The most beautiful discovery true friends make...
Michael,
Come see me. There’s someone I want you to meet.
Love,
Lisa
*~*~*~*~*
Lisa’s cryptic owl had made Michael feel like he’d forgotten something. Or, as he discovered when he finally sorted through the large pile of mail he’d been neglecting, someone. It was with more than a bit of sheepish remorse that he found himself on the Macmillan stoop, a fuzzy teddy bear in one hand and a single yellow daisy in the other, waiting for his old friend to let him in.
The new mother in question was just settling back onto the sofa after Noah’s afternoon feeding when she heard the knock on the door. After a hurried glance at the bassinet, she relaxed and stood. Noah had inherited his father’s tendency to sleep through everything -- a blessing as far as she was concerned. Her in-laws were always popping by to drop things off for Noah, or to cuddle Noah, or to volunteer to take Noah for the afternoon.
In all honesty, the Macmillans were more tiring than her newborn baby.
Bare feet soft against the hardwood, she hurried down the corridor to the front door. When she saw who was standing on the stoop, she couldn’t help but smile. “Hiya, stranger.”
“Got your owl,” he said, grin sheepish as he held out the yellow daisy. “And found the one from March,” he added. The teddy bear was offered next.
Lisa took the flower with a grin, nose crinkling as she brought the soft petals to her cheek. “Hmm, yes, I’ve lost several stones,” she commented, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek. Pulling back, her blue eyes bright, she took the bear from him and laced her fingers through his now-free hand, tugging him over the threshold. “Come meet my weight-loss secret.”
Blue eyes flicked around as she led him through the house and Michael was unsurprised to find it lived in and homey. The bassinet by the sofa drew his eyes when they came to the living room and he peered curiously at the baby sleeping within. “It doesn’t look like a frog.” He glanced at Lisa, lips twitching. “Heard the new ones did.”
A soft ‘whack’ sounded when Lisa smacked Michael in the stomach, nose crinkling. “He’s not that new anymore,” she said softly. She quirked her head as she looked down at her little baby boy, sound asleep beneath his blanket. “A month old, and he’s getting bigger every single day.”
Michael nodded sagely. “They grow. I’d heard they do that.”
“Did you also hear that their mothers miss their old friends when they’ve not seen their old friends in months?”
“Logical,” Michael said. “Enough time apart, and one begins to long for that which is missing.” He grinned and set his arm around her shoulders to pull her into a hug against his side. “Forgive me?”
“Of course.” Her arm went around him and she snuggled into his side, letting her head rest on his shoulder. It was comforting, being embraced by Michael like this. He was one of her oldest friends, had been ever since their first day on the Hogwarts Express. He’d been all quiet introversion, she all blonde hair and knobby knees and elbows.
“So,” she said softly, “while I’ve been gestating, what’s been keeping you so far from me?”
“Music,” he said, lips quirking at her rolled eyes. It was always music. Though, not quite in the way she was probably assuming; he’d been just as preoccupied with his musical experiments as his guitar lately. “The shop. My girlfriend.”
Lisa blinked. “Come again?”
Michael’s lips twitched and his eyes twinkled. “Music?”
“Michael Nathaniel Corner, I’d hate to have to kick your arse in front of my son. You said girlfriend. Spill, mister.”
With a long suffering sigh, Michael sprawled out on the sofa. “Emma Dobbs. Was a few years younger than us in school. Gryffindor.” They were the details. “She’s V’s personal assistant.” Lisa’s huff made his lips curl. “I’ve been seeing her for years.”
Lisa blinked in surprise. “I know her,” she said slowly, remembering the short, perky blonde from her years at Incubus Dreams -- in particular, pushing Emma at Stephen. It seemed like so long ago... but then again, it had been a while since those days.
But the idea that Michael had been seeing someone for years, and she’d never known... a black feeling spread across the pit of her stomach, almost like bile. How had she never known? Michael was one of her oldest and closest friends; she hated the thought something this important had been happening and she’d been in the dark.
When a wrinkle formed between her brows, Michael nudged the blonde woman next to him. “Saw her in ways you wouldn’t want to dwell on. Wasn’t exclusive until recently.” His lips twitched. Lisa was worrying too much, but then that’s what Lisa did. Made her a great mum.
She nudged him right back. “Most of us call that ‘shagging,’ not seeing,” she said, poking her tongue out at him.
He shrugged. “I saw her. In various states of undress, yes, but we went out here and there.” He glanced over at his old friend. “Haven’t seen anyone more than a few times since Cho.”
“I know.” That was why it was Something Big. Michael hadn’t been attached to anyone since they’d been at school. It was noteworthy that there was a woman in his life -- she would let Mandy nag and express faux-indignation on the fact that he was just now telling them about it. That wasn’t what Lisa did.
“You should bring her around, introduce her to people,” she suggested, tucking her long legs up beneath her.
“I suppose I should,” he agreed. Michael was remiss about a lot of things, but he supposed he should not be so much when it came to telling his friends and family he had a girlfriend. It just wasn’t in his nature or habit to intentionally seek people out to share things, not unless he was trying to detangle or solve something, generally, but he supposed that the people who cared about him would want to know. And he supposed that Emma would appreciate meeting everyone, too.
“Maybe I should have a party. It’s been awhile anyway.” And it had. He used to have big parties, and more informal gatherings to just hang out at the pool, when he and Astoria had lived at the Penthouse. “Then everyone could meet her all at one time.”
Lisa smiled and leaned into his side. “I love your parties,” she said. It had been a long time since they’d all last gotten together just because. Not for a wedding or a birthday or someone having a baby -- just to socialize as friends. Maybe the last time had been at Stephen’s?
Merlin, that been when she and Ernie had still been dating. Definitely too long ago.
“Emma likes parties,” she said, “and so do I. Noah can have an evening with the grandparents. I’ll flip a coin as to which set gets him for the night.”
“Will have to tell Rory the happy news. That I’ll be hosting,” he said, assuring the blonde he had told his sister, of all people, that he had a girlfriend. “She likes planning stuff.”
The blonde rolled her eyes. “Don’t say it like that, mister. I would not have been the least bit surprised if you hadn’t told your sister about Emma, either.” She flashed him a grin.
One side of his lips quirked up. “I didn’t tell her for weeks. When I finally got around to it, she huffed and stomped. It was fun.” He’d told his mother within the week though; Michael was fairly sure the ‘news’ wouldn’t spread fast given his hermit-like ways, but he didn’t want his mum to find out from anyone but him.
“As she should have, you prat.” She tucked her long legs up beneath her and laid her head down on Michael’s shoulder. When had it all changed? She had a proper career, a husband and beautiful baby boy, and she was starting to put together songs for her next album. Mandy was married with a baby, Stephen’s wife was due soon, and now Michael had a serious girlfriend -- and he was honestly the last of their friends she’d expected to settle down.
Michael glanced down at the blonde head on his shoulder. The moment recalled many of the same kind of moments in the past, not only with Lisa, but with Mandy, too. Their lives had dramatically changed the last few years though, and Michael couldn’t rightly recall the exact last time he’d had a quiet moment with either of them. He knew the moments would be further and farther between though, until they disappeared altogether someday. Life had a funny way of ferrying them along despite their best efforts to find stillness.
“Tell me about you. Your music. Hopes. Dreams.” He nudged her lightly. “The stuff you used to tell me.”
“He who plays the hermit, cast not the first stone,” she teased, nudging him in return. The blonde sighed softly. “Music is going... amazing, really. Reilly wants me to start work on my next album soon, so you’ll have to drag yourself away from your shop and collaborate with me. I think it’s time.”
“As for the rest of it...” she trailed off, her blue gaze fixed upon the small bassinet in the room. “I don’t know, Michael. It’s so strange to me, being a Mum.” She lifted her head up and looked at him. “I was never the Mum. That was always Mandy, or Padma was taking care of us. Not me. What if I screw up?”
“You won’t. You always succeed at what you put your mind to,” he told her. He had every confidence in her. She might not have been the nurturer of their friends, but... “You love big, and with all of yourself. That’s all you need.” His lips twitched up. “Not that I know anything about raising kids. Seems logical though.”
“That makes two of us.”
At that moment, a soft gurgle emitted from the bassinet, pulling Lisa’s head from Michael’s shoulder. Untucking her long legs, she rose from the couch and crossed the few steps to where her son lay, now awake and babbling nonsense. It brought a smile to her lips, watching Noah’s chubby arms flail about as he giggled happily. She reached down and pulled him into her arms.
Blue eyes bright, she turned towards Michael. “Do you want to hold him?”
Michael eyed the small human. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been around babies. He had. Astoria’s best friend had several of them and he hadn’t been able to avoid them all entirely. Michael was glad his friends were happy and spawning, but that didn’t mean he had to hold or interact with said spawn. At least until they were a bit older. Maybe.
His gaze flicked back up to Lisa. “I’m sure it’s best if he’s with you.”
“Oh.” She shouldn’t have taken it personally, but it still stung all the same. Michael didn’t mean anything by it, and she knew that. But with her hormones still surging at high levels, all her feelings were heightened more than usual. “Alright.” She settled back down on the sofa, a quiet baby nestled in her arms. Noah giggled happily and fisted one tiny hand in her shirt, staking his claim on his Mummy.
Michael peered over Lisa’s shoulder. “He’s... small,” he offered, not quite sure what else to say. He’d not missed Lisa’s crestfallen expression, but Michael wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do, either.
She hummed in agreement. “Small, but he’s growing like devil’s snare. The Healer said he’ll likely be tall; he’s gained almost ten inches since he was born.” Hardly surprising, since both she and Ernie were on the tall side. “I pray he gets his Da’s sense of balance, though.” Hers was less than desirable.
“And his mum’s ear,” Michael supplied, as he watched the baby boy watch him.
“A bit of both of us.”
Summary: Michael finally remembers there’s an outside world, venturing out to see his old friend and her new sidekick.
Come see me. There’s someone I want you to meet.
Love,
Lisa
*~*~*~*~*
Lisa’s cryptic owl had made Michael feel like he’d forgotten something. Or, as he discovered when he finally sorted through the large pile of mail he’d been neglecting, someone. It was with more than a bit of sheepish remorse that he found himself on the Macmillan stoop, a fuzzy teddy bear in one hand and a single yellow daisy in the other, waiting for his old friend to let him in.
The new mother in question was just settling back onto the sofa after Noah’s afternoon feeding when she heard the knock on the door. After a hurried glance at the bassinet, she relaxed and stood. Noah had inherited his father’s tendency to sleep through everything -- a blessing as far as she was concerned. Her in-laws were always popping by to drop things off for Noah, or to cuddle Noah, or to volunteer to take Noah for the afternoon.
In all honesty, the Macmillans were more tiring than her newborn baby.
Bare feet soft against the hardwood, she hurried down the corridor to the front door. When she saw who was standing on the stoop, she couldn’t help but smile. “Hiya, stranger.”
“Got your owl,” he said, grin sheepish as he held out the yellow daisy. “And found the one from March,” he added. The teddy bear was offered next.
Lisa took the flower with a grin, nose crinkling as she brought the soft petals to her cheek. “Hmm, yes, I’ve lost several stones,” she commented, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek. Pulling back, her blue eyes bright, she took the bear from him and laced her fingers through his now-free hand, tugging him over the threshold. “Come meet my weight-loss secret.”
Blue eyes flicked around as she led him through the house and Michael was unsurprised to find it lived in and homey. The bassinet by the sofa drew his eyes when they came to the living room and he peered curiously at the baby sleeping within. “It doesn’t look like a frog.” He glanced at Lisa, lips twitching. “Heard the new ones did.”
A soft ‘whack’ sounded when Lisa smacked Michael in the stomach, nose crinkling. “He’s not that new anymore,” she said softly. She quirked her head as she looked down at her little baby boy, sound asleep beneath his blanket. “A month old, and he’s getting bigger every single day.”
Michael nodded sagely. “They grow. I’d heard they do that.”
“Did you also hear that their mothers miss their old friends when they’ve not seen their old friends in months?”
“Logical,” Michael said. “Enough time apart, and one begins to long for that which is missing.” He grinned and set his arm around her shoulders to pull her into a hug against his side. “Forgive me?”
“Of course.” Her arm went around him and she snuggled into his side, letting her head rest on his shoulder. It was comforting, being embraced by Michael like this. He was one of her oldest friends, had been ever since their first day on the Hogwarts Express. He’d been all quiet introversion, she all blonde hair and knobby knees and elbows.
“So,” she said softly, “while I’ve been gestating, what’s been keeping you so far from me?”
“Music,” he said, lips quirking at her rolled eyes. It was always music. Though, not quite in the way she was probably assuming; he’d been just as preoccupied with his musical experiments as his guitar lately. “The shop. My girlfriend.”
Lisa blinked. “Come again?”
Michael’s lips twitched and his eyes twinkled. “Music?”
“Michael Nathaniel Corner, I’d hate to have to kick your arse in front of my son. You said girlfriend. Spill, mister.”
With a long suffering sigh, Michael sprawled out on the sofa. “Emma Dobbs. Was a few years younger than us in school. Gryffindor.” They were the details. “She’s V’s personal assistant.” Lisa’s huff made his lips curl. “I’ve been seeing her for years.”
Lisa blinked in surprise. “I know her,” she said slowly, remembering the short, perky blonde from her years at Incubus Dreams -- in particular, pushing Emma at Stephen. It seemed like so long ago... but then again, it had been a while since those days.
But the idea that Michael had been seeing someone for years, and she’d never known... a black feeling spread across the pit of her stomach, almost like bile. How had she never known? Michael was one of her oldest and closest friends; she hated the thought something this important had been happening and she’d been in the dark.
When a wrinkle formed between her brows, Michael nudged the blonde woman next to him. “Saw her in ways you wouldn’t want to dwell on. Wasn’t exclusive until recently.” His lips twitched. Lisa was worrying too much, but then that’s what Lisa did. Made her a great mum.
She nudged him right back. “Most of us call that ‘shagging,’ not seeing,” she said, poking her tongue out at him.
He shrugged. “I saw her. In various states of undress, yes, but we went out here and there.” He glanced over at his old friend. “Haven’t seen anyone more than a few times since Cho.”
“I know.” That was why it was Something Big. Michael hadn’t been attached to anyone since they’d been at school. It was noteworthy that there was a woman in his life -- she would let Mandy nag and express faux-indignation on the fact that he was just now telling them about it. That wasn’t what Lisa did.
“You should bring her around, introduce her to people,” she suggested, tucking her long legs up beneath her.
“I suppose I should,” he agreed. Michael was remiss about a lot of things, but he supposed he should not be so much when it came to telling his friends and family he had a girlfriend. It just wasn’t in his nature or habit to intentionally seek people out to share things, not unless he was trying to detangle or solve something, generally, but he supposed that the people who cared about him would want to know. And he supposed that Emma would appreciate meeting everyone, too.
“Maybe I should have a party. It’s been awhile anyway.” And it had. He used to have big parties, and more informal gatherings to just hang out at the pool, when he and Astoria had lived at the Penthouse. “Then everyone could meet her all at one time.”
Lisa smiled and leaned into his side. “I love your parties,” she said. It had been a long time since they’d all last gotten together just because. Not for a wedding or a birthday or someone having a baby -- just to socialize as friends. Maybe the last time had been at Stephen’s?
Merlin, that been when she and Ernie had still been dating. Definitely too long ago.
“Emma likes parties,” she said, “and so do I. Noah can have an evening with the grandparents. I’ll flip a coin as to which set gets him for the night.”
“Will have to tell Rory the happy news. That I’ll be hosting,” he said, assuring the blonde he had told his sister, of all people, that he had a girlfriend. “She likes planning stuff.”
The blonde rolled her eyes. “Don’t say it like that, mister. I would not have been the least bit surprised if you hadn’t told your sister about Emma, either.” She flashed him a grin.
One side of his lips quirked up. “I didn’t tell her for weeks. When I finally got around to it, she huffed and stomped. It was fun.” He’d told his mother within the week though; Michael was fairly sure the ‘news’ wouldn’t spread fast given his hermit-like ways, but he didn’t want his mum to find out from anyone but him.
“As she should have, you prat.” She tucked her long legs up beneath her and laid her head down on Michael’s shoulder. When had it all changed? She had a proper career, a husband and beautiful baby boy, and she was starting to put together songs for her next album. Mandy was married with a baby, Stephen’s wife was due soon, and now Michael had a serious girlfriend -- and he was honestly the last of their friends she’d expected to settle down.
Michael glanced down at the blonde head on his shoulder. The moment recalled many of the same kind of moments in the past, not only with Lisa, but with Mandy, too. Their lives had dramatically changed the last few years though, and Michael couldn’t rightly recall the exact last time he’d had a quiet moment with either of them. He knew the moments would be further and farther between though, until they disappeared altogether someday. Life had a funny way of ferrying them along despite their best efforts to find stillness.
“Tell me about you. Your music. Hopes. Dreams.” He nudged her lightly. “The stuff you used to tell me.”
“He who plays the hermit, cast not the first stone,” she teased, nudging him in return. The blonde sighed softly. “Music is going... amazing, really. Reilly wants me to start work on my next album soon, so you’ll have to drag yourself away from your shop and collaborate with me. I think it’s time.”
“As for the rest of it...” she trailed off, her blue gaze fixed upon the small bassinet in the room. “I don’t know, Michael. It’s so strange to me, being a Mum.” She lifted her head up and looked at him. “I was never the Mum. That was always Mandy, or Padma was taking care of us. Not me. What if I screw up?”
“You won’t. You always succeed at what you put your mind to,” he told her. He had every confidence in her. She might not have been the nurturer of their friends, but... “You love big, and with all of yourself. That’s all you need.” His lips twitched up. “Not that I know anything about raising kids. Seems logical though.”
“That makes two of us.”
At that moment, a soft gurgle emitted from the bassinet, pulling Lisa’s head from Michael’s shoulder. Untucking her long legs, she rose from the couch and crossed the few steps to where her son lay, now awake and babbling nonsense. It brought a smile to her lips, watching Noah’s chubby arms flail about as he giggled happily. She reached down and pulled him into her arms.
Blue eyes bright, she turned towards Michael. “Do you want to hold him?”
Michael eyed the small human. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been around babies. He had. Astoria’s best friend had several of them and he hadn’t been able to avoid them all entirely. Michael was glad his friends were happy and spawning, but that didn’t mean he had to hold or interact with said spawn. At least until they were a bit older. Maybe.
His gaze flicked back up to Lisa. “I’m sure it’s best if he’s with you.”
“Oh.” She shouldn’t have taken it personally, but it still stung all the same. Michael didn’t mean anything by it, and she knew that. But with her hormones still surging at high levels, all her feelings were heightened more than usual. “Alright.” She settled back down on the sofa, a quiet baby nestled in her arms. Noah giggled happily and fisted one tiny hand in her shirt, staking his claim on his Mummy.
Michael peered over Lisa’s shoulder. “He’s... small,” he offered, not quite sure what else to say. He’d not missed Lisa’s crestfallen expression, but Michael wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do, either.
She hummed in agreement. “Small, but he’s growing like devil’s snare. The Healer said he’ll likely be tall; he’s gained almost ten inches since he was born.” Hardly surprising, since both she and Ernie were on the tall side. “I pray he gets his Da’s sense of balance, though.” Hers was less than desirable.
“And his mum’s ear,” Michael supplied, as he watched the baby boy watch him.
“A bit of both of us.”
Summary: Michael finally remembers there’s an outside world, venturing out to see his old friend and her new sidekick.