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NOVEMBER 1987
LITTLE Hangleton was alive with Christmas bells and carols which filled the frosty evening air as the Holly family strolled about the quiet streets that pleasant evening. They had just been for a meal out, one of the very few nights every year where they deemed it would be safe to leave the house and celebrate Grey's eleventh birthday. The family weren't poor exactly, but as neither Aubrey nor Leonard has sustained any money from their families, it did leave them with three children to fend for themselves.
"You'll be there for my graduation in the summer won't you mum?" Christina asked yet again that evening.
Ever since she had completed her final exams of her last year at Hogwarts, Christina had become steadfast on all of her family being at Hogwarts for her special award. She mentioned it at least once a day and was always disappointed when she was reminded by her family that it could not be promised, it was not safe for the family in hiding.
"I'll try my best sweetheart, but you know it's not always safe to take Liana out-" sighed Aubrey, running a hand through her hair in a tired fashion.
Being a full time mother came with the price sometimes and Aubrey showed some of the stress she was suffering, with the dark circles under her eyes and a rather stretched smile across her face.
Christina didn't reply she only scuffed her shoes along the pavement to prove a point.
Liana, now seven, dashed ahead of her mother, her tiny feet slamming against the pavement as she danced along, her mouth stretched into a wide gappy smile, showing where she had lost her first tooth only a few days before, her soft red curls flying out like a cape behind her.
"Mum it's not fair," mumbled Christina under her breath, trying to hide her watery eyes. After all, Christina knew she was much too old to cry over such small things, she knew her sister had to be the priority. But it stung admittedly.
Aubrey gave Leonard a look pleadingly as she halted and pulled Christina to a stop also. Leonard nodded, understanding his wife needed the time alone with her oldest daughter, and he immediately began to hurry Grey and Liana towards a small park along the road where they could play in peace while awaiting for the pair.
Christina sighed as she looked up at her mum with flickering chocolate brown eyes.
"Mummy-" Christina muttered, trying to brush the tears away quickly at her mothers gaze.
"I'll be there Sweetheart, I promise. We'll all try our very best to be at the Graduation," Aubrey told her girl softly, wrapping a arm around Christina.
"But Chrissie- lets walk. I need to talk to you about something-" Sighed Aubrey, the words she were about to speak were hurting her inside.
"Darling, theres a good chance that after your graduation, your Father and I will need to go away together for a little while. Nothing drastic-" Aubrey added quickly seeing the panicked expression on Christina's face.
"Why? Whats wrong? Mum?" Christina pulled on her mother's coat sleeve nervously, her hand shaking a little as she looked up into her mother's eyes.
It wasn't the fact that Christina knew her parents would leave her to go on some private mission, It was the fear she could see in her mother's eyes, her mother's hazel eyes that stared deep into Christina's own.
"Baby you must promise me, no matter what happens you will keep the others safe with you. I want all my precious kids together and safe," Instructed Aubrey firmly, the fear seeming to seep away now as she took Christina's hands tightly in her own.
"I promise Mum," nodded Christina at once. She would have promised her mother anything at that point just to see the fear gone.
"That's my girl," smiling Aubrey proudly and she kissed the top of Christina's head.
"Now I think some celebrations are in order for the birthday boy!" called Aubrey as she and Christina finally reached the park where Leonard was pushing Grey on the swings. As Grey cheered excitedly and practically bounced up on to his father's back for a piggyback ride home and Christina followed laughing, Aubrey found her eyes drawn to her smallest girl.
Liana was at the roundabout. But instead of sitting on it and letting it move slowly, she would run around it, holding onto the side tightly until it had picked up speed. Liana would then take a flying leap onto the fast moving roundabout, her hands gripping like a spider-monkey and her breath coming in fast puffs of cold evening air.
Aubrey watched this for a while, seeing the focus behind Liana's eyes as she completed this again and again in a determined fashion, her little face screwed up with effort but the sparkle of excitement in her blue eyes.
"Come on Liana baby, my little Gryffindor lion," grinned Aubrey finally, when she remembered she had to catch up with the rest of her family. She casually halted the spinning roundabout and and held her arms out for Liana to grab onto and climb down.
"How do you know what house I'm going to be in when I'm at school Mum?" asked Liana curiously as she leapt off the roundabout, with absolutely no apparent concern for safety and clasped her mother's hand tightly.
"I can tell Darling. You have the drive of a Gryffindor," chuckled Aubrey as she bent down for Liana to clamber onto her back for a piggy back ride but Liana suddenly grinned at her mum as if an idea had occurred to her.
"Race you, last one home is Merlin's toenail!" shouted Liana and she took off running at once, not waiting for her mother to process her decision.
"I'm racing you!" Aubrey called amid short laughs as she dashed down the small lanes of their home village , towards their cottage gate where the others stood waiting and laughing as they watched Aubrey and Liana run down the road together.
It was that kind of blissfully short lived happiness, the kind that was a picture perfect moment but also the kind that hurt the most when you remembered and looked back.
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AN
PROPER CHAPTER COMING NEXT I PROMISE
and things are about to get pretty deep. But I swear its gonna be fine in the end ( kinda?), I'm really trying to get back into my writing pattern but there are still going to be times where I don't update for a few days at a time.
Xoxo
Edited :15/4/19
Re-edited: 14/8/19