History Moves in Circles

History Moves in Circles
Chapter 2: Family Life
Five Years Later

He was done. Brian Anderson sank into his recliner, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling. He didn’t know how Harmony managed to do this every night when he worked late. It felt like it took a lifetime to get his children bathed and in bed, where in actuality it had only taken an hour. His clothes were wet, his hair disheveled, and he was sure he’d have a black eye in the morning from an unfortunate meeting with a rubber duck.

But he had won; both of his little terrors were in bed for the night, and they had avoided any major disasters. Harmony would be proud.

Struggling to keep his eyes open, he turned to look at the clock, surprised to find that his wife wouldn’t be home for another two hours. He needed a nap before he cleaned up the mess in the kitchen. The sweet darkness of sleep crept upon him and he welcomed it. Just a few minutes, then he’d get up and clean. Harmony would be very angry if she saw the mess they had made in her kitchen. Just a few minutes, and then he’d get up.

“Daddy?”

Brian kept his eyes shut; maybe if he pretended he was asleep, she’d go away.

A tiny hand touched his knee lightly. “Daddy?”

He kept still.

“Daddy?” This time her voice quavered a bit and she prodded his leg harder.

Brian opened one eye to look down at the little girl standing by his legs. Her red hair in even wilder disarray than usual, his eldest looked up at him with impossibly wide bright green eyes. “Go away,” he muttered in mock anger. “I’m sleeping.”

Jenny giggled. “No you’re not,” she climbed up onto the arm of the recliner.

Brian crossed his arms and dropped his chin to his chest, faking a gurgling snore. His daughter was quiet this time. He peeked out of the corner of one blue eye to see his mischievous daughter grinning at him, and sighed theatrically. “I didn’t fool you, did I?”

She giggled again, pushing her hair out of her face. “Nope. You can’t fool me! I knew you were awake.”

Brian laughed and tickled her ribcage until she almost shrieked. He tugged her into her lap, laying a hand over her mouth. “Sshhh. We don’t want to wake your brother up.”

Jenny nodded and burrowed her head in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, shifting her small weight so her knees weren’t digging into his thighs quite so painfully. After a few minutes of silence, he ran his hand through her tangled hair. “What are you doing up?”

She disentangled herself from his shirt long enough to look into his face. He got a glimpse of the wary expression on her face before she ducked away, trembling slightly. “Another dream, baby?”

“Yeah,” she whispered. Brian rubbed her back. For the past four months Jenny had woken up more from nightmares than he had in his entire lifetime. She never said what they were about, but they haunted her deeply, and that bothered Brian. Seeing either of his children in any matter of distress made him feel utterly useless as a father. Blood he could mop up, tears he could chase away with laughter, but he didn’t know how to deal with this.

They had tried talking about the dreams, but Jenny couldn’t remember most of them; only that they had frightened her. Brian wanted to take her to see a psychiatrist, but Harmony protested vehemently every time he mentioned it. He wasn’t sure what his wife was thinking; but the psychiatrist was the only other option he could think of.

“So do you remember this one?”

Jenny shook her head. “No.” Brian sighed and glanced down at her, lifting them both off the recliner in a smooth motion. He knew both of the doors were locked, so he balanced Jenny against his chest and carried her upstairs to her bedroom. Her room was a palette of soft greens and purples, which she meticulously straightened every day without being told to. He sighed; the sheets and blankets on her daybed were already twisted and rumpled. He straightened them with one hand before laying her down and tucking them around her shoulders. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled off his slippers and stretched out beside her.

She grabbed her favorite stuffed animal, a plush green dragon she’d received as a gift from one of Harmony’s friends, and clutched it to her chest. After a few moments of rustling sheets she had settled herself, and Brian reached over and hugged her.

“Will you stay ‘till I go back to sleep?”

He patted her arm. “I’ll be right here.”

A yawn. “G’night, Daddy.”

“Sweet dreams, baby.”

* * * * * * *

Harmony Anderson cut the motor on her bike and coasted up the driveway. It was late, and she knew that most of the children on the street would be asleep. And one of the quickest ways to alienate her neighbors was to wake all of their children up. Pulling into the garage, she slumped over the handles of her bike for a few minutes. It had been a long day. First, not only had the preschool rush run her ragged, but she had been forced to listen to one of her employees read aloud from a history book about herself.

Sometimes the dual identity conflict just wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t that being Harmony was difficult; she hadn’t changed her personality much. The hard stuff came in the simple things; such as the fact that she had never heard her husband every call her by her real name. Brian not knowing she was a witch didn’t help matters either. At first it hadn’t bothered her at all, but keeping her true self a secret after seven years was getting harder instead of easier. One day, she promised herself, she would tell Brian exactly who she was. But not until Virginia was older; when she could understand too.

She swung off the bike and closed the garage door before letting herself in the kitchen through the garage door. Turning the light on, her grip on her keys and purse loosened as she saw the room and dropped to the floor.

Brian was in big trouble.

The kitchen looked like Lockhart’s pixies had taken up permanent residence. The cabinet doors were open, dirty dishes piled on her granite countertops, and a sticky mess that looked like suspiciously like ketchup splattered on the walls. The table was covered in paper and crayons, and her refrigerator was now wallpapered in all manner of her children’s art.

How could one man, a five-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy make that much of a mess? Cancel that; she knew exactly how. Troy was still a messy eater; especially depending on what utensil he was trying to eat with. And when he colored; the boy made one mark on a piece of paper and grabbed another. Virginia was neater; but Brian had a bad habit of never being able to tell his “Jenny” no.

Not that Harmony could blame him. Jenny’s brilliant eyes and infectious smile could disarm even the sternest adult. She had Brian wrapped her little finger, which forced Harmony to be the disciplinarian at all times. It wasn’t a role she liked, but it had to be done. Harmony was glad that Jenny never seemed to take her punishments personally; Harmony had never been equated with evil in the girl’s mind. She still had a few more years to go before that would happen, and Harmony was already dreading it.

Why hadn’t Brian cleaned up the mess? It would only take a few minutes to clear up, and it would have saved him a scolding from her. She strode through the mess in the kitchen, intent on finding her husband and enlisting his aid in cleaning up. His recliner in the front room was empty, and there were had been no more lights turned on. She jogged up the steps, peeking in Troy’s room first.

Her two-year-old son slept curled up on his bed, covered in his favorite blanket, sucking on his thumb. Harmony pulled his hand down from his mouth, smoothing away his dark curls from his cherubic face. He stirred a bit, and Harmony withdrew her hand. “Sweet dreams, handsome,” she whispered quietly and stood, temporarily forgetting about Brian’s misdemeanor as her eyes traced Troy’s familiar features. He was a blend between Brian and herself, most of his features like his father’s at that age, although her Mum swore he had Harmony’s nose.

She loved her small son with a passion that scared her; she hadn’t thought herself capable of loving anyone with that intensity. It was quite possible, Harmony mused, that she loved Troy more than she loved Jenny. As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she flushed, angry with herself. She had promised herself when Troy was born she would never play favourites, and what was she doing now? Pondering about how she loved her birth son more than her adopted daughter. Some mother she was.

Tossing her hair back, she walked down to hall to check on Jenny.

The door was still ajar so she slid her body through the opening and stood in the shadows, wary of walking into the light and being seen. As soon as she made out the shape of the large lump on Jenny’s bed, a smile curved the corners of her pink lips. Brian lay flat on his back on Jenny’s bed, and she was asleep on top of him, her head pillowed on his shoulder, one arm wrapped around Rosie. Harmony snorted when she realized Rosie’s tail was very nearly up Brian’s nose.

She went forward to rescue him; she’d had quite a few encounters with the stuffed dragon’s tail herself. Reaching down, she wound the posable tail around her fingers and tucked it up against one of Rosie’s wings. The little dragon had been through a lot; the only reason it had survived thus far was because it had come with a stay-new charm, which had been refreshed several times. And even now the plush green covering was faded and worn thin in spots; and one of his wings was covered in big white yarn stitches where it had been torn and mended. But as long as Jenny loved Rosie, he would still keep that bright spark in his eyes; the very thing Jenny loved so.

Jenny turned her head to lay on her other ear, and Harmony was awarded with a glimpse of the lightning-bolt birthmark on the back of her neck. They had never anticipated that Harry’s children would be marked, but they were. Harmony had researched it, but had found next to nothing on the subject. The only thing she could think of was that the struggles of Harry’s entire life, symbolized in his scar, had been imprinted on his children before their birth.

Brian never really asked about it, although he had commented on several occasions that it was almost too perfect. Harmony just did her best to keep it hidden; they lived close enough to a mixed magical community that the possibility of Jenny’s identity being realized through the mark was very real. And Harmony would not risk that; not now, when things were starting to heat up again.

“How long have you been home,” Brian’s whisper startled her, and she jumped, right hand swinging to the back of her head where her wand was tucked into her bun.

She stopped herself and blinked a few times, turning to see her husband’s smirk. “Did I scare you?”

“Sshh.” She reprimanded, glancing at Jenny. “She’s actually sleeping peacefully for once.”

Brian nodded. “I know.” His smile was worried as he peered down at her sleeping form. “I haven’t gotten any elbows or knees for a while.”

Harmony nodded. Jenny’s arms and legs hurt; especially when she was in the throes of one of her nightmares. She had gotten several bruises while trying to keep her calm over the past few months. She reached out to touch the back of her daughter’s head. “How bad was this one?”

“Not too bad,” Brian’s eyes were dark with concern. “She felt like playing a little when she came down to get me.”

Harmony wished Brian wouldn’t divert her focus by joking with her when the dreams happened, but she couldn’t have everything. He didn’t understand the true significance of the dreams anyway, so he couldn’t know what to do about them. Harmony wasn’t much better, but she had been reading obscure magical medicine books by the dozen in her spare time. Eventually she would find out what was going on with the girl; and then she might have a clue how to help her.

Brian stood and started to shift his precious daughter back to her bed, but she threw her arms around his neck and clung. Harmony reached out to pry her hands off, but Jenny wrapped her legs around Brian’s waist and refused to let go. Brian shifted his arms around his daughter and gave Harmony a rueful grin. “I guess we have an extra tonight.” There wasn’t a bit of regret in his gaze as her combed her red locks out of his face. He thought Jenny was the best thing since sliced bread.

Harmony sighed, noticing that Jenny had let go of Rosie in her efforts to stick to her father. She picked up the little dragon and followed Brian as he carted Jenny off to their bedroom.

When they got to their bedroom, Harmony pulled Jenny off of Brian so he could change clothes, settling her daughter’s weight across her hips. Jenny snuggled against her, pushing her sharp little chin into Harmony’s neck bones. “Momma? That you?”

“Yes sweetheart,” Harmony replied softly, pulling the blankets back from their huge double bed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t home for dinner.” She had intended to be home, but then the map had shown something odd and she had been forced to watch it until she was sure what was going on. And it had been nothing, but she hadn’t seen that name in a long time.

“Where’s Daddy?” Jenny murmured, turning her head so she could play with the pendant Harmony wore around her neck on a chain.

“He’s in the bathroom; he’ll be back in a few minutes.” Harmony eased Jenny down onto the bed, letting her get settled into the blankets before she handed her Rosie. Sitting down beside her, she began to stroke the brilliant red hair soothingly, waiting for Brian to get done in the bathroom. “Your Dad said you had another dream,” she questioned as mildly as possible, not wanting to get her upset.

Jenny stared up at Harmony sleepily. “Yeah. You were chasing a bad man,” she whispered, clutching Rosie to her skinny chest. “He had me ‘n Troy,” she continued absentmindedly, “and a boy with black hair who’s older than me.” She paused, unaware that Harmony had stopped stroking her hair in shock. “And I was really scared, but then you came. You ‘n Rosie. And I wasn’t scared any more, ‘cause the bad man was afraid of you.”

Harmony sat very still, forcing herself to breathe. Was Jenny doing what she thought she was doing? “Faith,” she questioned urgently, “Did you see the bad man? Do you know what he looks like?” She had to know before the little girl went back to sleep; she had to know who she might be facing off.

Jenny nodded. “’Course I did, Momma. He was carrying Troy. He had eyes just like Rosie’s, when he was a man.” She snuggled back into the pillows, very close to drifting back off to sleep.

Harmony wanted to grab her and shake her awake, but that was no way to keep her talking; it would only frighten her. “The man looked like Rosie?” Harmony had no idea Jenny could remember him; let alone place his face with his gift.

“Yeah, Momma. He called you a bad name, though, and Rosie got all mad. You started to cry when the bad man took Troy, and that’s when I woke up.” Jenny rolled over and looked up at Harmony with familiar green eyes, wearing an innocent wonder she hadn’t seen in them for over a decade. “Why were you crying?”

Harmony broke her train of thought to look down at the girl. “I don’t know, sweetheart,” she dropped a kiss on the girl’s forehead as Brian came out of the bedroom and sprawled beside Jenny, his clothes exchanged for pajamas. “Your Daddy’s back now, so why don’t you try to go back to sleep.”

Jenny nodded and rolled back into Brian, who made himself comfortable around her frame. He looked up at Harmony and frowned. “Are you feeling ok, love?”

She glanced down at him, not comprehending what he’d asked her. “What?”

“You look pale,” Brian repeated. “Are you sure you’re feeling OK?”

Harmony shook herself out of her stupor and nodded, shaking her head violently. “I,” she stumbled for a moment, “I’ve got to go clean the kitchen.”

“It can wait until morning,” Brian reasoned. “Why don’t you put your nightgown on and come to bed?” He smirked up at her. “We can’t do much else besides sleep tonight.”

Harmony barely registered the fact that he was teasing her about sex; she was still too awed by what Jenny had just revealed. “No,” she heard herself saying. “We can’t, can we? Besides, the kitchen really needs cleaning.” She found herself backing towards the door. “And I’ve got some bookwork to catch up on.”

Brian looked disappointed, but he nodded, tugging the sheets up to his waist, and pushing Rosie’s tail out of his ribs. “’Night, Harmony.”

Harmony shut the door behind her and walked down the hallway, glancing absently at the doorway of the room that lodged her son. They would all be perfectly safe while she was gone; the house was exceedingly well-protected. Perhaps not as well protected as Privet Drive had been in the years Harry had lived there, but protected enough to keep Jenny safe.

After a few seconds Harmony had reached the kitchen, but she spared the dirty counters and table only a passing glance. There were more pressing matters afoot than a disorderly room; matters involving a little girl who was dead to the rest of the wizarding world and a talent that was pushing panic buttons in her godmother.

When situations turned confusing, there was one place where an answer might possibly be found. No matter what name she was using, she would never be able to change that facet of her personality. There was a loud crack of displaced air in the kitchen when the dark-haired woman Apparated, but none of the others in the house even stirred.

Harmony was heading for Los Angeles, which housed AWL (American Wizarding Library), the largest library on the continent.

There she could start her search for answers.

Much later the next morning, a set of white-tipped feet jogged into the kitchen, large yellowish eyes staring at the figure asleep by the kitchen table. The kitten jumped to the tabletop, despite the fact that he knew very well that he wasn’t allowed on the kitchen table. The little tail whipped back and forth as it approached the sleeping woman, her head cushioned by the book she had been reading. He jumped up onto the book and walked over to her face, purring loudly. A rough pink tongue began to scrape the woman’s cheek, and the kitten paused only to butt his head against her chin, trailing his tail under her nose.

He was rewarded when brown eyes opened, and the woman lifted her head off the book.

Harmony pushed a few loose tresses of hair away from her eyes, wincing as she turned her head. She glanced down at the table, realizing she’d fallen asleep in the middle of her research. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d woken up with ink imprints of the side of her face.

She glanced down at the book, an exhaustive Greek tome dealing with the intricacies of visions. Divination had never been Hermione’s strong suite in school, but for her daughter she would look past her hatred of the subject.

As far as she could remember, she had found nothing useful in that book. The librarian at the American Wizarding Library had been very helpful, especially once he knew Harmony could read Greek & Latin. She had returned from the library with more books than she had checked out in a long time, and scanning through them was an arduous task.

She closed the book and grabbed the next one on the pile, a tiny book about Native American visions.

“Mmmrow?”

A small kitten sat primly beyond the edge of the books, tail wrapped neatly around his feet. Harmony glanced up at him, almost laughing at the comical markings on his face. “What is it, Hindi?”

The kitten meowed again, whipping its tail through a pile of crayons by his feet. Harmony realized that she still hadn’t cleaned the kitchen, and the sun was starting to peek over the kitchen windowsill. Brian would be up in just a few more minutes, and she didn’t want to explain why she hadn’t gone up to bed last night.

There was no way she could get the room cleaned in time using the Muggle way. Her hand automatically closed around her wand, pulling it from the loose bun on the back of her head. With a few soft-spoken words, the library books had been stacked, shrunk, and banished to sit beside her purse by the back door.

Making sure the kitchen door was shut, she began muttering charms nonstop while almost absently waving her wand around her. Within minutes the kitchen was filled with the light hum of magic spells scouring, cleaning, organizing, and eliminating the mess that two children, one father, one meal, and one all-nighter could create in her normally pristine kitchen.

Harmony stood in the middle of the kitchen, one hand absently stroking Hindi’s spectacular mottled coat while she orchestrated the multiple spells. In ten minutes the room began to look more like a proper kitchen and less like a war zone. By the time Brian came downstairs less than five minutes later, the kitchen was finished and Harmony was urging her magically peeled potatoes into a frying pan after shooing Hindi off the table.

“Good morning,” he greeted sluggishly.

Harmony’s eyes widened, and she glanced down at the wand in her hand, still shooting seasonings over the potatoes. She made sure her body was between the stove and the coffeepot, which was where she knew her husband would go first. Flicking her wand hand, she tried to speed up the spell she was in the middle of, before her demi-alert husband noticed the sparks.

Brian shuffled to the sink, and Harmony heard the telltale rattling drips of the coffee pot start. A few seconds later a pair of slender arms wrapped around her waist followed by Brian’s head dropping to her shoulder.

“Mornin’ Harmony,” he repeated, not noticing Harmony’s wand, which had, thankfully, quit shooting sparks.

“Good morning,” she replied cheerfully, squirming as one of his hands wandered past her hip and down her leg. Brian’s brain didn’t gain its characteristic sharpness until after his morning liter of caffeine, but he always had been amorous first thing in the morning. She rapped the offending hand with her wand, knowing he wouldn’t notice that it wasn’t a cooking spoon. “Not now, dear,” she chided.

Brian turned his head on her shoulder so he faced her neck, his errant hand tangling itself in her waist-length hair. “Please?”

Harmony snorted, knowing exactly how he was looking at her as she carefully tucked her wand up one sleeve. “Those dazzling baby blues may work for your son,” she replied tartly, “but you’re a big boy now.”

Brian spun her around so she faced him, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other at the junction of her neck and shoulders, stroking her hair back over her shoulders. His ice blue eyes bored into her with an intensity that thrilled her. “Yes,” he agreed smoothly, drawing her closer to him, “I am a big boy now.”

Harmony would have melted then and there with the look he was giving her, had she not caught sight of something that disturbed her.

Her husband’s dark blonde hair was now neon green.

She bit her lip to keep herself from laughing, but she couldn’t keep the mirth from showing in her eyes.

Brian raised an eyebrow. “Am I that amusing?”

Harmony didn’t trust herself to speak. Jenny must have had another dream to spark her magical abilities, which she took out on the closest thing to her, which happened to be her father. Luckily he hadn’t checked his appearance in a mirror yet, or else she would have had some explaining to do.

She put her hands behind her back and gave Brian her best coy look. “Amusing?” She questioned playfully, while she tugged her wand into the flat of her hand, so the tip rested in the middle of her palm. “Amusing.” He grinned at her, surprised that she was actually responding to his advances for once. She pressed her body full against his, careful to keep her wand hidden. One of his hands found it’s way to her waist, while the other landed a bit…lower. “That depends on what your definition of amusing is, darling,” she purred.

With her free hand she grabbed the back of his neck, pulled his head down, and kissed him.

Hard.

Brian’s hands tightened as he kissed her back, almost making her loose her concentration. Before anything else happened, she raised her wand hand, making sure it (and the wand), rested on the back of his head. Twisting her head slightly, she forced her mind to form the words of the spell. Finite Incantatum, she chanted softly. Finite Incantatum! Finite…Incantatum She was rewarded when a quick flash of warmth flooded past her palm. She opened one eye to make sure Brian’s hair was blonde again and dropped the wand back down her sleeve. Brian’s hands tightened again, shredding the last of Harmony’s tenuous concentration, and she let herself think of nothing except how much she enjoyed his hands and lips.

They continued in that fashion for several more minutes, totally focused on each other. The fry-up on the stove had slipped Harmony’s mind, as had Brian’s customary dose of coffee. Neither did they notice the little redhead girl who had come wandering in a few minutes ago, and was now watching them with wide eyes.

They did, however, eventually have to come up for air. Harmony leaned against Brian’s chest, one arm wrapped around his waist while she gasped for air. That was when she noticed the five-year-old in the doorway. She felt Brian tense against her, and knew he’d noticed it too. While they never tried to hide their affection for each other from their children, they’d never exactly made out in front of them either.

“Good morning, baby,” Brian greeted cautiously.

Jenny looked up at them with wide eyes. “Am I gonna get another little brother?”

Harmony coughed. “What?”

Jenny shrugged. “Danielle says when mommies and daddies get all kissy and stuff they make babies.” She walked over to the kitchen them. “So are you Mom?”

“Am I what?” Harmony questioned, confused.

Jenny rolled her eyes theatrically, disgusted with Harmony’s clueless-ness. “Are you going to have another baby or aren’t you?”

Harmony clutched at Brian’s undershirt, trying to figure out where her daughter had managed to learn that particular theory.

She glanced up at Brian, who was watching her with a grin. She glared back up at him, well aware he wasn’t going to answer that question; he had started hinting around about another baby a few months ago, and Harmony still hadn’t decided about her own feelings on the matter. Just you wait, she promised that smug little smirk. I’ll fix you.

Clearing her throat, she shook her head. “Not right now, Jenny.”

The little girl scowled ferociously.

“Maybe soon though,” Brian amended, tossing Harmony another triumphant little smirk.

Harmony glared at him.

Jenny looked at her mother, her green eyes serious. “I want another brother.” And with that statement she strode over to the table, pulling herself into the nearest chair. “What’s for breakfast?”

Brian’s chest shook as he held back his laughter, but when he saw the fire in his wife’s eyes, he wisely decided to make his escape. “I’m gonna go get Troy.” Harmony continued to stare at him, until his back disappeared from sight.

“Momma?” Jenny questioned.

“What is it baby?” Harmony gathered her long hair up and twisted it into a crude bun, holding it in place with her wand.

“Is breakfast supposed to be smoking like that?”

Harmony whirled toward the stove, where she saw that smoke was rising up from her fry-up in a steady stream while it scorched in the pan. She slammed her foot into the cold tiles and rushed over to it. She’d forgotten about breakfast entirely. This morning was just full of surprises. “Bloody hell!”

“Momma?”

Harmony glanced over at her daughter sitting in the chair, watching her with a confused gaze. “Don’t ever repeat that, Jenny.”

“OK, Momma.”

Harmony grabbed a spatula and tried to stir the fry-up, but it was too late. Breakfast was ruined, and it was too late to make another. She turned the burner off with a quick flick and turned around to look at her daughter. “How about McDonald’s?”

Jenny cheered.

“Go and get dressed,” Harmony urged.

As she followed her daughter back up the stairs, she met her husband coming out of Troy’s room, carrying the still half-asleep little boy in his arms. “Good morning, handsome,” she greeted when Troy reached out for her.

She took him from her husband and settled him on her hip, planting a kiss in the middle of the dark curls.

Brian grinned at her as he disappeared into their bedroom. “Hey, Harmony?”

“Yes dear?”

He gave her another one of his looks. “Shall we continue our little discussion later?”

Harmony would have replied rather naughtily, had there not been a two-year-old within hearing range. So she settled for glaring at him, and he grinned jauntily at her as he disappeared into their bedroom, the door snapping shut behind him.

Harmony rolled her eyes and looked down at the toddler in her arms. “Troy, your Daddy can be such a prat.”

The little boy grinned toothily at her, and she found herself smiling back. She never could hold onto her anger with her children near. She was so hopeless. “Come on,” she sighed, “let’s get you dressed.”

Shifting him to her other hip, she turned back to his room, wondering what other catastrophes she would have to face before the day was over.