The straw breaks the camel's back eventually.

As promised, Hadley had written to her parents and asked them if they would meet with her and... a friend.

Okay, so she had not done it exactly as she had promised to, but she had given it a go. Never had she bothered bringing anyone home before. And if they asked how long she had known him, Hadley wasn't sure that she wanted to admit to the few weeks of being involved with him. What would they say when she considered admitting to having let him kiss her during their first real conversation?

Nonetheless, she had found out about those portkey things, and although it was completely dreadful, it was much easier than taking a plane and explaining to James how it stayed in the air. Not that she wouldn't have offered, of course. But it would have been much more trouble. In the end, she had stumbled as they landed, frowning as she tried to catch her breath.

Once they both seemed sorted, she began leading the way up the street towards her parents' home. "So, my parents' names are Brendon and Amanda. If she asks you to call her Amy, don't. It's a trap," she warned him through a hesitant smile. "It would be wise to just let them ask questions, rather than trying to explain everything at once, I think."

Drawing in a breath, Hadley inched closer towards James and rang the doorbell.

James stood there on the front step of Hadley's parents house nervous. He steadied her on her feet making sure that she was okay. He smiled at her with a small smile then he looked at the front of the house. He found that he liked the look of it and thought it looked rather homey.

"Ok so Brendon and Amanda, I'll make sure to avoid calling her that. I'll just stick with their full name, anything else I need to know about?" James asked as he looked at her. "What kind of questions? I just want to make sure we're on the same page with that. I don't want to mess it up accidentally."

Hearing the door bell ring he wondered if he was going to be liked at all. He was nervous to meet Hadley's parents but, he wanted to make a good impression on them. Which is why he was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a button up short sleeved shirt. His shoes were just plain old running shoes as he waited for the door to open.

"Well," Hadley began, tilting her head to the side as she considered his question. "About magic mostly, I imagine. Though also about you, in theory."

When the door opened, two people in their early sixties were standing there, clearly expecting to see Hadley and whomever she had brought along. Her mother's dark hair was recognizable anywhere, and it didn't surprise her to find that her father had not bothered to shave that morning. Even with company on the way, Brendon didn't seem to have it in him to care about looks. At least the house seemed clean enough, Hadley mused as they were let inside.

Hugs were offered to Hadley before introductions began, at which point she turned to James and gestured back and forth while offering names. Amanda seemed curious enough to give him a chance, and Brendon was wary, but friendly enough to offer a handshake like his wife had.

"Why don't we sit and talk about... whatever it is you needed to see us about?" Brendon suggested, pointing towards the kitchen table.

"It did seem urgent," Amanda put in, moving to the counter to pick up a plate of her typical hosting treats - peanut butter cookies and a few brownies in case someone was adverse or allergic to peanuts.

Hadley glanced at James nervously, but reached for his hand to tug him towards the table. She sat in the chair nearest to the wall, but inched it closer to James's in hopes that it would comfort both of them. "I feel like it is, yes. See, while I've been working in England," Hadley began, her accent suddenly becoming a bit stronger just for being around her parents, "something has happened. And I really don't know how to explain it."

Looking over to James, she hesitated, shaking her head. "Two things happened, actually. Firstly, I met James." Hadley reached for his hand again, and offered him a smile before continuing. "And he's been really wonderful about the other thing that happened. See, ... It turns out that James is part of a really special group of people. And I've been around them, and sort of... Well, I don't know how it's happened, but I've picked up some of their... abilities. Mom, dad- James.." she faltered, trying to convince herself to say it out loud, "... is a wizard."

Needless to say, her parents stared at her. Then they stared at each other. When they turned to Hadley again, Amanda looked furious and Brendon actually looked afraid. "You're wrong," her mother said sharply, shaking her head. "He's lied and somehow convinced you this is realistic. It's not." Turning to James, she added, "Whatever you've done to her, cut it out."

"Mom-!"

"Hadley," Brendon cut in quickly, shaking his head. "Your mother's right. You mustn't let it get to you."

"But I'm not wrong," she burst, shaking her head. "And he's not to blame. He's the one making sure I'm alright!"

James followed Hadley into the house when her parents, he was nervous about their reaction to everything. He shook both her parents hands and allowed Hadley to pull him towards the table. He sat down and when she scooted her chair closer to him. He gave her a reassuring look before she began speaking to her parents. He heard her accent come out more and smiled softly.

When she reached out and took his hand, he held it in both of his. Giving her a smiled back and rubbing her hand softly to comfort her. He looked at her parents when Hadley told them he was a wizard. Seeing her mother looking furious and her father afraid made him wonder.

"I haven't done anything to her," He said softly looking at her mother. "I'm not lying about anything to your daughter. I've done nothing but be honest to your daughter. I can prove what I do is real but only if your willing to see." He wasn't going to force them to see something they didn't want to.

He could tell that it didn't seem like they were going to see reason. He squeezed Hadley's hand to calm her and said, "It's okay Hadley. Honestly it really is okay, I understand their disbelief of something like this." He didn't think that they would be able to convince her parents of anything.

[there's a bit of godmod stuff here, but I wanted to get back to just them so that it wouldn't feel one-sided or anything. I can edit if you prefer.]

When James offered to show them what he was able to do, Hadley remembered their plan. That would make more sense, surely. Then they would have to believe her, right? Still, it offended her a great deal that they so easily told her she was mental. Her gaze fell to the table before she finally attempted to speak again.

"I can't understand why you don't believe me," she said. Unfortunately, at the same time, her mother was muttering under her breath to Hadley's father about how he promised it would never happen again. The blonde barely caught it, her head snapping up. "What?" She asked, frowning at them.

"Nothing," Amanda cut in, waving a hand through the air between them as though it would send Hadley's question away.

"Just-" she tried, quieting herself at her father's stern look. "I just think we all need a minute. James? Can you come with me for a moment?" She requested. When he agreed, she led him up the stairs and paused in front of one of the doors. "We need to think of something that will prove to them that magic is real. We can talk in here," she gestured towards the doorway. "This is my old room. Hopefully they'll give us time to gather our thoughts before telling us to leave..."

James rubbed Hadley's hand that was still between the both of his. He knew that Hadley was upset that her parents wouldn't believe her. When he heard the same thing she did, he immediately paid attention to them. He knew something was up and when Hadley tried to get them to talk her mother waved it off. Seeing her father's stern look made him then question how much they already knew.

He took her hand and lead her into the bedroom shutting the door behind them. "They know something about magic already. No one acts like that unless they know something about it. Which means you parents know a little of what's going on. It also means they are trying to hide what they know from you." He said as he looked at her with concerned eyes. "If they are going through so much trouble to hide it from you it was something bad. Getting them to talk about it isn't going to be an easy task. I have to know what exactly happened though." He began wondering what exactly happened to her parents.

Hadley looked up sharply at James's assumption about her parents, not fully believing it. "They aren't usually so quick to reject things," she admitted slowly, her tone making it clear that she was considering it. After all, he knew better than she did, surely. It sounded like he had some experience with the situation, so she decided that it would be best to go with what James thought they ought to.

"Well," she mused aloud, sinking onto the mattress and looking up at him. "Maybe if we just go back and start with the fact that we know they do have experience with it, they'll be more open to talking about it? I mean, if you tell them you're sure they've got some knowledge of it, won't they just have to admit to it?" She asked hopefully.