Kenosis.
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I.
setting. | 30th of June 2025 | King's Cross Station, London |
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There underlain an eagerness for respite from Hogwarts and its hundreds of inhabitants—so much so that her keepsakes were stowed away in trunks and dormitory personality-barren long before the students' official release from Hogwarts' castle walls that morning.
By God's grace, the Norden progeny managed to be among the first to claim a compartment on the Pullman for herself, and after some time had been allotted for other student passengers to load their belongings and take to their seats, the train soon took course towards London. Internally, the girl had been counting down the minutes until she could once again bask in the familiar comforts of family and home for weeks now, but the bloodcurdling howling of ebullient children and cacophony of overlapping conversation amid the whole railcarriage trip back to King's Cross Station was enough to turn Remedy's eagerness for freedom into desperation.
Between the gentle movement of the train and lazily focusing on some point in the distance beyond the greasy glass's blurred images, lulled was she into a frail rest for the duration of the trip. The sudden unfastening of windows and the opening of the railcar's door welcomed a cool draft to waft through the narrow corridor of compartments, and the cool morning air licked at Remedy's cheeks that roused the girl from her dreamscape.
Glancing around blankly to gather her bearings, seemingly, not much had been missed in her sleep. The busybodies who loitered around her person at the train's departure from Hogsmeade weren't yet offloading, most of whom were busy craning their necks out the window to search for persons of interest. Remedy couldn't help but do the same, and it didn't take long: her mother, Hyacinth, solitarily standing upon the platform—ever the picture of elegance and poise. Such grace and pulchritude emanating from her mother was a casual sight to behold, but the absence of her father at her side wasn't.
Where was he?
The question still lingered even as Remedy made way into her loving mother's arms.
"Mon Remède!" her mother would exclaim in her thick yet sing-songy French accent, "How was school, mon cher? Oh, you'll have to tell me all about it!"
Before more conversation could be exchanged between them, her father, Derrick Norden, sauntered towards them, yet remained at an awkward distance.
Prying herself from her mother's embrace, the girl dropped her trunk and flocked to him in a burst of excitement. There was a stench on him, but it remained overbeared by the scent of mint mouthwash and cologne that flooded her nostrils; Remedy didn't dare comment on it or the glossy, distant gaze in his eyes.
"Hi, papa," she muttered, her voice muffled against his shirt.
"Derrick," Hyacinth greeted, her voice flat and solemn.
"Hey, my little Vipress," Derrick replied warmly, then glanced up over to remark icily: "Hyacinth."
Alphonse Toussaint
Kenosis.
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II.
setting. | 16th of July 2025 | Buckmier Estate, Wells |
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Much like the carriage ride from King's Cross Station to Buckmier Estate, the uncomfortable silences and feigned civility that infiltrated the household was hard to dismiss.
Her parents felt barren of life—as if ghosts inhabiting their mortal shells, and the familiarity of Buckmier Estate remained a far cry from the home that the girl had grown accustomed to since the sale of Rhinelander Manor. The scent of firewhiskey and dry cigarette smoke lingering in the air was among the first things Remedy detected upon returning home; secondly, an absence of certain furnishings and homely feminine touches of her mother's stylish aesthetics; and the noticeable lack of Hyacinth's wedding ring third.
All of this, too, Remedy dared not address—anything to avoid the unnerving tension that swung above their heads like the Sword of Damocles, simply waiting to drop.
It hadn’t been the typical summer Remedy had expected—not entirely bad, but not inherently good either. Most of the time, the Norden progeny was in perpetual confusion regarding her parents. The only tangible joy in the chaos was the blossoming friendship with her cousin-in-law, @Xailah Alptraum-Leveret, who had become a sister-like figure over time through the owls exchanged and frequent outings when she had time to spare.
Between her mother's "busyness" and her father's near-constant "headaches," genuine togetherness as a family remained to be seen following the weeks that followed Remedy's return to Wells. No such formal plans had been established this year between Derrick and Hyacinth, and any outings were mostly impromptu for one reason or another. Hyacinth's affairs brought her and Remedy to France, where they vacationed in a chateau in Paris with a friend of her mother's, Vincent. They also attended a few intimate soirees with maternal family in Bordeaux, as well as a garden party and sports on the green with Vincent's family, based in Yvoire.
Her father, on the other hand, remained ever the homebody—rarely leaving the comforts of Buckmier Manor unless grandmother Ordelia required his presence or was prompted by his best mates. Mealtimes with Derrick were the worst; most nights, the ornate dining hall was prepared only for a lonely dinner for two.
Supper would always be served after Hyacinth exited through the floo; the silence that followed her mother's departure remained oppressive, filled with a lack of eye contact, forced laughs, and idle conversation. The formerly devastating routine was now starting to become nothing more than business as usual, or perhaps the girl was beginning to grow numb to the unspoken situation at hand.
Pushing her salmon and risotto around her plate boredly, Remedy's appetite no longer existed, but she didn't want to leave her father's company yet. Derrick, ever the quiet and guarded man, took a sip of his beverage and held it to his lips while staring blankly out a nearby window. It wasn't until Remedy's fork fell from her grasp and clattered against the plate that the man broke from his musings, Derrick's bloodshot and glassy gaze analyzing his daughter's face before offering a weakened smile.
"No matter what happens between your mum and me, we love you," Derrick said softly, setting his empty glass down, "You know that, right, Rem?"
Her own eyes turned watery, and it was quite clear that she had something to say, but the girl sat there in silence, jaw clenched for awhile. With a deep breath, Remedy finally muttered, "Yeah, papa. I know."
Alphonse Toussaint