#life's a witch

[fantasywriter19]

Memorable Mother's Day

@hp-12monthsofmagic

Another submission for the "Life's a Witch" theme of the month. When I found out Mother's Day in the UK is in March, this scene wouldn't leave me alone. <3

03/13/1988 7:33 AM Boulder, Colorado, USA

Orele could swear she had never been so tired.

Her alarm had already gone off on its stand across the room but, since she woke up to find herself alone in bed, she wordlessly snapped her fingers to turn it off.

It was only a Sunday, but she had generally prided herself on being up before the two other occupants of the house. It was both a duty and curse… that she just didn’t have the energy for at that moment.

Her own mother used to always say what a blessing it was to raise her and her brother. However, Mrs. Olivia Ollivander never had a daughter spawned from a feared Dark wizard.

From the moment she could talk, Melody had been brilliant — her mental capacity a good ten paces ahead of other children her age.

Orele had originally assumed this would work in her favor, that Melody would be — for lack of a better word — more civilized than her biological father ever could have been.

How wrong she was.

It began with kindergarten, being called to the teacher’s classroom because Melody would openly state how other students had a lack of intelligence for not being able to solve their classwork as well as she could.

Orele first attributed it to the fact that five year olds were generally blunt with honesty, where they didn’t yet understand how the truth hurts sometimes, and that it could even be the case for a prodigy such as herself. So she had a small discussion with her about keeping her opinions to herself, and thought that would be the end of it.

Only it wasn’t. Melody continued, getting worse with every following week that she just couldn’t bear holding in her judgments. Orele had been called up to the elementary school at least fifty times more than her own parents had been called to Hogwarts. And that said a lot because it only happened twice.

For her current school year in second grade, Orele had been called in much less — for which she was beyond grateful — but it didn’t make the visits any less taxing. She still had to walk in every week or every other week, and deal with the messes her daughter created with just words. Words.

Even worse was trying to keep it all from her Muggle husband, who she was sure would question where ‘their daughter’ got such an extreme superiority complex.

Of course, she also wasn’t entirely sure he’d overthink it anyway. Considering the only qualities Melody took from Orele were her silvery gray eyes and fair skin… and her straight brown hair could really be attributed to either one of them despite Orele’s being curly. Other than those, her physical features shared no similarities. Her nose was too small and her chin was too short.

The differences were so noticeable — at least to her — that she felt she would have at least attempted to question it if she were in Jim’s shoes. But she wasn’t. He never said anything, and she didn’t have the affinity for Legilimency to figure it out.

Not that she was complaining about his obliviousness, however. Everything was hard, but that side of him definitely made it all simpler than it could have been. Only problem was that all of it sometimes made her wish she hadn’t decided to handle it all alone.

Oh, Tom… she pined thoughtfully, draping her arm over her eyes… if only things could have been different.

The sound of the door creaking open did nothing to make her get out of her slump, but the aroma of bacon, eggs and coffee did.

She sat up quickly, dropping her arm to her side only to be astounded by the sight of Melody walking in, dwarfed by the size of the platter in her arms. Jim followed directly behind her, bent over at the ready in case she was ever on the verge of dropping everything.

“Morning, Love,” he said affectionately.

“What’s all this?” she asked, staring open-mouthed between the two of them. It wasn’t often she could be surprised, and this occasion took the cake.

Jim helped Melody lift the tray onto the bed, holding onto it while she jumped up and finished the job of setting it over Orele’s lap. Orele eyed the look of concentration on her little girl’s face as she did so, mentally comparing it to Tom’s — though, admittedly, it didn’t count for much considering how mangled his appearance had become by the time she met him — Melody definitely had his face, and yet…. Orele had never seen that expression on either one of them before.

With the tray before her, she saw the amount of effort they had put into it. On the plate were two lopsided sunny-side up eggs, a small sausage patty for the nose and strips of bacon set up to look like a curved smile. In a small mug with red heart designs was a cup of coffee which — now that it was directly in front of her — had a hint of vanilla added to its scent.

Orele didn’t even realize her mouth was open, but she swiftly shut it to glance expectantly at the two of them. Her question still remained unanswered.

“Go on, Sweetheart,” Jim nudged Melody reassuringly. “Tell her your idea.”

“Idea?” Orele repeated with wide eyes.

With a shrug, Melody’s eyes were trained on the tray between them as she explained, “I’ve — uhm — been seeing you look so exhausted lately, so I did some research.”

A small smile escaped Orele at Melody’s admittance that she felt the need to look up a way to help her feel better. With the unexpected care that she’d put into planning for this morning, getting up earlier than she ever cared to, Orele’s morning was brightening up already.

“And… according to some studies, exhaustion can be cured with appreciation… so I asked dad for help.”

Jim nodded vigorously beside the bed, his grin showing just how much pride he took in Melody’s need for his assistance.

“As for the right timing, I also found out today is Mother’s Day in the UK. I figure it’s better to celebrate now — besides, May is my month.”

Orele laughed, thankful for the little joke so the burning sensation at the corners of her eyes could go away.

Spurred on by her laugh, Melody smiled and looked up at her. “So happy mother’s day.”

Reaching forward, Orele latched onto her hand, mouthing the words “thank you” when her voice failed her.

Jim sat down at the edge of the bed, “What’s the other thing we talked about, Sweetheart?”

“Oh, right,” Melody shook her head jarringly. “I’m suppose to say how much we lo —”

“— Uh uh,” Jim interrupted, “that’s not what we discussed. It’s only supposed to come from you — not ‘we.’”

“But —!”

“No. I can say it just fine on my own. This is your gift coming from you. Do it for your beautiful mother.” Jim smiled apologetically at Orele, giving a small wink. “You’d swear we have a teenager instead of a seven year old.”

Melody rolled her eyes, “Come on, I’m only two months away from turning eight. I think we’re past calling me seven.”

“Noted,” he replied humorously. “Now, no more stalling. It’s time to top your gift off with a sweet cherry.”

While Melody pouted over her failed attempt at changing the subject, Orele looked on at their gentle bickering with awe. Jim spent much of his time working, even on the weekends, so his alone time with Melody was sparse if ever. And yet, he’d managed to bond with her outside of Orele’s direct involvement or knowledge… and didn’t seem to have come across the same issues her school did.

Matters of love and relationships continued to amaze her. And she knew she was going to be shocked even further if he managed to get Melody to say three magical words to her.

“Okay, okay,” the young girl sighed, turning back to Orele with cheeks tinted pink. Rolling her lips, she opted to crawl around the tray and wrap her arms around Orele’s stomach. Burying her face in her chest, her words muffled out, “I… love you. Thank you for being here for me.”

The tears Orele thought she successfully blocked were freely escaping as she hugged Melody tightly, managing through her shock to reply, “I love you, too.”

Words couldn’t express how it all made her feel. The progress she feared she hadn’t been making just made a turn for the better. It was a good sign that all her hard efforts hadn’t been for nothing. That she could show — even just a smidge — how important love is to a child’s development — especially one who is the product of a product of a love potion.

Melody pulled back, her eyebrows furrowed in deep confusion. “Why are you crying? Is something wrong?”

“No, no,” Orele shook her head, reaching up to push a stray strand of hair from Melody’s face. “These are happy tears. I just — I don’t deserve you two. This surprise is… much like magic. Real and amazing.”

Melody rolled her eyes, “There’s no such thing as magic, mom, stop being weird.”

Orele held back the need to chuckle. So you think, child… so you think.

Jumping off the bed, Melody began walking to the door. “When you finish breakfast, we can watch whatever movies you want. I’ll go pull out your favorites.”

Smiling thoughtfully at her retreating back, Orele nearly jumped when Jim’s thumbs wiped gently at the tears plastered to her cheeks. “Thank you,” she sniffled.

He shook his head with a kind smile. “With everything you do for us, you’re the only one who needs to be thanked today. I know I’ve been working a lot lately, but I will always take a day off for my two favorite girls when they need me.”

“But you’re the one who managed to get her to say —” her retort died out at the sight of his head continuing to gently shake back and forth.

“Everything was all her idea — including that,” Jim admitted. "All I did was help make breakfast and encourage her to accomplish it, because it’s what you’ve been trying to get her to understand. It’s your hard work, so own it.”  He cupped Orele’s cheeks gently between his hands, “It’s your day now, Love. Enjoy it.”

I will while it lasts, she thought as he leaned forward to brush his lips against hers. Because she knew that even with this progress, it wasn’t yet going to stop Melody from being Melody. Not yet. She would still be outspoken at school, and Orele would still have memories to alter to keep Melody from being expelled or suspended.

And yet, her heart still soared as the day continued and Melody didn’t voice her usual complaints about the romance movies Orele loved. It was all a confirmation that she was absolutely doing the right thing for her daughter. And that was all the news she needed to know that everything would work as she needed it to when the time came.

[animal-s0ul]

[aesethewitch]

When I was a kid, we moved into a house that had a huge lilac tree out front. It was mostly rotten, and it needed to be taken down before it fell. It took a while, but eventually, it was gone.

Mostly. A couple years later, little lilac babies popped out of the ground in its place. My mom was determined to get rid of them, because she'd planted a beautiful flower garden there, and the lilac trees would overshadow and kill the whole garden. I insisted on saving at least a few saplings. She said fine, but I had to dig them out and put them in pots myself.

So, I did. I spent days digging little lilac bushes out of the ground and putting them into pots. Some couldn't be saved, but some could. When all was said and done, I had five brand-new lilac saplings. Seven or eight years old, and it was my absolute pride and joy.

Three died due to sun scorching, severe drought that no amount of watering could save, and perhaps just being moved from their place in the ground. But two survived, and I was awfully proud of them! I'd go out and talk to them every single day. I watered them by hand and made sure they were fertilized properly. I learned all about their favored environments, and I was determined to make sure they lived.

One of my mom's friends saw what I was doing with the lilacs. She asked if she could have one to put in her backyard, and I agreed on the condition that she take very, very good care of it.

It's now fucking enormous. I'm talking ten feet tall and bursting with beautiful purple flowers every spring. My mom still gets updates each year as they start to bloom, which she forwards to me. And all I can think is, "That's my friend! Thriving some twenty years on, there it is."

The other tree nearly died, too. It lived in a pot for far, far too long. I wanted to plant it somewhere in my parents' yard, but my mom was reluctant. Eventually, we agreed to put it in the far back garden. It grew okay for many years, despite the shade, but in all these years, it's never bloomed.

Last year, the massive tree casting massive shadows over the lilac and the garden cracked in half and fell. It tumbled into the garden, crushing part of the nearby shed and destroying a few plants beneath it.

It missed my lilac by inches.

The clean-up is long done. The rest of the tree has been cut down, and my lilac has full sunlight for the first time in fifteen years. It won't bloom this year, I know. But it's got new shoots up. It's taller than ever. I spent half an hour a few weeks ago praising it for surviving all this time, dreaming about its future and telling it how I believe it'll become the tall beauty it's always been meant to be.

I think next year, I'll see flowers.

[thatsbelievable]

[thehobbitchronicles]

books made of magic, fairytales, poems and love

[morning-star222]

[wackarat]

Tf2 X Monty python guys. We see the vision

[khajiithaswitchywares]

Go hiking. Fake your death. Become one with the forest. Elevate to forest god. The simple things.

[massive-isopod]

I'd noticed these spaces melt into each other recently and had my friend @seshrat help cook this up :)

Edit i: don't repost my stuff please. Edit ii: I tried to write an image description, if it's no good let me know!

[daisylambs]

[cozy-brew]

so peaceful :)

Source: @arinniedalison

[bebs-art-gallery]

Art by Laura Benson

[guardcanine]

[dykespirk]

10/10 funniest Spock moment is when he accidentally tells everyone he went blind bc he forgot he has an extra set of eyelids.

he ACTUALLY thought that HE, himself, was permanently blinded before going, 20 minutes later, “OH FUCK! I can see again”

normally that’s something Spock would do just to fuck with everyone but this time he also had his ass handed to him because he couldn’t remember HIS OWN NUMBER OF EYELIDS

best Vulcan ever. I know Starfleet is still telling stories about him to this day

[bbgirl-aesthetic20]

[thehobbitchronicles]

Hello May,

please be good to us and full of better days, laughter, happiness and amazing things 🌿🪻🌸