Chapter 3

"Mom, I'm home!" shouted Emily as she tossed her backpack on the coach. "Mom?"

"One minute, sweetie! I'm trying to find my potato peeler."

"Potato peeler?" Emily asked as she walked into the disheveled kitchen. "Why on Earth would you be using a potato peeler?"

Leila poked her head out from inside a cabinet. "There you are honey! I was trying to make meat stew with potatoes in it. Oh, thank you. Where was it?" she asked as Emily handed her the potato peeler.

"Right where it was supposed to be; in the drawer near the stove. I don't know why we even have it? You never cook! Why today?"

Leila's face, red from running around the beat-up kitchen, turned to Emily and explained, "I was thinking we could have a nice mother-daughter dinner for a change. Talk about school and stuff. Catch up on things, you know? Now where's that pot?"

Half an hour later, Emily and Leila were sitting at the dinner table, beginning to eat their slightly burned meat stew.

"Mom, can you tell me something?" asked Emily, twirling her food with her fork.

"Sure, Emzy. What?" Leila asked, smiling at her only daughter.

"Can you tell me about my dad?"

An awkward silence settled upon the table.

"Ummm…honey, maybe some other time…"

"No, Mom. I need to know, now. Did he come to this town or did you actually live with him and move here? I need to know, Mom! I can't be so ignorant for my whole life!" Emily threw her napkin onto the table. "Please, Mom. Just tell me. It's not going to hurt anyone. I'll understand. Was he a muggle? Why won't you tell me anything about him?"

Emily finally looked up at her mom and started to see tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. Leila looked like she felt horrible about not telling Emily anything and having Emily yell at her only made it worse.

"Oh, Mom. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry," apologized Emily, slipping around to the other side of the table. Hugging her mom she added softly, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Oh, Emily. I can't tell you. It wouldn't be safe," sobbed Leila.

Emily was a little confused but continued to hang onto her mom. 'How could it not be safe' she wondered as she patted her mother on her back. It was as if they had switched places. Emily had become the mother; Leila, the daughter.