chapter 1
a mother's love
A Mother's love is something
that no one can explain,
It is made of deep devotion
and of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish
and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it
or take that love away . . .
It is patient and forgiving
when all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
even though the heart is breaking . . .
It believes beyond believing
when the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty
of the rarest, brightest gems . . .
some of 'A mother's love' by Helen Stiener Rice
The sky was dark, the night surprisingly warm. Her heart echoed the feeling of the electric atmosphere. She was in love. She held of tight to her husband's freckly arm and felt the passionate goose-bumps tear up her body. She gave a side-ways look to the little bundle of periwinkle blue in the back of the car (she hated pink). She could almost feel the gravitational pull coming from the tiny ball behind her. She was so happy and nothing was going to get in the way of her new world. She had been so restricted in the stuffy muggle hospital for so long and now she felt so free.
Nothing, nothing would stand in her way.
"we're nearly home", the man sat next to her, currently in the driver's seat, grumbled. Although many people would interpret it wrongly, but she knew him all too well, and he was just tired. It had been a long night for both of them. Their small, average home stood out at her from all of the rest on their street. This was her home, her life, centre of all goodness. She understood why muggles lived like this.
their lives had been destroyed by evil. The witch and wizard they used to be were gone, now all that remained were their tiny little lives, the three of them. they were no longer special, no longer different. even though she missed the world of magic, she knew that this new kind of power wasn't right for a baby to grow up in. she was smart and had had enough experience of evil in the magic world, and with that came trouble. she wanted her daughter to become a witch, but at the right time. no doubt this new kind of magic would fade into the background and order would be restored. until that happened, she wanted her daughter to grow up as a muggle, just like she had. and when the time was right to introduce her to the world of magic, she hoped she would be there when the two worlds met for her little girl.
she stared at their little home. it was a semi-detached house on a little estate, fern close. their house was small and average, but very pretty and cozy. she wanted to keep out of the way while she lived in the muggle world with her husband and brand new baby, lay low for a while. she knew that one day, if she didn't tell her daughter about magic, the magic would come to her. she didn't want that, purely because it only leads to bad things. her friend had taught her that.
as they pulled into the estate, she stared at the sign for 'fern close'. there was something about it, something she liked. then she realized that she quite liked fern as a name. she and her husband liked Rose, Asher and Evanna but weren't sure what to call their baby girl, officially. there were so many names now, she didn't know what to do. but fern felt... right. almost like one piece in a puzzle. but she remembered that they all felt like that, and decided to cast it out of her mind, but she couldn't help feeling like this was a sign.
the car pulled into the stony drive, the gravel making a crunching sound under the tires. she opened her door and got her sweet baby daughter from the back seat. her husband let her in and she marched straight upstairs into the nursery. her baby was asleep and she put her in the little cot her husband had put together a couple weeks ago. she looked around the yellow, bee themed room and tears formed in her eyes. she turned the light off and switched on the baby monitor and left the room, going into her own and placing the other monitor by her bed. she sat beside it, listening to her baby's soft breathing. what would she call her daughter? she wanted it to be perfect.. but she needed to let the hospital know. her and her husband would decide tomorrow.
she got up and went into the bathroom, feeling a sense of dread because of leaving the monitor. it was only to brush her teeth before bed, she would be five minutes at most. she quickly brushed her teeth and went back to check the baby monitor. everything was fine, her baby was breathing and wasn't crying. feeling satisfied after she had heard her daughter's breathing, she decided to let herself have a bath.
she got back up from the bed, watching the green lights go up and down slightly, indicating the small amount of noise her daughter made while breathing. she opened the door and stepped into the bathroom. she stared at the monitor until the door was fully closed. she didn't lock the door. she walked over to the bath and switched on the hot water tap. she listened to the water running and it made her feel drowsy. she sat on the edge of the bath until it was full. when she turned the tap off, silence rang throughout the whole house. her husband had gone back to the hospital after realizing he had left his wallet there, and her baby was fast asleep. she stepped into the steamy bath, her whole body aching.
she lay there for much longer than she had wished. half an hour had passed. when she realized the time, she quickly got out of the bath. she immediately felt the cool air of autumn over every inch of her body. she wrapped the fluffy white towel around herself and unlocked the door. she paused. she didn't remember locking the door, she thought she had left it open. she convinced herself that she must have, she was known for being forgetful. she stepped into the room, grabbed a pair of pajamas from her drawer, and dried her self off. once she was dry she slipped her silky top and trousers on and sat on her bed. she grabbed her phone from her husband's side of the bed and realized her husband had left his behind. she sighed, he was always forgetting his phone.
she sat back on the bottom of her bed and flipped up her phone. she dialed her friends number and heard the tone meaning it was ringing. it took two rings until her friend picked up.
"hey Lynda! im back from the hospital! just had a bath." she sung down the phone
"oh! hey sweetie! how are you? are you sore? so tell me everything! boy, girl? whats its name?!" Lynda asked in the highest-pitched voice she could.
"oh, im fine, just a little tired. its a girl but we don't have a name yet. we have to let the hospital know by tomorr-" she was cut off by a large bang. she whirled round and looked at the baby monitor. it showed red. she felt sick. "Lynda, i'm scared"
"w-whats wrong sweetie? hun? you there?"
she paused and replied "i-i'm here, something's set the baby monitor off. Lynda what should i do?"
"hang on two minutes, i will be right round." the phone went dead. She knew Lynda wouldn't be there for another half hour.
she stared at the lights. it showed green now, only the breathing was registering. she walked round to the monitor and held it up to her ear. in, out. in, out. in, out. in, out. in, out. in-
the breathing was suddenly punctured but an ugly, croaky, deep voice. the whole of her body filled with fear, turning hot with dread. it chanted:
fire, earth, wind and water,
your fate lies with no other.
let me give you the help you need,
with this element you will succeed.
i give you the gift of fire only,
follow me, you'll never be lonely.
15 years you will be granted,
on that day it will be decided.
she could not listen to any more, she had to protect her daughter. she knew who the man was, the single person she had vowed herself to keep away from her daughter. body forced her up, she ran faster across the landing than humanly possible. she would not let her new born baby be taken into evil. she would not let harm come to her baby girl. she knew this would mean death, but as long as she protects her baby, she would rather. she reached the door, slightly open, light pouring out of the crack. she didn't hesitate. she shoved the door as hard as she could and let it crash off the wall. her nightmare had been confirmed.
there stood a dark, clothed fugure. it must have been at least 7 feet tall. he was still chanting, but she didn't listen. she stood there in horror as he laughed in acknowledgement of her tiny presence.
"you leave my daughter alone, get the fuck off her!" she shouted at the laughing monster. everything seemed so loud. there was the sound of crackling fire that surrounded the room. she ran towards the figure. he stuck out his hand with out moving the rest of his body and she flew backwards and crashed off the wall. her back felt like it was broken but she still got up, determined to save her little girl. her daughter wailed in the tiny cot. she knew who he was, the most evil man of all the magical world, his darkness morphing is anatomy, into a half human, half beast. she ran up to him and rugby tackled his massive body. the sheer power of this knocked him onto the ground. she started to kick and punch him in every way she could until he flung her again like a china doll against the ceiling and she fell to the ground.
he let out a menacing laugh and the lights went out. she screamed and ran to get the baby out of the cot. the small amount of moonlight leaking through the window allowed her to see slightly. where had he gone? she sprinted out of the room, and ran down the stairs. she kissed her daughter as many times as she could as she entered the kitchen and grabbed a knife. she knew her husband wouldn't be back for another twenty minutes. she sat begind the counter and kept as quiet as she could. she saw the periwinkle blue blanket that her daughter was wrapped up in on the way back from the hospital. she wrapped the baby up in it and placed her on the floor.
"i will be back, i promise." she kissed her and turned around.
she tip-toed through the door, into the large dining room. the house stank of silence. the only thing she could hear was her heartbeat. after checking the it was okay to do so, she stalked through the thick darkness into the living area. she looked around the room. nothing. she turned and went up the stairs and checked her bedroom first and after finding nothing, she checked her daughters nursery. she stepped in and looked about the tiny room. already it smelled of her daughter. almost like fresh leaves. it made her heart race. she listened. the silence made her even more scared. just as she was about to move, she heard her daughter crying. the night had gotten so dark, she could barely see a thing. she sprinted down the steps to once again save her daughter.
she got to the bottom of the stairs. she tip-toed towards the kitchen door. she could hear her daughter crying and started moving faster. knife poised, she edged closer to the door, the screeches getting louder. her body ached due to the sheer force of her pulse. she entered the door. a shadowy figure stood in the middle of the kitchen. her daughter was still under the counter. a wave of relief passed through her and she had to stop her self from letting out her breath. she walked passed her baby ever so slowly. she came around the counter, closer to the figure. she was about to speak until she was cut off with a blinding light.
"hun, whats going on?" her husband stared at the knife in her hand. he looked horrified. she hugged him and let out a small wimper.
"he's here. he's here. he nearly took her. i-i-"
"who's here?! where? your not making any sense."
"you know, him. the dark one. i heard him chanting to our daughter on the baby monitor. i tried to kill him but he just vanished. i don't know where he is, he cou-" they both stopped to listen. sinister whispers and laughter circled them. the crying had stopped. the familiar sound of fire had surrounded them. she didn't dare move. she could see her baby, she was fine. they looked for the source of the noises. nothing. the crackling got louder, the whispers more clear. "he's gonna getcha" "better watch out... muggles"
the all too familiar chuckle rang in the air. the sound of wood burning filled the room. they turned towards the door of the kitchen. and there he was. laughing. chuckling. he was enjoying every moment of it. she looked at her baby, she was behind the counter, she'd be fine. she drew her wand from the kitchen draw and narrowed her eyes. she knew she shouldn't, but it would be the only curse that would work. "Avada Kadavra!" the words ricochet off the walls, as he cast a stream of fire from his hand. both spells met and crashed off each other, exploding, sizzling, lighting the whole room.
her whole body was against what she was doing, but she looked at the tiny ball of periwinkle blue and the spell seemed to grow. she cried and cried, shouting, screaming, anything she could to make the spell the stronger. the force was throwing her off. her body ached, the fire nearly reaching her. she knew she would die. but she couldn't. for her little girl, for her husband. for her friends she would never say bye too. she forced harder and her curse exploded. it sent sparks all over the room. she was creating a fire of her own. everything she loved depended on her. she nearly had killed him. his laughter ringing in her head. she screamed in agony as her body nearly collapsed. she couldn't hold it. every single fiber was screaming at her to stop. but she couldn't. she wouldn't. she would do it for her daughter, she didn't want to
just as she nearly had finished it, the back door opened and threw her off concentration. the stream of green death had vanished. everything seemed to move in slow motion. her friend stood in shock, screaming in horror that she was about to witness her friend dying. the stream of fire exploded and they were all thrown backwards. she hit off the window, her husband off the counter. she could feel the glass in her back. she watched as her husband was immersed with fire and she screamed his name. he was dead. she loved him so much and he was dead. she landed of the floor near to his body started to cry. her body shook every time she sobbed. her world was gone, and not she was dying too. her husband was dead. how could she not have protected him? it was all her fault. she felt empty. part of her wanted to die right next to her husband, the part of her that would put him first. the only rhing that kept her alive was for her daughter. she looked over to her sweet new-born child. she had let her down. her body felt like it was being struck with a whip every time a tear streamed down her face. she could feel her heart beat slowing, her fingers numbing. she had to do this, for her daughter and her husband. she had to fight to the end.
she watched the the most evil man with hatred that filled every inch of her broken and hollow body. she limply reached for the knife that she had held earlier in the fight to save her daughter. with all her energy, she threw the knife at him, aiming for the heart. her wand had been blasted into a million pieces, just like her heart. this was her only hope. just as it was about the reach him, he began to dissaperate. the whipping sound was mixed with a cry of pain, then suddenly the room fell into silence. she was dying, he had killed her husband and had left her daughter parent-less. she thought it was quite ironic that no matter how many years of wizardry training she had religiously taken, her final minutes had been used, using a muggle object to revenge her husbands death.
her friend ran over to her. she couldn't hear anything from the blast. she was slipping away.
"call her Fern." she remembered why the sign was so significant. at the time she didn't know why, but she had to give her daughter a sign.
"what, what?! sweetie what?" she could just make out what her friend was screaming. the whole room was covered in flames.
"call her Fern. Fern Evanna Asher Rose. take care of her, please. tell her about me when the time is right, tell her everythin-" she just managed to tell her friend this before she used all of her life and slipped away knowing everything would be okay. everything was okay around Lynda. she had met her after becoming a muggle. she was her only friend.
"o-okay. no, sweetie please don't die. H! H!" her friend cried for about a minute. then she wiped her eyes, straightened her dress and looked over to fern. she ran over to her noticing the flames for the first time and scooped her up. she ran out of the back door, comforted fern and got into the car. she drove away without a backward glance. she was crying enough already. she vowed to herself to keep fern safe, raise her, and when the time is right, let her explore the world and beyond for her best friend.