Beautiful Mistake Chapter 3
On The Platform
On the floor was where Chloe had placed her trunk. All her clothes and school books were inside, neatly stacked next to each other. She still had a few other things to put inside, but she was glad that she had accomplished this much so far without starting to regret ever taking Dumbledore's offer.
But now that she had finished, and was taking a break her mind quickly went to her son, who was fast asleep in his crib. Would her mother and Aunt be okay with him? Could they balance their jobs and take of him? She felt guilty for leaving such a burden on them, but her mother had made it clear to her the night before, there was nothing more she cared more about than the education of her daughter.
So now here she was, half way done packing her trunk, and leaving in one night for Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Merlin, she would never get used to the fact she was going back. Sure, it had only been one year since she had last stepped foot in the castle, but when she left, she had thought she would never get to see it again. She had left, feeling destroyed and broken because she couldn't stay, because she had taken up the burden of having a child. But what a wonderful burden that child had turned out to be!
As much as the impact that Ryan had on Chloe's life didn't always work out easily, she was still thankful she had him in her life. She knew that even when she felt the world was angry with her, she still had his smiling face, and sweet smell to come home to. She knew times ahead would be harder for her, but she was enjoying the time she had with him now, and she would never regret the day she decided to have him as her child.
"Are you almost done?" Danielle asked coming into Chloe's medium sized room.
Chloe looked up and shrugged. "Half there," she told her sister.
Danielle nodded, sitting next to Chloe on the bed. "Well I'm finished, just thought I'd check on you. Do you need any help?" she asked.
Shrugging again, Chloe stood up and strode across her room to her wardrobe. "I just need to get my toiletry bag together, and a few more quills and parchment, and I should be done." Chloe explained.
Danielle nodded, leaning back on the bed to stare at the ceiling. "I'm so happy you're coming back this year, I missed having a big sister to bug." Danielle grinned.
Chloe rolled her eyes. "You are being so cheesy, you know?" She said turning around, only to get a face full of pillow.
Laughing gleefully, Danielle jumped off of Chloe's bed, and out into the hall. Chloe picked up the pillow, and threw it on to her bed. As much as she would have loved to chase after her sister, she knew it would only end in waking up Ryan. And if there was one thing you didn't want to do, was wake him up in the middle of his nap.
Throwing the last of her things into the trunk, she left her bedroom and headed downstairs to the main room. Her Aunt and mother sat there, resting from a long day's work watching the telly my Aunt had brought with her. She was a Muggle, from Chloe's father's side of the family, and as much as she embraced the Wizarding world, she still wanted Chloe and her sister to have a bit of the Muggle world as well.
"Have you finally finished packing?" Chloe's mother asked, looking away from the television.
Chloe nodded, plunking herself down in the comfy chair in the corner. "It's finished," she sighed happily. Her tiredness was slowly affecting her, and she wondered if she would be able to handle it when she entered Hogwarts.
"Good, are you going to go wake up Ryan? It's almost time for dinner." Her mother went on.
Chloe stared at her mother. "Would you like me to remind you of what happened the last time I did that? It ended in lots of tears and screaming, and us with wonderful headaches." Chloe ranted.
Her mother rolled her eyes. "Go wake up your son," she said in a commanding tone.
Chloe grumbled, but stood up. It wasn't like she was going to pay the price; in fact she would love rubbing it in her mother's face. Slowly she made her way up the stairs to Ryan's room.
Opening the door, she crept inside the dark room and across the hardwood floor over to Ryan's crib. Looking down at his sleeping face, she stopped to stare at his beauty. He looked just like his father, as much as she hated it, she knew he would grow up to be just like him, she just knew it. Though his curls had been inherited from her, the ebony colour of his hair was from him and those soft grey eyes his eyelids covered never ceased to cause Chloe to freeze if he gave her the look he used to give her.
She loved her son more than anything else, and she didn't care if he was almost a clone of one her worst memories. Well, she couldn't quite say that. Ryan's father had been something very special to her, once. But he was in the past now, and she wasn't going to waste her life away thinking of what if's.
Sighing deeply, she watched as her son slowly woke up. His grey eyes blinked the sleepiness away, staring up at her with a small pout forming on his lips. Chloe smiled, finding it cute. She was glad he didn't cry, and knew her mother would give her an ear full later. Standing up straight, she reached down and helped him sit up, and picked him up, placing him on her hip.
"Time to go eat," Chloe said.
Her son only stared at her with tired eyes. He didn't make noise, only rested his head on her chest as she walked down stairs to the kitchen. She put him in the high chair, and got his food.
Her mother came in while she fed him, and picked up the telephone. "I'm going to order some pizza, take it as a going away present." Her mother said with a small smile.
Chloe nodded, looking to Ryan who was now very much more awake. "Who's a happy boy?" she said in a cheery tone.
He grinned, and ate his food happily. When he was finished Chloe cleaned his face and hands, and handed him off to her sister who went and played with him some where. Feeling very tired, Chloe went into the main room, and sat in the chair once again.
Her Aunt looked at her. "Are you excited about going back to school?" she asked.
Chloe shrugged, "As excited as I can be with only five hours of sleep."
Her Aunt laughed, and turned back to the telly. Chloe settled herself in, and soon the pizza arrived, and she and her family enjoyed a nice meal before going to bed.
Danielle walked ahead of Chloe as they made their way through the crowd on the platform. Chloe worked hard hiding her face from the people she passed. She hoped not many would recognize her, and to her luck not many did. She had changed quite a bit after having a kid. Her curly brown hair had been cut to her shoulders, finding it more manageable that way. She didn't wear make-up any more, not that she wore much in the first place. But her face had changed. It was no longer care free, and naïve looking. She had grown a lot from having a child, and she looked tired, worn. But she was beautiful, there was no doubt of that.
"Lily is over there, are you going to go see her?" Danielle asked, looking at Chloe.
Chloe didn't know what she wanted. "I guess I should," she said, moving in front of Danielle.
Chloe could see Lily from where she stood. She was with the other two girls in their dorm; Nadine Mundy and Katherine Fay. Nadine was a pretty girl, with short brown hair, and big brown eyes. But she had a rough edge to her that seemed to scare off any boys from going near her. Where as Kathy was the opposite. She had long straight blond hair, deep blue eyes, and a pale, plain face. But her out-going and bubbly attitude attracted many guys, and it wasn't a surprise to find her being swooned by someone. Chloe fought her nervousness, and walked over to them.
Lily's face broke out into a huge grin when she saw Chloe nearing. "Chloe!" she shouted, running over to give her friend a hug. "How are you?" she asked pulling away.
All her fears disappeared once she was surrounded by her friend. "I'm great, how are you?" she asked Lily, as she was lead to the others.
"I'm brilliant, now that you're here." Lily grinned. "I told you she was coming back," Lily said to Nadine and Kathy.
Kathy giggled, her light blue eyes shining. "Missed us did you?"
Chloe smiled. "More than anything else," she admitted half the truth. Who she missed the most, she was the most afraid to see.
"Well it took you long enough to come back." Nadine said, with a small smile.
"She's only been gone a year," Lily said pointing out her dramatics'.
Nadine shrugged, with an easy face. "Well, she could have come back last year."
No I couldn't have. Chloe thought to herself, but smiled any how. "Well, I'm here now. You have to fill me in what has happened in the last year."
"Oh, and so much has happened!" Kathy shrieked with excitement. "Wait until you hear about James and Lily!"
"I already know," Chloe interjected before she could go on. "I bumped into them at Diagon Alley." She explained at their confused looks.
Lily looked at little put out. "Can we please stop talking about me like I am not here?" she stressed.
The girls laughed lightly, before Nadine interjected. "Where is James anyways? Off with those baboons he calls friends?"
Kathy snorted, "I think I saw him with Sirius, talking quietly. Probably about their secret love for each other."
The other girls laughed, but Chloe felt herself freeze at the mention of Sirius. Yes, Sirius Black was her child's father, and she hadn't spoken to him since they had broken up. He had never really given a chance for her too, and she watched as he went on various dates with many girls. He knew it would hurt her, and she could do nothing about it.
Chloe fought back the tears as she thought about those times. Lily was the only to notice, and glanced over at her. "Well, I think I'm going to go look for them. Chloe, do you want to come?" Lily asked.
Chloe knew what she meant, and she nodded thankful. Nadine and Kathy saw nothing, and nodded. "We'll be on the train." Nadine said, turning to the train.
Lily took Chloe's arm, and they made their way through the crowd, and into a more secluded area. Turning to look at her friend, Lily's eyes narrowed.
"What's wrong? I thought you were over Sirius." She asked.
Biting her lip nervously, avoiding Lily's eye. "I am, it's just…" she trailed off, unsure of how she could explain herself without giving anything away. "I haven't talked to him since we broke up, and it's still awkward."
Lily looked thoughtful for a few moments, than nodded. "Maybe we should wait a while before you talk to him than."
Chloe smiled at her friend's statement. Out of all of her girlfriends, Lily was the most understanding, even if they weren't all that close. "Thank you," she said shortly, and the two turned for the train as it gave a loud whistle signaling it was leaving soon.
A/B: This chapter was definitely not one of my best, and I'm sorry. I was having difficulties deciding how close I wanted Lily to be to Chloe. I put it into the terms that Lily know Chloe better then the other girls but not as well as Remus does. Any who, I hope you liked the chapter. I'm not sure when the next one will be out, but I will try and finish it but next week. I'm a little behind on some of my other stories.