Sirius sat on the floor next to Becca's bed and watched the excitement. A smile passed over his lips as he watched his only daughter have an excited discussion with her friends. He was glad that he had written to Dumbledore about what was going on. Minutes passed quickly and before anyone knew it, it was 11 o'clock. Lucy tapped on the door a few minutes after the clock in the hall chimed and Becca invited her in.
Lucy jumped onto the bed and patted Sirius on the head absentmindedly as she looked around. It had been a while since she had been in Becca's room and although it hadn't changed, it seemed somewhat different; more cheerful then usual.
"Morning, Lucy," Becca said, smiling. "Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Lucy nodded.
"Would you take me to the park again today? Momma said that she's busy." Becca couldn't' help but smile.
"Sure Lucy, I'll take you. When do you want to go?" Becca asked. She already knew the answer, but she figured that she might give the question a try.
"After lunch!" Lucy jumped up, excited. She thanked her and ran downstairs to tell Cindy. Sirius looked at her. She thought that she saw a smile, but wasn't sure. Can dogs smile, she asked herself.
After lunch, Lucy, Becca, and Sirius walked to the park down the street. Becca and Sirius had to run to keep up with Lucy, who kept running ahead. They sat down and watched as Lucy played jump rope and hopscotch with her friends on the pavement. Soon after they arrived, Jacob, another one of Lucy's friends showed up with his dog, Smoochie. Smoochie was a golden retriever and looked as thought he thought that he was superior.
"Can we play with Sirius?" Lucy asked politely a few minutes later. Sirius stood up and walked towards her. Becca nodded and watched as Lucy and Sirius trotted over to where Smoochie sat.
" My dog is way better then yours," Jacob pointed out. "He knows all kinds of tricks." Lucy looked disbelieving.
"My dog knows lots of tricks too," Lucy lied. She didn't know if he could do tricks or not, but she wanted to put Jacob in his place.
"I don't believe you. That mutt can't do any tricks." This annoyed Lucy very much and Becca heard Sirius growl. I wouldn't do that if I were you, Jacob. You're gonna get your butt kicked, Becca smiled at the thought.
"He can do tricks and he is NOT a mutt." Lucy was practically yelling at Jacob. Jacob looked astonished. He soon gathered his wits and managed to say two words.
"Prove it."
"Fine!"
Jacob walked a few feet away from Smoochie and said, "Come, Smoochie" the dog obediently got up and walked over to Jacob. Lucy did the same thing, and to her surprise, Sirius came.
The next test was a little more difficult then the first. Jacob told Smoochie to lay down and then he told him to roll over. Smoochie did this perfectly and so did Sirius. Then they had to get the dogs to speak, which both of them did. They had so many different tests that they ran out of ideas, so they asked one of the parents for help.
A bald man in a blue jogging-suit, who had stopped to watch, spoke up and said that he once saw a dog that could ride a skateboard. Jacob and Lucy nodded in agreement and asked a boy that was skating nearby if they could borrow his skateboard.
At first, things appeared to be going very well for Smoochie. He got on the board without question, but when the board started to move, he jumped off, frightened. Sirius on the other hand, rode on the board like an old pro with his head up high. Lucy squealed with the realization that she won.
"My dog wins," Lucy said matter-of-factly. "Now you have to apologize for calling him a mutt." Jacob looked astonished, but did as he was told and they all went home happy. Lucy told the whole story to Cindy that night over dinner. Cindy just shook her head.
"Now if he could learn how to use the vacuum, then we'd be set." They all laughed and Lucy slipped a hot dog under the table to Sirius who ate it gratefully. Becca went back up to her room after dinner and sat on her bed. She was planning on telling Cindy about Hogwarts after Lucy went to bed. Lucy came in later to ask if Becca could tuck her into bed.
Becca tucked her in and read her a story and kissed her goodnight. Then she headed down the stairs. Cindy was sitting in the living room reading a magazine. She looked up as Becca entered and sat down.
"Cindy," Becca said, trying to be subtle, "do you remember that letter I wrote to Hogwarts? The one that asked if I could transfer." Cindy nodded.
"I really wish that you would call me Mom, it's not normal for a child to call their mother by their first names and yes, I remember." Becca tried to ignore most of what she said. No matter what happened, she could never call Cindy 'Mom.' it just didn't feel right.
"I got a reply today. I was accepted! Isn't that great! My mom and dad went to Hogwarts." Becca couldn't help letting out a little bit of excitement.
"Oh, so that's where they went, eh? I wouldn't have known. You never talk about them," Cindy's voice was as cold as ice. Becca's spirits were a little let down by this, but they were not totally extinguished.
"I want to go, Cindy," Becca forced herself to say. "I've wanted this for a long time." Cindy was concentrating on her magazine.
"Fine. You can go, but I can't take you to get your school things, I have a house to run, remember?" Becca opened her mouth to say that she wasn't the one who usually ran the house, but decided against it. She hugged her and ran back upstairs, making sure to tiptoe down the hall, so that she wouldn't wake Lucy. When she got to her room, she locked the door.
She threw herself down on the bed and looked up at the stars on her ceiling. Her thoughts were interrupted by Sirius's voice.
"She didn't seem too happy about you going away, did she?" he asked. She sat up and looked at him. He was sitting on her desk chair.
"No, she wasn't, but that's for another reason altogether." she said. "She wants me to call her Mom, but I can't. She'll never be my real mom, because my real mom can never be replaced, but I only make her mad when I call her Cindy." She shrugged. "I just don't know what to do anymore."