Cockney Accents and Motherly Advice

Life was easier as a dog. A dog’s life wasn’t complicated. Although, a dog wondering through Diagon Alley wasn’t something people saw on a normal day. This dog was somehow dragging itself down to the Bistro that it had stormed out of the day before last. He didn’t want to go; he would have rather followed his mother around all day. Charlotte’s day would have been pretty simple and he would have heard plenty of gossip so he could bask in that. Maybe the crazy bird would even think to bring him home for the kids to play with. Then again, he didn’t want his fur pulled and he knew one of the toddlers would pull on his tail. He remembered that was why he didn’t like going home. He hated the insufferable brats no matter who their mother was. Another thing that he’d cocked up on. He’d made a pact with Reg not to get married and have kids. They’d both made a promise to each other not to. Then again, that was spectacularly binned when he married Helene and ended up with Jinx. And then they disappeared.

The dog stopped outside the Bistro and nudged the door open with its nose. Lizzie, the chef trainee came out into the main restaurant area and the dog looked at her. She walked over and patted his head before walking back into the kitchen. The dog followed and turned back into a human mid-stride. Lizzie turned around once more and shrieked upon seeing a rather doggish version of Robert Andrew Dent. She picked up a towel and rushed over to him. She rubbed some of the dirt, mud and blood that had caked onto his face and Rob smiled sleepily at her. She sighed and hugged him tightly, a bone crushing hug that could probably rival Jenifer’s. Rob sucked in a breath and bit his lip. Eventually though, he managed to hug Lizzie back. She pulled away and looked at him with tears in her eyes.

“Liz, I’m okay.” Rob said wearily. “Have you set the tables?”
“If you actually took notice of your surroundings then you would have noticed that in fact I have.” She said in her thick cockney drawl. “Sit yourself down; you look like you’ve been kicked in the queen’s jewels.” She took him out into the main bistro and sat him down in one of the softer chairs. “Now, how ‘bout I fix you sommit?”
“What are you talking about? You can’t cook, Liz.” Rob mumbled.
“You ain’t all that, y’know. I can make yah up a batch o’ sarnies.”
“You can’t cook, Liz.” Rob repeated. “Did you hit your head on something?”
“Me!? You’re the one who nigh on exploded! I couldn’t believe me ears when I ‘eard that!” Lizzie snapped. “I don’t know much about cookin’ but I’m not bad at relationships. Alls I can say is that you’ve mucked this up, boy and you better fix it quick before that nipper arrives. You hear?”
“Go back to the kitchen, Liz.” Rob said weakly. “I shouldn’t have come.”

She scoffed and Rob got up from his seat. The dog returned but he couldn’t stay on his feet long enough. The emotional turmoil was getting too much for the both of them and Liz only managed to get there fast enough before he collapsed on the cold floor. She sighed and lowered him onto the tiles, muttering something about dogs and how they shouldn’t be allowed in restaurants. Rob whimpered and she sighed again before turning one of the chairs into a pillow with a snap of her fingers. She laid the pillow under Rob’s head and the dog closed her eyes. She rose to her full height again and disappeared into the kitchen, hell bent on making a cup of tea and that platter of sandwiches.

Katherine apparated into the dining room and found, instantly finding the RobDog on the floor. "Well, aren't you a pitiful mess?" She sighed softly. She petted him softly. "Feels that rought, does it? Well, I can understand why being a dog would be more attractive right now. Would you please just talk with me a bit? Hear me out? I am not your enemy, Rob. I didn't come to blast you or nag you. I just would like to have a quiet, civilized conversation with my son in law. That's all. You should know by now I treat things a bit differently than Robert. Besides, he's quite busy at the moment. All you'll get right now is just me."

Rob lifted his head when Katherine came in and the dog gave a little whimper. He didn’t know what to do with himself. He just wanted to die. He finally knew what every man in his family that ever walked away from a Whitlock, actually felt. Maybe this time the curse was treating him badly. He knew he’d mucked everything up – he wasn’t a complete brainless prick. He managed to use what was probably the last of his magic, to turn back into a human and he somehow managed to sit up. He had to lean against the chair but he was sat up and at least looked interested in what Katherine had to say. She was a lovely woman but he didn’t want to know. He just wanted to lay in a gutter and die. That was all, the simplest request that any one person can ever make. Kill me – those were two words that he just wanted to say. One question, that was all and then hopefully Katherine would have mercy on him and end his suffering. “Can you please just kill me and drag me outside so I don’t stink up the joint? I know I’ve been a bastard and all that, you don’t need to lecture me, but please just do me this favour, Katherine. I don’t want to live anymore.” He must have sounded incredibly over dramatic but that was how he felt. He truly wanted to die and he could already see them all at his funeral, his mother pretending to cry and Jen standing there trying to bottle up more emotional scarring. The disappointed faces of all of his cousins who loved him to pieces despite him ‘hating’ them – it was all there in his mind.

“I don’t want to talk about this. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep and I can’t even drink anymore. The bloody twat you’re married to wouldn’t do this for me. He’d make me suffer and just tell me to be a man. Well it’s a huge bloody newsflash and it might come as a shock to you all but I am not a man! Okay, I am still that scared little nine year old boy who lost the only father figure he’d ever seen. I’m still that scared boy who was told to buck up and act like a man. I wasn’t allowed to even cry, did you know that? They didn’t let me do anything! I can’t begin to imagine what she said to Jen! She was the closest to our father and he left, she had to deal with that while I was oblivious. I’m terrified of losing Khaat, alright? I’m scared out of my wits that’ll I’ll lose Abbey and because of this I can’t be with them! I can’t be with my wife or my daughter because my family aren’t allowed one shred of happiness! We lose everything we hold dear to use one way or another! I’m going to lose Gibbs and Jen and they’re going to lose me! Khaat might be good for me, she might keep me on the straight and narrow but I’m no good for her. I’m no good for her or Abbey. I can’t... I can’t do anything right.”

"Alright," she said softly and slowly in a nurturing tone that she was sure he'd never heard in his life. "First things first. You have one of the worst energy signatures I've seen in awhile. You've scrambled yourself all up. No wonder you feel bad." She brushed his hair softly in a loving way and paused both hands, one on either side of his head, sending a powerful bolt of wandless magic through him to fix the signature. She did have some healing skills, and she had had to learn that years ago from Robert if she was going to be any help to him during their midwivery work. Childbirth was hell on energy signatures. "That will kick in, in a moment, and it should help dramatically. As to your question about Khaat, there's no doubt in my mind she still wants you. You're so beside yourself, though, that you forget that she still thinks you've chosen some odd Lestrange woman over her. She has no idea it was Abbey--and that's the perfect name for her. Good job there. Khaat does not know you did not twotime her. She thinks you stopped loving her. She needs to know the simple truth. That will fix a multitude of errors here. Just a simple conversation with her. If we can find her.

"You and Khaat are so much alike, do you know that? Did you know that she doesn't feel, at all, like she deserves you or can live up to who she wants to be for you? You don't feel worthy of her, and she does not at all understand why you would want anything to do with her. I'll tell you a secret. But don't tell her I told you. She actually believes she is too ugly for any man to ever want her. Why do you think she's not been married by now? She was terrified when you left that you ran out on her because when she got pregnant you thought she was far too ugly to be around now. That's her biggest, deepest, darkest secret. Most of the rest, you know.

"You are afraid to be wth her because of your family secrets. Don't think you're good enough. Well, here's another secret. Robert and I do love you--very much. Like you were truly our own son. We don't like that your childhood was bloody hell. And Robert, well, he's gotten very attached to Khaat. Did you know that when Remus died, Khaat did a lot of what you're doing now, only worse? She hung one breath away from death for days, and Robert never left her side. When he was able to curb the grief enough to bring her back, she was quiet. Guarded. Different. Honestly, he doesn't want to see her go through that again. But, if she does, she does. That's just life.

"And, I'll tell you something else. Robert still goes on a camping trip for two weeks every summer with his mates to just be little boys and cause magical mahem in the wilderness. You don't need to grow up entirely. But you and I both know that it's Khaat's absence that's eating at you like a powerful poison. She wants you just the way you are--just as long as you love her. She loves that little boy quality in you. She's not happy when you're away from her, that's true enough. But look at what you do know for one moment. You aren't happy like this, and the only thing in your life that has changed is that Khaat is gone. Do the math for just half a tic.

"What are you out? If you want me to kill you anyway? How about going with me and lets at least find her? I'm quite sure she doesn't look or feel much better than you do, but then the conversation should not be as fiery as it was the other day. Neither of you are interested in that anymore. It would be nice if she hears it from you that it was Abbey that started all of this, and not some imaginary affair that never happened. Come on. I'll help you. I'll go with you. If it is irrepairable, I will agree to end your suffering for you. Deal?"

Rob wasn’t sure what to say. He felt marginally better thanks to the buzz that Katherine gave his magic. He knew he could probably move pretty well now. She had spoken to him in a really bizarre tone. As if she actually cared. She couldn’t though, he was just... him. He wanted to see Khaat again. Hell, he wanted to hold her again. He wanted to apologize for – no; actually he wasn’t sorry about yelling at her father. He deserved it. He wanted to apologize about everything else that he’d screwed up on. He slowly got to his feet and smiled sleepily at Katherine. “I best go and check on Lizzie, to make sure she isn’t going to burn the place down. I’ll be back.” He slipped away from Katherine and walked into the kitchen. His mind was dwelling heavily on Khaat and more so on Abbey. He didn’t know what to think. Was his little girl going to be alright? He just hoped Khaat wouldn’t do anything drastic. He still loved her – no matter what she thought. He loved both of them.
 

Khaat had, in utter desperation found exactly what she needed from a seedy little shop in the worst part of Knockturn Alley. And when she found something that would kill her emotions, she drank the bitter potion like water. She had spent exorbitant amounts of money to buy countless vials of the potion, and she was drinking it almost as fast as she could buy it. Funny thing, the more she wanted, the higher the price seemed to get for it. But she was numb. She didn't give a damn. She liked how she didn't need food or sleep anymore. She liked that she could work endlessly at St. Mungos. But she was keenly aware that her eyes had taken an odd glassy look, so she had taken to wearing sunglasses most of the time, citing stress headaches as the lame reason. She wasn't sure, but she thought her voice had almost taken an odd sort of tinny sound.

She had no idea when she had slept or eaten last. She couldn't remember. The numbness did dull her concentration. She'd even bought some of that weird muggle makeup to hide the dark circles under her eyes she seemed to be growing. She had no choice. Rob needed the keys to the bistro. She had to drop them off. She really wasn't feeling well, but she had been just around the corner at her favorite new haunt, filling her black bag again, and had swallowed 2 vials this time, feeling that she might need extra numbing to face Rob.

She went into the bistro, really feeling sick now. She dropped into the kitchen and dropped the keys on the counter. "You'll need these," she told him, not sure if she had been able to hold her voice together or not. "Glad you're okay and you're still running this. You're welcome at the house. I haven't been there." She suddenly felt extremely ill. "I have to go."

She left the kitchen in a hurry and went into the ladies room, not even bothering to think about locking the door, suddenly in sharp pain, sinking to her knees on the floor. Her bag spilled out and the vials scattered everywhere. She gathered them up in an instant, hoping she got them all, not wanting anyone to know her secret.

He turned around at the sound of the door opening and he couldn’t quite believe it. She was there. She was actually there! He could have crossed the kitchen and put his arms around her. If she’d come a few moments prior she would have seen the devastation that had befouled him. Rob felt slightly ill, seeing her there and knowing he couldn’t touch her. He wanted to have her near him again. The bad dream was not a bad dream, it was a harsh reality. He didn’t know what to say to her. But as she ran out of the room, Rob felt this god-awful tug come from somewhere. He wasn’t going to over react. This time he knew what was wrong. Abbey was scared or at least in some kind of turmoil.

Rob sighed and Lizzie looked at him quizzically. He smiled at her and left the kitchen. He walked back into the bistro and walked towards the bathrooms, not even thinking twice about the fact that he was walking into the ladies room. Abbey needed him – Khaat needed him. This was more important than the hereditary male fear of what might be behind the door of the ladies toilets. He pushed the door open and found Khaat on the floor. He leaned down and put a hand on her shoulder. He shook her gently and curled a piece of hair around her ear. “Khaat? Khaat, lo- talk to me. What’s wrong?”

"I--I don't think the baby likes french roast," she said softly, trying to catch her breath. "Well, something else I'm finding out about her. She hates coffee." She didn't believe for one moment it was the coffee, but if he bought it that was good with her. "And I'm such a damned coffee addict, too." She managed to look up at him through her dark lenses and caress his cheek slowly and softly. "Please don't worry. I'm fine. It might just be something I ate too. Who knows?"

Rob sighed and helped Khaat onto her feet. He picked up her bag and handed it to her, deciding that he couldn’t do much else. He didn’t know how he was supposed to help her. He wanted to tell her he loved her but it didn’t seem to be the right time. When would it ever be the right time? He sighed again and kept his eyes glued to the tiled floor. He was feeling tired again. His magical signature wasn’t taking to the buzz Katherine had given him. He probably had enough to turn back into his Animagus but he wouldn’t be turning back anytime soon if he chose to. He didn’t want Katherine to give him another buzz either; he couldn’t deal with feeling it drain away. Rob guessed that it was the only bit of pure magic he had left – stuff that relied on Khaat. “Abbey… I thought it was a good name. F-for her, I mean, our daughter.” Rob swallowed and looked at Khaat. She looked as tired as he felt. “Go home, Khaat. Get some rest. For her sake.”

"I..can't," she said very softly. "There's nothing to go back there for. It's empty. Dad has the kids. There's no love there anymore. You're not there. I can deal with the kids not being there, but you...that's different. I don't know what happened, but, do we really have to do this? Like this? I can't go home. Not without you. I..I guess I'm going to go back to St. Mungo's, I guess. I have work to do. Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. Honest." She touched his hand and felt for a second that her potion was wearing off, that the feel of his hand was melting the ice she was working so hard to coat her heart with. "You know how to find me if you change your mind and decide you still want an 'us' ," she said softly. She had to force herself to try to walk past him, but it felt like the steps were in the wrong direction. It stopped her in her tracks. "Rob? What happened? Where did we go?"