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XVII. wildflowers in the summer
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Devore never thought she'd see her mom so happy again. She spent so long trying to pull her out of the funk, and tried even harder to hide Bennet from her, but her mom was doing better. Since being home, it was like a complete shift. Everything appeared to be brighter. Chanel was happier, she was healthier, she was doing it for her children.
The news of Cedric's death spread quickly in the papers, and Devore tried desperately to keep them away from Bennet, who was still mourning the loss of his friend. He cried at night because of nightmares, and he was sad most of the time thinking about Cedric. Bennet looked up to him, he was like a cool brother figure to him, and he was too young to understand how he could be gone like he was, so quick and so young.
Devore's throat often closed up when she thought about that night on the Qudditch field. Seeing Cedric's body, hearing Harry's cries, seeing Mr. Diggory in agony, it was all so much at one time. Cedric was a good guy. He was always kind. But his death taught her something, to not dwell on the past and to simply live. His death taught her to forgive, and that's what she wanted to do. Forgive her mother.
Voldemort's return parked fear in the Wizarding World, and Chanel kept herself and her kids away from the Malfoys, which was hard for her to do because of how close she was with Narcissa. The family had been doing whatever they could to keep away from the darkness that they knew was happening in the Malfoy Mansion.
Devore spent a lot of her time away at her friend's homes or having them stay with her. Olivia came over for sleepovers often while Hermione traveled to stay with her on weekends. She visited the Burrow often and her mother had been on her about how she wanted to see Fred again since they were now a couple.
The morning June hair was sweltering that day. The wildflowers were fully bloomed in the garden behind the Taylor mansion, which made Devore extra happy to be home because she loved taking walks in the garden during the summer time. The backyard was planted with many wisteria trees that created a pathway, their purple vines hanging down beautifully. The bushes on the ground were covered in purple lilacs. "I'll never get over how beautiful it is out here." Devore spoke gently and her hand brushed against the lilacs.
Chanel smiled. "Your father used to always tell me he'd plant me thousands of flowers if I married him." She looked around the garden. "This is where I told him I was pregnant with you."
"Really?"
Her mother nodded. "Yeah." She pointed to one of the trees on the right side of the pathway. "It was right there. We'd only had the house for a few years. But I knew something was missing. That was you."
Devore smiled. "I'm really happy we can do this again." She spoke truthfully.
"Oh, so am I, honey." Chanel grabbed her hand. "So am I."
On the day that Bennet turned twelve, Devore could not stop crying. He was so much more than just her little brother, he was her best friend. She took care of him, practically treated him like he was her son. He was getting older and it hurt her to think about one day, he'd be a grown up, because she wanted him to stay little forever.
On day three, they were still celebrating him because it was a Taylor family tradition. They loved birthdays. It was bright and early that morning and the siblings danced around the kitchen with Take on Me by A-Ha playing on the record player. The windows and door were open, allowing the warm breeze to blow through, making the smell of the cookies that were in the oven enhance. They were in their socks and their hands were interlocked, their arms swinging around.
"Take on me!" They belted out together. Chanel sat at the kitchen table watching them and she laughed. "Take me on!"
When Devore danced with Bennet, it was like dancing with her dad, and it hurt like hell to think about. But she was learning to hold onto the memories of her father instead of being afraid to think about them at all. Bennet was too young when he died, he didn't get to share as many memories with him as Devore did. So she wanted to do everything she could to keep his memory alive so that Bennet would know how wonderful he was.
The phone in the living room started to ring and Chanel got up from the table to answer it. Giggling at her children's loud singing, she took the phone off the wall and held it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Nelly, this is Sirius. It's important. I need you here as soon as possible. . ."
When the song ended, Devore and Bennet stopped dancing and started giggling. Their mother came back into the kitchen. "Who was that, mum?" She asked.
Chanel placed her hands on her hips, her expression full of nerves. "Kids, there's something we have to do."
