The Parent Trap:
A/n: We can't thank you enough for taking the time to read and also review this story. We are over the moon that you are still enjoying it so on with the next chapter.
Chapter Twenty: When the Bough Breaks by Ang:
Minerva sat in the windowsill looking out over the expansive grounds she once called home. She couldn't help but remember happier times spent among these walls and upon these very hallowed grounds. Yet sprinkled among the happiness had also been her greatest heartache. Now, it had become both for she had been reunited with her daughter but that didn't make things any easier around the man she was still legally bound to for life and in her heart forever.
"I'd give almost anything to know what you're thinking right now," came his warm voice to her ear. "I remember you telling me that you always did your best thinking in that window and I've often wondered if that's where you decided to leave me."
"Actually, it isn't. I only had happy thoughts here. I decided to leave you in our bedroom, after crying for hours and realizing that I couldn't go on like we were anymore. I wanted you to love me so much but every time I tried to get close, you always had somewhere else you had to be," she spoke honestly.
"You have no idea how many times I've cursed myself and my job for not treating you and the girls properly. I thought I was doing what was best for my family at the time and look at the mess I created."
"Yes, well hindsight is always better than the moment, isn't it?" Minerva had not wanted to start an argument but the more he spoke, the more her temper seemed to bubble just below the surface. "I think we are to meet the girls this afternoon for a picnic. Perhaps I should go change. Shall I meet you there?"
"I'd like it if we could go together. I'll wait for you, Min." She gave him a weak smile and disappeared into the bedroom. "I've been waiting for ten years," he whispered to her retreating form, "what's a few more minutes?"
An uncomfortable silence descended upon Albus and Minerva as they walked to the lake. Albus was so sure that they were going to have a wonderful day based on the way the morning had started but all too quickly it had gone downhill. His only hope was that seeing their daughters getting along famously might brighten Minerva's mood and make her more agreeable in the evening. But his hopes were short lived when they neared the lake.
Two blankets were spread out and on them were separate picnic baskets. Evie occupied a bright purple blanket while Abigail sat regally upon the emerald green one. Each looked lost in thought as their parents approached, a sombre sight if he had ever seen one.
"Well, well. Two blankets? Whatever happened to a good old fashioned family picnic," Albus teased his girls.
"That was before we were split up, I suppose," Abigail bit back. "We don't remember any good old fashioned family anythings," she answered bitterly.
"Abigail Dumbledore! You apologize to your father this instant!" Minerva scolded her daughter. The look in her eyes indicated she was leaving no room for argument on the matter.
"Sorry," she muttered, never looking up from her folded hands still laying in her lap.
"Well, she's right you know! But then again, I suppose you didn't really want family time since you left Papa and me all those years ago," Evie spat at Minerva.
"Evelyn, you will not speak to your mother in that matter. Say you're sorry young lady. NOW!"
"No, I won't! She left us all those years ago and now that she's back she's going to go away again and this time I will remember her," she began to sob.
Minerva looked up at Albus and then dropped to her knees, pulling Evie into her lap and hugging her fiercely. "Evie, dear, I'm not planning to leave you again. Now that I have you back in my life, I wouldn't dream of not being a part of your world. That is…if you'll let me."
Abigail sat stiffly and watched as her mother consoled her twin, taking note of the way she rubbed small circles on her back or the way her familiar hands filtered through the long locks of her sister's hair. She couldn't count the times she had cried her heart out and been soothed in just that manner by their mother. But never did she realize how hard it might be to see someone else receiving that kind of attention from the woman she adored.
Albus sat down on the blanket near Abigail and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, drawing her to his side. She sat stoically, just as her mother might have if he had tried to hug her. "Abigail, what's gotten into the two of you today? When you both left us last night you each seemed fine. And now that you've had half a day together, this is what we find?"
"You didn't even bother to come looking for us," she replied in a tone barely loud enough for him to hear. "You just let us leave and never once took the time from your busy schedule to see if we were okay or needed anything. For all you knew we were living in a little shack somewhere starving to death." She looked up into her father's eyes as tears spilled from her own. "And to think I used to fantasize that you were my father!" Before Albus could say another word, Abigail had jumped up and darted off to the edge of the water, her shoulders visibly shaking with her quiet sobs.
Evie looked from her father to her mother then settled her gaze on her twin sister. "And I always thought all mothers loved their children. For so many years I wondered what I had done to make you go away and leave me. I've wondered why you didn't love me enough to take me too." Wrenching herself from Minerva's arms, she quickly joined her sister by the lake, wrapping an arm around Abigail and in return resting her head on Abigail's shoulder.
Albus and Minerva looked utterly defeated. They knew they were each to blame for the girls' feelings and that this day would eventually come but they hadn't expected it to be this afternoon. The girls had been carrying a lot on their shoulders since that fateful day in Diagon Alley and obviously it had just been too much for them to take.
Albus watched as Minerva dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief and then at his daughters who were still struggling to keep their tears to a minimum. "I think it's time we cleared the air for the girls, Min. It's time they knew everything."
"Abigail, Evie, come here please. It's time we had a heart to heart…the four of us." Both girls reluctantly walked back to the blankets.
"So, which one of you is taking me this time," Abigail dared to mouth at her father.
"You may sit anywhere you like, child. And the same goes for you too Evie. We're not here to split you up again nor are we going to make you choose a parent. We simply wish to talk."
"Your father and I thought that you two were handling this far better than we were but it seems that we all have some things we need to get off our chests." Minerva opened her arms to her daughters and invited them to snuggle into her embrace. "Why not let your father go first and then when I'm explaining my end of things, you can sit with him. Sound fair?" The suggestion met with the approval of both girls and soon Albus found himself telling painful memories and thoughts in front of the three most important women in his life.
"First of all, I have never stopped loving your mother, nor you Abigail. Not a day has gone by that I haven't wished I could still be a part of your lives. But that does not excuse what I did and I need to ask for your forgiveness, Minerva, and yours too, Abigail." He locked eyes with each one of the girls and then held Minerva's gaze for much longer before taking a deep breath to continue.
"You see, I worked extremely long hours both before and after you were born. Your mother always allowed me the freedom to come and go as I pleased but in doing so, I found it easier and easier to get lost in my own work and the result was neglecting my duties at home. I often would come home late at night to find you both fed, bathed, and tucked safely in your cradles. Your mother would be exhausted but instead of offering her any help, I would spend a few minutes with her before disappearing for another hour or so to finish last minute work."
"Didn't you love us enough to want to spend time with us, Papa?" Evie asked timidly.
"Oh dearest, it was because of my love for you that I was working so hard. I wanted to protect all three of you from danger and I was trying to make this world a safer place for my family. But in doing that I lost sight of what was truly important and it cost me everything, although in truth, I am to blame for the loss."
"Mother, that doesn't explain why you just left without talking to Papa about your feelings," Abigail observed.
Minerva released both of her girls and they went to sit beside Albus, trying hard not to break down in front of him again. "I tried my dears. I truly tried to talk to him but he was always so busy. Why he even forgot our anniversary the last year we were together and it wasn't until he came home to a table set for two with gutted candles and both of you spending the night with your Aunt Xiomara that he realized his error. Of course, the dinner was ruined. I was furious and he spent the night on the couch while I cried myself to sleep in our bed."
"I was a fool, Minerva and I'm sorry. I will never forget the sight of you in that nightgown, with a tear stained face and red eyes that greeted me the next morning." A cold shiver passed through Albus' body as he vividly remembered the sight of his lovely wife standing in a see through nightgown looking like her entire world had just crashed around her feet.
"I left because I thought I could teach your father a lesson and I took Abigail because she had been ill. I wasn't about to leave her alone with anyone since I didn't know exactly when Albus would return. Evie, you were always healthy and you loved playing with everyone in the castle so I had no worries that you would be well looked after until I returned. And yes, I did plan to return that night."
"You planned on him coming after us, didn't you Mum?" Abigail had learned to pick up on her mother's thoughts and emotions at an early age and she could tell that she was struggling to tell her side of the story and wanted to do everything she could to make it easier for her mother.
Minerva felt hot tears began to trickle down her face. "Yes, I did. I just knew that as soon as he came home, he'd rush right back out to look for us. And I even went where I thought he'd look first," she laughed bitterly. "But when he didn't come or even floo to see if we were there, I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. I kept thinking he'd show up at any moment but when one week turned into a month and I still hadn't heard from him, I felt foolish and didn't dare come back to Hogwarts. You see, girls, I let my pride get in the way of your happiness."
"But it was his fault," Evie yelled. Her old feelings of longing for her mother and wondering why her father never spoke of Minerva came flooding back to her.
"No, Evie it wasn't entirely his fault. I should have stayed and spoken to him again instead of running away from my problems…"
"Our problems, Minerva. I am mostly responsible for them in the first place."
A long and emotional hour passed as the four of them spoke candidly about their feelings for each other and for the situation they now found themselves in at Hogwarts. Tears were shed and understandings were born as the girls were finally able to piece together the entire chain of events that had led them to their startling discovery at Madame Malkin's.
"What happens to us now, Mum?" Abigail had always been one to ask blunt questions and to crave straight answers. In speaking, she had voiced the one question burning into Evie's mind as well.
"You'll start Hogwarts soon and I suspect you will have plenty of time to get to know each other, especially if you are sorted into the same house."
"That's not what she means," Evie dared to speak. "She means on holidays, weekends, and all the times we should be spending as a family."
"You two will not be separated again. We have already decided that much, girls, so there's no need to worry. Your mother and I will do everything we can to make sure that you see each of us whenever you wish and your lives will be as normal as possible."
"But what about the two of you? I know you still love her Papa and Mum still loves you. Don't you think we deserve a complete family? The way we used to be? If we can forgive you for keeping up apart and denying us the other parent, then why can't you forgive each other and try to make your marriage work? After all, neither of you asked for a breaking of the marriage bonds." Both girls stared at their parents and then gathered up one of the blankets and a picnic basket.
"Thank you for sharing all of this with us but we need to be alone now to talk. We're leaving you a blanket and a basket full of food so that maybe you can use this time to talk too. Try talking to each other honestly, like you did with us. Mum, you could tell him how you never let me have lemon drops because they reminded you of him yet you'd always make me hot chocolate and we'd drink a cup together before bedtime. You always said it reminded you of the love of your life."
"And Papa, why not tell Mum how you denied me a kitten every single time I asked because it reminded you of her but yet I have this locket with her picture. And I know you kept the letters you wrote to her but never sent. Why not share them with her now?"
Albus and Minerva had no words for their children, only blank faces and eyes clouded with tears. Maybe it was time for them to have a discussion about their life together. After all, they now had two children to consider and everyone's happiness depended on their answers. Both knew they'd love to get back together and become a real family again but it wouldn't be easy and neither was certain that the other felt the same way.
It was Minerva who broke the silence as her children walked away, hand in hand with a picnic blanket and a basket. "I suppose we deserved their anger, didn't we Albus? But I must say they certainly are exceptional little girls to have handled this as well as they have."
"Yes, my dear. We did deserve all they had to offer us and so much more. But they are strong and so are we. Somehow I just know this will bring us closer as a family." He reached over and took her hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze. Upon instinct, Minerva leaned over into him and felt his arms wrap around her slender frame as the tears they had been holding back finally found a release.
TBC…