Review offering insight to the story:
"Since I've started readig this story, I've been waiting for this chapter... this moment when Harry (because it wouldn't be Ron, would it?) speaks with his heart and not with his attitude. He and Ron may be in their mid twenties but he seemed to grow up just a little more in this chapter, and I was terribly pleased with the results. And I've already admitted that Ron and Harry have been... er, daft pricks, but Harry's right. Blaise and Draco know nothing of the first seven years, and I think they're just afraid to admit that they want the Harry's help. They seem to think Harry's still thinking of the old Draco, but they seem to still be showing some of their old selves too, by wanting to out do Harry... This is my favorite chapter to date, keep up the good work. And I know some people want you to write from Hermione's view point, but besides the fact that it may or may not give it away, I think I would be mad at Hermione if you did, and I really don't want to be. Mostly for the simple reason that to me: Hary and Ron were stupid great prat- yes (she was pregnant for god sakes), but if you tell them your life is fine, and just ask about them, how could anyone expect them to notice anything? And hearing Hermione's view point would amke me want to strangle her... but that's me, lol. :) Sorry this is so long..." - ProperT of FanFiction net.
Thank you to the following reviewers: Galleon-to-Galleon, impeccableblahs, superdelly, ebbe04, AnaDry, mrs.draco.malfoy.2010, cmtaylor531, MxAzingXSpork, squash, RipleyWriter93, arabella91, starrysthestral, niic smiles, MsRisa, Morgainne Moriancumer, Kirah, Anon, candyrose1428, Jester08, Hanna, dragoneyes5000, Icea, Lee Swain, Chrissy, blondiexoxo, emeraldgray, Danielle, KandyFloss, Cali-girlHPLVR, XxstarlightxX (Jessica), jamy21, ferret-lover, dontfeartheunexpected (Abby), gryffindork.2007, papilionette, YourOnlyOneToLove (Cat), mskiti (Tabi), BlackDemonAngel, silverlovedragoness, Zarroc (Jenn), Natural-181, ThreadMagic, HIMluv, Lunar Kasumi and especially CrystalizedHeart (Mel), xmisundaztood (Gypsy), ProperT, Baybeetricia, SeanEmma4Evr (Noelle) and galloping-goose (Zeus).
Secret Life
Interlude
-Mummy and Me-
Rowena Malfoy woke up to the sound of her mum tip toeing around her bedroom, trying quietly to take her daughter's clothes out for the day and get them ready before Winnie woke up. She watched from her bed as her mum's robe swathed body moved nearly silently around the small bed room, her messy, curly hair thrown up on top of her head to keep it off her face. It was Sunday, so her mum's routine was different and she didn't have to leave Winnie for the day. The weekend was Winnie's favorite time of the week, because then she could spend time with both of her parents. Her mum muttered under her breath about her hair as a few strands fell down over her head and tickled her nose. Winnie loved the moments where her mum and dad's friends would tell her that she looked like her mum, even though she had her daddy's blonde hair. She thought her mum was the prettiest mum she had ever seen and her daddy was really pretty too, if she said so herself. Her dad always told her it was handsome, not pretty, but when her mum laughed, she decided he was pretty, not handsome like he said. She heard her mum make a squeaking noise after she stubbed her toe on the dresser and covered her mouth with her small hands as her mummy began hopping around one foot and glaring at the mean dresser. After biting her lip for a few moments, trying to get her irritation under control, her mum finally made her way over to Rowena's bed.
Winnie closed her eyes tight and pretended to snore, just so her mum would think she really was waking her up and hadn't done it by accident with her mumbling or kicking the dresser with her foot. She heard her mum sigh though, and knew she hadn't convinced her. Peeking out from her tightly shut eyes, she looked up at her mum's smiling face and broke out in a grin of her own. "Good morning, bug," her mum said softly, reaching out to brush a blonde curl off Rowena's forehead. "How long have you been up?" she wondered.
Winnie shrugged, not wanting to make her feel bad for waking her up before she usually did. "Can we have pancakes?" she asked hopefully, her brows rising with her question. She loved pancakes, especially the way her mum made them. She always put some white powder stuff on them that made them taste extra sweet.
"We had pancakes yesterday," she reminded. Her mum smiled slowly, rolling her eyes lightly. "You're just like your dad. Eating is the first thing you think of when you wake up," she said, shaking her head.
Winnie grinned, nodding agreeably. Her mum always told her she was like her dad, and she thought it was the nicest thing most people could say. Her dad was the "bestest" dad there was. He was tall, taller than other daddies she knew. And he was smart, she knew because she always saw him writing a whole lot and working with lots of numbers; big numbers. He was really funny too, because her mum was always laughing when he talked, and so were their friends. Plus, he always made sure that Rowena did something fun during the day, while her mum was at work. He brought her to the creek and he let her fly in the little broom he got her, and he let her help him bake and sometimes even cook. She always knew her dad loved her too, because he told her every day. She remembered him telling her that his dad never told him he loved him, so her daddy wanted her to know it and never forget it. She was worried about that, because her dad looked like he was going to cry, so she started telling him she loved him more often.
Winnie's mum leaned in, rubbing her nose against Rowena's and smiling at her. "If you get up and get dressed like a good girl, I'll make you pancakes," she promised.
Grinning triumphantly, Winnie nodded before kicking off her blanket and hurrying off the bed to go to the chair beside her dresser. Her mum always laid her clothes out on the chair so she could use it to balance while she was putting her pants and socks on. After getting dressed in record time, she reached for her mum's hand and left the room in a jog, only slowing when she reached the stairs, because her mum's chastising voice always rang in her voice, "Don't run near the stairs, sweetheart. You could get hurt! You're small and your bones break easier. You don't want to trip and fall, do you?" She could feel the way her mum's hand tightened and knew that her mum was just about to say that exact same thing. Her legs were short so going down the stairs was a rather slow affair, and she had to use the banister, which she reached rather high up for, to keep herself upright while she still tried to go down faster than usual.
Making it to the first floor, she grinned happily at her dad, who was sprawled on the couch, a sleepy smile on his face as she came into his vision. He reached out for her and picked up off the floor, dropping her on his stomach so she could talk to him. "Morning, doll," he greeted.
"Morning daddy," she replied, giggling as he tickled her sides. "Mummy said we could have pancakes!" she exclaimed, looking up to smile at her mother adoringly.
"Really?" he replied, looking quite surprised. "And you're going to help her?"
"Yup!" she told him, nodding anxiously. "I'll make you lots and lots and lots! Okay?" she told him, her eyes wide and her arms flailing to the sides to show him just how much she'd make. Her daddy could eat a lot, probably more than other daddies. Her daddy was special, she could tell. Kelsi's daddy could eat a lot too, but not as much as her daddy. And her grandpa Bill could never out eat her daddy when they had dinner with him. And neither could grandpa Bumblebee or grandpa Arthur. But grandma Molly said grandpa Arthur ate just as much as her daddy, if not more, and so did all her sons. Grandma Molly had lots of sons, Rowena remembered, and they sure did like to eat. She usually left the table before they were done though, so she wasn't sure if they ate more than her daddy. She didn't think so though, she was pretty sure her daddy had a special talent at eating.
"Yeah, how many?" he asked, tickling her again.
"LOTS!" she told him in a laugh. "Like... like... this many!" she said, holding up all her fingers.
Her dad laughed, a loud, rumbling laugh that had her shaking as his stomach moved with the noise. "Yeah, all your fingers? But what about your toes?" he asked.
Winnie's brow furrowed, she hadn't thought of that and hauled up her feet to stare at her many toes. "I don't know..." she said skeptically. Looking up, she stared at her dad and then looked over at her mum, "How many is that?" she wondered, tipping her head.
Her mum came over to her and knelt beside the couch. Smiling she reached out and pointed at her big toe, "Count with me," she told her.
"One... two... three... fi-- four," she corrected, blushing, "five... six... seven... eight... te-- nine... ten!" she finished, brightening. "That's just like how many fingers I have," she told them, wiggling her hands. "How many is ten and ten?" she wondered mostly to herself. Her fingers followed her as she counted them all together. "Um... twenty?" she tried, looking hopeful and worried.
"Good job," her mum praised, looking very happy with her. "But I don't think your dad can manage twenty pancakes," she said, chuckling, before picking Winnie up from her dad's stomach.
"I could try," her dad boasted, reaching out and tickling the bottom of Winnie's foot as her mum carried her away. Giving a surprised squeak, she smiled at her dad, who winked at her. Her mum brought her into the kitchen and set her down on the counter, before saying, "Now, no jumping down from that, sweetie. You're fragile and small, you could break something."
"I know," she replied, repressing the urge to sigh. Her mum said the same thing every time. She never jumped, she reached down and opened the cupboard so she could use the shelves as steps. It's what her dad taught her to do when with her mum. Her dad wasn't nearly as cautious with her, though he did tell her one day she'd give him a real heart attack with all her hopping on things. She followed her mum around as she pulled everything out for pancakes, except when she went to the pantry, since that was a separate room entirely. She had to crawl across the counter top since her mum wouldn't let her stand up. The height, she said, was just too dangerous.
Bringing all the ingredients back to the counter space beside the stove, her mum lined them up in order and then smiled at Winnie as she sit down to help. "Okay, what do we do first?" she asked Winnie.
"Get the bowl!" she exclaimed, grinning.
"That's right," her mum replied, nodding before she reached down and pulled out the large green plastic bowl. "And now?"
"The measuring cups," Rowena told her, tapping her chin and looking rather unsure.
"Mm hmm." Her mum turned and walked to a cupboard beside the fridge, pulling down the cups and making her way back. "Now what, bug?"
"Uh... hmm..." Winnie looked at all the ingredients around her. "The... flour?" she tried, her face scrunching up with uncertainty.
"Right!" Her mum passed her the cup and held the bag of flour out to her. Winnie reached into the bag, scooping out one cup of it and then looked at her mother questioningly before she got a nod and emptied the cup into the big bowl. "And now?"
Winnie scrunched up her nose in thought, her brow furrowing and her hands which now had a whole lot of flour on them, coming up to rub at her chin, a habit she saw her dad do a lot. "The other powder?" she asked, her brows lifting.
Her mum smiled, "Baking powder, yes, two teaspoons," she told her, grabbing the jar and holding it out to Winnie.
Searching through the spoons, Winnie picked out the small one she always saw her mum using for her tea and picked it up. She dug it into the jar her mum held and dumped it twice into the bowl, grinning proudly. "Now the egg! I get to crack it, right mummy?!" she exclaimed excitedly.
Her mum chuckled at her, but nodded. "What do we do while we put the egg in though?" she reminded.
Winnie picked up the silver beater, still thinking it looked quite silly. "Beat it!" she told her, smiling. Her mum nodded smiling and took the whisk from Winnie before picking up the white egg and handing it to Winnie. She moved things out of the way so she could crack it on a corner. Winnie was careful not to spill the egg after she hit it a few times on the counter side and then dumped it into the bowl, too.
Her mum beat it all together and then said, "Now what, pretty girl?" She reached out and rubbed at Winnie's cheeks to get some of the flour off them, then wrinkled her nose a second later and managed to wipe the flour on her nose as she rubbed at it so she wouldn't sneeze. Giggling, Winnie was distracted by her question so she forgot to tell her mum she had flour on her now, too.
"Milk!" she told her, nodding and grabbing the cup. Her mum picked up the jug and unscrewed the top, carefully tipping it and using the other hand to steady the cup in Winnie's hand so it wouldn't spill. She then recapped it and helped Winnie pour it into the bowl too.
"Good job," her mum praised and Winnie felt her chest swell, loving that she made her mummy proud. Winnie put her hands on the whisk too, to help her mum stir the pancake mix, making it smooth. They then moved closer to the stove and heated up a pan, using a little bit of butter so the pancakes wouldn't stick and put all the dirty dishes in the sink which her mum filled with bubbly hot water.
When the pan was ready, her mum helped her ladle the first big one onto the pan and then turned around to the radio to turn it on. Winnie managed to get her hands even whiter when she accidentally knocked into the bag of flour and tried to catch the bit that fell out as it fell slightly. Before her mum could see, she threw it back in the bag and pushed the heavy bag to lean against the wall. She wiped most of the powder on her dress, but her hands were still quite bright, which she hoped her mum didn't notice. She sneezed as the powder filled the air and wiped at her face, getting it even dirtier.
Her mum laughed as she turned back to her, a smile blooming on her face. Winnie grinned back, happy that her mum wasn't mad with her. While the pancakes sat sizzling in the pan, Winnie watched her mum sway back and forth to the music coming from the radio. Her head bobbed, thick curls bouncing to the tune. She giggled at her mum's voice coming out to sing merrily along with the sweet voice surrounding them. Hearing her laugh, her mum turned to her, dripping ladle in hand. She dropped it into the bowl of pancake mix and reached out for Winnie's flour covered hands. Helping her down off the counter, she pulled her closer as they wiggled to the song.
"Girl put your records on, tell me your favorite song, you go ahead, let your hair down," her mum sang, twirling around and pulling Winnie to the middle of the kitchen floor. They spun, giggling and singing rather off key, Winnie not knowing the song instead hummed. Her mum would lean in and shake her messy hair all over every time the woman sang, "Let your hair down," prettily. Her mum grinned down at her and Winnie felt excited and cheerful as her and her mum circled around each other gracelessly, arms waving around, hair flying all over, and bodies wiggling happily to the merry tune that filled the room.
These were the moments where she felt as though her mum was quite spectacularly the best mother ever known. These moments where she was free and thought nothing of schedules or being adult. It was like she was the same age as Winnie and they were friends. They were just two girls dancing and having fun, no rules in sight. Winnie wasn't sure if other mummies were ever so much fun, but she doubted it. Her mum was different from others, because she could be motherly and make sure Winnie did what she was told, but she could also be open and childlike. She enjoyed reading and work, but she also loved dancing erratically and playing on the swing hanging from the tree. When her mum laughed, it was happy and rung with joy. Winnie loved her mum more than any other girl in the whole world, because she quite truly believed that nobody else could compare to her.
Her mum twirled her around by holding her arm high above her head and swayed her hips side to side, smiling warmly at her. Winnie stood on her tip toes, turning around quickly and stumbling in her dizziness. Her mum gave a quick laugh and then caught her. She picked her up high and held her on her side, holding one of Winnie's arms out and continuing to dance. They swayed and hopped, arms moving around dramatically and heads bobbing to the tune of the song. Her mum threw her head back and belted out some of the song, her hair swaying down behind her. Winnie giggled happily, thinking her mum was quite obviously the prettiest mum ever too. As the song came to an end, her mum straightened up and sang the last little bit to Winnie softly, before kissing her forehead and making her way back over to the stove to flip the pancake right before it would have surely burned.
Later, after they ate breakfast, her dad having a good laugh at their appearance, they each took a bath and then decided to go outside for awhile to enjoy the warm Spring day. Her mum pushed her on the swing for awhile, only letting her get to a certain height before she became scared and wouldn't let Winnie go much higher. Unlike her mum, Winnie loved heights. She had a great fondness for flying and would do it whenever her mum let her. Her dad didn't often disobey her mum when it came to flying, but every once in awhile her dad could be persuaded to take her up on his broom to explore the sky. That day however, her mum wasn't hearing anything about flying and let her only go on the swing, where she could control the height. Winnie didn't mind, she just wanted to spend the day with her mum.
After playing around in the yard, where her mum and dad ran around in a game of tag with her, her mum told her they were going into London to go shopping. Her dad wasn't interested in getting any more clothes, so he decided to stay home for awhile and catch up on work. After a hug and a kiss, Winnie skipped down the road, knowing her mum would catch up before she got too far. Winnie found her mum's goodbyes to her dad to be much longer than hers, they kissed awhile and Winnie thought that it was quite yucky sometimes. Finally, her mum appeared beside her, and picked up her hand quickly. When they reached a certain point, Winnie felt the familiar feeling of them apparating away, which her mum and dad did quite often.
They reappeared in an alley just outside the main streets of London, where Winnie knew all the pretty shops and Muggles were. Her mum had explained that Muggles were people who couldn't do magic and didn't even really know it existed, which confused Winnie a bit, but she agreed never to tell anyone about her mum and dads powers unless they already knew about it. She could do a few things too, so her dad explained that she was a witch just like her mum, but wouldn't be able to do lots of magic with a wand until she was eleven. Her mum held her hand tightly as they left the alleyway and Winnie felt a grin appear as she looked around at all the people. She didn't get to see Muggles or even many witches and wizards, very often. She spent most of her time with her dad and mum at home. She visited her uncle Blaise and aunty Ginny, but they didn't have any kids. Sometimes, she'd get to play with her best friend Kelsi, and visit with her aunt Patti and uncle Neville, but not as often as she wanted to. She also got to see her grandpa Bill and grandma Liz, but they didn't have any kids but her mum. Then there was her grandpa Arthur and her grandma Molly, but all their kids were grown ups. Her uncles Fred and George were married too, but only uncle Fred had a baby, and he was too young for Winnie to play with yet. And whenever she went to Hogwarts to see her grandpa Bumblebee, he was surrounded by kids, but they too were older and Winnie was kind of scared of them. So really, she wasn't used to most kids or crowds, but they sure did fascinate her.
Her mum tugged her into a store where a whole lot of pretty dresses were and Winnie felt excitement bubble up in her chest. She liked pants more when she was playing and flying, but she also liked dresses, because her daddy always told her she was really pretty in them. Her mum didn't wear dresses often, unless it was a birthday or anniversary, or even on some holidays, she mostly wore pants or skirts, which were often covered by her robes. Winnie didn't get to wear robes yet, but she remembered the one time her dad took her to Diagon Alley and brought her to a robes store to show her what they were and though she considered getting them, he reminded her that there weren't many places she'd be seen in them until she was older, so they decided to wait. Instead, he bought her an ice cream and bought her some more Muggle clothes. Her dad wasn't the best shopper when it came to girl's clothes, but he tried. Her mum always bugged him about it, because he liked buying Winnie things, but more often bought something her mum dubbed, "ridiculously overcompensating," which Winnie had no understanding of. She did always feel like a princess in the gowns and dresses that her daddy bought her though. And when Kelsi came over, they'd play dress up in them.
"D'you want a new dress for your birthday party, pretty girl?" her mum asked, wriggling her hand in hers as they walked down the aisles of pretty little dresses, some with bows, others with lace.
"It's gonna be soon," she told her mum, grinning happily, hearing somebody 'aww' over her missing tooth.
"Two weeks," her mum agreed, nodding. "And how old are you going to be?" she wondered, looking down at her before she knelt beside her and pulled through some of the dresses, frowning or making a 'maybe' motion with her head.
"This many!" she exclaimed, lifting up a whole hand and wiggling all five of her fingers.
"That's right," her mum told her, squeezing her hand lightly. "Have you decided what you want for a present this year?" She wrinkled her nose at the bright dress she ran across and quickly pushed it aside.
"Um..." Winnie tipped her head to one side, thinking over what her many aunts, uncles, and grandparents were likely going to get her, given all that she had told them. "I want... a friend!" she told her, her eyes widening with hope and excitement.
"A friend?" her mum asked, looking bewildered as she turned to her in curiosity. "What d'you mean a friend? You have friends."
Winnie bit her lip, her eyes falling. "No... I have Kelsi," she told her, letting out a long, heavy sigh. "All my other friends are old."
Her mum laughed lightly, looking amused. "Old? D'you mean your aunts and uncles?"
Winnie nodded, looking contrite and upset about the whole affair. "Kelsi's the only one my age, every one else is as old as you and daddy," she told her, her lip trembling. "I want more kids to play with."
"Okay," her mum said understandingly. "Well, I'll talk to your dad and we'll figure something out, all right? Now, what else would you like for a present? Something more like toys or an outing or something," she told her.
Winnie wriggled her mouth in thought, tapping her chin as she thought over what she could get. Her mum pulled her around the store, pointing out pretty dresses and outfits for her to see if she liked them. They spent the afternoon trying on clothes, both her and her mum and then they'd come out and show each other what they looked like. Sometimes her mum picked out silly outfits just to make her laugh and Winnie would tell her that she was just being like a big kid and daddy would definitely laugh at her. Her mum would laugh anyway and put on a funny hat or joke about buying it for later use. In the end, they left with a couple bags and still no idea what Winnie really wanted. She tried telling her mum she wanted a broom all her own that she could ride whenever, but her mum would always shake her head and pretend she didn't hear her.
Later, they picked up an ice cream and then stopped by a book store. It was a regular occurrence for them to each get one book when they went into Muggle London, because her mum wanted her to keep up with her reading and not get bored by it. Her dad always joked that one day they'd have to buy a whole other house just to keep all their books in it, but she'd always see him smile when he added her mum's to the study or read out the new one she brought home. Her daddy loved books just as much as them, she knew, but he liked to kid them. Winnie would always tell him, "Don't be silly, daddy," but he'd just laugh and tickle her.
As her mum walked her toward the alley where they'd apparate home, Winnie took a good look around the city one last time. She loved these days with just her and mum, she didn't always get to see her as much as she wanted to, but her mum always made sure she knew she was loved. She looked up at the beautiful brunette holding her hand and smiled at her mum, feeling that familiar pride swelling in her chest. Yup, her mum was the greatest of them all.
"What are you thinking, bug?" her mum wondered, looking down at her adoringly.
"Nothing," she told her, shaking her head. "Mum," she said, tugging at her hand.
"What?" she asked, staring at her enquiringly.
Winnie tugged on her hand so she'd lean down to her to hear what she had to say. When her mum was close enough, Winnie moved her curly hair out of the way and whispered, "I love you very much!" before she kissed her cheek and gave her a quick nod.
Her mum turned to her, her eyes looking a little wet. "I love you, too," her mum whispered, kissing her forehead gently and then pulling her close for a hug, her hand slipping through Winnie's hair and holding her head close. "Are you ready to go home? Daddy is probably really missing us!" she told her, quietly.
"Yeah," Winnie agreed, nodding against her mum's shoulder. "Daddy gets lonely when we're not there, I don't want him to get sad."
'That's right," her mum agreed, chuckling lightly as she pulled away and took her hand away. "Come on, pretty girl, the day is passing us by," she announced, walking toward the alley.
"For my birthday mum," she said, looking up at her as they walked down the empty alley way. "Could I please get a broom? I'll be real careful!"
"Think your dad will like your new dress?" her mum asked, changing the subject. "I bet he'll think you're the prettiest five year old alive!"
Winnie sighed, rolling her eyes. She'd convince her mum the broom was a good idea, she just needed her dad's help. She smiled then, feeling excited. Her dad couldn't say no to her mum and vice versa, they loved each other too much. Yup, her mum would do it if her dad thought it was a good idea. They agreed on most things, so if her dad said it was okay, then her mum would think so too. She nodded, deciding she had a great plan. "Daddy likes brooms you know, mummy," she told her.
Her mum rolled her eyes, holding her tight as they got ready to apparate. "Nice try, bug," she said before taking them away to their home. Winnie harrumph echoed throughout the alley where they previously stood, a passing Muggle looked down it in confusion.
A/N Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this interlude. It's one of my favorites. Rowena is just too cute, yeah? I just got back from "Transformers," and it was so freakin' awesome, I'm not kidding. I absolutely loved it. I'm a big fan of Shia LaBeouf, am I the only one? He's really quite funny, and quite handsome at times. Just four more days 'til Harry Potter's OotP hits the theatres. Unfortunately I can't go until the following Wednesday, but I'm still phsyched:D Anyway, I'll try and update again soon. Hope you enjoyed the mother-daughter interaction.
Thanks for reading! Please leave a review, it's greatly appreciated!
Much Love,
-Amanda