the girl with all of the choices

f o r t y - e i g h t

4231 words

july thirtieth- deadlines and goodbyes

One week. It had been one week since I told Mum about Addison.

I had been to her house three times since then.

And every time I got back, Mum would come into my room and ask about her. It was sweet. She was so interested. It made me hopeful. Hopeful that one day, as she had said, we would all be able to be a proper family, without having to worry about Him. 

The question of my impending doom seemed to be growing nearer by the day. Aunt Bella had been leaving the Manor more and more often to go speak with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She'd always return giddily, and I was deathly afraid that one day she would knock on my door and tell me I'd have to go with her the next time. 

Speaking of which, she was with Him now. 

It was a Tuesday. I had seen Addison yesterday, but I was planning on going back to see her tomorrow or Thursday. 

Since Aunt Bella was gone, I was down in the sitting room with Mum. We were both reading, relishing in the comfortable and silent company of each other. It made life feel almost normal. Father would almost always be out or locked up in his office, so we usually spent a lot of time together like this. 

When I was little, she would teach me the most random things. She started to teach me how to play the piano when I was seven. She said her Mum had taught her how to play when she was around the same age. It had been ten years since, and I still remembered. The last few years, whenever I was home on holiday she would teach me how to garden properly. That was what she did for the most amount of time while I was off at school. At first, I resisted, but it was Mum, so I gave in. Plus, it did end up helping with my herbology skills. Last summer we took up painting. I never realized how good she was at it. She was outstanding when it came to the arts, and painting made the top of the list. I wasn't half bad at it either. I probably got that from her.

But here we were, reading. We always came back to reading. Addie had given me a new muggle book to read called The Great Gatsby. I hadn't gotten very far yet, but I liked it. I always had taken a liking to the era of the 1920s. 

Suddenly, Mum interrupted.

"Darling, do you remember when I first taught you how to play the piano, how old you were?"

"I was seven. Why do you ask?"

"Well," she started, "it's just that all this talk about this girl of yours has caused me to start to think about a lot of things, particularly your childhood. I don't mean to be overbearing but I would like to have grandchildren someday-"

"Mum!"

"I know that you are still in school, and trust me, I am not condoning having children at this age. But, I just am trying to compile all of the traditions we have done so that someday you can continue them with your children."

I looked at her. "You could have led with that, you know."

She smirked at me. "But that wouldn't be any fun. Anyways, what are you reading, darling?"

I looked down at the book in my hands, grateful to be on a different topic of conversation. The cover art was striking. The cobalt blue background was cut by prominent eyes, red lips, and the faint light of a city. It was one of her favourites. "It's called The Great Gatsby. Addison gave it to me to read. It's one of her favourites."

"Is it by a muggle author? I haven't ever heard of it."

"Yes, it's very interesting. You would probably like it too. If you want, you could borrow it after I finish it."