Chapter Five: The Prospect of a Gathering

The door banged loudly as Melanie entered the kitchen. The day and gone as usually as it possibly could. She had an essay on To Kill a Mockingbird from her English teacher to complete that weekend, but she was sure that she could get through it without much trouble. The real thing that was drawing her mind away from everything else, was the prospect of Karen's help figuring out what her dreams meant. But what if they don't even mean anything? What if I'm just being silly? But she knew what her father would say if she confided in him. "Don't be silly, Mel, you know there are no accidents." Well she would just have to go through with it then. She wondered briefly how Karen hoped to produce a wizardry with waning power. But maybe she had a little stored up, or maybe she didn't even need power for this particular wizardry. One thing Melanie knew for sure though; Karen wouldn't have agreed to help her if it was beyond her skill. So she must be able to do it.

"Hello Mel," called her mother from the kitchen.

Melanie followed the sound of her mother's voice and found her mother seated at the kitchen table shelling peas. The sight of her mother doing something so ordinary when, according to Karen, the wizards were in a crisis made Melanie a little annoyed. But she stifled the emotion and smiled at her mother. Genuinely. "Hey Mom," she said, coming over to where her mother was seated and taking a seat next to her.

Nita studied her daughter's face. "Bad day?" she asked. She had noticed the mixture of stress and excitement that Melanie had tried to hide.

Melanie sighed. "No, not really," she said. "I'm just tired." The last part was a lie, but how could she tell her mother the truth when her mother didn't even trust her enough to tell her the real situation the wizards of earth were in? "What about you? You look a bit stressed as well."

Nita sighed. "No, everything's fine," she said.

Melanie fumed a little. How could her mother do this to her? Weren't wizards supposed to tell the truth? Then a thought struck her. Why was her mother lying to her even when it was totally against the oath she had sworn? A chill crept over Melanie's spine. What if the power's had given her mother permission to lie to her for some unknown reason? But no she was just being silly. But the facts remained the same…

Nita noticed the shadow that passed over Melanie's face and she put down the peas she had been shelling. "What's the matter, Mel?"

"Nothing," Mel said. She didn't want to go into the matter with her mother, especially when her mother was intent on keeping the truth of the situation from her. She remembered the Karen had suggested about sleeping over at her house for that weekend. "Hey Mom," she said. "Karen's invited me to sleep over tonight, can I go?"

Nita paused for a moment and for a second, Melanie thought she saw a shadow of worry cover her mother's face. "Sure," she said after a moment. "Only be sure to bring a sleeping bag with you. I doubt your Aunt Carmella could find anything in that house of hers."

Melanie laughed at her mother's joke; Nita had been teasing Carmella about the layout of her house ever since they had purchased it.

"But remember, we're having a family reunion of sorts on Sunday."

Melanie opened her mouth and closed it several times before speaking. "No one told me about that," she squeaked.

Nita laughed at the stunned and slightly horrified expression on her daughter's face. "Don't worry," she said. "You know them all."

Melanie's brow furrowed. "I know a lot of people, Mom," she said. Nita and Kit considered a lot of people who weren't related to them by blood to be their family. Some of them weren't even human, actually…

Nita grinned. "So you and Karen make sure you get enough sleep to be there when the guests arrive. We're hosting it. We have the largest yard."

Melanie smiled. When Nita and Kit had been shopping for a house, they had made sure that they had purchased a house with one of the largest backyards in the city. They thought it was important that their children spend a lot of time in 'the unspoiled outdoors'. As a result, their family also hosted most of the gatherings that their 'family' held.

"I'll make sure to be back on time then," Melanie said. And she meant it. Although family gatherings were large, hectic, occasions, Melanie really enjoyed them. What with Nita and Kit's friends many children, they were always sure to be fun. Smiling, Melanie left the room. Then, she picked up the phone to dial Karen and let her know that she would be over at seven.

(a/n the Chapter wouldn't have been so short if I hadn't wanted to fit another chapter in from the perspective of the adult wizards in the story… I will be posting that in the next couple of days so keep checking back. And then I'll finally finish what happens here. Thanks, please review, Kat :) )