Who: Sally-Anne Perks and Marcia Perks What: A friendly visit from your mum Where: Sally-Anne’s flat When: January 30, 1999 - Late afternoon Rating: Intense
Sally had been studying for one of her NEWT courses, when the deliciousness of a Sunday afternoon nap over took her. It was cold outside and she had wrapped herself in a fleece blanket to keep warm. That had been her kiss of death. No one could resist softness like that.
She must have slept for a decent amount of time, enough for a dream to take over her thoughts. It was a pleasant one for a change, with a hint of intrigue, that was eventually rudely interrupted by a knock on her front door. Stretching, she rolled out of bed, wondering what on earth Justin wanted from her now. It was either him or some sort of subscription sales person, she was sure of it.
So when Sally opened the door to find her mother standing there, looking entirely out of place in the apartment building’s stair well, she was taken entirely off guard. “Good afternoon, Sally-Anne.”
The younger witch had no choice but to invite her mother into her flat. “Hello, mother,” she replied as she closed the door behind her. “What brings you here?” After living in her flat for almost a month, her mother had not once set foot in the neighborhood, let alone between these four walls.
“Funny you should ask,” her mother replied, walking around the living room and examining the contents. “I just had a lovely tea service with my good friend, Francine Merriweather. You remember her, don’t you?”
Sally was about to respond, that yes - of course she remember Mrs. Merriweather, when Mrs. Perks cut her off. “She told me you found you shopping for furniture with some boy in a consignment shop on Friday.”
“Yes, mother. My friend was helping me pick out a few items.”
Mrs. Perks turned to stare at her daughter. “It’s that Fletch-Finchy boy, isn’t it?” It was clear the older witch was not pleased with the news.
“Yes, mother, but you’re really blowing this whole thing out of proportion.”
“Francine said you were living in the same building. That he helped you get this flat.” Her mother broke away and began to examine the rest of the room. Almost as if she was looking for some sort of evidence.
“Yes. It’s not easy to find a flat on short notice and he happened to know this place was available. It was a great opportunity so I took it.” She watched as Mrs. Perks headed into the kitchen, followed promptly by the bathroom.
“You’re living with him, aren’t you?” Her voice called from down the hall.
Sally made a beeline to the bathroom. “Of course not, mother. You will not find anything in this flat that will prove otherwise. He’s not living here, we’re not in any sort of relationship. We haven’t even….kissed each other.” And the moment she said it, she knew the pause had been too long.
“You’re lying!” Her mother accused, her face both angry and a little excited, like a fox that found a rabbit hole.
Sally turned away from her and headed back to the living room. This was not the conversation she wanted to have with anyone, let alone her mother.
“You are playing with fire, young lady,” Mrs. Perks scolded, following her daughter back out into the open. “Do you want to end up like your brother Linus?”
She clenched her fists at her mother’s words. “This is not the same at all. First of all, a muggleborn wizard and a muggle are not the same thing. Muggles are a completely different species of humans. Muggleborns can produce magic. That’s a very important distinction.”
And before her mother could interrupt, Sally continued. “And I’m fairly sure that Linus did not marry that muggle girl of his own free will. Up until practically the day it happened, Linus had nothing good to say about muggles. I doubt very highly he just woke up one morning and decided to change twenty some odd years of opinions.”
Mrs. Perks scoffed. “Lust can change opinions rather quickly. They are obviously lowering your standards as we speak.”
It took Sally all her strength to not lash out. Her mother had no idea about the source of her changing mind or the fact that it had started well over a year ago. That Justin had arrived in the middle of something that had already been taking place inside of her. His biggest achievement was giving her a reason to actually think about it, instead of pushing it to the back of her mind in lieu of other things. He unknowingly forced Sally to face her own reflection and to see the ugliness that existed beneath the surface.
But in the end, Sally pushed it all aside and said “This was Carlton’s doing. He wanted Linus out of the way because he had too many opinions on how the company should be run. Carlton knew the conditions of father’s will. He knew-”
And then she saw it. Mrs. Perks whipped her wand out of her robe pocket and pointed it at her daughter. Sally’s eyes grew wide. Her mother had never once drawn a wand on Sally. But then again, up until just recently, Sally had been a very obedient child.
“You will not speak to me like that, Sally-Anne.” Her mother did not cast a spell, but her glare was trained on the younger witch. “You are walking on very thin ice at this point. I don’t like your attitude. I don’t like your behavior. And I certainly don’t like your accusations.” Her mother walked forward, the closing gap forcing Sally to sit down on the couch.
“After your birthday dinner, I thought you were willing to see the error of your ways. I thought with a little coaxing that I’d be able to get you back on track. I’d humor your little excursion into the adult world. Little witch in the big city, living away from home. I assumed all you needed was a little guidance, the kind someone like Alabastor Spore would be able to give you. That you would come to understand that he’s a smart and fair man who could provide an excellent business opportunity for our company. Because I know how much your love your precious business and would do anything for its success.” Her last words were twisted, a mockery.
“And yet you rejected that idea. As if you had any choice. Do you realize how few wizards are going to want to have anything to do with a witch like you? I’m surprised you are even still in good favor with Alabastor. You’re attitude is not the sort of thing a pureblooded man wants to deal with in a wife.”
Sally gripped the edge of the couch where she sat, digesting her mother’s speech. “Well then perhaps I not meant to be the wife of a pureblooded wizard.”
Her mother paled at the words. “To think that you would throw away everything we worked hard for. We’re not an ancient bloodline, Sally-Anne. Our family consciously established this level of purity over several generations. We made a choice to elevate ourselves, to distinguish ourselves the lower standards of mixed blooded families. We are working to create a better race of wizards, Sally-Anne. And your actions insult our cause.”
Sally stood up, needing to escape but having no place to go. She shook her head. “If the cause of raising society’s standards means having to lower my own…If it means forcing me to toss away my education, quit my job and play housewife to a man I don’t love…” She could barely get the words out. “To sit quietly instead of speaking my mind, to watch every action I make to avoid being judged by other purebloods. To avoid being judged by my own mother…” She could feel the tightness creep into the back of her throat.
“Than this is not my cause.” The words seemed very loud when Sally spoke them.
Her mother just stared at her, her lips thinning into a straight line. “Where did I go wrong with you, Sally-Anne? When did you go from being a good little girl into a woman I don’t even recognize? Your years at Hogwarts have changed you. Being exposed to all those rubbish children have made your self-righteous and obnoxious. And now I’m afraid I won’t be able to change you back."
Mrs. Perks put the wand back into her robes pocket. Shaking her head, she took a last look at her daughter. "I think it's too late for you, Sally-Anne."
Sally stood, questions begging on her lips. "Wait, mother. What are you saying?" But she did not reply as she made her way out the door.
"Wait. Wait! Mother, no!" Sally called out and for half a second thought to follow her, but then decided against it. If she took the bait now, she'd never be free. But if she didn't...Sally didn't even want to think about it.