It's About Making Your Own Destiny, Not Waiting For It To Come Along.

It was almost as though this was not a contestable matter. Theodore wanted to protect his daughter from the idea that perhaps Mairen wouldn’t want to move in with them but he actually felt as though it was a misplaced fear. In fact, Theodore almost wanted to protect Mairen from his daughter who seemed thoroughly determined, the Rookwood that she was, that there be no other option and that moving in was the most logical and rational thing for her to choose to do. It was he only logical end, Esme had determined.

“Let’s go!” She enthused, scurrying off in the direction of the stairs once more, her bemused father watching in the wake of the girls as the younger and littler led the way up the staircase and onto the ground floor before winding up another set onto the first floor where she immediately hurried for her bedroom, throwing open the door.

It was a room which Theodore had put a lot of time and effort into, with Esme approving along the way. She liked purple best and so that was the theme along with white and bits of pink here and there. The walls were white apart from some statement wallpaper and the borders were coloured, picking out the hues in the curtains. Her toys were packed away neatly into bright trunks (for once) and the light was shining in greedily through the front windows through which you could see the park and the ambers and reds of the trees that were planted along the fence line.

“It’s pretty!” Esme declared, clambering onto her bed. “Daddy did it.”

She then climbed off of the bed and hurried out, pulling Mairen’s hand as she tumbled across the landing and into the other room which would be the elder woman’s. It was light, bright and large – unfortunately without much of a colour scheme. What Theodore had done was clean and tidy, however, with the floors freshly re-stained. The furniture he’d promised was there and Esme lingered with Mairen on the threshold, peering inside curiously.

“Do you like pu’ple, Mai?” Esme asked curiously, turning a little as she heard her father’s footfalls on the stairs.

“What do you think?” Theodore inquired, drawing up behind the girls to look inside himself.

“Mai’s living here,” Esme declared, throwing her arms around the woman in question’s leg.

Theodore raised an eyebrow. “You’ll have to ask nicely, baby.” He reminded her.

Esme gasped and looked up balefully at the witch. “Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaseeeee!” She exclaimed. “I’ll make daddy be nice!” She swore. “Even in the mornings, I promise!”

"Yes, very pretty," Mairen agreed good-naturedly, nodding in Esme's direction. Allowing herself to be tugged off into the other room, Mairen had to ask herself if she was actually going to be able to handle living essentially next door to the little girl. But then the girl started asking her questions and assuring Theodore that the redhead needed to stay.

A bright laugh escaped when Esme wrapped her arms around Mairen's leg and promised to keep Theordore in line, the first truly happy one since Scorpius had disappeared. The first since her voice had come back. It surprised her into a blush as she looked down at the little girl. When her gaze lifted to find Theodore's, Mairen let her hand pass over Esme's hair gently.

"Well," she started finally, "if you're quite sure I won't drive you mad - because, in truth, I have a tendency to talk a little bit too much - then I would love to stay, Theo. Although, if this room doesn't get a bit of color right quick, it will be me who goes mad," she jested with a wide smile.

"I'll be nice, though, and avoid the color red. I know how much your Slytherin heart might crumple if I request any shade of rouge, so perhaps a more neutral color might better suit the room," Mairen suggested with another laugh. "But I bet Esme could help with that, hey?" she asked, sinking down to the little girl's level.

It was as she glanced up at Theodore again that Mairen realized she might have made a mistake in telling him her problems. Now, she had become part of the child's life, and she wasn't sure that Theodore had wanted anyone to fill that slot. Her smile relaxed into a more neutral expression and she bit her lip before blinking a few times and returning her gaze to Esme.

"Honey," she started slowly, offering her hands palm up for Esme to take if she wanted to. "Are you sure you want someone else here?" she asked, here eyebrows lifting and pulling together. "I mean, it's probably lots of fun, just you and your daddy. If you don't want that to change, it doesn't have to. Okay? So it's up to you, pretty one. You get to pick."