Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own any characters, places, situations, etc taken from the Harry Potter books. No, unfortunately they belong to J. K. Rowling and a whole bunch of publishers. I'm simply borrowing them for a while, okay, I don't exactly have permission but I promise to give them back.
Chapter One
Jeanie Whittaker, a petite blonde woman in her thirties, frantically paced the living room of her rustic home. As she did so, her eyes darted continuously between the clock on the wall, the open doorway and the grand marble fireplace that dominated the room. A wisp of hair fell down in to her face, she stopped pacing and tugged at it, shoving it back behind her ear with such force that countless strands tore from her scalp and clung to her clammy fingers. She looked down at her hand in disgust. This momentary distraction meant that she didn't see her husband appear suddenly before the fireplace. She was quickly alerted to his presence however when he let out a short sharp sneeze.
"Blasted floo powder", he said irritably, pulling a handkerchief from the breast pocket of his suit on which to blow his nose. "Always gets to my sinuses", he informed, his voice muffled slightly by the cloth at his face.
Jeanie was standing perfectly still now, staring at her husband with an expression that showed a mixture of expectance, anticipation, and fear, mostly fear.
"So-", she began, pausing briefly to swallow the lump in her throat. "What did he say?"
Her husband just stared back at her with a blank face. It wasn't that he didn't know how to answer the question, he just didn't want to.
"John", she said imploringly, taking a step towards him. "John, what did he say? What's-what's been decided?"
Again, her husband failed to answer. He simply lowered his gaze to the floor and slowly shook his head.
"No", Jeanie gasped, throwing a hand over her mouth. In spite of her husband's silence she could read his reactions, and knew the news wasn't good.
"It's time", John croaked, his voice immensely strained.
"No, no, there's-there's been some kind of mistake, this can't be happening, it just can't!" Jeanie wailed, desperately trying to bat away the tears that brimmed in her eyes.
"No dear, no mistake has been made. It's happening, he's back, the dark lord has risen once more."
Jeanie felt her legs buckle beneath her but made no attempt to hold herself up. She collapsed onto her knees.
"They can't take her away from us, John, they can't. I won't let them!" John lowered his deep brown eyes to look at his wife. He ran a large hand threw his thinning hair and sigh inwardly.
"We always knew this day would come Jeanie and we've said all along that we wouldn't stand in the way when it did. We can't go back on our word."
"But-but now? Why now? Not now John, she's too young, it isn't fair!"
"Isn't fair on who Jeanie? The girl, or you?"
Jeanie snapped her head up to meet her husbands gaze, a look of astonishment on her face.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, shaking violently as she slowly forced herself back onto her feet.
"Look", John began, placing a reassuring hand on his wife's shoulder, which she quickly shrugged away. "Who are we to say what's fair, what's right? Was it right for us to take a child that wasn't ours? Was it fair to James and Lilly?" Once again he placed his hand on Jeanie's shoulder, this time she let it rest there. "I want the girl here as much as you. I wish there was a way for us to go back to the way things were, us the happy couple and she our beloved daughter but we can't pretend any longer Jeanie. We can't continue to hide the truth."
"What are you saying John?"
"She has to know Jeanie, she has to be told, she isn't our daughter. It's the best thing we can do for her, she's been kept in the dark for too long and now, she deserves to know that truth."
"No, it would destroy her! You can't do this to her!"
"I can't not do it. For god's sake women she isn't safe here, this isn't where she belongs!"
"There-there has to be... I mean, they can't, WE can't..."
"We have to Jeanie. We have to tell her, and then... we're to deliver her into the hands of Albus Dumbledore. He must watch over her now, we've done all we can for her."
Jeanie didn't speak again; she simply slipped back down to the floor, tears falling freely now. While her husband tried his hardest to comfort her without giving in to the wave of sadness and heart ache that swept over him.
~~~~~~~~~~
This was the scene that had greeted Lani Whittaker when she'd returned home that night.
Unbeknownst to her parents she'd been standing in the doorway the whole time, watching and listening intently. She had, of course, been hidden, beneath the invisibility cloak she'd obtained just two hours prior, by playing the winning hand in a game of White witch poker. Now, as she sat on her bed staring at the cloak, which lay discarded on the floor, she wished she'd never laid eyes on the thing. Maybe then she wouldn't have witnessed what she had.
It had been at least half an hour since she'd scurried away from the living room. No longer able to bear the sounds of her mother's wails and sobs, she'd chosen to hole herself away in her room to clear her head and try to think straight. She must have heard them wrong, she must have! Of course she knew that wasn't true. She'd heard every word perfectly, and still could, as the voices echoed relentlessly in her head.
She'd thought about crying, she'd felt like screaming, she'd needed to storm into that room and confront her parents but for whatever reasons, she'd found these things impossible to do. She'd become completely numb, redundant even. Right now, all she could do was sit here on her bed and wait ...
Wait for what? She asked herself but hadn't yet found an answer. The truth was that she didn't know what to expect. Would her father stroll calmly into the room and tell her that they needed to talk? Would her mother Would her mother burst through the door, dive at the bed and throw her arms around Lani, refusing to let her go. And what about Albus Dumbledore, would he factor into this somehow? Perhaps he'd apperate in front of her and steal her away into the night.
After another ten minutes or so had past she grew tired of listing the possibilities in her mind. She didn't know what came next and she wasn't sure if she even cared. Her head was pounding under the pressure of too much heavy thought and her body began to ache due to the tension that ran through her.
Her eyelids gave a sudden flutter and a long over due yawn escaped her lips. Without even realising it she slowly sank down onto the bed so that she was lying on her side. Another yawn came and this time her eyelids didn't just flutter they practically slammed shut. A surge of exhaustion rose from inside of her, quickly claiming her, and allowing for sleep to drift in.
~~~~~~~~~~
"We can't wake her", Jeanie breathed almost silently as she and her husband crept into Lani's room moments later. "Please John, let her sleep."
"Yes, I think that's a good idea as I suspect this may be the last night of peaceful sleep she gets in a long while. I t can wait till morning", he said solemnly, shooing his wife back out the door, "we'll do it in the morning."
Chapter One
Jeanie Whittaker, a petite blonde woman in her thirties, frantically paced the living room of her rustic home. As she did so, her eyes darted continuously between the clock on the wall, the open doorway and the grand marble fireplace that dominated the room. A wisp of hair fell down in to her face, she stopped pacing and tugged at it, shoving it back behind her ear with such force that countless strands tore from her scalp and clung to her clammy fingers. She looked down at her hand in disgust. This momentary distraction meant that she didn't see her husband appear suddenly before the fireplace. She was quickly alerted to his presence however when he let out a short sharp sneeze.
"Blasted floo powder", he said irritably, pulling a handkerchief from the breast pocket of his suit on which to blow his nose. "Always gets to my sinuses", he informed, his voice muffled slightly by the cloth at his face.
Jeanie was standing perfectly still now, staring at her husband with an expression that showed a mixture of expectance, anticipation, and fear, mostly fear.
"So-", she began, pausing briefly to swallow the lump in her throat. "What did he say?"
Her husband just stared back at her with a blank face. It wasn't that he didn't know how to answer the question, he just didn't want to.
"John", she said imploringly, taking a step towards him. "John, what did he say? What's-what's been decided?"
Again, her husband failed to answer. He simply lowered his gaze to the floor and slowly shook his head.
"No", Jeanie gasped, throwing a hand over her mouth. In spite of her husband's silence she could read his reactions, and knew the news wasn't good.
"It's time", John croaked, his voice immensely strained.
"No, no, there's-there's been some kind of mistake, this can't be happening, it just can't!" Jeanie wailed, desperately trying to bat away the tears that brimmed in her eyes.
"No dear, no mistake has been made. It's happening, he's back, the dark lord has risen once more."
Jeanie felt her legs buckle beneath her but made no attempt to hold herself up. She collapsed onto her knees.
"They can't take her away from us, John, they can't. I won't let them!" John lowered his deep brown eyes to look at his wife. He ran a large hand threw his thinning hair and sigh inwardly.
"We always knew this day would come Jeanie and we've said all along that we wouldn't stand in the way when it did. We can't go back on our word."
"But-but now? Why now? Not now John, she's too young, it isn't fair!"
"Isn't fair on who Jeanie? The girl, or you?"
Jeanie snapped her head up to meet her husbands gaze, a look of astonishment on her face.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, shaking violently as she slowly forced herself back onto her feet.
"Look", John began, placing a reassuring hand on his wife's shoulder, which she quickly shrugged away. "Who are we to say what's fair, what's right? Was it right for us to take a child that wasn't ours? Was it fair to James and Lilly?" Once again he placed his hand on Jeanie's shoulder, this time she let it rest there. "I want the girl here as much as you. I wish there was a way for us to go back to the way things were, us the happy couple and she our beloved daughter but we can't pretend any longer Jeanie. We can't continue to hide the truth."
"What are you saying John?"
"She has to know Jeanie, she has to be told, she isn't our daughter. It's the best thing we can do for her, she's been kept in the dark for too long and now, she deserves to know that truth."
"No, it would destroy her! You can't do this to her!"
"I can't not do it. For god's sake women she isn't safe here, this isn't where she belongs!"
"There-there has to be... I mean, they can't, WE can't..."
"We have to Jeanie. We have to tell her, and then... we're to deliver her into the hands of Albus Dumbledore. He must watch over her now, we've done all we can for her."
Jeanie didn't speak again; she simply slipped back down to the floor, tears falling freely now. While her husband tried his hardest to comfort her without giving in to the wave of sadness and heart ache that swept over him.
~~~~~~~~~~
This was the scene that had greeted Lani Whittaker when she'd returned home that night.
Unbeknownst to her parents she'd been standing in the doorway the whole time, watching and listening intently. She had, of course, been hidden, beneath the invisibility cloak she'd obtained just two hours prior, by playing the winning hand in a game of White witch poker. Now, as she sat on her bed staring at the cloak, which lay discarded on the floor, she wished she'd never laid eyes on the thing. Maybe then she wouldn't have witnessed what she had.
It had been at least half an hour since she'd scurried away from the living room. No longer able to bear the sounds of her mother's wails and sobs, she'd chosen to hole herself away in her room to clear her head and try to think straight. She must have heard them wrong, she must have! Of course she knew that wasn't true. She'd heard every word perfectly, and still could, as the voices echoed relentlessly in her head.
She'd thought about crying, she'd felt like screaming, she'd needed to storm into that room and confront her parents but for whatever reasons, she'd found these things impossible to do. She'd become completely numb, redundant even. Right now, all she could do was sit here on her bed and wait ...
Wait for what? She asked herself but hadn't yet found an answer. The truth was that she didn't know what to expect. Would her father stroll calmly into the room and tell her that they needed to talk? Would her mother Would her mother burst through the door, dive at the bed and throw her arms around Lani, refusing to let her go. And what about Albus Dumbledore, would he factor into this somehow? Perhaps he'd apperate in front of her and steal her away into the night.
After another ten minutes or so had past she grew tired of listing the possibilities in her mind. She didn't know what came next and she wasn't sure if she even cared. Her head was pounding under the pressure of too much heavy thought and her body began to ache due to the tension that ran through her.
Her eyelids gave a sudden flutter and a long over due yawn escaped her lips. Without even realising it she slowly sank down onto the bed so that she was lying on her side. Another yawn came and this time her eyelids didn't just flutter they practically slammed shut. A surge of exhaustion rose from inside of her, quickly claiming her, and allowing for sleep to drift in.
~~~~~~~~~~
"We can't wake her", Jeanie breathed almost silently as she and her husband crept into Lani's room moments later. "Please John, let her sleep."
"Yes, I think that's a good idea as I suspect this may be the last night of peaceful sleep she gets in a long while. I t can wait till morning", he said solemnly, shooing his wife back out the door, "we'll do it in the morning."
