De Die In Diem: From Day To Day

The Mistake

Adriana had decided that the time had come for Lucius to learn more about Muggles and their rich heritage. She hoped it would teach him to respect them more. Lucius seemed to respond pretty well when they watched movies with war scenes in them. And he liked to discuss wars with her whenever he could. It seemed to be the only Muggle subject he enjoyed, so she wanted to use that. She thought she'd let him learn more by taking him to a museum, so he could see what they had talked about. And that is why Lucius and Adriana came to be standing in the middle of a crowded museum on the 6th of June.

They had apparated to an alley in London and walked to the war museum early in the morning, because Adriana knew it would be busy this day. As they crossed the street, Adriana told him the significance of the date. "6 June, 1944, was the beginning of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, during World War II. It was basically the beginning of the end of the war in Europe."

Lucius was really interested, and asked if she knew a lot about the war. "Yes, I've always had an interest in it. It's always seemed like such a defining moment for Muggles. For those who lived through it, it has remained a part of who they are," Adriana explained.

The museum was large and had exhibits with artifacts from many different wars, but their focus this day was on the Second World War. Pictures, drawings, and items in cases showed various parts of the war to the viewers. Lucius didn't know what anything was, so Adriana had to explain everything to him.

"So, how did this war start?" Lucius asked curiously as he looked at a case filled with bullets and shell fragments.

"Well, it was really complicated. Things happened inside of Germany years before it ever broke out beyond the borders. It's too hard to explain in just a few sentences. There've been hundreds of books written about the start of the war," Adriana wished she was better at explaining things. But sometimes it's too difficult to explain things thoroughly when one knows a subject too well.

Lucius moved to a photograph of a very thin man in a striped prison outfit. The man had no hair and stood behind a fence with barbed wire at the top. His overlarge eyes haunted whoever looked at them. The photographer had been close enough to capture the numbered tattoo on the man's arm. Lucius grabbed his right arm and rubbed it gently while gazing at the picture. Adriana saw this and felt warmth spread throughout her as she saw Lucius was feeling empathetic towards this man.

"What's this guy's story?" he asked, pointing at the photograph.

"He's a prisoner in a concentration camp. The tattoos on their arms were a serial number to keep track of them. The Holocaust, that's a whole separate and interconnected subject in and of itself, and a depressing one at that," Adriana said, grabbing his hand, and looking at the floor sadly.

They drifted into the next room after a few minutes. The room was made up to look like the houses during the war. The windows were covered with heavy black drapes, to keep the light from seeping out. The wireless was turned on, and reporting what was going on at the Front. After a few minutes, the voice of Winston Churchill filled the room. There were mannequins dressed with clothing from the war, and every one of them had a gas mask strapped to its side.

Lucius took all of this in with fascination, while Adriana looked on with a sense of sadness. "What a fascinating time it must have been," Lucius said in an awed whisper.

Adriana continued to look around, refusing to look at Lucius. "I don't know that I would have called it fascinating. Terrifying was more like it. Although, I think the Great War was much more devastating. Muggles had thought they had come so far. Evolved beyond the need for war, and all of a sudden, they found themselves in the biggest war the world had ever seen. It came as a shock, people were unprepared. Everything had to be conserved. People didn't have new clothes for five years. They were hungry, all the men were gone. The women took over their jobs in the factories and ran the cities in their absence.

"By the Second War, things were more prepared. Ration tickets were given out so there wouldn't be as much hunger, though food was still scarce for the most part. The government took over the control of many things so that they could still be run properly. The air raid sirens, and the bombings, sleeping in underground shelters, it was horrible. All of the children were shipped out of the major cities to protect them from the bombings. They were terrified to be away from their parents, scared that they might never see them again.

"And that's just for those who were left behind on the Home Front. The Front lines were a whole different experience altogether. The battles were terrible. When the war finally ended and the men who were left came home, none of them were what they were before they went. Even the ones who hadn't been injured were changed. It wasn't a time where people talked about their feelings, like now, they just kept them bottled up and tried to move on the best they could. It wasn't fascinating at all. It was a terrifying time to be alive." Adriana was staring intently at the mannequin of a woman holding a baby. She stood still, with her arms held tightly against her body, chewing her lip.

Lucius looked at her curiously. For somebody who hadn't lived through the war, she seemed to know a lot about it. He took her hand and led her into the next room. There were more photographs in cases and on the walls that they looked at.

Lucius stood in front of a picture of a Muggle who had a small moustache and hate-filled eyes. He wore a military uniform and held his right hand outstretched in some sort of salute. He stood on a stage above countless other devoted Muggles who returned the salute to him. "Who was he?" Lucius asked, mesmerized with the picture.

Adriana sighed as she looked at the picture. "Adolph Hitler, the man who brought us the war." A look of anger passed over her face as she continued, "He terrified millions and killed just as many. And after he'd found out he was going to lose the war, the bastard killed himself rather than surrendering."

"What a coward. But I just don't see why Muggles were so afraid of this Hitler guy," Lucius said, crossing his arms while looking at the photograph of Hitler.

Adriana looked at him, putting her hands of her hips. "And why shouldn't they have been scared of him? He was a monster!"

"Because he failed," Lucius replied simply, unfolding his arms, sniffing disapprovingly. "Such a man is not worthy of so much attention in the eyes of history."

Adriana's jaw dropped open. Sometimes she wondered what was going on in that head of his. She hoped it hadn't been a mistake to have brought him to the museum that day.

Lucius walked over to a glass display case filled with old, yellowing, and faded photographs on display. Looking carefully at them, he called Adriana over to him. Pointing to one, he smiled excitedly and said, "Look, the girl in that picture looks exactly like you! Could she be your grandmother?"

Adriana gazed at the picture and froze; her eyes wide, mouth agape. Her breathing became shallow and after a minute, she spoke finally, "I have to get out of here. Now." With that she turned around and walked quickly out of the room.

Lucius followed Adriana as she walked out of the museum. "Hey, there's still so much to see here!" he shouted after her.

Adriana turned around and said, "I just remembered I have to do something. We need to go back to the farm."

They walked to the alley and apparated back to Adriana's house. Lucius was still disappointed at having to leave so early in the day. He'd found the museum fascinating. He'd have to go back there sometime, maybe by himself; it seemed to upset Adriana for some reason.

"Well, what is it you forgot to do that was so damned important that we had to leave?" Lucius asked Adriana as they walked through her house.

"I...I forgot to milk the cow," Adriana said, heading for the back door.

"You forgot to milk the cow?" Lucius asked incredulously.

"Yes, and it's very important, she could get sick if I didn't," Adriana explained as they walked to the barn.

"But why did I have to leave? I could have stayed, and you could have come back by yourself," Lucius was angry at having to leave the one Muggle interest he had.

"Well, by all means, go on back by yourself if you want to. Have fun. Bye." With that Adriana walked into the barn, and shut the door in Lucius's face.

Lucius sighed, they hadn't had a good row in a long time, and it seemed to be overdue anyway, why not argue over something really stupid like the cow? He opened the door and walked in after Adriana. "What is wrong with you? I'm not going to have to go buy you more tampons am I?" Lucius knew he'd gone too far as soon as he finished speaking.

Adriana turned on her heel and threw the metal bucket she was carrying, down on the ground with a crash. She strode over to Lucius and stood toe-to-toe with him. Looking up at him and placing her hands on her hips, she screamed, "What, just because I didn't want to stay at that stupid museum, I must be hormonal? Is that it? Honestly, you are such a man!" Lucius looked down at her and began to laugh. "What? What's so funny?" she yelled.

"You are so hot when you scream at me. I just love that!" Lucius grinned seductively at Adriana. He wrapped his arms around her and held onto her tightly in a hug.

"That's not fair, you always do that! It's gotten you out of far too much trou--ble..." Adriana trailed off as Lucius nibbled her ear and her neck, while reaching his hands under her shirt and unhooked her bra. "You suck," she whispered, as a last ditch effort at keeping the fight alive.

"You wish," Lucius whispered back. Adriana laughed, and Lucius joined in. They looked around, and Lucius spoke, "We've already done it in here, where should we do it now?"

Adriana glanced outside the barn door, "How about in that tree?" she asked.

"Sex, in a tree? That's not possible," Lucius replied, looking intimidated.

"Yes it is, it's just a matter of balance, I'll help you," Adriana said, grabbing his hand and dragging him back outside.

"What do you mean? Have you done this before? Who did you have sex in a tree with? Snape?" Lucius scowled as he spat the name out.

Sighing, Adriana looked over her shoulder, "No, not with Snape, why won't you get over him already?"

"Well, who then?"

"I'm not telling."

"Who?"

"No!"

"Who?"

"Oh, fine then, it was Albus, all right?"

Lucius stopped in mid-stride. His jaw dropped open. "You slept with Dumbledore? In a tree? But he's so...old."

"It was a long time ago; he didn't seem that old then." Adriana walked to the base of a large oak tree. "So, you still want to..."

"Um, no! You just told me you slept with Dumbledore, thank you very much for that mental image. This is a lot to take in. I think I need to go, I'll write you a post tomorrow, OK?"

"All right, I can see how it's a little too much for one day. I'll just take a rain check for the tree, I promise, it's a lot of fun!" Adriana replied.

Lucius bent down and kissed Adriana before apparating back home. She chuckled to herself and walked back to the barn to milk the cow that she'd forgotten about again. She knew it was going to be a fun summer holiday.