The End of the World - Chapter Six (+ a surprise!)

Hello, hello! So far I'm keeping up my promise of one update a week, and I've even got a special surprise at the end for the lot of you! Be sure to click on the link given after the chapter. It's definitely worth the two seconds it will take for you to see and relish the non-SNS version of something I've been drawing for years.

Chapter Six - Playground Innocence
Status: Complete
Length: 5091
Summary: Lily starts helping Chris, who is having a tough time adjusting to life on his own. Eli takes the kids out for a nice day at the park (or so he thinks). Gracie and Jude talk about the failing Galleria.

Playground Innocence

Lily Moore was a hard worker. Throughout her time at Hogwarts, she diligently kept up with her studies in the hope that she would be top in her class, therefore securing the work ethic that would take her to the top position at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. When she abandoned her trek up the hierarchy of cranky receptionists and overworked Healers to spend more time with her family, she couldn't deny that she was a little disappointed. Treating students in the infirmary of Hogwarts just didn't give her the same thrill as dealing with the mishaps of over-zealous witches and wizards at St. Mungo's. But if there was one thing to say about Lily, it was that she seemed to have a knack for realizing just where her services were needed most.

This is why, when she caught wind that Chris was having a difficult time coping with the death of his wife, she was certain that tendering her resignation from Hogwarts was the right thing to do. Besides, with her only daughter Gracie living in New York, it would be much easier to divide her time between her husband Chase and her father. As the rest of her peers seemed to be retiring, she felt that escaping to a slower way of life was not something to be ashamed of. She deserved a break, and her father deserved company.

“Lily, you don't need to do this...”

“Do what?” Lily asked distractedly as she moved about the living room of the house in which she'd once lived many decades ago, tidying as she went.

“This,” Chris repeated, stepping in front of her and putting his hands on
her shoulders. She paused to look up at him, her eyebrows furrowing slightly in confusion.

“I'm just doing a bit of cleaning, Dad. It's not easy keeping up a house by yourself.”

“Which isn't something you'd know a lot about, Miss Workaholic,” he said jokingly, snickering. Lily merely rolled her eyes and shrugged him off, turning to straighten the afghan on the back of the couch.

“You're my job now, Dad. Trust me, that leaves me with plenty of time to spend at home with Chase.” She pointed her wand toward a pile of old newspapers that had been accumulating in a pile near the window, and directed them toward the fireplace.

“Time that you should be spending relaxing, not worrying about me,” he pressed, folding his arms as he watched her.

“Stop it. You're not going to talk me out of this, no matter how much of a grumpy old man you become,” she glanced over her shoulder and smirked at him. Chris laughed lightly and shook his head.

“You sound like your mother...”

Lily paused, biting her lip slightly. It wasn't exactly a rare occurrence that Chris brought up the subject of Cassie, but she could never quite get used to it. It was the same way when Maggie died several years ago, and everyone in the family was still sensitive about broaching the subject.

“I'm going to make you something for dinner, then head home, okay Dad?” she recovered, turning and starting toward the kitchen. He reached out and stopped her before she could quite get there.

“I can cook my own food, Lily,” he insisted, his tone serious as he searched for her gaze.

“Yes, but I'd feel better if you'd let me see that you're eating. I know that depression can curb your app--”

“Dammit, I'm not depressed and I'm not a child.” Chris' voice was so sharp, that Lily looked up at him in surprise. He looked at her sternly, and she squared her shoulders, steeling herself to be persistent. “Go home and stop worrying about me.” Lily shook her head.

“I can't do that, Dad. That's like telling water to stop being wet.” She reached up and gently prized his hand from her arm and held it in hers instead. “Now, I know that you don't want to admit to anyone that you need help, but I know that you're not doing well. And if you want me to keep it a secret that I'm helping you, that's fine with me, but I don't care what you say. I'm here, whether you like it or not.”

The two stared at each other in silent defiance for several moments before Chris finally sighed, letting his hand drop from hers.

“Fine, but make something for yourself too. If you're going to stick around any longer, I don't want you to go home hungry.”

Lily smiled gently, nodding and flicking her wand to a corner where a pile of books floated to the bookshelf against the wall and sorted themselves. “I'll only be a couple minutes. I'll call you when it's finished.”


Later that night, Lily was changing into her nightclothes, looking careworn and exhausted. She glanced toward the mirror at her disheveled hair and sighed, giving up attempting to fix the bun that it was in and simply letting it down.

“In any case, I might start staying the night a couple of days a week, just to make sure that he's getting sleep too. I'm really starting to worry about him...” she turned, sitting down on the edge of the bed as Chase marked his place in the book he was reading, took off his reading glasses, and looked over at her.

“You think he's getting that bad?”

Lily shook her head, adjusting her pillows and nudging down the duvet. “I just don't know...he won't admit that he's having any trouble at all, so anything that is going on, I have to see for myself.”

“I'm sure everything will be fine...besides, I just got you home full-time. I've been spoiled, having you next to me every night.” His smile was charming, and when she glanced toward him, she sighed, nonplussed.

“Please don't fight me on this. It's bad enough dealing with him, and he's cranky and old...”

“Well, who says I'm not?” he laughed, and she cracked a small smile.

“Your daughter, for one. She called, by the way...she said she needed to talk to you about something.”

At this, Chase sighed softly, but then turned it into a cough, clearly trying to hide the sound. But Lily wasn't fooled. She looked at him quickly, her eyebrows furrowing slightly.

“What is it?”

Chase shook his head, coughing his eyes with his hands and rubbing his face for a moment before dropping them again. “It's nothing...”

“Don't lie to me—what's going on?” Lily sat up, turning to confront him. He looked up at her, evidently conflicted. “She's not pregnant again, is she? Surely they can't handle it with the coffee shop going the way it is...”

“No, no...it's nothing like that,” he looked away, caught between keeping his daughter's confidence and conceding to his wife.

“Well?” she prompted, her voice insinuating dire consequences if he didn't open up.

Chase took in a deep breath and held it in for a moment before letting it out slowly.

“She and Jude are having...issues.”

“Issues? What kind of issues? What's going on?”

Chase winced at the barrage of questions, knowing that he wouldn't be able to prevent Lily from investigating on her own now. Gracie would not be pleased.

“It's nothing, Lil. Normal spats for a married couple, especially one under financial duress.”

“But they've never had issues! At least, not that I've heard about! Chase, how long has she been coming to you? When did all of this start?”

“See, I knew you were going to get upset, Lily. But I don't know when it started, and there's not a lot that we can do for them at this point--”

“Clearly you've been doing something for them!”

He looked over at her now, his expression impatient. “Do you honestly think that whatever I've said has been effective if she's still calling me?”

“Then why not come to me? She knows our marriage hasn't always been a steady one—who better to ask than her mother?”

“To be honest, Lily, she doesn't think that our situation is all that comparable to theirs. Unlike us, they work together constantly, they're around one another twenty-four hours a day. That's hardly the same as having two demanding and separate jobs.”

“So what makes you the better one to confide in?”

Chase sighed, rubbing his temple with his fingertips. “Because I was the one who was around. And don't bother getting angry with me for saying it, because you're the one who wanted to know.”

Lily fell silent, watching him for several moments, the reality of what he was saying boring deep into her heart. It was true, she hadn't been around for a lot of Gracie's childhood, but she had just started out at St. Mungo's. She'd gotten pregnant just before their wedding, and her whole life seemed to have started off at warp speed. Sure, she often felt guilty about choosing her career over her family, but never had she regretted it as she was beginning to do now.

“She never said anything...” she whispered after a sizable pause had passed. Her eyes were on the foot of the bed now, but she didn't see it. Her mind was lost in the past.

“Of course she didn't,” Chase said, his tone gentle now as he looked over at her. “She knew how much your job meant to you, how much it meant to the family that you were working and that you were happy. Don't regret it, Lil...she turned out brilliant in the end...”

Lily took in a breath, vaguely surprised when it caught in her throat. “Evidently not, if she's unhappy in her marriage...”

“I don't think that's true,” he murmured, reaching over and tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear, his touch tender. “They're just going through a difficult time, and now that you know, you can be there for her as much as she needs you.”

“Does she need me, Chase?” She looked over at him, her eyes searching for the truth. He smiled softly, leaning forward and kissing the tip of her nose.

“Of course she does. She's your daughter, you have every right and all the opportunity in the world to help her in her marriage. She values your opinion, however sparsely you choose to give it...”

Lily bit her lip, suppressing all skepticism to take comfort in his words. It was a crime that she couldn't go back in time and fix what only now became clear to her as being broken. But there was no use regretting what couldn't be rectified and as she leaned forward to kiss her husband, she made a mental note to be the one to call Gracie back first thing in the morning.

* * * *

“One-two-three-four, I declare a thumb war!” Emma giggled as she squirmed to avoid Sophie's thumb, gasping and shrieking with every near miss.

“Emma, that's not fair! You've got to hold still! It's the rules,” Sophie insisted, twisting about in retaliation.

“Nuh uh! There's no rules in war!”

“Maybe not, but there are in—thumb—wars--HAH!” Sophie exclaimed as she pressed down on Emma's thumb relentlessly, grinning as Emma yanked back her hand.

“That's not fair! You were distracting me!”

“No rules in war, remember?” Sophie grinned, glancing around the playground. It was the first sunny day in several weeks, and many families were out enjoying the sunshine. On this particular occasion, the lucky person to be babysitting Sophie, Ezra, Lucas, Emma, and Leah was Eli, who sat on a park bench by the side of the mulch-covered playground. By some happy mistake, the match the Cannons had been due to play was canceled and Callie had been adamant that Eli give Julie a break. Not wanting to incur the wrath of the woman around whom he'd been walking on eggshells ever since the night Rosie gave birth, Eli had agreed without question. He knew she would begin to suspect his sudden willingness to do whatever she asked, but he was hoping to keep her at bay until then.

“Emma, Emma! Come look at this!”

Emma paused and glanced toward Lucas, frowning slightly. “If it has scales or sharp teeth, then no, absolutely not.”

Nevertheless, she ran over to meet Lucas on the other side of the playground, overcome by curiosity. Sophie smirked, watching her go, and Ezra came to join her, glancing toward the others as well. He sighed once he was standing beside her.

“I can't wait 'till we're off to Hogwarts...” he mumbled. Sophie looked over at him.

“Why?”

“Because then we'll be able to hang out with people our own age...”

“I dunno, I think I'm going to miss them. At least, I'm sure Lucas'll find someone to torment at school...” Sophie laughed, though she had to be honest and admit that she was ready to get away as well.

“Until he realizes that girls aren't so bad, and they're not impressed by wriggling animals.”

Sophie laughed again, nodding. “Unfortunately for us, I don't think that'll happen until he's almost out of Hogwarts.”

Ezra sighed, mockingly forlorn, and shook his head. “Pity...so many years ahead of us that could have been peaceful...now ruined by Lucas's determination to gross out every girl at school.”

“Sad, don't you think?”

“Depressing...”

Eli watched as the children went about their business unaware of the dangers that lie outside of the world of their little park. His mind began to wander to his own troubles. It had been a week and a half and he had not heard from the mysterious woman again. Every moment, he expected her to turn up, regardless of how often he tried to convince himself that she wouldn't. He even began to question whether the whole ordeal had actually happened, or if in fact, he had fallen asleep that night and simply had an agitating dream. This certainly wasn't out of the question, as he had the tendency to catch up on sleep at the most inconvenient times. His hopes were shattered, however, when a velvet voice shook him from his reverie.

“Mesmerizing, isn't it?”

Eli jumped, looking over his shoulder, intrigued to find, not the person he had been expecting and dreading to see, but someone else entirely. The woman standing behind him had long locks of auburn hair, a darker complexion, and she was wearing muggle clothing with the emblem of a local university. His heart sank to find that her eyes were the same dark color, however, and the slow smile that was creeping across her lips reminded him chillingly of the night not long ago.

“Excuse me?” he said, unable to hide his cold, biting tone.

Her smile spread into a mirthless grin and she stepped around the bench, taking a seat beside him. She turned her gaze to the playground and nodded toward the laughing children.

“It's touching...how absorbed children tend to become in their play. How they can amuse themselves, despite the cruel world that surrounds them.” Something about the way she was speaking made Eli want to get her away from his daughter, nieces, and nephew as quickly as possible.

“What do you want?” he growled, longing to end her murderous leering.

Selene glanced toward him out of the corner of her eye, laughing lightly, though he found no joy in the sound. “Touchy...”

“I don't want you near my family.” With his arms folded, he clenched his hands into fists, keeping his gaze on the children he was now diligently watching, as if Selene had agents ready to swoop in and kidnap them at any moment. At this, she sighed.

“We have been over this before. If you say nothing of my presence and follow as I say, there will be no need for me to intrude on your small piece of...paradise.” She smirked slowly as Leah let out a scream when Lucas made an attempt to steal a ball she'd been playing with. Emma jumped to her defense, yelling at him to give it back, but Lucas deliberately ignored them. As he started off toward the other end of the playground, Leah gave chase, running as fast as her little legs could carry her.

“You won't. You won't hurt them, you won't touch them, you won't even think about them,” Eli muttered in an undertone, determined not to attract attention. Selene looked at him, and though he didn't return the gaze, he could feel her eyes boring into him.

“You see, that's where the problem arises. You seem to be suffering under the delusion that you stand in a position to make demands, Scoresby. There is nothing you can do to protect those you love aside from answering to me. If I have to say that one more time, you will suffer.”

Eli took a deep, steadying breath, and turned to look at her at last. While she was keeping her expression light and unassuming, he could tell that she was every bit as serious as the threat she was making. He let out his breath in a rush, resigned to her presence.

“What do you want?” he repeated himself, keeping his gaze resolutely on her.

“There is an errand that I feel only you can complete for me,” Selene began conversationally, looking once more at the playground. “Unfortunately, there is a time constraint.”

“Errand?” he prompted. He seriously doubted that “errand” in her book was something as simple as picking up the groceries.

“Have you ever taken a life, Scoresby?”

All at once, his heart began to thud, and his gaze hardened as he watched her. “No,” he said steadily. “And I don't intend--”

“Mind yourself. It's extraordinary what so-called “good” people will do when given the right stimulus.”

“I don't care what “stimulus” you think you have, I won't kill for you.”

“Ahh, but you don't even know who it is...surely there's someone in your life you'd like to get rid of...for another family member, perhaps?”

Eli froze, his mind reeling as one man came into the crosshairs of his thoughts. He never considered himself a violent person, but when Eli thought of Callie's brother Joey, his blood ran cold. A few years ago, an incident occurred in which an inebriated Joey had hurt Rosie in the worst way possible, and since then Eli'd had to fight against the urge to take him down. It was a struggle, no doubt, but he had never considered what he might do, given the opportunity.

“Given the urge, a human will find the strength to abandon morality in order to achieve revenge,” Selene spoke sagely, and Eli hated himself for seeing the logic in her words. “In such cases, murder all but loses its deplorable connotations and becomes a plausible course of action.”

She looked toward him, and he immediately turned his gaze away, as if by meeting her eyes, he'd be obliging to her order.

“You are capable of changing your world...at least, the part that separates right from wrong. And it's something that I shall require you to do, if you wish to keep yourself and your wife and child out of my path.”

Eli's nostrils flared as he fought to keep his mouth shut, and the silence that fell between them was crushing. At last, he felt her move beside him, though she was only angling herself toward him, her knee brushing against his leg.

“But on to more pressing matters...”

He glanced toward her, surprised and wary of the sudden subject change. He nearly shuddered to see her smiling, and dreaded to hear what she had to say next.

“A recent change in staff at Hogwarts has spiked my curiosity...” she began, and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “The matron in the infirmary...your aunt, I believe...”

Eli sighed impatiently, looking away again. “What about her?”

“She doesn't seem the type to give up on her goals so easily. Why has she left?”

Eli narrowed his eyes, hating how much she seemed to know about his family. It was as if she could see them at their most vulnerable, even get into their minds. “How do you know about all that?”

“That is irrelevant; I asked you a question,” she pressed, and he sighed.

“She's quit her job at Hogwarts so she can spend more time at home.”

Selene was silent, waiting for him to go on. Growing anxious in the silence, he continued.

“My grandather...he isn't doing well, so she's helping him get along. Listen, I don't know why you want--” Eli began, but when he looked around, the seat beside him was empty. He blinked, surprised that she had gone so soon, and while he expected to feel relief, and overwhelming wave of dread washed over him. Her absence now became the thing he feared, for when she wasn't in sight, there was no way of knowing what she was plotting or to whom she might appear next.

Meanwhile, Sophie had been watching the scene unfold out of the corner of her eye. She was not unacquainted with the whims of adults in love. Her mother had died when she was two years old, leaving her father Landon alone with a small child to look after and a demanding job to keep on top of. It wasn't until Sophie was seven that he began to consider the idea of pursuing another woman, and even then he had been reluctant. But Sophie had watched as Landon courted Ezra's mother Claire; she saw the anxious excitement with which he sought to impress her. And to Sophie's young eyes, it almost seemed that a similar emotion was plaguing Eli, though she had no idea who the woman sitting beside him was. She found the way he seemed to be reacting to her words strange, and it wasn't until she heard a voice beside her that she brought herself to look away.

“Soph?”

Sophie shook her head quickly, trying to dislodge thoughts that were invading her mind despite herself. She turned to see Ezra sitting on the swing beside her. “Hmm?”

“Everything alright?” he asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

“Yeah! Yeah, I...I was just thinking. Anyway, want to get everyone in on a game of tag?” she smiled hopefully, wanting him to drop the subject as she had. The less thinking she did about what she'd seen, the better.

“Sure...” Ezra said slowly, and Sophie knew she wouldn't be able to escape talking about it later.

However, no sooner than the children had started up a game of tag, Eli called them all together and announced that they would be going home. Sophie met his gaze as he took them all by the hand, but he disapparated before she could do much more than blink.

* * * *

Approximately 3,460 miles away, the sun was rising on New York City. While most people would have preferred being asleep, Gracie Harrison was wide awake, preparing to face another hectic day. Her thoughts swam as she turned chairs right side up and set them on the floor, wiped down the bar, and began setting coffee to brew. She hated days when she woke up unhappy, and she was loathe to admit that these days were happening more and more frequently. With Noah and Naomi studying at the Salem Institute of Magic in Massachusetts, she was alone with Jude in their loft above the Galleria, a coffee shop they'd taken over at the request of its previous owner. She never thought she would begrudge this fact, but she missed the presence of their children, as they gave her an excuse to hide the melancholy under which she had been laboring for the past few weeks.

She was so consumed by contemplation that she was startled to hear the strumming of a guitar from across the room. When she spun around, suppressing a gasp, she spotted Jude sitting on the edge of the raised platform that served as a small stage surrounded by sectional couches. She let out her breath in a sigh of relief and continued wiping mugs clean with a rag.

“I wish you wouldn't scare me like that,” she said softly, though Jude looked up at her words, clearly hearing her in the echoing emptiness of the hall.

“Sorry,” he began, pressing his hand across the bridge of his guitar, instantly muffling the reverberating notes. “You just looked so preoccupied, I didn't want to bother you.”

Gracie bit her lip and looked away, shrugging. “I don't know why I'm up this early. I doubt anyone's going to turn up...”

There was a small awkward silence in which Jude set his guitar down on its stand and got to his feet, casting a glance around the empty chairs and tables. He looked toward the windows, the street beyond bustling with life despite the early hour. It was true, it was unusual for the coffee shop to be so empty this early in the morning.

“Since when did you become such a pessimist?” he joked, looking back at her and starting across the room toward the bar. He was grinning slightly, his expression playful. “Just wait, this place'll be bustling in no time...”

Gracie sighed again, unamused by his attempts to cheer her up. “I'm not being pessimistic, Jude. Sooner or later, we've got to face what's happening...”

Jude fell silent once more, knowing that she had more on her mind that obviously needed to get out.

“It used to be, we had to get up at three just so we could beat the morning rush! Now, we don't even see our first customer until late in the morning, sometimes even after noon. If we don't do something, we're going to go under.” She looked up at him seriously, her voice carrying a hint of chastising.

Jude sighed softly and stepped around the counter, reaching up and resting a hand on his wife's back gently. “It's going to turn around. You'll see...businesses always have their lulls...”

“Yes, but we've been in a lull for weeks now! We've had to let go of most of our staff because we weren't making enough to break even! We can't go on denying the fact that we're struggling, Jude. If things keep up like this, we won't be able to afford to send Noah and Naomi to school...” She looked genuinely worried, and for some reason Jude couldn't get rid of the suspicion that some of the blame was being placed on him.

“So we'll change things around, we'll give people a reason to keep coming to us...this isn't the worst thing in the world, Grace. And we'll get through it...”

“With what money?” she cried, truly dismayed. “We can't afford to hire more entertainment, we've already had to dip into our savings, there aren't many choices left!”

“We'll figure something out--”

“We've been saying that for weeks. There's not a lot we could do besides...” at this, she faltered, watching him for a moment before turning to the counter, becoming very intent on cleaning the mugs.

“Besides what?”

“You know what...” Gracie said softly, her voice almost a whisper. Jude's expression suddenly turned stoney.

“No, Gracie. We've been over this a hundred times, I'm not selling my mum's paintings.”

“We have to make sacrifices, Jude!” Gracie exclaimed, throwing down the rag and turning to look at him, exasperated. “I've already sold everything I can...”

“Those paintings were my mother's! Just because she's gone--”

“--Means she won't know the difference anyway,” she interrupted, an uncharacteristic harshness in her tone. “I'm sorry, but I just don't see what other option we have...”

“No,” he shook his head, turning away and heading back around the counter. “No, we're not having this discussion.”

“Yes we are!” Gracie insisted, following after him. “We can't keep walking away like this!” She reached out, grabbing his arm to stop him, and he obliged, but refused to look at her. “I know those paintings mean a lot to you...” she began, her voice tender once more. “I do...but we've got to do something. Please, support me on this...”

Jude pulled his arm away from her. “I can't. I won't get rid of her work. It'd be a piss-poor way to repay her after all she did for us--”

“No, it wouldn't! Don't you think she'd have us making a living rather than scraping just to survive? Please, Jude...see reason...” she implored, her hopes rising as he turned to look at her.

“Gracie...” he began, closing the gap between them, his hands settling on either side of her face. “We will get through this...but you're asking too much. My answer is no. We'll find another way to come up with the money.”

At this, Gracie's heart sank and she shook her head, knocking his hands away and pulling back. “I can't keep doing this. You have to grow up sometime. You have to realize that there's more to life than paintings and music. We have responsibilities, we have children. If you're not going to help provide for them, I'll just have to find a way to do it myself.” With her last words landing bitterly cold upon Jude's conscience, she stepped around him and started across the room to the lifts that would take her up to their loft.

Jude stood, waiting for the doors to shut behind her, before banging his fist against the countertop in frustration. Before he could say anything, the bell above the front door tinkled, though the sound was hollow. Taking a deep breath, Jude turned to face the first customer of the day, forcing a smile that did little to conceal the turmoil reeling through his mind.

~*~*~*~



And now, something that I cooked up last night awaiting the reappearance of my muse. This is something that I think my newcomers will find convenient and helpful, and for those who AREN'T new...well, it'll help you keep everything straight, certainly.

Behold...The Family Tree

This is current, up-to-date as of where we are in the story. I'll make updates as things come along (at least until my trial for the website runs out). Hope you all like it!