A Mother’s Plight by mrsmcclnt

Little Miss Seer

Tears silently fell as Merope recounted her last days with Tom. All those beautiful moments they had spent together were in vain. She could tell from the look in his eyes that he wanted no part of her. So she had not gone after him. She had watched him leave her and her child’s life.

“What’s wrong?” a little voice beside her asked.

Merope was startled to hear someone else talking to her. She looked down to see a little girl’s face staring back. She looked like a sweet child, about three years old with beautiful long wavy hair. The thick-lensed glasses she was wearing magnified her sad eyes. Her expression was just as dreadful as Merope’s.

“What’s wrong, Miss?” the little girl asked again.

“Oh darling, I’m just having a bad day. Nothing more. Most grown-ups go through these things,” Merope said, trying to put up a brave front for the little girl.

“Did someone make fun of you?” she asked.

“Oh no. Not really. But I don’t really mind that sort of thing. I know that there are more nice people in the world than there are mean ones. For every mean thing a person says to you, there are usually ten nice things that others will say instead.” Merope smiled as she winked to the little girl. This bolstered the child’s spirit. She straightened her glasses and gave Merope a great beaming smile.

An older woman came up from behind and took a chair right next to Merope’s. She greeted her with the same kind yet concerned expression.

“We seem to be making friends today, don’t we?” the lady said to the little girl. “Why don’t you check on our soup to see if it’s ready?” The little girl danced over to the barmaid to inquire about their order. “My name is Cassandra,” the lady said as she and Merope shook hands.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Merope … Merope Riddle.” She felt funny saying his last name. But she still felt married to him even though he would not have her.

“My child, what is troubling you?” Cassandra asked.

“Nothing … nothing at all. Just having one of those days,” she tried to cover.

“Dear, anyone with an ounce of goodness can tell that you carry a great burden. And I’m not talking about the weight that grows in your womb!” The older lady gave a slight rub to Merope’s belly.

Merope didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t in the habit of talking about her problems, since she really hadn’t had anyone to talk to while growing up. She had just kept to herself at her father’s house, trying not to rouse the man’s anger. She hadn’t really started talking until she was with Tom. Now that was gone.

“Is it the child, dear?” the woman asked.

Merope’s mind began to click. She began asking Cassandra all sorts of questions, relaying to her some of her experiences. But she made a point of leaving out some details, particularly the incident with Mr. Burke. Cassandra just looked at her and laughed.

“This is perfectly normal for us, dear – ‘us’ being witches and all,” she said matter-of-factly. “Muggle science would say that these mood swings are all a part of a women’s hormones. But in our world we know that when you share your life force with someone, like when you’re pregnant, you tend to share your feelings and experiences with the little one as it grows inside you. It’s all a part of your bonding with the baby.”

“But what about having visions?” Merope asked.

“Well dear, you must have Seers in your family then. I know the women in my family tend to see a little of their child’s future while they are carrying them in the womb. If Seers run in your family, then this would be perfectly natural for you to experience,” Cassandra said with another one of her smiles.

Merope wasn’t sure if Seers did run in her family. But that wasn’t to say that there weren’t any in her bloodline. Cassandra’s reasoning seemed plausible enough. But still something else troubled her.

“Cassandra, what if these visions are … dark? What if they foretell some impending danger?”

“My dear, I tell you this: Nothing is for certain. In this day and age, with the changing of the times and of men’s hearts, who knows what the future will bring. You as a mother can only stand ready and do your best to raise your child with as much love and understanding as a person can give. Your visions of darkness in your child’s future may be because you do not feel ready to be the mother you want to be. But trust this; do not worry so much on what lies ahead when you need to concentrate on what is now. So many people who come to me forget this. They work so hard to prevent the future that they end up fulfilling their own prophecies. Who’s to say that anything a Seer sees will actually happen?” Cassandra gave such a broad smile that Merope was comforted. “Dear heart, when you are able to feel the love that this child gives you in return for the love you give it, then those visions will dissipate along with your fears. The future will be what it will be.”

Cassandra looked up to see an older gentleman come into the pub. She motioned to him that she would be just a moment and told Merope that she would be right back. The little girl came over to her with some candy that the barmaid had given her.

“My Great-Great-Gran says that I can see things too, even though I don’t understand them,” the girl said to her brightly. “She says that it runs in our family.”

“Well that must be fun!” said Merope.

“It is! I usually see my friend Potty getting into so much trouble!”

“Potty? Is that a spirit of sorts?” Merope asked.

“No, no. Potty is my friend! He’s a little boy who lives under the stairs at his wicked uncle’s house. But then he always breaks out and goes off on these great adventures to slay these great big beast and DRAGONS! He’s really fast on a broomstick and very smart. But in the end, he still always ends up getting into trouble.” The girl seemed almost out of breath as she finished relaying her friend’s little adventures.

“Well, his stories would make for great reading! Where is he now?”

“Right next to you,” the little girl said. Merope looked over but didn’t see a little boy standing around, only the much older patrons in the pub. But she didn’t let on. She greeted the open air with a smile.

“Pleased to meet you, Potty,” Merope said in a very cordial tone.

“You’ll have to excuse his appearance. He can never keep his hair right and I believe he got that scrape on his head from a near miss with a dragon,” the little girl bragged as she introduced her friend.

“Well I hope the dragon wasn’t too much a problem for him.”

“No. They never are,” the girl said. Merope noticed that she had been eying her stomach during much of their conversation. She looked up at Merope and asked, “How many pumpkin seeds did you eat?”

Merope was somewhat confused. ”I’m not too sure. Why?”

“My friend, Ellen, told me that when you don’t properly chew your pumpkin seed it will grow inside your belly until it is ripe and ready to be picked,” the little girl said.

“Well, I don’t believe there’s a pumpkin growing inside my belly. There is a baby in there though,” Merope said.

The little girl looked astounded, “Did you eat the baby?”

“Oh no, child! I’m … uh …” Merope could tell that the child was hanging onto her every word. As much as the girl was incorrect, she didn’t feel it was her place to explain such things to her. Heaven knew she wouldn’t have wanted some stranger explaining such intimate details to her child, no matter how well mannered that person was. Merope looked quite bashful as she tried to back out of the conversation. This made the little girl laugh and try even harder to pry the truth out of her. Then she hugged Merope. Merope could feel the little girl laughing as she gave her a tight squeeze. She wondered if there would be fun moments like this when she had her baby.

She looked over to Cassandra, who looked as if she was in a debate with the gentleman that arrived earlier. The man seemed to be pleading with her while holding a vial of something gold-colored in his hand. She wondered what the fuss could be about. Then she heard the strange hissing noises again. This alarmed Merope greatly, so she started taking deep breaths again to try to keep herself calm. This usually stopped the noise whenever she felt upset. But then she realized she had already been calm before. So where was the noise coming from? The hissing noise started to take shape. She could make out some of the words but she had trouble hearing the rest. It sound was very quiet. Merope slowly looked around the room, expecting to see the familiar face of her father or brother, but to her surprise it was neither.

Her gaze stopped at the little girl, who had a tight grip on her belly.

The girl looked as if she was in a trance. She was sitting perfectly still and muttering in Parseltongue, something Merope was very familiar with. Merope looked in Cassandra’s direction, trying to get her attention, but no one, not even the girl’s great-great-grandmother, noticed that there was any trouble. At first she thought she should shake the girl, but then she realized that it might do more harm than good to bring her out of this state. She felt the girl’s grip getting tighter on her stomach. She placed her hands on top of the girl’s hands in an effort to break free.

Suddenly the hissing stopped. She looked around to see that the pub was empty and she and the little girl were the only two people by the fire. The girl’s eyes were all white, and her gaze focused all of Merope’s attention to her.

“On the eve of the new year, the Serpent’s Heir will be born.
This bastion of evil will bring terror into our world,
a terror so deep that few will speak of his horrors … or his name.”


CRACK

A customer bumped into a nearby table. The sound of a glass falling to the ground and shattering was enough to break Merope free from the little girl’s grip. The child snapped back to her normal state and looked up at Merope, smiling as if nothing had happened. Merope gave her a warm smile even though her insides felt as though the bottom had come out from her.

Cassandra made her way back to the two, looking exhausted from her conversation with the gentleman. “Some people will never listen! But I know you don’t have that problem, dear.” She gave Merope a pat on the knee as she tried to gather her coat. Merope just sat there quietly, trying to shake off the eeriness of what the girl had said. She remembered what Cassandra had told her a few minutes ago, but the little girl’s words were standing out more and more.

“Here, take this.” Cassandra gave Merope the vial of gold-like liquid that the gentleman had given her earlier. “My friend, Felix, claims that it can bring about good luck. He wanted me to try it but I told him that I don’t believe in such things. Luck is more of a Muggle philosophy for those who don’t feel in control of their lives. It would be wasted on me, but it’s still pretty to look at.”

Merope could hear her words, but nothing was registering. Her mind was still stuck on what the little girl had said. She gave a smile to Cassandra as she took the vial from her hands.

“Well dear, if anyone is in need of ‘luck,’ I can’t think of a better person. But mark my words - you won’t be needing that! Things will come around and you will live on to do great and wondrous things - you and the baby. Furthermore, I … will …. where is that girl?” Cassandra looked around to see that her great-great-grandchild was with the barmaid, trying to get more candy.

“Miss Sybill Trelawney!! Your mother will have my hide if you keep eating any more sweets!!” Cassandra gave an exhausted sigh that slowly crept into laughter. “The best thing about grandchildren, especially great-great-grandchildren, is that you can always leave them with their parents just before they get too out of hand. I don’t think her mother would mind if I dropped her off just an hour early. The girl must be tired after running around at Bertie Bott’s all day. I should have enough time to get her home before all that sugar begins to process.”

Cassandra gave Merope a warm hug, followed by Miss Sybill, who gave her a kiss on the cheek. They bid each other farewell and Cassandra and Sybill walked out of the pub and into the night.

Merope had gathered so much reassurance from the two of them that she’d almost forgotten the little incident that had occurred earlier – but not completely. She had started to gather herself together when the barmaid, once again, came greeting her with a smile.

“I have your room ready,” she said.

“My room?” Merope asked. She did not recall asking for boarding, since she didn’t have much money.

“Yes, your room. What? Did you think you were going to be sleeping in the back of the paper mill tonight?”

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