Hermione was taking full advantage of her ability to cast a Warming Charm and was swimming in the pool at her parents' house. Part of the reason she was doing so was the fact that there was a pool available at all and she loved to swim. An altogether larger part of the reason was to get rid of some stress through exercise. After the neighbourhood barbecue last night her parents hadn't been shy about telling her their opinions of her boyfriend. Hermione had tried to defend Ron's behaviour and that had only made matters worse. Honestly, he was only drunk because he was nervous to meet them. They would have been nervous if they had been dating squibs and had to meet their magical parents. Yes, his behaviour was atrocious, but there were clear reasons for that. Hermione had been forced to admit that she too had been embarrassed by her boyfriend's antics and that she hadn't exactly condoned them. She had been the one to call for help in corralling Ron in the first place, after all. I don't know which hurt more: Mum's question of why I couldn't be dating Harry instead or Dad's point about a relationship with Ron being guaranteed to turn abusive.
"He raised his hand to hit you and would have if Harry hadn't stopped him. If he did it once, he'll do it again and being drunk in no way makes it better. I will not approve of a relationship that is going to end with you battered and broken in a few years." Hermione heard her father's words ringing through her mind for the umpteenth time. They just don't understand how strong our friendship is after all we've been through. Ron wouldn't really have hit me; would he? In the end that was the cause of all her stress. Hermione couldn't manage to reconcile what she had seen from Ron last night with the man she knew he could be. Her parents unequivocally condemning her relationship with him hurt too. They hadn't come right out and told her to break up with him, but if she had pushed the matter Hermione was fairly sure that they would have. Hermione furiously increased her stroke count as frustration welled up at the memory.
"Oh no! Mummy, Hermione fell in the water!" Hermione stopped mid stroke in surprise at the sudden interruption. Looking around she quickly saw Kelly Miller looking at her in horror. An open side gate explained how the four year-old had gotten into her garden. As Hermione was watching Shannon came running through the gate. Hermione could see the other woman's surprise at finding her in the pool in just a bathing suit in late March.
"Goodness, Hermione. Aren't you freezing?"
"I'm fine, Shannon." Hermione said, deciding that ignoring the visitors in favour of swimming more laps would be rude. She made her way towards the pool ladder and climbed out. "It's a bit warmer than I might have expected." Because I used magic. Shannon gave her an odd look before turning towards Kelly.
"As for you, young lady, we do not run into other people's gardens like that. Next time knock or ring the bell, understand?"
"Yes, Mummy." Kelly said before eagerly spinning back around to Hermione who was toweling off. "Is Harry here today?"
"I'm sorry, Kelly. He isn't." Hermione had to fight down a smile at the devastation on the young girl's face. Yeah, I remember what it's like to have Harry Potter come to the rescue. I wanted to spend the day with him afterward as well.
"Why not?"
"Harry's spending the day with his godson, Teddy." Hermione could see that the news that Harry was already a godfather shocked Shannon and Kelly didn't look too happy with it either. I think I'd better keep the fact that we lost Remus and Tonks to myself. Neither of them looks like they could handle the fact that Harry is responsible for Teddy to the extent that he is.
"Is he coming back soon?"
"I don't know, sweetheart. I'll call him up later and ask, okay?" Clearly it only barely met Kelly's standards for 'okay', but she nodded anyway. Shannon was looking a bit embarrassed.
"Come on then, Kelly. We should let Hermione get back to her swimming." Kelly gave a nod at her mother's words and took her hand. "I'm sorry for disturbing you, Hermione."
"It's fine. I should probably get out of the water anyway." Before my Warming Charm expires. "I'll let you know if Harry can come over, alright?" Kelly just nodded glumly while Shannon said their goodbyes. Hermione waved to them as they left the garden, Shannon pulling the side gate demonstratively shut. Once they were gone Hermione let out a sigh. I should probably call Harry anyway. I did say that I would and it'll be nice to see Teddy again, even if it's just over the mirrors. Hermione walked into the house, her thoughts full of images of Harry playing with Teddy. He's so good with that boy. After how he handled Kelly yesterday I think we can safely say that Harry Potter is going to be an amazing father one of these days.
Hermione took a quick shower and got dressed before she got her mirror to call Harry; it wouldn't do to call him wearing just a swimsuit, after all. She settled down comfortably on her bed, leaning back against the headboard before she said "Harry Potter." into the mirror.
"Hey, Teddy, look. It's Auntie Mi calling us on the mirror." Hermione was faced with a slightly wobbly image of her best friend trying to balance an excited toddler on his lap and a mirror in his other hand. Once he got it stabilized she could focus on the happy babbling coming up at her from one pair of bright green eyes.
"Hello, Teddy. Are you looking like your Uncle Harry today?" More happy babbling before Teddy's black hair shifted to brown curls that she could recognise anywhere as her own. Less familiar was the lurch in her chest as she saw Teddy looking like he was her and Harry's son.
"Nice hair, buddy." she heard Harry say with a laugh. Focus, Granger. I can't let him see me get flustered like this; I have no idea how I would explain it. In fact Hermione was barely willing to even think about some of the points her mother had raised in their discussion last night and certainly wasn't ready to be adding to that tally.
"I was never all that fond of it to be honest."
"And I never understood that. I've always thought it suited you." Please stop adding things to the list of reasons my mother would give of why I should date you. "Anyway, how're you holding up today? You seem to have finished cleaning earlier than I expected."
"We finished that last night. Mum and Dad saw reason and let me use some magic to speed things along."
"And yet you don't seem particularly happy."
"I-… they don't like Ron."
"Ah." Harry had clearly decided not to get involved in that bramble of a problem. I can't really say that I blame him, but I could use some support on this one. Hermione mentally shook herself and changed the subject.
"Kelly was over this morning asking for you."
"She was?" Harry looked a little bewildered by that.
"I'll admit that I personally think that the troll was a little more impressive, but you still rescued her, Harry. Do you have some time this week to come over and make a little girl very happy?" Harry seemed to consider it for a moment.
"I suppose we could take a trip to the zoo or something. I took Teddy the other day and he seemed to enjoy it, didn't you?"
"Yah!" Teddy yelled up at the mirror.
"Wow. Is that his first word?"
"Nah. His first word was 'nana'. Andi was right proud of him." Hermione smiled as Harry's tone of voice suggested that Andi might not be the only one who was proud of Teddy.
"If we're taking Kelly to the zoo, we'll have to take the bus or have someone drive us. I don't think all of us are going to fit on your bike. I'll look into it if you want?"
"Thanks, Hermione. You'd probably know better than I would anyway."
"So when am I planning this?"
"I don't know. Tomorrow?"
"Sure. Kelly'll be happy. I'll let you know what time you need to be here later, okay?"
"Sounds good."
"I'll let you get back to playing with the blocks then."
"Oi. Teddy's playing; I only get to supervise."
"Uh-huh. Bye Harry, bye Teddy."
"Say 'bye-bye', Teddy."
"Bah!"
"Close enough. Bye Hermione." Once the mirror showed only her own reflection, Hermione dropped it onto the bed. Could Mum have a point? Gahh! I'm not going to think about this now. I'll give Shannon a call to set up for tomorrow and then I'll go lose myself in a nice book.
:-:-:-:-:
Hermione almost bounced down the stairs when she heard the doorbell ring, her purse swinging from her hand. She yanked the door open with more force than might be strictly necessary.
"Harry!" she cried happily as she pulled her best friend into a hug.
"Morning, Mi." Hermione gave Harry some room when she heard his slightly choked reply. "All ready to go then?"
"Definitely. Shannon volunteered to drive us over since she apparently has to do a photoshoot there anyway. She was planning on going in a few weeks, but decided that today would work just as well if we're going to be watching Kelly for her."
"Huh; that's a stroke of luck. Shall we go pick them up?" Hermione nodded and closed and locked the door behind her as she joined Harry outside. She took his hand and began dragging him across the street. I can't wait to see the look on Kelly's face. Hermione and Shannon had agreed to keep this outing a surprise for Kelly, mostly because both women wanted to see how she and Harry interacted. Hermione rang the doorbell at the Miller house and didn't have to wait long for Shannon to open up.
"Harry, it's wonderful to see you again. Thank you so much for stopping by."
"Not at all. I'm always happy to go to the zoo." Shannon just smiled at him fondly before turning to the stairs.
"Kelly! Come on! It's time to go!" she called up.
"No! Don't wanna!" came the petulant reply.
"Sorry. We wanted to surprise her. She thinks she's going to a job with me." Shannon said quickly to Harry who had been looking confused. Harry nodded with a grin.
"Oh well, it's too bad, but we can go to the zoo without you, Kelly!" he called up the stairs. The reaction was almost immediate. There was a loud thumping and a slamming door and a pajama-wearing Kelly appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Harry!" she shrieked happily when she saw that he had really come to visit. Kelly flew down the stairs and completely ignored the last five as she flung herself at Harry, eminently confident that she would be caught. Harry didn't disappoint. As soon as she hit him, Kelly wrapped herself around Harry like a cutting of Devil's Snare; a very cute piece of Devil's Snare though. "You came! You really came. Does this mean we're going to the zoo together? Pleeeeaaase?"
"Well, we wanted to go, but you don't even have your shoes on yet." Harry said with a teasing grin. Kelly immediately struggled down and raced back up the stairs. Five minutes later she was back and had to be dragged back up by her mother to fix her hair and put on actual clothes. When they were finally ready to go Kelly insisted that Harry and Hermione sit in the back of the car with her and the two teens smilingly complied.
As they drove to the zoo, Harry and Hermione were regaled with stories of Kelly's time at her preschool. Hermione was impressed with how seriously Harry could take even the most trivial of stories. You can see how much it means to her that she isn't simply being ignored. When they got to the zoo they were let in free of charge after a quick phone call to the director from the woman at the ticket counter. She had been trying to keep Shannon from bringing her photo equipment into the zoo and Hermione suspected that the free entry for the three who weren't involved in the shoot was the director's way of trying to keep the woman making his next advertisement photos happy. Once inside the park, Shannon gave her daughter a stern talking to.
"I want to hear that you've been a good girl for Harry and Hermione when I get back understand?" Hermione had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing at how earnestly Kelly was nodding. I don't think she would do anything that carries the risk of Harry considering her a 'bad girl'. "Alright then. I'll see you back here around four?"
"Of course, Shannon. You don't need to worry. Harry and I will keep an eye on her." Shannon nodded gratefully and headed off to find shots she could take. Harry turned to look at Hermione and Kelly.
"Right, where to first?"
"Monkeys!" Kelly exclaimed grabbing Harry's hand. After the monkeys they went to see the lions, elephants, giraffes, tigers, gorillas and a number of smaller exhibits they encountered in between. Hermione was starting to get a little tired chasing after a boundlessly energetic four year-old and jumped at the chance for some rest when Harry suggested having lunch at the zoo's restaurant. When they got there she offered to find them a table while Harry and Kelly got them something to eat from the buffet.
"Are you peckish for anything in particular?"
"Not really. Just get me something that's not too heavy, please." Harry nodded and he and Kelly walked over to the buffet to grab a tray. Hermione scanned the restaurant and found an empty table, which she quickly sat at. Once she had taken her coat off and settled in, Hermione let her eyes follow Harry and Kelly as they made their way past the food options.
"Excuse me?" Hermione looked up to find an elderly woman with grey curls and wrinkles that looked like they came from smiling rather than frowning. "I'm sorry to bother you but I've seen you and your family all over the zoo and I just wanted to tell you that it did an old woman's heart good to see a young couple with such a happy child. Your daughter is quite beautiful." Hermione had to kickstart her brain after the woman's gushing confession.
"Oh. Kelly isn't my daughter I'm afraid. She and her mother are neighbours of ours. Harry and I are just taking her out for the day."
"I do apologise for the misunderstanding, but that might make how good your husband is with her even more endearing." Hermione followed the old woman's gaze to the buffet where Harry was carrying Kelly on his hip so she could see all the options as he pushed their tray along the rails with his free hand. Wait. What did she call Harry?! "Not to sound like your mother, dear, but I do hope to see you two here with a little one of your own in a few years. I expect you'd make the most gorgeous children." Hermione felt a now familiar lurch in her chest as she remembered once again what Teddy had looked like over the mirrors the day before. It's like the entire universe has started suggesting I date Harry. The world has gone mad… and maybe I have too. I'm not exactly screaming a denial here. Hermione opened her mouth to give precisely that kind of denial, but the words seemed to get stuck in her throat.
"You know my mother?" came out instead.
"I don't think so. I do have a daughter of my own who's a bit older than you are and I can tell you that I'm eagerly awaiting a few grandchildren to spoil."
"Of course." Mum's not really thinking like that is she?
"Well, I'll leave you alone, dear. It looks like they're coming back. Enjoy the rest of your day together."
"Thank you. You too." As the old woman left Hermione tried to put the conversation from her mind. Her eyes found Harry and Kelly coming back to the table. Hermione smiled to see Kelly carefully carrying a tray with a juice box and a cup of carrot sticks. Looks like someone grabbed some 'friendship food'. Kelly managed to slide her tray onto the table before climbing onto the chair across from Hermione and looking up at Harry with an expectant grin. Harry smiled back and placed a far fuller tray on the table and sat down next to Kelly.
"Here, Hermione. A chicken and avocado salad."
"Perfect. Thank you."
"Chicken nuggets, applesauce and carrot sticks for Kelly."
"Yay!" Kelly immediately held out one of her carrot sticks and Harry obligingly snapped it so that they could share.
"And I'll have to settle for a hamburger." Harry had also gotten both of them a bottle of water. "So did you make a new friend or did you miss someone at the barbeque?" I should have known. He's been too observant by half since the war.
"New friend, I think. She just wanted to compliment us on our beautiful daughter." Hermione enjoyed watching Harry's eyes nearly bug out of his head. Maybe I should have waited until he took a bite or a drink? No, that would have been cruel. Funny, but cruel.
"You have a daughter?" Kelly asked.
"No, sweetie. The lady made a mistake and thought that Harry and I were your mummy and daddy."
"But I already have a mummy." She sounded honestly confused before Hermione saw her little face brighten noticeably. Kelly turned to Harry and gave him her best little girl pout. "I don't have a daddy yet. Can you be my daddy?" Oh dear. Harry put his hamburger down and gave Kelly his full attention.
"I'm sorry, Kelly, but it's not that easy."
"Why not?"
"Because it isn't up to one person whether they become a mummy or a daddy. It's something they have to decide together. On top of that I'm still in school. I'm technically still just a big kid and kids aren't supposed to become mummies and daddies." And yet I'm not sure that you've ever been a kid, Harry.
"You're that boy's daddy." Kelly said mulishly. Harry blinked in surprise.
"She means Teddy, Harry." Hermione broke in softly. Understanding spread across Harry's face.
"I'm not Teddy's daddy, Kelly. His daddy asked me to be like an uncle to him."
"But Hermione said he was your, um, good-boy."
"Godson. I know the name's confusing, but Teddy doesn't think that I'm his daddy." Because he's not even a year old yet, Harry. I know it wouldn't help us explain the situation to Kelly, but I wouldn't completely write off the possibility that Teddy will call you daddy one day. Kelly was looking dejected at the news that Harry wasn't going to be her new daddy and had started pushing her chicken nuggets around her plate. "I may not be able to be your daddy, but I can still be your friend if you want." Harry said gently as he reached across and took one of the carrot sticks to hold out to the little girl next to him. Kelly scowled at the offending piece of vegetable for a moment before looking back up at Harry.
"Are you sure you can't be my daddy?" Harry nodded with a sad look on his face. Kelly looked back at the carrot stick and finally grabbed it with a determined look on her face. Harry almost gently snapped the carrot and the two shared their snack. Lunch was a slightly quiet affair after that. When they were done, Harry cleared the rubbish away and Hermione tried her own hand at cheering Kelly up a little; it didn't work like she had hoped. When Harry came back he took Kelly's hand and gently led her out of the restaurant. Kelly was still looking depressed and when they came to the stairs that led to the doors outside Kelly missed a step in her distraction and only Harry hauling her up by the arm saved her from a nasty tumble.
"Kelly! Are you alright?!" Hermione found herself rushing forward before she had consciously made the decision to do so. She checked the little girl over for any injuries and found only a trembling lip and watery eyes as Kelly sniffled and tried not to cry. "Are you hurt anywhere, sweetie?" Kelly shook her head as Harry knelt down next to them.
"You are a very brave little girl, Kelly, but you don't have to hide it from us if there is something wrong, alright?" he said gently. Kelly looked at him for a moment before she flung her arms around his neck and clung on like a limpet. Harry stood up with Kelly in his arms and gave Hermione a look that she understood to mean 'let's get out of here'. Harry led the way to a bench that was a few hundred metres away from the restaurant as Kelly sniffled into his neck. He sat down with Kelly in his lap and Hermione sat down next to him. She leant over and rubbed gentle circles on Kelly's back. Slowly the sniffles subsided and despite a little redness in her eyes Kelly looked like she had recovered from the shock. Hermione took out her handkerchief and gently wiped the younger girl's eyes.
"There we go." she said as she put the handkerchief away. "Do you want to continue or should we try to find your mummy?" Kelly was clearly torn between wanting to see her mother again and not wanting the day out to end yet. "Maybe we can go see a few more animals as we look for your mummy?" Hermione suggested. Kelly thought it over before nodding carefully. "Okay. Shall we go then or would you like to use Harry as a chair for a little longer?"
"Oi!" Harry's exaggerated response drew a watery giggle from Kelly. Hermione held out a hand which Kelly took after studying it for a moment. Once Harry had gotten up she grabbed his hand too. With Kelly between them Harry and Hermione set off at an easy pace so they could admire the animals they passed as they looked for Shannon. Hermione felt sure that Kelly had forgotten her earlier scare when the four-year-old started trying to match their longer strides. She was taking leaping steps in an effort to have her feet land at the same points as Harry and Hermione's. Hermione could feel Kelly putting more and more weight on the hands she was holding as she used them to swing herself forward.
It didn't take long for the leaping steps to turn into swings that included run-ups and required Harry and Hermione to pull up their arms so that Kelly swung out ahead of them. As she swung out farther and farther Kelly's giggles turned into shrieks of laughter. Hermione knew that all thoughts of finding her mother had left Kelly's mind when she felt the little girl start tugging them from exhibit to exhibit. I don't know how Harry does it. He doesn't even look a little tired and I can't stop thinking about getting to my couch and flopping down on it.
Eventually it came time to meet up with Shannon near the entrance again. By that time even Kelly was starting to feel worn out. She was dragging her feet and her face looked like she was about to cry from sheer exhaustion. Please don't. Just save that for your mum, alright? Once again though, Harry managed to find a solution. Copying some other men he saw he swung Kelly up onto his shoulders. Kelly was so impressed by the view that she forgot to be tired. She simply rode the rest of the way with her tiny hands fisted in Harry's messy black locks and her head swiveling from side to side as she tried to take in this new perspective on the world. Their little group made it to the front gates without incident. Kelly even took advantage of her position to find her mother extra quickly.
"Mummy! Mummy! Look! I'm really tall!" There was a lot of enthusiastic waving involved and Hermione felt relieved that Harry was holding on to Kelly's legs to prevent her from falling off. Shannon met them and Hermione thought that even she looked tired. Or maybe I'm so desperate to get off my feet that everyone looks tired to me. Harry lifted Kelly off of his shoulders so that she could run over to her mother for a hug.
"Hello, sweetheart. Did you have fun today?"
"Uh-huh! Mummy, there were monkeys, and these weird little dogs that stand up straight, and giraffes and lions and, and there was this elephant and it was really, really big, and, and-"
"Save some for the car, okay, Kelly? Were you a good girl for Harry and Hermione?"
"Yeah, I was really super extra good."
"Was she really?" Shannon asked the two teens who were watching the reunion.
"Yes, she was." Harry said softly. Hermione caught the wistful smile on his face and took his hand to give it a supportive squeeze. Kelly beamed up at him. Wow. The one person whose hero-worship Harry'll put up with. All the way back to the car Kelly regaled her mum with stories of what had happened and which animals they had seen. About five minutes into the drive home the stories stopped as Kelly had fallen asleep leaning against Harry's side.
When they got to the Millers' home Hermione watched as Harry gently lifted Kelly from the car and carried her up to her room. They waved off Shannon's thanks as they made their way across the street to Hermione's house.
"I really enjoyed today, Harry. You're really good with Kelly."
"Thanks. I enjoyed spending time with you too." Harry responded quietly. There was an intensity in his eyes that Hermione couldn't quite read. Actually, I'm not sure I want to read it. She shivered as she remembered her encounter with the woman at the restaurant. I need to just take some time and centre myself, that's all. This will all make sense in the morning. "Are you alright?" Hermione saw that the intensity in Harry's eyes had changed to concern.
"I'll be alright, Harry. I'm just tired." Hermione felt those green eyes scrutinising her.
"If you're sure… "
"I am. You don't need to worry about me." Harry nodded, but looked unconvinced.
"Well, I'll just leave you to it then, so you can get some peace and quiet. I'll see you on the Express if I don't see you sooner." Hermione watched him get on his bike and drive out of sight before she entered the house. She closed the door behind her and leant back against it. This- this may not have been one of my better ideas she thought to herself as memories of the day swirled through her mind and confusion tore through her chest.
:-:-:-:-:
"Helen! Do you have a moment?" Helen looked up from where she was opening her front door to see Shannon Miller jogging across the street towards her.
"Of course, Shannon. Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Alright, I suppose. I can't stay too long though. I need to go pick Kelly up from my mum's soon. I just wanted to give you this." Helen found a large manilla envelope being held out to her. "I was hoping that you could send this to Hermione and Harry when you get the chance. I would do it myself if they weren't in such a high security location."
"I understand. Do you mind if I ask you what it is?" Helen couldn't keep her curiosity out of her voice.
"Just copies of some of the photos I took of them at the barbecue and one that I took of them when they took Kelly to the zoo." Rather than assuaging Helen's curiosity this answer kicked it into overdrive.
"Do you have any more copies?"
"Oh, I completely forgot. I have another set for you. I'll just go get them."
"I'll go and put the kettle on." Helen made her way into the house and started the water boiling before placing the envelope on the kitchen table and hanging her coat over one of the chairs. Hermione would give me an earful for breaking my own rules about putting things in their place the first time, but I think I'll make an exception to get at those pictures. Shannon had soon returned with a smaller envelope that Helen recognised as the type used at photo development stores.
"Here you go, Helen." Helen poured them each a mug of tea and sat down next to her neighbour. She eagerly opened the smaller envelope and drew out the small stack of pictures. The very first one made her gasp. It was of Harry and Hermione at the barbecue, with Kelly sitting on Harry's lap. Harry was leaning back with one arm across the back of Hermione's chair and the other around Kelly to make sure that she didn't slip off his lap by accident. Hermione was leaning forward towards an eagerly talking and gesticulating Kelly. The whole scene almost sparkled with happiness.
"They look…" Helen trailed off unable to articulate exactly what she was seeing.
"They look like a young family." Shannon finished Helen's sentiment quietly. Helen looked up at her in mild surprise. "If I didn't know that Kelly was my daughter, I would have thought that she was sitting with her parents and that they were a happy family." There was something a little rueful about Shannon's words.
"Are you alright, Shannon?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry. Kelly's just been urging me to marry a certain teenager ever since she met him and I can't help but think that I could do worse. It's driving me a little batty."
"Hermione told me that they tried to explain to Kelly why Harry couldn't be her new father."
"Yes, but a large part of that explanation centred on Harry not being old enough. Kelly wants me to marry him once he is." Helen couldn't stop the smile emerging onto her face.
"That does sound like a difficult situation to explain to a four-year-old."
"You have no idea." You may be right about that. At least Hermione is the same age as Harry and she was a little older when she became interested in him. I just wish that she had stayed that interested in him. Helen had looked at several pictures of Harry, Hermione and Kelly when she came to one of the three out in the sunlight. Kelly was walking between Harry and Hermione and it was clear that she was using the pair's arms as a swing. Once again there were smiles on all three faces as Kelly was swung into the air. Actually, it looks like she's laughing her head off. "Yeah, I actually included release forms for that picture. I accidentally left a print in with the ones I sent to the zoo so that they could determine which ones they wanted to use in their advertisements. This was their favourite by a mile."
"I think I can see why. If everyone who came to the zoo had this much fun, they'd never go out of business."
"I-, um, I hope you don't mind but I also included a letter for Hermione. I wanted to tell her about my experiences with Kelly's father and what it taught me about men. I think she needs her eyes opened from what I saw." It was clear from Shannon's tone that she was worried that she might have overstepped her bounds.
"I'll just hope that it works then." Helen responded. I'll take anything that makes her see sense at this point. Her eyes kept roving over the pictures in her hands. "You really do have a talent for this sort of thing, Shannon. I'll have to find a nice frame to put some of these in." Shannon smiled at Helen before she drained her tea.
"Thank you, Helen. I really should so go now. Kelly's going to be waiting for me and Mum will probably be grateful for the peace and quiet after a full day of my lovely daughter."
"I understand, Shannon. Thank you for bringing these by." Shannon just smiled in response as she headed for the door. Helen made herself another cup of tea and sat down to have another look at the pictures. Not even Hermione'll be able to deny what these pictures show. I hope we get an owl soon.
:-:-:-:-:
A few weeks after Helen had sent the pictures off to Hermione she was happily walking across the road to the Miller girls' house. I can't believe it finally happened. Hermione's latest letter had included the news that she had broken up with that Weasley boy! She had mentioned that it had been difficult but that Harry was being wonderfully supportive. Maybe we can smuggle him along to the next barbecue and introduce him properly as Hermione's boyfriend. It would be so much nicer than having to admit that she's dating the redhead. Besides, most of the neighbours already like him after what he did the last time they saw him. Feeling pleased with herself Helen rang the doorbell. It took a few moments for someone to reach the door. When it was opened Helen came face to face with a ragged looking Shannon.
"Helen? Can I help you with something?"
"Ah, well I was hoping to share some news with you, but if this is a bad time I can come back later."
"No, come on in, it's fine. Kelly's just throwing a bit of a tantrum. I can't believe I ever complained about her not eating her veggies. Now she wants carrot sticks for every meal."
"Because they're 'friendship food'?" Shannon's look said it all. "Have you tried telling her that she might want to save them for when Harry's here again?"
"I haven't dared. They're just about the only thing she will eat that has vitamin C in it." When the two women came into the kitchen they found a guilty looking little girl rooting through the fridge. "Kelly Anne Miller! What do you think you're doing, young lady?"
"I want carrots." Kelly declared glaring up at her mother. Helen tried to swallow down the laughter that wanted to bubble up. There's just something about a four-year-old trying to glare that's adorable.
"No. We're having peas tonight and that is final."
"I want carrots!" Kelly yelled as she stamped a foot. Silence descended over the kitchen and three pairs of eyes locked onto the plates on the table. As Kelly's foot had hit the floor the small piles of peas on the plates had turned into small piles of carrot sticks. Kelly's a witch. The thought shot through Helen's mind like a thunderbolt. She turned to look at Shannon and saw that she was turning bone white.
"Um, I can explain that." Shannon said in a tremulous voice. I kind of want to hear what she'll come up with.
"Oh?" Helen asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. The thing is-... um, you see-… well-… okay, so I can't explain it. Please, Helen, don't tell anyone. I don't want my little girl to be taken by some g-man wanting to do tests on her." Helen could see the honest fear in Shannon's eyes.
"Don't worry, Shannon. No one will be taking Kelly anywhere. I actually can explain what just happened. Hermione used to things like that all the time." Shannon's relief was almost palpable.
"So this is normal?"
"Well, it's rare, but it does happen. I can tell you that when she's eleven Kelly will be invited to join Hermione's school. It's a bit of a long story, so maybe we can sit down?" Shannon nodded, wide-eyed. Helen thought the poor woman might still be in a state of shocked disbelief as she got her daughter into a chair. And it's not likely to get better anytime soon. Helen sat down across from her neighbour and prepared to explain what she could about a world she was still learning about herself. I think I need to get Hermione and Harry to come over during the summer to help out with the more substantial explanations. She looked at Kelly happily eating her carrot sticks. Somehow, I don't think it will be a problem. They may even have some more news for us by then, if I'm lucky. Helen smiled contentedly and took a deep breath to begin her explanation of witches, wizards, Hogwarts and magic.
AN: I want to wish my and UrsaMinor's sister a happy birthday, despite the fact that she isn't nearly as keen on reading fanfics as we are. Happy 27th BB.
And there you have the second part of my not quite one-shot. This story was something I used as a change of pace while writing a longer piece. I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. I will be trying to get that longer piece out soon and there is another one-shot that has taken over from this one as my relief piece.
Those of you who are wondering what a 'g-man' is, it's just a (not exactly flattering) name for someone who works in the government.
Update: this was where the story was supposed to end, but due to the fact that I could not find a single reviewer who didn't ask for more, I bowed to peer pressure and added one more chapter.
As always: thanks for reading.