I know that Honeydukes is in Hogsmeade, but I was never sure if it was a chain shop, so here, have one in Diagon Alley too (:
He should never have agreed to this.
"Daddy! Daddyyyy!" Wang Mu woke Quirrell up at six in the morning by yelling extremely loudly, and Voldemort simply groaned feebly in response.
"S'you she wants…" He murmured, burying his face in his pillow.
"I know," Quirrell all but whimpered. "But…"
"DADDY!"
"Go, please." Voldemort groaned again, pulling the duvet up over his head too.
"It's…it's so early…"
Voldemort kicked his leg as Wang Mu continued to shout for him, and Quirrell reluctantly got out of bed, snatching up his dressing robe and hurrying to her room. Wang Mu was standing up in her cot, practically bouncing up and down, beaming when she saw him. "Daddy!"
"Hey there, sweetie." Quirrell yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Why aren't you sleeping?"
"Day time!"
"Um, no, not quite yet honey. The sun's not even awake." Quirrell moved over, gently lifting her up and kissing her forehead.
"Day time. Di'gon today." Wang Mu insisted, beaming, and Quirrell's heart sank. "Promised, Daddy."
Yes, he had. He still didn't even know what had possessed him when he'd agreed to take his daughter to see Diagon Alley. Although it had been years, Quirrell still didn't want to go back to a Wizarding World where the majority of the people there most likely still hated him. But, as Voldemort had pointed out, Wang Mu was a witch who'd eventually go to Hogwarts, so it was only fair to let her see some of that world.
He'd tried to get out of it with a number of excuses, but all of them had been countered. No buggy? Apparently Wang was willing to walk and Quirrell could carry her when she got tired. He had papers to grade? He could do that when he got back. He just didn't want to go? Too bad.
"I did promise," He agreed, trying to smile.
"Dukes."
"Huh?"
"Dukes, Daddy!"
Quirrell frowned, way too tired to understand his daughter's babbling. "Sorry, sweetie, what?"
Wang Mu sighed, patting Quirrell's cheek. "Dukes. For me!"
"W – Oh, right! Honeydukes?" Quirrell guessed, proud of himself. "Right! Yeah, we can go there. But you gotta promise to not eat too much candy, ok?"
Wang Mu considered it for a moment, before nodding. "Go now?"
"Not now, no. It's very early and we're in our pyjamas." Quirrell pointed out. "Also, Papa's still in bed."
"Let's see Papa." Wang Mu said with a little nod. "Say hello."
"He's sleeping, honey. Like I said, it's very early and…" He faltered as she looked at him with pleading eyes and gave in. "Ok. Let's say hello."
"Thank you, Daddy." Wang Mu beamed, her little arms wrapping around Quirrell's neck.
"No need to thank me!" Quirrell laughed a little. "You can say hello to Papa and I whenever you want." He began to walk to his bedroom, gently pushing the door open with his foot. "Hey, you got a visitor." He began, as Voldemort groaned a little and pulled the duvet up. "C'mon, look lively."
"Nnngh…" Voldemort tried to sit up, rubbing his eyes. "Wassit?"
"Wang wanted to say hi." Quirrell said, grinning at a tousled and sleepy Voldemort. He looked so cute when his hair was all over the place.
"Oh, mm'kay…" Voldemort yawned. "Hi, kiddo…"
"Papa not coming?" Wang Mu asked with a little giggle as she was placed down on the bed and crawled over to Voldemort. "Di'gon today. And Dukes."
Voldemort yawned again, shaking his head. "Nah, I can't. But bring me back some jelly snakes and the, uh, thingies…with the sugar…"
"Sugar quills." Quirrell supplied, getting back into bed himself.
"Yeah, those." Voldemort slurred sleepily, holding out his arms as Wang Mu crawled into them. "Is that why you're up so early? For candy?"
"Yes." Wang Mu replied simply as she snuggled into him.
"Fair enough." Voldemort closed his eyes and settled back down, before mumbling. "Be nice to your Daddy when you're out, though, and do what he says."
Quirrell nodded tiredly, "Yeah, y'gotta… listen." He yawned. "'Cause no one likes me there, so…"
"Don't be ridiculous, Sqwuurl." Voldemort slurred. "S'been ages, no one's gonna care anymore."
"That's easy for you to say," Quirrell muttered sullenly, his eyes closing too until Wang Mu whacked his arm in what he assumed was meant to be affectionate.
"No, Daddy, no sleep! Need clothes and shums and then Dukes!"
"Shums?" Voldemort echoed blearily. "What're those?"
"It's her word for shoes, I'm hoping she'll realise soon enough." Quirrell groaned feebly, before sitting back up and addressing their daughter. "Ok, ok, so I can tell you're excited, which means I need to get excited too. So look, I'm getting up, and we'll get your clothes and, uh, shums on. But you gotta eat something first."
Wang Mu clapped her little hands eagerly, struggling to sit back up and crawl over to Quirrell. "Thanks, Daddy…"
"No problem." Quirrell picked her up, kissing the top of her head. "Right. Voldemort, I need you to look me out some Floo Powder while I get her ready, ok?"
Voldemort whined, burying his face in his pillow again. "Can't you do that yourself?"
"No, I can't, because in case you haven't noticed, I'm really kind of busy!" Quirrell scolded, before his expression softened slightly and he bent down to kiss Voldemort's forehead. "It'll take you two seconds, then you can go back to bed."
"I got like…five hours sleep, man…"
"I know, honey. But I'm only asking you to get up for a minute, and then you can sleep again. I'm the one who has to go out into Diagon Alley."
Voldemort whined again as he sat himself up, running a hand through his hair and consequently tousling it up even more. "Ok, ok! Sheesh!"
"That's my man. Thanks." Quirrell replied, already heading out the bedroom door, Wang Mu still babbling about how excited she was.
Once Wang Mu was all dressed and fed, Quirrell put on his wizard robes, which he hadn't worn for years and as a result had forgotten how dumb wizards and witches actually dressed.
"Oh God." He whined as he stared in their bedroom mirror, tugging at his collar. "I look like a moron. I always hated wearing these! What's wrong with jeans and a nice sweater?"
"You look fine. I'd forgotten how cute you looked in that outfit." Voldemort commented, sitting up in bed now and helping Wang Mu tie her hair up. "There you go, kid."
"Cute? Get out of here. I look stupid." Quirrell sighed heavily. "The things I do for you, Wang. You ready?"
Wang Mu clapped her hands, opening her arms so Quirrell could help her off the bed. "Choc'late and toyyyssss." She babbled. "Bye Papa!"
"Have fun." Voldemort replied, already lying back down and closing his eyes. "G'luck, Squirrel. It'll be fine."
"I'm really worried here, man…"
"Don't! Go and…y'know, have a good time." Voldemort rolled over, clearly excited to actually get back to sleep and therefore not taking him seriously.
With a small sigh, Quirrell glowered at him and then reluctantly picked up the Floo Power, prepared to go back into the Wizarding World.
XxX
"Ok, now this is Diagon Alley. You gotta be careful and stay really close to me, alright?"
Wang Mu clung onto Quirrell's hand, looking around in amazement and bewilderment. "Loud, Daddy."
"Yep. It's the morning rush. See all these people? They're shopping like us, or going to magic work, or just enjoying the town."
"Wizards and witches?"
"That's right, sweetie. Just like us."
"Wow!" Wang Mu bounced up and down eagerly. "Dukes?"
"In a little bit," Quirrell told her, "First we're gonna go to the bookshop." He figured it'd be much quieter there, and besides, he hadn't been to Flourish and Blotts for years.
"Books?" Wang Mu frowned. "Boring."
"That's not true, you love books." Quirrell replied as they began to walk, although he was nervously looking around in case anyone yelled at him. "I mean, you like me reading to you, right? I can't do that if I don't have books."
Wang Mu huffed slightly, but she didn't sulk for long as she was too busy staring at everything. They spent the next hour peacefully, and Quirrell bought her an ice cream once she'd seen a store selling them, knowing that if he said no he'd never hear the end of it.
They took a seat on the bench and Quirrell closed his eyes for a moment, just enjoying the sun. Jeez, this place hadn't changed. It was still loud and crowded and…
"Hey, isn't that the dude who…?"
He stiffened as he heard a nearby voice, and immediately turned his head away to pretend to observe a robe-fitting store.
"Who?" The stranger's companion asked.
"…Nah. My mistake." They moved on, and Quirrell sighed with relief. Close call there. Still, someone was bound to recognise him properly sooner or later.
"Daddy, Daddy, what's that?" Wang Mu suddenly gasped, pointing to some shop which had a whole bunch of stuff happening outside it; fireworks, exploding noises, and a large crowd of people trying to get in.
"Uh…" Quirrell squinted, trying to see the sign. "Weasley's…Wizard Wheezes? I don't know what they sell, though. Sorry, sweetie." Huh. Weasley. Wasn't that…It rang a bell, but…An old student or something?
Even though he really didn't want to go in to such a crowd, he could tell how excited his daughter was about this, so he hesitantly picked her up and moved in to get a closer look. "Oh! It's some joke shop or something. Probably stuff that's too grown-up for you, though."
"I'm three." Wang Mu murmured indignantly, before squirming excitedly in his arms. "Oh, Daddy, please!"
"Nngh…" Quirrell groaned, unsettled by how busy it was and the fact 'Weasley' was definitely significant somehow. "Five minutes and no more than that. Ok?"
Wang Mu clung onto him, beaming. "Yeey!"
"Yeah. Gotta be careful though…" He added as he somewhat nervously made his way through the crowd, always keeping his head down. Once they were finally inside, Quirrell slowly placed Wang Mu back on the ground. "Time to toddle, or my arms are gonna get tired before we've even got anywhere." He grinned, holding on to her little hand gently.
Wang Mu immediately tottered around, pulling Quirrell as she did so. "Boom!" She exclaimed, pointing to a box of fireworks. "Present?"
"No, honey. Not just now." Quirrell replied, trying to look at the endless shelves to avoid anyone spotting him. "Look, here's a cute little castle you can build. It'll probably have a catch, though…"
Wang Mu was already interested in something else at this point, but Quirrell picked up the box anyway before she dragged him onwards. It'd be a good toy and would give her something to do during the days when he was at work and Voldemort just wanted to relax.
"Daddy!" Wang Mu let go of his hand and pointed at a cage full of fluffy, moving things. Jeez, what the hell were they? "Can I please?"
"Can you what? Have one? No. They're creeping me out just looking at 'em. Besides, we have Benji if you want something fluffy." A few years ago he and Voldemort had got themselves a tabby kitten which they'd named Benjamin, yet even Quirrell had to admit the once extremely playful kitty was a lazy and slightly tubby cat now. But he still adored him even if he barely wanted to play nowadays.
"Benji doesn't like meeee." Wang Mu insisted, still fascinated by the disturbing balls of fluff.
"Don't be silly. He loves you. And the only reason he got mad at you one time was because you pulled on his tail." Quirrell replied. "And I still have no clue what those things are, so. Moving on!"
A store assistant nearby must have overheard, because she made her way over eagerly. "They're Pygmy Puffs, sir, very easy to handle and extremely friendly –" The young girl froze, clearly recognising him, and Quirrell swallowed as he brought his daughter closer to him.
"Um, thanks, but…We'll just take this please." He held out the box, trying to appear oblivious to her wide-eyed stare.
"Three galleons and four…four sickles." The girl replied, her eyes never leaving Quirrell's. "Then you can get out. And not come back."
"Wha – Oh, come now. I'm not doing anything." Quirrell attempted a smile. "I'm shopping with my daughter and she wanted to come in. Pygmy Puffs, huh? Do you feed 'em or…? What do they do?"
"How can you show your face here? In this shop? Do you have any -"
"Please," Quirrell interrupted softly. "Not in front of my kid." Luckily enough, Wang Mu was too distracted babbling to the fluffy things, so Quirrell then added, "Besides, there's no reason why I can't be here. Proven innocent and everything. And it was years ago -"
"You aren't innocent of working with the Dark Lord, everyone knows that bit was true!"
"Well I wasn't sent to Azkaban for that, was I? I want to pay for this, please." Quirrell replied quietly, holding out his change.
"This shop is owned by George Weasley. The Dark Lord's servants killed his twin brother. That would never have happened if you hadn't helped him rise to power." The girl hissed back, taking the money. "Don't come again, do you understand?"
Quirrell swallowed, gently taking Wang Mu's hand again. "C'mon, sweetie. Time to go."
"No, Daddy, waaait!" His daughter gripped onto one of the bars of the cage with her free hand, gazing intently at the Pygmy Puffs.
"Wang Mu, it's time to go." Quirrell repeated firmly. "Hopefully Honeydukes will have better hospitality than this."
"I wouldn't count on it." The girl glowered. "No one wants you back."
Quirrell felt his face heat up at that, and he began to walk, Wang Mu toddling beside him. "Daddy, please!" She begged, pointing back to the Pygmy Puffs.
"No."
"Daddy!"
"No!" Quirrell snapped, once they were finally outside again. "I never even wanted to go in that place, I knew you'd find a bunch of stuff you want! And you can't get it, understand? Now, enough."
Wang Mu blinked up at him, clearly distraught at his outburst, and then started sobbing. "Sorry, Daddy, I'm sorry!"
"Oh, no, no, it's ok." Quirrell knelt down so he was at her eye level, already feeling like the worst parent ever. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. Please don't cry." He placed the box down and enveloped her in a gentle hug, and she sobbed into his shoulder. "Don't be sorry, it's my fault. I think I woke up too early. I'm a bit grouchy, huh?"
"Y-yes," She sniffled.
"I know, and I'm sorry. It's just that those things are a lot of money, and we just don't have enough room in the house right now. But maybe one day. There," He took out a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. "That's my girl."
"Kiss?"
Quirrell smiled, kissing her forehead. "Alright, we're all good, we're fine. Dukes?"
"Really?" She sniffed, her eyes still a bit glossy. "D-dukes?"
"Yeah, really!" Quirrell smiled. "I promised, didn't I? And we gotta get your Papa his jelly snakes and stuff."
Wang Mu smiled back at him. "Papa needs sugar qwills."
"That's right! Thanks for reminding me." He wiped at her eyes again gently. "Better?"
"Uh-huh." Wang Mu nodded, and then looked down at the box. "Fairies?"
"Huh?"
"Place for fairies!" Wang Mu pointed at the box, a wide smile now spreading across her face. "Princess fairies?"
"It can be, if you want it to." Quirrell grinned, taking a look at the box properly himself. "Yeah, you can build your own castle. It can be your fairy castle, I guess. We can set it up then we're home."
Wang Mu wiped her eyes, beaming. "Thank you Daddy! Best present!"
"No problem, sweetie. I'm glad you like it. Hey, tell you what, shall we use magic to send it home?"
Wang Mu nodded eagerly as Quirrell took his wand from his pocket. "Alright, say the spell with me." He grinned as he pointed it at the box.
Wang Mu babbled something that sounded close to the correct enchantment, and with a swish of his wand while he muttered the spell, the box disappeared. "There we go! That'll be waiting at home for us."
Wang Mu squealed slightly as the box disappeared, clapping her hands. "Magic!"
"Yep. Right, let's go to Honeydukes." Before anyone else says anything. He stood up again, taking her little hand and she eagerly skipped beside him.
"Then books for you, Daddy." She piped up. "You want books."
"Oh!" He grinned, "Yeah, I...Sure, we'll go to the bookshop afterwards."
"And Papa will kiss you at home. Make you happy."
Quirrell looked down at her, still feeling extremely guilty. "I am happy, Wang. I'm sorry I shouted."
"That's ok." She replied solemnly. "But don't want you sad again."
"I...Um." Quirrell hesitated. Crap, was she talking about his bouts of depression? But they hardly ever happened anymore. Then again, when they did, they were bad. Had she picked up on that? "Don't you worry, Wang. I'm not sad, I promise."
"Cross heart?"
"Absolutely. Let's go get some candy."
They walked on as Quirrell tried to navigate his way around the town. A few times he saw people pointing at him and whispering to each other, but luckily they didn't do anything. It was still a little scary and embarrassing, but no one was going right up to him so that was something.
"Honeydukes." He sighed once he'd located the store. "C'mon, in we go."
Wang Mu eagerly babbled about all the things she wanted to buy as they entered the shop and then immediately let go of Quirrell's hand. "Daddy!" She toddled around in amazement, "So many! Where's snaaakes?"
"We'll find them." Quirrell laughed. "Look, if we get out of the way of the door..." He gently led her toward the back of the shop. "There! Ok, see anything you want?"
Wang Mu gazed around in fascination. "All of it!"
"Not all of it, sweetie." Quirrell laughed again, "Oh, look, here we go! Jelly snakes." He took the small bag from one of the shelves and then glanced back. He jumped when he realized Wang Mu wasn't there anymore, and looked around in a panic before he spotted her toddling up to the woman behind the counter.
"Hellooo." He heard her say loudly. "We need snakes for my Papa!"
The woman peered over the counter and smiled widely when she saw who was talking to her. "Why, hello there." She replied. "And how are you?"
"Good!" Wang Mu nodded vigorously. "But Papa needs..."
Quirrell hurried over, taking her hand. "I turn around for one second..." He muttered, before showing his daughter the jelly snakes. "Look, got 'em! Right here."
"Ooh!" Wang Mu beamed. "Clever Daddy."
"I do my best." He said, looking over to the woman to apologise, but she was staring in horror. Oh, jeez.
"Let go of that girl's hand."
Quirrell rolled his eyes. "'That girl' is my daughter, but thanks for your concern. Right, Wang, pick some candy."
Wang Mu was thankfully oblivious as she tried to find some sweets, and Quirrell turned his head back to the woman. "Please don't make a scene. She's a three year old girl and she deserves to be able to come into Diagon Alley." He said quietly. "It's her first time here and I don't want it to be her last."
The woman sniffed in distaste at him. "I take it your partner's a muggle? No wizard would want you after what you did."
"No comment." Quirrell replied as calmly as he could, not even sure how that was relevant. "Wang Mu, you done?"
"But then the Dark Lord hated muggles, so ending up with one would be dishonouring his name in your eyes or…"
"Wang!" Quirrell interrupted, his jaw clenching, turning to his daughter. "Do you have what you want?"
Wang Mu toddled back over, carrying several items in her arms. "Yes."
"I think you might have a little too much there, sweetie." Quirrell began as she tried to pass him up the bags.
"Nono, got the sugar qwills!" Wang Mu informed him. "Then just…one, two, three…" She began to count the bags but got muddled halfway and had to start over. "Eight…?"
"Five, Wang, you have five." Quirrell said patiently. "But y'know what, it's ok. Why not?" He placed all the bags on the counter and then retrieved his money. "And if you won't serve me for whatever petty reason, you'll be making a little girl very miserable." He added in an undertone to the woman.
"Petty? It's hardly petty. That poor girl, the things she'll have to hear as she grows up." The woman shuddered as she took his money. "You're not even meant to be here. Azkaban should've finished you off."
"That's what I thought." Quirrell replied stonily. "But I proved myself and all of you idiots wrong. And for the record, don't you dare say those kind of things to me about my daughter and what she'll hear. My change, please."
The woman passed him over his two sickles, before she waved at Wang Mu, who was now looking suspicious as they left the shop. "Daddy is angry." She murmured to herself.
"Yep. Ferociously angry." Quirrell grinned, bending down a little to bop her nose. "Nah, I'm just kidding. I'm fine."
Wang Mu looked up at him, then back at the shop. "Daddy, what's Azkyban?"
"What?" Quirrell asked with a frown as he straightened up again.
"'Cause she said." Wang Mu pointed back at the shop expectantly.
Quirrell resisted the urge to grit his teeth. God damn it! Stupid people who couldn't let things go. And now his daughter had heard. Perfect! "You don't need to worry about that, Wang."
"But – "
"Really. It's nothing. She was just being silly, that's all. Right. Shall we continue walking?"
"Yes." Wang Mu smiled, but then tugged at his arm. "Tired, Daddy."
"Yeah?" Quirrell tried to smile back. "Alright, I'll carry you. I actually think we should go home now."
"Home?" Wang Mu asked, clearly dismayed as Quirrell picked her up. "But…"
"Yep. Home. I'm almost out of money anyway." Quirrell lied, and then ducked his head as they passed some wizard police officers in case they kicked up a fuss too.
"But Daddyyyy!"
"Waaang." He replied with a small smile. "I'm sorry, but really. I think we should go." This town was a fucking nightmare and he was never, ever coming back. The two cops were gesturing to him now, and he heard them mutter about 'the Dark Lord' and 'Azkaban' and that was it. He'd had enough. What else would Wang Mu have to hear?
"Why don't you mind your own business!" He turned around and yelled furiously, making Wang Mu gasp in shock. "I'm trying to shop with my three year old daughter and I'd like to do it in peace! Are we clear? Are we clear? Leave us alone!"
The cops looked at him, and one of them took out their wand and held it threateningly. "Perhaps you –"
"Should leave? Don't worry, I am! And I'm not coming back!"
"Daddy! No!" Wang Mu exclaimed, wrestling to get out of his arms. "Stooop!"
"Put the girl down, now!" A random passer-by exclaimed, which only pissed Quirrell off even more.
"Who are you? Go away!" He yelled, finding it hard to keep walking when Wang Mu was hitting his arms. "Hey, hey, enough. C'mon, home."
"Mean!" Wang Mu insisted, her voice cracking. "I want my Papaaa!"
Quirrell froze in the middle of the street, staring at her. "I'm not mean. You don't really think I'm mean."
"Yes!" Wang Mu yelled back, her eyes watering. "Always shouting!"
"I don't, I don't do that, don't say that." Quirrell's throat was getting inexplicably tight. Did he? Was he a terrible father? "We're going home, Wang Mu."
Wang Mu hit his arm again, as they approached the fireplaces which would get them home. Quirrell silently placed her on the ground as he got the vial of Floo powder, and then gently ushered her into the fireplace, standing by her side.
They were soon home, much to Quirrell's relief, and Wang Mu immediately toddled around. "Papa! Papa!"
"I'm here," Voldemort replied, emerging from the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. "Hey. Did you guys have fun?"
"So much fun, I can barely contain myself." Quirrell snapped, throwing their bags onto the couch.
Wang Mu ran up to Voldemort, hugging his legs, making him stagger back slightly. "Hey, hey, what's going on?"
"Daddy shouted!"
Voldemort glanced up at Quirrell, who huffed in response, trying to hide how upset he was. "I didn't – well, yes, ok, I did. But not at you, Wang."
"Then who'd you shout at?" Voldemort asked, gently prising Wang Mu away from his legs.
"I was sick of it, alright? They kept saying things and looking at me, so I eventually I lost my temper. I knew it'd happen at some point."
"Who kept saying things?"
"The local people, who do you think?" Quirrell snapped. "On and on at me about my past, in front of our daughter!"
Wang Mu cowered as Quirrell raised his voice. "Papa!"
"It's ok, kid." Voldemort bent down to pick her up. "Your Daddy's just a little upset, and I can understand why. I honestly figured people would've moved on by now, or at least thought of other things to talk about."
"Yeah." Quirrell grouched, tugging at his collar. "Me too. I'm going upstairs to get changed out of this hideous thing."
"No, c'mon, wait a second." Voldemort replied. "Look, I get why you're mad. I totally do. But listen, I think Wang would appreciate knowing you're better now, and then you and I can discuss this properly later. Y'know, like mature adults."
Quirrell sighed, making his way over to kiss Wang Mu's forehead. "Sorry, sweetie. My fault. I'm not angry anymore." He kept thinking over and over about her calling him mean, and he felt a tug at his heart. "I'm really sorry."
Wang Mu murmured something, before she kissed Quirrell's nose. "Love Daddy."
"And I love you." He replied with a small smile, before he turned to walk upstairs, suddenly feeling the overwhelming urge to be alone.
Voldemort looked at him, before turning his head to look back at Wang Mu once he was gone. "Alright. What happened?"
Wang Mu looked at the ground nervously. "Daddy shouted."
"I know. But why?"
She shrugged and stayed silent.
"He wouldn't have shouted for no reason." Voldemort pointed out. "Did someone say something to him?"
"Two men. Started shouting."
"Two men?" He repeated dubiously.
"Police." She supplied, wrinkling her little nose. "Had hats and badges."
Voldemort sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead. "Right. Ok. I see."
"So not my fault, Papa."
"I know, kid, I know. Of course it wasn't your fault."
Wang Mu nodded before she reached out a hand and bopped Voldemort's nose, beaming. "We got sugar qwills and snakes!"
"Oh, you did? How about we take them upstairs and see your Daddy, then?" Voldemort suggested as he put her down and made his way over to the couch, finding the right bag that Quirrell had thrown down onto it. "Got 'em. Thanks. Jeez, did you rob the store?"
"Daddy said I could have them." She replied, before sighing softly. "Best Daddy ever."
"Yeah, he is, isn't he? Come on then." He reached for her hand, but she shook her head.
"Papa…" She opened her arms feebly. "Tired."
"You have walked a lot today, haven't you? Alright." Voldemort bent down to pick her up again, kissing her forehead. "That's my girl."
She rested her head against Voldemort's shoulder, murmuring incoherently as he walked up the stairs and into his and Quirrell's room. Quirrell had already changed and was sitting on the bed looking pretty miserable.
"Ah, c'mon, Squirrel. What's that face for?" Voldemort asked as he placed Wang Mu down on the bed. "It's all fine."
"It's not, though. How's she gonna be able to go into Diagon Alley with me again?" Quirrell said quietly. "'Cause I'm never going back. I mean it."
"Never say never." Voldemort tried, as Wang Mu crawled over to Quirrell's lap.
"Daddy?" She asked hesitantly. "Some snakes?"
Quirrell looked at her and smiled before gently picking her up and placing her on his lap. "Yes please."
Wang Mu beamed up at him and then glanced at Voldemort to pass the candy over. "Snakes and…and lollies…"
"Blood lollies?" Voldemort asked as he shook the contents onto the bed.
"Oh jeez, really? I should've checked what she picked up better. Bleugh." Quirrell shuddered. "I'll pass on those."
Wang Mu beamed up at him, apparently over what had happened before. "Hello, Daddy."
"Hello."
"Fairy castle?"
"Oh, yeah." Quirrell glanced at Voldemort. "We sent a box back. Did you get it?"
"This thing?" Voldemort asked as he gestured to the aforementioned item which was on the nightstand. "Then yeah, clearly. What does it do?"
"I'm not sure, it's some sort of build-your-own castle." Quirrell replied. "But it'll probably explode at some point, like everything in that shop."
"Where'd you get it from?" Voldemort began to open it up.
"Joke shop." He said simply, not really in the mood to mention the Weasley kid. Voldemort probably didn't even remember, or maybe he didn't even know.
"Puffs!" Wang exclaimed. "Fluffy. Papa, please?"
Voldemort looked at Quirrell quizzically, and he sighed. "These freaky fluffy things that you could take care of. She really wanted one, but I said no. Benji would probably eat it, anyway."
Voldemort snorted. "Sounds like you had a great time."
"Please don't joke." Quirrell muttered as he stroked Wang Mu's hair.
Voldemort sighed slightly as he sat down on the floor, the box now fully opened. "Alright, I'm sorry. Hey, Wang, I have this for you."
Wang Mu squirmed on Quirrell's lap and he placed her down on the floor, where she toddled over to Voldemort. "Build it for me?"
"Isn't the whole point for you to build it yourself?" Voldemort had to ask, before he took his wand from his pocket. "Ok, on the count of three…" Once the castle was built and Wang was occupied playing with it, Voldemort sat up on the bed next to Quirrell. "So, wizard cops. Nice."
"Shut up." Quirrell buried his face in his hands. "I made an ass out of myself. I've ruined it for Wang if she ever wants to go back there. I was just so tired of it."
"Oh, Quirrell, it's not that big of a deal." Voldemort dismissed, which was evidently the wrong thing to do because Quirrell gave him such a glare that he felt he'd melt from the intensity of it. "Um…Well, obviously it sucks that they wouldn't give you a break –"
"I'm never going back."
"Now, Quirrell –"
"No, don't talk to me like I'm a petulant child, Voldemort."
"I wasn't, I just – "
"Do you know what she called me?" He lowered his voice. "Wang. She called me mean. I told you I wasn't cut out for this."
Voldemort looked at him, before he snorted with laughter.
"Oh, yeah, ok! Laugh at me. You know, sometimes I really –"
"No, it's just – Dude! She called me mean only yesterday for not letting her eat ice cream for breakfast. She's a toddler, she doesn't actually think you're a terrible parent. Hell, you know how often she asks for you during the day?"
Quirrell stopped, looking at him doubtfully, then down at Wang Mu who was intensely concentrating with her toy dolls in her new castle. "Really? But I shouted at her before, because of the Pygmy Puffs, and she started crying. It was awful."
"Quirrell, last week I told her she couldn't wear her pyjamas for playgroup and she cried for thirty minutes until I had to explain that it was kinda socially unacceptable. " Voldemort sighed, before he ruffled Quirrell's hair. "Please don't start these inadequacy feelings again."
"But I just…" Quirrell bit his lip. "Well…And then she heard about...Y'know."
"Azkaban?" Voldemort guessed, his voice considerably softer. "From who?"
"Honeydukes woman. Then she asked me about it, and what am I meant to say, Voldemort? What the hell am I meant to say to that?"
"We agreed we'd tell her when she's a bit older."
"Yeah, but now she's curious. She'll ask again, I know she will. So what are we going to do?"
"You need to stop panicking, for one thing." Voldemort pointed out. "Look, we knew this wasn't going to be easy. But it'll happen when it happens, alright? She's only three years old."
Quirrell hesitated, before nodding. "Y-yeah. Ok. I just…"
"Daddies?" Wang Mu asked suddenly, still holding one of her favourite dolls, a toy dog she'd named Patch.
"Yeah, kiddo?" Voldemort replied, wrapping an arm around Quirrell's waist.
"I liked Di'gon. But very loud, and – people upset Daddy." She snuggled her toy. "And tired. So…maybe not again."
"Well…" Quirrell began. "Maybe when you're a bit older?"
"Yes." Wang Mu beamed. "Maybe when I'm big."
"There you go, then. Problem solved." Voldemort added, giving Quirrell's cheek a kiss. "Everyone happy?"
Wang Mu nodded eagerly, before she yawned. "Papa? Y'gotta eat your snakes…Got 'em for you…"
"I will. Thank you very much." Voldemort smiled, standing from the bed to pick her up. "C'mon, sleepyhead."
"Mmm. Night, Daddy." Wang Mu waved sleepily as she rested her head on Voldemort's shoulder, despite it only being six o'clock. Clearly all that walking had tired her out completely, which hopefully meant a peaceful night was ahead. Finally.
"Night, Wang." Quirrell waved back. "I love you."
"Love Daddy too…" She yawned again. "And Papa. Best Daddies ever."
Well, that was certainly a step-up from being mean. Quirrell smiled widely. Maybe Voldemort was right, and she hadn't really meant it. "Yeah, well you're the best daughter. Sleep tight, ok?"
And a few hours later, his arms wrapped around Voldemort in bed, even though most of the day had been shitty, Quirrell felt strangely at peace. At least Wang had enjoyed most of it, and had been partially introduced to the Wizarding World. The explanations about Azkaban would come later. But not yet. God, not yet. Maybe when she was sixteen or something. No, she'd find out regardless from Hogwarts. Speaking of which, when were they going to tell her about Voldemort's past?
All this thinking was making him a little agitated, and he'd felt ok not too long ago. Quirrell shifted, sighing slightly. One thing was clear from all this; being a father was fucking hard work.
He still wouldn't give it up for anything in the world, though.