Magic Most Mighty

They said leave, so she did.

There was no choice in the matter. Eleanor roused her sleeping sister, forced essentials into her hands and shoved her out of the house, though not before shoving a piece of toast between her teeth. Dejectedly, the blonde had to dress in the front garden. She had to ignore the looks of dismay passing dog walkers and nosy neighbours gave her as they watched her struggle to poke her fatigued limbs through the necessary holes in the clothing that had been picked out for her. Thankfully, the style was essentially her but she was to weary to care, too disheartened and rattled to really look at her clothing. And as she pushed her pyjamas into one of the bushes underneath the living room window, it occurred to our darling heroine that the chain of events that had led up to this point were part of an even bigger cataclysmic event that she was now rather aware of.

Despite the fact that the girl was home, something that was usually a joyous thing for parents, the young Hufflepuff still remained largely ignored to the point of her mother being openly cruel towards her. There was no love lost between the two sisters and so the jibes were exchanged with little break between each quip and retort. As the weeks had passed, it had become vicious. The cauldron had left its gentle simmer and it was at boiling point. One event needed to tip the scale and there would be no reason to keep her. There would be no reason to put up with the little freak that still lived in Number 35 Acre Drive. It was as if they were just waiting for an excuse to wash their hands with her.

She’d been musing as she’d laid in bed listening to the arguments that concerned everything from her to the length of the grass to how much Eleanor had spent that week on clothes and accessories and she had come to the conclusion that there was only one possible event so cataclysmic that her mother would have an excuse to be rid of her:

The impending divorce.

This was something Pippa pondered upon as she wandered down the road, rifling through the beach bag that she’d been given. Eleanor’s intention had been clear enough. She wanted Pippa away. Though for some families that would have been considered a nice gesture, for their family it was anything but. This bag packed so carefully and delicately had been made so that the absence of the blonde would be prolonged. Money had even been tucked into an inner pocket - forty pounds in total. That added to the time. The bag meant a day at the beach. The money meant lunch and dinner. And as Pippa chewed on the piece of toast she wondered just where to spend her day and who with. Of course, only one person sprang into her head. There was only one person who would put up with her for the day though it would mean having to plaster a smile onto her face despite the grimace that she wore now.

That person of course, was Reid Devereux; seemingly the only person in the world that could stand her. It was funny because Pippa thought Reid was rather fond of her. Apparently according to her mother, Reid was the only person in the world that could put up with her. And d'you know what added to the bitter hilarity of the words? They were spoken down the phone, to Reid's mother.

A heavy sigh passed Pippa’s lips as she trundled down the road, her feet not quite pressed properly into her shoes. She repositioned the sunhat on her head and bit the arm of the sunglasses that she’d found in the bag. Her feet were working on autopilot as her mind reeled from the indecent exposure she’d no doubt be arrested for and the self-deprecating mood she was in.

Faced with her own reflection as she had been over the last few days, in the endless hall of mirrors, her appearance had vastly changed; both in her eyes and in those around her.

"You look like those emaciated homeless people in town, Philippa!" Her mother had stated snootily one evening at dinner.

And though Pippa wasn't nearly as bad as her mother liked to accuse, there was still change in her. She picked at what little food she was given at meal times. She pushed herself on the football pitch to the point where she was sent off for violent conduct. She drove herself into the ground and the arguments with her sister left her exhausted though she could not sleep because of the arguments that continued endlessly into the night.

Now, dark purple bruises were carved into the skin beneath her eyes, bruises she would tidy up as soon as she managed to tug the make-up bag out of the beach bag that was hanging so precariously on her shoulder.

The click of the little pocket mirror that she’d found inside the overly floral make-up bag was somewhat welcoming; as welcoming as the concealer was. She watched with mild satisfaction as the circles disappeared under a layer of thick paste that was warm and unpleasant on her skin. She had no idea how to properly use make-up though she knew the uses. She knew what it did but what order to use it in was a step-by-step lost on Pippa. After ridding her face of the blemishes, she stole the strawberry lip balm out from between some blush and a tube of foundation. She smeared it across her cupid’s bow and rolled her upper and lower lips against each other before capping the balm and placing it back into the make-up bag. She tossed the mirror in there too and zipped it up before closing the bag for what she hoped was for good.

Of course, she soon opened it again as she made a short detour. She stepped into Costa Coffee and made her way slowly to the front of the queue as the sleep lifted. Once the last gentleman had left, Pippa stepped up to make her orders; two coffees, sugar, milk - and whatever else - to go. The people behind the counter obliged and even packed up a couple of donuts, not that she’d asked for them. Pippa paid her money and didn’t wait for the change before sweeping out of the coffee house. She then returned to autopilot, hugging the coffees to her chest, not quite willing to face the world. It wasn’t until she was climbing the steps to the floor that Reid’s apartment was on that Pippa decided it was probably best to pull herself together.

And so she did, not by choice but because she knew she had to. She didn’t want his concern, she didn’t want his worry. But what was worse was that she knew she wouldn’t be able to stand it if he just did notice. So it was better to mask it. It was better to keep him unaware because it hurt less. Her heart didn’t clench as much as she suspected it would have done if her melancholy was displayed openly and he just...failed to notice.

So, forcibly pressuring a smile onto her lips, Pippa brought her clenched fist to the door and rapped her knuckles against it. She brought her arm back to her chest. Her arms were wrapped around herself, holding herself together, not the coffee. She cared little about the coffee. What absorbed her was the burning hatred that was directed at her by her sister and by her mother, what absorbed her was the feeling of dismay, of anguish and of disappointment. She had to hold it together though, if only for Reid’s sake.

“Please be in,” Pippa whispered, fearing that, if he wasn’t, she would fall apart right there on his doorstep.

outfit.

Reid chased after the spotted kitten, who was in hot pursuit of a yowling blonde one, who had stolen the yarn ball. These two- Optimus and Peach, always seemed to be at odds. Peach liked stealing the others’ things and then fled whenever one was bent on retrieving it, but Optimus was the most territorial of all of them, so they often got into little spats.

“Optimus! No!” Optimus pounced onto Peach, but Reid’s hand shot out and grabbed Optimus by the scruff, scooping Peach up. He held one in each hand and sighed. He walked over and dropped Optimus onto the sofa next to a catnip toy before setting Peach on an armchair with Luigi. He sighed and straightened up, turning around.

Ness stared back at him, unblinkingly, from his perch in a hanging potted plant. Why they had the plant, he did not know- he thought he could remember Chase bringing it in saying it livened up the apartment. How the kitten kept getting into the plant, he did not know either. Ness stared.. Ness was one of those cats who, while friendly, were just plain creepy. He plucked him from the plant and suddenly felt claws raking his legs. He glanced down, yelping.

Zelda was their resident scratched. He scooped her up and stood to see Kirby leaping up. Reid squatted and Kirby landed on his shoulder, sitting as though he were parrot rather than a bird. Link began mewing, looking up at his sister. Reid sighed and shuffled Zelda and Ness into the crook of his left arm, picking up Link. And that was when he heard the knock.

Immediately, all the kittens mewed in unison- the creepiest sound he had ever heard, to be honest. Reid walked over to the door and peeked through the eyehole- Pippa. Someone who could assist him with all of these damn kittens! He juggled Link onto his forarm and awkwardly reached out, turned the doorknob, and opened it with the toe of his shoe.

“Pippa!” he greeted her enthusiastically, for once, as Reid was never very enthusiastic. “Have a kitten!” He plopped Ness into her hands and shuffled his arms- one kitten in each arm and one on his shoulder. Not as bad. He sighed and finally looked at his little sister type friend, cocking his head and jerking his chin at the bag. “Why the bag? You’re not moving in are you?” he asked cautiously. “I’ve told you, I simply cannot..”

That was when Reid realized Pippa looked a little off, but he could not place why. “Well, come in, then. Can’t have you in the hallway all day. Here, take another kitten..” He dropped Link into her arms, before reaching out to take her bag. “I’ll take that. While you’re at it, have another.” He grinned and plopped Zelda into her hands.

He walked inside and held the door open for her. Immediately, DK ran for the door. Reid stuck a leg out and the brown cat bumped into it. “Back,” he warned. He closed the door after Pippa and dropped the bag onto the couch, and a few Optimus pounced onto it, chewing on the strap with his little fangs. Reid rolled his eyes and gestured for Pippa to sit. “Root beer?” He summoned too cold bottles of pop and pointed his wand at the top, popping off the lid. He held it out for her and asked, “So what’s going on?”

In the minutes before Reid opened the door, Pippa’s fear mounted around her. Scenes popped into her head, playing on her fear that Reid had already or was in the process of abandoning her. The scenes were innocent in some respects but others teased her insecurity, the terror she felt when being faced with the idea that she was going to one day be left alone. She could just imagine Reid sitting in a coffee shop with a beautiful brunette, discussing anything from books to music to politics. She could imagine a game of footsie going on under the table, the gooey eyes and the innuendo-laced double-entendres. For some reason, the idea of Reid finding someone - anyone - to settle down with horrified Pippa. The shock of it was enough to make her forget to breath and so when oxygen finally squeezed through the valves into her lungs, she keeled over from the shock of it.

Pippa squeezed her eyes shut and let the coffees fall to the floor before gripping her upper arms. Pippa gasped, her mouth falling agape, and she felt the first prickles of tears tease at the sides of her eyes. Before she could fall apart though, the sound of the deadlock being undone forced her to sober up, to right herself and to pull a bright smile onto her face. She managed a smile; though whether it was bright or not was another question all together.

“Hi!” A genuine smile made it onto Pippa’s mouth as she set eyes on her friend and she took a step forward, only to have a cat dumped into her arms. Pippa pursed her lips and lifted Ness up to eye level. The kitten mewed and batted at her cheek, scrabbling forward to lick at her face. Pippa giggled and brought Ness to her once more. She scratched the kitten behind the ears and looked up at Reid as his tone of voice change. Pippa frowned as her throat dried up uncomfortably. She swallowed, her throat clenching like it was suddenly made of sandpaper, and she shook her head, the motion allowing her to flick away the tears. She smiled brightly at him before scoffing with a dramatic flair.

“Oh please! If I was going to move out then I’d...I’d...” Pippa paused and bit her lip before continuing. “My aunt is nice. She’s widowed and stuff so she’d have me. Besides...that’s not why I’m here.” She paused, the unspoken ‘yet’ hanging uncomfortably in the air. Pippa frowned and shook her head before deciding to continue once more.

Pippa swallowed again and accepted the second kitten. Ness climbed up onto her shoulder and Pippa hugged Link to her chest, only just managing to stop herself from burying her head in the fur and hiding from the world. She allowed Reid to take her bag, only to have him replace it with another cat. It was then that Pippa realised all he was doing was dumping them on her and she couldn’t help but let a roguish grin onto her face. How dastardly. Pippa giggled and stepped inside, the coffee now forgotten, and wandered over to the couch. She deposited the kitties onto the cushions and brought her hand up to scratch Ness behind the ears again.

Pippa took all but collapsed onto the sofa and she tore Optimus off of the bag, setting him on her legs before he could do any more harm. Pippa kissed the kitten on the nose and scratched his belly before pushing him off the couch to go and join the others. Ness jumped off her shoulder soon after, deciding that it was much more fun in the thick of the action than it was to observe from above. Link, however, didn’t seem to share the sentiment and soon crawled back to Pippa. She was quite happy to have the little creature on her lap.

“Oh!” Pippa jumped at the sound of Reid’s voice, her mind having been temporarily out to lunch, and Link glared at her before snuggling back against her stomach. Pippa took the root beer from him and rapped her nails against the bottle before looking at him. “Oh, um, actually my sister suggested I go to the beach and I had no one to go with so I thought I’d come and see you to see if you’d come with. It’s like kitty paradise here. You look like you could use a little break. Thank you for this by the way,” she held up the drink. “Do you...do you want to come? I could kill for a Ninety-Nine Flake!”