Say Something {Dottie}

So far Addie had loved every minute of her time at Ilvermorny. She supposed it was hard not to, considering that she’d been reunited with Selena, and had added Ryleigh’s friendship to that to boot, along with getting to know other first years and a few older Wampuses. Being that she liked meeting new people and learning new things, so far Ilvermorny was the coolest school she could think of attending. It was hard though, following the rules sometimes, but she was trying.

Realistically, she’d been busy enough with her classes (homework sucked, ew,) making new friends, and trying out new clubs or skateboarding with Ry that she hadn’t seen her mother outside of classes too much. So when she’d gotten a letter from Dottie inviting her to her quarters that weekend, Addie had enthusiastically agreed. She missed her mom even in all the excitement and was anxious to tell her about what she, Selena, and Ryleigh had gotten up to, and wanted to whine about homework a little.

It didn’t dawn on the young girl how long it had been since they’d had a proper chat until she was letting herself into Dottie’s quarters and bellowing in Quebecois “Mom! I’m here” as was custom. She kicked off her shoes and slid on the hardwood floor in her socks towards the kitchen, using her momentum to fling herself at her mother’s waist, wrapping her in a hug. Green eyes darted upward as she beamed at her mother and giggled softly “Missed you” she told the witch easily as she released her legs and began eyeing the countertops for a snack.

It wasn’t long before she spotted the plate of cookies already on the kitchen table and slid into one of the chairs before snatching one, her legs bumping against the legs of the chair softly as she chewed. After her first bite she turned her gaze in her mother’s direction once more “I almost singed off Hudson McCoy’s eyebrows off yesterday” She admitted, with only a slight bit of guilt as she rushed on “He’s fine though, and the explosion was totally awesome.” She added proudly. Then as it occurred to the little witch that she should add at least one more piece “I did remember to apologize, but it was partially his idea too.” she finished earnestly.

Another bite later Addie remembered that Dottie’s letter had mentioned having some important news and her curiosity returned “Selena and Ry say ‘hi’” she told her before asking “What did you want to tell me? And can we have hot chocolate?” She wondered if it was something to do with her grandparents, or if one of the other teachers had made a complaint against her. But either way the little brunette waited for her mother to respond, trying to be patient as her legs continued to bump against the legs of the chair.

@Dottie Dubé

Dottie didn’t want to have to do all this so soon. She wanted more time before she had to tell her daughter about her father. However, she’d had 12 years already and if she kept putting it off, someone else would tell Adelaide eventually. That just wouldn’t be right. Ricky knew. Gideon knew. She had to tell Adelaide now, it really wasn’t fair that she would be last to know. Dorothy blamed herself for not really thinking things through beyond going to Ilvermorny and teaching, and somehow telling all the relevant people. She really should have made a better plan, any sort of plan, instead of just winging this total mess. It felt like she was about to avada kedavra herself in the face. Addie, her own daughter, her own flesh and blood, was going to hate her now. She was sure of this. Gideon probably hated her, maybe even Ricky. She wasn’t exactly her own fan at that moment either.

It was a weird sensation, wanting to avoid her own offspring with every fibre of her being. However, she had invited Addie to her quarters so that neither of them could escape, and so that no one else would hear what was about to happen. To try and make whatever craziness was going to unfold as pleasant as possible, Dorothy had just finished baking some chocolate chip cookies for them both to snack on while they talked. It wasn’t just going to be about Dottie’s secret, she did also want to know how Adelaide was settling in. Seeing her daughter in classes was not the same as usual, they couldn’t exactly have a proper chat. She was just finishing washing up, having just eaten the remaining cookie dough from the bowl and licking it off of the spoon when she heard the door to her quarters open.

Her tense expression melted into a soft smile upon hearing her child’s familiar bellowing. It was a bittersweet moment, the last time before everything changed. Dottie turned to greet Addie, finding herself trapped as she was wrapped in a hug before she realised it. Dorothy laughed softly, bending down slightly to reciprocate, tussling her daughter’s hair a little. “Missed you too, my darling.” Dottie replied, feeling her throat tightening up as she saw the green eyes gazing up at her. Gideon’s green eyes. Some days she’d been so happy that Adelaide had inherited them, that they had been her one memento of him. Other days, like that moment, she hated them with every fibre of her being.

As Addie sat down in one of the chairs, scouting out the cookies in almost record time, the Charms professor took a moment to take a deep breath in and out, and turned towards to the counter to hide her pained face briefly before chuckling and shaking her head as turned back around with a crooked smile as Adelaide told her about some poor kid’s eyebrows. “Well, as long as this explosion wasn’t in a classroom during class…” Dottie raised her eyebrows teasingly, remembering moments when she had exactly that during her time at Ilvermorny. “Sounds like you’re a terrible influence on McCoy if he’s starting to get ideas like that,” she added, as she leant against the counter, winking conspiratorially to show she thought it was actually great. She honestly didn’t care if the kid lost his eyebrows entirely if it meant that Adelaide was doing a proper explosion.

“Oh! Well, hello to them too,” Dottie smiled, happy that Addie was clearly settling in fine and had made friends. She knew Selena very well indeed, of course, but was still pleased to know that Adelaide was getting along well with her still in a school setting. “Ah…” Dottie breathed before she could stop herself, wishing this moment didn’t have to come so soon. Perhaps it was best to deal with the second question first… “Yes, hot chocolate sounds like a great idea…” Dottie said as she pulled her wand out of her blazer pocket to summon two mugs. “I think we’ll need it…” She muttered under her breath, hoping Adelaide didn’t hear it.

“Well, it is very important to listen to everything I tell you, okay?” Dottie stalled, as she flicked her wand to make the hot chocolate without even looking at what she was doing. Not that she needed to, she’d done this a million times throughout the years. “You’re old enough to know now…” She tried to make an excuse for her mistake before even admitting it to Addie. She just didn’t want to be hated, didn’t want to become the villain in her daughter’s life. “It is… it is about your father.” Dottie offered tentatively, thinking it was best to see how Addie reacted first before continuing.