Chapter 3: Dealing with Death
"Mrs. Mathitz!" I yelled with surprise. I reread the letter and tried to let it sink in. Albus Dumbledore - my uncle? Shocking.
"What is it, dear?" she asked. Her face was pale. She seemed to think someone was attacking me or something.
I handed her the letter. As she read it, her face lit up with surprise. "Albus Dumbledore, come here? Your uncle? Well, isn't this odd!" she exclaimed excitedly.
By then Mary had arrived in my room. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing's wrong dear. We just found out that Albus Dumbledore is Lauren's uncle, and he's meeting with us tomorrow." Mrs. Mathitz said smoothly.
"Oh my gawd! Your uncle? That is so cool! And I'm going to meet him! Tomorrow! Wow!" Mary said while looking at me with interest.
"Okay. Well time for bed now. We all need to be rested for tomorrow. Goodnight Lauren. C'mon Mary, back to bed." Mrs. Mathitz said before walking out.
"'Night, Lauren." Mary said still full of interest.
"'Night, Mary." I replied.
Mary left to go back to her bedroom, leaving me full of questions. Why hadn't my parents told me? How come we've never met? Why didn't I know about this? I decided to ask tomorrow before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I woke up at 9:00 and didn't remember for a moment why I felt excited. Then it clicked - Mr. Dumbledore is my uncle. I wonder when he's coming? He didn't say a time in the letter. Oh well. I'll see him when he gets here. I walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth, put in my contacts, brush my hair, etc. When I was done, I walked downstairs for some breakfast. Geez I was hungry.
I sat down at the table and asked, "What's for breakfast, Mrs. Elizabeth?"
"Pancakes, sweetie," she replied obviously happy I had regained my appetite.
She served me 3 huge pancakes and I was very happy. Pancakes were my favorite breakfast food! Mary came down a few minutes later, and asked if Mr. Dumbledore had arrived yet.
As soon as we were done eating we heard a noise behind us and there was Mr. Albus. He had just apparated here! I stood up and said, "Mr. Dumbledore are you really my uncle?"
"Yes, Lauren, I am, and please call me Uncle Albus." He said with a twinkle in his eyes.
"But how come my parents didn't tell me about you?" I asked.
"They were planning on telling you. They just didn't want to tell you earlier because they loved you so much. They didn't want you to go all the way to Britain to go to school while they were in America. They thought they'd miss you too much." Mr. No Uncle Albus explained.
This made sense to me. It's true. They didn't ever want me to go very far away from them. I nodded in agreement, then said, "What's going to happen to their money, and the house, and everything else?"
Uncle Albus said, "Now don't you worry about that. I've taken care of all of it. I've paid all the expenses and put their money in Gringotts. The house, well, if it's okay with you, we'll sell it. I've arranged the funeral. It will be tomorrow at 5:00, but if you want to change it, we can. We can keep whatever you want from the house. We can take everything if that's what you want to do. Okay?"
I didn't know what to say. He really had taken care of all of it. I was very relieved. I ended up saying, "Yeah we can sell the house, but can I make sure that I like the people that buy it?"
"Sure, honey." Uncle Albus replied and I thought I saw a smile flicker on his face. I wondered why. Then he continued, "We'll post it in the House Hunters section of Witch Weekly."
I smiled. How did he know that was exactly where I wanted to list it? I asked him sort of shakily, "Can we go to my house and go through it today?"
"Absolutely," Uncle Albus replied.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I was looking at everything in my house: my room, my parents' room, everything. I started crying uncontrollably, but Uncle Albus was there to help comfort me, and it worked. He swept me up in a big bear hug, and let me cry my eyes out on his shoulder. I am almost positive that I felt him cry some, too.
When I was done crying, I had made my decision about what to keep and what not to keep. I decided that I wanted to keep everything, except the furniture that wasn't mine.
Uncle Albus waved his wand and muttered 'boxelimus'. This spell packed everything that I wanted to keep in neat boxes.
I looked at my snapped wand and wondered. Why would Voldemort snap my wand? I asked Uncle Albus.
He said, "I don't know Lauren. Maybe it wasn't him that snapped it. Maybe it was fate taking over, because there might be a more powerful wand waiting for you."
I thought about what he said and didn't know what to think about the matter.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Uncle Albus walked up to the counter with me and said, "I'd like to place an ad in the House Hunters section."
"Okay, si - Albus Dumbledore? Right then, follow me." Said the witch behind the counter.
We followed her into a room with pictures of houses lining the walls. There was a witch in the room already, waiting for us. She motioned for us to sit down in the chairs across from her.
She began questioning us about the house: "What does it look like?"
Uncle Albus handed her a picture of it. When she looked at it, she seemed very pleased.
"How many bedrooms?"
"5, 4 upstairs and 1 downstairs." I answered. She jotted something down.
"How many bathrooms?"
"4 - full that is" I replied. Again she quickly wrote something.
"What's the address?"
"# 3 Ridgewood Lane. It's on a cul-de-sac, so you can play in the street as much as you want," I told her. She scribbled something down again.
"One last question - How much do you want for it?"
"$375,000 (however much that is in Galleons?)" replied Uncle Albus as she wrote down the figures.
"Okay, that's it. You should see the ad in next week's Witch Weekly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The day had gone by so fast! It was already 5:00 and time to go back to Mary's house. When we got there, Mary's mother offered Uncle Albus to spend the night with us. After some begging (mostly on my part), he accepted.
At dinner, Mary and I sat next to each other and Uncle Albus sat next to Mrs. Elizabeth. Mary and I talked together through the whole dinner. She wanted to know what I did today, so I gave her a blow-by-blow account of it. Mary was jealous by the time I finished that she hadn't gotten to spend the day with Uncle Albus.
I don't know what Uncle Albus and Mrs. Elizabeth talked about during dinner (steak). It must have been very interesting though because they talked the whole time. But I did catch a few phrases: Mrs. Elizabeth - 'be okay?' Uncle Albus - 'fit in fine.' It had to have been about me.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As I was getting into bed that night, somehow I knew that everything would be okay. I had lost so much. My parents. You never realize how much you love them and how much a part of you and your life they are until they're gone. I had lost a major part of my life all because of Voldemort. He has made so many innocent people suffer. Right then and there I made an oath. I swore to get back at Voldemort if it was the last thing I would ever do. But I knew it would be all right. Somehow. I knew that I already loved Uncle Albus very very much and that he loved me back. And he would help make everything right. I got into bed singing a verse of one of my favorite muggle songs:
Everything's gonna be all right.
Rock-a-bye
Rock-a-bye
A/N: I hope you liked it! Please review! It took a lot of my time to write this, so pleez just take a minute and type a few words in the box below. PLEEZ!
Next chapter will have the funeral along with some other things just in case you were wondering.
Disclaimer:
Anything you seem to know,
Is not mine (I wish it were though).
JKR I hope that'll do,
So far heaven's sake please don't sue.
"Mrs. Mathitz!" I yelled with surprise. I reread the letter and tried to let it sink in. Albus Dumbledore - my uncle? Shocking.
"What is it, dear?" she asked. Her face was pale. She seemed to think someone was attacking me or something.
I handed her the letter. As she read it, her face lit up with surprise. "Albus Dumbledore, come here? Your uncle? Well, isn't this odd!" she exclaimed excitedly.
By then Mary had arrived in my room. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing's wrong dear. We just found out that Albus Dumbledore is Lauren's uncle, and he's meeting with us tomorrow." Mrs. Mathitz said smoothly.
"Oh my gawd! Your uncle? That is so cool! And I'm going to meet him! Tomorrow! Wow!" Mary said while looking at me with interest.
"Okay. Well time for bed now. We all need to be rested for tomorrow. Goodnight Lauren. C'mon Mary, back to bed." Mrs. Mathitz said before walking out.
"'Night, Lauren." Mary said still full of interest.
"'Night, Mary." I replied.
Mary left to go back to her bedroom, leaving me full of questions. Why hadn't my parents told me? How come we've never met? Why didn't I know about this? I decided to ask tomorrow before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I woke up at 9:00 and didn't remember for a moment why I felt excited. Then it clicked - Mr. Dumbledore is my uncle. I wonder when he's coming? He didn't say a time in the letter. Oh well. I'll see him when he gets here. I walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth, put in my contacts, brush my hair, etc. When I was done, I walked downstairs for some breakfast. Geez I was hungry.
I sat down at the table and asked, "What's for breakfast, Mrs. Elizabeth?"
"Pancakes, sweetie," she replied obviously happy I had regained my appetite.
She served me 3 huge pancakes and I was very happy. Pancakes were my favorite breakfast food! Mary came down a few minutes later, and asked if Mr. Dumbledore had arrived yet.
As soon as we were done eating we heard a noise behind us and there was Mr. Albus. He had just apparated here! I stood up and said, "Mr. Dumbledore are you really my uncle?"
"Yes, Lauren, I am, and please call me Uncle Albus." He said with a twinkle in his eyes.
"But how come my parents didn't tell me about you?" I asked.
"They were planning on telling you. They just didn't want to tell you earlier because they loved you so much. They didn't want you to go all the way to Britain to go to school while they were in America. They thought they'd miss you too much." Mr. No Uncle Albus explained.
This made sense to me. It's true. They didn't ever want me to go very far away from them. I nodded in agreement, then said, "What's going to happen to their money, and the house, and everything else?"
Uncle Albus said, "Now don't you worry about that. I've taken care of all of it. I've paid all the expenses and put their money in Gringotts. The house, well, if it's okay with you, we'll sell it. I've arranged the funeral. It will be tomorrow at 5:00, but if you want to change it, we can. We can keep whatever you want from the house. We can take everything if that's what you want to do. Okay?"
I didn't know what to say. He really had taken care of all of it. I was very relieved. I ended up saying, "Yeah we can sell the house, but can I make sure that I like the people that buy it?"
"Sure, honey." Uncle Albus replied and I thought I saw a smile flicker on his face. I wondered why. Then he continued, "We'll post it in the House Hunters section of Witch Weekly."
I smiled. How did he know that was exactly where I wanted to list it? I asked him sort of shakily, "Can we go to my house and go through it today?"
"Absolutely," Uncle Albus replied.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I was looking at everything in my house: my room, my parents' room, everything. I started crying uncontrollably, but Uncle Albus was there to help comfort me, and it worked. He swept me up in a big bear hug, and let me cry my eyes out on his shoulder. I am almost positive that I felt him cry some, too.
When I was done crying, I had made my decision about what to keep and what not to keep. I decided that I wanted to keep everything, except the furniture that wasn't mine.
Uncle Albus waved his wand and muttered 'boxelimus'. This spell packed everything that I wanted to keep in neat boxes.
I looked at my snapped wand and wondered. Why would Voldemort snap my wand? I asked Uncle Albus.
He said, "I don't know Lauren. Maybe it wasn't him that snapped it. Maybe it was fate taking over, because there might be a more powerful wand waiting for you."
I thought about what he said and didn't know what to think about the matter.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Uncle Albus walked up to the counter with me and said, "I'd like to place an ad in the House Hunters section."
"Okay, si - Albus Dumbledore? Right then, follow me." Said the witch behind the counter.
We followed her into a room with pictures of houses lining the walls. There was a witch in the room already, waiting for us. She motioned for us to sit down in the chairs across from her.
She began questioning us about the house: "What does it look like?"
Uncle Albus handed her a picture of it. When she looked at it, she seemed very pleased.
"How many bedrooms?"
"5, 4 upstairs and 1 downstairs." I answered. She jotted something down.
"How many bathrooms?"
"4 - full that is" I replied. Again she quickly wrote something.
"What's the address?"
"# 3 Ridgewood Lane. It's on a cul-de-sac, so you can play in the street as much as you want," I told her. She scribbled something down again.
"One last question - How much do you want for it?"
"$375,000 (however much that is in Galleons?)" replied Uncle Albus as she wrote down the figures.
"Okay, that's it. You should see the ad in next week's Witch Weekly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The day had gone by so fast! It was already 5:00 and time to go back to Mary's house. When we got there, Mary's mother offered Uncle Albus to spend the night with us. After some begging (mostly on my part), he accepted.
At dinner, Mary and I sat next to each other and Uncle Albus sat next to Mrs. Elizabeth. Mary and I talked together through the whole dinner. She wanted to know what I did today, so I gave her a blow-by-blow account of it. Mary was jealous by the time I finished that she hadn't gotten to spend the day with Uncle Albus.
I don't know what Uncle Albus and Mrs. Elizabeth talked about during dinner (steak). It must have been very interesting though because they talked the whole time. But I did catch a few phrases: Mrs. Elizabeth - 'be okay?' Uncle Albus - 'fit in fine.' It had to have been about me.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As I was getting into bed that night, somehow I knew that everything would be okay. I had lost so much. My parents. You never realize how much you love them and how much a part of you and your life they are until they're gone. I had lost a major part of my life all because of Voldemort. He has made so many innocent people suffer. Right then and there I made an oath. I swore to get back at Voldemort if it was the last thing I would ever do. But I knew it would be all right. Somehow. I knew that I already loved Uncle Albus very very much and that he loved me back. And he would help make everything right. I got into bed singing a verse of one of my favorite muggle songs:
Everything's gonna be all right.
Rock-a-bye
Rock-a-bye
A/N: I hope you liked it! Please review! It took a lot of my time to write this, so pleez just take a minute and type a few words in the box below. PLEEZ!
Next chapter will have the funeral along with some other things just in case you were wondering.
Disclaimer:
Anything you seem to know,
Is not mine (I wish it were though).
JKR I hope that'll do,
So far heaven's sake please don't sue.