The garden at number Three Half Moon Lane was, to Ayla's mind, truly magnificent. It was all down to Marcus's mother of course. Ceridwen was truly green fingered, and it showed. The borders of the long stretch of land were always blossoming, the grass was always lush and green. And, what was most amazing, no magic was used.
Ayla sat on the small patio and tried to figure out her mother in laws secret. Her mind kept wandering however, in a few short hours they'd be taking Jake to King's Cross. The idea left Ayla unsettled. True there was no longer a Dark Lord, and Hogwarts was, as always, the safest place on earth. But her little boy was about to grow up, he'd soon be an adult. She could see the years ticking by, seven more birthdays and he'd be of age. That was nothing, the blink of an eye.
She was brought from her thoughts by the swish of the screen door being opened. She expected to see Marcus standing there with a fresh mug of tea, instead her baby stood there. His wand was twirling absentmindedly in his fingers and the look on his face told her he needed to talk. She opened her arms and he quickly scooted onto her lap.
"What's up little man? You look like you've got a lot on your mind." she asked.
Jake moved, he was perched on her knee now and Ayla knew the gesture was just to humour her. Soon he'd be too old to sit on her lap for a cuddle, but she appreciated it nonetheless.
"It's just well, I don't get why you never told me what I am."
"I was wondering when you'd ask." she remarked, running her fingers through his hair. "You read those books we got you right? About the History of Hogwarts, and the one about great wizarding events?"
"Yeah."
"You remember they mentioned a Dark wizard? Who tired to take control, take over. Well your dad and I lived through all that. Those books, they can never capture how scary it was to grow up with that man around. Everyone on edge, afraid of what might happen next."
"But he's gone now, 'cos of Harry Potter."
"Yeah he's gone. But it's hard to stop being afraid. And its easy to start again even when you know everything is ok. When I had you I knew our world was a safe place. That you'd grow up in a much better environment than me. You see Vol...Voldemort was defeated once, and then he came back. And when I had you, when I held you for the first time, I realised it might not really be the end of it."
"I don't get what you mean, he's dead."
"He's dead, but his ideas aren't Jakey. I'm not saying this to scare you, but I need you to understand. Not everyone is good. There's always going to be bad guys. And I'm always going to try to protect you from them. That's why I didn't tell you. Children always have so many questions. If we'd told you when you were little you'd have had even more than most kids. I couldn't tell my baby how our world can be, I didn't want you growing up in fear. And I couldn't expect you to keep it a secret either."
"I'm not a baby anymore."
"I know. But you'll always be my baby, even though you're growing up. And you'll learn about it all at Hogwarts. But like I said, I'm never going to stop protecting you. You're not too grown up yet!"
"I guess. But you don't have to worry about me so much Mum, Dad says Hogwarts is the safest place on earth."
"Ok I'll try to worry a bit less if you try to write me at least one letter a month. So I know how safe you are."
"Deal."
"Deal. Now give your mum a proper hug!" she said as she pulled him close.
"Urgh mum get off!"
Ayla couldn't help but laugh as her son flailed about in her embrace.
"Ok, off to bed with you. Big day tomorrow and an early start. I don't want to be dragging you out of bed by your ankles."
"I'm not that bad!"
"Yes you are! Bed. Now."
Jake huffed as he got up and marched back to the house. He stopped at the door and turned to find his mother watching him.
"Did you feel a bit of an idiot waving a wand about?" he asked.
"To begin with. You'll get used to it." Ayla said, grinning.
"Night mum."
"Night sweetie."
The door shut again and Ayla gazed up at the stars. Night had fallen fast during her conversation with Jake. The garden was now in darkness and a small weight seemed to have lifted from her shoulders. The agony about when to tell her son who his dad was still remained, but she felt a little easier about the prospect. He was a good kid, he'd understand that she did it to protect him. At least, she hoped he would.
Ok so I had a few people ask me why Ayla and Marcus didn't tell Jake what he was. At first I was going to have them make a huge deal of it, a "Congratulations you're a Wizard" party and the whole parade. But I've been going through some things lately that have made me think, and it's that parents won't always tell you the truth, or at least not the whole truth. You can grow up thinking you know who your parents are and what kind of childhood you had but really the truth is something completely different.
If you want to know more of where I'm coming from I guess you could read my blog (though no sappy comments please I've done enough crying lately), better yet read Until I Find You by John Irving - kinda hits the nail right on the head. Oh well more when I write it!