Akiva was doing her best to be much more social than she had been for a long time.  She had worked with Peter Thackery in the library, then had dinner with Maiko, Kohaku, and Callum the previous Friday and now she was spending a Wednesday afternoon with Molly.  She was happy to help, especially because Akiva knew how difficult it could be to take care of everything you needed when you were expecting a baby for the first time and doing it alone.

She had been a little surprised when Molly told her – it hadn’t really entered the conversation as something other than a hypothetical at Frank’s house warming dinner.  But, she was glad that she was privy to the knowledge afterward and that Molly was asking her things.  Blessedly, when she’d been preparing for the birth of her son, she’d still had a fully intact family to help her.  It was getting a little easier though, as Gabriel was getting older, and she wanted to help Molly! She would have given anything for the same help when she was going through it.  So, she agreed to meet her downtown in London (it was easier for Akiva to walk Gabriel there than try anything else) – and there were some good shops. 

She and Gabriel had stopped to have lunch with her father first (via a cab, of course), as King’s College not being too terribly far from the first stop Akiva had in mind.  After they parted ways, Akiva checked the time again – to make sure that she and Gabriel were making good time and she pushed the pram down the road, Gabriel shaking a rattle that she’d gotten for him quite vigorously. 

He was getting so much better at holding things, approaching seven full months old, and Akiva was constantly amazed.  It was going to be so nice to have someone to discuss things like that with who didn’t get glassy eyed at the first sentence.  Sure, she generally talked to her mother about things, but… someone else going through it at the same time, that seemed like the best way to be raising children.  Perhaps Akiva had prescribed to the whole “takes a village” feeling a little too seriously, but it was working out so far! 

Stopping in front of the shop, the window display was of a nursery idea that revolved around trees and flowers.  It was very pretty, but probably not what Molly had in mind.  They were just about on time, Akiva realized as she looked at her watch and pulled Gabriel’s pram to the side so they wouldn’t block the sidewalk and leaned against the brick building to wait.   

If Molly had been able, at four or five months, to hide the little bump, or write it off as a few pounds gained making sweet things all day, now that she was entering her third trimester, it was impossible. But it wasn’t just that: it was safe now, to tell people. Her past tragedies had made the Pratt-Bagman (now Bagman-Bagman!) couple wary of sharing the news too soon, but six months was a point of celebration. With care and magic on their side, she didn’t have to get her hopes up. It was real, it was happening.

The cats could tell their mother had something big going on. That she would be bringing home a much less hairy sibling for them was probably not what they had in mind. But it would be fine. (It was Casper who would have to deal with their anxiety, paw prints in the paint, and jealous four-legged family members.)

Molly rounded a corner a little too quickly. A hand came down to her stomach as an apologetic smile took up her face… needlessly, as the London sidewalk was hardly crowded, and those who did pass were in a rush. She scurried and stopped, dodged and looked in the wrong direction, assuming she was a little late. She had been distracted briefly back in Godric’s Hollow while shopping for dinner supplies. She had gone in with a plan to buy ingredients for a roast and potatoes and had come out with that, plus enough for two more meals. Turnips and watermelon and fresh cream and local cheese, everything sounded good. Even together, sometimes. Mostly, though, she still craved plenty of sweets.

She remembered that she was supposed to be being careful, and slowed down again. It wasn’t as if she had been jogging. The window nearest, too, was another momentary distraction, with its pops of color suited to children. And Mollys. But she swished past it a moment later, her head poking round a bit to get a better look at the spot where she was supposed to meet Akiva. She was three-fourths of the way down the sidewalk when she spotted them, and that tiny fist with the rattle. Molly’s smile became massive.

“You’re bigger than a few of weeks ago!” She called out when she was still several feet away. She could see him already, his little head of hair, and Akiva looking lovely as ever. Her eyes roamed up from the baby to the other witch as she closed the space between them and leaned in for a hug. “Oh, this is perfect!” She added, looking from Akiva to the window. “Look at that, do you think it flies?” She pointed to a little woodland fairy in the corner of the display. It was much nicer than a great number of real fairies. While the overall look of the display was maybe a touch too polished or frilly for what Molly had in mind (or what Casper had in mind for his miniature), it was still sweet. She knew she had to think practically, too, but… flowers could work up until a point, couldn’t they?

“Did you buy that here?” She asked, looking back to the rattle and sinking down a bit to stroke Gabe’s hair. “I need three of them, I think. Casper would love a one-man band,” she laughed. She had ultimate faith in her two-handed baby to use three rattles. The little bundle would have plenty of four-legged brothers and sisters to inspire creativity.

Akiva couldn’t help herself as Molly called out down the street.  Her smile also widened and she opened her arms to accept her into a hug.  “You’re bigger than a few weeks ago too,” she teased kissing her on the cheek.  It was warm hearted, of course, and meant with every love, since Akiva had adopted Frank’s family as part of her own and one could only treat family in a certain way. 

Of course, the pleasantries were over quickly and Akiva followed Molly’s gaze toward the window, grinning as she pointed to a fairy in the corner of the display.  It certainly was a muggle interpretation if she’d ever seen one: all beautiful and sweet looking.  Real fairies could be quite a pain, particularly if you got them in your attic.  Akiva had dealt with that once.  Never. Again.  Shrugging her shoulders at Molly, she put her hands back on the handle of the pram and grinned.  “If it doesn’t, I’m sure you could make it,” she mimed the swishing of a wand.

They were, after all, in Muggle London, and mentions of magic would turn more than a few heads in the most unpleasant way.  Akiva knew her husband had always advocated for the walls that separated muggles and magic to be separate, and Akiva was still continuing that work in a small way, but they’d certainly made no large headway and she did not need to invite any investigation into her life at this point.  So, all muggle articles would remain muggle, until, of course, they were brought back to the cottage for Molly. 

Pushing the carriage toward the door a step or two, Akiva listened to Molly’s question and giggled at her question. “I did,” she announced happily.  “They have a lot of options inside,” she added, taking another step forward as Gabriel waved the rattle with a whimsically musical little shake.  Akiva entertained the idea of hiring him a piano tutor when he got older, just to make sure he was doing something productive with his time (and music helped inspire mathematical brains, her father had told her once).  Of course, she then had to add on to what Molly said about a band with a sly smile, “perhaps Gabe and Little Bagman will have a band when they’re older?” she wrinkled her nose playfully before pushing the door open.

The inside of the shop smelled like baby powder – it always did – and Akiva took in a deep breath.  There was faint classical music floating through the air and everything was displayed openly for view.  The lighting was much calmer than most stores, designed to put expectant parents at ease and willing to stick around for quite a while.  “Do you know where you’d like to start?” she turned her head to look at her shopping companion.  “Bedding? Accessories? Toys?” She picked up a teething ring from an open display and eyed it carefully.  She might have to pick up a couple of things as well...

Molly’s grin grew even as Akiva kissed her cheek. Her hand rubbed her tummy (something that happened a billion times a day now). The clothing was still loose, as it had been, but less drapey. And she had grown. “I’m so sorry we didn’t tell you sooner, but we just… wanted to be cautious, you know?” If Molly usually dawdled and admitted things at random, there were other things she was quite careful about; family was chief among them.

But Akiva, of course, was a part of that family.

Another smile shone at the other woman’s encouragement. “That would be a fun project. I’m sure Casper would find different charms for all of them after I’d finished.” Perhaps something a little less flighty than his wife’s ideas. But then he could be perfectly surprising. And he was a very good wizard.

“He’s got a strong grip, hasn’t he?” She asked, as they stepped inside. She looked back at Gabe fondly.  “Can you believe that that will be a wand one day?” It was so exciting, watching them develop. Molly remembered when he was still so small and swaddled in blankets that you could only see his sleeping face. It felt like yesterday. She laughed delightedly at the idea of a band: Molly would love that for her future children, even if it wasn’t the most secure (or peacefully quiet) career path. “That’s actually a great band name, too. Gabe and Little Bagman. I can see them being very folksy— with loud drums, though.” That rattle was just too cute not to want a dozen. “You think he’s more of a drummer or a guitarist, though? Maybe a singer. With that hair.”

They always had impressive hair, didn’t they? Molly had noticed!

Inside was as cute as the rattle… everywhere. There was no method to Molly’s dawdling, leaping, or grabbing. “That’s a million galleon question!” She was already reaching for a bonnet with monkey ears on top. “Let’s… wow… bedding is probably what we need, but I have someone making a blanket. Er… what’s a good safe option?” Something Casper would be proud of. “Changing tables?” She laughed.

Akiva liked the speculation that Casper could do some charms on some of the mundane muggle objects – turn them into things that would truly capture the attention and imagination of a small child.  Infants, of course, had a limited capacity for that (they didn’t even have object permanence), so they couldn’t imagine or wonder – but stimulus was always good.  It helped their eyes develop and colors helped with that.  “I like that idea,” she chirped. 

It’d be quite cute, little flying things.  She would like to do that with little Quidditch players for Gabriel later – maybe a mobile that they connected and unconnected from.  He might like that.  Akiva was never really the biggest fan, but she knew it was something she could at least expose her son too.  Maybe she’d get a hippogriff one… she’d have to browse with Molly. 

There was a little bit of a pang that went through her when Molly suggested that one day her son would be holding a wand.  Knowing that he was almost a year old – well, not almost, there were several months left until that point, but it was all going by so quickly and she knew it’d be November before she could actually register that it’d been that long.  “That is such a scary thought,” Akiva pointed out, glancing into the pram to see her son, wagging that rattle like it was nobody’s business. 

Maybe he would be a musician.  Molly’s speculation, of course, made her laugh.  “Hmmm,” she pursed her lips thoughtfully, tilting her head to the side as she regarded her son.  He shook the rattle again and babbled.  “Well, I want to start him on piano when he’s old enough,” Akiva explained, “and then if he likes that… I suppose whatever else he wants.”  A wry smile played over her lips, “You might have a point about the hair though.” 

That was true enough: her son was going to have quite the head of hair as he got older.  It did make him look a lot like his father though.  Suppressing the thought, Akiva  listened to Molly’s suggestion: it was her trip and laughed as she seemed to stumble over what she wanted.  “Changing tables are good,” Akiva said hoping to be supportive. 

“We can start there and then branch out when you get bored of deciding if five drawers is better than six – or what print you want the padded portion of the table to be in,” she teased.  It could get tedious, but it was fun to do.  Akiva hoped they could make it fun.  “Do you have a crib or cabinets – anything to match the wood or do you want to do more mix-and-match?”

Molly’s mind could wander all day, if she let it, through the forest of charms and charming ideas. That the nursery was only one room, and that its occupant still had a bit of time in the oven, seemed not to matter— or, rather, seemed to only fuel her imaginings. There was time to change her mind a few times!

Besides, they already had a cot for their room. If the nursery wasn’t finished before the baby arrived, would it be the worst thing? She and Casper might have different ideas on that. Not that Molly wasn’t usually (over) prepared for these kinds of arrivals.

Then again, it was the first of its sort. A baby wasn’t the same as a dinner party or holiday festival. It was the very start of a very long adventure.

Molly giggled, a smile spread across cheeks, which bunched to make her face rounder. “Really? To me, it’s an amazing thought, but maybe I’ll be terrified once ours is here…” She looked down at the protruding bit of her dress. She understood what Akiva meant, but Molly was excited to stuff a wand… or anything else, be it rattle, cat, or pie, in a small child’s hand. There would be seasons of nursing and learning to lift one’s head first, of course. Teeth, too. “Those weeks after they get a wand and before they get on the train for the first time…” Molly remembered her own weeks of waiting. She had entertained herself with that piece of wood, the one she still held now in a soft first of small fingers, though it had hardly responded as well (or at all) back then. It had been a quiet wait, just Molly and her mother in the country, but it didn’t mean that she hadn’t tested the quiet plenty. Cats, it seemed, had a natural suspicion of wands. “But you have ages,” she added, a kind of relieved breath for Akiva’s benefit, and reached out to comfort her friend with a pat on the shoulder.

It was nice, though, that Akiva had plenty of future plans, even if the idea of a wand was terrifying. Piano sounded like a lovely way to fill that stretch of time. She didn’t doubt a future rockstar could use the skill set.

“Perfect plan, but I’m not sure I can tire of patterns and drawers quite yet.” With her friend’s approval, Molly found the array of changing tables. There were in fact so many that it seemed someone had put a multiplying charm on them— with each one being different than the last, like snowflakes. “This one is cute,” she said, running fingers over its pristine, but sweet surface. “And that one!” She was already dodging toward another. It was going to be a very long shopping trip, she thought.

Looking over her shoulder with raised brows, she froze like a deer and answered: “We have a bit of furniture, but we might paint it… Oh, that sounds so indecisive and unhelpful, doesn’t it?” She laughed. “We definitely know the wall paint. Some of it. It’s kind of a soft green… maybe greens and yellows and springy colors. For a fall baby,” she laughed, sounding a little guilty.  “I love mixing and matching, though, so don’t worry about the wood. We’ll figure that out…” Or Casper would, given that he might be custom building some of it. The list of things to do was long, but she was sure he secretly liked being out there in his little shed. “A little blue wouldn’t hurt, either.”

As she reached to touch a little painted gnome on the back of the table, it darted away from her fingers and plunged over the side, popping up again on one of the lower drawers level with the stroller. It seemed to have more interest in baby Gabriel than curious adult fingers.

“It is amazing,” Akiva jumped in, not wanting to sound like she wasn’t excited to watch her baby grow up and do the things she knew he would inevitably do.  It was exciting in a lot of ways, of course, and she was glad to see them when it was their time, but for now, she was perfectly content waiting for him to talk and crawl and walk – those little things that didn’t mean he was leaving her quite so soon.  Akiva was not sure how much more loss she could take in the near future.  Thankfully, she had no intention of experiencing it.  Life did have a funny way of not meeting expectations, but Akiva thought perhaps she had her share of cosmic misfortune for a while. 

She hoped the same for Molly who was so enamored with the different patterns and styles.  Akiva pushed the pram slowly behind Molly, giggling as she looked at the changing tables with the same kind of girlish excitement that a teenager might have perused the pages of a prized magazine.  Akiva strolled with the assured gait of someone who had done the very same dodging and oogling run around this store. 

“I quite like that one,” Akiva mused out loud as Molly ran her fingers over a whitish one.  It was sweet, very charming – Akiva might have liked something like it, though she’d decided on something in walnut.  Perhaps, if there was a next time, she might look at it again.  She hoped, somewhat that her more practical nature wouldn’t get in the way of indulging if it were to happen again.  The remote possibility, at the very least, might make her loosen the purse strings. 

Refocusing her attention on Molly, Akiva laughed lightly and smiled at her expression.  Perhaps the wrong question on her part, but Akiva had wanted things to match.  She was the sort to want things to be just so.  She supposed Molly’s more creative leanings would lead to the mix-and-match or painted aesthetic.  “That sounds absolutely charming.”  It did – she liked the idea quite a bit.  Gabriel’s room was grey and blue, hints of green – she’d like the idea of owls and nature.  Though, her favorite part ascribed to no particular design: the photo collage above his bed with their little family represented in so many different pictures… Gabriel was quite fascinated with them as well now, she saw his eyes watching the pictures move. 

Taking her own stock of the inventory, Akiva left the pram for a moment to the side of the aisle, Gabriel was sat up and babbling at the little gnome that seemed to be playing hide and seek with him.  “That is fantastic!” Akiva laughed lightly, but shook her head.  “You don’t want the baby too friendly with the gnomes though,” she teased, “or he’ll be coming in with all sorts of bites on his fingers – nasty little things,” she wrinkled her nose.  They found their way into the yard no matter what one did.  It was everything to keep them from the pets, let alone children. 

Her eyes roamed again and she saw another, again light wood, but had the most charming little handles – shaped like little wands.  “Going on about wands before…” she turned her head over her shoulder to look at Molly, “look at this one!” she put her hand on the drawer and smiled with delight as the end of the little brass wand lit up.  “Isn’t that clever!”

Despite her eagerness, Molly could understand the balance of brilliant and scary that was parenting. She smiled, huge, at Akiva’s added words.

She was glad to have an experienced-but-still-new parent with her now. Sometimes people right in the midst of that journey were the best ones for giving advice and relating. Molly loved her mother dearly, and her little sister, too, but it was Akiva whom she imagined could give her the best opinions. Not that, ultimately, she wouldn’t have to form her own.

But simply choosing one table amongst the endless options was a daunting thing, and it came with distractions in the form of rattles, baby booties, and endless child-safe everything. Which was the most safe? The sweetest? The most inviting? Which would the baby like, the baby whom Molly already imagined had a very defined personality? Would the child take after Casper— should she stock the book shelves early with baby guides to chess? Or Molly? (Prepare the walls for inevitable homemade art?)

She was also glad that they seemed to like some of the same pieces. Molly could sometimes get lost in a detail and forget practicality, but she was sure Akiva would point out any dire oversights. She beamed at the other witch’s approval of the nursery plans… so far. Some of it would evolve as they got further into the project.

The wise words about gnomes were exactly the sort of thing Molly might not have thought out too well. She laughed and shook her head, then nodded. “Especially in our garden.” It seemed to grow more vibrant by the day. Casper spent plenty of time tending it, but she wasn’t sure even her diligent, detail-attentive husband could capture every gnome. And if Molly could picture a baby with a bit of her in it following the things with dangerous curiosity… well. “Maybe they have one with kittens!” She announced. That would be an animal the child would have to get used to. “How do yours get along with Gabriel?” She added, eyeing Akiva for advice. “Or is he still too young to really interact?”

An intake of breath signaled Molly’s excitement over Akiva’s find. “It’s adorable!” She reached out quickly, trying another of the drawers and immediately falling in love with the multitude of ways even a full-grown adult could be entertained by the furniture. The price tag wasn’t even on her mind as she opened more drawers, ran her fingers over the smooth wood, envisioned the loving clutter the top could hold. “I would have gotten into heaps of trouble with this one, I think,” she laughed. But nothing like biting gnomes. And it was very easy to magic into place— which she was sure Casper would do with all over the furniture. “It might inspire the baby to fold clothes at an early age.” A parent’s dream come true? “I think I’ll definitely have to ask the shop assistant about this one after we make our rounds.”

Molly dug around in her purse and pulled out a slip of parchment, the kind she’d become used to carrying around as a personal assistant. She scrawled a quick description, and then floated on toward the next group of cute things. “How many night lights do you think we’ll need for one house?” She asked, quite earnestly, picking up one shaped like a broom, its tail aglow. There were others— some that turned on and off at the words ‘lumos’ and ‘knox’; little creatures that wiggled in place and refused to be pulled away by baby hands; floating ones of all shops, and ones that stuck to the ceiling or wall like little paintings. “Does he sleep well with one?”

Even now, Akiva was looking for things.  She didn’t necessarily need big furniture items like Molly, so that was more of a casual look to help, but small things Gabriel always needed.  She wanted to be serious and helpful to Molly though, so she did her best to keep her eyes on the changing tables and pursed her lips when she asked about the cat and Gabriel.  “Gabriel isn’t especially interested yet,” she explained, “and Gordon does get curious… but he usually loses interest after a couple of minutes.  I assume once Gabriel starts moving on his own that will change,” she laughed lightly to herself. 

Gordon did curl up near him sometimes when he was on his little mat on the floor with the round pillow that propped him up, but they were unlikely mates as of yet.  She hoped that when Gabriel was old enough they would be though.  “Lady, on the other hand,” Akiva grinned, “sleeps on his floor every night.  She is very protective.”

Her attention turned back to the furniture and she really was a fan of the little wand drawer handles.  They sparkled and glowed; each one touched had a different effect.  It was charming and clever: she wished she’d seen it when she was having Gabriel!  “You definitely should ask about it: I quite like this,” she had images of maybe, one day, being able to get more of this, not just following along on Gabriel’s development.  She’d always wanted a big family.  She wasn’t too old for that possibility, but there was a lot going on in her life that made it hard to imagine that experience happening again. 

Watching a little snitch night light circling the ceiling, Akiva was a little distracted when Molly asked her a question.  Her eyes readjusted and she shook her head, clearing her throat.  “I only have one in Gabriel’s room,” she shrugged.  “It’s a little owl,” she explained, “the eyes glow and it flies around his crib.  It’s the cutest thing.  I don’t think you’d need more than that, unless you want to light the hallways for getting up at night.  I usually just keep my wand by my bed and use it to light the way if he needs something.”  He was fairly good about sleeping through nights, but some nights were still not perfect…

“I love that one,” she pointed to a country scene with a moon that moved and stars that were twinkling.  The light coming off of it was soft, “It reminds me of you,” she smiled.  Molly was artistic, she’d have things like that in her home, Akiva imagined.  “Have you thought about a mobile? “ she asked.  “Gabriel’s got one and if he’s in the crib and fussy, it plays a bit of music and spins… he quite likes it.” 

Akiva, unlike Casper, seemed to understand that cats had distinct personalities. Molly smiled at the details divulged, and was especially endeared by Lady’s protectiveness… even if Lady was a dog. The canine had cats for siblings, so it counted! “If Lady could train my cats to do that… or even one of them…” Molly could wish. And think with glass-half-full optimism. “But neither get jealous?” She added, knowing she’d have to confront the question eventually.

The baby would be a learning process for the whole family.

The list of things she wanted to buy only grew with every step. With the changing tables and drawer handles half-picked, tackling lights should have been easier, but it wasn’t. And when Akiva described her own, Molly’s eyes darted from the snitch to her fellow witch, her mouth open in amazement. “That sounds like the cutest thing in the world, possibly,” she laughed, after a moment. She immediately looked around for anything similar, but was distracted again by the huge number of choices. She turned back to Akiva with a nod even as her fingers reached blindly for a bobble-head-cat-nightlight that mewed when it was turned off and on. “I suppose the baby won’t need one for the hall that soon.” Then again… “I might,” she admitted, with another laugh. Even with the lights on, she could find ways to get distracted and take clumsy turns or little trips. Over nothing— certainly not the cats! Well, maybe. They were far more likely to try to trip Casper.

She turned her attention to the cat, watching its tail wag as its head bobbed, it’s weak-in-the-daylight glow nevertheless moving in a way that would combat shadows.

As cute as it was, it was only one, and the one Akiva pointed out rivaled it. “Ooooh, it’s like a little storybook.” Her own face glowed at the compliment. That, too, would go on her list. “I think that’s the winner so far!”

Unless Frank’s… girlfriend… wanted to add something snitch themed. But Molly wasn’t sure she was the type to buy baby gifts, and then felt bad for thinking it.

“I’m making a mobile,” she confessed, excited but not with the hushed tone the ‘secret’ might require. It wasn’t as if anyone in the shop knew them, or that Molly was untrusting. “They’re chess pieces. I’m making them and charming them myself because the normal ones are a bit violent, but it’s Casper’s favorite game. It’s turning out quite cute so far!"

Akiva paused and looked up at Molly when she asked about jealousy.  “I guess I’ve never noticed,” she admitted.  Lady didn’t seem to mind, even finding things to watch over was probably her sign of liking Gabriel, and Gordon didn’t care as long as there was food in his bowl.  Akiva imagined that eventually he was going to start resenting Gabriel, what with small children’s desire to pull cat tails and grab… well, she imagined they wouldn’t be friends for very long. 

Then again, no one could tell the future, so Akiva was hopeful.  Maybe she could do something about it… there was probably a book somewhere on introducing your cat to your baby and making them like each other.  “I’ll research,” Akiva finally nodded, deciding that was going to be the best way to go… later.

Molly still had some time yet, and Akiva could fill her in later.  There were more important things to attend to – like the adorable night-lights that were all twinkling in front of them.  She was really a fan of the picture book idea and was glad when Molly said she also liked it.  “It’s very charming, I can see it fitting in your house.” 

Of course, leave it to Molly to do something so cute and fantastic.  Akiva made a little ‘oh’ noise and just imagined what she was going to do.  “I love that idea,” she gushed.  “I’m always so jealous of how artistic you are,” Akiva added with a smile.  She couldn’t  do much except make food taste good – and even then, Molly had a much better hand at making it beautiful.  Akiva had always been less concerned with that piece, as long as everything tasted delicious. 

Molly was truly an artist, and Akiva just… was not there.  “It sounds like you’re really almost ready for the baby,” she commented happily.  “Then, we can start having play dates,” she added with a bright smile.  “I want to make sure Gabriel is always surrounded by people, you know.  I was an only child - no cousins either - and it does make things quite difficult when you don't really have anyone to turn to.”  Parents didn't count in the same way, and certainly friends did, but when unforeseen circumstances happened - like wars - you couldn't exactly reach out to just anyone.   

“I’m sure if it was a problem, you would!” Molly smiled optimistically. And even if she herself could be absentminded or too much of a pushover with misbehaving pets, she thought she would notice something like that. That Akiva’s pets and child seemed to get along was a good sign for her own. Well, if it was the norm, anyway. Which Molly hoped it was. She wasn’t so sure she wouldn’t side with Casper, if there really ended up being an issue. Parenthood was supposed to change everything… even, perhaps, one’s cats being above suspicion. “But research is always good. I should do more of that, too. Would you loan me your skills for a day?”

It wasn’t that Molly wasn’t preparing, she was just more likely to get lost in a novel than a book with plenty of facts. Or she didn’t know where to begin, which book to pick. Those reads also tended to be part of a multitasking effort, wherein Molly attempted to cook, read, paint, and send owls all at the same time.

Working as a personal assistant, had, of course, made her more organized and a slightly better researcher. She was very careful and organized where it counted— but had depended quite a bit on detailed lists when she was out of her element. 

The list they were making now was an easy one to keep track of, though. Spending money seemed to work out that way, even for Molly, who was not the gambler in the family.

“It’s not too adult for a baby?” She laughed. But Molly thought once the pieces were all hanging together, constellation-like, and once music was added to the mobile, it would soften it up— the perfect blend of Casper’s favorite, logical hobby and something warm, homey, and Molly-ish. “You shouldn’t be that jealous. I have about five projects half finished right now. I’ll get into the right mode and do one all at once, but lately I’ve just got…” She waved her arms a bit. “A thousand things happening.” Which wasn’t always abnormal, truthfully. “If you ever need help though, I’d love to return the favor.” She gestured around the store. This was the sort of thing she couldn’t do on her own without getting lost; helping Akiva with an art project was much easier.

Even if she didn’t feel ready, she thought they did sound as if they had more together than she might have imagined they would have at this point. If you’d asked her five years ago. Or even one year ago. “Play dates! And all the holidays! Halloween will be here just after— we’ll have to have lots of little parties for them,” she promised, leaning over a bit to give Gabriel a smile. It was brilliant that he was at an age where he could begin to respond back. Even if Molly’s little creature wouldn’t be there for a while, play dates were still a good idea.

As Akiva brought up being an only child, Molly’s smile calmed. And she felt a pang of something, knowing how much her friend had been through lately. “Oh, Akiva, you know you’ll always have us. And Frank. For you and Gabriel. He’ll have more friends and honorary siblings than he knows what to do with.” She reached out to touch the other woman’s arm lightly. “And maybe some real siblings, too, one day. They spring up on you.” Molly’s siblings had sprung up on her when she’d gone off to Hogwarts, a whole new family! But she knew what Akiva meant, about the loneliness of being an only child. “Have you been doing things for you? Outside of being the mother of the year?”

 “You don’t need my skills,” Akiva laughed.  That was true – research was not everyone’s need in life, and the baby stuff was extra simple compared to some of the things she was asked for the library.  Baby things were different though, and too much research could… invariably end in a panic.  It had happened to her, late at night when she’d been too uncomfortable to get any decent amount of sleep and she’d be reading about all of the terrible things that could happen.  For some reason, the books were full of those things! 

She’d woken Dreogan up more than once to explain something that was virtually never going to happen.  But, it was part of the process to freak out over things like that, and you were supposed to be happy when none of them happened.  “And maybe it’s better you don’t have them,” she finally said with a little shake of her head. 

Talk of the mobile was much more fun anyhow.  “I think it sounds perfect.  I can’t wait to come and see it.”  That much was true, despite however many things she had going on.  Being busier was much better than having nothing to do, as far as Akiva was concerned.  Now Gabriel was a little older, he could be occupied by things that actually took her mind off of things much more easily. 

When he was an infant it was so routine – there was so little variation… it had been rough.  She loved her son and she was excited as anything to do the new things: holidays and play dates – all of the things that a mom was supposed to want to do.  Her smile was a little more serene now and they paused in the aisle.  “Of course,” she said with a little bit of embarrassment.  It wasn’t Akiva complains about the world day, she was trying to help her friend get ready for her baby!  That was supposed to be happy!

She took a sharp breath in and closed her eyes with a tiny shake of her head.  “I just always dreamed of having a big family, you know – three kids, at least.”  She shrugged a little and let out a deep breath.  The next question was a little surprising though and Akiva wet her lips.  “I’ve been catching up with a lot of people,” she started to explain. 

“I was having dinner with Maiko Biladeau, you remember her?” she continued without confirmation, “And she invited - do you remember another Ravenclaw in my year?  Callum Asher?” This time she did wait to catch Molly’s eye and started to push the carriage again, feeling a little anxious.  “Well, we’re going to catch up next week – dinner.”

Molly laughed with her, but shook her head. She was sure Akiva’s skills would be a wonderful thing to have. And gladly, she would share her own talent for baking. “Don’t curse your natural talents!”

She was glad the mobile didn’t sound like too serious of a thing for a baby. Molly wasn’t the type to be too serious in general— surely of the two of them, Casper would be the one to think logically about plans for the child’s future. But they had made the baby together, and she wanted their little bundle to know the boundless collection of hobbies in their household.

Molly looked over her friend gently, hoping she wasn’t catching her off guard. “You have plenty of time to make that happen,” she promised. “There’s no timeline.” But Molly knew the ups and downs and wondering— she had tried for years before finally getting this far. And yet, she had not lost what Akiva had. That was a different thing entirely. She could only insist that one shouldn’t give up hope. It could be hard, though, she knew. “And no right or wrong way,” she added, with a smile.

Molly’s mouth parted as she fished through her brain to put names to faces. She remembered Maiko from something at Akiva’s house, and nodded. “The school counselor,” she affirmed.

As for the man… “The name is familiar! But my eyes were on a different Ravenclaw,” she said, apologetically. Molly was better at keeping track of people now than she had as a teen. Family and close friends were one thing, but everyone she’d ever gone to school with… Well, for a nice woman, her head could get stuck in the clouds. And Casper had taken up quite a bit of her memory. (What a brilliant thing that she’d married an Obliviator.)

Working for a famous writer had nevertheless made her better at networking and remembering names— which would come in handy with her next little adventure.

“But if he scored dinner with you, he must be absolutely brilliant,” she continued. Molly’s smile became brighter as she looked over Akvia for any signs of how date-date-ish it was. “You know, if you want us to watch Gabe for you, Cas and I would love it. And you should just have a bubble bath and relax beforehand.”

There was a part of Akiva that, of course, knew what Molly said was ultimately true: there was no great book out there with everyone in it and their end already written and she couldn’t even venture a guess – divination had always been one of her worst subjects.  A firm grasp of reality and mathematical reasoning had seen to that.  Even trying to help other students with their homework it became woefully obvious it was never to be her strong point.

And that was perfectly fine – though it did leave uncertainties firmly lodged in one’s head.  She’d try to borrow some of Molly’s optimism, however, because that was at least a little less bleak than the perspective that it would just be her and Gabriel alone forever.  There were, at the very least, some options. 

Nodding as her present friend correctly placed another one of her friends, Akiva was glad she didn’t have to explain too much.  She had to laugh though.  Molly was right, she had been looking elsewhere, obviously.  There might have been a brief little eye roll… just because of how silly it really was.  Sometimes, imaging that they had once been in school.  It almost felt like she entirely disconnected from the entire school experience. 

It hadn’t exactly been the most peaceful time to go through it either.   There was a lot to disassociate with.  But, some people still remained and Akiva was glad to have gotten in touch with them again.  She blushed a little, “He didn’t score dinner with me,” she tilted her head toward Molly, “we’re just catching up.” 

It wasn’t a big deal, really, Akiva had assured herself of that and neither of them made such a big fuss about it.  Just a couple of owls to confirm – it was not a big deal.  “My parents are going to watch him though – thank you for the offer,” she smiled, “I’m sure I can find another excuse for you two to practice with him,” she grinned. 

“After all, a good night’s sleep is very tempting,” she grinned, pushing Gabriel along.  “Perhaps with one of these?” she picked up an owl stuffed animal with wings made of corduroy, a soft and stuffed body with tiny corduroy feet and big, embroidered on eyes.  When her fingers dug into its stomach, it hooted melodically.  Gabriel’s eyes immediately swiveled to find the sound and Akiva smiled.  “We actually might be taking this home,” she smiled, giving it another squeeze to find the little melody had changed.