Author's Note: According to my dictionary, the word "Mucker" is Irish for friend. But of course, I'm not Irish, so any Irish reader who knows whether or not I have this wrong, please tell me so I can correct the mistake!
Dedication: To . Cheers!
Disclaimer: I ne posséder rien. Means I don't own anything…
Eight: Every Day Is A Winding Road
Mary had not expected Roberto to tell everyone about the name switch, but she did think he would at least inform the people she was the closest to: Jonathan, Fiona, Fabio and Natalya. But it turned out no one even knew about Erin's new name until she told them herself. Every single one of them supported her decision (according to Jonathan, any step further away from Sirius Black was a good one), which was kind of a relief. But Mary was a bit disappointed that they did not pay as much attention to this development as she thought they would.
Apparently everyone assumed this was the final step in getting over Sirius and what had happened on Halloween and this annoyed Mary a bit. How was she supposed to feel all bright and shiny again so soon? But no matter how much she pouted or appeared absent-minded in front of them, no one brought up the subject or asked what was up. Jonathan mostly came around to pamper Erin or ask her advice on his latest outfits, Fiona was too busy raving over her new boyfriend (blacksmith Luis) and Fabio was avoiding being alone with her even more than before.
It was a lonely time when Mary missed Lily the most; her best friend would have known what was bothering her without even asking. What's more, she probably would have given some valuable advice straight away. However, eventually someone did notice her continuous listless state of mind. But this was not the person she had preferred to talk to (Fabio). One day when she was cleaning Pegasus's hoofs (always a tricky job because the Unicorn would be able to spear her behind with a single move of his head) in upper concentration, someone poked its head around the door of the box. "Oi, little one," a low voice said.
Mary jumped out of shock and so did Pegasus. Forward, that is. The stallion took two steps to the door and moved his head around in a threatening manner. The person standing in front of the animal, however, was not impressed and let out a low growl. "Have the nerve, my little mucker**, and I'll swear…"
Pegasus snorted angrily and scraped his hoof on the floor and Mary hastily stepped forward. She put a hand on the Unicorn's neck and gently pushed him backwards. "Down boy," she said softly before turning back to the person. "Hi Jolene."
If Mary was honest with herself she would have to admit that she was always a little afraid of Jolene. The only other woman on the ranch who spend a lot of time in the stables might have been female, but not a very feminine one. She always made Mary think of those female bodybuilders she had seen on a British tv-show a few years ago. Jolene was in her thirties, had fiery red hair and a raspy low voice with a light Irish accent, was muscular and her shoulders and hands were huge; this manly build came in handy with her job (she and Eduardo took care of a herd of Aethonons; winged horses that are extremely powerful), but hell had to freeze over before she would be wearing a dress. On top of that, Jolene was not exactly friendly and had never heard of the word 'tact'. Today was another perfect example. She eyed Mary attentively before directly asking: "What's eating you?"
"Sorry?"
"I've watched you the last couple of days, you seem to be carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders."
"What makes you say that?"
Jolene made a scornful sound. "Oh please. Today you've been heaving these utterly depressing sighs all morning. And I should know, because I can hear your whining coming through the walls and it's getting on my nerves. So what is it?"
"Nothing," Mary said untruthfully.
Jolene shot her a shrewd look. "You don't want to talk about it? Fine, I'm not the talkative type anyway, so I'll just tell you what I think. Stop moping."
Mary immediately opened her mouth to retort. "I am not-"
"Yes, you are. You're moping. Constantly. And do not think any of us won't see you pout, because they do. They're just getting tired of you using them to lean on all the time. They won't say it, but that's how they feel and they have every right-"
"Excuse me," Mary interrupted, feeling defensive. "But I've been through a major trauma almost two months ago and-"
Jolene scowled. "Of course you have. Just like each and every one of us who've bad things happening to them, but at least we're trying to make something out of this life after all. Unlike you, who's been pouting so much lately that I've started to wonder if your expression is going to stay that way when you finally relax your jaw."
"That is…. That is so…"
"So true?" Jolene finished, smirking slightly.
"I just…" Mary stammered, struggling for the right words. "You're making it seem like… like I'm some kind of a spoiled brat."
"Which you are in some ways. Look, I have nothing against you, but you seem to forget that we all suffered in one way or the other."
Mary huffed. "I bet you did not come face to face with Voldemort."
It was the weirdest thing to see a tall and massive woman like that shiver like a cane in the wind. "You have some nerve to use his full name," Jolene hissed through her teeth. "But as a matter of fact, I did. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named murdered my family in Ireland when I was just a little girl. Rumor had it he was on a quest to get his hands on a certain valuable object, but I never found out what my parents and little sister had to die for."
Mary ignored Pegasus who had just smelled the bag of carrots in the left pocket of her jeans and started to nibble on it. "You weren't there when it happened?"
Jolene laughed, it was a raspy and mirthless laugh. "I wish. No, the Dark Lord tried to kill me last by throwing me off a cliff with one flick of his wand. I survived the fall and cold feisty sea, although the muscles in my lower back have never fully healed."
Mary took a step sideways so the bag of carrots became out of reach for the Unicorn, who neighed quietly. A sound she pretended not to hear. "I'm sorry to hear that."
Jolene shrugged and leaned back against the door of the box. "I'm just saying… We've all been through rotten times, but that's why you should grasp this opportunity even more."
"Opportunity?"
"Yeah, it's survivor's guilt that is bothering you and I'm telling you: it's not worth it. All things happen for a reason. You survived that attack, so God or Merlin or whoever you believe in did not want you to die like your friends did. You've been given a second shot at a nice life and you should appreciate the gesture. Or at least stop the moping," she added as an afterthought and Mary couldn't help but laugh.
"I'll think about it."
Jolene nodded. "Good." She shot Pegasus a last disapproving look. "Besides Fabio I am probably the only one, but I really would have liked this insufferable thing to end up on the barbecue. Apparently Unicorn meat tastes absolutely divine."
If Unicorns could look indignant, Pegasus would have passed the test with flying honours. The stallion snorted angrily and Mary quickly stepped up so she was shielding him from his "attacker". "Not gonna happen, Jolene," she said serenely. "He's under my protection now and this Unicorn is not going anywhere."
Jolene laughed. "Shame," she muttered. "I'll leave you to it, then," she added before walking back to her section of the stable.
Mary watched her walk away and frowned. Jolene was not exactly Lily (nor by appearance or personality), but this was the first time Mary thought someone actually gave her some good advice. Of course Fabio had told her before that everyone had a tragic personal back story, but so far she had been focused on herself and her alone. And no matter how weird it seemed: Jolene, with the tact of a blunt axe, had made her see reason. And from that day on, Mary focused her energy on keeping herself from pouting, instead of the other way around.
Sadly for Jolene (and Fabio), Pegasus was not on the menu for the annual New Year's barbecue on the ranch. Mary had dreaded the holiday season ever since arriving here, but to her surprise she actually had loads of fun. She still missed her parents and Jenna (not even to mention Sirius and the others) and thought about them a lot, but some of the people on the ranch were also starting to feel like family. The traditional New Year's barbecue took place on the night of January 1st and, according to Fiona, was more fun than New Year's Eve and Christmas altogether. It was the one night of the year, she explained, that Roberto could show his (non-existing) talent in the kitchen.
He was the one and only ruler of the magically enlarged barbecue where he tried to grill French bread, pineapple sticks and at least a dozen pieces of meat and fish at a time, and failed miserably. Which is why Natalya always had a secret stash where people could get a grilled chicken breast that was still eatable. But like every year, she made everyone promise to keep up appearances with Roberto, because the last thing she wanted to do was hurt his feelings. Mary was standing at a table of fresh fruit and cocktails near the back of the field. She had not felt nauseated all day and was currently listening to the Queen-song "A Crazy Little Thing Called Love" while watching (a profusely sweating) Roberto having a fight with a burst of flame on the barbecue and wondered aloud why he wasn't using magic to solve the problem.
"That's because Roberto believes barbecuing is a typical Muggle thing and therefore needs to be done without using a wand, no matter what," Fiona explained as she made herself another caipirinha. "Another water for you?"
"No, I'm good, thanks."
"I really like your dress, by the way. It suits you really well."
"Thanks." Mary looked down at her lime green cocktail dress with a halter top and couldn't help but smile. She did look rather nice with her hair put up like this and the dress accentuated her yet miniscule bump nicely; she even put in some earrings for the occasion. "You don't look bad either," she said, noticing Fiona's miniskirt showed off her tall legs pretty well.
Fiona grinned. "I know, right? Luis couldn't get his hands off me earlier. You know that pile of hay behind the main house? That's where we-"
She held up a hand. "Too much information, Fi."
"Alright, alright," Fiona laughed. She sipped her drink but almost choked on it a second later. "That little hag…" she growled.
"Who?" Mary asked, trying to see what she was growling at.
"Irina! She's standing next to Fabio and… Is she feeding him a grape? Ugh, she's drooling over him big time."
Mary followed her gaze and finally found Fabio, standing nearby from Roberto's barbecue. A girl with long blonde hair hung around his neck and was indeed trying to feed him some grapes. "Oh yes, I see. Why is that bothering you so much?"
"Because it's Irina!" Fiona snapped, like she was stating the obvious.
"Right… And what did she do to you?"
She huffed. "You could better ask what she didn't do!"
"Fi…"
"Okay, we once were after the same guy when I had been living on the ranch for about a month. And she spread this rumour that I… you know."
"No," Mary replied, sounding amused. "I don't think I do."
Fiona rolled her eyes. "That I was sleeping around."
"Were you?"
"No, of course not! I was totally innocent back then. But she got the guy and I hated her ever since. What if he was 'the one' for me?"
Mary tried hard to hold back a laugh. "I sincerely doubt that."
Fiona shrugged and muttered something intelligible before she went back to glowering at Fabio and Irina. From what Mary could see it looked like he was not exactly enjoying her hanging around his neck. He was just gently pushing her away by stepping backwards, but this meant he ended up right next to Roberto's barbecue. Before he knew what was happening to him Roberto had already pushed a plate of grilled meat into his hands.
Fabio stood there, impassive for a moment as if he was desperately looking for a credible excuse, but then – when Roberto was looking at him expectantly - he hesitantly took a bite of the blackened meat. Mary burst out laughing; the sight of Fabio gingerly chewing on a burnt steak was reminding her of James and Sirius working their way through a plate of Hagrid's famous rock rakes. Fiona of course noticed her laugh and shot her a curious look. "What are you smiling at?"
"Nothing, just memories" Mary said, still sniggering and a little amazed that this was the first memory of Sirius and James she had that did not want to make her burst into tears. "So why were you so bothered with Irina hugging Fabio?"
She shrugged. "She tries to seduce him every year. Never succeeds, I might add."
"That's good news, then. It means Fabio is not into her, so there's nothing for you to worry about."
Fiona looked astonished. "What makes you think I have feelings for him?"
Mary was starting to feel confused. "But you just said…"
"Fabio and I are friends, nothing more. Oh, don't get me wrong," she elaborated when she noticed Mary's confused frown, "I did fancy him at first." She laughed. "Who wouldn't? But he said it would feel like dating his little sister and… Oh well." She suddenly gave Mary a little nudge. "So that, my sister, means you have nothing to worry about."
She winked mischievously to emphasize what she had just said, but she as well could have said it in Russian, because Mary did not understand her at all. "What?"
Fiona narrowed her eyes a little. "You're messing with me here, right?"
"No… No, I'm really not."
"You and Fabio!" she called out so that at least ten people nearby looked around at them. "You like each other!"
Mary ushered her friend to lower her voice before hissing: "What?!"
"Oh, come on. It's clear as day. You've been staring at him all evening and he obviously likes you."
Mary snorted and took a bite of salad. "Don't be ridiculous!"
Fiona was now staring at her. "Are you telling me you didn't notice? Oi Jonathan!" she called when she spotting him loading his plate with fruit at the other side of the table. "Does Fabio have a thing for Mary?"
Jonathan chuckled before magically refilling his goblet of elf-wine. "Is the pope Catholic?"
He winked before making his way over to Sayid and Eduardo a little ahead and Fiona turned back to shoot Mary a triumphant look. "See?"
Mary opened her mouth to say something but closed it again when she was slowly starting to realize something. "He has been acting kind of strange lately."
Fiona nodded and sucked on the piece of lime in her caipirinha. "Probably, yeah. It's not easy for him to fancy a single mum who's carrying the baby of a convicted mass murderer."
"Thanks."
"You know what I mean. What are you going to do about this anyway?"
Mary arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean what am I going to do about it? I'm a single mum who's carrying another baby of a convicted mass murderer and is still mourning over her lost love. As if I'm interested in getting involved with another guy."
Fiona giggled. "Touché."
She rolled her eyes but could not hide a smile from creeping up her face. She took another swig of water and let her eyes roll over the crowd until she found Fabio, who was now teaching some older kids how to ride a broom. "I cannot believe he likes me that much. Honestly, I had no idea."
Mary did not see Fiona's face, but she was sure her friend was shooting a desperate look at the cloudless sky before mumbling: "Merlin's Beard. How you managed to tame Hogwarts's most numerous womaniser of the age is beyond me."
Later that night Mary excused herself from the party and, after thanking Roberto for his hospitality and the great barbecue (she made sure to compliment him on the food), she picked up Erin at Natalya's house and headed home. It was a hot and sweltering evening and Mary enjoyed the typical sounds of night around her; chirping crickets, the distant sound of the waves crashing on the beach… Erin was sleeping against her chest and Mary made sure she was walking down the uneven path as steady as possible; she had no intention in waking her daughter up, which meant she would have to make her fall asleep all over again.
Unfortunately Mary tripped on a tree stump she was sure she'd never seen on this path before. She only just managed to stay on her feet, but the sudden movement did wake Erin up, who – not entirely surprisingly – started to cry hysterically. Mary needed the rest of the walk home to calm her down; by the time she reached the front door Erin was still awake, but at least the wailing had stopped. She opened the door and put Erin down in the living room, who happily started to crawl around on the floor. Mary smiled and headed over to the cabinet for another goblet of cold water. She was just putting the empty goblet down on the sink when she got a really weird feeling in her stomach. For a moment she thought it had to do something with the pregnancy, but then she realized it was something she hadn't felt in a while: it was fear.
Mary got a very strong sense that she was being watched. She grabbed her wand and -feeling that old but o so familiar panic rise up in her throat – checked every single corner of every room in the house, making sure she entered a new room before Erin, who was excitingly following her mother's trail. There was no one there and it didn't look like someone had been in her house before either, but the feeling of apprehension just wouldn't go away. Mary paused in the middle of the room, wondering if perhaps she was going crazy. Clearly there was nothing going on and they were completely safe, but as a last resort Mary peeked outside through the curtains. And that's when she saw it: her initial thought was that the thing in the garden was a Death Eater, but when she looked closer she established it was some kind of smoky black cloak that was soundlessly and swiftly swooping over the grass.
Although Mary instantly knew this was something very evil, she could not stop staring at it. The cloaked creature seemed to be dancing solo through the night and the way it was gracefully swirling through the air was no less than hypnotizing. That was until the creature came to a sudden halt, and although it did not appear to have eyes, Mary knew it was looking straight at her. Then things happened very fast. The thing disappeared out of sight in the blink of an eye. From the corner of her eye she noticed that Erin was currently crawling near the front door. She reacted instinctively. Mary made a sprint to the door and slid down on the floor with her back against it.
Erin was shooting her a curious look; obviously wondering why her mum was acting so crazy, but Mary did not have time to respond. She was convinced that the creature was near. She hardly dared to breathe as she looked back over her shoulder and through the keyhole. It seemed like there was nothing there, but she knew better. She could feel its presence. Erin on the other hand, did not: she was sitting up straight and cooed: "Mu-ee-ah!"
"Shhh!" Mary hissed urgently before she picked the baby up and held her very close. "Shhh," she continued to murmur, more nicely this time so that Erin would remain quiet. "Shhh…"
Thankfully, Erin listened and stayed calm, whereas Mary - still sitting with her back against the wooden door - was feeling terrified. No Order-battle, no matter how tough it got, ever made her feel so afraid, so alone… She could not suppress a cry of panic when the door had begun to move against her back. It was vibrating softly at first but soon turned into violent shakes; the creature was definitely trying to get inside. Mary could not move at first; her hopes that the creature would give up eventually and leave were in vain and she realized she had to do something. There was only one spell that came to mind. She put Erin back down and tried to get a firmer grip on her wand, but her palms were sweaty. It was the best she had, though. Mary turned slightly but made sure her back was still keeping the shaking door closed and pointed her wand at the keyhole. "Expecto Patronum!"
She watched the familiar shape of a Dalmatian dog jump through the door and only a few seconds later the shaking had stopped. The intense fearful knot in her stomach faded away not much later. Mary leaned her back against the door and wiped her sweaty brow. It was a little over a month after Halloween '81 and already she was back to fighting for her and her daughter's life. Mary watched Erin crawl back into the room, carefree as ever, before closing her teary eyes for a moment. She sighed. Apparently living on this ranch was not going to be as safe after all.
-End of Update-
* Song from the title: Everyday Is A Winding Road by Sheryl Crow
Authors Note 2: Anyone care to take a guess what this swirling smoky creature was? Ten Cauldron Cakes for everyone who gets it right!
