Everlasting ⁂ Harry Potter [1]

Chapter One

There weren't many things Theodore Hawthorne could say he cherished more than anything in the world. In fact, if you asked him to list them all, he would surely have to think for a moment if he wanted to mention more than two. And those two were the most important people in his life. One was his daughter.

Eleven years ago, Ted's life changed forever. Because the moment he laid his eyes on his beautiful baby daughter, he knew he could never part from her. Despite the initial wishes of her mother, Ted refused to give little Olivia up. And so at the age of sixteen, he became a father. And that was a decision he never questioned or regretted, no matter the hardships that it may have brought him; Ted wouldn't have changed a thing. Olivia Hawthorne was the light of her father's life.

And the second person was Amelia Carlisle. Once he turned eighteen and could legally take care of himself and his two-year-old daughter, Ted's parents did not hesitate to send him away. Disapproving of his decision to be a father at such a young age, believing that he had thrown his life away, the two adults wished to have nothing to do with it. So Ted found a small flat for him and Olivia, and simply moved out.

Straight out of secondary school, as a single father with a two-year-old baby, life wasn't the easiest for Ted, but that is where Amelia came in. The elderly woman who lived across the hall selflessly offered her help as soon as Ted moved in. And with having two jobs in the start, to support himself and his daughter, Amelia really was a saviour. Her constant role in Olivia's life made the woman a part of their little family. And soon enough their lives intertwined and Amelia became the grandmother Olivia wouldn't have had were the situation different. The two were Ted's family and the most important things in his life.

One summer morning, on a day like any other, Ted started the morning as they always did. He was in the kitchen, making some breakfast before he headed off to the town library where he worked. Olivia was lazily moving around the house, not yet fully awake after getting out of bed. However, the sound of the front door opening, made the eleven-year-old girl perk up as she rushed into the hall.

"Good morning Amelia." Olivia signed with a happy smile on her face, her hands moving through the air clearly and with purpose as soon as the elderly woman's eyes spotted little Olivia welcoming her in the hallway.

"Good morning darling." Olivia sent the girl a smile as her hands moved, signing the words she could not say out loud.

Olivia had grown up around sign language. She knew it as well as she did English. Because of Amelia, Ted had made a point of learning it himself as soon as she started to help him with taking care of Liv. Amelia had reassured him she could read lips, and talk when necessary, but to Ted, it still seemed like the least he could do to make the deaf woman more comfortable and show his gratitude for all that she was doing to help him and his daughter. And so as she grew up, Olivia easily learned it too, and the language had become a way of communication in their home. Yes, she and Ted also spoke while signing, but even in the times when Amelia wasn't around them, they seemed to frequently find themselves using it. It came naturally to them. It was their language.