After the three girls were finished with their morning lessons, they left the confines of the nursery and went to find their mother. Lord and Lady Grantham did not follow all of the strict rules for raising children that their society held for people of their station. They were expected to only see the children for an hour a day when the nanny brought the children into the parlor after luncheon. Instead, Robert and Cora enjoyed seeing their girls throughout the day, much to the joy of their three young daughters.
Mary, Edith, and Sybil found their mother in the parlor and grinned as Cora put the letter she had been reading on her lap. Cora smiled at the three girls and held her arms open for her usual morning hugs. Mary smiled at her mother as she hugged her in greeting before she took a book from one of the shelves that lined the back wall and sat on a stool by her mother's chair. Sybil grinned and rushed into her mother's arms hugging her tightly as Cora chuckled and held her youngest daughter in her arms. Edith was much more sedate and walked over to her mother and sisters. She gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and giggled as her mother pulled her close.
"Happy Birthday my darling," Cora said with a smile.
Edith grinned back. "Good morning mama," she said.
Mary looked at her sister and scuffed. "So the freak is another year older? Maybe this year they'll send you away," she said with a sneer on her pretty face.
"Mary Josephine Crawley! That is quite enough." Cora snapped at her daughter. She couldn't help but look warily at her middle daughter hoping that Mary's crass words wouldn't upset Edith too much.
Edith bit her lip to keep the tears at bay. She wouldn't show her sister just how upset she was at the comment. She hated being called a freak, it reminded her of just how strange she really was. It reminded her that she was not the same as her practically perfect sisters. She clenched her teeth together as the room became increasingly colder. Edith hardly took notice as the room became cold, instead, she focused all of her energy on trying to settle down after Mary's comments.
Cora, Mary, and Sybil all looked at the fair-haired Crawley in equal parts fear, nervousness, and apprehension as they were reminded as to why Mary felt the need to say such things in the first place. Cora only hoped that some sort of distraction could happen to reign in her odd little girl.
After a few moments of the room becoming colder Mrs. Hughes, their head housekeeper, walked into the room in a panic and walked briskly over to the lady of the house.
"Your ladyship, Mrs. Patmore was wondering about the pudding for tonight," she said in order to distract Edith.
At the sound of the housekeeper's voice, the four family members turned to her in slight shock and yet relief as the room temperature went back to normal.
Cora smiled at the housekeeper. "Why don't you take the birthday girl downstairs and she can tell Mrs. Patmore what she wants," she said trying to calm her nerves.
Mrs. Hughes nodded and motioned towards Edith who gave her a weak smile. Edith turned to her mother and went to apologize but at seeing the slight fear in her eyes her voice caught in her throat and she quickly followed Mrs. Hughes to the kitchen downstairs.
Cora sighed in relief once her daughter was out of the room. She didn't understand why things happened whenever her middle child was upset but it frightened her. She didn't know how to handle the emotional little girl. Her mother suggested taking Edith on holiday. But as she thought of what had just happened she wasn't so sure that would be a good idea. Could she keep her daughter happy while in a new place? Cora sighed as she picked up her mother's letter from its precarious place on her lap
She turned to her eldest daughter. "Mary I do not ever want to hear that word out of your mouth again. Do you understand me? Especially today on her birthday." she said sternly.
Mary simply rolled her eyes and went back to reading while Sybil bit her lip unsure of what to say or think. Why did weird things happen with her sister? Was Mary right? Was Edith a freak or even some sort of demon?
While Edith's mother and sisters contemplated what to do with her, she stood in the kitchen and told Mrs. Patmore about the mince pies she wanted for her birthday dinner. After she had told the cook, Mrs. Hughes took her to her office where she had Edith sit on the soft chair by her desk.
Mrs. Hughes smiled kindly at the girl. "How has your day been?" she asked with some apprehension and oddly enough excitement in her voice.
Edith smiled at the servant. She loved her time with Mrs. Hughes as she was always kind and made her feel special. The older woman was always around when she needed to calm down or even just to talk. It was strange how Mrs. Hughes always knew what the girl needed or when her presence was wanted. If Edith didn't know any better she would assume that her family's head housekeeper was her mother instead of Lady Cora Crawley. "It's been alright. I did some odd things but I did my lessons and played with Sybil a bit," she said with a half smile.
Mrs. Hughes smiled mischievously at the girl. "Any letters, my lady?" she asked.
Edith frowned and shook her head. "Why would I get a letter? Have you sent me a card?" she enquired of the older woman curiously.
Mrs. Hughes waved her questions off. "Oh, nothing dear. Just keep your eyes open love. You never know what could happen. On your eleventh birthday no less." she said.
Edith didn't understand what she was talking about but didn't say anything further as the luncheon bell rang. She paled and ran from the room and into the nursery.
While her nanny scolded her for running through the house and for being late for a meal, Mr. Carson, the family's butler walked into the room.
"Nanny. His lordship and her ladyship request to see Lady Edith in the library," he told the woman.
Edith sighed in relief at the announcement before going with the butler and following him into the library.
Standing in front of her parents was a woman about her mother's age with a long cloak and a funny pointy hat on her head. The woman was also wearing a set of dark red robes that looked out of place in 1903. Edith wondered where on earth the woman could have found such a strange getup.
Edith noticed the redness of her father's face and the way her mother looked ready to scream and faint all at once.
"Mama?" Edith asked unsure as to what was going on.
The strange woman turned around and smiled at the girl. "Hello, Ms. Crawley. I am Professor Weasley from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she said.
Edith raised a delicate and aristocratic eyebrow. "Of what?"
(All Harry Potter recognizable things and people belong to JK Rowling. All Downton Abbey recognizable things and people belong to Julienne Fellows. Read and Review! I will update once a week. This starts in 1903 the year after the Boer War.)