Imaginary -- Summer 2008

I decided to take my daughter out to the park and to get ice cream.  I could not help but be reminded of my own parents as I looked down at Lyla eating her strawberry mint ice cream cone -- her favorite.  They had been about my age compared to us kids... the only difference was that they had me and adopted Ember.  They had not wanted me to be a lonely child, though they need not have worried about that.  I smiled at my daughter who looked so much like her mother except for her smile -- that was all mine.  "How's that ice cream, sweetie?" I asked her as I ate my caramel vanialla ice cream cone.

I looked up at my dad and grinned at him.  "It's very yummy!" I told him.  We sat down on a bench to finish our cones.  I looked over at him and saw a scar on his wrist.  "Daddy, what's that?" I pointed at it when I asked him.  I hoped that it was a scar of one of his battles saving Mummy.  I bet it was.  It had to be.  I grinned at him waiting to hear the fantastic, wondrous tale... then I noticed a quite similar mark to the one on his other wrist.  Now I was really interested.  "Did they tie you up and you struggled to get free to save Mum?" I was on the edge of the seat.  I wanted to hear all about this tale.

I looked down at the scars where I had been at my lowest point of my life and my little girl thought that they were marks from some sort of heroic act.  I finished hte last morsel of my cone and ran a hand through my hair.  I obviously could not tell her what really happened... at lesat not right now.  Perhaps one day, but not today.  I would tell her a trhilling tale.  "Well, it was indeed something splendidly heroic," I agreed, smiling as I thought of a story on the sot.  "It was a wet autumn day.  The wind was blowing... the skies were gray.  It was quite an ominous night.  I knew something was wrong -- I could feel it," I told my daughter.  I was motioning with my hands to make it as dramatic as possible.

I grinned and was nearly bouncing with excitement.  I loved Dad telling stories.  He was so descriptive.  "Like... in your heart you knew Mum was in trouble?" I asked.  I wanted to find someone just like Daddy to love me when I grew older... someone who would just know when I needed him.

I looked at Lyla.  "Oh yes... I knew something was wrong.  My heart told me so indeed, Ly," I agreed.  "I had to find her.  I pulled out my trusty wand and summoned my fellow Marauders."  What story would be complete without them?

"Of course!  I knew they had to be there with you!" I said, laughing.  Dad took hold o fmy hand and we started to walk around th epark on the path that surrounded hte green grass.  "How did Uncle sirius and Uncle Remus help?" I asked.

I smiled at her, thinking that my daughter was being so adorable.  I was her hero... and how could I ever live up to that with what I did at the lowest point in my life.  "Well, Uncle Remus guided me to think before just running out without a plan.  You see, it ended up being a trap," I said, shaking my head.  "Uncle Sirius helped the most in the escape plan."  I was not entirely sure why I changed hte way the story was going, but it seemed to make Lyla all the more intrigued.

I gasped and looked at my dad, stopping entirely.  "Oh no!  Daddy, how'd you figure out that it was a tra?  Was it the Slytherins?" I asked him.  I could only imagine the awful things they had in store fo rmy dad and his friends.

I got Lyla to start walking again.  "It was the Slytherins... they hated us with a passion.  Even moreso than just a school rivalry," I replied, nodding at Lyla.  "We still thought it was your mum in trouble.  They used Polyjuice potion... so it even looked like your mum.  We had such a heroic plan in action... they had her in the Forbidden Forest."  I wanted to fill Lyla's mind with imagery now so it would feel like she was there.  I had already told her it was a wet, gray, breezy, and that it was autumn.  I remembered back tow atht he forest looked like when it was stormy out.  "We had to use my invisibility cloak to cross the wet grounds, holding the cloak tightly because the breeze had strenghtened, threatening to reveal us; there was a storm brewing."

"In more ways than one," I interrupted, grinning.  Though I hated hearing how it ended up being a trap.  But obviously they made it out.  It still did not change the fact tat it was a dangerous trap they were walking into, though.

I nodded at her, proud she caught onto that.  She was definitely a bright little girl.  "Once in the shadows of trees, we hid my cloak in the little nook we always hid it in.  We lit our wands and in the glow of hte light, we all nodded at each other, proceeding into the darkness.  The trees blocked the wind and rain that had started to fall... so it was quiet -- too quiet."  We stopped and sat on a bench to watch the old couple across the way feeding the ducks.

I gazed at the lovely old couple who were gray and wrinkly.  They were so cute.  I looked at Dad, still listening to the epic tale of how he got his scars.  I just loved how Dad enjoyed telling me all of his stories.  "So it was bad... really bad, wasn't it?" I asked, biting my lip slightly in anticipation.

"yes it was," I agreed.  I ran a hand through my hair as if reliving the horrendous trap.  I definitely loved theatrics.  "We should have turned back when we found your mum so easily.  But I saw her beautiful face and I rushed to her... and that was when the Slytherins attacked.  They got us tied up by our wrists.  I'll spare you gory details, but me and the guys ended up bloody and bruised."  No need to scare her or anything.  Besides, I really did not want to make any of that up.

My eyes were wide as I stared at my dad.  "How'd you escape?  What did Uncle Sirius do to help with the escape plan?" I questioned curiously.  If they were tied up, I could only imagine.  He was always so full of ideas, my uncle was.

Crap.  I nearly forgot that part.  I was so happy I had years of thinking on my toes under my belt.  "He changed into his animagus form... his paws were able to fit through the ties," I explained thinking that it was a pretty good explanation.  "He got us our wands back so we could help him with the escape."