Party Police.

Chapter Twenty.

Recap for last chapter: Effie now has kittens and (Y/n) also got some photos of her mom with her past friends.

"I don't think it's very fair that Effie only lets you hold her kittens," Cho complained, watching in dismay as, one by one, Effie carried her kittens onto (Y/n)'s bed. (Y/n), who was very clearly trying to stip her bare mattress clean and now had no other choice but to wait, grinned.

"Come over here," (Y/n) insisted. "Effie may not let you hold them yet, but you can pet them." Cho scrambled over in an instance. She slid down to the ground and propped her folded arms up onto the bed, smiling sweetly at the kittens. Effie kept her sharp watch on the girl. (Y/n) picked up one of the kittens and offered it out for Cho. She pets him with two fingers, a bright smile on her face.

"Look at him, (Y/n). Look at Meg," she cooed. (Y/n) smiled sweetly.

"Is music your escape?" Oliva asked. (Y/n) snapped out of her disassociation. She had gotten lost in her own mind whilst listening to one of Olivia's records.

"I dunno," (Y/n) murmured. "Why?"

"You might not notice, but I do," Olivia began, "and you tend to zone out for a lot of songs. It's like you go places while sitting right here... Music has that effect, doesn't it? Words may not be able to describe a feeling, but music will." (Y/n) nodded. "You're like a caged songbird."

"Huh?"

"Sitting pretty in a cage and thinking you're incapable of your own freedom," Olivia said.

"My godmothers all have bird-related nicknames for me," (Y/n) said. "Maybe it's a sign." A small smile came to Olivia's face.

"You've still got time, you know? Lots of it," Olivia said.

"Yeah. I know," (Y/n) sighed.

"And you can start with reminding everyone around you that you aren't (Y/m/n)'s daughter, you're (Y/n)," Olivia said. "Well, you are (Y/m/n)'s daughter, but you get what I mean..." (Y/n) smiled.
(Y/n) enjoyed her time with people who either didn't know her mother or were able to separate her from her mother. This mostly involved her professors and her friends. With her godmothers and their friends, she felt as though she had to bend over backwards, pretending that she knew her mother better than she did. All she gets asked was 'How's your mum doing?' and every time she had to be the one to explain that her mother was no longer alive. This was always followed by a comment about how great her mother was and as much as (Y/n) liked hearing it, she would equally like to be asked how she was doing. Not her mum, her.

It had been quite some time since the kittens came along. Effie had officially started to let the kittens wander around by themselves. Students fawned over them and only a select few knew where they came from.

"Tonks, you cannot just take a kitten to a Quidditch game," (Y/n) said.

"But look at him!" Tonks said, holding up the white kitten with orange accents. "Pumpkin was it?"

"Well, yes—" (Y/n) said. "But he could get cold."

"Then you'll hold him whilst I announce," Tonks stated. Lee snickered at (Y/n)'s exasperated expression as Tonks happily skipped up the booth.

"Again with the lack of warm clothes," Professor McGonagall scolded.

"Who's playing today?" (Y/n) asked.

"Hufflepuff and Slytherin," Tonks answered. "Ravenclaw's already guaranteed a spot in the finals. Whoever wins this game goes on to the finals with Ravenclaw. And next month's game— Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw— really doesn't change the standings."