The Parent Trap

Chapter Eight : Mum's Hugs and Kisses: By Ang.

Evelyn Dumbledore sat on a wooden stool behind Madame Malkin's counter and waited rather impatiently for her mother to arrive. She knew she would recognize the strangely familiar witch just from her photo alone and yet she worried that she would not be able to subdue her personality enough to pass as Abigail. Her twin sister seemed to be much quieter and more bookish than Evie had ever desired to be so her work was cut out for her. Absentmindedly, she toyed with the silver locket around her neck and nervously watched the door.

She was just about to give up hope of ever seeing her mother when a stunning witch walked through the door and smiled radiantly in her direction. Evie's mouth fell open as she stared at Minerva, framed in the doorway and looking even more welcoming than she could have ever imagined. With a tiny nudge from Madame Malkin, Evie jumped from the stool and ran across the room, flinging herself into her mother's arms and hugging her tightly.

"Well, my gracious Abigail! That is certainly some welcome, my petal." Minerva returned the hug and looked curiously at the shop owner, as if asking for some explanation to her daughter's behavior. When she received none, Minerva bent down and kissed Evie on the top of the head and lifted her chin. "Abigail, love, why are you crying? Did something happen?"

Immediately Evie sensed her mother's change of attitude from one of love and compassion to one of being fiercely protective. She snuggled into her mother's arms and assured her that things were quite the contrary. Inhaling the wonderful scent of lavender and honeysuckle, Evie closed her eyes and for the first time in her life truly enjoyed the feel of her mothers' arms around her.

"No, mother. I just missed you; that's all. It seems like you've been away forever and I wanted you to know how much I love you and missed you." Evelyn tried to correct her earlier mistake of being so eager to see her mother. Surely Abigail would have walked over to their mother and perhaps hugged her but nothing like the one Evie had given her. She silently hoped that Abigail was having an easier time of things with Aberforth and their father.

"Well, if you're sure that everything is alright here, I will just have to take your word for it then my dear," Minerva said smiling down at her. "Madame Malkin, thank you for all of your help in fitting Abigail for her robes. I hope she wasn't any trouble at all."

"Oh no, they were angels," the older woman added without thinking. She caught the panicked look in Evie's eyes. The young girl's heart dropped to the floor, thinking that the plan with her twin was already over but the helpful robesmaker recovered nicely. She quickly added that there were so many children in and out of the shop and all of them had just been little dears, giving her very little trouble at all.

Minerva raised her eyebrows in a questioning gaze that unsettled many of the women behind the counter and Evie couldn't help but think back to all the times she had tried that look with her father. He had told her once that even her facial expressions resembled those of her mother and now she understood what he meant. She had inherited her mother's ability to unnerve people with a mere look in their direction and yet there was rarely any harm in their stares. Evie often used those glares to bully her father into telling her more than he had originally planned. And they worked with most topics, except the one she wanted most and that was stories about her mother.

After a few more tense moments, Minerva took Evie's hand and led her back into the increasingly crowded street. "So my Petal, have you decided what you'd like to do this afternoon?" Minerva asked her daughter. "I'm anxious to know what you've decided," she added with a warm smile.

Fear gripped Evie's heart. Abigail had not mentioned anything about making a decision and now she had no idea how to answer their mother. "Umm, well, I really want you to decide what we do," she answered quickly. "You've spent all day doing what I wanted to do so let's focus on you, Mum."

Minerva stopped walking immediately and looked searchingly into her daughter's bright blue eyes that seemed to twinkle just a little bit brighter than they had earlier in the day. "I'm not sure what I ever did to deserve such a beautiful daughter, my dear but I am thankful for you. You've made me so proud today and I think you deserve a celebration in honor of your Hogwarts letter. So, let's go somewhere nice for dinner and then we can make our way home."

"That sounds wonderful and believe me when I tell you that I am the lucky one today. I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am to have you for my mum and I'm sure my Papa wishes he was still around you too." The two walked some distance in an uncomfortable silence, each thinking of the same man who held the key to their happiness in his very capable hands.

Later, Evie entered the McGonagall manor and tried not to look so shocked at the unfamiliar surroundings. Abigail had given her a rudimentary idea of the layout of the house but she had mentioned nothing about the quaint surroundings and the feeling of warmth and love that seemed to radiate from the very walls. There were photos of Abigail scattered throughout the house and Evie felt a slight pain in her heart. Where were the pictures of her? Did her mother have a secret photo album hidden away that housed the beloved photographs of her and her father?

"Mum, can you help me carry these things up to my room," Evie asked with an ulterior motive. She didn't want to make the fatal mistake of choosing the wrong room or causing any suspicion. She had just found her mother and there were so many wonderful things to learn about her. Now was not the time for silly mistakes.

Evie sat on her bed and watched as Minerva restored the items to their original sizes and placed them in their proper places around the room. Every graceful movement, each softly spoken word, all the tender touches and enveloping hugs offered so freely by Minerva only endeared the woman to her daughter and even though she had quite a few unanswered questions, many of them painful, all she could focus on was the overwhelming feelings of love.

"I know I'm a big girl now, especially with the arrival of my Hogwarts letter, but do you think I could sleep in your room tonight?" Evie asked hesitatingly. She had no idea whether or not Abigail would ever ask their mother for such a favor but at the moment she didn't care. She just couldn't stand the thought of being separated from this fascinating woman again, even if it was only for the night.

Minerva was a bit surprised at the request but her mind raced back to a time when her daughter had spent every night safely snuggled in her arms. "Of course you can, my dear. Get into your pajamas and I'll go downstairs and fix you a cup of cocoa. Then we can climb into bed and read a book together, just like we used to do when you were little."

"I love you mummy," Evie said as tears streaked her pink cheeks for the second time that day.

"And I love you too my darling. Now get into your nightclothes and we'll snuggle in for the night. It's been a long day and I'm sure you're as exhausted as I am. A good night's sleep will do us both good."

Evelyn did as her mother instructed and she looked around the large room with awe and wonder at all the items on her mothers' dressing table. She picked up the silver brush and ran it gently through her own long hair and then sprayed the perfume into the air and inhaled deeply. Hearing her mother's footsteps coming up the stairs, she jumped quickly into bed and tried to act as if she had been in this room countless times.

"Here you are, my dear. One mug of steaming hot chocolate just for you and one cup of tea for me," Minerva said handing her the mug of soothing chocolate. Evie thought of her father and how they had often had some of their most serious talks or chess games over hot chocolate at night. Taking one sip of the delicious drink, her eyes widened and a grin appeared on her face.

"What's so funny, Abigail?"

"Mum, where did you ever learn to make hot chocolate like this? It's so yummy and it reminds me of something cozy and filled with love," Evie hinted. In secret, though, she couldn't help but notice how the hot chocolate tasted exactly like that her father made on a daily basis.

"Well, I learned how to make this special blend from someone I loved very much. He taught me the secret and perhaps one day I'll pass it along to you." Minerva's emerald green eyes took on a far away look as she remembered the evening Albus insisted on teaching her the proper way to prepare the drink. "Hmm, he used to drink it all the time and I suppose he still does," she added wistfully.

"He does!" she exclaimed. "I mean I'm sure he does. Who could ever give up something so delicious?" she recovered taking a long sip of her drink and peering over the top of her mug with bright blue eyes. Minerva allowed herself to be sucked into the calming depths of those blue eyes that were oh so familiar and yet so new at the same time. Her thoughts had been torn all day between Abigail and Evelyn but she assumed that was just because she knew her other daughter would be experiencing the same things as Abigail and she longed to be there with her as well.

Evie watched her mother closely and wondered what she was thinking. Thousands of questions were running through her own mind but she wasn't ready to start asking questions just yet. She was too caught up in spending time with the woman she had longed to meet ever since she was old enough to remember.

Minerva seemed to sense a change in her daughter's behavior and she completely caught Evie off guard with her question. "Young lady, what have you done with my daughter?" she asked without a hint of teasing or laughter in her voice.

At first, Evie was sure that the game was over and somehow she has ruined things on the first night. Then she saw the corners of Minerva's mouth begin to twitch into a smile.

"I have no idea what you mean, mother. I'm the same little girl who went into Diagon Alley to get her school things this morning."

"No, you're not. You're growing up on me too fast and I won't permit it! Where is Hope?"

"Who?" she asked utterly confused.

"Abigail McGonagall, you can't tell me that you expect me to believe you don't know who Hope is! You've slept with that stuffed unicorn every night since you were one year old," she said cupping her daughter's face in her hands and smiling. "Are you giving that up today because of your letter," Minerva asked with concern heavy in her voice.

"No. I just got so excited that I forgot to grab her. Can you summon her for me, please?" Minerva did as her daughter requested and was puzzled as Evie's expression changed into one of shock.

Evie hadn't expected to see the exact same unicorn she slept with every night come floating effortlessly through the doorway and into her arms. She studied the golden heart that hung from a maroon band around the unicorn's neck and noticed that it was identical to hers, well mostly identical. Instead of reading To Evelyn, With All Our Love Mum and Papa, this one had Abigail's name on it and she had always called her unicorn, Faith. She hugged it to her and then kissed her mother on the cheek before snuggling into her arms.

Minerva returned the gesture and kissed the top of Evie's head. Something had changed in her daughter while they were at Diagon Alley but she couldn't quite place her finger on what it was. Hugging her daughter to her tightly she started to hum a soft tune as Evie toyed with the ends of her mother's hair.

"Tell me about the day I got Fai..uhhh…Hope. I want to hear how she came to be mine," she said softly.

Taking a deep breath and swallowing hard, Minerva's mind raced with images from that glorious day in Hogsmeade when they had taken their little girls into the village. Albus had insisted on going into the toy shop with his girls. He had talked all week long about buying them something special when they went into town and while Minerva was thinking in terms of practicality, Albus was thinking in terms of fun. She smiled as she remembered the way his eyes sparkled when he first saw the pair of unicorns sitting on the shelf, which mirrored the girls' eyes when he took them down and gave one to each of his daughters.

"Mum?" Evie asked as her mother stopped humming and had a far away look in her eyes.

"Sorry, my love. I was lost in a memory," she answered with a weak smile but an obvious pain in her eyes.

Evie hugged her mother tightly. "It's okay. I sometimes think about him too," she replied softly.

"What did you say?"

"Just that I wonder about Papa and how he's doing, especially today," she said innocently before closing her eyes and pretending to be sleepy.

"He'd be very proud of you my darling. I know it and perhaps some day you'll have a chance to meet him. In fact, I can promise you that sometime soon, you'll get the chance to learn everything about him," she whispered with a sense of resolve and fear. What if her daughters learned the truth and then hated her for splitting them apart? What if they both chose to live with Albus at Hogwarts for the entire year, leaving her all alone in the manor? Or worse! What if the girls hated them both for what they had done so many years ago? With a troubled mind and an aching heart, Minerva drifted off to sleep holding the daughter she had longed to every day for ten years.

To Be Continued…