Take Me Home ((Harmony))

[Ariane Chan]

Ariane gazed around Aurora’s house with familiarity, eyes stuffed into jean pockets. She couldn’t say it was good to be home, because this wasn’t technically her home, but it was good to come here now; it was going to become her home, even if it wasn’t yet. It had been a while since she had last set foot on these clean floorboards, the last time being when Ariane’s family had come to visit last summer. Ariane needed to try and start settling in now, think of this place as home. This would be her home from now on. Beside her, Harmony was also observing the living room with interest, when Aurora entered through the front door noisily, her trunk levitating behind her and Helix’s cage in one hand as she gave a bright grin. “You guys all right?” She asked in a little concern, Leo following his sister in with a similar trunk and owl coop. Ariane and Harmony’s trunks lay by their feet, along with Dori’s carry case and Atalanta’s large cage. George and Jenny were outside, busy using spells to get the heavy luggage into the house without a problem. Ariane tore her gaze away from a family photo on the mantelpiece, and sent her cousin a slight smile. “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

Half an hour later, Ariane fell onto her newly assigned bed tiredly, lying her head back against the pillow, streams of black bold against the whiteness of the linen covers. She stared at the ceiling momentarily, observing the dangling lamp shade and ceiling blankly. Atalanta’s cage were empty, dangling in the corner waiting for the owl to come back after her spurt of freedom. Sitting up on the bed and crossing her legs, Ariane noted where she had placed everything in the room silently. The room she occupied was the second largest bedroom out of the four, because she would be sharing with Harmony. Originally it had been a guest room, but their uncle and aunt had soon converted it with a swish of their wands. Ariane’s bed was next to Harmony’s, separated by a bedside table. Their alarm clock sat there, ticking away continuously next to a small lamp. Opposite the beds was an extra large wardrobe for the sisters to share, and to the right, the half open window letting the late afternoon sunshine filter in, pale purple curtains framing the sill. Ariane decided to get up and wander around, find what her cousins and sister were up to. Her bare feet padded softly against the violet carpet, before they slipped comfortably into a pair of slippers and exited the room.

Along the hallway to the left of Ariane’s new bedroom was one of the two bathrooms in the house, along with the separated toilet. To the right was Aurora’s bedroom, then Leo’s, then finally their parents’, the master bedroom of the house. Ariane left the landing, choosing to go down to the hallway rather than going up to the loft where the other bathroom was situated, because she could hear voices from below. The hallway led to several rooms, the first being the lounge, second the dining room, and then the kitchen. The latter two were connected, but Ariane ignored them and entered the living room to see her three members of family slouched against the black leather sofas and armchairs, watching TV. “Ari!” Aurora exclaimed, jumping up and pulling her cousin to the empty seat beside her, “Come come, where have you been? Let’s watch some TV. It’s a Friday night, so it’s bound to be good stuff on.”

“What is your obsession with the muggle television anyway?” Ariane eyed her best friend with a small smile as she settled down as told. Despite having been brought up in a muggle world in comparison to Aurora’s half muggle life, her best friend had always been into muggle stuff so much more than Ariane. She barely watched TV.

“Muggle TV is great. American stuff too, not just British stuff.” Aurora enthused whilst Leo shushed her with an annoyed face. Him and Harmony seemed glued to the black box too, and Ariane raised an eyebrow at the sight. One thing was for sure. The muggleness hadn’t disappeared from her life yet. Living with Aunt Vanessa and her mother meant a muggle life despite going to Hogwarts, even if they didn’t watch TV that much.

“Right… so someone update me.” Ariane said with a defeated smile, settling into the armchair comfortably.

[Harmony Chan H6]

“Dori! Dori” Harmony ran down the stairs laughing as she rushed after her black kitty cat. “Come back!”
“Careful, Harmony! Don’t trip down the stairs!” Jenny yelled from the kitchen as she prepared lunch. George was currently at St Mungo’s, at work, and wouldn’t be home until the late evening.
“I won’t!” Harmony gave a yelp as she almost tripped on the last step, and giggling manically, chased after a mewing Dori into the open living room, where Aurora was glued to the TV yet again, Ariane sitting quietly in the armchair beside her, seemingly drawing with her art box open on the table next to her. Leo was sitting at the family computer, despite there being his own computer in his room, playing some sort of online game. Dori decided to make a beeline for him, and jumping on Leo’s chair, climbed over his shoulder and into his lap. “Leo, hold her down for me!” Harmony yelled. Blinking, Leo reacted too slowly and he gave a surprised shout as Harmony descended upon him. Quickly standing up and toppling over his chair, Dori meowed pitifully and leapt over to the coffee table, in the midst of Ariane and Aurora. “Damnit!” Harmony cursed, grinning.

“Oh crap, I lost!” Leo flinched, swearing as she grabbed his chair, staring at his computer screen.
“Oops, sorry! Look what you’ve done now, Dori!” Harmony scolded as she made towards her cat, who was currently prowling the coffee table. Wisely, Aurora extracted her glass of water with a smile.
“I don’t mind you playing chase, Harmony, but could you keep it down a tad? He’s just about to confess his dying love for her!” Aurora reprimanded with amusement, moving her head as she tried to look past Harmony’s body, which was not inconveniently in the way. “And now you’re in the way! Ah!”
“Gotcha!” Harmony cried in triumph as she tried to swipe Dori from the coffee table. However, with a reflex pounce, she was on the floorboards again and skittering across to Ariane. “Ah, damnit! Sorry, Aurora!” Rushing to get out of her cousin’s way, Harmony headed at Ariane too.
“Rora, you’re such a hopeless romantic.” Ariane sighed to herself, preoccupied with the drawing of her cousin that was halfway finished. “And don’t let Dori smash anything. Or you for that matter, Harmony.” Ariane joked. “Oh, and—hey, Dori, don’t go anywhere near my box, or else!”
“No, Dori!” Harmony warned, watching as her cat looked with interest at the box of open art materials curiously. It looked like both sisters were going to be too late though, as Dori looked ready to jump onto the coloured chalks, when a mini net descended upon her, capturing and trapping her beneath the white crossed material.

“A net is useful for many things. Especially for catching small animals.” Aurora announced as the foursome sat around the sofas that night, curled up with Leo to her left and Harmony to her right.
“Where did you get the net from, Aurora?” Ariane narrowed her eyes in suspicion, staring at the net which was propped innocently on the end of the sofa.
Aurora gave a casual shrug before taking another sip of her hot chocolate, a playful grin on her face. “I’ve had it since I was a kid.”
“She used to try and catch my head with it.” Leo muttered from beside her.
“Hey!” Aurora gave her brother a soft whack to the head with a pout. “I did not!”
“Did!”
“Did not!”
“Did!”
“Did not!”
“Guys.” Ariane sighed, a small smile playing on her lips. Aurora and Leo could be so childish sometimes. “Please. Act your age. Especially you, Rora.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t believe how playful Dori was being, eh, Dori?” Harmony piped up as she stroked her cat lying sprawled on her lap. Mewing in responded, Harmony giggled in hilarity. “I didn’t help it either. I was being silly too.” She looked around at her family with warm eyes, a happy fuzzy feeling inside of her. A part of Harmony was worried about losing her newfound family, her newfound happiness, but she realised after a while of pondering that worrying constantly would get her nowhere. She couldn’t enjoy life like that… She had to be grateful for everything she had, and live life to the full. Her mum would’ve said that.

Suddenly, Jenny popped her head round the door, and looking up at her, Harmony knew immediately from her expression that something serious was up. Her own smile sliding away into an expectant visage, Harmony stood up, along with Ariane and her cousins. It was like they all knew. “What’s wrong, mum?” Aurora asked, concerned as she placed her mug down on the coffee table with a defining clink.
“An owl just came from the hospital.” Jenny said, eyes fixed particularly on Ariane and Harmony. “Your father, he’s awake.”

[Ariane Chan]

Ariane gazed steadily with an emotionless expression as she sat beside Harmony next to the hospital bed at the man she was meant to call her father, her blood racing and brain pounding with nervous anxiety. She didn’t know why she was feeling this way, but she felt as though… this was the “moment of truth”. The time that Ariane would finally get the answers she had been looking for for such a long time. The fact that perhaps everything she had held onto so tightly to, everything she had believed in so resolutely could easily crumble before her because of this man again scared Ariane, and it took all her strength to remain where she was. Ariane needed to know the truth. If she had been strong enough to survive this ordeal, she had to be strong enough to face reality, right? Ariane had always wanted to find out what lay behind the scenes, wanted honesty, and now she was going to get it, whether she liked it or not. Swallowing with difficulty, a bead of sweat trickling down her temple, Ariane struggled to voice herself as she broke the awkward silence in the hospital room. “From the beginning… Dad.”

Henry gave a long, hard sigh as he lay motionlessly on the hospital bed, his eyes set to the white blank ceiling. He had kept his two daughters waiting long enough. Perhaps it had been too much to expect an “I’m glad you’re alive” coming from either of their mouths, especially from Ariane, but Henry could tell they were somewhat relieved to see he was alive and had survived the injury. Harmony seemed close to tears at the sight of her breathing father, despite the fear that still showed on her face, and even Ariane’s usual cold air had dried a little into acceptance. Perhaps, Henry thought, that Ariane didn’t want blood on her hands… But he had a feeling his oldest daughter was unclear about what had occurred between them during the meeting in the forest. Hence probably why she was here, seeking the truth. He had to give it to them. That was the least he could do after the suffering he had caused them for the last several years. It had been over a decade now. Much too long. “I missed you all.” Henry’s voice was broken when he finally answered after a long, punctured silence. Tears filled his eyes uncontrollably, unshed and pained, and his voice dropped to a low whisper. “I missed you all so much. I realised I had been unfair. I had been a bad husband to Lorraine, a terrible father to you two. I knew that then. I don’t know what came over me during those years. Believe me, I never meant to hurt you that much. Please believe me, Harmony, Ariane. I… became consumed with what your grandfather kept forcing on me… Thoughts of George leaving us when I was nine… I was so scared I’d lose you both in the same way. So I forced myself to become a… a monster. Fear and blame consumed me so much, I didn’t even know I was inflicting pain on the people I was trying to protect. I even used drink as a way out.”

A bitter smile graced Henry Chan’s face as Harmony and Ariane listened, enraptured at the story their father was retelling them. “I only came to my senses after you had left me… I was a broken man. I realised it shouldn’t matter, whether or not you were witches or not. But you must understand, since childhood, our father had forced upon us that magic was a crime. And when George left, we thought he had died. That our father had banished him, then killed him. To us, magic was a curse, not a gift. So I lived those several years alone. I couldn’t tell your grandfather my wife and children had left me, run away to start a new life. So I moved away from them, to another part of America. I stayed in New Jersey for all those years, until I almost went mad. I only just managed to sustain myself with a job, but I was lonely, and my guilt was killing me inside. So I hired a detective to help track you down, so I could find you all, explain myself to you, and he finally discovered that you’d moved to England. So together we travelled to London, where my detective told me he’d found your address too. We went to visit, but of course, you were both not there, and Lorraine went crazy went she saw me. Thought I’d come to ruin her newfound happiness or something. I don’t know. She charged at us both, and the detective, he…” Henry trailed off tearfully, shaking his head as though there was something stuck in his throat.

“He what?” Ariane breathed, eyes wide as she stared at her father, already having guessed what he was about to say.

Henry’s tears began to slowly creep out of the corners of his eyes, flowing downwards to soak the crisp white pillow he lay on. “He… he killed her.”

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony sat on her bed, fingers fidgeting nervously with one another after smoothing down the covers subconsciously. Her father’s hollow words echoed repeatedly in her head as she sighed yet again to the silent listener sitting before her. Gazing around the room, Harmony noted Atalanta’s empty cage with a blank stare, before flopping down on the soft duvet with a thump, lying across it in a starfish position. She could hardly believe the way her mother had died… And how her father had then rushed forwards and killed the detective himself. What had the world come to? The truth was so hard to absorb in Harmony’s mind, so difficult to understand. How could her mother have been taken away from her so easily? How? It just wasn’t fair. But Harmony knew she should be grateful for the roof over her head right now, the comfortable bed she lay on, the food that would be placed on the table for dinner in less than half an hour. It was more than Harmony deserved… Not many people were as lucky as her, having other family to care for them like they were their own.

Suddenly, a sharp knock rapped against the door, and Aurora’s head popped in with a bright smile that hid her worry as she gazed upon her younger cousin. “Hey, dinner’s almost ready. Can you come down and help?”
“Oh yeah, sorry. No problem… Give me a sec.” Jumping off the bed with a small smile of her own, Harmony fitted her small feet into her sandals before padding out quietly behind Aurora, closing the bedroom door tightly behind her. Leo was exiting his own room, meeting them on the landing with an exchange of smiles for greetings. A meaningful look passed between the siblings, unbeknownst to Harmony, before Aurora led the younger ones downstairs towards the kitchen. Ariane was already there, next door in the dining room, wiping the table with a damp cloth. She seemed to be living in the clouds, her face containing a similar expression to Harmony’s as she almost tripped past one of the chair legs. With a large grin, Aurora began to hand Harmony the cutlery and Leo the cookery as she asked her mother something, Jenny being at the stove with a large frying wok. The housewife of the family sent a look at Harmony, observing the child for a moment or so, before it connected with her eldest daughter. A message passed between them, before it was broken and Jenny was back to cooking, whilst Aurora gave out orders with her usual smile.

Half an hour later, the entire family sat around the dining table, eating whilst socialising at the same time. Jenny and George seemed deep in conversation about something across the table, whilst Harmony and Leo were also, talking heatedly about Quidditch. Ariane and Aurora were discussing NEWTs, a common subject between them. The chatter seemed to die away after a while however, as the meal was nearing an end, and George seemed to be commanding everyone’s attention from one end of the table. Nervously, Ariane and Harmony’s uncle cleared his throat, before launching into an obviously important speech. “Ariane… Harmony… I know this is a sensitive subject, but… It’s better to address things now than leave them for a long time, wouldn’t you say? Now that we know the truth of the matter… We can plan towards the future. Your future.” Ariane and Harmony listened silently, Harmony’s hands placed in her lap, Ariane still and unmoving. “We know now that Henry is most probably going to serve a few years in prison for manslaughter… Something like that anyway. I’m sure you two would prefer not to go court, and we will attend in your place. Besides, that won’t be happening for a while, not with Henry in the state he’s in. It’ll take at least another month for him to properly recover, enough for him to attend any hearings. You both know he’s not going to be a fit guardian, and you probably don’t want to live with him anyway. Before he appeared, Jenny and I had agreed that we are very happy for you to stay here. Very happy. It’s the least we could possibly do. That offer still stands strong.”

“It’s not much of an offer, really.” Jenny spoke up for the first time kindly, interrupting her husband as her gaze inclined towards her nieces. “You don’t have a choice in the matter, at the moment. You’re both still under seventeen, still underage wizards. You’re going to be under our protection until that time comes, and we will do our best as surrogate parents. Please forgive us if we do you any wrong, but we do want the best for you – as I’m sure Lorraine did. Once Ariane turns of age, she shall be free from our guardianship, and can leave if she likes; I doubt Henry will be out of prison by then. Harmony has the choice of going wherever Ariane chooses to go, or remaining with us. Of course, we’d be happy for you to stay with us, Ariane, even when you turn seventeen.” Jenny smiled reassuringly. “I suppose the point of George and I saying all this is really… That we welcome you into the family despite everything involving Henry, and informing you of the future possibilities, which I’m sure you’re both already aware of.”

“Thank you.” Ariane began after her aunt had finished speaking, her voice slow and calm. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for us. It’s much more than we could ever ask for.” Harmony nodded beside her in agreement, quiet and reserved, letting her older sister say the words she needed to speak. “I turn seventeen in September, earlier than a lot of people in my year, but I will only move out and become independent, if at all possible, once I leave Hogwarts, at the end of that year. I hope you can still guide me until then with your steady hands.” Ariane bowed her head a little humbly, “By then I will have sorted out my grades and everything, and I’ll know which direction I’ll be heading in. I’ll be ready, definitely, by then, to move on in life, to face the future. And I will be entrusting Harmony to you, for you to look after her in my place.” Harmony looked up quickly, her eye catching her sister’s in alarm at this; this was not something they had managed to discuss yet. “It is my choice to keep her here, because I will most probably not be able to look after her then.” Ariane smiled sadly down at her empty dinner plate. “Not as well as you can provide for her, anyway. I am sure she will be happy here. I’m sorry for the burdens we have placed on your shoulders, and we will be forever grateful. Thank you.”