NOIR - [Fred Weasley]

08. Decisions, decisions, decisions...

✻ When she realises what has to be done.

July 15th, 1996

It wasn't that Margaret Thibault was a bad mother - Merlin, no. Lizl would swear on everything she held dear that the old witch - though she long ago had made the decision to not have children - was actually a great mother. She was just... a little bit eccentric.

When other children played hopscotch on the streets of "The Lair", young Lizl was being taught telekinesis and self-defence. Most mothers would chastise their kids for scaring their life out of them if they ever saw them climbing and running on the roofs of buildings, but Margaret Thibault would just correct young Lizl's form. If she wasn't a scary old hag, people would've probably sent more than a couple of complaints to Ministry officials.

But alas, to Lizl, her mother was pretty darn good.

She had never missed a birthday, or a special milestone. Even though she made very little money, Lizl never felt like she was missing something. Margaret never missed a chance to tell the little girl she loves her, and when Lizl suggested calling her "mamman", for the first time in decades, Margaret Thibault shed a tear; a tear of happiness.

So, all and all, Maggie was cool.

Unless you mentioned the name Albus Dumbledore.

If that ever happened, official instructions listed that one should probably run and hide.

And that was why Lizl kept toying with her dinner nervously, stirring the pumpkin soup around, avoiding the all-knowing eyes of her mother.

"He offered me a spot." the girl finally croaked out, her heartbeat rising ever so slightly.

The old witch lifted her clear blue eyes from her plate, examining her daughter's face in confusion.

"Who? The Weasley boy?"

"No." corrected Lizl, nervously cracking her knuckles under the table. "Dumbledore. He... He re-offered me my spot in Hogwarts."

"Oh, my." Maggie replied, setting her spoon on the table, her back standing straighter - as if that was possible.

"Yeah. He said there was always a spot in Hogwarts waiting for me, and that perhaps I'd prefer to finish my schooling there." Lizl finished, not particularly looking forward to seeing her mother's reaction.

Margaret Thibault however, didn't even skip a beat. She merely collected herself quickly, folded her arms softly on her lap, and offered her daughter a smile.

"Well, what do you think?"

Lizl gulped. She had to be kidding, right? No snarl or weird comment about Dumbledore's beard, no accusatory look. Merlin, her mother was turning her into a paranoid freak.

"I think I've got everything I need right here. I get to learn and experiment without a dozen overbearing professors over my head, and I'm free to do as I please the rest of the day. I mean, who's going to organise patrols once the twins return to school, and who's going to make sure-"

"- You should go."

"What?!" Lizl exclaimed, almost chocking on her own spit.

"You should go to Hogwarts. It's an opportunity you cannot miss." argued Maggie softly, her voice barely raising.

"But... I don't understand. Don't you want-"

"- Of course I want you here." explained Maggie, standing up from her spot and sitting to the empty dining chair next to her child. "You are my daughter, and if I had my way, I'd keep you here forever. But one of the things you learn when you become a mother is that there is no more room left for selfishness. When I kept you here all those years ago, I made the decision to raise you in an unorthodox manner. By doing that, I kept you away from one of the most beautiful experiences of my life."