What Rules? (Aurelia, Open)

[Danica Krizova]

Ambrosia wasn't really a place you went with kids. It was too high class and posh, and anyone there was usually paying a babysitting premium. In fact, Danica had been told on several occasions that she wasn't supposed to go there.

Every other weekend or so, she came home from Hogwarts to visit her mother (nothing exciting every happened on the weekends at school!) and she was too young yet to go on the Hogsmead's trips. And when she did come home, she'd always follow her mother to the cocktail bar. She was usually really good and would stay in the back with the chefs and the waiters, and many of them adored her. She was a cute kid and it was hard not to dote on her, even if she wasn't terribly spoiled.

Tonight, about an hour after Aurelia had left for work, Danica became bored and followed after, watching from the back while Aurelia was playing a beautiful song for the patrons. She couldn't name it, but she knew she'd heard it before. When it ended, her mother stood up, which meant it was time for her break.

Danica bounced on her heels while she waited for her mom to come through the door to the back.

[Aurelia Krizova]

Even playing for the upper crust, Aurelia never felt truly appreciated. For most of them, she was just background noise to their gossip. Of course, some people liked to dance, and she tried to play a good selection of dancing tunes. But all too often, her tip jar was woefully empty.

At last it was her break, and she stood up, flexing her fingers and rubbing the back of her neck. She hoped maybe she could close her eyes for a few minutes, and maybe get a bite to eat.

But as she stepped into the back room, there was Danica, waiting expectantly for her. "Dani!" she gasped. "I thought you were staying in to read tonight? How did you get here?"

[Danica Krizova]

"Mum!" Danica said, excited and full of energy as always as she threw herself at her mother, hugging her. "You look so pretty," she added, fingering the silk dress her mother was wearing. Yes, she'd seen Aurelia before she left for work, but Danica tried as often as possible to compliment the woman.

"I took the Knight Bus to the Leaky Cauldron, and then I Floo-ed. It'd be so much easier if I could just apparate," she said, sighing a little. It wasn't exactly the safest for an eleven year old to do, but she'd snuck out so many times now that it seemed like everyone knew her and kept an eye out for her. The driver of the Knight Bus didn't even make her pay anymore.

"The song was really pretty too," she said. "And look! Brenda made me dinner!" She pointed to a half eaten plate of macaroni, and a guilty looking waitress standing nearby.

[Aurelia Krizova]

Sometimes it seemed as if Danica had no fear. These days it seemed as though it wasn't safe for anyone to go out alone, and yet, Danica had made this whole trip on her own. It amazed and frightened Aurelia sometime, just how fearless her little girl was.

Pulling the girl into a hug, she sighed softly. "You must be careful when you do such things," she said. "Especially after dark. I would go out of my head if something happened to you."

Releasing Danica, she sat down at the table and began to rub her head. "But it is good to see you. I miss you when you're away at school. Come, sit down and tell me how your classes are going."

[Danica Krizova]

"Mum," Danica said, almost rolling her eyes. "I'm careful. I promise."

She hugged her mother back, then squirmed out of her arms and over to the other side of the table where her chair and plate were.

"Brenda, can you make Mom something, too?"

The cocktail waitress laughed and reminded Danica that she was a waitress and macaroni was about all she could make, but she told Aurelia that she would have one of the cooks make her something.

When she was gone, Dani shrugged. "School's all right. It's been really quiet since that Hogsmead attack. They're not letting us have any fun."

[Aurelia Krizova]

"They just want you all to be safe, that's all," Aurelia said. "That's all I want, too. I'm just so glad you were nowhere near Hogsmeade that day."

They had both been lucky. Their apartment in the Black Cat apartments was one of the few that was undamaged, and Aurelia hadn't been home that day, having had an early shift at Ambrosia for their Saturday Champagne Brunch.

Her hair was falling into her face, and Aurelia pulled it up into a messy pony tail and used her wand to secure it. "You are staying out of trouble, aren't you? I don't want another letter from your head of house telling me that you've been misbehaving."

[Danica Krizova]

"I don't misbehave!" Danica protested, frowning suddenly. "I can't help it if they make new rules every day." There was a big difference between misbehaving and what Danica did- at least in her eyes. "I only ignore the stupid rules anyway."

Her pout lasted for only a second before she was eating the rest of her dinner. "What song were you playing? I can't remember the name."

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia smiled affectionately at her daughter. When she talked about rules being stupid, Danica reminded her so much of her father--or rather, the man she hoped was Danica's father. She didn't know if Henri or Pavel was Danica's father, but she had long since convinced herself that it was Henri. There was just no way her beautiful daughter could be the child of her husband. Pavel was--to use one of the British slang words she had learned--a git. But Henri was warm and gentle and playful, with a charming sparkle in his eyes. She swore she could see that same sparkle in Dani's eyes.

"It was Minuet in G," she replied. "I'm glad you liked it. When I go backm do you have any requests? I'll play anything you like."

[Danica Krizova]

Danica lit up when her mother asked if she had any requests. She loved hearing her mom play, and when she played something Danica liked, it was like she was playing just for her. Even if Danica had to hide in the back while she listened.

"Can you play the Mother Goose one? Fairy Garden by.... uhm... I forget. Ravel?" She didn't really know music that well, she just knew it made her mother happy, and that she liked listening to it. Fairy Garden was her favorite piece, and maybe only because of its name. But it was a relaxed, beautiful piece.

Brenda had come back, a plate in her hand. "Compliments of Donny," she told Aurelia. Don was the only American employed by Ambrosia, and worked as one of the cooks.

[Aurelia Krizova]

“Of course I can play it,” Aurelia promised, reaching over to ruffle her daughter’s hair affectionately. Sometimes she looked at that little girl and was almost overcome with love for her. Aurelia had been through a lot, but Danica made it all worthwhile. She was the best thing that had ever happened to her. “You know I reserve it only for you.”

Aurelia gave Brenda a smile. “Tell Donny I said thank you,” she said and started to eat.

After a few bites, Aurelia turned back to Danica, her eyes sparkling. “I am glad you came… it makes my break time so much more pleasant. But you must tell me more about school. How are all your little friends doing? Have you made any new friends?”

[Danica Krizova]

"Ooh! I did. His name is Henri," Danica said, doing her best to imitate the man's accent. What she left out, however, was the fact that Henri was an adult and not one of her classmates. "And he likes macaroni and cheese and he understands about being close to the windows in the Gryffindor tower. I like him. He was teaching me French. Mere means 'mum'."

She continued to eat her macaroni and rubbed her eyes with her free hand. "Do I have to go back on Monday? We could both take a sick day. Is that what they're called?"

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia nearly dropped her fork. A spark of hope rose up in her almost involuntarily. Just the name sent shockwaves right through her. But of course... she was being silly. Surely there were lots of people named Henri, and Danica was obviously talking about a classmate. Anything else would just... well, the chances were astronomical.

Her smile returned, but it was a wistful smile. "I had a friend named Henri once, too," she said. "He was.... he was my best friend."

She could still remember the day she first saw him; she had been 14 at the time. It had felt like he had just walked out of her dreams and into her life. He had been so different from Pavel...

"He taught me French, too. And the way he used to say my name... it sounded like a poem."

She shook her head, dragging her mind away from the memories that always made her ache. "Now, you know I don't like to encourage you to skip school," she said, attempting to sound stern. "But I do have off on Monday. And the daffodils have started blooming in the park... I know how you love to see them every year."

[Danica Krizova]

"So Henri must be a French name," Danica deduced, clueless to her mother's thoughts at the moment. As far as she knew, in her world, no had existed before her father, and that's why they ran away.

"Good!" Danica said, excited. "Then I'll be sick on Monday, and you can owl the school, right? I love the daffodils. Totally worth missing school for."

She was just one of those kids that school wasn't the greatest match for. She was good at the work when she wanted to be. It was just dealing with some of the other kids. They weren't always the nicest.

"How's work tonight?" she asked, glancing back at the door. "It's really quiet out there."

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia smiled and shook her head. Normally she wouldn’t agree to keep Danica out of school, but she did miss her daughter terribly when she was at school. Ever since the day they had run away from Pavel, the two of them were all that each other had. Not only had Aurelia run away from Pavel, but she had run away from her family, her homeland, and everything that she had ever known. It was only her own tenacity that kept them alive during those first few years. That experience had made them closer than most mothers and daughters were; Aurelia thought of Danica almost as her best friend.

“I’ll owl them,” she replied. “But you’re going back to school on Tuesday morning, and that’s final. I’ll walk you there myself.”

Then she glanced at the clock to see how much longer she had on her break. Only ten minutes, she noted. Turning back to Danica, she shrugged. “Work is fine. Except for the drunk man who came up and asked me to play Foxy Lady.” She rolled her eyes. “Not only is that a guitar song, but he seemed to think that he needed to grab me while he was talking…”

[Danica Krizova]

Danica was of an opposite mind. She hated school most of the time and would must rather stay home with Aurelia, and then go play with her friends when she felt like it. She disliked the Gryffindor tower, and many of the classes were losing their appeal to her since she'd been in them all for almost a whole year already.

"Okay. I'll go back on Tuesday. Can we have crepes for dinner on Monday night? They're pancakes with stuff inside. Henri told me about them and you make good pancakes."

She quietted and listened to her mother complain about a costumer, and she always thought that if little girls weren't allowed here, then adults who didn't act nice shouldn't be allowed here either.

"You should have hit him," she advised, mostly serious. "Or given him the angry look. That one works."

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia's eyes grew misty again. "Crepes... I haven't had crepes since... Well, since I was in school. My friend made them for me once... they're pancakes, but they're very thin. They're not the same as the pancakes I make. I don't think I can make them myself, but there might be a place here in London that has them, if you really want to try them."

Aurelia remembered eating crepes with Henri all those years ago. His mother made them, and hers was filled with chocolate and hazelnut spread and topped with ice cream. She had never forgotten it. Aurelia wanted to encourage Danica's new interest in French food and culture, in the hopes that she would prove to be more like Henri, instead of like Pavel.

Which was why Danica's next comment devastated her.

"Dani! You know we don't hit people!" she said immediately. "Hitting never solves anything."

Admittedly, The "angry look" had not worked, and in the end, she had to have Franz, the burly maitre d' step in and restrain the man and later escort him from the premises. But Aurelia would never raise her hand to another person.

"Anyway, Franz took care of it for me."

[Danica Krizova]

Danica frowned, rather under the belief that her mother could do anything and make anything. She didn't say this though, and shrugged. "All right, if we can find a place, I want to try them."

When her mother scolded her, she muttered, "Everyone else does it," but she cut herself off when she looked up, seeing the look on Aurelia's face. Until the day Danica got involved, everything seemed to be solved by hitting. She barely remembered anything from when she was that little, but she remembered her mother crying, and the look on her father's face.

"I didn't mean it," she said instinctively. "Not really."

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia sighed. Pavel had usually said that, too. Those words had been repeated often. He "didn't mean it" when he stole her doll and ripped the head off. He "didn't mean it" when he called her a freak. He "didn't mean it" when he held her head under the water at the swimming pool. And he "didn't mean it" every time he hit her.

Still she reached out and rumpled her daughter's hair. "I know you didn't. Just remember, just because everyone else does something, that doesn't make it right. The real test of a person's strength is their ability to hold true to their own beliefs and not do something just because everyone else is doing it."

She gave her daughter one more stern look, then abruptly changed the subject to a more pleasant one. "You know... actually, I bet Pierre can make crepes. He's the new French chef here... You haven't met him yet, but he usually works the Sunday brunch. Maybe he could make some for us, or show me how to do it. I just remember that they're really thin... remember that time we tried the burritos, how they were wrapped in the thin flour shell? Well, crepes are even thinner than those."

[Danica Krizova]

"Except that we don't use beans, right? Henri said you could put anything in them, even chocolate." Danica was all too happy to change topics. She didn't want to be violent, either, she just didn't want her mother to get hurt. She deserved better.

"I'd like to meet Pierre. I can speak a little French to him, even." Granted, she just knew a handful of words, thanks to Henri. If she knew, if she had any idea that she was befriending the man her mother was searching for, she would have dragged Aurelia to the school with her that very instant. But she didn't, so the important things, like the fact that he was an adult, an auror... she never said any of it.

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia smiled. "No, I don't think we'd use beans. But just about anything can go in a crepe. They can be sweet or savory. I've only ever had them as dessert... and yes, I've had them with chocolate. They're very good. But I understand they can also be filled with meat and sauce or cheese. But we'll see if we can try the sweet kind."

She wasn't entirely sure if Pierre was incredibly fond of children; she had heard that the new French chef had a temper. But the one time she had met him, he had been nice to her and had even flirted with her. She had turned him down politely, but she was pretty sure they were on friendly terms. And Danica was hard to resist.

"I'll need to stop by on Sunday anyway, to see about my schedule. We can sneak in before the brunch rush starts and see if Pierre can make us some."