Disclaimer: It belongs to the fabulous JK. Rowling.
Fudge Flies and Flobberworms
Chapter 2
Grace woke to raised voices and froze, taking a moment to remember where she was.
"Mum?" Her childlike voice rang through the bedroom but received no answer.
She fidgeted out of bed and found Arabella, her doll, on the floor.
"Come on, Belly, let's find Granny."
Her little feet padded across the rug but came to stop at the door that stood slightly ajar. The argument from the other side floated through.
"Well if our resident medi-witch is unable to perform a newt-standard transfiguration spell then perhaps Hogwarts shall be requiring a new medi-witch upon the morrow." Definitely her grandmother and she did not sound happy.
"Really, Minerva, that is not what I meant and well you know. No harm will come from letting the two of them stew an hour more, if anything it will teach them a lesson. However, you're avoiding my question which makes me suspicious."
Grace popped her head through the door but the voices were coming from further down the hall.
"I'll ask again, shall I? What is the suitcase for?"
By now Grace was hopping from one foot to the other. She needed the bathroom and from the corner of her eye she could see the blessed retreat just a few feet away. The door was wide open and the bathroom tiles sparkled invitingly. Before she could change her mind, young Grace was sprinting across the hall, slamming the door shut loud enough to disturb the two arguing witches.
"Minerva? Is there someone else here?"
The toilet flushed.
"My private life is just that – private. Now, thank you for informing me about my two Gryffindors and I will be sure to speak to them soon, but I do have other matters to attend."
Grace struggled to reach the tap to wash her hands but before her frustration had time to reach its limits, two long arms hoisted her into the air. As the mirror above the sink came into view Grace grinned at her grandmother who gave a crooked smile back. She dropped the soap twice before managing to wash her hands but her grandmother was patient even helping her with the toothpaste when brushing her teeth.
"Right then, Grace, we have a very busy day ahead of us."
"We do?"
"We do."
Grace, not forgetting Arabella, followed her grandmother into the living room where she sat on the indicated footstool between the settee and the roaring fire.
"Granny?"
"Yes?" she answered, conjuring a brush and carefully detangling Grace's black locks.
"Why were you shouting at that lady? Don't you like her?"
Grace let out a small squeal as her grandmother tried to brush out a knot rather viciously in her opinion.
"Sit still, Grace and we'll be done a lot faster."
"She called you Nerva. Is that your name?" Grace tilted her head back to catch her grandmother's eye, her face pulling a disbelieving look. "Nerv-a? Nerva?Ner-va?"
"My name," the brush pulled more tightly, "is Minerva. Minerva Morag McGonagall."
"Do you know what my name is, Gran?"
This time when Grace turned around Minerva stopped brushing. She hesitantly leaned forward enabling her to look her only granddaughter straight in the eye. Her thoughts from mere hours before plagued her mind. If Minerva thought the girl shy she was sorely mistaken.
"You've got green eyes." To Minerva's surprise Grace's pudgy fingers softly traced her facial features. The childlike tingle of a giggle escaped her lips. "Granny Green Eyes."
Before she could stop herself the words had escaped her, "And Gracie Grey Eyes?"
A stronger peal of laughter echoed through the room and Minerva felt a small smile tug at her own lips. The innocence of youth was too easily squandered.
"You're silly, Granny Green! Mum never said you were silly."
The curious side of Minerva wanted to ask just what had her mother said about her but a larger part of Minerva feared the answer. She did recognise the need in the child to speak of her mother and even if Grace did not miss her now, in the days to come she would. Swallowing past the lump forming in her throat, Minerva continued to smile but was less successful in keeping her tone light and merry.
"And your mother has great big brown eyes." For the briefest of moments Grace's grey eyes melted away. "But if you look closely enough you'll see tiny specks of green shimmer when she's angry."
A sorrow crossed her features and perhaps Grace sensed it because she poked her grandmother's cheeks and smiled with a childlike innocence, adding in a singsong voice, "You still don't know my name."
The little girl's playful enthusiasm was infectious but an increasingly smaller part of Minerva was reluctant to engage in such frivolity, it could only lead to heartbreak. But then her eyes refocused on her granddaughter and her darling giggle won her over.
"Well that won't do, will it?" Tapping Grace on the end of her button nose. "How do you propose we resolve that?"
"My name is Wendelin Moppet Mittens Celestina Catriona McCormack." Minerva raised a regal eyebrow as Grace quickly added, "Gracie Tinkerbell McGonagall."
"And I'm the silly one?"
"Alright," Grace sighed, whirling around so her feet could warm in front of the fire as she leant back on the footstool, her head hanging over the end, sizing her grandmother up upside down. "My real name is Jaqueline Grace Amorette Iris McGonagall."
The name held more meaning then Grace realised and again there was a hint of a flawless French accent.
"Sometimes Mum just calls me Jam. You know because of the Jaqueline Amorette McGonagall bit. She said she had to name me Iris and when I asked her about Gracie she said I was her saving grace."
By now Gracie had rolled over onto her stomach with her chin resting in both hands. Her black locks a tangled mess.
"Gracie girl," Minerva whispered.
"Jam," the four year old nodded. "Raspberry Jam because I fart like a fwooper let loose in a cabbage patch!"
Peals of child laughter bounced around the room like it had not heard in years. Minerva managed to quench the urge to reprimand her granddaughter mainly due to her own amusement. Struggling to know how to react Minerva was saved by a knock at the door. If it was Pomphrey she secretly vowed to show no mercy. She told Grace to stay put but there was no dampening the child's spirits. Minerva briefly toyed with the idea of casting a mild silencing charm not wanting the intruder to stick her nose in where it did not belong. Another knock but Minerva was determined not to be rushed. When she finally did open the door surprise was evident on her face which in turn brought an even wider grin to the visitor's face.
"Ah, there you are! The Queen of my castle!"
TBC
A/N: Thank you ever so much for the very kind reviews and your concern for my grandad is greatly appreciated.
I hope I didn't go too far with Gracie but it has been my experience that this is the normal behaviour of four year olds. Granted my cousin has just turned five but still.