Minnie [#Wattys2017]

Hell's Bells

Hell's Bells

It was Wednesday afternoon, after Minnie had said good-bye-for-now to Florean Fortescue and they'd had a light lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, that Isobel apparated them home to the manse at Faere Dhu. They'd been gone less than a week and Minnie already couldn't believe that she'd ever believed the world to be as ordinary as it was before she'd known of magic and all of the things the wizarding world offered. The moment that the CRACK in the yard had sounded, the Reverend had run from the house, slamming the screen door, and running across the porch, down the path through Isobel's garden and swept Minerva up from the ground, hugging her tight to his chest, his arms wrapped about her as though he dared not to let her go. He held her close, tears squeezing from his eyes and trickling over his cheeks in relief, and he'd reached one arm out and drawn Isobel in, too.

"You came back," he praised, "You came back."

"Course we've come back," Isobel replied, "You silly man, to think I'd ever leave you for good would be madness."

But he held them tight nonetheless, for his fear was not quenched.

Malcolm and Robbie had come out, too, Robbie shouting for his mum and Malcolm begrudgingly admitting he'd missed sparring with Minerva while she was gone. "Where've you been, mother?" Robbie asked in a scolding voice, imitating the one that Isobel used when she called the children and Robbie took his time in coming to the call. "Where've you been?"

"Mummy had some errands to attend to, little one," she said, kissing his cheek and brushing his hair off his forehead gently.

"What's that you've got there, Min?" Malcolm asked, pointing at the wand in Minerva's little fist.

Minerva flushed, "Nothing. Just a stick." And she tucked the wand into her skirts where Malcolm could not get it.

But it was not quick enough to conceal it before the Reverend had seen, and his eyes flickered to Isobel's. "Is that --??"

Isobel nodded.

The Reverend stared at Minerva uneasily a moment, then back to Isobel.

"Is it what?" Malcolm asked. "Is it what? What is it?"

Minnie stared up at her dad, worried, and tucked the wand into her skirt pocket, similar to how her mum had done, though her skirt was much less full than her mum's was. She cowered back slightly, nervous of how her da would react... Not that she expected anything more than shouting (Robert had never been one for corporeal punishment - he had spanked the children, of course, as was normal punishment in those days, but only when they truly deserved it, and he cried harder than they did when the time came for it), but she so hated displeasing her father that she feared seeing the look of disappointment in his eyes.

Robert had an unreadable expression on his face - something between confusion and hurt.

"Da? What is it?" Malcolm tugged on his father's shirt sleeve.

"Go inside," Isobel commanded, and she lowered Robbie. "Take your brother and go inside."

"But ma, I --"

"Listen to your mother," Robert said in his best Reverend voice.

"Yes sir." Malcolm too Robbie's wrist and dragged him away up the steps of the porch and into the manse, looking back over his shoulder at Minerva.

Robert's face was still unreadable.

"She's a witch, Robert," Isobel said quietly once the door of the house had closed, "She got her letter from Hogwarts last week. I was going to tell you --"