Sharing the Beat

I sigh. Again? I thought children get uninterested quickly! It's always strange when they utter that dreadful word 'Again'… Very cute when they stare at me, hopeful and on their best behavior, but why do they want to do anything twice? It is boring when I press 'repeat' on a CD player. I can never concentrate the second time I do a puzzle. I don't even like taking seconds on my favorite dessert! But these children always want everything replicated, as if next time will be better than the last.

I look down at my three year old daughter, trying not to roll my eyes. Bending down to my knees, I'm barely taller than her. "Sweetie"

Lily giggles and scoots closer to me, putting her small short red-haired head right in front of my frown and makes the 'monkey face' that Al taught her yesterday. Then she tries to make the spluttering noise with her tongue that is sticking outside of her mouth and pointing right at me. Spit flies at my cheeks and onto my new lavender colored cashmere sweater that Harry got me for our anniversary. I attempt not to flinch. "Sweets, aren't you bored of the story by now?"

"No," she says happily and slowly as she tries to sit on my knee. Her pink, long dress that James convinced me to buy gets stretched underneath where she fidgets on top of my thigh, and she ends up falling sideways. I catch her before Lily hits the floor, but I am almost positive that I hurt her where I grabbed her shoulder.

"Oh, Lily, are you alright?" She nods her head and scrunches her brows together. "I've told you so many times that you shouldn't try to sit on my lap when I'm in this position! It hurts me to have any weight on my right leg ever since I quit the Hollyhead Harpies from that injury, years back. And as you can see, Lily, it can end up as a disaster for you, too."

She's not listening to any of my lecture. Harry says that no one under the age of six should be talked to like a human, but I still think that our children would have learned how to speak only in high-pitched tones if I hadn't told Harry to stop talking like a baby to the 5 month old James, eight years ago.

Lily gets up from the light grey carpet that we are sitting on and walks towards The Complete Collection of Tales of Beedle the Bard that is lying next to the dark red family room couch. With great effort, Lily lifts the thick book up. Smiling excitedly when she finally has it in a comfortable position in her arms, she walks back to our spot. "Again, Mummy! Again! Please one more time?"

"But you only like The Fountain of Fair Fortune because there is a beautiful girl who lives happily ever after!"

"No! Amata falls in love with Sir Luckless, and then lives happily ever after, Mum!" Lily says as she pushes the book against my left leg over and over again.

"But you don't even understand the true message that the author is giving you, Lils!-" The shoves that she makes toward my leg are getting weaker, and she yawns as I talk to her. "Honey, I think it's time for your nap!" Thankful for this excuse to not have to read the story for the tenth time since I gave her the book, I scoop Lily up, ignoring the whining and the moaning made by her, and walk away from our hangout area by the family room couch. Just like every other weekday, I try, with difficulty but always manage to carry the flailing Lily to her pink and lacy room down the hall.

"Good dreams, Love," I say as I place her into her crib and kiss her on her forehead. Harry and I have been meaning to go the furniture store and buy Lily the 'big girl bed' she's been dreaming about, but he's been so busy with work lately.

Lily pouts and glares at me through the wooden bars of her tiny bed as she squeezes Berry the bear just a little too tight. She doesn't say a word.

I bite my tongue and stare at her for a moment. She looks back at me. All I need to do is watch her until she blinks, and then I can shut the door and take my bath. I can use the bubbles that James and Al gave me for my birthday! Come one Ginny, move! Don't give in! "Oh fine, Lily!" I sigh, heading for our spot as I speak the words of surrender. "You can be so frustrating sometimes," I mumble.

"Ha ha!" she squeals. "Thank you! You are my favorite Mum I've ever had!" What an innocent, angelic, and virtuous child I've raised! I roll my eyes as I zoom into our huge family room.

Everything in here doesn't match, but for some reason my whole family, including me, loves the place. Maybe because it has so much character? I really don't know. Our whole house is a complete pigsty if you compare it to Hermione and Ron's flat in London, but really, I'm pretty sure that Hermione knows a spell that turns everything around her sparkling clean and white. In my opinion, their house is just too sanitary.

I find the huge storybook underneath the red and green coffee table by the impressive-looking armchair. The chair is pretty much the only thing that Harry and I decided to keep from Grimauld Place. It reminds me of the chairs that kings and queens sit at (dark stained wood, gold beading, high-backed, and velvet cushioning).

Harry introduced me to all kinds of queens and kings in the books we read to James, including Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty. I'm so interested in how the muggle authors illustrate magic in their stories. The fairytales make me feel so exciting and important, because the magic always helps out the poor and devastated almost princesses. I laugh as I lean down and reach for the book.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a leather hard-backed book with golden engraved words. I always enjoy just staring at all of the pictures and the swirly writing on it, because it reminds me of the copy I had when I was so young. Mum must have read it to me hundreds of times before I left for Hogwarts. I fought so hard to have it as my mine when I was moving into my own apartment, but George convinced me that he should have it because he had a kid and Ididn't, at the time. Well hmph! Be that way George! Look who has kids now! I have three and you have two. I think I win.

I hear grunting coming from Lily's room so I moan. Lifting the book up, I walk into wear Lily is, on her light pink and yellow polka dotted rug. "What are you doing down there, Lily!" I stand at the door, dumbfounded.

"I'm bored, and I dropped Berry, Mum! So I decided to get him," she says as she hugs the falling apart blue teddy bear. Where did the black and beaded eye go? Well, Lily won't care if she has a blind stuffed animal, will she?

I stare wide eyed at her. How long has she known how to climb out of her crib? "Did you do this all by your self?" I ask nonchalantly as my insides are freaking out. What a stupid question, though. No one else is home… but what was I supposed to say. I close my eyes and put my hand to my forehead. "Never mind, Lily. So you wanted me to read you the story, right?"

"Yeah! Yeah!" She crawls like a bear to where I stand and hugs my legs.

I nod at her as I pull her off of me and sit us both down on her light brown rocking-chair. "Hmm… so you want me to read The Fountain of Fair Fortune, right?" I say as I turn on the white beaded reading light that is sitting on top of her low, oak dresser. I sigh as she smiles up at me in anticipation. "Okay… well…" I flip through the pages of the heavy book that is propped up on Lily's legs. She is sitting on my lap as I rock us back and forth and back once more. "Here we go again…-"

"Mummy, just read!" Lily whines, poking the page that I'm supposed to start at.

"Okay, sorry… 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune. High on a hill in an enchanted garden, enclosed by tall walls and protected by strong magic, flowed the Fountain of Fair Fortune'…" I start. Lily knows that she has won and I have lost, just like how it is probably going to be until she is out of the house. I really need to work on my parenting skills. I sigh for what feels like the millionth time since I had my first child, as Lily closes the book and pushes it off of us. "Honey, what are you doing?"

"I love you, Mummy," Lily says softly as she turns her body around and buries her limbs on mine, diving her head into my neck.

"Lily, I love you too!" I say while stroking her bright red wild hair that I tried to tame this morning in confusion. "Thank you so much for saying that, Sweatie!"

We hug each other tightly and close our eyes, breathing in each other's similar scent. Our identical colored hair blends in together nicely; it seems that we are attached as we drift off to dreamland, sharing the beat.

haha so I wrote this story because I was confused for why fairytales always start out with a 'Once upon a time...'

and then I was thinking about how my mom always tells stories of my childhood. Apparently I always said 'Again! Again!'.

I was watching a home-video of me when I was 3, and my Uncle Biff was lifting me into the air and then he placed me onto the ground... I was all like 'Again! Again!', and I had all this chocolate in my mouth cause it was Christmas, so all this slobber was coming onto my chin and the white and red dress my mom made me for the special occasion. haha wasn't I an adorable child? commanding and always hungry! -sigh- I miss those days

So did you like my story? Lily's thoughts were a little bit more mature, but I changeed it because I wanted to show my mom (she's not feeling so good... I need to brighten her day with something that is based on our life together, of course!!!)

I promise you that I will literally jump for joy (or is it 'from joy'?) if you guys review!

-Maia