moon daughter

“Oh. Ah. Mhm.” Remus shut his mouth once he realized that at the moment eloquence was clearly eluding him. “Ahem.” He cleared his throat and tried again. Mary’s offer had caught him off guard and he could feel heat rising to his cheeks. “Yeah. Sure. Deal,” he replied, poorly trying to sound nonchalant and confident. 

Mary smiled, finding Remus’s temporary lack of poise endearing more than anything else. “Deal,” she said, extending a hand for Remus to shake, “Good to know you wouldn’t deny a girl a dance on her birthday.”

“It’s over on the table when you’re ready. But I want to see you open it, so don’t forget to do it in front of me.”

“Oh, of course. What kind of person opens a present without the person being there? You can’t even thank them properly.”

“Oh, I doubt we’ll be that—graceless. We’ve had more flying lessons than them, haven’t we? Most of them, anyway.”

“That’s the trouble with flying lessons, isn’t it? We’re at a supreme disadvantage since we didn’t grow up with brooms,” Mary said, before shaking her head, “Luckily skating doesn’t involved leaving the ground for the most part.”

“Well, that depends on your taste. Bitter? Sweet? Citrus?”

“Citrus sounds interesting, just from the way you say it.”

“Coming right up.” 

With a flick of his wrist, Gideon summoned a glass and a minute later served a proper gin and tonic. “Cheers.”

“Cheers to you,” Mafalda replied, taking a sip of her drink before placing it down on the bar, “So bartending’s treating you well, then?”

Amycus took a seat and waited no time digging into the food.

 “Reckon this ain’t shite.”

“Hm?” was Vera’s reply, turning her head back towards Amycus after having been temporarily distracted by a fellow Slytherin across the courtyard.

Remus just hummed softly in response to Vera’s answer, not sure he could reply without sounding sarcastic. “Mhm.” After a moment of silence he tilted his head slightly to the side. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you perform,” he mused, somewhat curious. “Do you ever sing in public?”

“Not at school,” Vera replied, scandalized, “I’ll play the piano and sing a bit at family functions and my mother’s odious ladies luncheons sometimes, but those are always at home.”

“Could you teach another?”

“So long as they’re not a complete idiot, it shouldn’t be a problem,” Dorcas answered honestly, “Who would I be teaching?”

“Uh, no,” Marlene scoffed through a cheeky smile. “I wouldn’t, ‘cause you haven’t brought me any of it yet.”

Dorcas laughed. “I’ll make sure to bring something with me next time I come over, I promise. We have more than enough. I think mum tends to forget that we’re not a family of fifty.”

“Or something built for being hands-on. ‘Cause let’s face it, anything you get that kid this year is gonna be hands and mouth on to him.”

“Unless— Hang on, I might have a thought. What’s the nearest bookshop ‘round here?”

“Oh, a book! I didn’t even think of that. One of those picture ones would be perfect.”

“Oh really? Because I happen to think it’s hysterical.”

“Well, that says more about your maturity level than the joke itself, now doesn’t it?” Dorcas replied, before tugging on Sturgis’s sleeve in the direction of the door to the pub, “C’mon.”

“Four? Nice. I guess.” Carolyn smiled. “I get that. Definitely weird.”She nodded once, understanding and agreeing with Dorcas. “Exactly. Perks of not being the parent.” She chuckled softly. “And that sounds like a good plan. But don’t tell me about shopping. At least you’ve started and already found something. I’m so far behind.” She sighed softly. “I’m not even sure I can make it in time.”

“Yeah, four. At least I only have the two nephews for now. That’s not so many that I feel outnumbered,” Dorcas replied with a laugh, “How many people do you need to shop for?”

Of course Vera could sing. And play the piano, too. Of course. Remus nodded slightly in response and, after a few moments of silence, he said, “You could join the Choir, then. Did you try?”

“No, I didn’t. From what I could see they weren’t worth my time and talent. And tonight has confirmed that tenfold.”

“You know, that’s the worst feeling, knowing that you are disappointing someone. Someone you like,” Remus commented, shaking slowly his head. “Tell me, please,” he said, trying to look serious, but with a glint of amusement in his eyes and a smile tugging at the corners of his lips  ”What can I do to avoid that?”

Mary giggled, before sobering her face to try and match Remus’s faux-serious expression. “Tell you what, Remus, if you promise to dance with me if an ABBA song starts playing tonight, I won’t be disappointed in you. Deal?”

“Someday,” Carolyn agreed, a small amused smile curling her lips. Having kids was really a funny thought, certainly not one of her priorities at the moment. “Plural, huh? How many little ones are you planning?” she lightly teased Dorcas a bit more. “The cool aunt is definitely the best role; you get all the cute stuff and leave all the obnoxious stuff to his parents. Smart choice.” She nodded. “Anyway, I think that could be an alright present. Are there other options?”

“I’m one of four, myself, so I couldn’t imagine having only one,” Dorcas answered simply, before making a face, “But it’s weird to think about. Not something I want anytime soon.” Laughing, she nodded. “Oh, definitely. I can play with them as much as I want, and then I get to give them back as soon as they start to get cranky. And I dunno. I reckon I should buy it and then if I find something better I can always come back and return it. I still have loads more shopping to do and I don’t want to spend all day in one shop.”