Living At Last ((Closed))

[Heidi Rebecca Fleming]

Mild light filtered scantily through the half drawn blinds against the window, throwing Heidi’s sleeping face out of darkness, her tanned skin smooth under the ethereal glow. Gradually she shifted, eyelashes fluttering to reveal warm brown eyes that frowned in the face of the brightness. Groaning softly, Heidi turned away, dragging loose covers with her as she screwed her eyelids shut again. Heidi didn’t need to look at the time to know that it was too early in the morning to get up.

The joyful chirping of birds outside her window, coupled with the noises of pots and pans clattering against each other remorselessly, brought Heidi back to reality again half an hour later. Somewhat disgruntled still, Heidi remained in bed for another fifteen minutes, until Chico jumped lightly onto the pillows with an intent to play, causing Heidi to shoot up and shoo the naughty tabby away. Muttering incoherent words under her breath, a wild haired Heidi disappeared into the bathroom, intent of clearing her mind of last night’s drunken party events.

Another half an hour later, Heidi seated herself with a yawn at the tiny dining table. Opposite, Maria was already reading the Daily Prophet they received by owl each morning. The pages sprawled across her lap as she sipped a steaming mug of tea. “Morning.” Heidi mumbled as she grabbed her fork, looking at the pancakes in front of her in mild satisfaction.
“And that’s why you shouldn’t come home at 3 o’clock in the morning.” Maria chimed in a mock reprimanding tone, a shrewd smirk lining her face. “You were wasted last night.” She looked down at the newspaper as she flicked the page without interest. Heidi mumbled annoyed protests about having a reprieve from seriousness now and again, but bother mother and daughter knew that Maria was joking; Maria had never been the overprotective type. She hadn’t had the time. “Coffee?”
“Do you even need to ask?” Heidi ground out roughly as another slice of pancake slid past her lips.
“Now, is that the way you talk to your mother?” Maria chided jokingly as she folded the Prophet up. “And remember to chew, dear.” She passed the paper to Heidi and stood, heading to the kitchen area.

A cup of white coffee was placed before Heidi minutes later, which she uttered her thanks to. Another page was turned, a moving photograph of a group of men disappearing from Maria’s sight as she reclaimed her seat. “Nothing much.” Heidi commented on the news as she closed the newspaper, which Maria nodded her affirmation to and used her wand to send it across the room. The wad of black and white floated above the stack of old newspapers shakily, before the spell lost control and narrowly missed the pile as it landed on the floor.

“Damn.” Maria sighed in frustration whilst Heidi drew her own wand. Mother watched daughter dejectedly as Heidi lifted the newspaper perfectly so it fit on top of the pile.
“Don’t worry about it, mum.” Heidi smiled encouragingly at Maria. “You’ll soon get the hang of it again.”
“It’s been so long.” Maria looked downhearted, but smiled in return nevertheless. “I’m just grateful I can have another change with magic before I gave my heritage away for your father.”
“You were a fantastic witch before you quit.” Heidi stated firmly as she performed the same spell on her plate and cutlery, sending them to the sink to be automatically washed. “It’s normal not to have the same perfect control. It’ll take practice. But you’ll be good as new again, like back in your teens.” Heidi joked with a chuckle.
“Yeah.” Maria nodded, grinning appreciatively, before casting her only daughter with a curious gaze. “So what are you up to tonight?”
“Not going out again, that’s for sure.” Heidi rolled her eyes as she flung a loose cardigan around her shoulders. Underneath she wore a comfy tank top, with matching sweatpants. “Can’t you tell? I’m wearing my home slog stuff.” Heidi laughed as she stood up and twirled before her amused mother. “How about a movie in front of the TV tonight? Saturdays always have the best stuff. I can make popcorn!” Heidi sat down with a bright grin.
“Sure.” Maria smiled.

[Heidi Rebecca Fleming]

Heidi groaned. “Lime green, mother, is not my colour.”
“Live with it.” Maria stated firmly as she stood beside her taller daughter. Standing at 5’4”, she was a great deal shorter than Heidi. Really, mother and daughter did not look that much alike at all. Heidi was a blonde, Maria a pale brunette. Heidi had a healthy, normal complexion, whereas Maria’s skin was tanned and dark. And Heidi’s face bore little, if no resemblance to Maria either. The only traits they appeared to have in common were their near-to-perfect figures and their twinkling brown eyes.
Heidi pouted to herself in the mirror of the Diagon Alley robes shop. Lime green robes encased her curvy body as her mother looked over her with a small smile. “I look… I look like a slime monster… Or artificial jelly. Or even worse, Flubber. Muuuuuum!” Heidi whined falsely to Maria as she stepped away from the awful image of herself. “I don’t want to look like Flubber on my first day of work.”
“You’ll look like that every day, dear.” Maria pointed out unhesitantly, rifling through some identical robes on a table nearby. “All the other interns, the residents, even the attendings, will be wearing those robes, you know. It’s the colour of healers. You should be proud to wear it, Heidi. You’ll be operating with those, healing with those, and saving lives with those. Plus,” Maria added as an afterthought as she pulled out another lime green package of material, “You’ll get used to being so bright… eventually. Here, try this one. It’s a smaller size. That one does make you look like an oversized piece of slime…”
“MUM! NOT HELPING HERE!”

---

“Happy?”
“Very.”
“Good. Can we go now?” Heidi mumbled sulkily as mother and daughter marched down Diagon Alley after their robes purchasing trip.
“Don’t you want to hang around a bit?” Maria asked with a teasing smile. “C’mon, Heidi. Loosen up. As my kid, you should really be saying that to me. Where’s your sense of fun?”
“Sapped after two hours of trying on lime green evil robes, partying till two the other night, and staying up late the night after that watching some stupid movie about a black man and a Chinese man chasing after bad guys. I can’t even remember the name of the film. It was funny, yet so pointless.” Heidi proclaimed loudly as she clutched her shopping bags tighter.
“That’s the point of comedy.” Maria pointed out calmly with a knowing smile. “You are in such a mood today. I thought that film was pretty good. You were in hysterics if memory serves.” Heidi mumbled a few inaudible words which Maria guessed meant “Shut up”, and chuckled. “Okay then. Let’s go home. I want you to rest up before you start work next week. You’ll need the energy, trust me. Maybe you can help me practice my spells. Or we could watch another awful movie. Or maybe we can go out again when you feel like it – we could always explore muggle London…” Maria suggested enthusiastically.
“You mean go see Big Ben?” Heidi raised a slender eyebrow critically.
“We could.” Maria smiled proposed with an amused grin.
“I suppose we could.” Heidi mused in return, before her attention was directed to a store close by. “Ooh, look, Mum!” She pointed excitedly as her other arm shook Maria’s. “Ice cream.”

---

“It’s not every day you get to do this.” Heidi remarked a little sadly as she stared at her empty ice cream tub. Her shopping bags rustled beside her on the bench, and Maria looked up.
“Yeah.” She smiled softly at her daughter, who seemed to suddenly be in mourning. “That’s why we’ve got to live every day like it matters. Every minute of this life counts, Heidi. If I haven’t taught you much, this has got to be one of the most important things I should’ve pounded into you from the very start. Life is a challenge, and we’ve got to work for it, overcome it. That’s why we’re here now… That’s why you’re here now, Heidi. You worked so hard for this, and you deserve every inch of happiness you get.” Maria spoke seriously, placing her tub on the edge of the bench.
“I’m grateful that you taught me that, Mum.” Heidi smiled gratefully. “I may be rash and impatient at times, really silly and sulky and childish, and I can get myself so drunk I’ll do the chicken dance, but at least I know I have been given good morals and ethics.” Heidi’s face was proud. “I’m proud of both of us.”
“Cheers to that.” Maria agreed, grinning. Heidi merely threw her head back and laughed in her characteristic way. “Cheers to our new life.”

[Heidi Rebecca Fleming]

“Hey mum, I’m gonna go out for a morning jog. I’ll be back in an hour for breakfast.” Heidi called through the living room as she unlocked the front door. She was dressed in comfortable running clothes, only a bottle of cold water in her hands as she checked to make sure her house key was in her pocket.
Maria glanced up from her Daily Prophet as she sat on the balcony. Her eyes turned to her watch. “Okay, have a good run, Heidi. Breakfast will be ready at eight.” She flipped another page on the white table, London stirring sleepily beneath her as a few cars zipped by, their vrooming noises muffled in the dense atmosphere. Sunlight danced on the black and white newspaper as Maria gazed back at the headlines of the day. “I’m probably going to make pancakes… again.”
“Thanks.” Heidi smirked, giving the outside weather one last glance before exiting the apartment. It seemed a fair day; the morning sun was shining dimly in the sky, filtering through thick clouds typical of England. At least they were not grey, for that would have been a sure signal of rain to come. Heidi was certain the day would progress into brightness as she took the flight of stairs two at a time, rather than taking the elevator. It had been a while since Heidi had gotten up so early for a jog, and she had missed doing so. She didn’t mind getting out of bed; she had just spent too much time partying in London to have had the chance to awake before the sun even rose. Zipping up her jacket, Heidi breathed in a breath of fresh air as the somewhat chilly autumn breeze hit her. Heidi knew it would get warmer as she exercised and as the morning progressed as she set off on a slow jog. Her method was to start at a very leisurely pace, until she warmed up and her muscles were ready to go faster.

An hour later, a warmer, sweatier Heidi made her way slowly up the same flight of stairs, letting her hair loose to fall over her cold ears. The sun had since brightened considerably, and its strong rays had caused Heidi to take off her jacket and wrap it round her waist. Her bottle of water only contained a mouthful now, so Heidi uncapped it and downed the rest, before lobbying it into the bin on the next floor she climbed. Looking forward to a hot breakfast, Heidi jogged faster, her quick steps echoing against the floor as her trainers squeaked in protest. She refused to apparate; Heidi believed, as Maria had taught her, that if wizards and witches always relied on magic and apparition, they would grow lazy and useless. The whole point of her trip this morning was to revitalise her body, bring some healthiness back into her life. And Heidi enjoyed exercising; it wasn’t something she was doing against her will. If she could, she would’ve dragged her mother with her, though Maria had never been the sporting type, unlike Heidi. Heidi was rather determined to find a day to practice Quidditch; although she had never been particularly gifted at the sport, she still enjoyed that exhilarating sensation as she rose into the air. Since coming to live in London, Heidi hadn’t had the chance to take to her broomstick stored in her wardrobe somewhere, rather forgotten over the last two weeks. This seemed to be the only downfall of living here: the lack of privacy. It didn’t help Heidi was a witch, but she knew she’d cope. She felt it was worth it.

That run had certainly been worth it, Heidi thought as she neared her apartment floor. Physically getting around London and watching it awaken was fascinating for her, a girl from remote roots in faraway, countryside Cardiff. Heidi could feel her blood become excited by just watching the sun lift in the sky and brighten the dimmed blue as the cogs of London life whirred into action. She was sure lots of Londoners took these sights for granted, probably having seen the same views everyday, and grown accustomed, or even annoyed, with it. However, it was still painfully new for Heidi, and she loved every second, every breath. Life wasn’t more fun to live than it was now, and what with the St Mungo’s internship flying round the corner next week, Heidi knew this was just the beginning. Finally, she reached the correct storey, and began to fish in her pockets as she left the stairs. Although Maria was at home, Heidi didn’t feel there was any need to bother her mother by getting her to open the door.

Just a she walked down the corridor, Heidi heard the elevator pinging shut behind her. Turning around in curiosity, she glimpsed a shock of brunette hair belonging to a young man, though his face was turned from her as he pressed a button, probably heading to the Ground Floor. Surprised, Heidi wanted to say something, assuming this man was her neighbour; she had been wanting to meet her fellow inhabitants for a while now, but hadn’t chanced to meet any yet. However, the elevator shut before Heidi could utter a word, and the young man hadn’t seen her either. Somewhat disappointed, Heidi headed back to her own front door, wondering when it was she would meet the neighbours. Judging from the area, she doubted old pensioners would be residing in the flat. It seemed more likely young adults would, and Heidi hoped she could make some friends. Since leaving Hogwarts she hadn’t really kept in contact with any of her classmates save for the odd letter by owl every now and again. Heidi craved human company, somebody she could talk to; not necessarily about really deep, personal things, just friendly banter. She loved her mum, and her mum was a great mother and friend, but it wasn’t the same, and Heidi knew Maria was aware of this. Heidi was sure her mother needed some friends her own age too. But that was the point of new beginnings – to find new people and learn to live again, bigger and better than before. Smiling to herself, Heidi opened her front door and let herself in to the strong, mouth-watering scent of pancakes. “I’m back, mum!”