It was now the end of summer, and I could feel the excitement rushing through me. It was finally here! Today I got to go to Hogwarts!
I rushed down the stairs, without tripping and falling, and quickly pulled back a chair to the kitchen table. In front of me, my dad was at the stove, a pan of eggs in his hands.
"You ready for today?" he asked me, a look of his own genuine excitement but also a bit of sadness filling his face.
I tilted my head to the side slightly. "Are you okay?" I asked, while raising my eyebrows, I already knew what he was going to say next.
"Yeah, you're just going to be gone all year..." he looked at me for a second and smiled.
I quickly bit my lip but couldn't stop what I said next. "At least you'll be able to see Mom again."
My mom had been locked in her room almost all summer, occasionally coming out if I wasn't there or she was out of the house for some other reason that I don't know of... because she doesn't talk to me anymore...
It doesn't bother me... I mean I asked Dad if I should just not go to Hogwarts, but he told me absolutely not... apparently this was brought up in a conversation he had had with Mr. Weasley, and he said wizards who aren't trained or try to suppress their magic can lead to outbursts that can kill people... Not sure how he knew that but I guess that's another thing I'm in the dark about.
My dad lowered his head, his smile fading. "I'm sorry, A. I really don't-"
"It's fine. I don't even know why I said that." I said with fake brightness in my voice as I interrupted him before he could finish.
I know he doesn't know what to do... he cares about both of us and I guess understands both of us too... I still feel like I shouldn't have to say this about my own mom...
After dragging a hand down his face, he looked at me and raised an eyebrow with a small smile lighting his face. He held out the pan in front of him, gave it a little shake, and proceeded to try to flip the eggs by tossing them in the air and tried to catch them back in the pan.
The key word is tried...
Most of the eggs landed on the floor, some landed on my dad's shirt, and the rest landed on me...
I rolled my eyes with a smile and laughed while shaking my head. "Okay, you just dropped everything you made on the floor."
"Oops..." my dad said sheepishly, even though he had to have known that would happen. "There goes breakfast."
I laughed harder as he febishly tried to get the eggs back in the pan, even taking the yellowish pieces off of me and putting them back in it.
"Nope, I saved it. Breakfast is served, my lady." my dad bowed slightly and presented me with the pan with a grin lighting his face.
"Thanks..." I said while backing away from the dropped breakfast. "But I don't think I'm actually very hungry..."
We both laughed again, but the sound was interrupted by footsteps. Coming down the stairs. Then into the kitchen. I froze for only a second before turning around.
Standing in front of me and my dad was my mom. Dressed in blue pajamas and a mess of knots on the top of her head, she looked at me with a dull expression.
Better than disgust... or anger... or... actually it probably isn't better...
"Er... hi, Mom. What've you been up to?" I said with a small and hesitant smile and a short and quick wave.
Well that was stupid... Please tell me why I just said that...
She just looked at me for a second, and then looked away, her expression never changing from the blank stare.
My dad sighed. "Why did you come down, Elena?"
Despite the sigh, he actually looked a little hopeful, giving a smile and using a tone that was filled with complete curiosity instead of accusation or annoyance.
"I... I wanted to say goodbye." my mom said, she still didn't look at me, she was looking at my dad.
At this, my dad looked a little confused... and a little afraid. "You mean to Aelynn, right? You're not going to... you know... actually leave... are you?"
Tilting her head slightly, as if she didn't understand what my dad was saying, she nodded. "Yes. Goodbye to Aelynn."
She still didn't look at me, her gaze firmly locked on anything in the room that wasn't me. I couldn't tell what this meant.
Maybe she felt bad about ignoring me? But then why is she not looking at me?
"Ok..." my dad said with confusion still laced in his voice. "She's right here to say goodbye to..." he gestured to me by tilting his head and looking towards me.
"I wanted to say goodbye to Aelynn." my mom said again, her voice firmer as if she was more sure of herself this time.
Then she turned to me. Actually facing me and making eye contact for the first time in months... emotions started to show through the mask of dullness, something sincere and desperate coming through instead.
"Goodbye, Aelynn. I-" she started but cut herself off, her expression growing duller again, the earlier emotions gone so fast that I didn't know if I had imagined it.
With that, she turned away from both me and my dad, climbing back up the stairs slowly as if it was a hard thing to do. I stared after her, my mouth opened with unsaid words, and the hope that had just started to fill me came draining out again.