Perfect
I'm strong on the surface, not all the way through. I've never been perfect, but neither have you.
The wind was howling late at night, crushing the tree next to Ember Black's bedroom into the window making an obnoxious tapping noise. The twelve-year-old tossed and turned in the pristine, double-sized bed, tears building in her eyes. She was used to being in a cityscape environment and having no trees tapping against her window. Ever since she was a baby she lived in a thirty story apartment building in New York — that is — until her mumma and papa passed away and she was sent to live with her birth parents, miles away in Windsor, England.
Her birth family, The Weasley's, consisted of her mother and father — Lyra and Charlie, her older brother by three years — Arthur, and her twin sister — Nymphadora.
Ember was told that when she and her sister were born her parents were very poor, so they gave her up in order for her to have a happier life.
The young teenager did have a happy life so far, minus her parents dying, finding out she was a witch, and finding out she was adopted. Nevertheless, she wouldn't categorize herself as unhappy.
"Em?" a small voice said from the door. Ember looked over and could make out the figure of her twin. She smiled to herself; she always wanted siblings and she was glad she and Nymphadora had grown close since they had found out they were sisters almost three months ago. "Are you awake?"
"Yeah," Ember answered, moving over to make room for her sister. "You can come in if you like."
Nymphadora climbed into bed with her sister and smiled. "I can't sleep."
"Me either," Ember said, trying to hold back her tears in front of her sister. Why am I such a baby, she thought to herself.
"You don't always have to be strong, you know," Nymphadora said, turning to look at her sister with a small smile. "Your parents died three weeks ago, and I haven't seen you cry once."
Ember sniffed at the mention of her parents. It wasn't that she didn't miss them — or even that she hadn't cried — it was just that she hated crying in front of anyone, including her sister.
Nymphadora wrapped her arms around Ember and gently rocked her back and forth. "Let it out, Em. No ones perfect."
But I have to be, Ember thought before she clutched onto her sister, crying like she never cried before.
***Perfect***
Ember woke up the next morning to the smell of blueberry jam and toast, which caused her stomach to grumble loudly. She slowly got out of bed — so she wouldn't wake her sister — and made her way to the bathroom.
I look horrible, she thought when she looked in the mirror. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot from all the crying she did the night before and her hair was a mess. She quickly did a charm to fix her hair and eyes before getting dressed in a light, gray shirt and jeans and making her way to the kitchen where Lyra and Charlie were sitting at the table eating toast and drinking tea. Ember went over to the stove and flicked the tea kettle back on so she could get a cup of tea and sat across from her birth parents.
"Good morning, Ember," Lyra greeted with a smile; then she turned to the little elf, Ziggy, standing next to the table. Ziggy was Lyra's house elf when she was a child so she felt it unfair to leave the poor creature when she left. "Ziggy, bring Ember some toast."
"Yes, Mistress Lyra," Ziggy the house elf said with a bow. "What would the little mistress like on her toast?"
"Mornin'," Ember replied to her birth parents resting her head on her elbow. "I'll have some jam as well, please, Ziggy."
"Don't put your elbows on the table, honey," Lyra said kindly. "It's bad manners."
Ember sighed but listened to her nonetheless. Why did they have to be so different than Mom and Dad were, she thought silently, holding back the tears that she felt in her eyes. "Sorry," she mumbled, not quite knowing what to say. When she ate at home with her adoptive parents, she just sat down and ate with her hands. However, with her birth parents it was a lot different, because her birth mother was a Pureblood witch, whereas her adoptive parents had been Muggles.
"Leave her be, Lyra," Charlie said with a sigh looking at Ember with a smile.
"Manners are important, Charlie," Lyra said with a nod, looking at her husband with a glare before her gaze drifted over to Ember and softened. "I'm not mad at you, sweetie."
"Okay," Ember said quietly not really believing her at all. "Sorry I'm not perfect."
Charlie and Lyra both looked at her with confused looks. "Why do you think you need to be perfect?" Charlie asked.
Lyra immediately followed saying, "We don't need or want you to be perfect, sweetie. Look at us, we aren't perfect at all. You're supposed to make mistakes."
"May I go get Nymphy and Arty?" Ember asked, ignoring their reassurances. I need to be perfect, she thought to herself, so then you won't leave me again.
"You may," Lyra said with a nod, "but remember what I said."
"Lyra, you know we should let her settle in before we bombard her with rules!" Charlie exclaimed quietly when Ember was out of the room, and he was sure she couldn't hear him.
"No, Charlie," Lyra said with a sigh. "I was just asking her to take her elbow off the table. I had no idea she would react like that."
"She just lost the only parents she knows; this is all new to her," Charlie explained with a frown.
"You think I don't know that?" Lyra replied with a snap. "I'm not an idiot, Charlie!"
"I never said you were," Charlie said rolling his eyes.
"It was implied!" Lyra said folding her arms and giving him a glare.
"We're letting our daughter come between us again," Charlie said softly with a sigh. "Remember what happened the last time that happened?"
"We fought so much Arty thought we were going to hurt him," Lyra said quietly remembering when Nymphadora was a few months old and Lyra had started giving her cereal against Charlie's protests. Three year-old Arthur, who wasn't used to his parents fighting went to The Burrow by himself, luckily he said it right and ended up in his grandmother's kitchen — why the kitchen was unknown to everyone — where he hid under the table waiting for the magical clock to tell him his daddy wasn't at home any more. "I'm sorry, I just don't know what to do."
"I know it's scary for all of us, but we'll get through it one step at a time." Charlie said quietly wrapping his arms around his wife.
In the hall just outside of the room twelve-year-old Ember found herself believing her birth father's words.
Forgetting all the hurt inside you learned to hide so well, I can't be who you are
Written for
Quidditch League Competition; I'm strong on the surface, not all the way through. I've never been perfect, but neither have you. - Leave Out All The Rest, Linkin Park
The Life Of Your OTP Competition; History, Tea Kettle, Weasley Magical clock, blueberry jam, Gray, and the burrow
OTP Boot Camp Challenge; Calm
Favorite Era Boot Camp; Pristine
OC Boot Camp; Gray
Family Boot Camp; Potter-Weasley's; Cityscape
AU diversity Boot Camp; Charlie has kids; Girl
SongFic Boot Camp; Leave out all the rest, Linkin Park
The Tearjerker Challenge