Mythology, task 5: Write about a maternal woman who isn't a mother
Holmes: Wingardium Leviosa
Showtime, I Am Here For You: lullaby
Word Count: 505
Hannah wakes the moment she hears crying. By now, she thinks most of the older kids have learned how to tune out the sounds of panic. They undoubtedly manage much more peaceful sleep experiences, but she doesn't envy them at all. She hopes she never becomes deaf to the cries.
With a yawn, she grabs her wand—an instinct of wartime. It doesn't matter that they are safely tucked away within the Room of Requirement; the world is falling apart, and she has to always be prepared—and climbs out of the bed she shares with Susan and a fifth year Hufflepuff named Vanessa. The floor is cold against her bare feet, but she doesn't care. She moves along through the dim lighting until she reaches the Gryffindor area.
A first year girl, Alice, sits on the edge of the bed, her thin legs drawn against her chest. She sniffles and wipes frantically at her eyes.
"It's okay, love," Hannah murmurs, casting a quick charm on the mattress so that it won't transfer movement and wake the girl's bedmates. She sits down. "Bad dreams again?"
Alice nods, pushing her dark curls back so that Hannah can see how how swollen her wet eyes are. "They had me again," she whispers. "Th-they hurt me."
Hannah doesn't have to ask. She can still remember the day Neville and Ernie had brought Alice in. They had found her in the dungeons, held prisoner by the Carrows. The poor dear had been starved half to death, and her body had been covered with bruises and curse scars. It's a miracle she had pulled through at all.
"Come here," Hannah says gently.
The younger girl moves closer, wrapping her frail arms around Hannah. Hannah smiles sadly before hugging Alice, rocking her gently. She ignores her own tears as she recalls the lullaby her mother would sing to her.
Her singing voice is terrible. The last thing she needs is for others to wake up because her poor attempt at singing sounds like a dying cat. Instead, she hums the melody, steadily rocking the Gryffindor like a child.
Hannah doesn't know how long she lasts before Alice's tiny body falls slack, but she continues to rock her a little longer. After several moments, she shifts carefully, laying Alice back down. With soft smile, she tucks the girl in and presses a kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight, sweet girl," she whispers before heading back to bed.
Back in the Hufflepuff section, she notices a blanket on the floor and smiles fondly. "Wingardium Leviosa," she says softly, lifting the blanket and guiding it on top of the second year boy who must have kicked it off in his sleep.
So many of them have lost their family. No one has any guarantee that they will ever see their parents again. Though it breaks her heart, Hannah refuses to let it get to her. For the time being, they will have to be a family, and she will do everything she can to care for them.
