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.
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.