The Wake

“No, no. Everything’s fine here,” said Susan getting up quickly though she couldn’t move as fast as she could. Drew had run off to into the pantry for something. Susan didn’t even know what. She had other things to do and she Drew would be fine. She started to put warm water into the sink though they had a dishwasher.

She inhaled deeply as she had a vivid flashback of bathing Edgar in this very sink when he was a few weeks old. She swore she could feel his baby soft skin and his fine dark brown hair. She could still remember the bright curiosity and love in his blue eyes. The same blue eyes his father had, it felt like the same look in those eyes she had fallen in love with. Where had it all gone? Her kids were anything but innocent and filled with such hate and anger.

“Drew, what are you doing?” she called out. “Mac & Cheese, please mum?” asked Drew asking with his big hazel eyes. “Alright dear, I’ll make it,” she sighed with a smile. Drew was the hardest to say no too just because he was the only one who was still a genuine sweet kid. Amelia typically was but this start of puberty thing was killing Susan. Claire and Jessica hadn’t been nearly as rebellious at this stage then Amelia was but then again Amelia had been through a lot in a short amount of time but it still didn’t give her the right to act like that though. She had to talk to Ernie since these were his kids too and she was at her wits end.

Susan started to make the Mac & Cheese. She kept having flashback to when her kids were in primary school and coming home after a long day at a muggle school, which was her idea, begging for Mac & Cheese. She made it every Monday. Everyone one of her kids loved it and ate it all every time. Her hands started to shake and she couldn’t keep them steady.

“Actually, dear if you could make this for me it would be greatly appreciated,” she said gently. “I’ll be right back I just need to use the bathroom,” she said before walking into the bathroom and locking the door. She braced herself on the sink and took a deep breath. She looked up into the mirrors to see everyone she had ever lost starring back at her. “Damn, Astral Projection,” she muttered under her breath. She splashed water on her face. She wasn’t sure but she felt light headed and weak in her hands and her knees. Maybe she really should go see a Healer. Maybe there was slight damage from the whole Diagon Alley thing even with the fact they threated it quickly.

Susan came back into the kitchen unsure if Lily could cook the muggle way or not. She pushed Drew back into the kitchen since he was standing right behind Lily with a bowl waiting. She could only smile though. She took notice of James coming in rather quickly. Amelia and Chad must have come back down. It would do the boy some good to handle Ernie; if he could handle Ernie she honestly had no fears about him. Only a cowardly Death Eater would leave right away and she doubted Chad would do that, she knew how boys worked she had two of her own. She had already gone through the macho stage with one of them but then again that stage never went away in the Macmillan family. Susan remembered Ernie’s father and shook her head.

Susan assured Lily that she had no use for her in the kitchen, but Lily hovered, still too on edge to want to leave the room. She glanced around, desperately looking for something to do, when the little boy spoke up. Lily watched the gentle moment between mother and son and smiled a little. She could only imagine how dear the boy was to Susan now, and Lily had always had an odd fascination with watching women mother their children.

Susan suddenly gave her something to do and Lily brightened. "Sure thing!" She moved forward, quickly taking the pot and spoon in her hands, watching the water boil. She poured in the noodles and turned up the heat. The little boy watched eagerly and she smiled at him. "I've always liked mac n' cheese too."

A few minutes later, Susan reentered. Lily had chosen the traditional way, simply because it bought her more time away from Jessica. Drew had been impatient and she grinned. "Five more minutes buddy." She glanced up as James entered, looking as though he had just escaped a stick situation. She offered him a bracing smile. "I'm making macaroni and cheese."

James slid into the kitchen, panting a bit from exertion. This wake was getting to be crazy!

"I believe murder is about to be committed in the living room," James informed Lily, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder.

James winced at his tactlessness, turning to Susan.

"Sorry, Susan," he said, "That was awful for me to say, considering the current atmosphere."

James stood there for a bit, shifting awkwardly, wondering whether he should just edge back into the living room. He avoided his sister's eyes for as long as he could, worried that when he looked her way, she'd be staring daggers at him.

Susan just chuckled. She knew her family was crazy and didn’t find the point of getting upset over it. She found that it was better not to get worked up. She was use to people being overwhelmed by her family. She only shook her head in humor.

“Don’t worry about it James, I often think that too. They are a bit crazy specially when drunk. My family is a bit high-strung,” chuckled Susan. She was always found it interesting what other people thought of her family. She remembered Hannah and Neville calling them so insane it was perfect. She never doubted that until everything fell apart a few years later. She did feel guilty about, she felt like she hadn’t tried to save her marriage.

James' words caused Lily's eyelids to flutter closed, a grimace forming onto her features, her teeth gritted. She could practically feel the waves of embarrassment off of him. Perhaps it wouldn't be noticeable to anyone else, but Lily knew when James felt embarrassed.

Susan laughed, however, and Lily's eyes opened, glancing between the two of them. She glanced over at the pot, stirring the macaroni. The noodles were soft and she flicked her wand. The water evaporated. She quickly grabbed some milk and butter, pouring some of the former and dropping a bit of the latter in. She added the cheese and began stirring, content to be busy.

Lily glanced over at Susan, glancing over her shoulder at James, gaping a tad helplessly. Finally she said, "High-strung is another word for... passionate," Lily threw out. "We feel at home among the 'high-strung.'"

Susan smiled. Oh, how she could scar these kids. They weren’t really kids but close enough. She still saw her kids like they were where in primary students. Maybe that’s why she is struggling so much with Amelia, Amelia’s always been a mama’s girl but now she was growing up and getting more interested in guys. It scared Susan, she felt like she was losing everything. “I’m guessing you two saw Amelia. Younger version of Jessica besides more attitudes and a little bit less aggressive,” said Susan. She loved all of kids and took pride in them all. “Don’t mind Jessica, she’s taking her anger from my divorce and now the death of her brother and twin sister. She’s really an great girl, it’s just overwhelming,” said Susan knowing Jessica was thinking straight at the moment.

“Drew! Everyone we have Mac n’ Cheese!” called Susan. Maybe she could stop a war from happening.

He kissed her back, only a bit more passionately them winked at her father, "Guess what, if your daughters lucky, I'll give her a flash of my dark mark" he said. As he turned he winced in preparation of the wrath that was currently behind him but quickly escaped with Amelia into the dining room. He sat down in the table, hoping he wasn't being rude, "Your father is a great man, do you want to keep this spiting thing up?" he asked gleefully, hoping if her answer was yes he'd get more kisses.

" I'm actually not regretting saving you from a painful death anymore," he said pulling her close to his chest and whispering, "I'm sorry, but I would rather you not raise your voice at me, when I suggest if I could help you," he was referring to the Astral Projection a few minutes ago. "Please dont get angry, but you said that you like when I don't let you walk all over me, so I'm not."

His stomach rumbled at the sound of food, but then asked "What's Mac 'n' Cheese?" to Amelia, out loudly so the whole household probably heard. He then whispered to her again, "Do you enjoy spending time with me?"

Amelia was slightly pissed by the dark mark statement. She didn’t want to hear any joking about it. It actually made her a bit queasy. She knew Chad had only meant to get to her dad but he really should have thought that through all the way.

“We can keep it up but nothing more about any dark marks. Let me give you a little history lesson on the Bones family,” said Amelia pulling out an old photo album from a cupboard. She flipped to the page with her grandfather and his two siblings as kids with their parents. She knew in order for this to work Chad was going to have to be able to respect who her family is and what they stand for and understand she would stand by her family before she would stand by anyone else.

“This is my grandfather, my great-uncle Edgar and my great-aunt Amelia. By the time my grandfather is a fifth year, my great-uncle a sixth year and my great-aunt a seventh year their parents were dead. Death Eaters burned down the whole two. There were no survivors only now orphaned kids in Hogwarts,” she had firmly flipping to the page of Edgar with his wife and three kids. “This is Edgar now in his mid-twenties with a family. He was a well-liked member of the wizarding community, but also was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Only two days after this photograph was taken all five they were taken out. My grandfather happened to be with them the night they were attacked, her barely managed to get out of there with his life. They tortured Edgar and his wife for information they weren’t going to give up. They killed their three young kids brutally. My grandfather still has nightmares about that night,” said Amelia her voice staying as firm as before. She flipped to another page with a photograph of her mum at fifteen with Aunt Amelia.

Amelia took a deep breath. This photograph was worth billions of words. She would never be able to tell anyone enough words about it. “This is Amelia now in her late thirties maybe forties, I can’t remember. By this time she is the Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement and part of the Wizargot. She had been an Auror for many years become becoming Department Head and was very well-liked and powerful. She’s the one who gave the Bones family their name. Voldermort himself killed her, from what my mum told me her flat was trashed and when they found her wand was steaming hot, she hadn’t given up without a fight. My mum was the one who discovered her dead and to this day my mother is still fighting Death Eaters and probably always will. Of course, she doesn’t know that I know that she’s still fighting Death Eaters,” said Amelia firmly as ever. “You see talking about Death Marks in this house could get you very well killed. It’s not my father you should be concerned about. My mother and grandfather could do a lot more damage than my father can. That isn’t saying my father wouldn’t torture you but I think you’d be worst of facing my mother and grandfather. My father’s side is another whole different story, rather a terrifying tale of a pureblood Scottish family whom is known for anything for doing things pureblood English families wouldn’t even think of. My dad’s side is the ones who will fight to the death for what they believe in no matter what it is.

“Listen, trust me I could have done a lot more than yell at you if I was angry. You don’t let me walk all over you but I won’t let you walk all over me either even if by accident,” she stated plainly. She was hoping he’d be in too deep of thought about her family to argue with her because she really didn’t feel like arguing for the next three or how many hours.

“Mac 'n' Cheese is an muggle meal my mum used to make for my siblings and I on Monday nights when we got back from muggle primary school,” sighed Amelia. She knew she’d spent a lot of time explaining muggle things to Chad. “I do enjoy spending time with you,” she whispered pulling him towards the kitchen which meant going back through the living room with the crazies waiting to attack.

He nearly cried as she told him all this, why did she have too? His barrier was about to break, but he took a sniff and held it in. "I love you" he said, he regretted it as soon as he said it, he knew Amelia wouldn't feel the same, or would she? He hoped the comment went unnoticed he couldn't put up with someone not being able to say it back.
He gripped her hand tightly as he walked through the lounge room, and cheekily smiled at Ernie, "Love you pops" he said cheerfully raising him arm, and shaking it.

He opened the door to the kitchen, and almost died, it smelt so good... "It smells so cheesy, and creamy and buttery, what does it have in it?" he wondered if they'd sit at a table, would he be able to sit next to Amelia, or would he be under the watchful eye of her hawk-of-a-father.

Amelia could tell she had upset him. She hadn’t meant to. She just thought it was important to tell him. She instantly felt guilty about it. Her heart stopped when she heard those three words. It took her a few minutes for it to sink in but now she knew she had to say something. “I love you too,” she whispered back. She kissed up gently in a brief kiss.

“Come on you. You’ll find out what’s in it,” she giggled standing on her tip toes to be able to get the bowls down. She barely managed to get two bowls down. Either the cupboards were really tall or she was really short. She realized she had forgotten where the silverware was when she saw Drew get a fork out so that saved her the embarrassment of asking. As she turned to lead Chad back into the dining room she heard her grandmother walking close behind her.

“Don’t give your dad such a hard time. He’s a good man. And stop worrying about him and Jessica. They won’t do anything with you so close by,” her grandmother whispered in her ear before she left to get her own food.

Amelia grabbed his hand again to pull him away but had him carry his bowl because she didn’t know how to balance two bowls. “Be careful the bottom is always hot,” she warned him.