July 25th, 1893 — Hogsmeade High Street

Papa had all but pushed her out the door.

It had been a fortnight, give or take, since the world had shifted so dramatically upon its axis, and to say Maddy was moping was to say fire was warm—factually correct but entirely missing the point and undervaluing the extent of it. She did not wish to see her friends or even, frankly, her siblings, while she struggled to process this new understanding of the world. Papa had given her a fortnight to grieve (everyone spoke of grieving, but what Maddy needed was to understand, and such understanding was not at all forthcoming!) before gently, but firmly, directing her to get some air.

She had taken the Knight Bus to Hogsmeade for lack of anything else to do, suspecting she would get no less than his Disappointed Face if she returned before dinner. It was not the park that the Gryffindor sought, though—indeed, Maddy doubted she would ever seek the park again. Instead, it was the bustle of the High Street and its familiar patterns of comings and goings.

The air was not dotted with occasional broom-straddling travelers as it often was, no doubt due to the recent ban. Papa had riled instinctively against it when he had read the paper, but Maddy was quietly glad of it. Without the flyers, and so long as she gave the quidditch shop a wide berth, she could be free of at least one reminder of Sloane's passing.

Then the rain began.

Maddy felt her pulse begin to quicken as she felt the first raindrops upon her skin, the denizens of Hogsmeade largely disappearing into the various shops and businesses as though on cue. Maddy moved to the nearest awning-covered door—that of Hogsmeade Hall—but before she could even try the knob, a voice said, It's locked.

  

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— Bree is a graphics genius ♡ —

After becoming legally an adult, it somehow became acceptable to bring Meta along for things such as tea dates and event plannings. At least her skirts had not yet touched the ground - those dresses were reserved until after graduation.

First they had tea at The Painted Lady - Meta, her sisters and their aunts - then they headed to the Hogsmeade Hall, were one of the aunts would be hosting some kind of event there. A charity fundraiser of some sorts. Meta had all but dozed off during the tea, her right leg going shaking under the table as she struggled to remained still and focused among the other women.

She was thankfully permitted to get some fresh air and so she sat outside and observed the people going about their day on the High Street. How lovely would it be for her to go to Honeyduke's right now!

Then the rain began and none other but one of her housemates came seeking shelter at the Hogsmeade Hall.

Meta had heard about Sloane Bixby's passing and she'd be rather sad about it - they'd shared a dorm room for six years, after all. She knew how close she and Miss Bell were, so she imagined the other Gryffindor was grieving.

It was awkward. Having lost so many family members at a young age, along with having to endure being tortured by her father, had made her dumb to grieve. She wasn't sure she was capable of feeling it anymore.

In any case.

"It's locked," Meta told the other Gryffindor. "My aunts have reserved the space - they are to host something next week. But we can go from the back and sit until the storm passes, if you want, no one will notice."

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Meta Lestrange was something of an oddity, residing in their house, their dormitory, but not part of the tight-knit group of Gryffindors (and Calla) that had developed over the past six years at Hogwarts. But for all that they were not bosom friends, Maddy had never disliked her (well, not recently, at least) and Miss Lestrange's kindness tugged at the heartstrings in rather a painful way, under the circumstances. Still...

"I shouldn't like to be underfoot—this," the Gryffindor gestured to the awning above their heads, "will do just fine, I suppose."

In a crowded street, one could be altogether alone. In a building full of Lestranges and whomever else the other Gryffindor was related to, Maddy suspected she would be isolated rather than alone, and feel decidedly burdensome to boot.

— Meta Lestrange —

  

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— Bree is a graphics genius ♡ —

Meta nodded in acknowledgment. She wasn’t going to press her housemate to come inside if she didn’t want to. If the roles were reversed, she would have likely turned down the invitation out of politeness and fear of awkwardness.

Politeness would now have Meta give the other girl her condolences, but the thought of that made her feel awkward and besides — she didn’t want to put Miss Bell on the spot. That could make her emotional and she could burst out crying and Meta knew she would have hated it to start crying in front of a classmate she wasn’t that close to and anyone else passing through the High Street.

Still, not acknowledging the elephant in the room would be impolite as well. As such, Meta opted for a more vague: “I hope you’ve been well, Miss Bell.”

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   Madeline Bell

"'Well'?" the Gryffindor asked, incredulous, initial feeling of anger dissipating into...something else entirely. In spite of herself, Maddy emitted a snort of laughter, and then her eyes widened in horror as she realized what she had done.

— Meta Lestrange —

  

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— Bree is a graphics genius ♡ —

Oh, no, no no. She had wanted to prevent Miss Bell from crying, but this was just as bad.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean - I know you were close,” Meta stumbled for words. She wasn’t good with this. She wasn’t good with words, with emotions. Frida would know what to say in such cases. Meta — she dealt with her emotions by ignoring them, or by bursting somewhere else.

“What I mean to say is, I am very sorry for what happened Miss Bell, and for your loss. It is very sad and unfair and - yeah.” She looked downward awkwardly, cheeks flushed. “You’ve probably heard that already and I know it doesn’t make a difference if I tell you or not, but - yeah.”

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She sighed, leaning back against the closed door of the hall.

"The condolences are like a rather dour dance," Maddy said after a moment. "I have the steps so memorized now that I could do it in my sleep. But it is often a reflex, hollow words—not yours, Miss Lestrange," the witch hastened to add, though a part of her suspected they had been. "Just... the provide no comfort, save for those who say them."

Only serve to punctuate the loss.

— Meta Lestrange —

  

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— Bree is a graphics genius ♡ —

Meta hadn't expected for Maddy Bell to fall in her arms and for the two to break down crying over the loss of their year-mate. She and Maddy had never been very close -- they'd started on the wrong footing during their first year at Hogwarts and while their relationship had improved in recent years, to the point where they could work on assignments together if needed, or have pleasant and even friendly conversation over breakfast, they'd never grown to be close friends. The truth was, there were times when Meta had felt left out of the little group that Maddy Bell and the late Sloane Bixby were part of. She had her friends at Hogwarts, but she'd never grown to be as close to anyone there. Deep down, she wished the kind of friendship those girls had, but she was too proud to "beg" to be part of such a group. She didn't really know how to bring people close to her, not really.

In any case, she got the vibe that her classmate didn't really want her there and if anything, that anything she said to Maddy Bell would be taken the wrong way. A part of her wanted to excuse herself and just join her family indoors and leave Maddy Bell be, but then, deep down, she didn't want to give the other girl an additional reason to dislike her. She didn't want her going to her friends and commenting how she'd given her condolences only to make herself feel better and then rudely left.

She was starting to feel irritated, her previous awkwardness turning into a burning feeling of unfairness. She'd tried to be nice and Maddy Bell all but treated her as though she'd thrown her friend off that damned broomstick! Her brain started to do all the mental gymnastics it tended to do when Meta felt, threatened, slighted.

"I've lost my mother and three of my siblings," Meta finally said. Her father too, but she didn't care about the bastard to mention him. "In all fairness, Miss Bell, I do not need you to walk me through what is like to experience loss." Her tone was icy and Meta instinctively leaned against one of the walls framing the door, creating space between herself and the other Gryffindor.

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Maddy's hackles rose at the sharp turn in Miss Lestrange's tone—grief was not a competition, for Merlin's sake!

"Forgive my candour, then," she shot back, perhaps with a bit more venom than the situation warranted, crossing her arms across her chest. "We needn't speak at all if I am to cause such offence."

— Meta Lestrange —

  

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— Bree is a graphics genius ♡ —

Now Maddy Bell had the audacity to act like she was the one being under attack, as if she hadn’t been the one giving her an attitude for expressing her condolences.

“It is you who got offended first, Miss Bell, making covert accusations that my condolences were insincere,” Meta spat back at the other Gryffindor. “I agree - I shouldn’t have spoken to you at all. It seems like you won’t even accept the kind words of someone unless they are coming from your little clique.”

Which was short one person now, a more enraged Meta might have added in an attempt to further hurt her “opponent”. At least she had some semblance of composure left to turn round and enter the building, slamming the door shut behind her.

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Curse that Meta Lestrange—any harsh rejoinder Maddy might have conjured was entirely rendered moot by the slamming of the door, and Maddy could not help but feel as though Lestrange had won, as though a conversation could even have winners or losers.

Well, she was not about to linger here like a fool.

Maddy stepped out into the rain, already tapering off into a light drizzle.

— Meta Lestrange —

  

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— Bree is a graphics genius ♡ —