The spring migration was coming early to camp this year. The tents and cots were being unrolled as people, primarily men, flooded back in. It was a strange sort of reunion, and it wasn't exactly a happy one. People weren't excited to be there, yet they weren't moaning and dragging their feet. This was routine. The sheds and shacks that had been built for more permanent, winterized residents had their own awakening. Voices were considerably louder now, and this raised up the annual spring anxiety in the young mother, gazing out her own window.

"Mummy?" A sleepy voice murmured. "Can I get up now?"

"Yes, he's gone. But you have to keep away from the window from now on." She warned, closing the curtain over the front window beside the kitchen cabinet. The little boy bounced out onto the double bed, smiling.

"Goodmorning, Mummy!" He beamed.

"Goodmorning, Darling." She smiled back, walking over to him, her arms wrapping him up in a suffocating hug as she planted kisses all over his head. He laughed, his voice muffled by her chest. "I missed you!"

"But you didn't leave!" He shook his head.

"I know, but I waited all night to see you." She sighed, kissing his head again, but lingering with her lips pressed against his forehead before pulling back.

"Then why didn't you make Mr. Greyback leave?" He whined.

"I can't." His mother remarked. She got upup and began straightening up the sheets and covers. "You know I can't. And get off that. You know better." She picked up a towel from off the bed and folded it up, laying it across the foot of the bed.

"Sorry." He said quietly. She kissed him again. "Mummy!" He grumbled, scrunching up his nose and wiping away her kisses.

Her arms squeezed him up again. "Teddy, do you know how much I love you?"

"Lots?" Her asked, smothered by her chest. She didn't have much of a bosom anymore; his ear could hear the calm thumping of her heart against her ribcage and feel the ridges of her sternum. Maybe she needed a vitamin, to make her big and strong, just like he did, he thought.

She shook her head and looked down at him, a small grin on her lips. "I took all the love that I could feel, all the love in the whole wide world, and I give it to you. There's not a thing in this world I love at all, except you."

Teddy thought for a moment. "Even chocolate cake?"

"Even chocolate cake." She smiled. She withdrew from him, ruffling his hair. "Come on, it's time for breakfast. What do you say?"

"What are we having?"

She looked a paper taped on the old fashioned icebox. "Thursday... bagels, yes?"

The boy pursed his lips. "Can we have them warm?"

"Of course we can." She assured. "And since it's grocery day next week, we get..."

"Orange juice!" He exclaimed. Teddy scurried across the small room to the table in one of the two chairs and plopped down. There had been three, but his mother manually broke apart the third one since her wand had been broken, using half as firewood for the oven and the other half as weaponry. She didn't regret the decision. If they ever had a "guest", he'd be on the floor and that was that. She didn't care if she had to chop up the sofa too, she wasn't having any part of that vile man on her furniture.

"Orange juice!" She mimicked, grabbing a glass from the cupboard.

"Do we have to share now, too?"

"Unfortunately." His mother sighed. "With all the people around, we have to."

"Why?"

"Water conservation. Or the Mister'll get mad." She rolled her eyes. "It means we have to use as little as possible, even if it's stupid."

"Why?"

"He hates us being happy, I suppose, or he only wants us to have so much water, I dunno." She replied in a tired voice as she set the glass across from the boy. "Do you want butter?"

"Yes please." The boy took a drink of the juice, watching his mother try and charm the bagel warm with her hands. "Are you going to kick his butt?"

She voided his eye. "You know, it's finally getting warmer outside. We can go for longer walks."

"Does this mean we won't need to wear coats anymore? Since it's warmer outside?" He enjoyed watching her cook and do chores. She was by far the prettiest person he had ever seen in his life. She wasn't dirty or mean looking. She was just Mummy. Her teeth were fairly straight and not black, and her skin wasn't scarred up or sunburnt or diseased. Her hair wasn't matted either. She had smooth, short brown hair like his, though hers fell into her eyes around haircut time, and was long enough to pull back in a tiny stub behind her head

"Not just yet, but soon." She plated the bagels, cutting off two pieces of butter. She used most of it on one and gave herself just a touch for taste. "We need to work on out list." She announced, bringing breakfast to the table with a piece of paper and her pen.

"More orange juice." The boy declared. "And-"

"Hang on-" She chuckled, scribbling some things down. "Mister wanted canned beans, and he asked for greens this time." The way she said his name was always bitter, almost sarcastic.

"What are greens?"

"It's like... soggy lettuce, but it's good."

"Why does he ask for greens then, instead of something good, like sweets?"

"He doesn't like sweet things." She mumbled. "And he only asks for food he doesn't get on raids. We need chicken, and I think we've got potatoes, but some canned fruit would be nice. Do you like pineapple or-"

"Why do they go on raids?"

His mother didn't look up from her list. "To get supplies."

"Why does Mr. Greyback want to hurt people when he goes? Why can't you just get supplies?"

"Because he's the most evil person in the whole wide world" She replied frustatedly. "Do you prefer pineapple or pears?"

"I like pears." He announced. "Why can't you buy all the supplies?"

"Because we don't have enough money."

"Why?"

"Because no one here has jobs."

"Why?"

"Because the people here believe in hurting people to get their way instead of being good people and getting what they earn and what they deserve. They're entitled."

"Why don't you have a job? Are you entitled?"

"No." She knew her son meant well, with all his boyish foolishness, but the words stung her a bit. "Because he says so."

He nodded solemnly. "Are you going to get back at him one day?"

"No, Teddy, he'll hurt mme real bad." She told him. "Paper products, canned pears, chicken, canned collard greens, soap, orange juice, eggs, milk... what am I forgetting? Let's see, we have flour, oil, sugar, potatoes, and baking soda... salt and pepper... cereal may be close, but we'll make it to next month... Maybe some soup, if we have enough left over."

"Mummy, do we need vitamins?"

"Oh, damn." She crossed over to the bed, pulling something out from the inside of the mattress. Inside was a small bottle of pills. She popped one in her mouth and swallowed dry, before putting the cotton back in place and putting the bottle inside the mattress. "We do need some more, yes."

"What will Mr. Greyback do if he finds your vitamins?" The boy asked curiously.

"He'll hurt me even worse." His mother sighed. She dug out two vitamin gummies from the plastic bottle for her son, who chewed them up quietly. "Butter? Maybe we'll play it safe and go ahead and get butter."

"Can we get candy this time?" He inquired.

"Not this month. We need vinegar. That's what I was thinking."

"Why do we need vinegar?" He asked in an angry voice.

"To clean with."

"But vinegar is smelly and chocolate is good!" He shouted at her.

"Teddy, we have a budget." She replied sternly. He stayed quiet. "Do you remember the rules?"

"Always listen to Mummy, always stay close to Mummy, don't talk to strangers, and don't take food from strangers." He recited proudly.

"Very good." She nodded, finishing her last few bites of dry bagel. "Now, once you're done with breakfast, I need to go run some outside errands."

"Can I help?"

"Not today."

"Is it still bath day?"

"Yes sir, it is." She smiled, handing him his bagel, and wiping the plate off with a dirty rag that sat on the oven.

He smiled. Bath day was his one of his favourite days, though he didn't like to help with the laundry. "I like bath day." The boy told her.

"I know you do." She chuckled. "Come here, do you want to mark the day off?" He eagarly walked over to her, letting her lift him up to cross the day out with pen on the small calendar hanging above the oven. "Do you know what today is?" She asked as she set him back down.

"Thursday?"

"But what day is it?"

"March?"

"March what?"

"March... March-Thursday?"

"What does the number say?"

"One-fifty."

"No." His mother could keep herself from laughing. "What's the first number?"

"One."

"And the second?"

"Five."

"So what does that make? Do you know?"

"Six?"

"No, don't add them. What's five after ten? The one in front means ten's there, you just can't see it. So ten plus five."

"Fifty?"

"Not quite."

"Fifty!" He shouted defensively. "Fo'teen, fifty, sixteen!"

"Fifteen." She correctly lightly.

"Oh!" Teddy smiled. "And tomorrow is sixteen and then seventeen and then eighteen and then nineteen and then-" He couldn't think.

"Twenty." His mother told him. "You've got a birthday coming up. Maybe for your birthday, I can get you a school book. Something useful."

"When's my birthday?"

"A month and three days." She sighed, beginning to tidy up the dishes from the night before. She knew every single dish that they had used: a glass and a plate for breakfast, two plates and two glasses for dinner, a plate for lunch, two bowls for breakfast the day before, as well as two spoons and four forks, yet an extra dirty plate and fork found it's way into the mess. She hated for knowing exactly who had gone through their food.

"Dishes is for bedtime, Mummy." The little boy said.

"I know, but I forgot last night." She was distracted by something, which she could only try and cover up by cleaning.

"Silly Mummy."

"Silly Mummy." She repeated. "At least there's less for later."

"Are you okay Mummy?

"I am." She said quietly. "I just forgot something and remembered it again."

"What did you remember Mummy?"

"Someone's birthday. Someone else, someone you don't know." She shook her head. "You don't know him."

"Who is it?" The boy inquired.

"No one. I should've just kept my mouth shut."

"Who is it?"

"I said no one." She told him sternly.

"Who's no one?" The boy mocked. She started crying. They weren't big, loud tears, but she couldn't stop them from coming out. He didn't know if it was his fault or not, and if they were good or bad tears. He didn't say anything for a while, hoping his mother would, but she didn't, so he showed himself to time out.

Time out meant sitting in bed until Mummy said he could come out. This was somehow different from bedtime, in which he slept, and naptime, where he didn't have to ask to come out. Teddy's bed was in one of the four corners of the small house. Mummy put the dresser and bookshelf in front of his bed so he couldn't see her bed, which she said was for "his own good", whatever that meant. The corner across from him was the bathtub and toilet, which were next to the sink and counters, which were in the third corner. The fourth corner was beside her bed and had the door and the window, where she grew their plants in the winter when it was cold. She said their names were "cilantro" and "basil", which were pretty dumb names, he thought.

"Teddy?" Her voice was still sad. "You're not in trouble. Come here, love."

He got off his mattress. "Yes, Mummy. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad." He crawled up into her lap, giving her a hug.

"It's okay." She told him. "It's just that..." She shook her head. "You won't understand."

"Won't understand what?" He asked. "I'm big, I understand a lot."

"You are." She laughed, wiping away her tears. "Do you know who gave me my pretty ring?"

Her "pretty ring" as Teddy called it, was a small ring with a diamond on it, that she always wore on her fourth finger. "You said you found it."

"I know." She said, looking at her hand. "But it was a gift."

"Then why did you lie?"

"To protect you, Teddy."

"But lying is bad." He remarked.

"I know, but I'm allowed to lie." She told him. "It was a gift from my husband, when we got married."

"You're not married." Teddy told her. "You live with me and Mr. Gr-"

"I didn't used to." She snapped at him. "You know, I used to have a Mummy and a Daddy, and a husband, and I used to live in a big house with several rooms. And then I got taken here."

"And then I got zapp-ed into your belly by a magic spell and you had me!" Teddy exclaimed. "That's what you said happened!"

"I-" She froze up. "Yes, that is what I said happened."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She said quickly, running her fingers through fingers. "Forget it, love. Hey, let's get you a bath and I'm going to go get some more wood for the fireplace, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Teddy loved bath time, but he didn't like getting in the bath. Instead he turned the bath water on and went and bounced around on the bed, then onto the sofa, then the floor. He tried going the other way, but it didn't work well, he he just cycled through bounces.

The door came slamming open. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" A man's voice boomed. Teddy shrieked, falling down on the bed. The man was towering and furious looking.

"Mummy!" He screamed, cowering back to the head of the bed. He looked across the room where water was overflowing from the bathtub, and spilling all over the floor. "MUMMY!"

"Teddy!" Tonks came running up the front steps. He scrambled across the bed to her, but she refused to pick him up. She ran across the room and turned the water on the bathtub off, nearly slipping and falling. "He's a boy. He didn't know better!" She shouted at the man.

"I thought your job was to fucking watch him!" The man yelled. Teddy was shaking in fear at him. "I hear water running, so I glance in the window and that's what I see? How ungrateful are you, that you let this stupid little shit run around, wasting my water?"

"It was an accident! He didn't mean it!" She stood up to him.

"Well maybe he needs to learn to fucking behave!" There was a loud noise and she drew back with a wince. She was crying real tears now, and they weren't stopping. Greyback continued to shout over her tears until they were both incomprehensible. "Shut up! Just shut up! Do you ever actually think? You don't, do you? Do you? No, you don't, you stupid bitch! You're lucky I even let you eat!"

Teddy curled up on the pillows, crying silently into his mother's pillow. The scary man left, and she didn't say anything. She just went to try and clean up the water.

"Mummy?"

"Yes darling?"

"Am I a stupid little shit?"

"No, you're not." She said quietly. "He's being an butthole."

"Mummy?"

"Yes?"

"I peed some." He said shyly. "I didn't mean to. I got scared."

"Hey, it's okay." She said softly, walking over to the bed, and picking him up in her arms. There was a big red mark on the side of her face. "It's okay, love. He isn't going to hurt you."

"Promise?" He asked as she began stripping off his clothes.

"I promise, love."