Mozart and Memories (Aurelia/Kieran)

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia shook her head. "It wasn't like that when I was at school. I may not have had a lot of friends, but I barely spoke French when I started... and I was shy... not so outgoing, like Dani. I just can't understand how come she doesn't have many friends... Instead the girls are mean. I try so hard to help her, but she doesn't want to listen. She just... she fights back. And I don't know where the line is.... I don't want her to just let people hurt her... like Pavel hurt me. But I don't want her to think that she can solve things by fighting, either. Where is the middle ground?"

[Henri Gillet]

"People try to seek out those that are different," he said. "Dani is very confident and she is a sweetheart. Maybe that is what some girls don't like. It's not Dani's fault." Henri wasn't exactly sure what to tell Aurelia. "I don't know where the middle ground is. Maybe I could talk to her about it sometime? I don't know what else to do. Maybe Dani will change gradually and see that fighting is not the way to solve things." He did know, however, that sometimes people's actions reflected the way they grew up. In Dani's case, it was fighting.

[Aurelia Krizova]

"It might help if you talked to her," she said. "I've tried, but she won't listen to me anymore. She just gets upset whenever I bring it up."

Aurelia sighed softly. Dani was so stubborn and strong willed, and she could imagine that if she ran against a girl who was equally stubborn and strong willed, they would clash. But like it or not, as long as both girls were attending Hogwarts, they would be roommates. They would have to find some way to co-exist. Even if they weren't destined to be best friends, at least the fighting would have to stop.

"Maybe there's a reason why this girl acts this way. I don't know... I doubt Dani is going to be willing to talk it over with the girl..."

[Henri Gillet]

"I'll see if I can talk to her about it by bringing it up casually in a conversation sometime soon."

There was going to have to be some kind of way that the two girls could live together with some kind of agreement. They were actually going to have to because they were going to be stuck living together for the next seven years.

"I doubt she will either, but maybe some how we could convince her she should?" The word 'we' just rolled off his tongue easily and he didn't even have a second thought about it. Henri took another bite out of his sandwich.

[Aurelia Krizova]

But Aurelia noticed it, and it gave her a such a rush of happiness that she almost couldn't contain it. This was how it could have been. How it should have been. Someone--probably Pavel and his father--had sent Henri away from her and forced her to marry Pavel instead. But this was the life they could have had. She could picture it, the two of them here, enjoying a romantic lunch together while they discussed how best to help their daughter with her problems.

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe we could take Dani on an outing and invite this girl along. Maybe she acts the way she does because she wants attention."

[Henri Gillet]

Taking the two girls on an outing sounded like something that could possibly work. Henri wasn't exactly sure if going on an outing would actually help solve the issue at hand, but it could be a start.

"Maybe we could. If the other petite fille wants attention, maybe it would help. Then, hopefully it would help them both, even in just a small way." Henri would be willing to take the task if it would help provide some kind of common ground.

[Aurelia Krizova]

"I was going to try to talk to Dani's head of house or to the headmaster to explain the situation, and see if maybe they could sit both girls down and have a... a mediation session... But Dani asked me not to talk to anyone about it. I just... I feel like she'd rather fight than try to find a solution. And it's not healthy, you know? I wish I could just take her problems away..."

It was frustrating, but she really liked that she had a chance to talk about this with him. She often got parenting advice from Rita, but talking about it with Henri... it made her feel like they were a real family.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to dump all of this on you..."

[Henri Gillet]

"I can see why she wouldn't want you to really talk to anyone else about it." Henri did know that sometimes if someone said anything to a more authoritive person then sometimes things could get worse just for spite. "And, they are young right now, but maybe as they get older, things will get better."

He knew that an issue like that could be frustrating, and Henri was determined to find a way to help. It was just something he wanted to do. "Don't apologize," he said with a smile. "It's perfectly fine. I don't mind."

[Aurelia Krizova]

"It's just... before she started school, Dani was pretty isolated. She had to be... I never knew if Pavel was going to come looking for us, and I needed to make sure she was safe. I couldn't let her go to a muggle school or anything like that. So she only saw the kids I taught piano to... and then there was Chelsea, Kieran's younger sister. She was 16 when she was killed in the Hogsmeade attack, and Dani... didn't take the news very well. She was almost like an older sister to Dani."

Aurelia took a few more bites of her sandwich, and her expression was suddenly sad. "Sometimes I wonder if I did her more harm than good, keeping her isolated as she was. Would she get along better with the girls at school if she had gone to school before? Or would it have been more of the same? It's hard to know how things could have been different."

[Henri Gillet]

"Maybe it would have been a little different if Dani had gone to muggle school when she was younger, however you might not have had the extreme closeness you have now. Sure, you might have been still really close, but it might have been just a little different." Henri knew that the smallest things could change everything.

"And she might get along better with girls if she had gone to school, but then again maybe not. Granted if she would have started school after you arrived here, there might have been a few more things going on. Personally, I think you did the right thing. You were protecting her and I think that was best."

[Aurelia Krizova]

"I hope so," Aurelia said. "I just worry about her so much. She's the most important thing I've ever done with my life. My parents..."

She stopped and sighed, thinking about her parents. She hadn't seen them since before she and Dani had run away. Unlike the relationship between Dani and herself, Aurelia's relationship with her parents had never been a strong one. Her mother was cold and distant, and her father never paid much attention to her except to insist that she marry Pavel. Other than that, he never seemed to have much interest in her. Neither of them had. When Danica was born, Aurelia had resolved not to let the same thing happen between her and her daughter.

"My parents never had much use for me. And it hurt... but it made me more determined to always be there for Dani, no matter what. I would move earth and heaven for her."

[Henri Gillet]

"And that makes you a terrific mother, no matter what happens," said Henri. He believed that any mother that was willing to risk their life for their child was the best mother. "You wanting Dani to have a different childhood than you did, that is what also makes you a terrific mother."

Henri looked at Aurelia seriously. "I bet that Dani is completely grateful to have a mother like you."

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia smiled. "It's easy to love her," she replied. "She's so bright and enthusiastic and sweet... How could I not want to do anything I can for her? She's my angel."

There was something heroic about being a truly good mother, but Aurelia didn't see it that way. She loved her daughter unconditionally, whether her father was Pavel or Henri.

"I do my best to raise her, but it isn't easy doing it alone. I've never been very good at asking for help... but it's nice having you here. Maybe things will start to be different now."

[Henri Gillet]

Henri felt his cheeks warm a little. He would help Aurelia with Dani. It wasn't the fact that he was going to have to be around Dani anyway because he was working at her school, and because he was seeing her mother. He liked being around Dani. She really was something else.

A smile spread across his face. "Maybe so. I have a feeling that things will start to be a little different."

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia was smiling, too. "I hope so," she said. "I think you're right."

It would be an adjustment for Dani to have a man in her life. Aurelia had never really dated as Dani was growing up. In addition to the fact that her heart still belonged to Henri, there was also Dani to consider. If she had dated someone and he got close to Dani, then things didn't work out, Dani would be heartbroken. Besides, Pavel had been the closest thing Dani had known to a father, and Aurelia suspected that there was a small amount of distrust in Dani's mind when it came to men who paid attention to Aurelia. She only hoped that she would see Henri as being different from Pavel.

"Well, really, enough about me," she said. "How is your family? I know you don't remember, but I met your mother once, and you talked about her and your sister all the time."

[Henri Gillet]

He was going to treat Dani well. After the first meeting, he immediately liked her. They got along really well and he liked being around her. He hoped that Dani approved of him because Henri knew that he was falling for Aurelia again. Henri wanted Dani's approval before he really acted on his feelings as they became deeper. However, he wasn't going to force her to like him.

"They're good. Ma mere is selling a few of her pasteries. Ma soeur is in America with her husband. She's supposed to be expecting soon. Ma mere is pretty excited about it. I'm sure that ma mere would like to see you sometime." Henri didn't think that his mother remembered Aurelia because she never said anything about her, but he had a feeling that she would love Aurelia even if she didn't remember her.

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia had only met the woman once while she and Henri were together, but she remembered her very well. Instead of the sophisticated type she had expected of a French woman, Henri’s mother was a pleasant, charming woman who was always smiling and baking. She was very… motherly, and Aurelia had wished her own mother had been a bit more like her.

“I’d love to see your mother again,” she answered with a smile. I’m glad to hear she is doing well.”

[Henri Gillet]

He remembered receiving packages from his mother during school that held plenty of pasteries that would last him for awhile. She was always doting and wanted to know everything.

"I have a feeling you'll meet her again soon. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you." Henri's brows furrowed at a moment's thought. "Although, I don't think she remembers you either." A frown appeared on his face. "She never mentioned you or anything like that. I'm sure she would have said something to me when we left if she did remember you." That thought bothered Henri a little more than him finding out that he had lost his memory of Aurelia. Whoever it was that did erase part of his memory, or tried to, wanted to make sure that there was no trace of remembering Aurelia. Not even his sister ever mentioned her.

"But, I'm sure that she'll be happy to meet you again. She's always willing to meet new people and sometimes she'll tease me about bringing someone to meet her." Henri started to smile again.

[Aurelia Krizova]

It very disturbing to think that someone had gone to so much trouble to keep her and Henri apart. Not only had Henri's memory been erased, but so had his mother's, and possibly his sister's as well. Who would do such a thing, and why? Why was it so important that she marry Pavel? And if he wanted her so badly, why had he stopped looking for her?

"That would be nice," Aurelia said, trying to shut out these worrisome thoughts. "Maybe Dani could meet her, too. I bet she would adore her. Dani is always fascinated when I bake. I've taught her how to make a few things, in fact.... I think her cookies are better than mine."

[Henri Gillet]

"I know ma mere would love Dani especially with her curiousity," he said with a laugh. "And I think that they would do good in the kitchen together. Mere likes to have someone bake avec her, de temps en temps." Henri could see his mother loving the idea of having someone interested in baking around. She loved to show people how to do things and help them.

"Maybe we should bring the possiblity up to Dani sometime to see what she thinks about it." Henri was sure that his mother would love the idea of him bringing people home with him, especially someone that meant something to him. That brought up the thought of how he was going to explain to his mother what had happened. Maybe he wouldn't have to tell her until later on or maybe he would have to say anything until she asked, that was even if she asked at all.