A Day in the Kitchen

A Day in the Kitchen

"Mum, what are you doing?" Briar Potter asked as she entered the kitchen. Her mother, Ginny was standing at the counter, a blue apron tied around her waist, and up to her elbows in flour.

Ginny smiled at her daughter. "I'm baking cookies. Want to help?"

Briar groaned. I can think of two hundred and fifty seven things I'd prefer to be doing right now' she thought. And one of them is watching grass grow. Her mother looked so hopeful, however, that she sighed and gave in.

The way she figured it, spending some time female bonding with her mother would release her from her 'girly' obligations for at least a week. After that, she could go back to playing Quidditch with her father and her uncles.

Ginny passed Briar a pink apron. The girl took the piece of cloth and looked at it like it would grow teeth and bite her at any moment. She hated pink! Still, it was better than the alternative. The only other apron around was a white one that had big red hearts all over it. Briar shuddered at the thought of wearing that one.

She tied the apron on and then gave her mum a grim smile. "So, what are we making?" she asked with forced enthusiasm.

"Gingerbread cookies," Ginny replied.

"Why not gingerbread men?" Briar wanted to know.

Ginny sighed. "The last time I made gingerbread men, Fred enchanted them and they ran rampant through the house. It took me a week to round up all those little buggers!"

Briar covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Her uncle Fred was always the prankster. And when he was with his twin brother, George, he was even worse.

"Are you laughing at me?" Ginny demanded.

"No," Briar chuckled.

"You're lying," Ginny said, sounding hurt. "Don't make me hit you with a saucepan."

"Mum!" Briar exclaimed! "That's not a very nice thing to say to your only daughter."

Ginny ignored her. Pointing to an open book on the counter she said, "Read me the recipe from page 106."

Briar picked up the cookbook, sparing a glance at the cover. When she saw the title, she did a double take. "How to Put the Magic Back on Your Table...kinky." She grinned at her mother. "Mum, are you trying to seduce Daddy?"

Ginny started tossing the flour in the bowl. Briar thought that maybe her mother hadn't heard her, but then she noticed that Ginny's cheeks did look a little flushed.

"You are!" she cried, laughter bubbling up inside her. "You know Mum; you don't have to cook the Muggle way to make Daddy want you."

"I know that," Ginny said. Then realizing what her daughter had said, she cried, "and you're too young to be thinking about things like that!"

Briar huffed. "In case you've forgotten, I'm fifteen now. I'm not a baby anymore."

Ginny patted Briar on the head, leaving flour in her daughter's dark red hair. "You'll always be my baby. Now read the recipe."

Briar did as her mother requested. She read the recipe out loud, getting the ingredients as they were needed. Soon they had the cookies ready to go into the oven.

But before they could bake the cookies, they had to take out the scones Ginny had made earlier. Briar placed the tray on the table next to the batch that had already cooled. Taking one, she bit into the scone.

And nearly broke a tooth in the process.

"You know, Mum, we could use these as weapons," she said gesturing to the scones. "They're hard as rocks." Her mother's cooking hadn't improved one bit since she'd last made scones.

Briar couldn't help but wondering if Ginny knew what had happened to the last batch she had made. Briar had never told her that she and her cousin Harold had used them as bludgers when they practiced Quidditch.

"Weapons, huh?" Ginny said with a smile. "And what would you use them for? To conquer the world?"

"Exactly!" Briar laughed. She help up a scone like a champion holds a trophy. "I will conquer the world with scones! Watch out world!"

The two laughed, and then set about making more cookies. As she washed her hands at the sink, Briar glanced out the window. Her next door neighbor was outside lying on a blanket, topless.

"Mum, our next door neighbor isn't wearing a shirt! My virgin eyes!"

Ginny stood behind her daughter, covering Briar's eyes with one hand, and closing the curtains with the other. She then helped Briar to the table.

Sitting, Briar groaned. "I never want to see that again."

Ginny smiled softly. "It's only a man's chest honey. Besides, you did say you weren't a baby anymore. You could do with some enlightenment when it comes to the male gender."

Hoping to distract her mother from having the dreaded 'talk', Briar quickly said, "I guess I'm too short for enlightenment."

At that, Ginny burst out laughing. "That made no sense at all," she said. "I think you meant 'young'." She stood and made her way back to the counter. "And honey, you're not short, you're vertically challenged!"

Briar wrinkled her nose at her mother's lame excuse at a joke. Planning to ignore her, Briar absently picked up a scone and took a bite. She spit it out just as quickly. I should be bonding with Dad, she thought. He can cook, unlike Mum.

Half an hour later, the first batch of cookies were done. Surprisingly, they smelled wonderful. When they had cooled enough to eat, Briar ate one. Then another. They were delicious!

"Mum, did you enchant the batter when I wasn't looking?" she demanded. In all her fifteen years she had never been able to keep down anything her mother cooked.

Ginny gave her daughter a hurt look. "Of course not! I just followed the recipe word for word."

"Well, they're good. Follow the recipe word for word from now on!" she ordered. "They'll definitely bring the magic to the table."

"Eris Briar Potter!" Ginny exclaimed using her daughter's full name. "Don't make such insinuations!"

"I didn't say anything!" Briar protested.

"I know what you were thinking!" Ginny shot back. "And no more cookies, you're going to get fat."

"I will not," Briar said. "The good thing is I'm skinny. And with all my vitamins and minerals, I'll stay that way."

"Cheeky little bugger," Ginny swatted Briar with the dish towel. "I'm going to go clean up. Your father will be home soon."

"Ok."

"Keep an eye on the last of the cookies," Ginny called as she left the kitchen.

Briar sat alone in the kitchen for several minutes. Then she started to clean up. As she worked, she hid some of the scones in her pocket for use as bludgers. She was almost finished cleaning the kitchen when she heard a loud gasp behind her. Whirling around, she saw her mother in the doorway, looking quite shocked.

Hand pressed to her heart, Ginny said, "I think my apron strings are too tight. It's probably why I'm suffocating."

"Mum, you're not wearing your apron anymore," Briar pointed out dryly.

Ginny grinned. "I know, but seeing you cleaning almost gave me a heart attack."

Briar rolled her eyes. "Ha ha, very funny."

Ginny kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you, honey."

"You're welcome," Briar replied. "And you look really nice Mum."

And she did. Ginny had changed into a pale red dress that complimented her hair quite nicely. She was even wearing perfume and make-up.

Suddenly Briar was disappointed that their mother-daughter bonding time was almost over. Even though she was a self proclaimed tomboy, Briar had actually had fun with her mother. She vowed to do it again sometime soon.

The front door opened and Ginny giggled. "Oh, your father's home!" she exclaimed. "Tell me, do my ears look good in this light?"

"What?" Briar was completely confused. Her ears? "Are you drunk?"

"I'm never drunk," Ginny assured her. "Just very, very tipsy."

Just then Harry walked into the kitchen. "And what have my two favorite females been up to today?" he asked.

Briar said, "Cooking. Do you want some gingerbread? It's guaranteed to bring magic back to your table."

As the two women burst out in hysterical laughter, Harry shook his head, bewildered.

"Women!"