Good advice is always certain to be ignored...
"You have been jumping about like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers all morning, Penny. What on Earth is your problem?"
Penelope looked up from the reply owl she'd been clutching to see Hannah there with her hands on her hips. She was working weekends at the bakery to supplement her income. She had started a Gringotts vault for Jack for his schooling. All her weekend earnings would be going in there. Brody was not pleased about her working seven days a week, but she didn't mind. There weren't many scrolls to mark yet since term had just started. His continual offers to let him supplement the income when he was neither her husband not Jack's father were going to result in an argument though. Penelope had always taken care of Jack, and she always would.
"Hmmm?"
Hannah frowned. Penelope had been distracted all morning, and it just was not like her. Claire had had to stop her from send the wrong owl order to the wrong people at least twice.
"You're distracted. Did you want to speak of it? Please don't tell me it's Brody."
"What? No. He's lovely."
Hannah glanced over to the corner where she had made a pallet. Jack was sitting with Grace and Heather. The older children were helping Grace to read. Heather was not always patient, but Jack was. He had his mother's abilities there. He was a natural teacher.
Penelope sighed. She did need to speak to someone. Most of the MacDougals were out. She did adore the family, but the majority of their solutions to problems involved punching someone in the face.
She moved away from the tables she and Claire were sitting at to do the owl orders and to a more secluded spot in the kitchen, away from where Kristen was rolling dough and Amy was popping things into the ovens.
"It's Percy," she said quietly, glancing at Jack nervously.
He was too engrossed in helping Grace to notice his mum.
"What's he done?" Hannah frowned. She'd always gotten along well with Percy. Jack adored him, and from the stories she had heard from the boy of this summer, Percy was a good father.
"Nothing... really," Penelope sighed and put a hand to her head. She was getting a headache just thinking about it. "He has this little friend. A woman friend. Oh you can't really call her a woman yet. She's barely out of school."
Hannah raised a brow. Penelope sounded a bit jealous.
"I don't even know if... Oh I can't even phrase it properly. I adore Brody." She put a hand to her heart. "I know things are over with Percy and I. We're too changed, both of us, but that does not mean I stopped caring what happened to him. He'll always be Jack's father. I'm always going to consider him a friend because that's what he was before anything else. That's what he'll always be. I don't know this girl. I don't know anything about her."
"And if she's to spend time near your son, you want to," Hannah said, nodding.
It made perfect sense to her. She would not want any of the Stewarts spending time with people she did not know. If Kristen were interested in someone besides Owen, she'd insist on meeting him. If she were running around with girls who did not work at the bakery, she would want to meet them too.
"Exactly. I'm just worried. I don't want Percy setting himself up for heartbreak."
"But you don't know that he will be," Hannah said. "Could be exactly what Percy needs."
"But she's too..."
"Young? Like I said... could be exactly what Percy needs. You just need to give her a chance, get to know her."
"I have extended an invitation, and she seems agreeable," Penelope said, waving the reply.
"There. You see? It will work out. Just let Percy make his own decisions regarding himself. If he gets hurt, all you can do is be his friend, be there for him, but don't go into it being so pessimistic. Children, I am finding, a quite good judges of character. Jack is sharp. I think he would have noticed if something were off about Percy's young woman."
Penelope sighed. Dare she tell Hannah the rest?
"What? Is there more?"
"Hannah, you have to swear this is in confidence."
"Of course," Hannah replied.
"Jack isn't specific, and maybe he doesn't know, but he said she's frightened of something."
"So Percy's young lady has a shadow in her past? Oh Penny, after what the wizarding world has been through in the last two decades, I think we all do."
"I just worry about what she could be so frightened of. Could this, whatever it is, harm Percy? I mean, when I first met her, apparently I scared her. Me."
Hannah considered. "Then you should make your best effort to make her comfortable around you, show her there is nothing to fear from you. Perhaps then she will confide."
"I know what Mac would say."
"You are not to hit this girl the face," Hannah scolded.
"No," Penelope said, laughing a bit. As if she'd ever hit anyone - aside from Marcus Flint, of course. "She's taken on such an Auror mentality these days that her first impulse it not to hit."
"Astonishing."
"She would tell me to investigate the girl's background." Penelope paused. "Then if I find something untoward, hit her."
Hannah did not think that good idea at all. It would probably also make Percy angry if he found out. Penelope was not doing it to be malicious, but it might be interpreted that way. Penelope was not a mean person, but in a world full of malice, it was hard to see things as they were in such situations. It might look to Percy as if she did not trust him to make his own decisions regarding his love life. If it even was that. Perhaps this young woman was just a friend. They did not have all the facts.
"Do you really want to do that, though? Wouldn't you rather make her comfortable around you? Earn her trust so that she confides in you on her own?"
"You see? This is why I speak to you instead of Mac at times."
"Mac's very clever, and I do adore her, but her methods tend to be extreme. She might not be wrong all of the time of about background checks. It might not be wrong here. There might be something worth knowing, but I don't think going that route would benefit you."
"How odd is it that I am asking you for advice when I am your elder?"
Hannah scoffed. "Age does not always equal wisdom in all situations, and besides, I think you already knew what you were going to do. You just needed to talk it out."
"I think you are right," Penelope said, smiling.
{SUMMARY} Penelope confides in Hannah, and Hannah gives her opinion and some advice on the matter.
Penelope looked up from the reply owl she'd been clutching to see Hannah there with her hands on her hips. She was working weekends at the bakery to supplement her income. She had started a Gringotts vault for Jack for his schooling. All her weekend earnings would be going in there. Brody was not pleased about her working seven days a week, but she didn't mind. There weren't many scrolls to mark yet since term had just started. His continual offers to let him supplement the income when he was neither her husband not Jack's father were going to result in an argument though. Penelope had always taken care of Jack, and she always would.
"Hmmm?"
Hannah frowned. Penelope had been distracted all morning, and it just was not like her. Claire had had to stop her from send the wrong owl order to the wrong people at least twice.
"You're distracted. Did you want to speak of it? Please don't tell me it's Brody."
"What? No. He's lovely."
Hannah glanced over to the corner where she had made a pallet. Jack was sitting with Grace and Heather. The older children were helping Grace to read. Heather was not always patient, but Jack was. He had his mother's abilities there. He was a natural teacher.
Penelope sighed. She did need to speak to someone. Most of the MacDougals were out. She did adore the family, but the majority of their solutions to problems involved punching someone in the face.
She moved away from the tables she and Claire were sitting at to do the owl orders and to a more secluded spot in the kitchen, away from where Kristen was rolling dough and Amy was popping things into the ovens.
"It's Percy," she said quietly, glancing at Jack nervously.
He was too engrossed in helping Grace to notice his mum.
"What's he done?" Hannah frowned. She'd always gotten along well with Percy. Jack adored him, and from the stories she had heard from the boy of this summer, Percy was a good father.
"Nothing... really," Penelope sighed and put a hand to her head. She was getting a headache just thinking about it. "He has this little friend. A woman friend. Oh you can't really call her a woman yet. She's barely out of school."
Hannah raised a brow. Penelope sounded a bit jealous.
"I don't even know if... Oh I can't even phrase it properly. I adore Brody." She put a hand to her heart. "I know things are over with Percy and I. We're too changed, both of us, but that does not mean I stopped caring what happened to him. He'll always be Jack's father. I'm always going to consider him a friend because that's what he was before anything else. That's what he'll always be. I don't know this girl. I don't know anything about her."
"And if she's to spend time near your son, you want to," Hannah said, nodding.
It made perfect sense to her. She would not want any of the Stewarts spending time with people she did not know. If Kristen were interested in someone besides Owen, she'd insist on meeting him. If she were running around with girls who did not work at the bakery, she would want to meet them too.
"Exactly. I'm just worried. I don't want Percy setting himself up for heartbreak."
"But you don't know that he will be," Hannah said. "Could be exactly what Percy needs."
"But she's too..."
"Young? Like I said... could be exactly what Percy needs. You just need to give her a chance, get to know her."
"I have extended an invitation, and she seems agreeable," Penelope said, waving the reply.
"There. You see? It will work out. Just let Percy make his own decisions regarding himself. If he gets hurt, all you can do is be his friend, be there for him, but don't go into it being so pessimistic. Children, I am finding, a quite good judges of character. Jack is sharp. I think he would have noticed if something were off about Percy's young woman."
Penelope sighed. Dare she tell Hannah the rest?
"What? Is there more?"
"Hannah, you have to swear this is in confidence."
"Of course," Hannah replied.
"Jack isn't specific, and maybe he doesn't know, but he said she's frightened of something."
"So Percy's young lady has a shadow in her past? Oh Penny, after what the wizarding world has been through in the last two decades, I think we all do."
"I just worry about what she could be so frightened of. Could this, whatever it is, harm Percy? I mean, when I first met her, apparently I scared her. Me."
Hannah considered. "Then you should make your best effort to make her comfortable around you, show her there is nothing to fear from you. Perhaps then she will confide."
"I know what Mac would say."
"You are not to hit this girl the face," Hannah scolded.
"No," Penelope said, laughing a bit. As if she'd ever hit anyone - aside from Marcus Flint, of course. "She's taken on such an Auror mentality these days that her first impulse it not to hit."
"Astonishing."
"She would tell me to investigate the girl's background." Penelope paused. "Then if I find something untoward, hit her."
Hannah did not think that good idea at all. It would probably also make Percy angry if he found out. Penelope was not doing it to be malicious, but it might be interpreted that way. Penelope was not a mean person, but in a world full of malice, it was hard to see things as they were in such situations. It might look to Percy as if she did not trust him to make his own decisions regarding his love life. If it even was that. Perhaps this young woman was just a friend. They did not have all the facts.
"Do you really want to do that, though? Wouldn't you rather make her comfortable around you? Earn her trust so that she confides in you on her own?"
"You see? This is why I speak to you instead of Mac at times."
"Mac's very clever, and I do adore her, but her methods tend to be extreme. She might not be wrong all of the time of about background checks. It might not be wrong here. There might be something worth knowing, but I don't think going that route would benefit you."
"How odd is it that I am asking you for advice when I am your elder?"
Hannah scoffed. "Age does not always equal wisdom in all situations, and besides, I think you already knew what you were going to do. You just needed to talk it out."
"I think you are right," Penelope said, smiling.
{SUMMARY} Penelope confides in Hannah, and Hannah gives her opinion and some advice on the matter.