A Mother and a Half

[Samuel Sykes]

Sam sighed as he made his way down to quiet lane way and over to the park. He was so desperately tired. It had been such a huge day and knew he must have panda eyes after all that lost sleep. It wouldn't look too healthy on the blonde haired, blue eyed boy with fair skin. Either way, now it was time to relax and get away from everything Hogwarts. What was once a place of adventure and excitement and now turned into a whole new world of problems that he hadn't even thought existed. Suicide, brawling, escaping, tears and a whole lot of angry words that he couldn't bear to hear anymore.

Sam's only consolation was working with potions and swimming. Now it seemed that he was having less and time to enjoy these things when is was being taken up by people. He slumped down onto a park bench with a sigh. Now the only thing that made him happy was his other two loves; cake and calligraphy. Calligraphy was out of the question at this point; he'd look like an idiot. Cake, however, was high on his list today. He had just been down to the bakery to pick up a little strawberry tart, but before he knew it he had fallen asleep where he was- or rather, he passed out.

 

[Ellen Castor]

Ellen had taken Heketoro to the mall to get some cupcakes from Winter, and the ones that weren't inside her happily sleeping son (Ellen made a mental note to watch what he ate around Winter, or she would end up with one fat son) were in the bottom of the stroller in a pretty Sugar Mill box. She smiled, glad Heketoro was sleeping calmly enough for her to get some shopping done. She and Simon had been arguing about custody, and it had really taken a toll on the whole family. Ellen didn't want to lose her son though, and she had fought hard to get weekday custody. She smiled, reaching down to stroke a soft hair out of her son's face as he slept, and reassured herself that this was definitely worth all the arguing.

Heart suddenly bursting with love for Heketoro, and the nameless baby inside her, Ellen couldn't help thinking of the daughter she had lost. She wanted with all her heart to keep her, but her parents had insisted it was for the best. A baby at such a young age could only cause trouble. Ellen regretted it every second of her life.

Determined to avoid thinking of something so painful, she cast her eyes around, spotting a boy fast asleep on a park bench, a tart in his hand being pecked at by a sparrow. She smiled, realising he must be about the same age as her lost daughter, and went over to him, parking Heketoro's stroller and shaking his shoulder gently. "Are you alright?" She asked softly.

 

[Samuel Sykes]

Sam dragged himself from his exhausted doze with difficulty in order to register why he was being awoken. He opened his eyes to see a woman standing there with a stroller beside here and a sleeping child. "Oh, excuse me!" exclaimed Sam although he almost reeling and fell back down. "Sorry!" He meant of course for her to sit down as he stood up to give her a seat. Not that he thought that she needed one, but it was the polite thing to do.

He looked down and noticed that his tart was long gone. He almost sighed out loud. There went the last good part of his morning. Even so, he smiled just as cheerfully at the woman, whom he now realized was pregnant, and carried on being polite. "I'm alright, really. Thank you for asking, though. Would you like to sit down?" Luckily there was room for two on the park bench, for he promptly fell back onto it involuntarily as his legs gave way. "Sorry...I'm not at my best at the moment," he explained as he cheeks went slightly pink.

 

[Ellen Castor]

Ellen smiled amusedly at the boy's bewilderedness. Reminded her of herself in the morning. "Fair enough." She sat down next to him and shifted Heketoro's stroller so he was facing her, so she could get him out if she had to. "Would you like a cupcake to replace your tart?" She asked, reaching down into the stroller's bottom tray. "You look like you need a pick me up." She smiled. "And you'll probably appreciate them more than this little fatty." She added, patting Heketoro's belly gently. He stirred and gurgled, then let out a tremendous belch and fell back into his slumber.

Ellen giggled. "Babies lives are so much easier." She smiled. "So what's bothering you?"

 

[Samuel Sykes]

Sam couldn't help it. "Lady, you are a life saver!" he said said as he took a cupcake from her gratefully. Being only a first year and not being able to travel to the Makutu Mall, he didn't recognise the Sugar Mill's handiwork. Even so, he had never seen a cupcake as awesome as this before in his life. He laughed as her baby burped loudly. He was a sweet, tiny thing. Sam didn't have a clue what to do with children, but they sure were fun to look at and be around.

He could only sigh when she asked him what was going on. It wasn't fair to just come out with all of his problems to a complete stranger. Technically, he didn't have any problems at all. It was just having to listen to everybody else's problems that dragged him down. He explained this partly to Ellen, telling her about some of the people he had met at Hogwarts and how everyone had a sad story to tell except himself.

"I just can't help everyone at once," he finished sadly as he finished the cupcake. "My name is Sam, by the way. What's your name?"

 

[Ellen Castor]

Ellen smiled, taking a cupcake for herself, peeling some of the wrapper and taking a bite. "No problem. My friend Winter makes them, she owns the bakery in the mall. She's a life saver, I get the worst cravings lately." She smiled, unconsciously putting a hand on her stomach. Her new baby was just a tiny, brainless thing, but it was her baby, and she was already totally attached to the life inside her.

Ellen listened as the boy talked to her about his problems, nodding understandingly. He reminded Ellen a lot of herself at that age. She smiled kindly when he was done, stroking his hair in a motherly gesture. She couldn't help it, she even did it to her adult friends. She was a mother, through and through. "I know what you mean. You need to take a little time for you occasionally, is all. Remember you're just as important as anyone else, and your problems deserve some time to. It hurts carrying the weight of the world, believe me. You can't be there for everyone, or you'll explode."

"I'm Ellen." She smiled. "And this wee sleepy man is Heketoro. Nice to meet you."

 

[Samuel Sykes]

Alright. She was officially the nicest person that he'd met so far while he was in Hogwarts. He could only blush as she stroked his hair. It was a very familial thing to do, almost motherly. Sam wasn't used to it, but it gave him a warm, fuzzy sort of feeling as his cheeks grew pink. He sobered for a minute as he responded.

"It's true that I can't keep going like this. But no-one else seems to care all that much about others. Even if they do, they always come out with the wrong things that make it worse. When I saw Aroha standing on the edge of that cliff, there were a lot of people trying to coax her away. Not one of them even knew her name! Where were her friends? I called out to her, and she she turned around and...well, she's safe now. It's just difficult."

Sam smiled as he touched the little baby boy's head. His cherub like face reminded him of when he was a little boy. The youngest photo of him that Aunt Lola had was the one the orphanage had sent to her when he was five. Sam couldn't look at that photo. There was a tiny blonde haired boy looking empty-eyed at the camera with a grey background that reminded him of the cold walls of his room. Heketoro was sweet, happy and obviously well looked after.

"But you don't want to listen to me ramble on," laughed Sam softly so as to not wake the child. "Please allow me to congratulate you," he said, indicating her baby on the way.

 

[Ellen Castor]

Ellen sighed, stroking his hair again. Herr motherly instincts were out in full force, and she really just wanted to kidnap this boy, take him home, and stuff him full of home baking until he felt better. "Life is always difficult trying to settle into a new place. Remember you're just as stressed as everyone else, and you do deserve a break just as much as them. The world won't end just because you took a day off to go swimming or read a book." She smiled, ruffling his hair and returning her hand to her lap before she DID end up kidnapping him.

When Sam touched him, Heketoro shifted slightly in his sleep, mouth opening, and a tiny burp escaped him. Ellen had wiped the evidence off his face, but he had had a major cupcake binge, and was trying to sleep it off. He snuggled up, arms wrapped happily around his blanket, and continued to sleep, head full of dreams of cupcakes and chocolate chip biscuits.

Ellen smiled. "I don't mind at all. Everyone needs to vent sometimes." Her smile widened when Sam mentioned her pregnancy. "Thank you. I'm only a month along, so it's not really showing yet, but I'm excited. I can't wait for my next little angel." She smiled, rubbing her stomach again.

 

[Samuel Sykes]

Sam couldn't help but be uplifted at the way she spoke about her children. As far as he knew, all mothers were like this. Perhaps that was why he wished he had one so much now. It had never crossed his mind in the past. To him, Aunt Lola was his mother. Lots of people lived with single parents. But the older he got, the more he realised how this wasn't the case. Lola was an old woman. She was sweet and loving in every way and was the one who had taught him to be kind to everyone no matter what cost to yourself. As he grew older, he began to realise that the world could work that way if you were her age, but not at his. She didn't understand him anymore.

"Do let me send you a present on the big day," said Sam cheerfully, finally perking up again. Even his speech was almost archaic, like his elderly aunt. He coughed softly and pulled out his handkerchief to cover his mouth. Sam winced as it grated on his throat. Bugger, I'm coming down with something. "Scuse," he said gingerly as he cleared his throat.

"Oh, I forgot to ask. Do you live near here?" Sam lived in Appleby which was two suburbs over from Obsidian. Brightstone wasn't his usual haunt as it was quite a bit further away. He only visited during school time.

 

[Ellen Castor]

Ellen smiled when Sam said he would send her a present. What a total sweetheart. She glanced at Heketoro, smiling, hoping her boy was this kind when he grew up. "Oh, no need for presents, my baby's gonna be present enough for me." She smiled, hand rubbing her stomach happily. "A child is the best gift life can ever give you, remember that." She said, hoping that if Sam wound up being stupid like her and having a kid while still in school, at least he wouldn't be stupid like her and give it away.

Ellen blinked when Sam coughed. "Got a bit of a cold?" She asked. Heketoro was just getting over his winter flu, thankfully with no bad side effects, though she had still been every bit as nervous about it as she had been when he was only one, and been at risk of serious health problems.

Ellen shook her head. "I live in Christchurch... We just flooed in for the day. I figure it's good to get out of the house while I can." She smiled, yet again touching her stomach. Inside, she was bubbling with joy; Ellen couldn't wait to have her baby. "You're welcome to come visit in the holidays if you'd like though." She smiled. "I'll probably be too pregnant to do much by then, you could do some chores in exchange for a little money, and I'll make you cupcakes to sweeten the deal." She said, glad she had thought of it. It'd be nice to see Sam again, and she would definitely be needing help around the house when she got bigger.