Blast from the past
Characters: Debi, Snitch Status: complete
It was a brisk day, and Debi shook her hair free from its ponytail so her ears would have some cover. She'd spent much of the day either shopping on-line or wrapping gifts, and taking Snitch for a walk in the park had seemed like the best way to get her blood flowing again.
She'd also completed a much more important task: her paperwork to become a permanent resident.
She'd been thinking about it for a while, ever since she'd come to London to meet RJ Blythe, and now seemed like the perfect time. She was married to a British citizen, worked for a British citizen, and by this time next year might well be the mother of a British citizen. She didn't want to give up her American passport (yet), but she wanted the legal protection the British equivalent of a green card would give her.
Snitch barked at a squirrel, and Debi let her dash to the end of her retractable leash. So much had changed in the last two years. She'd been half-crazy then, and so pretentious she'd lost almost all her friends (and nearly ended up as dragon food). Her mother had been angry at her, her sisters had thought she was nuts, and she'd been so alone it had hurt. It was a wonder Remus had even listened to her apologies, let alone asked her to help with his writing.
Now she had a job she enjoyed, friends both here and in Pennsylvania, and a man she loved. And as soon as the immunity potions finished giving her dragon pox (she'd not only itched, she'd gotten scales on her elbows and knees, plus a rash on her back that looked like a Chinese Fireball with mange) and all those other wizarding diseases...
"I knew you'd be happy here, darling," said Lil.
Debi turned to her great-aunt. Lil looked happier than she had in years, bright-eyed and smiling, her white hair cut into a Louise Brooks bob at her chin. She wore a beaded silk dress and a long velvet opera cloak, and her wand shone in the sun. "You knew?"
"Why do you think I told you to follow your heart? You were a witch all along." Lil smiled and cast a warming charm on Debi's ears. "I didn't expect you to stalk that nice young man - "
"I - I think it was because of the books. And I was so lonely." It was the most natural thing in the world to take Lil's hand as they walked through the park, Snitch wuffing and scrabbling at her favorite trees. "I know better now. Reality is better than fantasy."
"And Zacharias is a good man. You chose well." Lil gave her hug, then glanced down at her stomach. "I can't wait to meet the new one - oh no, you're not pregnant yet, but you will be soon enough. Divination wasn't my best subject, but I know that much!"
"Really? You mean - "
Lil shook her head. "I can't tell you more than that, Deborah Anne. But you'll have your family sometime next year." Her lips were soft as she reached up to give Debi a kiss on the cheek. "I have to go now, but I'll back when you need me. Merry Christmas!"
"Lil? I - "
Debi blinked, hard, as Lil disappeared with a faint *crack* Snitch trotted up to her, stick in her mouth, and butted her head against Debi's hand.
Lil is dead. She's been dead for years.
What just happened?
She drew a shuddery breath and stared about her. The park was the usual mix of parents and children, dogs and squirrels and sparrows. No one seemed to have noticed an old lady in a flapper dress either appear or disappear.
"Home. We need to get home. Heel, girl." Debi retracted the extra leash and pivoted, Snitch at her left side. Suddenly she needed a glass of wine more than she needed fresh air. Was hallucination a side effect of those immunizations? Or was she getting another weird disease only magical people got?
It wasn't until much, much later, after she'd had her wine and looked up her symptoms and watched two episodes of The Avengers on DVD that she realized that the spell to keep her ears warm had lasted until she was safely home.