her stomach. Christmas was never a good time for her, but that had changed completely since meeting the Weasleys. She would never have to spend the 25th of December in her concrete room that had one single piece of red tinsel that she would put across her window sill again. One year, it had been torn up by Jasper as it was usually his place to sit and watch the day go by. He thought he had been replaced by some sparkly, red creature that Blair had grown to love instead. But she was able to save it before he completely tore it up with his claws.

She stopped in front of what used to be the iron gate that surrounded Wool's Orphanage. Instead, the gate had been taken down and replaced with a block of post boxes with numbers one through twenty-eight on it. Behind it sat its older brother with its twenty-eight windows and beige brick walls. The entire orphanage was gone and had been replaced with a modern set of flats that London was in dire need for its mass population. Blair thought about all the children that she used to have to sit with at meal times and during playtime, and how they're all now at schools in Leeds. Miss Wool is probably there too, listing off all the children that should be there. She knew that the woman had completely ignored the fact that Blair was missing because her file had been taken by Professor Dumbledore. But now she was eighteen and in the Muggle world, she was classified as an adult. If she'd had stayed at the orphanage in Leeds, she would have only just left to live on her own at the beginning of the summer holidays.

When Professor Dumbledore had told her that the orphanage was set to be demolished at the end of the month, she had believed him immediately and didn't feel an ounce of sorrow for the place. From the walls to the other occupants of the building, she hated every part of living there. Her childhood had been lost because of the suspicion of her practising witchcraft. She had been oppressed and isolated for what she was (or for what they thought she was) and had lost most of her life to the awful place. Hogwarts had been her sanctuary, yet even that had been tarnished in her last year by Dolores Jane Umbridge.

But Blair reminded herself of where she was now. Sure, she had a tough childhood in the Muggle world and an alienated experience in the Wizarding world for her Death Eater connotation, but she had grown so much from it all. She should appreciate what she had now. She lived above a vibrantly orange shop in Diagon Alley with her boyfriend who she loved. She had friends that she would meet up with every week and frequently saw the Weasleys at The Burrow. She could do magic whenever she wanted and made potions for the successful shop below her flat. Life couldn't have been better and she was happy; happier than she ever could have been if she had followed how her life was going before she met her friends at Hogwarts.

A mother and a young girl were coming up behind Blair and were turning down the path that lead to the staircase that ran up the side of the flats. Blair watched as the little girl dressed in her school uniform skipped beside her mother as they climbed the stairs and entered the door that had the number seventeen on it. It made her realise that it was already heading into the evening as Muggle schools let out at three or three-thirty in the afternoon. She should be heading back now as the twins would be getting worried. The shop closes at five and they usually liked her to be back before then.

Turning towards the direction she came from, Blair started to head down the path. She needed to head back into the central area before finding the Leaky Cauldron. That in itself would take about fifteen minutes and then there's the walk through Diagon Alley, which should be an extra ten minutes. She should be able to make it back for around four o'clock, which should keep the twins at bay and safe from a heart attack.

As she turned the corner and walked further away from the orphanage, Blair saw something in the corner of her eye. The street that ran parallel to the path had another row of buildings on its other side. Another path lined the curb and Blair saw that someone was walking at the same speed as her on it. From what she could see, it was a male and the hood on his jumper had been pulled up over his head. His hands hung by his sides and swayed as he walked, his hood looking straight ahead and paying little attention to her.

Becoming uneasy from the man's presence, Blair turned down the next corner with a quicker pace. The street was open and not like the dark alleys you see at the scene of a kidnapping or of an assault. But no one else was nearby and there were no witnesses. The building around were tall and would block subtle noises and the sight of anything that wasn't ordinary on a day's walk. The path that the man was on ended making him cross the road, taking the same concrete slabs that she did with approximately seven metres between them. She could hear his footsteps behind her and they weren't quickening, thankfully keeping a steady pace behind her.

Whether this man was a Muggle looking for a victim or not, Blair didn't like having him so close and facing her in a way that disadvantaged her. She doubted that it was just a coincidence that he was keeping a similar pace to hers and had his face covered. This man didn't seem like he was just on an afternoon walk. She would be able to get a glimpse of his face if she looked over shoulder, but she was too frightened to take her eyes off the path ahead.

What had first been a small detour to see what had happened to her childhood residence had become a near anxiety attack. Taking a daring move, Blair stopped on her pursuit and raised her foot off the ground to stick up behind her. Acting like she was fixing her shoe heel, she pulled out her wand that she always tucked down the side of her sock. If a Muggle were to see this, they would think she was indeed fixing her heel or they would see the long stick that she had pulled out. Either way, they would think she was normal or weird for having such a thing in her shoe.

During this action, Blair heard the man's footsteps stop. If he was from the Wizarding world, he would know that she felt threatened and felt the need to bring out her wand. This would mean that he should take a hike and leave her alone, if his intentions weren't what Blair assumed. But as soon as she started walking again, his footsteps began once more.

As if sent by Merlin himself, a crevice sat in the wall that was only inches away from where she was currently walking. This man was definitely targeting her for reasons that she had only thought about in her nightmares. She wanted to get away from him and the only way to do so quickly was through apparition. But if this man was a Muggle, she could threaten the secrecy of magic. She needed a place to be out of sight just for a second so she could disappear. She didn't want to risk anything, so she waited until she reached the crevice that was wide enough for someone fairly larger than her.

The walk to the small place of solitude was long and it almost seemed like the man was quickening his pace to catch up to her. Blair's panting deepened and she was ready to start running in order to get away from him. She clutched the hilt of her wand tightly in her hand and thought about whipping around to send him a confundos charm or something. But she prospered on and the moment of reaching the crevice was pure bliss. Her figure slipped perfectly into the place and she thought of her desired location, before flicking her wand and was pulled into the sensation of apparition.

Even when her feet touched the safety of the cobblestone floor of Diagon Alley, she continued to pant in fear as she speed walked towards Weasley Wizards Wheezes. The sign on the door was thankfully still labelled as 'Open' and customers were still roaming around inside, but not nearly as many as there were this morning. Pushing the door open while glancing continuously over her shoulder, Blair had the feeling that something was sticking to the back of her like glue. It was a similar feeling to when she turned the lights off in the living room of the flat while heading for the hallway. There was always the unnecessary feeling of something being behind her when she turned her back to the dark room.

The door shut behind her and the small bell that signified a new customer dinged above her. But she barely noticed it as the relief of being out of the open air and in the enclosed shop was indescribable. A light hum of customers was heard around her and it was a soothing difference from the quickening footsteps that the man had behind her. She sighed and leaned her forehead against the windows of the door, catching her breath from her moment of anxiety.

"You alright, Blair?"

The girl jumped ten feet into the air from shock and she whipped around, seeing Fred jump from her sudden actions. The two yelped at each other and felt their hearts miss a beat from surprise. Blair's back hit the door and Fred nearly knocked over the display of various WonderWitch products. The tense atmosphere that Blair had only just escaped from caused anything sudden to scare her out of her wits, and Fred just so happened to see her enter the shop from his place behind the counter. He noticed her rushed actions to shut the door behind her and saw her put her head against the glass windows, making him think that something had happened on her walk back from her meet-up with her friends.

"Holy Merlin and his merchants! What the hell's your problem?!" Fred put his hand to his chest and pushed himself up into a straight posture. "Did some Blast-ended Skrewts chase you back here or something?!"

"I-I'm sorry," Blair mumbled and put her hand to her sweating forehead, sighing loudly to ease her breathing. "I-I just wanted to be back in time. You just made me jump is all."

"It's four. You made it back an hour early," Fred raised an eyebrow at her, not believing her claims. Blair saw that she wasn't being believed and started to become nervous. Fred was a hard man to convince when he wasn't convinced already. She couldn't lie to him easily and she didn't want him assuming exactly what had happened to her. He would have wanted her to have sent a Patronus out as soon as she thought she was in danger. And now that she looked back on it, she should have.

"I was just being paranoid," she managed a sheepish smile before making her way towards the stairs that lead to the flat. "I'll start making dinner."

Fred watched her leave and disappear through the door of the flat. He put his hands to his hips and pursed his lips at her behaviour. Even though it was like Blair to be paranoid about making it somewhere on time, she was suspiciously jumpy and sweating a large amount. It wasn't his place to be nosy, but she was his and George's responsibility as part of the Order. He wanted and needed to know what had made her so paranoid.