And since I'm all chuffed as can be with my GCSE results, and therefore in a happy mood conducive to writing, I wrote another litle chapter for yousuns.

Pretty Girl

Ratto – rat

Cara mia – my darling

Capisce – Do you understand?

Carolina was a pretty girl. Every one told her so. Papa told her so, her sisters told her so, friends of the family told her so. But most importantly, Mama told her so. And Mama was always right "So don't you question me you little ratto!"

x-CZ-x

"Mama, Mama! Look what I made!"

Balbina's eyes flickered to the daisy chain in her daughter's hand and straight back to the pot she was stirring.

"Beautiful, Pretty-Girl."

Satisfied with this brief response Carolina skipped back to the garden. Better not to interrupt Mama too often when she was cooking. Papa often had to dodge flying ladles. Carolina, had never had to dodge anything other than angry words (that she was not to repeat) and she very much wished to keep it that way.

No, better to retire to the sunshine and the daisies. Besides, Carolina thought happily, Papa would be much more expressive when he admired her chain.

With the sun caressing her face and the grass tickling her toes, Carolina smiled. Even if Mama was, for the moment, silent, it was guaranteed that someone in the Zabini household would be fighting.

Verdette's angry voice floated down from an upstairs window.

"I don't know where your earings are Isabella but I don't have them!"

"Don't you lie to me little-miss-sneak-thief! Four times I've removed them from your jewellery box, and you're telling me they're not there right now? Well then, you won't mind if I check!"

The angrier, and louder, they got, the more Carolina could detect a hint of Italian in their accents.

"They're not there Isabella!"

"Get away from the door!"

"I shan't!"

"Move Verdette!"

There was the sound of a brief struggle.

"Get out of my room!"

"Aha! They are here!"

There was the sound of a less brief struggle.

Under the apple tree in the corner Amata-Maria rolled her eyes at Carolina and went back to her book.

Carolina picked more daisies for a bracelet to match her necklace. She didn't mind when Verdette "borrowed" things off her, but it drove Isabella mad.

"I work hard for my things," she would hiss. "You have no right to take them."

"Work?" Verdette would scoff. "Gifts from pervy old wizards who like watching young girls like you on the stage."

And that would start another argument.

Carolina liked watching Isabella on the stage. She was the best actress ever. Even Mama said so. "Well worth the money we paid to send you to MADA, cara mia."

Carolina didn't know what "pervy" meant, but she liked the pretty gifts Isabella recieved. Flowers, jewellry, sweets. And once someone had even given Isabella a silver ceremonial daggar. And Isabella had given it to her.

"What are you thinking!" Mama had screached. "Giving a knife to little Carolina!"

"She wanted it Mama. She beg-"

She is four years old!"

Carolina had hugged her dagger to her chest and turned wide beseaching eyes to her father. Papa had made the compromise. Carolina could keep her knife, but it must stay with him until she was old enough. Carolina beamed. Mama huffed for three days.

So absorbed was she in her bracelet, that she didn't hear Mama calling for them, until Amata-Maria pulled her up by the arm.

"Time to eat, Pretty-Girl."

Gathering her daisy chain in one hand she followed Amata-Maria to the table. Isabella and Verdette were sitting as far apart as possible, glaring at each other occasionally.

Mama smiled as she ladled soup into Carolina's bowl.

"That's very pretty, cara mia," she said pointing at the bracelet. "Pretty like you."

"Not quite," Papa quipped as he sat. "Nothing's quite as pretty as our Carolina."

Carolina let out a giggle as she grabbed her spoon. Papa pulled faces at her from accross the table, crossing his eyes and sticking out his tongue until Mama smacked him upside the head and snapped "Aldo!" playfully.

Carolina noticed Isabella toying with her bread as they all tucked in. She looked like she was stealing herself to say something, but just as she went to open her mouth, she would shut it again, and go back to tearing her bread into tiny pieces. Finally she put it down and looked straight at Mama.

"I have an announcement to make.

"Si, cara mia? Mama said distractedly, raising the spoon to her mouth.

"Mama, look at me."

At Isabella's comand Mama's eyes snapped up.

"I've been asked... there's a theatre group... they're going on tour... they want me to go with them... I-"

"A theatre group!" Mama exclaimed. "But this is wonderful Isabella! Just what you wanted too! Oh Izzy! My little Izzy a proper actress!"

"In Italy," Isabella blurted. "Six months in Italy."

Mama's smile didn't falter a mite. Papa was less overjpyed.

"Italy?"

"I know it's far from home-"

"Nonsense!" Mama interjected. "We're Italian aren't we?"

"We live in England Balbina."

"So? We speak Italian,our girls have four Italian Grandparents, I was raised in Pisa-"

"And I was raised in Kent. An so were our girls."

"Tch! Then it will be good for them to experience their Italian culture! Cara mia," she turned to Isabella. "You will not waste this opportunity! Ignore your father, you are going to be a star!"

With a shriek of joy Isabella threw her arms around Mama.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Papa frowned.

Carolina narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"Is Isabella leaving?"

"Yes Pretty-Girl," Isabela replied. "But I'll come home for Christmas. Promise."

"Oh." Carolina was appeased. "So it'll be like when you were at school?"

"Mmm... Yes."

"And will you be a famous actress and make lots of money?"

Isabella laughed. "Of course! I'm going to be a star!"

"Mama and I have an anouncement too."

"Aldo!" Mama snapped again. But this time there was nothing playful about her tone.

"They deserve to know Balbina," Papa said softly.

"Not now!" Mama yelled. "Not when Isabella has had such wonderful news!"

"Our news is wonderful too."

Papa raised his eyes to Mama's. Whatever she saw there made her falter. With a loud sigh she sat down in aquiesence and placed a hand on her stomach.

Papa turned to face his daughters with a large but gentle smile on his face.

"Mama is going to have another baby."

The floodgates opened.

"Are you mad Mama!"

"We can't afford it!"

"You're too old!"

"Don't talk to your Mother like that!"

"Carolina was bad enough!"

"You can't have another baby!"

"Are you stupid!"

"ENOUGH!"

A sound like a firecracker from Mama's wand made the rest of the Zabini family lower themselves back onto their seats.

Mama pulled a crying Carolina into her lap. Gone was the strange quiet accepting Mama of a few minutes ago. The fierce fiery Mama they all knew was back and was glaring at them.

"Yes I am too old. Again." she hissed. "Yes we can't afford it. Again. Yes it was unplanned. Again. And yes I am damn well having this baby!"

Mama bared her teeth.

"Papa was right! This is wonderful news, and you will love this baby. We will manage as we always do and Verdette!"

Verdette received an extra scary glare.

"If you ever talk about Carolina like that again, you will not enjoy what I do to you, capisce?"

"Yes Mama."

"Good. This is wonderful news. Now shut up and eat!"

x-CZ-x

Later that night, when Verdette had finally come up to bed, Carolina asked the question that had been on her mind all evening.

"Verdette? Are you awake?"

"Yes Pretty-Girl."

"Verdette? Did you- Did you not want me?"

"What?"

"When I was born. You don't want the new baby. Did you not want me?"

Carolina tried to keep the tremor out of her voice but didn't succeed.

Verdette paused for a fraction of a second then clambered into Carolina's bed.

"Of course we wanted you Pretty-Girl!"

It was a fraction of a second too long.

"You're lying."

Carolina always knew when someone was lying to her.

"No Carolina, we-"

"You didn't want me!"

Verdette sighed and hugged Carolina closer. Desperate for comfort she buried her head in Verdette's shoulder and cried.

"We love you very much little sister. You were just... a shock, that's all."

"Is the new baby a shock?" Carolina sniffed.

"Yeah. A big one."

Carolina contemplated this for a few seconds.

"So... will you love it too?"

"The baby?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Good." Carolina wriggled further into Verdette's embrace. "Then I will too."

Everytime you review, I let another kitten out of this imaginary bag alive.