Detour this Way

Waiting for Maman in a bookshop was always tiring and this day had been no less so tiring than any other. That was despite the fact that today's book shopping was supposed to be all about Minnie. Now she was feeling faint with hunger or ... she saw the sweet shop...sugar low. That was what was needed and needed right now.

They were supposed to be going onto the wand shop but the Sugar Shack was right there like a beacon calling. "Maman," she called and pointed to the shop. "I need them for school." Right now wouldn't work because she was sure Maman would only take them back to La Petit Dragon and make her eat proper food. "Please? Please? Please? Can I get some?" It was very rare she remembered her manners but something like this called for all the manners she could muster up. Or she could die from the lack of sugar in her blood. That'd be awfully tragic at the short age of 11.

Linette hadn't meant to take quite as long as she did in the bookshop. It was meant to be just having a look around whilst her daughter selected her books for school. It just so happened to coincide with her sister-in-law taking young Madeline there at the same time. The two witches got to talking and time slipped away. Now Linette needed to hurry Minnie along to buy everything else she needed, starting with her wand.

She was walking ahead of her daughter and hadn't even registered that the eleven year old had stopped until she heard her call out. Linette turned and retraced her steps back to outside the sweet shop. "You need them?" Linette asked with a raised eyebrow. "What could possibly happen without them?" She grinned at her begging daughter. It was a lovely welcome change from Minnie's growly face. With the coming school year it was like a ray of sunshine entering the house instead of the usual storm cloud hanging over everything. Figuring that Minnie had suffered enough Linette nodded. "Well just this once mind you. No eating them before you get to Beauxbatons and no eating them in class. You do not want to get on the wrong side of the grumpier professors."

Minnie grinned at her mother's positive response. "You do know don't you that it is very important to have energy right?" she asked as she pushed open the door. "I might faint or collapse because I'm so exhausted from learning spells." She'd heard a lot about how much energy could be used up by casting spells from the girl who gave her the much better name of Minnie over the awful one of Mignon.

She nodded at the conditions given. "You can keep them until I get on the carriage. That way I won't be tempted." Minnie wasn't so sure she liked the second condition. "But what if I need to stay awake in class? Some of them are going to be awfully boring." Like History and Astronomy, two subjects she was well aware her mother had loved. "Did you get on the wrong side of the professors?" she asked curiously.

Linette smiled at her daughter's explanation. Typical Minnie having a reason for everything she wanted. "Oh yes. It is very important to have enough energy to get through the school day. Make sure you have a good breakfast in the mornings. That's my sage advice." She nodded for emphasis and because she felt a need to be all motherly she added, "don't eat too many sweets. Your teeth will fall out."

She patted her daughter's shoulder. "Good idea. I'll even put a charm on the case I shut them into so I don't get tempted to eat them for you." Not that she would ever do that to her only child. Linette did not like to see Miss Grumpy rise up again. "I'm sure you'll be able to keep awake without the help of sweets. Treats only after managing to stay awake in classes." She didn't expect Minnie would keep to that rule. After all it wasn't like Linette would be able to see everything her daughter got up to. "Now that is my secret," she said teasingly. "I do advise you not to talk out of turn in the classroom or grumble about a lesson in your professors' hearing either. Now how about looking at the sweets instead of asking me so many questions about the professors."

"You're making that up," Minnie accused. "I'll never lose all my teeth." She clicked her front teeth with her fingertip. "See. All secure." Maman was forever making stuff up and sometimes it really irritated Minnie. She wondered if that's why her father left. Minnie shook her head at that thought. No. It was because he didn't care at all about her or her mother. Minnie was convinced that was the case.

"You wouldn't would you?" Minnie asked, now suddenly concerned that perhaps they wouldn't be any safer with her mother than they would be with her. Grandmere might be a better bet. She glared at maman. "That's not at all fair." Nothing going. She was not going to stick to that idea. It wasn't hard to believe that her mother would get into trouble for talking in class. She was forever talking when she wasn't reading. "Okay. Oh Maman it's going to be so hard to choose." Minnie did not like indecision but she had to choose something. "Those toffees with the vegetable flavours for starters." That would serve anyone right if they were going to try and steal off her. Most hated anything with vegetable flavouring.

"For now," Linette replied ominously.  "When you turn thirteen however you'd better be careful."  She grinned and reached out to rough up her daughter's hair. "Relax. You know I'm only teasing."  Despite her general grumpiness Linette really was going to miss her little girl.  It was scary how much she'd grown and, unfortunately, how much she was like her father.  

Linette tapped her own nose with the tip of her finger. "Maybe I will.  Maybe I won't.  Life my girl isn't fair. It's what it is."  And didn't she ever know that to be the case with all the different news reports she wrote up.  Linette shook her head. "You are one strange child.  The only one I know who'd choose vegetable flavours over anything else in a sweet."  If nothing else, that'd guarantee Linette would stay away from her daughter's sweets.   Vegetables should never be included in sweet food.