"We're here!" Daisy announced as she emerged out of the green flames, right into the sitting room of the Burrow.
Harry emerged immediately after, his handbag in...well, hand. He patted himself to check he still had his wand - he did.
"Oh, so you are, dear! It's been so long since we've seen you last!" Mrs. Weasley beamed at Daisy, bustling forward with her arms outstretched.
Daisy glowered, taking a firm step back. "You haven't asked first," she stressed coldly.
Mrs. Weasley faltered - glanced at Harry. They had been through this last time; last time, Harry had given her full warning of what he would allow Daisy to do if she refused to respect Daisy's body autonomy - anything Daisy felt she had to do to get Mrs. Weasley to stop. And it had ended up coming to pass, after several incidents in which Mrs. Weasley had continued ignoring Daisy's word and wishes for the sake of "doting on her". It hadn't been pretty. But then, it was never meant to be.
Mrs. Weasley clutched her hands to her chest, flustered. "O-of course, oh, I'm so sorry, dear. Could I please have a hug?"
Daisy scrutinized her. She glanced at Harry - then she nodded.
Mrs. Weasley swept her up in a fierce embrace, relief blossoming on her face.
Harry gave her a smile over Daisy's shoulder - a nod. Relief rose up in him as well; he thought that Mrs. Weasley had most definitely learned from her mistake of last time. And wouldn't repeat it.
"Is anyone else visiting at the mo'?" Harry asked casually, peering around.
Mrs. Weasley released Daisy. She shook her head. "I'm afraid not; Arthur is at work, and Ronald's been far too busy lately as well - the last I saw him was weeks ago! The twins stop by every couple of weeks, but it's not enough. I rarely see any of my children these days! Although, Ginny has been trying to get in a Floo call a day," she concluded brightly. "If you want to see her, I could convince her to step through for a personal visit. That would be so nice, really..."
"If she's up for it, yeah," Harry nodded. "But there's no pressure or anything!" he hastened to add.
"Speaking of visitors - where is that wife of yours?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking to the fireplace.
Harry hesitated. There had been a bit of an argument over yesterday that had bled over into this morning - which had resulted in Daphne deciding to not join him and Daisy in visiting the Burrow. Although, honestly, Daphne just did not seem to get along with the Weasleys regardless of her mood; they just weren't compatible people, she had voiced once, in a rare moment of diplomacy and tact.
"She went to visit her sister for the day," Harry replied honestly (Mrs. Weasley didn't need to know the reason, did she?).
Mrs. Weasley frowned, but accepted it. "Well, we'll have to catch her next time - but it is so important to spend time with your family. I understand that all too well."
"Yeah," Harry agreed absently, his gaze firmly set on Daisy. She was glancing left - had made a half step before rethinking it, even. "Daisy?" he questioned with a small grin. "Is there something you want in there?" He tilted his head toward the kitchen, letting her know he'd noticed full well.
Daisy glanced left, then right. Then down. "Would it be rude to ask?"
"I don't think so," Harry replied. "But you have to respect it if the answer is no," he added.
Mrs. Weasley watched them, then her eyes widened. "Oh - yes, poor dear, it's so early in the morning - why, you've probably not had anything to eat! Why don't you get yourselves comfortable and I'll whip up a few things for breakfast!"
"We did eat before we came here, actually," Harry said quickly. "You don't have to go through all the trouble!"
"Oh, it's no trouble at all! Please - I haven't gotten the chance to cook for a little one in so long!" Mrs. Weasley replied earnestly.
"Alright," Harry allowed. If Daisy was still hungry, then why not? "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley. We appreciate this."
"A lot - thank you!" Daisy added exuberantly. Mrs. Weasley bustled from the room, and then Daisy promptly threw herself onto the sofa, bouncing on her butt.
Harry tried to maintain a serious look - keep the smile at bay as he told her, "Daisy, it's definitely rude to jump on people's furniture like that." He walked over to join her, seating himself beside her neat and slow.
Daisy settled, blowing a breath and brushing her long dark hair with her hands. "Sorry, daddy - I know!" she said quickly, with a look of contriteness that Harry judged to be sincere enough. "I just forgot," she added, her cheeks flushing.
"I figured," Harry laughed. He drew his wand and pointed it into his bag; a small hairbrush flew up out of it, straight into his hand. He offered it out to Daisy. "Try not to forget again, that's all, yeah?"
"OK," Daisy agreed swiftly, nodding with utmost seriousness as she took the proffered hairbrush. "Thanks, daddy," she added brightly, a warm smile coming to her face.
"You're welcome, sweetie." Harry still hadn't lost his anxiety-driven habits from Daisy's infanthood to try to have any conceivable thing she'd need on hand. He knew in a few years here that he would be doing well to keep it up; there were going to be a few more things Daisy would be needing in life that she would probably be glad to know he had for her.
After a relaxing, subdued breakfast (of eggs, bacon, and flat cakes), Harry, Daisy and Mrs. Weasley gathered in the living room to wait for the new arrival.
It wasn't long until the green flames roared, and Ginny emerged.
She shook her head of short flaming red hair - bushed soot from her clothes; her bright brown eyes swept around the room. Her scarred lips tugged into a happy grin as she stepped forward, right for Harry, to take him into a firm hug. The warmth of her muscled, flesh and blood right arm enveloped Harry, her small but strong palm settling on his upper back. Her left arm - unyielding and cool - composed of finely crafted, polished wood, looped around Harry as well. Powerful, hard, artificial digits grasped at his back, curling with exquisite, magical flexibility and precision (a range of motion every bit as good as a real limb).
"Auntie Ginny!" Daisy threw herself at Ginny's backside, hugging her tight. She gasped and backed up, hands at her waist. "I'm sorry - you didn't say I could do that!"
Ginny let go of Harry, turning a smile down onto Daisy. "Hey, it's fine - don't worry. You know what is worrying? You're a lot bigger than the last time I saw you."
"I am!" Daisy said proudly. "I'll be as tall as you soon!"
Ginny snorted. "That's not going to take very long. How's self defense training going - you're still doing that, aren't you?" She threw a glance at Harry, before refocusing on Daisy.
"Yes!" Daisy said, even more proudly. "I'm winning all the time now! Even without my wand - like they teach in Africa!"
"You are? Good! Keep it up! That's difficult for the average mage to pull off. Oh, hey - here you go!" Ginny stooped down, offering the palms of both hands - real and enchanted prosthetic.
Daisy was all too eager to oblige Ginny in her double high-five. "Boom!"
Ginny laughed, shaking her head as she straightened. "Boom?"
"What you do to Death Eaters all the time!" Daisy said excitedly. "Did you blow any more up lately?"
Ginny cocked her head. Flashed a grin. She shook her head, running hand through her hair. An uncertain, sheepish look thrown Harry's way. "Uh - look, that's probably not the right conversation to-"
"Daisy," Harry spoke up. "It's not appropriate to ask someone a thing like that."
Daisy looked at him. Disappointment evident on her face. She sighed and crossed her arms, blowing out a huff of air to loose a long strand of shiny black hair. "Ok, daddy." She paused. "Sorry, auntie," she added to Ginny meaningfully.
"It's alright," Ginny shrugged, bemused.
"Ginny, dear..." Mrs. Weasley began, hugging her daughter. "How- how have you been?"
"Since yesterday's Floo call? Peachy, mum," Ginny retorted. "Why would you think anything else?"
"I- w-well-" Mrs. Weasley began carefully. "You know that you-"
"I'm scarred, not broken," Ginny snapped out, shoving her mother away and turning her back to her.
"Of course you're not, dear, I'd never think that of you!" Mrs. Weasley cried. "It's only-"
"Tell me more about your self-defense training," Ginny told Daisy, pointedly ignoring and interrupting her mother.
Daisy was all too happy to oblige. "Well I won again just yesterday!" she proclaimed. "I got to go out for ice cream!"
"Yum!" Ginny remarked brightly.
"I also met a girl there and then we played at the park and I showed her my magic."
"Did you?" Ginny responded, with a glance at Harry. "I can't imagine that went very well."
Daisy hesitated. "I wouldn't let daddy mess with her memories. But she promised to keep it a secret."
"Great! So, hey, how about we go for a flight together? Or - whatever you want to do today?" Ginny suggested quickly.
"Can I show you my dueling magic?" Daisy said. "I'm really good at it! Even with no wand! It's a lot harder to do transfigurations and charms, but it's easy to do combat spells! Super easy!"
"African mages do tend to say it's a lot easier to do dueling magic," Ginny agreed slowly. "But if it's super easy, then it sounds like you've gotten your dad's talent for it too."
"If we're going to do this, let's all go out back," Harry said quickly. "I'll be there to watch - just in case something goes wrong. We don't want anyone getting hurt."
"Come on, then," Ginny agreed, heading for the back door and giving a big stretch to the ceiling with her arms.
Harry looked to Mrs. Weasley, who was standing quite apart from them with her hands wringing nervously. "Are you going to come out and watch as well, or-"
"Oh, yes! Of course. I- that would be best - having more wands on hand, just in case!" Mrs. Weasley stammered, flustered and flushed.
Harry eyed her a moment longer, as Daisy darted out of the house after Ginny. "I know you don't think we should even be teaching Daisy so young - but it's always going to be better for her to know than to not."
"I understand that, it's just- accidents do happen, and to actively hurl curses at a little girl- I would never have dreamed of doing anything like that with Ginny when she was Daisy's age!"
"Maybe you wouldn't have. But she's my daughter, not yours. So we're sticking with this - and if Ginny's happy to help out, then I'm okay with it. Daisy knows she can get hurt - she knows she could hurt us, which is way more likely, honestly. We've dealt with it before, and we can deal with it again here. There aren't a lot of activities a kid can do that doesn't involve risk of injury," Harry concluded wryly. "I've learned that a million times over with her. If it's not dueling, it's swinging off the bars on the playground, or floating up into a tree and dangling from her ankles because she thinks it's funny, or-"
Harry shook his head, laughing softly.
Mrs. Weasley smiled. "Yes, well...you are right, of course. She's yours, Harry. Let's see what she can do, then, shall we?"
Harry nodded, and made for the back door.
Out in the grass, a good twenty yards from the house, Ginny and Daisy were already squaring off with one another. Well, Daisy was squaring off against Ginny, who was standing idle, with hand on hip and her head back, her face to the warm sun.
"I'm going to curse you if you don't take out your wand already!" Daisy was saying fiercely, her fists balled. She took a step forward, stamping her foot.
"Oh dear..." Mrs. Weasley murmured, looking incredibly disapproving.
"Okay, what's going on out here?" Harry said, striding up to the pair. "Daisy, are you warning her or threatening her?" he asked, his voice hard but calm.
"Just warning!" Daisy answered promptly, frustration miring her tone. "You can't ever expect someone who wants to hurt you to go when you say go, and you can't ever expect them to be fair either!"
Ginny gazed on Daisy with amusement - and a hint of approval. "Don't I know it, Daisy. So go for it. Show me your best!"
Daisy still hesitated. She glanced at Mrs. Weasley. She looked to Harry. "I'm giving her ten seconds before I really really am going to blast her."
"Ginny understands that," Harry assured her, trying not to laugh. "She can handle it - just like me and your mum can - trust me. She was fighting Death Eaters when she was a teenager."
Daisy's face shone with doubt. An uncertain look was cast at Ginny. Then her eyes narrowed, and she flashed up her hand, palm forward, fingers curled. "Stupefy!" she shouted. The scarlet energy exploded out of her hand, casting off electric bolts. It expanded and shrunk, shifting shape as it moved for Ginny, chaotic and raw. Harry also judged it was several good inches off from the target - possibly a whole foot or so. Daisy really was a lot more accurate with a wand - and a lot more refined.
Ginny curled the digits of her prosthetic at her side, and stood there watching as the curse streaked toward her. She even took a deliberate step to the right - into the path of the spell she had also realized was going to skim its way past her.
Daisy stared, hand still raised, looking completely baffled by Ginny. "Are you stupid or-"
When the Stunning Spell was only three feet from striking Ginny's body, it suddenly splashed against an invisible barrier, and dissipated into nothing.
"What was that?!" Daisy exclaimed, shocked - and maybe a little outraged.
Ginny flashed a smile and raised her prosthetic, giving a small wave. "This arm is enchanted to protect against all kinds of curses. It's something most of us in the Order do - but usually to clothes. So we can have a shield to hide behind without worrying about actually casting anything."
Daisy kept staring at Ginny, her cheeks flushing. She shook her head and rounded on Harry, her eyes flashing. "How come I don't get anything like that?! Don't you want me to be safe, daddy? Why don't my clothes get to have shields on them?"
"Uh-" Harry stopped. "Very good point, sweetie," he conceded, apologetic. "Fred and George are the ones who make those for the Order - and a lot of other useful enchanted items. I- I guess it just never occurred to me to ask them to make one for you. But you're right, it'd be really helpful if you had something like that too. I'll have to ask them soon."
Daisy turned back to Ginny in a flash. "Can you put it on any clothes? I want to have shields on everything I wear! Shield dress, shield skirt, shield shirt, shield pants, shield shorts, shield underwear! And in a few years I want shield bras when I can start wearing them!" she finished excitedly.
Ginny burst into laughter; Mrs. Weasley choked on her own spit, her face burning with a cry of, "Oh my goodness! Really now!"
Harry chortled, putting hand to his forehead. "I'm going to have to pay them to enchant every last bit of clothing you own, aren't I?"
"Yes you are, daddy - because you want me to be safe!" Daisy replied sweetly. She looked to Ginny again, throwing out, "Can I have shield piercings? Daddy said I can have those in a few years too!"
"I actually know a guy who has the charm applied to his earrings," Ginny answered, grinning. "And-"
"Stupefy! Stupefy, Stupefy, Stupefy!" Daisy erupted, jet after jet bursting free of her palms to streak toward Ginny.
The spells struck her shield, flaring bright, but left Ginny entirely unharmed again.
"Daisy!" Harry exclaimed.
"What?" Daisy said innocently, lowering her hands. She narrowed her eyes at Ginny. "I had to test it more and we're still dueling; nobody said time out!"
Harry let out a long breath between gritted teeth. "Continue..."
"Depulso!" Daisy yelled out, the instant Harry finished his last syllable; blue light flared, and the spell flew out to hit Ginny's shield to no effect. Daisy stalked forward, her face scrunching up. "Stupefy, Depulso - Confringo!"
Mrs. Weasley let out a frightened cry beside Harry.
The Blasting Curse hit Ginny's shield, and it shattered it and sent her stumbling backwards. Ginny's face showed complete shock - but next moment she was flicking her wand, and a very different, new kind of barrier burst to life between them. A high, wide wall of swirling blue, with little spirals of green energy interspersed.
Daisy hesitated, mouth half open to yell another curse. She scrutinized the barrier a moment. Her eyes met Ginny's. "What the hell does that do?"
"Test it and find out," Ginny encouraged. She paused. "It's nothing that could hurt her," she told Harry, nervous.
"I wouldn't encourage it, but - she knows you can get hurt in a duel; she has before," Harry told Ginny, reassuring. "Believe me, she's more than willing to get herself hurt to try to win."
"I'll do it!" Daisy warned Ginny, stepping forward with both hands raised and outstretched. "I'll touch it - I don't care if it zaps me! I can beat it!"
"It's not going to zap you," Ginny chortled.
"Hah! I made you tell me how it works!" Daisy cried triumphantly. She threw herself at the barrier, palms slapping flat against it. "Intra Capiam!"
The blue barrier rippled over with pure white light, covering up the green swirls in its own unique brightness - overpowering. Then, the pure white barrier began to fall apart in shards to litter the grass, which then vanished in puffs of white smoke.
Daisy lunged forward, thrusting her arms up at Ginny with a wide grin. "Stup-!"
Ginny's amazed expression had already shifted; she took a step back and waved her wand in a blur across her body. The grass sprang up from the ground around Daisy, lengthening by several feet, and immediately ensnared her legs and trapped her arms at her sides.
"Oof!" Daisy continued forward on her own lunging momentum, hitting the ground hard on her belly. "You used a charm in a duel? Daddy and mummy never use charms like this!"
Ginny squatted down before Daisy, worry crossing her face. "Are you okay? That was a hard hit."
Daisy whipped her head up, her hair going everywhere. "Nobody said time out yet!" she reminded, squirming against her binds. "If I knew how to tongue cast I could still get you!"
"I'm sure there's someone in the world who can do that," Ginny giggled.
"I wouldn't think that's a good idea," Harry told Daisy, resisting his own urge to just run up to her and take her into his arms. "You'd probably end up blowing your own head off if you tried a Blasting Curse, for example."
"That's why you stick your tongue out!" Daisy replied, flipping herself over onto her backside and starting to rotate herself on the spot with worming motions.
"Daisy, you know you can get out of that," Harry reminded her, amused. "Finite would do it, or even something like-"
"I know what I'm doing, daddy!" Daisy retorted. "I have a plan!"
"Well, that's great - but you don't usually tell your attacker that you have a plan," Harry said helpfully.
"This should be good." Ginny grinned. She clapped her hands together and straightened. "What have you got for me, then, Daisy?"
"I've...got...this - Stupefy!" Daisy rotated her wrist in her binds in what honestly looked painful, flashing her palm at Ginny's legs from her own side, and the scarlet energy streaked out again.
Ginny flicked her wand beside herself without raising it; Daisy's Stunning Spell met a free-floating, square pane of a magic barrier that covered her legs from the knees down. She hesitated - glanced Harry's way again - and then she put her wand in her shorts pocket. "Time out. Why don't we call this a draw?"
Daisy stared up at her with clear disappointment. But she nodded, sighed, and lay flat in the grass. She lifted her legs high and let them drop with a heavy thud. "OK, fine! A draw! But just this time! Can I have these back?"
Ginny gave her wand another flick, and the grass binding Daisy disintegrated into nothing.
Daisy sprang up to her feet, working her arms and kicking her feet out. "Next time we go to the death!" she declared, stepping in toward Ginny with a serious expression.
Ginny glanced at Harry. "Um...?"
"Figurative death," Harry sighed. "Sometimes we lay out the rule that Stunners count as 'kills.' Either way, she knows she should avoid them with everything she's got - because it might be the same, either way."
"That's right," Ginny agreed, nodding.
"You have to stun me next time to end it!" Daisy persisted. "I won't just stop again!"
"I will," Ginny promised, holding up her hands. "Swear it."
"Good," Daisy stated. "If you're scared to hurt me, don't be - that's dumb. Daddy and mummy aren't! Not in dueling, and not in sports stuff either."
"I might be a little scared of that," Ginny admitted. "But if that's how you really - play - then I can play the way you and your daddy do, sure! No problem."
"Good," Daisy repeated, looking immensely relieved.
It was with the greatest reluctance in the world that Harry even agreed to let Ginny take Daisy up for a broom flight.
He found himself standing with Mrs. Weasley, his eye on the sky. On the distant shape was banking and diving among the clouds (and once, Ginny even did a loop that had Harry's heart stopping for a good few seconds). To take his mind off the terrors gripping his heart, Harry turned to Mrs. Weasley and spoke the first thing that came to mind.
"Mrs. Weasley, could I talk to you about something?"
"Of course, Harry, dear! What is it?" she asked, peering at him.
Harry somehow just found it all spilling out. His doubts lately - minus the prophecy - about how he was raising Daisy, about his own childhood, his vow to try to rectify the issue the other day, his first steps to, and now...those other concerns he hoped to fix.
"...so I was hoping that you might know of anyone else in the Order who has a kid her age?" Harry concluded. "Someone she can really spend her time with? Without- having to hide who she is, or having to be afraid of Death Eaters catching her - nothing like that. Just a friend she can have no worries with."
"Hmmm, well, to be honest I'm not quite certain about anyone in the Order itself," Mrs. Weasley replied thoughtfully. "Though, there are plenty of children among the muggleborn families that the Order has helped to disappear. We can get in contact with one of our largest safehouses we have set up in the country - where these families live together - and from there you could try to arrange some meetups. Individual playdates. Or even - well - everyone understands that they're to be living in such places long term, and so if you liked, you might even start taking Daisy to them for a classroom experience."
Harry had never considered that last part; Hogwarts was mandatory, but of course Daisy would never be going - it was not the same place as he cherished in his memories - and so she had been homeschooled by Harry and Daphne all her life. But a chance to get her around children in an actual classroom - or as close as anyone could get in these times while on the run from government persecution...?
"They hold classes for the kids there?" Harry said, considering. "With a teacher and everything?"
"Oh yes - I've visited a few times during the 'school years,' as it were," Mrs. Weasley said happily. "Arthur and I have even helped in managing them all when things get a bit too much to handle for the more regular caregivers there. It's all a little informal, but they do the best they can to make it structured and professional; I believe there is an actual, former teacher who was ousted from Hogwarts years ago who manages most of that..."
"Huh..." Harry said. "So - I could just- take Daisy there?"
"I'm certain everyone would understand," Mrs. Weasley assured. "And it would benefit the children living there as much as Daisy to have a new face to play with!"
"Well, I'll definitely consider it," Harry said. "Summer's over in about a month, so if they go by Hogwarts years, I'd like to give it a go - after talking it over with Daisy, of course."
"Wonderful! If you want her to make some friends sooner rather than later, the address is..." Mrs. Weasley dropped her voice and whispered the name to Harry. Gave a serious nod.
"It's not under the Fidelius or anything, then?" Harry asked.
"No, no. With the amount of people passing in and out of such places, it would be rather pointless," Mrs. Weasley responded. "The Secret would be spread around the country by week's end anyway! But they do have dozens of the most powerful concealment enchantments we could collectively imagine - and the locations themselves are rather remote, so there's little chance of anyone accidentally even stumbling across the areas we set them up at."
Harry nodded. "Alright. Thank you so much. I'm really hoping this will help Daisy feel a lot happier in life. She really needs friends. She wants them. She wants to be out of the house so badly, all the time now..."
Mrs. Weasley hugged him. "You could all stand to come here for a visit more often, you know! We'd be delighted to have her over more than once every few weeks, dear, really!"
"Yeah, I know - sorry. I- we're going to start doing that, for sure, as well. Just...what about the inspections?"
"Harry...there's nothing in the world as it is today that can be done without risk. But if you let these risks keep you cut off from everyone and everything else - you don't just harm your daughter, but yourself as well. I understand more than anything wanting your family to be safe, bundled up in your arms and held close from the world...but it's no way for anyone to live. Not them, and not yourself."
"I know. I know...I'm realizing that now - and I'm trying to change it. Thank you, Mrs. Weasley."
After an eventful but tiring day at the Weasleys home, Harry and Daisy returned to theirs.
Back to Grimmauld Place, back through the flames.
"Why don't you go play with Kreacher in your room?" Harry told Daisy lightly. "I need to Floo your mum - check in with her."
"Ok," Daisy agreed, wobbling on her feet. "Tell Aunt Aster I love her."
"I will," Harry promised. He watched Daisy troop out of the living room, listened for her as she thudded down the hall and on up the stairs. He turned his gaze back to the fireplace, snatching up a handful of Floo powder again and tossing it in.
"Pennswood Cottage," he said quietly.
The flames turned green, roaring high. He stuck his head in without hesitating.
Harry was greeted to the sight of Astoria's sitting room. Very small, very cozy - very organized. Neat white paint, little knick-knacks on a shelf of unicorns and pegasus's, dragons and chimera...the old, moving pictures set out that showed the family that once was: Astoria, Daphne, and their late mother.
"Hello?" he spoke loudly.
A noise, light footsteps, and Astoria emerged from a doorway to the left.
"Can you read me the story again?"
"The Midnight Mirror?"
"Yes please!"
"Okay." Harry grinned, popping open the magical book in his lap. He really needn't have, by now: he knew it by heart - could have just read it to her with his eyes closed. But he knew Daisy still enjoyed the visuals (magical really was amazing for that).
"A long time ago, deep in the woods, surrounded by beasts and dangerous plants, there existed a single place of safety: a lone cottage. Here, the trees did not reach for you, the flowers did not make one ill, and the sky could be seen above. The warmth of the sun could be felt on one's face! In this cottage lived a-"
"-a young witch named Elaine, who wanted nothing more than to reach the outside of the forest!"
"Would you like to read it, Daisy?" Harry smiled. She knew it by heart too.
"No - it's better when you do - sorry, daddy!"
Harry grinned, and looked down to the book again. Cleared his throat. "In this cottage lived a young witch named Elaine, who wanted nothing more than to reach the outside of the forest. But, with beasts and danger on all sides, she could never see a path out of the woods. Every day, she would try to go as far as she could - but it was never far enough. And the monsters seemed endless!"
Daisy was enraptured, attentive - emotions playing on her little face as the images moved on the pages. The distant figure of Elaine, tiny and with her braid of light brown. The freckles and determined eyes of light blue, almost like glowing crystals. The figure that stumbled through the woods, turning and flashing out her hands to cause great bursts of light - blues and reds, all colors of the rainbow - to ward off beast and deadly flora alike.
"Always, Elaine was forced to return home." Harry continued on. "In the cottage, in quiet and safety, she would spend her days doing whatever she imagined: she would draw, paint, craft outfits and write out stories! Cook and clean! And, more often than not, she would wonder just how she had even come to be in these woods! For she had no memory of such a thing! All she had was a single portrait, of a young girl who could only be herself, and two women who could only be her parents. But where, she despaired, were her mothers? Had they left her here, all alone? Had something happened to them? Had they tried to leave the woods, too, and been lost to her forever?"
"But most of all, Elaine would dream of the day she would leave these woods. She would come up with plan after plan, and put them into action! But even her bravery and determination just could not see her through the dark woods! What, then, would? What was she missing, what could she change that would let her escape her situation?"
"And then it came to her. Why of course, she thought to herself: another person! Someone who must be on the other side of the woods, who could come through to meet her in there, and take her back out again alongside themselves. Perhaps her parents? Perhaps a stranger! Elaine was only sure that someone must - she would have taken anyone!"
"But in all her years it had yet to happen. Yet Elaine did not despair again; she only became more sure of what she had to do now. She had to draw attention to herself, she had to let someone know that inside these woods, there lived a witch like herself. And so she braved the forest again, leaving the safety of her grove. She traveled far, pushing and dancing with beasts and plants, determined to go farther than she ever had before. And she did - until she was too tired to go further. Tired, and hurt. She stopped and threw flames into the trees, and a bright golden light into the air that lit up the night! She then rested in a large tree's trunk, casting out with her magic to shield herself for as long as she could. Surely, she thought, someone would notice her now - someone would find her!"
"And someone did. A voice called out for her, and a face searched through smoke and flames for the source of the golden light. Another witch, the first person she had seen outside of her portrait. Elaine asks for her name; "I am Alita," the witch tells her, and offers her hand. Elaine takes it, and is pulled from the tree into the open. With flames everywhere, smoke and monsters closing in, Elaine makes the choice again to return to her cottage. She knows of no closer place to find safety - not yet. But at least she can return with another person. For the first time in her life, she will not be alone."
"It is during her time here with Alita, in all their talks of the world - and Alita's questions about Elaine's life here - that they discover the truth. Elaine learns that for all her days of trying to escape the woods, the way to freedom was always right inside her home. An old, tall mirror in the back room. A doorway that leads to another mirror, outside the woods, Alita tells her! A magical item that she has seen before. And so Elaine reaches out to touch the mirror, and she passes through the glass and enters it. But as she does, the mirror breaks! Elaine did not pass on, but she cannot come back either. Elaine is lost within the mirror! Lost among the shattered pieces of the mirror that lie on the floor. But even in all those hundreds of pieces, the magic in them had survived. Instead of one door to freedom, there were hundreds of doors - and all of them leading into a space between space. A fractured room to each shard! Alita is frantic, but she cannot know which shard Elaine is trapped within."
"But she knows she will risk being trapped forever, herself, just to find her. For the chance to save Elaine again, as she did before. And so Alita uses her magic, everything she can think of, in hopes of finding Elaine. It takes a very long time, but she finally does! She touches a shard, and is pulled into the space between. There, she finds herself with Elaine again at last. Elaine is happy beyond measure - she had thought herself alone again forever! Had never dreamed that Alita would come for her a second time! But though Elaine is pleased to have Alita with her again, she tells her that now they are both trapped forever."
"Alita promises Elaine that they can find a way out of this mirror together, just as they discovered the mirror itself together. And then finally, Alita promises that they can find a way back out of these woods. No matter how long it takes - so long as they are together."
Harry shuts the book on the image of the two witches embracing among a dirty, broken floor in a room surrounded by darkness and twisting fragments of light and glass. "Sadly, no one knows how the story ended - some say that, even to this day, Elaine and Alita are still trapped within the Midnight Mirror, searching for a way to escape it, in a lonely cottage in a dangerous forest. Others like to believe that they did find their way out, and even went on to live happily ever after together."
Daisy settled down under her blankets, a wide smile on her face. A look of wonder in her eyes.
Trust his daughter to take a liking to the mysterious and the morbid tales - out of any of the stories she could have gotten attached to, honestly!
But he asked her, as he did after every reading of the tale. "What do you think happened to them, Daisy?"
"I think they got out, and got married, and had babies, and Elaine got to see everything in the world with Alita!" There was a fierceness to Daisy's voice now, in her answer, that Harry knew had never been there before. His heart ached for her, knowing its cause. He never wanted her to identify with Elaine - like Harry himself had, from the first time he had ever read her this morbid magical fairy tale.
"I think so too," Harry told her softly. He stroked at her hair, leaned in to kiss her forehead - then her cheek, three times over.
She giggled and squirmed, making a face and a show of spitting. But her eyes couldn't lie; they were rich with pure delight.
"Too many kisses?" Harry asked.
"No! Thanks for all the kisses! I love them!" she said swiftly.
"I'm glad, sweetie. Well...good night now, Daisy. I love you."
"Night, daddy! Maybe..."
"Are you planning something?"
Daisy flashed an outright smirk. "You said never to tell people your plans."
"If your plans are about getting out of bed at night, you probably should tell me," Harry said, half serious, half joking.
"Mmmm...then I've got no plans."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Alright," he said simply. "But you know if we catch you up you're going to get a real talking to."
"I won't let you catch me," Daisy declared boldly.
"Okay, bedtime. Serious."
"Serious," Daisy sighed, nodding and rolling over. She shoved her face into her pillows, her hair going everywhere. "Seriously night..."
Harry stood, crossed the room to the open doorway. "Do you want this closed tonight, or not?"
"Closed."
"Okay."
Just as Harry was about to leave, Daisy's voice came to him again, muffled.
"I haven't seen mummy all day. She didn't even eat dinner with us."
Harry felt another pang in his heart. "I know. I can ask her to come check in on you up here. You know she's always sort of- forgetful with that stuff. Her home life was...a lot different from yours."
"I know," came Daisy's quiet reply. "Tell her to."
"I will." Harry assured her. He slipped out into the hall and shut the door quietly behind him. He took a breath, and made his way downstairs on his toes, heading for his own bedroom.
As soon as he stepped inside, he was greeted to the sight of Daphne, splayed out on the bed on her back, her hand resting on her stomach.
"Hey," she greeted, her face lined with tiredness.
"Hi," Harry said, trying for calm. "Daisy asked to see you in her room. She wants you to tuck her in."
"You didn't just do that?" Daphne asked. "Did you read her the story - the whole thing?"
"Yeah - but that's not the point. She wants you to see her too," Harry said evenly. "because she hasn't seen you all day. She's upset about it."
Daphne sighed. She nodded. "Yeah, sure, I'll go see her if she needs that." She flung herself out of the bed and to her feet. "She's almost six," she added.
"She's still not even six," Harry countered, fighting to hide his exasperation.
Daphne ducked her head, letting out another breath. Another nod. "I guess so. I'll fix this with her, okay? I'll take her out shopping tomorrow or something."
"She wants you to fix it tonight."
"I'm going to fix it," Daphne said sharply. "Did I get up for nothing, or what? Lay off."
"Daphne, what is even going on tonight? Did something happen at Astoria's?" Harry gritted out. He was not going to yell. "It's no reason to be like this to me - or to her!"
Daphne froze. She looked away, then up. She threw up her hands and stalked past him. "Tomorrow."
"Okay - we'll talk tomorrow," Harry agreed. "And look, I'm sorry about- I don't mean to push you, or- I just-"
Daphne stopped at the door, turning back to him. She shook her head, ran a hand over her hair. She dug her nails into her neck. "I get it - I'm not the world's greatest mother. I'm shite at this whole thing - always have been. You're always better with her than me. You think about her all the time, for every little thing. And I just d-don't...what the fuck is wrong with me, right?" A hitch in her voice, a choke at the end.
"I'm not saying anything like that!" Harry said firmly.
"Yeah, and you said we'd talk tomorrow - so I'm going to go tuck her in!" Daphne stepped out of the bedroom, flinging a hand up behind her; the door slammed shut with magical force without being touched.
Harry shuffled over to the bed, sinking down onto it. He put his hands over his face, pulling off his glasses and rubbing at his eyes.
Something had happened. And whatever it was, it was making Daphne more irritable and angry than she had been in a long time now. Making her lash out in a way she had not in a long while now.
Harry just hoped she would tell him, so he could help her get past it.
