A/N: I realize that I haven't posted a chapter in forever. Well, see, I missed the pre-holiday deadline, and then I was out of town. So I have excuses. But I am terribly sorry to have kept everyone waiting.
I practically threw myself off of the train at King’s Cross Station, having seen Mum’s face out the window. Misty growled unhappily as I was pulled into many hugs, several of which came from Melinda. I was so glad to see them that a smile remained plastered on my face for some time.
We rode in a regular old taxi to the Leaky Cauldron. Mum and Melinda were as thick as thieves. I envied them a little. Though Ginny had improved, she’d begun to wonder where her little diary had gotten to. I chose to ignore her complaints and went about my own business.
The Leaky Cauldron was decorated with ivy and holly all around. Candles flickered pleasantly inside the windows against the white snow on the other side of the glass. As we entered, warmth enveloped me. I was given a Butterbeer and escorted cheerfully back to Melinda’s flat, where Misty was happy to curl up on a chair by the fire.
After we had settled down, Mum and Melinda exchanged their stories for mine. It started out with what had been happening for the past few months, but soon, we had exhausted that subject. Thus, we turned to stories of our childhood.
Mum smiled and gasped, “Remember, Melinda”that time in my second year?”
Melinda frowned. “Which one?”
“The time where I left my purse on the train!”
“Oh, yes. I remember.” Melinda grinned. “You were horribly upset. I couldn’t make you eat anything. And that boy, he kept coming over to poke you, and Lily just shoved him away… Lily was so nice to you…”
Mum’s eyes were glassy. “She was in your year, but she always paid attention to me. I must have been such a nuisance, following you around like that…”
“No, no, no. I might have snapped at you now and then, but really, I didn’t much mind””
“Who is Lily?” I asked, poking Mum’s arm. She blinked.
“She was Melinda’s good friend. Lily Evans. She went on to marry that very boy who pestered your mother.”
“Was he mean?” I questioned, wondering why she married him if she liked to shove him.
“Well, not really. He just liked to play pranks on people that were sometimes hurtful. Usually, they were harmless, but you know””
“Oh!” Mum squealed. “Remember when he filled his cauldron with ink during my fourth year?”
Melinda rolled her eyes. “Yes. We were sixth years, and James (the boy who married Lily) got his friend Peter to steal everyone’s ink bottles. Poor Peter must have nearly died carrying it out, for fear of being caught.” She lapsed into silence.
“I think Sirius was in detention at the time,” Mum said quietly. “Just goes to show you””
“Oh, hush, Mary. Sirius was such a nice person.”
“He was, Melinda. Was.”
“Maybe that family madness just finally caught up with him, that’s all.”
“Apparently. I mean, murdering 13 Muggles and his close friend is a bit much.”
“Mary!”
“What?”
Melinda placed her cool hand on my head. “Do you really want to talk about murder at a time like this? It’s Christmas!”
Mary sighed. “I suppose you’re right,” she allowed. Melinda nodded. However, a moment later, she pointed her finger at Auntie and added, “But you know that these things usually catch on later in life.”
“What things?” Melinda demanded.
“Madness. Insanity,” Mum supplied.
“Oh really? And where’s the book that told you that?”
“Our mother did, Melinda,” Mum said. She folded her arms across her chest. Melinda didn’t remove her hand from my head. “When you came home that summer after my second year, you talked constantly about Sirius Black. Maybe you were oblivious to Mum’s contempt, but I wasn’t. She specifically said to stay away from people like him, even if he was a Gryffindor.” Melinda’s hand seemed to be suddenly heavier.
“Did she?” She asked quietly. Mum shrugged.
“Something like that, anyway. That’s why she was so upset when you came home the next summer.”
“I think you just didn’t know him well enough,” Melinda decided, removing her hand at last and clutching her other hand in her lap. “He was a- a nice boy, who maybe got into a little trouble sometimes”” Mum laughed. “Okay. So maybe he was constantly in trouble, but when he was with me I saw a different side of him. A gentlemanly side, not a mad one.”
Mum struggled to keep a straight face. “So he didn’t foam at the mouth while he kissed you?”
Melinda swatted Mum’s arm. “You! Of all the little sisters!” They laughed together, I grinned, too. I’d never really known much about Mum and Melinda’s lives at Hogwarts. Apparently Melinda had known the Potters, who were clearly Harry’s parents. I wondered if they knew the Weasleys. When I endeavored to ask, Mum shook her head.
“They were years above us. Nice people, though, from what our Mum told us about wizarding families,” Melinda explained. “Now… who’s up for a walk?”
Later that evening, we settled around the kitchen table with hot chocolate. I sipped mine carefully. Mum took larger gulps. I watched, wondering how she could manage to drink the scalding liquid. “Susan,” Melinda piped up after a while. “How much has mother told you about her plans?”
“You have plans?” I blinked. Mum had failed to mention this in her letters. Mum shifted uncomfortably.
“Yes. I was able to get a temporary job at the Three Broomsticks. Melinda helped me,” Mum hesitated. “But nothing’s settled yet.”
“But you’ve gotten a job,” insisted Melinda.
“That’s fantastic! And it’s right near Hogwarts, in Hogsmeade,” I added thoughtfully.
“You’d be right near her,” Melinda chided. I frowned. They’d obviously been arguing about this for some time now. Mum seemed even more uncomfortable. Sipping her hot chocolate quickly, she did not respond.
“Has she found a place to stay as well?” I asked Melinda.
“Oh yes. There’s a lovely little cottage on the border of the town. It’s right near some hills, yet it’s still right by town.”
“It sounds nice.”
“I’d bet my favorite hat,” Melinda said loudly, “that Dumbledore would allow her special permission to visit you on weekends, Mary.” Mary waved away her sister’s comment.
“I don’t doubt it, but I haven’t worked in ages. Bartending is not exactly the best job out there, especially for me. I’d much rather work in gardening,” Mum relayed.
“Really? Then once you’ve gotten yourself a bit of money and you no longer feel guilty about asking for help from me you may open a shop of your own. It could be right in your front yard, if you like. I’d advertise for you.”
“Galloping gargoyles, Melinda! You never give up, do you?” Mum exclaimed.
I laughed. They turned their heads to look at me. I buried my face in my mug.
“What’s so funny, Susan?” Melinda demanded, setting down her hot chocolate.
“Nothing”it’s just I’ve never heard somebody say that before””
Mum rolled her eyes. “Such a Muggle-like thing to say, Susan. Remember, you’re a witch now.” I took a big swallow of my warm drink and nodded, a silly smile still on my lips.
Over the next few days, Melinda, Mum, and I spent much time worrying about nothing. Occasionally, my aunt would attempt to bring up the subject of Mum moving in to the Hogsmeade cottage. Mum repeatedly dodged the conversation, sometimes falling silent until we let it go for the moment.
Eventually, as we sat on a bench outside Gringotts one morning, Melinda tried a new tactic.
She pretended to examine the snow at her feet at first, saying nothing. Reaching over to touch my scarf, she cleared her throat. “This is one of my favorites,” she commented. “How do you like it, Susan?”
“It’s”it’s nice, Auntie,” I stammered, wondering why she asked.
“Mary, don’t you agree?”
Mum looked up slightly. “Yes. I always liked the color blue, and the pattern is very wintry.”
Melinda smirked. “Do you know how much it cost me?”
Mum blanched. “Several galleons most likely.”
“Several more than you’re thinking of, I’d imagine.”
With a slight shrug, Mum took the scarf off of my shoulders. “Well then, Susan, you mustn’t hurt it, understand?”
I nodded silently, but did not reach for the scarf.
“Just pretend for a moment that it was hopelessly ruined, and it was all your fault. How would you pay for such a thing?”
“Well, I might get a loan…”
“And put yourself in debt?”
“That’s not what I mean in the least. I’d pay them off right away.”
“Where would you get the money to do that? Before you answer, think ahead a few months. When this next summer is over, you’ll need to buy Susan her supplies. Where will you get the money for that? Suppose you get sick. Suppose I am unable to help you out financially when the time comes. What’ll you do then, Mary?”
“I’d get it from a job,” Mum replied. “It’ll be one of my choosing.”
Melinda tapped her foot on the ground. “You’re being impossible, you know. You can’t work in the job of your choice until you can support yourself. I know it’s been a while, but you haven’t even thought it through! Besides, you still need to see the cottage I’ve found.”
“I don’t suppose you’ve got a picture,” Mum grumbled. I stood up, feeling unusually confident.
“Then let’s go,” I said forcefully. “Right now. I’ve finished all of my work, and we’ve still got a few days left before I return to Hogwarts.”
Melinda beamed and stood next to me. “Come on, Mary. One look won’t kill you.”
With a sigh, Mum stood. “I give up. It better have a nice garden…”
Since first years were not allowed to go on Hogsmeade visits, this was my first time in the little village. It was quaint, with only a few small streets, one of which led to the Shrieking Shack. There were dozens of cozy little cottages, many of which held small shops as well as living quarters. Melinda made sure to point out the Three Broomsticks and remark on how much business it got. A woman named Madam Rosmerta owned it, according to her. She’d owned it for quite some time and was very successful. Mum folded her arms across her chest and reminded Auntie that she’d been there several times and knew what it was like. To this, Melinda winked and led the way down another street.
The street was lined with cottages, each with its own character. One had a curvy chimney; another had twelve birdhouses in the front yard. A cottage farther down the road was made of pink brick walls. Melinda led us past all of these, coming to a stop in front of a wooden one in the shadow of a larger, yellow-stoned cottage. It had several rows of what appeared to be lumps of snow. Mum nearly jumped for joy as she realized that the mounds were flower beds. Herbology had been her favorite class, and she always had a garden growing back in Hastings.
“So… what do you think?” Melinda quipped, prodding Mum.
“It’s darling,” Mum breathed, walking up to the frosted window. “Can we go inside?”
“Yes,” said Melinda. “Come on. I’ve got the key.”
A few minutes later, we were walking through a snug hallway paneled in a soft, light wood. I peeked into the little rooms. A small kitchen with a hearth greeted me on one side; on the other was a cramped dining room. There seemed to be two bedrooms, each with just enough room for a bed and chest or desk. On the end was a small bathroom. Looking out the window, Mum spied a snowed in shed ten yards from the house at the base of some rocky hills. The cottage was near the end of the road, where the hills began. There was a small fence between the house we stood in and the one next door. It looked as though it needed repair.
Mum seemed to have changed her mind about the cottage. “Oh, it’s perfect for us, Susan! It’s near Hogwarts, it has a garden, and it’s small. I bet it doesn’t cost too much either. How much is it, Melinda?”
Melinda whispered the number in Mum’s ear. I decided that I was happier not knowing. Mum gulped slightly, but quickly regained her happy face. “I can manage. Some time working at the Three Broomsticks should fix that. And thank you, Melinda. I am really grateful. Where would I be without you?”
Melinda laughed. “No where I want to be. Come on, let’s go home. We’ll buy you the house and finalize your job the moment Susan is back at Hogwarts.”