A Summer to Our Own

Burnt Hands and Nightmares

"Ow!"

Andromeda whipped her hand away from the bottle in front of her and shook it while trying to ease the pain. Her mother glanced up from her journal on the sofa and asked, "Are you certain that you don't need my help? I may not know a lot about magic, but that is the third time that you have burnt your hand trying to mold that shell to the bottle with that wand of yours."

"Mum, I'm fine. I just didn't think it would be this hard to conjure the perfect temperature of heat to the bottle without melting it."

It was a little bit before midnight, and Andromeda had found herself sitting next to the fireplace with bottles and trinkets dispersed all around the floor. She has been spending some of her nights working on her present for Ominis after they have gone to bed and would wait until she knew he was fast asleep to slip out of her bedroom without interruption. Her mother would sit with her for some of these nights if she was home so that she wasn't alone.

Rose set her journal aside and stood up to walk over to a cabinet that was brimming with a variety of ingredients that were used for an assortment of ailments. She reached for a glass jar that smelt of lavender, honey, and a hint of olive oil. "I believe it's time to call it a night. Why don't you put your project away and meet me by the sink in the kitchen."

Andromeda let out a frustrated sigh but slowly got up to collect everything off the floor to steal away in a crate. She then hid it in her mother's room to prevent Ominis from accidentally stumbling upon it and asking her why she had a crate filled with random bottles. By the time she returned to the kitchen, Rose had the sink running with water and laid out some bandaging material by the glow from the kerosene lamp.

"Mum, is this really necessary?"

Rose simply grasped her daughter's arm to place her hand underneath the cold water. Andromeda immediately grimaced at the sensation against her burnt skin and realized that she may have done more damage than she originally thought. "Alright, I suppose you're right."

"Hmph. I may not be a witch, but I can recognize a burn from the cliffs of Dover." Rose then shut the faucet off and carefully dried Andromeda's hand with a towel before applying a lather of the salve. "I know how much this present means to you, but I don't want you getting yourself hurt in the process. Neither would Ominis, especially if he finds out how you actually got these burns."

"I know. I just want it to be perfect..."

"I'm positive he will love it. I can tell that you have put quite a bit of thought behind it and that alone shows that you care. You are trying to make it possible for him to be successful in an area of study that can be quite challenging." Rose gently wrapped Andromeda's hand with a bandage and secured it with a safety pin. "I want you to change this every morning and night until it's healed. Now..." She gave her a loving kiss on the top of her head and patted her shoulder. "Off to bed with you! I have an early morning start for tomorrow and will likely be gone by the time the two of you wake up. It seems that Mrs. Ashdown is due with twins any day now, and I would rather catch her in labor early, given that this is her first delivery."

"Good night, Mum. And thanks for mending my hand..." Andromeda pulled her wand out of her pocket and whispered, "Lumos." before heading up the stairs. Her hand was on the doorknob to her bedroom when she heard a small thud from behind. She turned and stayed quiet for a moment, thinking her mother may have dropped something downstairs, but after a few minutes, she heard it again from Ominis' bedroom. Her feet instinctively crossed over the hallway while holding her breath. She pressed her ear right up to the door and softly knocked.

"Ominis?"

Andromeda was met with silence, but something didn't feel quite right. Instead of going back to her bedroom, she inched the door open to poke her head through to see what was going on.