So as promised here's my mother's day fic. Sorry it's late but I would like to wish a Happy Mother's day to all the Mothers, Nannys, and Aunts out there.
This story came out a little differently than I had expected but it was fin writing it. As such I might continue it in the form of one shots if enough ppl are interested. Anyway read on, let me know what you think.
Authors Note 2: Ok guys just to be clear this is the same story just the edited version. I uploaded the last version from my iPad thinking I had edited that one but I hadn't and when I just re-read it on my laptop I realized my error. So this is the same thing just grammatically correct and with a minor change in the third scene. Sorry about that. Also in my haste I forgot to credit the poem witch is by the lovely and talented E.E. Cummings. Definitely recommend reading Cummings if you're a fan of the literary word.
Standard Disclaimer applies: Don't sue me it's mother's day.
"Um… What are you doing?"
The little girl stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth, her face the picture of concentration as she lifted another pillow onto her already growing stack.
"We're building a fort."
The answer came from her mother, who was still the most beautiful woman that Harry had laid eyes on. The woman in question was currently arranging blankets over the pillows and around the floor.
"Well I could help if you-"
"NO DADDY! STOP!"
A bundle of fury launched itself at his hand that was halfway to his wand. A glare was shot at him as his daughter grabbed his wand and stalked off to put it on the table, Hermione hiding a smile the whole time. Harry, on the other hand was completely confused.
"What'd I do?"
His wife shook her head, "Oh Harry, not everything has to be done by magic. It's more fun this way. Here you try."
And she held out a sheet for him to take. Following her instructions and a few direct orders from the miniature dictator formerly known as Lexie, his daughter, he managed to find a piece of his childhood that he had missed out on.
The final product was amazing to say the least, and a quick spell from Hermione, enchanted the room to appear as an open field on a starry night, their fort/castle the only structure in sight. He smiled at the simplicity of it.
Another wave of her wand and Lexie's pajamas were transfigured into those of a paige boy, Harry was donned in the attire of a king, and Hermione wore a simple but beautiful gown fit for a queen. He smiled at Lexie's obvious glee of her outfit. A prissy princess his daughter was not.
Lexie tugged at his hand excitedly leading him into the fort and settling herself in his lap. Hermione, not far behind, nestled her body into his side, careful of her bulging stomach, and pressed a book into his hands with an amused smile.
"Get to reading, Daddy."
He returned the smile and opened the book to the first page, a chuckle escaping him at the title. "The Sword in the Stone."
His voice wove a story of a young boy, an unwanted child in his community, being brought under the tutelage of Merlin and eventually pulling a legendary sword from a solid piece of stone.
He was halfway through the first section of the story when he noticed that Hermione had fallen asleep and Lexie was well on her way. Not wanting to wake his pregnant wife, he nudged his daughter instead.
"Hey bud, how about you help me get your mum in bed? Huh?"
Lexie smiled sleepily from within the safe shelter of her father's arms and nodded. She moved carefully off of his lap and took the book when it was offered to her.
She watched her father carefully turn and lift her mother into his arms and carry her off into their bedroom. She trailed along behind them; at only four years old, she was still too young to put herself to bed.
Once her mother was settled, Harry turned and picked up his sleepy daughter, carrying her into the room across the hall, her paige boy clothes turning back into star wars pajamas.
As he settled her in bed she turned to him, a question on her face. "Daddy, when is my little sister going to be here."
"Soon bud. Another few weeks." A smile came to his face at the thought of the new addition to the Potter family.
"And Mummy will be ok? Won't she?"
His smile grew, "You're Mum is going to be just fine love. She'll be tired for a few days after, but she'll be back to playing with you in no time."
His daughter, the picture of her mother, grinned and closed her emerald eyes. "That's good. I like Mummy. She makes magic."
Harry's smile grew tender as he stared at the miracle in front of him. He gently stroked her head, before planting a kiss on her cheek.
"Yeah. She does."
"Mummy do you love DJ?"
Hermione smiled and rocked her son against her breast where he was feeding. She sighed in contentment before looking up at her daughter, who was leaning on the arm of her chair, and nodded.
It was a quiet Tuesday afternoon, Harry had gone into practice with his team, and had left her with the promise of a spectacular culinary miracle for dinner. Her smile grew as she thought of her husband, and she shifted the four month old to her shoulder to burp. Her life was perfect. Even with all the mishaps and frustrations that came and went. She was beyond happy.
"Do you love me?"
The smile was gone. DJ belched.
"Alexis Lillian Potter," she began, voice stern, "come here."
The little girls lower lip stuck out as she came to stand before her mother, who had never once before been angry with her. She was promptly pulled into her Mum's lap and cradled like a baby. A smattering of kisses rained down on every exposed piece of her face, neck, and arms and she let out a squeals of joy.
DJ smiled from the safety of his mother's other arm as his sister laughed and was teased mercilessly. After a few more breathless moments, Hermione let up and allowed her daughter to calm down.
When Lexie's breathing had returned to normal, Hermione gently rubbed her nose with her own and cradled her against her side. Softly spoken words fell from her lips as magical images of the moon, sea, blooming flowers, and stars took shape in thin air and danced before her children's eyes.
"Here is the deepest secret no one knows
(Here is the root of the root, and the bud of the bud,
And the sky of the sky of a tree called life,
Which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
And this is the wonder that is keeping the stars apart.
I carry your heart with me.
I carry it in the heart."
Lexie smiled and cuddled closer to her mother's warmth. "Magic," She sighed. "I love you Mummy."
"I love you too baby. So, so much."
Sounds of echoing laughter radiated through the house. Ron followed the noise to the backyard and promptly broke into gales of laughter.
Lexie grinned and pushed her "crown" back up from where it had fallen in her eyes. "Just a second Uncle Ron!" With that she raised her wooden sword and poked her father in the side. Harry gasped in "pain" and staggered around dramatically, before finally collapsing into stillness.
Lexie ignored her father and ran over to her tree house. "It's ok fair maiden! You can come down now!"
Hermione poked her head out of the wooden window. "Are you sure it's safe?"
"Yes! I will protect you!"
Stifled laughter came, followed by Hermione herself, carrying DJ on her hip.
She set the three year old on his feet and he quickly toddled over to his fallen father. He fell to his knees next to his father's head and patted his cheeks.
"Wakey Daddy."
Harry smiled and quickly swooped his son into his arms, raising the boy in the air and making airplane noises.
DJ Giggled as Hermione lifted her "knight" into her own arms.
"Did you see me Mum?"
Hermione nodded sagely, "I did. You were so brave. My own personal heroine!"
Lexie smiled magnanimously before wriggling from her mother's arms and running over to her Uncle Ron to ask him if he had seen her slay the wicked king.
Ron listened to her animated tale while watching Hermione walk over to Harry, who, upon seeing her, promptly resumed his "death". She smiled at his antics, but dropped to her knees next to DJ and pressed her lip to her husband's in a gentle kiss. The bespectacled wizard grinned and opened his eyes.
"All better." Harry whispered.
Lexie turned to watch too, and seeing her revived father, turned to her Uncle with a grin. "Mummy makes magic."
"When's Mum coming home?"
Harry sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He was currently sitting in front of the bathroom door, his daughter on the other side. They had been like this for two days now. He had tried waiting her out but she only wanted her mother and would come out for nothing else.
Hermione had taken DJ to a medical conference. At ten years old, the boy had already surpassed his mother in the intelligence department, but the wizarding community didn't have any outlet available to him. As such he had completed the Muggle education track. He had just graduated High School and as a present, Hermione had allowed him to accompany her to her Healer's conference.
Leaving Harry to watch their temperamental 14 year old daughter. He pulled at the collar of his shirt. It was too hot for this.
"Dad?"
He bit back a groan "Lex, your mother called this afternoon. She's on her way back. She should be here- "
"Now."
Harry looked up to see Hermione rushing towards the door. She hesitated upon reaching it before resting her palm against the wood.
"Lex, baby, let me in."
There was a choked sob that tore at Harry's heart before the soft click of the lock was heard. Harry stood to enter, as Hermione pushed the door open and then promptly shut it in his face.
He blinked in disbelief before turning to look at his son who was still positioned at the top of the steps.
DJ shrugged. "Women."
Lexie fell into her mother's arms as soon as the door had closed. She had thought that she had cried all her tears, but seeing her mother had brought them all back.
Hermione was beside herself, everything from pregnancy to rape rushing through her mind. But she couldn't ask, so instead she cradled her daughter in her arms, rocked her like she was a child, and whispered soothing words into her hair.
Eventually Lexie began talking, and through the half formed sobs Hermione was able to discover that her daughter had been dumped by Joshua Blakely, the Gryffindor quidditch captain. Apparently he had wanted something that Lexie hadn't been willing to give and, as a result, had broken up with her in front of the entire cafeteria. That, however, was not what had driven Alexis to a puddle of tears. No. Joshua had taken it a step further by threatening her position as seeker on the Gryffindor quidditch team.
Hermione listened patiently before gently disentangling herself from her daughter. She wet a washcloth with warm water and washed Lexie's face and neck, before leading back to her bedroom where she put her to bed, crawled in behind her and softly sang her to sleep.
Her mother was gone the next morning, but the smell of eggs and bacon was enough to rouse her from her bed and lead her to the kitchen.
Her father and DJ were at the kitchen table, watching her beaming mother suspiciously, while she went from pan to pan singing a cheery tune.
When she entered the room, their eyes turned to her in confusion. She herself was confused as, once her mother spotted her, her smile grew and she hurried her into a chair for breakfast.
"Eat up guys. I wanted to head to Diagon Alley. It is after all Gryffindor's birthday. I wanted to see the parade."
Oblivious to the bewildered and suspicious faces of her family, Hermione set herself in front of her own plate and ate.
They arrived at Diagon Alley two hours later to a large crowd, all of whom greeted the Potter family with open arms and cheers. The entire thing was very suffocating for Lexie, who couldn't understand why her mother had dragged her out here.
She didn't understand as strangers hugged her and told her how amazing her parents were.
She didn't understand as her brother tried to make her happy by pushing his latest experiment in her hands and it popped and sprayed blue goo over her father's jacket.
She didn't understand as night fell and the parade started; fireworks and music and dancing jugglers, flamethrowers, and the like marching down the small Alley.
She especially didn't understand when she remembered that Joshua was to be part of the parade as the eldest son of the ever rich and prominent Blakely family. A sick twisting feeling worked its way through her body and she shuddered, her father placing his hand on her back, eyes that looked like her own looking at her in concern.
Comprehension finally dawned on her as her mother took her hand and squeezed. Up until then she had ignored the woman who had always managed to make everything better. She had felt abandoned and hurt. But now- Now, seeing the word "Pervert" spelled out on Joshua's forehead in what appeared to be very painful hives; now when his once shiny blonde hair now hung in shaggy puke green layers over his face in a sorry attempt to hide the hives; now when he twitched and jumped every so often as though being electrocuted; now she understood.
She turned to beam at her mother who discreetly held up a letter. She quickly read the apology letter from Joshua, and the promise to never replace her on the team unless her performance wavered. Her smile grew and she launched herself into her mother's waiting arms.
"You make magic Mum."
So? There wasn't a lot of Hermione, I thought. I wanted more tender moments but they didn't all fit. Hence my series of continued oneshots idea. To write or not to write? That is the question. And before you all kill me, RWYA is in the works. Maybe as soon as next week but no promises.
Review!