Hello hello! I really have nothing to say at the moment, amazing I know. So, I got me Oreos, me typing gloves (it's freezing in this part of the house!), and what is left of me brain after over 50 days of school to account for. Onward with Chapter 2 of Home Is Where the Heart Is! God I'm such a nerd………
Makoto could feel every part of her body shake as she raised her hand to the knocker. Her fingertips rested on the tarnished golden surface for a moment and she inhaled deeply. She caressed the smooth object. A voice from inside startled her and she quickly withdrew her hand. Who was she kidding? She didn't belong here. This wasn't her life anymore.
The voice grew stronger and closer, but Makoto took no notice. So when the door opened as suddenly as it did, both Makoto and the girl she faced could've jumped from their skin. The girl on the inside of the door yelped in surprise. She had a thin face with high cheekbones, and a long pointed nose that gave her the appearance of a cross between an underfed horse and a vulture. A mass of curled dark auburn hair topped her head, held up by a few stray bobby pins holding on for dear life. Her eyes seemed sunken in, a feature that was greatly exaggerated by the look she was currently giving Makoto. "Who are you?" She inquired curtly.
"I-well uhhh…." She stammered. How do you tell someone you're a long-lost family member? "You see I-erm, could I come in for a moment?" The girl took a step back without looking away from Makoto and slammed the door. Obviously not like that, smooth move Mako.
Makoto reached up with more confidence this time and knocked. The door opened just as quickly as the first time. "Just leave us alone!" The girl squeaked.
Another voice sounded from the top of the stairs that led to the upstairs. "Who is that, dear?" A woman descended down the stairs, but Makoto couldn't see her until she stepped onto the landing and was illuminated by the dim light of a floor lamp. Standing beside the other girl was a woman of about 40. She had kind hazel eyes and the same high cheekbones, but her most charming feature was her long, flaming red hair. "Can I help you?" She asked politely.
Makoto sent out a sharp breath. The other girl was still glaring at her from behind the older woman. "I don't really know how to say this, so I'm gonna' just say it. I just recently found out that I was adopted. I was taken from my family when I was very young and sent to Japan. I was adopted by a very nice family, but they passed away 10 years ago in a plane crash." She paused for a moment to gauge their reactions. She was about to begin again when she was interrupted.
"Well that's all very sad, but what does that have to do with us?"
"Petunia!" The older woman scolded. "Go on dear."
"Well," she began shooting a glance at the horse-faced girl, "I recently discovered who my real family is, and I was hoping that they would remember me…"
The older woman's eyes widened in realization. Her lip trembled before she managed to whisper, "Rose?"
Tears welled in her eyes and she pulled Makoto into a tight embrace. Over the woman's shoulder she could see that the girl named Petunia was now thoroughly confused. "Oh, oh, come in, dear. Oh, why you-you must be getting cold out here." The redheaded woman choked as she motioned to the front yard. Makoto suppressed a laugh as her gaze followed the woman's gesture to the muggy, 70° night.
Makoto was overcome with emotions and her mind was swimming, but she could feel herself being gently pulled into the house. She heard the door close behind her and the woman at her left call out, "Henry! Come here!"
"Just a minute!" She heard a male's voice reply. Her head began to clear and she heard movement from upstairs.
"Mom, what is it?" She heard a soft voice call. Makoto lifted her head slowly as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs and came face to face with yet another redheaded girl. A blinding smile was fixed on the girl's rosy-cheeked face. "Mom?" The girl coaxed. "Who is this?" The girl's smile was contagious.
The woman who was apparently their mother was still clearly trying to compose herself. The man named Henry appeared at the landing finally and put a hand on the woman's shoulder. She gazed at him deeply and then leaned over to whisper in his ear. The man's brow furrowed and then rose again so high that they threatened to disappear into his mane of curly brown hair. He nodded in understanding. His blue eyes flashed to look over Makoto quickly as if not believing what he was told. After a moment he smiled slightly, satisfied, and Makoto felt at ease again.
"Lily, Petunia, I'd like you to meet someone very special." He said.
"This is your younger sister, Rose Angelina." Their mother continued. The reaction was immediate in the redheaded girl. She let out a screech and enveloped Makoto in as warm an embrace as her mother had minutes before. Makoto was surprised at such a quick reaction. She laughed lightheartedly as the redhead, Lily, began to shower her with questions. Where had she been? How was she? How old was she? Henry laughed along with her and put a hand on Lily's shoulder.
"Maybe we should all get settled before we talk about this," he reasoned. Makoto snickered. We? She had a feeling she'd be doing most of the talking.
Henry made his way back up the stairs followed by Petunia and Lily. The older woman stayed behind and wrapped a supportive arm around Makoto. She wiped a stray tear from beneath her eye and said, "I am sorry for Petunia's behavior earlier."
"Oh, don't worry about it Mrs. Evans." Makoto replied awkwardly.
"Please, it's Sarah. I realize that this all must be very odd for you, but we'll all do our best to make sure that you feel right at home here." With that, Sarah began up the stairs leaving Makoto staring after her. Makoto sighed heavily and lifted her foot to the first step. She could hear hushed voices coming from upstairs.
Makoto grasped the railing to steady herself as the overwhelming reality of this situation finally hit her. One step at a time. She smiled slightly at the saying's current literal meaning. She reached the top of the stairs and turned to her right, the direction the voices were coming from.
The four other people were seated in various places throughout the room, leaving a rather large armchair for Makoto. She remained standing, however, and admired the room before her. It was simple, the walls a light tan color. The couch and chairs were a range of reds and browns and rather comfortable looking. A rich mahogany coffee table sat in the middle of the room where a variety of newspaper clippings were scattered. She craned her neck to read the headline of one and could feel their eyes on her.
Sarah, sensing the awkwardness of the situation, came to her rescue. "Rose, come with me to the kitchen and I'll get you something to drink." It took Makoto a moment to realize that she was being spoken to. She followed Mrs. Evans through an archway and into the kitchen.
When they reached the kitchen, Sarah beckoned Makoto to sit at the table. "Excuse me." Makoto started. "If you wouldn't mind, could you call me Makoto? That was name back home and, well, it's just one less thing to get used to for now."
"Of course," Sarah answered absently as she rummaged through the cupboard. Makoto wasn't sure that she had heard her, but was reassured when Sarah turned with a crystal glass in her hand and asked, "Makoto. Now that's an interesting name. Where were your parents from?"
Makoto stood from the table and walked next to Sarah. "Well, after my parents died, I was moved from foster family to foster family for a while, but I never actually left from Japan."
"Japan!" Sarah dropped the crystal glass from her hand and it shattered at their feet.
Makoto awoke at what should have been an un-Godly hour normally. But that was just it. This bed should be hers. She should be waking up in her room, in Tokyo, Japan, but she wasn't.
Mrs. Evans had sent her straight to bed after hearing of her journey from Japan. Apparently, Mrs. Evans was even more aware of the time difference than she was. Meaning that Makoto had been taken from Japan a little before 4 o'clock in the morning and therefore "must not have gotten a proper night's rest!" Makoto was relieved and even more so when Mrs. Evans promised that she and Mr. Evans, or Henry, would explain everything to Lily and Petunia.
She sat up slowly in the bed and threw back the covers only to realize that she had been in her pajamas through the whole ordeal. What an idiot she must have seemed like, showing up at their door claiming that she was their daughter in a lacey green nightgown! Makoto snickered at herself until it turned into full out laughing. She didn't even notice when the door opened.
"Well, it's nice to see that you're awake and happy," Lily greeted with a smile. Makoto had the grace to blush at what a fool she must seem like once again.
"I was just thinking about how ridiculous I seem at the moment with nothing to wear besides this," she gestured to her current attire. Lily was already making her feel at ease and they had only known each other a few hours.
The redhead giggled slightly and joined Makoto at the end of her bed. "Well it's not like you could help it or anything. Mom explained everything, or at least what she knew, but I'm sure there's more to it than that." Makoto looked away. "But you don't need to tell me anything until you're ready. Anyway," she changed the subject quickly, "I'm sure I have some things you could borrow for the time being."
"Are you sure you don't mind?"
"Of course not! I have enough jumpers in my room to supply 10 more sisters, and I have a few skirts that don't fit me anymore. I'm sure they'll fit you just fine."
Makoto groaned inwardly, she had never really been a fan of skirts, but had become so used to them because they were part of the uniform. It was nothing to be worried about though, beggars can't be choosers, and besides, it was just clothes.
Nearly half an hour later laughter sounded from the stairs. The two newly reunited sisters made their way down the stairs, Makoto sporting a new red-sweater-black-skirt ensemble. "-and I ended up spilling all the pumpkin juice down the front of my jumper. Fortunately, Mum was able to get it all off, but I never really forgave them."
Makoto laughed, "This James guy sounds like a real character."
"Oh, he is! I expect you'll be introduced to him soon enough once you get all your Hogwarts things. Oh, I'm so excited to have a family member going to the same school as me!" Lily exclaimed as she rounded the corner to the living room.
Makoto followed closely behind. "Didn't Petunia go to this Hogwarts place?" Lily shook her head sadly. Makoto decided this was a subject to brought up at a later time.
"And you're lucky, this is my last year. Otherwise you'd have to learn all about the place yourself. It's quite an incredible place, Hogwarts. You'll see what I mean once we're there. The whole wizarding world is really quite remarkable."
"Hello girls," Mr. Evans greeted them as they entered the kitchen that Makoto had been in the night before.
"Hullo Dad," Lily returned cheerfully. She sat beside her father and grabbed the last piece of toast just as Mrs. Evans brought a fresh plate of sausages. "Makoto dear, sit down, breakfast will be in a minute."
"Thank you," she said and sat down next to Lily.
"Lily, I thought I told you to let her sleep in. Heaven knows she could use a good night's sleep."
"Mum, she was already awake when I went in to her room," Lily protested. Mrs. Evans huffed and returned to the stove.
Mr. Evans who had been reading a newspaper similar to the ones Makoto had noticed on the coffee table last night shook his head angrily. "Ireland's lost the match again. They'll never make it to the Cup at this rate," he fumed. His hand shifted as he turned the page and the front page became visible. The paper, The Daily Prophet it was called, headline read "Ireland Yet Again Finds No Pot of Gold." Normally Makoto would have laughed at something punny like that, but judging by the look on Mr. Evans face, today should not be one of those days.
"So Dad. Where is Petunia off to so early in the day?" Lily attempted to get his mind off Ireland.
"I told you yesterday. She had to work an early shift today," he grumbled. Lily turned to face her plate silently. Makoto didn't understand at all what he was so upset about, but decided to ask Lily later rather than now.
Mrs. Evans returned with an armful of plates. She set them in the center of the table and began to fill Makoto's plate with an assortment from each plate. "We need to build up some meat on those bones," she said as she put three eggs in front of Makoto, careful not to break the yokes. Next came more sausage, bacon strips, two pieces of toast, and a muffin. Makoto's eyes widened at the heaping plate in front of her. Lily smiled sympathetically.
Mrs. Evans looked at her expectantly. "Well go on dear, dig in."
"Ermm, yes well." Makoto wasn't even sure where to begin. She picked up a strip of bacon and took a bite. She thought of some way, any way, to get out of eating all the food off the mountainous plate. "Umm, Mrs. E-Sarah?" She corrected herself. "Could I take you up on last night's offer of a drink?"
Well, I'm in a rush to get this out before I leave, so I'll keep it short. I got inspired to get going on this ever since I saw Goblet of Fire last weekend, and again today. Cried both times, may we all remember Cedric Diggory, what a stud. Thanks to Gina for "Seasons of Love" I love Rent! And thanks to Brienna for supplying me with tissues the second time I had to watch him die. Ummm, thanks to all my reviewers. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't worry, it'll get more interesting as things go along. I did get a mention in about James, Love you all, and Happy Holidays!