16 Jan 2025, 23:29
Echoes of the Past
Friday
September 6th, 2024
10:26 pm
Claire didn't know why her feet led her to the Trophy Room on the first Friday of the new school year. Maybe it was because she was on the cusp of the weekend, and she had time to explore, or maybe she felt a tug toward the room because of her own ties to Hogwarts through her mom's time here, years ago.
She knew nearly nothing of her mom, save her name. Samantha Brutton was her mom's name, as she'd learned from her father just mere months ago. When he'd offered to tell her the name, Claire had expected fireworks to shoot off within her chest. Some sort of emotional connection to the name that was soon to be revealed. But she'd felt nothing. The name meant as much to her as the woman who owned it.
Still, as she paced the trophy room well into the night, her eyes scanned every trophy, every plaque, ever celebration of accomplishment. It was well past dark when she finally saw the name, engraved with six others. It was a trophy for 'quidditch,' which Claire knew nothing about. She'd seen the shop in Diagon Alley devoted to the sport, so she knew vaguely what it was, but no details.
The name irritated her.
Samantha Brutton, chaser
The thought that the woman who had abandoned Claire and her dad being a perfect team player and even winning a trophy, or, as the shelf referred to it, a Quidditch Cup, irritated Claire. She felt the usual pang of frustration that only came when she imagined her mom choosing the world over her own daughter. She could see the imaginary picture of the woman in her head, being hoisted up by a faceless team. She could see the woman being celebrated as if she deserved it.
Claire stood, staring at the Quidditch Cup with her mom's name on it for hours.