Rise Into Adulthood

[Chloris Durand]

She has lied. These were the words which scarred the open pages of the leather-bound diary. She did this to me. The pen quaked in Chloris' vice-like grip and her tears burned angrily into the paper. Her thick scruffs of hair shuddered as she sobbed. Her adoptive mother had broken her heart. The woman who had taken her in when her true father had been thrown into the stone walls of Azkaban prison. It was Boudicca's fault that he had gotten there in the first place. She will pay for what she has done.
Each word etched itself angrily into the page. They stung as her heart. She had trusted this woman. She had looked to her as a mother. She had led her from the darkness and into the light. Her father's legacy had been filtered out of her. But now..

A knock clattered at the door. Chloris immediately sucked up her tears and filed her diary back under her pillow. She snapped her head round to the door, lacking the emotional strength to actually leap up and hold it shut.
"Chloris, please," a voice pleaded from outside, not even attempting to try the handle. Boudicca still had respect for her adoptive-daughter, it would seem. That was the one thing that made Chloris bow her head and nose-dive into the comfort of her pillow.
The latch of the door clicked as it was opened a short distance. Chloris ignored the eye peeking around the frame to check on her. Why would Boudicca have done such a thing? Why had she betrayed her like this?

 

[Boudicca Durand]

Had it been a mistake to tell her daughter the truth? Was it so wrong that she wanted Chloris to have the chance to decide what path in life she took? Was this all about to push the two of them apart? Boudicca hoped not. She had already lost one daughter. She couldn't bear to lose another. But honesty had felt right, especially in her profession. After all, was it not her duty to protect and bring justice to those of the wizarding world and muggles alike?
Her knuckles wrapped at the bedroom door, brushing against newspaper clippings of letters used to spell out the words 'Chloris' Room - NO ENTRY'. "Chloris, please," Boudicca begged of her daughter, hearing the sobs at the other side. Oh, how she longed to be in there with the poor child, hugging her and telling her it would be alright.
The noise died down at the other side, and after a few moments, she took the step of curling her fingers around the door handle, opening the door just a crack, and peering in.

Chloris lay on the bed, her face stuffed into her pillow, shaking and crying. Boudicca moved to her side, perching on the bed. "Oh, sweetheart," she cooed, brushing her wrinkled fingers down an exposed cheek. She felt the teardrops grace her fingertips. "I'm so sorry."
Boudicca's eyes shifted around the room. She had not been in here in such a long time, but the girl had definitely done a good job redecorating the place: Newspaper cuttings of famous wizarding musicians were fixed to the walls. A small shrine had been made to her favourite Quidditch team. Black candles decorated the dressing table. Letters were bundled and filed in the open drawer. There was a very gothic feel to this room, and yet, it was the typical teenage hideout of a troubled young witch.

"I don't expect you to forgive me," Boudicca's voice croaked with emotion, "or to even speak to me ever again." Her aged face looked sadly back towards the girl, sorry that the events had culminated in this. "But I want you to know that I would have treated the situation differently if I had known about you. I was just seizing the opportunity to keep the streets safe from Van- your father."

 

[Chloris Durand]

Chloris did not look up. She remained with the puffy pillow filling up the space around her eyes and holding her in a warm embrace. But that break in Boudicca's voice, the way she meant every word of what she said, hit out at Chloris' heart like a punch. She turned her her a short way to catch sight of her mother's wrinkled old face. This was a wise woman who only wanted what was best for her. She was human. She had to make mistakes. But it stung the open wound of loss. Chloris only had her father and now he too had gone.
It would be difficult to forgive Boudicca for what she had done, but in their time knowing each other, Chloris had come to learn that not every good deed could go without harming someone.

"He was my dad," Chloris choked, "he was my dad." Hot tears began to steam-roll their way down her face. Her nose began to run. She felt like a mess. A wreck. Drenched with pain and anguish. She curled round, her whole body shifting to rest her head in Boudicca's lap. It was there that she buried it, wetting the lovely blue skirt Boudicca wore.
She heaved every sob, feeling Boudicca's hands brush her ears, stroke through her dark hair. It felt as a mother's love should. It made each sob grow more forceful and sad.
Chloris had longed for her mother's return to her life, but it had never happened.

---

An hour had passed. Or maybe it was two. Chloris didn't know. But the tears had stopped flowing, the source of their leak had been stemmed. She sat atop the aging bed with Boudicca by her side. For some time they had remained silent, but now they spoke again.
Chloris stared into the old woman's beaming blue eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, thankful for the reassuring hand upon her knee, "I didn't mean to.." The words melted away. Chloris stared down at her feet, waiting for her mother to say something.

 

[Boudicca Durand]

Boudicca hushed the words falling at her feet. "Come, now," she smiled, "you have nothing to be sorry for. You reacted as every feeling, thinking being would in the given situation." She cradled the child's head for a few moments before glancing down into her eyes. "You are a beautiful young woman with a lot on your shoulders right now. Of course you're going to feel confused. But I'm here for you."
The two of them hugged again. It was warm and soothing to both parties. But a sound from downstairs brought them both to their senses. The doorbell rang out with a long echoing sound.
"That's probably Lumina," Boudicca said more to herself than anyone else. She edged forwards on the bed, planting a small but loving kiss on Chloris' pale face. She moved off the bed and walked to the bedroom door, casting a look back at her goth daughter. "Hey," she smiled, "I'll make a start on dinner. Bangers and mash, I believe." She watched Chloris' eyes light up at the thought of her favourite meal.
"That's what I thought." Boudicca gave a small laugh and excused herself from the room to walk downstairs and greet her other, older daughter and grandson.

 

[Chloris Durand]

Chloris sat up to the table, her plate of steaming mashed potato already half devoured. She listened to the idle chatter of her adoptive family, though her eyes were on five-year-old George who kept eating with his fingers. Chloris let out a small giggle which attracted the attention of both adults present, and subsequently dobbed the child in. "Sorry," Chloris shirked the smile from her face to continue eating.
It was the greatest thing that could have happened to her in some sense of the word. The loss of her own family had earned her one of discipline and humour. Lumina, however, still remained somewhat a mystery in Chloris' eyes. She never seemed keen to be left alone with her and the two of them refrained from full eye contact. There was obviously something else going on but Chloris chose not to further question it.

When the conversation lapsed, Chloris spoke up at last. "I've been thinking about getting a job." This sentence alone had ensnared the attention of her elders and they both stared at her with surprised looks in their eyes. "I think its time I earn my keep."
She was keen to break out into the adult world and gain a few friends away from her old school life. She didn't want to stay in contact with the darker crowd, not now her life had progressed as positively as it had. There was no chance she would risk losing that.

 

[Boudicca Durand]

Boudicca had just scooped a helping of potato and gravy into her mouth when her adoptive daughter spoke. She paused thoughtfully, chewing gracefully on her food and mulling over the words. "Chloris," she started after swallowing the mouthful, "you know you don't need to do that." The last thing she wanted was for the child to think she had to dive into some dead-end job just for the sake of contributing towards household costs. Boudicca's job paid well enough to keep them all comfortably afloat.
"You can take what time you need. Although," she noted the disappointed look on Chloris' face and quickly changed tactics, "I suppose if you wanted to pay a small amount each month for you upkeep, you could. It would make good practice for getting your own place. And you are a very intelligent young woman."
Boudicca shot Chloris a smile and winked at cheeky little George whose fists had found his dinner plate again.

 

[Chloris Durand]

Feeling a small burst of disappointment at the fanning away of her comment, Chloris' face melted into a sigh. But Boudicca must have picked up on it, for her response to the situation quickly changed. The idea of paying rent, of living as an adult for once, was something she avidly looked forward to. "Thank you," she blushed, turning her attention back on her dinner and polishing off the remains. "I would really like that."
It only took a small conversation for the pair to agree a sum of fifty pounds to be paid at the start of each month, thus giving Chloris the rest of the Christmas period to search for a job in either the muggle or wizarding world. So many opportunities were open to her, but where would she start? What did she want to be? Something told her that a muggle job could be a good challenge and a laugh. And muggle establishments always employed around the Christmas period! Perhaps a job in retail selling toys? That could be fun. Or maybe something more taxing such as office work? She would have to take a trip to town the next day and see what jobs were available to a young witch, such as herself.