Fate Set Right

Chapter 23

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December 25, 1994

"You look weird," Aurora greeted her mother as she entered her father's chambers. He chuckled from the sofa, lounging lazily in his black dress pants and white dress shirt.

"Well thank you for that, poppet," her mother responded with a smirk, though it wasn't quite the smirk Aurora was used to. In fact, there were many very subtle changes in her mother. Her hair was a touch darker, closer to Aurora's near-black than her normal chestnut curls. Those curls were gone, replaced by long smooth hair. Her eyes were lighter, more golden, and her nose was sharper. "So, do you think anyone will recognize me?"

"No," she assured. "Don't you remember what you looked like before you went back?"

"Be nice," her father scolded. "Your mother was beautiful even then."

"I do recall having my teeth hexed to grow past my chin and you saying that you saw no difference," her mother recounted, and Aurora snorted at the same time she heard her brother in the corner doing the same.

Her father shrugged lazily. "I didn't like you at the time."

"No, you didn't want to like me," her mother corrected as she headed to Aurora's room, beckoning for her to follow. "There's a difference."

"Yes, dear," her father said, and Aurora watched her mother roll her eyes and shake her head affectionately.

They entered her bedroom and her mother closed the door, turning toward her with a smile. "Are you sure you don't want to get ready with your friends?"

Aurora shrugged, looking at the bed instead of at this strange version of her mum. "They're in Ravenclaw Tower getting ready. With Fleur Delacour. And Cho Chang, who's going with Cedric Diggory. It felt a bit ... elite. I didn't want to intrude."

It wasn't as if they hadn't extended the invitation, then begged her to accept it, but Aurora had felt out of place at the mere thought of going. These girls were going to open the ball, and she was going with Neville. Which wasn't a bad thing, but it didn't exactly require her to be the belle of the ball.

Her mother nodded in understanding, offering her a shy smile. "I didn't go with anyone my first Yule Ball, and I most certainly didn't feel the need to impress anyone."

"But you tried for Dad," she noted.

"Of course, I was already half in love with him, if not completely. And I know you've seen the pictures of Harry's mother, she was stunning, and he, well ... Between us, he was infatuated with Lily Potter when I first met them."

Aurora couldn't keep her lip from curling at that, making her mother laugh.

"I think I'll keep that to myself. Bad enough that Harry's going to figure out one day that his friend married his professor. I don't want him to know that the same professor liked his mum, too." Aurora realized why her mother had changed her appearance. "You don't want them to know tonight, do you?"

Her mother shook her head sadly. "I didn't want to do a full Glamour because there's no younger me to see me. I don't think I need to hide completely. But it's only been a few months for them, and well ... I think they need more time. If they see me and see me , then so be it. But I was hardly going to reveal myself and take away from the evening. Which brings us back to you." Her mother flicked her hand toward the closet door, a storage space empty pretty much all the time these days, and four dresses swept out and hovered in front of Aurora. "You never wrote about one. And there wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend before the ball, and you didn't ask me or your father for a few Galleons. So, I took the liberty of providing you a few options."