The old adage might’ve been tired and overused, but there was some truth to it. People said a lot of things. In fact, people never seemed to stop speaking, even if it meant that they spoke before they fully thought through what they were going to say. It bothered Hestia, at times, even though she was just as guilty of it as the next person. Putting those words into actions, however… that was something that rarely happened. It seemed that fewer and fewer people put their thoughts and concerns into tangible action steps. They made plans, but never followed through. Hestia felt like a hypocrite, hating people for doing the very thing she did herself. She shrugged the thought off, knowing that the frustration was valid either way. “If only everyone could take that phrase and give it actual meaning. I feel like people hear it and say it, but we don’t really follow up by doing anything. I guess that’s sort of the point, though.” She smiled, returning the warm expression to her friend. “I’ll try that. Thank you.” “Isn’t that the most amazing feeling? Just knowing that there’s somewhere out there in the world who is everything that I want to be and more is good enough. But then to realize that she’s my own mother? I can’t explain it. It’s just… reassuring? But more than that, too.” Hestia beamed at Lily, happy to speak so highly of the woman she cared so much about. “It is exciting. I wouldn’t lie to you. It takes enough energy to lie to people who deserve to be lied to. Imagine how much it would take to lie to someone that you genuinely care about and are friends with.” Lily wasn’t a liar, and Hestia tried her best to only be one when it was absolutely necessary. She’d become a better liar over the past two years or so, especially when she was working at the Daily Prophet, though it wasn’t a skill that she enjoyed employing. “I have to get better at accepting compliments. Someone once told me we should talk about ourselves in the same way we talk about our friends, but it’s something I’m still getting used to, you know?” She paused, taking in her friend’s words. Grateful that the question hadn’t offended Lily, Hestia tried her best to think about Petunia and Vernon with an open mind. They were people with horrible thoughts and opinions of magic, but they were people that Lily cared deeply for. They were people. “Careful, Lily. I haven’t been called mature for a long time. You might be inflating my ego more than it can take.” She chuckled briefly, trying to still maintain a sense of seriousness for her friend’s sake. “It’s a shame he won’t get to know you. That they both won’t. Magic’s something neither of them understand, and it’s foreign and strange and unknown… so it makes sense that they’re scared of it. And sure, Petunia might be happy now, but is Vernon really what she wants? In the long term, I mean. Does she want a life with him?”












