Author's Note: The chapter you've all been waiting for! -introductive trumpet noises-
Dedications: To an inanimate object!
My porch: You're wonderful to sit in and write stories.
Chapter 5: Playground Brawls
Lily felt another presence on the bed, both warm and cold, when she came around a few hours later. Dinah lay beside her snuggled close; the warmth came from her body, the cold from her wet hair, which had soaked the side of Lily's robe. Rolling her eyes at the child's carelessness, she stripped off her robe and pitched it in a wad onto the chair in the corner.
Goosebumps ran up her arms and down her legs, which felt bare and cool without the snug coverage of the robe. She buried herself within the comforter--all but her face--and gazed at the ceiling, arms folded beneath her head. She wanted to solve the majority of their problems before Dinah awoke and disrupted her train of thought.
How would she earn enough money to support them? To support herself alone, even? Did she care enough for Dinah to try to support both of them? Should she send her back to the orphanage to avoid worsening the child's life with her poverty? Should she adopt her? Did she want to?
Lily's mind was as busy as a hive of bees.
'All right,' thought Lily's organizational side, 'let's address question number one.'
'But surely question six is of the most importance!' insisted her loving side.
'What about the money?' argued her rational side. 'Think about that yet?'
'Don't worry about the child,' interrupted Lily's selfish side. 'Just figure out how you're going to support yourself!'
Lily felt a headache coming on. She thought of nothing for a minute, hoping to clear her mind.
'Okay. I will address question six first. It is the most important,' she thought, and her emotional side swelled smugly.
She rose carefully from the bed so not to wake Dinah and grabbed a handful of Knuts from her bag. She sat beside the chair in the corner and crossed her legs Indian-style before laying the coins in a pile on the carpet.
'Now, for every pro of adopting Dinah, I place a coin by my left foot; for every con, my right. I like having her around. She's a pleasant companion.' A coin fell to the floor by her left foot.
'I don't have enough money to keep her.' She dropped one by her right. 'She called me a good mother'--she grinned--'and I think I would be too.' Left.
'We snuck away from the orphanage. They probably won't let me adopt her anyway.' Right.
'I don't have a house. I don't have a job.' Right. Right.
'I make her happy. I treat her much better than her own mother did. She wants me to adopt her.' Left. Left. Left.
'I have all the time in the world to be her mother; her own mother didn't. She might be magical--I can help her with that. A Muggle woman would hate her for it.' Left. Left.
'I can't see her go to live with another family. It would kill me.'
The rest of the coins rolled from her palm into the pile by her left foot.
An adrenaline filled her and she pushed herself to her feet, grinning like she'd just won the lottery. In her eyes, she had. She hadn't felt a feeling as great as the one that consumed her at that moment in seven years--since she received her Hogwarts letter and found out what she truly was. That moment, as much as discovering that she was a witch, was also a self-discovery. She found strength within herself she never knew she possessed, courage foreign to her, and belief in her abilities.
She would find a job in the city. She would find them a place to live. Adopting Dinah seemed so close, so feasible.
While Dinah slept through Lily's burst of energy, self-discovery and joy, she finished cleaning up like they planned earlier so they could eat dinner and explore the city by night. Lily dried her hair with a charm, aiming one at Dinah's head as well. She brushed her long red curls and left her hair to cascade down her back and over her shoulders. Her attire wasn't flashy; only a pair of faded jeans, a white shirt, and her long, chartreuse-green jacket as her top layer.
She sat beside the sleeping child on the bed when she finished and admired every aspect of the girl she soon hoped would be her daughter. Her soft brown curls, she noticed, were probably the reason--beside the fact they traveled together--Ernie Prang mistook Dinah for her daughter. They had the same type of curls, though Lily wore hers almost a foot longer than the child, whose hair fell only to her shoulders.
"Dinah," Lily bent her head to whisper in her ear, "wake up."
The child only yawned and rolled over.
"Dinah," tittered Lily, poking her in the side, "wake up."
She moaned and swatted at Lily's hand, yanking the covers up over her head. Lily pulled them right off, meeting Dinah's startled blue eyes.
"Don't you want to go out and see the town?" asked Lily. Dinah was amazed that Lily was up and dressed and on top of that, in a spectacular mood. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"We're still going? What about the fight? And the problems?"
Lily gave a slight smile. "I...I've worked them out."
"You have?" said Dinah, almost skeptically.
"Yes!" chirped Lily, enveloping her in a hug and placing a kiss atop her head. Her happiness was like a firework soaring into the air, about to explode.
Dinah pulled back and stared at her strangely. "Are you feeling okay? You didn't know what to do before we went to sleep and now you do?"
"I thought about our situation while you were sleeping," Lily told her, throwing a glance in the direction of the pile of coins in the corner.
"And?" Her voice quavered slightly.
The beginnings of a smile curled Dinah's lips when she saw Lily's cheerful grin.
"You're going to live with me," she said, and tears of joy filled her eyes. "If you...want a new mother."
Dinah frowned at the remembrance of what she once told Lily. "I didn't mean that," she said brusquely. "Not if my new mother is you." Lily smiled at her, warm inside.
Shyly, because of their earlier troubles, she hugged Lily around the neck.
"Do we have money and a house now?" asked Dinah. "Did you find a job while I was sleeping?"
Lily shook her head, forcing down an amused chuckle. "But we'll manage."
"Are you sure we can?" fretted the child. "You won't leave me home alone, right? Or leave rotten food in the fridge? Or stay at work and school all day?"
"I can't make any promises about school or work all day," said Lily, "because I don't know what kind of schedule I'll have yet, but I assure you there will be edible food in the refrigerator and that you won't be home alone."
"But...you'll try to stay home with me?"
"Of course."
Dinah smiled at Lily and, rather unexpectedly, cuddled into her jacket and said,
"I love you, Lily."
There aren't words to describe how Lily felt when she heard what Dinah said. Tears consumed her eyes and a smile expressing an emotion she'd never felt before shone from her lips. She wrapped the child snugly in her arms and replied,
"I love you too, Dinah."
- - -
Twenty minutes later, they were downstairs in the small restaurant of the hotel, dressed and ready at last. Though Dinah, as she said, didn't own many clothes, most of the clothes she did own were either very cute or very nice. For instance, that evening she dressed herself in an off-white chenille sweater (both cute and nice), a pair of brown pants, and her saddle shoes, which Lily cleaned off fixed up with a few simple spells, leaving them looking like new again. And to top it off--literally--she wore a matching brown bucket hat. Lily guessed that either her mother's old friends or ex-boyfriends had paid for the child's expensive clothing. Which, Lily also realized, was probably the reason her mother kept such company.
Nevertheless, the two headed downstairs in their cheerful moods to get some dinner to take out with them while they explored the city.
"What are you serving tonight?" she asked of the chef from in front of a bar of unfamiliar looking foods.
"Raclette," said the man in an accent similar to that of the check-in counter boy. "And quiches, apple tarts, bread and cheese, or bread and jam."
"Can you fix a little of everything in a box for each of us?" asked Lily, putting an arm around Dinah's shoulders to make sure he knew to fix two boxes. "We'd like to take the food with us while we explore the city."
The chef nodded and retreated to the kitchen, Lily supposed, to fetch their boxes. He returned with not only the boxes but two filled Styrofoam cups with lids and straws. When he finished, he brought the boxes not to Lily and Dinah, but placed them on the counter behind the buffet and added something to one of them, something bottled. He placed the boxes in a plastic bag and held it out for Lily, who accepted.
"I put in something extra for you," he said to Lily with a smile and a wink.
"What is it?" asked Lily apprehensively.
"You will see, madam," he said and departed to serve the other customers.
Lily felt awkward with the mystery bottled substance in her bag, but left it alone for the time being. After all, what reasons did the chef have to harm them?
Once outside the hotel, the girls hopped aboard a trolley that passed by the front sidewalk. They now had an easy mean to start on their dinner and view the city simultaneously. They sat in the back to avoid the eye of the watchful attendant, just in case their snacking wasn't allowed. The bottled substance caught Lily's eye the moment she opened the bag; it stuck out against the white Styrofoam and cardboard.
She pulled it out and examined it, letting it roll a full turn in her hands, and the liquid inside sloshed around. She instantly felt stupid for her worrying when she saw the label--'Riesling--a Fine Wine of Switzerland.' She would have realized it was wine sooner, but the size of the bottle threw her off; it was no larger than a can of soda. Travel size, she guessed.
Dinah eyed the bottle with distrust. "Is that alcohol?"
"Yes," admitted Lily. "But I'm not going to drink it, if that's what you're worried about. I didn't ask for it--the man put it in the bag as a nice gesture. He didn't know that I'm underage and don't drink." She tucked it gently back into the bag and removed the cups in its place. She handed one to Dinah, who popped off the lid.
"It's...chocolate milk!" She grinned at Lily, pleasantly surprised.
"It's probably Ovaltine," said Lily, glancing at it. "The Swiss created Ovaltine."
"Ovaltine?" asked Dinah. She scrunched her nose up, not liking the sound of it.
"It's almost the same thing as chocolate milk," she explained, "except it's better for you."
"It tastes the same, right?" She sniffed tentatively at the drink.
"Right. It's just an adult's way of tricking children into taking their vitamins." She smiled at the child in jest.
Dinah rolled her eyes and snapped the lid back on. "You're so silly," she said, and sipped at the Ovaltine.
"It does taste the same!" She sounded as though she'd been expecting mud.
"I told you."
"What's in yours?" She pointed to Lily's cup. Lily inserted her straw and tried her drink.
"I think it's apple cider," she said, and took another sip.
"Why did we get different drinks?" asked Dinah.
"The man probably thought you'd like Ovaltine better than the cider."
"I do!" she said, smiling. She switched her focus to the boxes. "What are we having for dinner? What's in those boxes?"
Lily took one out and opened it. There were several sections dividing the different food items. Dinah examined the box's contents.
"This food isn't so weird," she said, then stared at Lily. "I thought people from other countries ate weird food?"
Lily laughed; Dinah frowned, thinking Lily was mean for her laughing.
"But...it usually is!" she defended. "One time I saw a lady make Chinese food on TV and it was some of the weirdest stuff I ever saw!"
Lily only laughed harder and Dinah reached grumpily for her own box, embarrassed and slightly hurt. Lily composed herself at once and gave the child a hug.
"I'm not laughing to be mean, Dinah. I laughed because what you said was cute--it amused me. Don't let your feelings be hurt so easily."
"Is this cheese and potatoes?" Dinah asked, poking at a section of the box with the plastic fork she'd been given.
"Looks like it," said Lily, through a bite of quiche.
"What's that you're eating?" Lily took note of how often the child asked questions. But she'd been the same way with her mother at that age.
"Quiche. It's basically a cheese pie. Most of our meal consists of cheese--it's a big part of the Swiss diet."
"I like cheese," said Dinah, shyly tasting the Raclette. She ate it with more gusto when she found out it tasted no different than cheese and potatoes back home. Before tasting her slice of quiche, Dinah glanced up the street to see where they were heading. A favorable destination on the corner up ahead caused her to pack away her box and reach overhead to yank the stopping cord.
"What was that about?" demanded Lily as Dinah packed Lily's box on top of hers and started walking off the trolley with the bag. Lily's annoyance dissipated when she saw where they had gotten off.
The forest playground.
And that wasn't all--to the side of the play structure flowed a magnificently gorgeous waterfall. The small pool at its end was lined with large rocks, the perfect place for them to relax and finish their dinner.
So Dinah had known what she was doing.
She led the way to the rock-lined pool and climbed into a comfortable sitting position, setting the bag between them.
"We got here after all!" said Dinah cheerily, fishing out her cup and box.
"Well," considered Lily, "you might want to go play before you eat. I don't want you getting sick."
"But my food will get cold," protested Dinah.
"I'll keep it warm," said Lily, giving the child a glimpse of her wand in her inside jacket pocket. Dinah smiled and slid from the rock. Lily stopped her with a call.
"Your clothes--I almost forgot."
First checking for a clear coast, Lily muttered a word, wand aimed at Dinah's outfit.
"What did you do?" Dinah stared down at her outfit in fear, as though it were going to attack her at any moment.
"Now you won't get dirty," said Lily. "Run along."
The child happily obeyed, disappearing within the faux trees and leaves of the playground. Lily watched the fantastic waterfall as she ate the rest of her dinner. As the darkness of nighttime drifted fully in, colored lights flicked on near the summit of the fall, illuminating the waters. Lily felt tranquillity as she basked in the cool Sierren night, the color and gentle motion of the water's cycle lulling her to sleep, though she felt not the least bit tired. Despite the fact, she lie back on the long rock, digesting on the inside, relaxing on the out. She'd never felt more at one with nature, more calm, more peaceful, in her life.
That is, until a great racket surprised her out of her reverie and into the water. The pool, unlike her jacket, was freezing as, Lily then considered, it probably originated from a point high in the snow-capped Alps. She resurfaced dripping like a wet dog and shivering like mad to find that the rocks formed too high a barrier for her to scale alone. She swore and cleared her throat to scream for help, but a nearby conflict--the one that had startled her in the first place--cut her off.
"Get that mangy animal!" screamed an angry male voice. "Don't let it get away with my products!"
"Put that rock down!" squealed Dinah, and Lily began to massage her temples. "You just wait until I tell the police!" What on earth had the child gotten herself involved with?
Lily heard the scrape of someone falling to the ground and then the rustle of gravel and sharp yelps.
"Don't shove me!" yelled the child amidst the sounds of running.
Lily scrabbled at the rocks with more determination, but was still unable to pull herself out.
"Leave the kitty ALONE!" shrieked Dinah, and the cry of a man in pain followed. Lily tried desperately once more to release herself; she made it, just barely, and dried herself quickly before seeking the man and Dinah.
Her courage fluttered away when she saw the size and appearance of him paired with his anger. He was nearly two heads taller than Lily with a square, scarred chin and a nose that bent as though he'd recently been in a brawl. His clothes held the stench of dead fish mingled with the sea--which one could smell without having to go near him--and his hands were as large as dinner plates, holding the power to crush anything that entered their way. Still, Lily continued toward them.
Several people had gathered on the side of the playground out of view from the waterfall, watching the scene with interest. Dinah was sitting on a level of the play structure almost ten feet above the people on the ground, clutching a small, gray kitten in her arms; the man was shouting at her to bring it down.
"Lily!" called Dinah when she spotted her. "This crazy man wants to kill the kitty!" She jabbed her finger accusingly at the man on the ground, who rounded angrily on Lily; she kept her left hand inside the pocket with her wand.
"Is that your daughter?" he barked. Drops of spittle sprayed her face.
"Yes," said Lily, out of convenience. She wiped them off.
"Well," he said in a patronizing manner, folding his arms over his chest, "you need to tell her to bring that cat down to me this instant. It has an appointment with my big knife."
Though his tone was threatening, Lily noted how well he spoke English; but his accent told her he was no native speaker.
"For what reason are you hostile toward the animal?" Lily borrowed the tone of a mother in conflict.
"He steals from me. Every day that little bastard swipes a fillet of my fish. It's time for him to be the fillet!"
"You are not going to lay a finger on the kitten," said Lily forcefully, if only because her wand was at such easy access. "And what gives you reason to think you can scream at and push little girls?"
Onlookers--those fluent in English--grew more interested at these words. Probably because of the great size difference between the two in conflict; though Lily was far more powerful than the fisherman.
"She should not have interfered where she does not belong. If I want to kill a menace, this is my business," said the man haughtily.
Lily almost drew her wand several times during the short pause after what the man said and what she was about to say, but she remembered their crowd.
She settled for, "If you ever touch my daughter or that kitten again, I assure you you'll regret it."
He took a step toward her. "What are you going to do? You are only a woman."
She'd never felt quite an urge, quite a temptation to pull what she fondly called a 'James Potter' on someone as she did when the man's taunting words reached her ears. The only thing that stopped her from using magic, again, was the crowd of onlookers.
She resorted to old faithful instead. The man shrieked in pain as Lily's kneecap jarred his man flesh. The crowd moaned empathetically in pain, except for its women members who very much sided with Lily and Dinah. The latter cheered and laughed from her perch.
"Only a woman?" Lily repeated, trying and failing to hide her triumphant smirk. "At least women aren't thick enough to leave their most sensitive targets unprotected, well in reach of foes."
Swearing and scowling, the man limped away from the scene, abandoning his revenge on the kitten. Lily savored her victory, egged on by the women's nearby plaudits.
When Dinah was certain the man would not return, she maneuvered her way back to the ground, kitten remaining tightly in her embrace.
"Can I keep him?" were the first words out of her mouth. The crowd, seeing that the excitement had evaporated, moved along on its way, leaving the duo alone in the park.
"Dinah..." Lily's heart wrenched; she'd always wanted a pet as a child, but her mother's myriad of allergies prohibited it.
"Please?"
It was difficult to turn down such a determined face, especially after the child had gone through the trouble of rescuing the poor thing. Lily caught sight of its face for the first time and wished even more strongly that their budget wasn't so tight; it was a British Shorthair, Lily's favorite type of cat.
"He won't cost a lot of money!" promised Dinah quickly, throwing out her only convincing line before Lily gave her verdict. "He hunts his own food like that mean crazy man said and I can make his toys!"
"All right," said Lily, giving in with a smile. "You can keep him."
"Yay!" cheered Dinah. She held the kitten in front of her face and addressed him. "You're going to live with me and Lily now! You can sleep in our bed and eat food I don't like!"
Lily snickered. "He can sleep on your side of the bed."
Dinah stuck her tongue out at her and Lily pulled her hat over her eyes by the rim and ran off laughing toward their bag of food on the rocks. Dinah placed the kitten on the ground beside her feet and he chased her as she followed Lily, shouting playful threats of revenge.
Two figures concealed in shadow on the rocks surprised the girls when they turned the corner. Dinah cloaked herself behind Lily, whose wand hovered in her hand before them. One of them, distinctly male, opened his mouth to speak.
"That was quite a show, Evans."
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