Melody Riddle and the Goblet of Fire

Chapter 2: Maternity Excuses

"Why must you coddle him so?" Gerald asked irritably, coming into the room with ruffled hair and bleary eyes.

"Don't be so grouchy about it..." I said, cuddling Blake closer. "I mean, he is my little brother, of course he needs the attention. Yes he does, yes he does."

"I never did that with Orele. She turned out just fine," he said with a wave of his hand.

"Oh, so that's why you two never got along! You never showed her any brotherly attention! Let me guess – you mostly ignored her while growing up?" I said

Gerald rolled his eyes, and walked away.

I looked at Blake, who'd started blowing spit bubbles with his mouth in boredom. "I know I'm right," I told him softly.

"I heard that!" I heard Gerald shout as he went down the stairs.

About a minute later, Grandma meandered into the room and smiled. Her blue eyes seemed to brighten as they rested on the baby. "Here, I'll take Blake." I handed him to her, and he started making "ooh" noises while grinning from ear to ear. He liked grandma best. "Ah," she sighed as she looked me up and down. "Dear, your slippers are filthy."

She's just about the only one who can notice things like that, I thought in a panic. Did I forget to notice if the ground outside Riddle House was muddy? What about outside the house?

"I — um — yeah, I was awake so I thought I'd go outside for some fresh air," I said. "I didn't think about putting sneakers on, I'm sorry...." I really wanted to change the subject. I looked at Blake, seeing my new topic, "You know, he only talks with you. It's like you're a therapist and he's spilling his deepest darkest secrets to you!"

Grandma laughed, slippers momentarily forgotten. "Gerald's noticed that, too. But he has no right to complain about it. You know he never watches Blake unless he's the only choice."

A knowing smile came on my face, "Well, that's Gerald for you."

She gave a small chuckle, ushering me out the door, "Go get changed now, dear. Your grandfather's already making his breakfast before you two go to work. And give me your slippers so Blake and I can go wash them."

With one hand on my shoulder, she glanced down the hallway at mom's open room. Her form was resting deeply on top of the blankets with her curly brown hair spreading around at odd, tangled angles. A light snore echoed down the hallway, and I suddenly felt guilty for disappearing so easily to see dad. I knew she'd even worked herself that hard for me as a baby, whereas dad... well, albeit, dad never had the chance to. However, I personally doubted he would have put as much effort into my younger years as she had.

"I think we'll let Orele sleep in..." grandma told me with a small wink, letting go of my shoulder to wipe some spit off of Blake's chin. "She could use a short reprieve."

I nodded in agreement and left for my room. On my bed was my cat, Bodoujn, sleeping soundly. He awoke and sat up when I came in. I pet his soft black, furry head and went to my wardrobe for something to wear.

When I finished, I looked at my bedside table. There sat my list of supplies I needed to get for school.

FOURTH YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:

Dress Robes (only for special occasions that will occur through the year)

The Standard Book of Spells; Grade 4 by Miranda Goshawk

The Standard Book of Spells; Grade 5 by Miranda Goshawk

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection

Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard