The Course of True Love

A New Term and New Friends

They had dinner and afterwards, Mina got Cecily ready for bed. She was curious about their day and hoped that Cecily wasn't too upset about being left with Albus. But she did seem rather happy, at least for her standards.
"Did you have fun with Albus today?" Cecily nodded enthusiastically. She had enjoyed the time with him and especially that he didn't treat her like a stupid child.
"He's very nice when he's not at school. I think he understands me a little and that's a good thing." Mina agreed.
"It is. And the nursery looks great too, you did a good job." Cecily beamed with pride. "Are you excited to go back to school, sweetheart?" Cecily stopped smiling immediately when Mina mentioned school. Up until that point, she'd chosen to ignore the fact that school was about to start and she couldn't stay at the cottage forever.
"I don't know. I don't really have friends and I'll miss cuddling with you and talking and pancake breakfasts with Albus. And all the fun things we did. But I guess I am a little excited to go back and learn more things." She shrugged and Mina started brushing her hair. Cecily didn't want her to worry.
"You can come over the weekend." Mina offered "And you'll see me on Mondays and Wednesdays in class." Now Cecily smiled, at least a little.
"I'd love to come back if you want me. Just... Seeing you in class just isn't the same. In class you're Professor McGonagall and not Mina." Of course things would be different, Mina just wished she could make things easier for Cecily.
"That's true. But I promise, I still like you the same, seeing you at school always makes my day better. And if something is wrong, you can always send an owl and come to my office and I'll be there." Cecily closed her eyes and leaned back against her. She felt so safe, even though she didn't understand everything yet, she knew that Mina would keep her safe.
"I like you lots, Mina." She said quietly, she wanted to say so much more, but she didn't have the words yet.
"Ditto." Mina lifted her up from the chair at the vanity and carried her to her bed, then she tucked her in. "Good night, starshine." She kissed her forehead and Cecily closed her eyes.
"One more question..." Mina sat back down.
"Hm?"
Where do I go when the baby is here?" She knew that they had said before that she could stay, but she still wasn't sure about it. Maybe they were just saying it to keep her quiet, maybe they hadn't yet realised how much work a baby was.
"Where would you go, I don't understand?" Mina was a little confused that Cecily would ask something like this, hadn't she made clear that this was supposed to be her forever home? Or did she just need some reassurance.
"Well, you will have a baby then and maybe I'll be too much..."
"Oh, well I think I know what you you mean now, but don't you worry. You aren't going anywhere and you will never be too much for us. You're just right." Mina insisted. Cecily was just right for them.
lPinky promise?" Cecily asked and Mina smiled and held out her finger.
"Pinky promise." The pinky swear seemed to seal the deal for Cecily and she finally started to relax. Mina kept talking to her and stroking her forehead until she fell asleep.
When she came downstairs, Albus had already cleared the table and was now sitting there with a bunch of catalogues, going through them with the occasional sigh.
"What are you up to? Any serious business?"
"Remember, I told you we need a fridge, darling." He showed her the different kitchen catalogues, apparently buying a fridge was some kind of science.
"You mentioned that, but why?" Mina was genuinely curious, they had been just fine keeping things fresh with spells.
"So we can pin Cecily's achievements on the door, like a normal family does in her imagination. And on Monday I'll be taking her to London so she can go back to school by train and maybe make some friends on the way. We need to make her sandwiches and give her some money for the cart." Mina kissed his cheek. It meant the world to her that he cared so much about making things right for Cecily.
"You're very thoughtful. I'll head over to my office and get the ticket sorted tomorrow morning." He nodded and pulled her onto his lap.
"And now we can cuddle and you can help me choose a fridge." Albus grinned. He was sure that Mina would find the perfect model.
"That sounds like a great way to spend the night." She flicked through the catalogues while he stroked her back and played with her hair.
"Pregnancy made you even prettier, did you know that?" He whispered into her ear which gave her goosebumps.
"Oh stop it." She refuted him playfully and laughed.
"I mean it. You're a stunner."
"You're not bad yourself." She replied and now he was laughing too.
"Now choose a fridge so we can call it a night." Albus passed her the catalogues, his head was spinning from all the information.
"But I can't decide." They debated a while and finally chose one that Albus would go and buy the next day. He then proceeded to carry her upstairs.
"Think of your back, darling." Mina gently admonished him. He was older than her after all and she was heavy, she didn't want him to get hurt.
"My back is just fine." She kissed him, secretly she liked being carried and not having to do things for herself.
"You're silly."
"And you love that." He replied.
"I'm afraid I do." In their bedroom he put her down on the bed where Mina stretched out.
"I'll check on Cecily while you get ready." He offered. Mina gladly accepted, she was a little tired.
"Do you think she's going to write us when she's at school?" she asked quietly.
"Mina, Cecily is going to see us at meal times and you're seeing her in class twice a week, plus you are her head of house. Don't you think you are exaggerating a little?" Mina rolled her eyes.
"Maybe. But it's different. And I'd love to send her owls too. She never gets mail. I just want her to be like a normal girl."
"We'll see. Let her set the pace. She loves you and that's enough, isn't it?" Albus was very gentle but he knew that it was important to let Cecily take the lead and not put pressure on her.
"It is, of course. But what if she doesn't know I love her too?" Mina knew that he was right but she didn't want Cecily to feel like she was unwanted. Finding the right balance was tougher than she had expected.
"She will. You're good at making people feel loved."
"Not as good as you." She replied.
"Oh nonsense. You're doing just fine. More than that actually." Mina yawned. "Bedtime?"
"Bedtime"
While Albus fell asleep pretty quickly, Mina lay awake for a long time. What if Cecily decided she didn't like them that much after all and didn't want to live with them? What if the Ministry revoked their permission to foster Cecily? What if her family won the court case? She'd be heartbroken. She also worried about Cecily still not having any friends. But then Mina had an idea. There was this new girl starting after the holidays. Eva. She was supposed to be in Cecily's year. She would speak to the Sorting Hat to make sure Eva would be sorted into Gryffindor and maybe engineer a meeting on the train as well. All signs stood on Cecily being waved off in London by not one but two proud parents and maybe even making a friend. Finally, Mina could find some sleep.