Of Grandfathers and Babies
Emma Wood is seven years old and she loves her granddaddy very much. Her grandmother buys her sweets and loves to braid her hair. She doesn't know her real mother at all, but Dominique is the sweetest lady she has ever met, and she's glad her daddy is dating her. Emma's daddy makes her hot chocolate justthe way she likes it, and when he reads to her, he changes his voice for each character. And Dominique will play any game Emma wants and lets her try on the high heels and jewelry, and sometimes, if Emma's been extra good and her daddy's not around, Dominique will let Emma play with her make-up.
But, Emma's granddaddy loves Quidditch. He played professional straight out of Hogwarts where he was captain of the Gryffindor team, and for her third birthday, he bought Emma her very own broom (and, of course, her father approves because he played as well).
She loves the sweets and braids, the hot chocolate and stories. She adores the games and the dress-up, but she is infatuated with Quidditch because it is something they all did. Her granddaddy did, and her grandmother did, her daddy did, and she's not too sure about her mother, but Dominique and her entire family (well, most of it anyway) did, so that's good enough for her, because Emma also loves the Weasleys.
But she especially loves the feel of the wind in her face, whipping her mousy brown braids around her head. The smell of her uniform, the whoosh of the Quaffle followed by cheers as it soars towards the hoops. The perfect clap it makes when she catches it just in the nick of time, and the proud look on her granddaddy's face when he sees her do this because she wants to be a keeper, just like him.
The best part of all these things though, is when Emma puts on a pretty dress and her grandmother braids her hair and Dominique lets her borrow a necklace. Then, her granddaddy takes her out for the day, just the two of them, and they sit in her very favorite spot in his special box seats and they watch a match. Then, when she comes home, her daddy reads her a story and brings her hot chocolate in bed, and because she doesn't spill a drop, Dominique promises to take her for a girl's day out the next day. Emma knows this really means that they'll go to Dominique's practically empty apartment (because Dominique basically lives with Emma and her daddy) and give each other make-overs and play fairies and have tickle-fights and eat ice cream until her daddy comes to pick them up.
Emma is only seven, but she knows she's spoiled, and she likes it. Because life is good, and the only thing that could make it better is a baby. But her daddy keeps chickening out. He wants to marry Dominique but is afraid to ask her.
So Emma says to Dominique they have to get married so Emma can have a baby. Because her daddy says only married people can have babies. (Her daddy and her real mother were married once upon a time, but something happened, and now if anyone ever brings up Emma's mother, Emma's daddy gets all teary-eyed.)
But Dominique only smiles and ruffles Emma's head and says; darling, that's up to your daddy. Then, Dominique pointedly looks at her daddy, but Emma's daddy blushes and look away, and this happens every single time that Emma brings the topic up, so what is she supposed to do?
Emma decides to go her grandmother, who is no help because she says things'll work their own course, gotta let it be. But Emma wants answers and solutions to her baby dilemma, so she corners her granddaddy one afternoon and they hatch a plan.
Soon Dominique is Emma's actual legal mother, and then nine months later, Christopher is Emma's actual legal baby brother. And Emma is now eight years old, and she still loves her granddaddy very much because he got Emma her baby.