Chapter Eleven
Madison had gotten very adept at ignoring her mothers presence over the past week, but her resolve was wearing down. It was all she could do not to start screaming at the woman. She tried to tune out Mrs Vaen's voice as she fed Xane his bottle, keeping a close eye on Jesika and Kaleb from her position on the couch. She couldn't help but smile as Jesika fell to the ground, and Kaleb tried to help her back up, before running wobbly away before she could catch him.
"Get you!" cried Jesika in delight. "Get you!"
"Sweetheart are you listening?"
Madison twitched, turning to look at her mother with a sweet, apologetic smile.
"Sorry, what were you saying?"
"I'm trying to talk to you about your sister Vanessa,"
"What's wrong with her?"
"She misses you sweetheart!" Mrs Vaen said softly, "she wants her sister back"
Madison raised an eyebrow.
"Um, hello? I'm sitting right here!"
Mrs Vaen sighed dramatically.
"No. Madison the witch is sitting right there. We want our Madison back" Mrs Vaen paused for dramatic effect, "please come back to us darling. Come home"
Madison scowled, her grip tightening around the bottle before she responded.
"I haven't changed mother" Madison tried to sound calm, but knew she was failing. "And I am not going to come home"
"You have changed Madison. You're so different I can barely recognize you; I wonder how you can recognise your own reflection! It's that school, Madison; Hogwarts is not good for you, magic is not good for you; it's just unnatural!"
"Magic is in our family mother, otherwise I would not have been born to you with it!" she retorted furiously, "unless now is the time you're gonna tell me I'm adopted."
"Sweetheart, you're not,"
"Then it's not UNNATURAL!"
Molly had been a godsend for the young couple. Ginny was hoping she'd step in and take control, but Molly wouldn't have it. She simply chose instead to teach them, and let them figure it out on their own. James and Sirius, she had told them, were just like Fred and George used to be. They ate so much, that they always got sore stomachs. She instructed Ginny to feed them just a little less than she had been, and though Ginny had felt like a horrible person at first, she soon realised that her mother had been right. As usual.She had worked wonders with Michael too. Michael was threatened by the babies, and he would remain so, unless he got his time with his parents, and some special time with his brothers. Once Ginny and Harry were finding the twins easier, they were able to set aside time, specially for their firstborn son, taking him to the park and letting him play, leaving his brothers at home with Molly. After a long, tiring day of fun, Molly instructed Harry to place his son in the play pen with the twins. Though Michael seemed distressed at first, within minutes, he was gently playing with them, babbling away as fast as he could.
"He'll still get jealous, and fussy at times" Molly had said, as she kissed Ginny's cheek, "but he'll get over his tantrums fairly quickly."
Ginny grinned.
"So thats Harry taken care of, what about Michael?"
Molly laughed, kissing her son-in-law as well.
"Goodbye dears"
"Goodbye mum! And thank you!"
Fred and George were not happy. Ron had gotten a call on the phellytone, and had been offered a new job, better than the one he'd had before. He had decided to take his wife to celebrate... and leave them in charge of the babies, despite their protests.
"But... they're babies!"
"They're GIRLS!"
But a grinning Mr and Mrs Weasley left them behind.
"This is not good."
"Why won't she stop crying!" moaned George, bending over the crib to pick up little Michelle. Suddenly he pulled back with a disgusted grunt. "SHE STINKS!"
"Then change her!" Fred shouted from the bathroom.
There was a small silence, as George carried Michelle over to the changing table, holding her at arms length. "Now what do I do?" he yelled back nervously.
"You're kidding me right?"
There was another silence, as George slowly undid the nappy. Suddenly he wretched.
"Its... DISGUSTING!"
Fred barely had time to roll his eyes. He was having his own problems.
"LIZZIE!" he cried, chasing after the little girl with a towel, who was racing around the living room, completely naked. "You have to have a bath!"
Elizabeth of course, did not listen. She was having far too much fun evading her exasperated uncle.
Suddenly, Fred stepped on a small stuffed toy, causing him to slip over and land flat on his face, only to Lizzy's great delight, as she ran back into her parents room.
"ITS EVERYWHERE!" yelled George from the nursery. "I AM NEVER HAVING CHILDREN!"
"...Vanessa was always the more peaceful one of the two of you. You always did stir up trouble"
"As far as you know, mother," Madison retorted, as she worked to get a burp out of Xane, which he readily obliged her with.
"That was a good one, my boy," she murmured, kissing his cheek.
"But Vanessa didn't magic all of your hair away did she? That was you" Mrs Vaen continued as she followed Madison into the nursery, as she put Xane into the crib.
"Thats because she threw my spellbooks in the toilet..." Madison muttered, but of course, her mother chose not to hear that particular comment.
"Oh Madison what will it take for you to see that magic is evil?" her mother exclaimed theatrically, "you don't even see what it's doing to you?"
"Killing your image of me is hardly a crime!" Madison retorted in a furious whisper as she was determined not to wake up Xane.
Madison quickly left the nursery, closing the door behind her mother, so that Jesika's cries wouldn't wake up Xane. Draco was busy giving Kaleb his bath, and Jesika was upset because she hadn't wanted hers.
"Why can't you see what it has done to you? Why are you so determined to throw away your life for something so satanic?"
"Are you gonna play the religious card mother?" Madison threw back, "since when have you been a Christian?"
Mrs Vaen glared at her daughter.
"You know I'm telling the truth! Why are you being so stubborn? Your throwing away your life, your future... your family!"
Madison squared her jaw.
"This is my family!" she snapped, before storming into the kitchen to make Jesika's bottle, her fury building with each moment. It was as she walked away that she heard it. Her mother let out a loud groan of frustration, and suddenly, there was a loud SLAP sound, as her Mrs Vaen's hand made contact with Jesika's face.
There was a stunned silence, before Jesika screamed loudly. Madison spun around, racing to her daughter and picking her up in her arms, holding her to her with furious tears in her eyes as she tried not to look at the red mark on her cheek. Draco came rushing into the room, Kaleb in his arms, his usually grey eyes dark with fury.
"Get out" he hissed in a low voice. Mrs Vaen ignored him.
"How dare you?"
"Oh relax Madison, it's not as if she's real!"
"It's not like she's real!"
"I SAID GET OUT!" Draco roared. Mrs Vaen turned to him.
"You cannot make me leave!"
"MOTHER GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NOW!"
"Madison?" asked Mrs Vaen in shock. But Madison was past forgiveness, she had already left the room with her children. Draco had already whipped out his wand, spelling all of Mrs Vaen's things to the front door.
"You too" he said, his fist clenching tightly around the handle, as he waited for the woman to start moving.
After what seemed like hours of struggle, Fred and George finally got the two little girls clean, fed and asleep.
"I'm beat," Fred groaned, collapsing onto the couch.
"I'm ready to go home now," George added.
Just then, Hermione and Ron returned home, laughing loudly. Fred jumped up.
"Shush!" he said, rushing toward them.
"They only just went to sleep!" whispered George.
Ron laughed.
"Who are you and what have you done to my brothers?"
Madison jumped on the bed with a shriek of delight.
"She's gone!" she cried happily, grabbing Draco's hands and pulling him up. Draco only laughed as she continued to jump up and down.
Draco grabbed her and together they collapsed on the bed. He leaned over her, his eyes staring down at her intensely.
"Madison.. I..." he began, his voice catching in his throat slightly.
"Yes...?" Madison asked, her heart thumping so loud she swore he could hear it.
"I..."
A loud screech made them jump, and the moment was broken. Draco resisted the urge to swear as he pulled the letter from the tawny owl's leg.
He ripped open the seal, and his eyes scanned the words quickly.
"Draco... what is it?" Madison asked. Draco said nothing, the letter still in his hand as he stood frozen, reading it again to make sure. Madison stepped forward, gently tearing it from his grasp. She had barely gotten past the first line, when she felt her heart sink to her stomach, and her face pale.
"Oh... my... gosh..."