Emily Potter - Book 5 - Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 15 - The Adamsons

"Will you ever stop moping around?" Ella said, jabbing her finger at my stomach, "Mum will notice that look on your face, then she'll ask questions, then you'll have to answer them, and then when Emily comes back Mum will act all weird and – "

"Thank you for that uncomfortable scenario," I said cutting her mid-sentence, "What do you mean by when Emily comes back? Has she left already?"

Ella shrugged, the smug look on her face vanished all at once, "I suppose, I saw her leave with some luggage. Maybe that school of hers is more advanced or something." I nodded, sighing, "Have you thought of a name for the baby yet?"

I knew it was a stupid question to ask, I've seen Ella fuss over a little notepad with scribbles of names of both boy and girl. But I had to ask, I needed a distraction. She nodded, looking deeply interested in having another addition to the family, "Rachel for a girl and Grisham for a boy. And if they're more, like if they're twins or such, I'd like Audrey, Thea, and Athena for the girls, and Marcus, William Scott, and Spencer; what have you chosen?"

It was kind of silly of us to think about names for both boy and girl since Mum and Dad already told us the sex of the baby but my sister insisted, mostly because she was keen on having a little sister. Or just dreaded of being around boys. Ella kept pushing the idea of having twins, why? I have no clue. She has been acting rather odd lately, I must admit. A few days ago, she started saying things like "Anything is possible, it might be a girl, might be a boy... Might be twins, even! It's far too early to label things." Just this morning, I saw Ella in the yard with a broomstick in hand. How odd.

"I would say Harrison but I like Grisham more for a boy," I said with a smile, "And maybe Charlotte for a girl. And if there are more than one baby going on board with this family, I'd like Spencer and James for the boys, and Amelia and Laura for the girls."

"Laura!" Ella gasped with a grand smile, "That's perfect! Way beyond perfect, let's pitch that name to Mum. She'd like Laura." She began twirling around the living room, her arms in a perfect arc over her head. I remember when Ella was a kid I used to accompany her to her ballet practices. She was the most terrible one there, she had no patience for it so she quit it after three days, and joined Muay Thai instead. Now that she was good in, Ella won a ton for it.

But every now and then, she would do a few twirls here and there. Being cutesy and crap with her twirls and kicks. I once got a bruise in the size of a waffle because of her.

"We're home!" Mum said excitedly as she opened the front door. Ella and I turned our heads to see that Mum was holding up sonograms from an ultrasound, naturally, Ella beat me to the photos and had them all to herself, "Oh, wow." She said, her eyes becoming narrow as she met the image, "Are you sure you're three months?"

"Yes, that's what the doctor said!" Mum chirped, hanging her coat by the door, "She's a fast little thing, I can tell you that. The little bundle is growing a bit quick compared to the other babies my doctor's patients have."

"It's a girl!" I exclaimed, a joyous smile on his bright face, "What do you think of the name Laura?" Ella kicked my shin, gaping, "I told you that it could be a girl! Doctor got it all wrong at the first time 'round, eh?"

She nodded, getting red in the face, "Yes, yes, but enough with that! You two delinquents have a baby sister on the way, we can't keep calling her "it" or "spawn" anytime 'round. What names have you thought of?"

I let Ella tell Mum of all the names we've thought to be a good match, while she kept her busy I quietly slid out of the room, and went out to the porch. It was a beautiful afternoon, the sun was shining for a change. Emily's sudden departure lingered in mind, what kind of school does she go to? I asked myself all sorts of question, she is a peculiar girl no doubt about that. She was different, she could be the girl who you want to introduce to your parents or she could be the girl who would beat you up in the alley for your lunch money.

Before my thoughts could go any deeper, an elderly woman dressed in green was walking up to Emily's house. I could only assume she was her Aunt. I hurriedly ran up to her without a second thought and introduced myself, "Good day, Miss. I'm Dan, I live next door." I said, holding out my hand to her. She acknowledged me with a kind smile, proceeding to shaking my hand, "Pleased to meet you, Dan."

"Pleasure it all mine, Miss – "

"Please, call me Aunt Minerva. There's no need for such formality," Aunt Minerva said with a chuckle, "What can I do for you, Dan?"

"I was going to ask for Emily but my sister, Ella, told me that she had seen her depart for school earlier this week. I wonder how I might be able to keep in touch with her, seeing that she doesn't have a cell phone or such."

Aunt Minerva paled as I ended my sentence, did I say something wrong. She then immediately grinned at me as if I hadn't seen her in such state, "Ah, yes. Dan, would you come in for a cup of tea? I'm afraid this conversation will take some time." I agreed, thanking her for the invitation. Their living room was a lovely spot, quite homey. I saw a few owl feathers (presumably from Emily's pet) scattered around. Aunt Minerva walked coolly to the kitchen, dumping her bag on the countertop, "So, you've spoken to Emily?"

I couldn't help but look all over the place, it was an extraordinary home. On the coffee table was a stack of what seemed to look like several sheets of parchment accompanied with antique looking leather bound books. Everything seemed to look rather ancient, maybe dating back to a whole other century.

"I have, yes. We spoke briefly," I said, looking over at a hung photo of Emily as a child which I swore moved but that was mad of me to even think so, "She's quite the conversationalist, if I say so myself." She laughed heartily, carrying a tea tray to my direction, "Oh, you have no idea." Aunt Minerva said as she laid the tray down, "What did you two talk about?"

"Oh, well let's see. We talked about school, she said she was about to go back to this boarding school of hers but I didn't know that she would be leaving so soon. She told me about her parents, you, her boyfriend – That's pretty much all to it, she did say that our families should have dinner together."

"I see." She said mistily, nodding, "I'm surprised she didn't tell you about her brother, but enough with that. Emily's a private person so pardon her if she may seem a bit off at times, and as to why she doesn't own a – erm, cell phone, it's because she prefers to keep her focus on her studies. Her school is a prestigious institution, Dan, I hope you understand that she can't risk losing her rank in that institution."

I was going to ask what the name of that school but I had a feeling that I won't get any information about it. Aunt Minerva had a presence about her, a powerful one. I had an odd feeling that there's more than meets the eye here, even with Emily I felt this odd ambiance.

"Where do you go to school, Dan?" She asked me as she poured milk in her cup of tea.

"Oh, erm – I go to the community college nearby," I said, watching my surroundings eagerly as if I was awaiting Emily to suddenly drop in, "You're welcome, by the way, at my home. Feel free to visit whenever you will." She grinned at my words, light laughter escaping her lips, "Thank you, Dan. But I'm afraid I won't be staying here long. I'm departing tomorrow night, I'm a professor at Emily's school. This house is going to be awfully empty all year long."

She noticed the sudden drop of my shoulders in disappointment, offering me a tiny cake, "Eat this, Emily baked them herself." I thanked her, gingerly taking the tiny cake. It was a small thing; it was almost the size of my palm. It was a golden cake with powdered sugar, cream, and a slice of caramelized apple on top. When I took a bite out of it, a rush of energy blasted through my veins. My spirits lifted up as I was done eating it, it was like magic.

"Now, you best be off, Dan," Aunt Minerva said, hiding her smile behind her cup of tea, "I'll tell Emily of your visit when I get there tonight."

"Thank you, Aunt Minerva," I said brightly with a smile, "And thank you as well for your hospitality." The elderly woman nodded, "The pleasure was all mine."

,"pحu