November 8th, 2020

𝒜madea stepped off of the train platform, trunk in hand with Nova's cage perilously perched on top. As she looked around, she noticed how few people were at the station. It seemed eerily quiet, although the trains still screeched by and passengers shuffled quickly to catch the right one. She spotted her sister and mother a few years away and greeted them with a half-hearted wave. Amadea almost wanted to laugh. This was supposed to be a happy reunion; Amadea would run off of the train and hug her sister and her mother tightly before beginning to catch them up on the newest year at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, her year had been cut short, and this reunion was anything but happy.

She walked over to her family, giving them quick hugs before they began helping Amadea with her luggage, leading her to the car. The ride back to the apartment was silent; no one knew exactly what to say. The Campbell's were notorious for being unable to voice their emotions and Amadea didn't know how to formulate the right words to break the silence.

Once they got back to the apartment, Amadea hopped out of the car as quickly as she could, happy to be out of the awkward air she had been trapped in. She opened the trunk of the car to grab her things and her sister Kat came over to help.

"Hey," she said quietly to Amadea.

"Hey," Amadea replied quietly, looking up at her sister. She studied Kat's face, noticing how much older her sister looked. Her eyes looked sunken and tired, and the smile on her face seemed like it was about to fall off and expose how sad she truly was. Even though Katerina was Amadea's older sister, Amadea still felt a need to protect her older sister. She felt so horrible about not being able to be here when...it...had happened. But she was here now and everything would be okay.

Amadea's mom led the way up to the apartment, opening the door to reveal the small space left in pristine condition. Amadea could only imagine how hard this was for her. Even though she had divorced Amadea's father over a year prior, they were still in love at one point and they had built a family together.

She cleared her throat and turned around to face the two girls. "Girls, make yourselves at home," she said, gesturing to the room that Amadea and Katerina used to share when they still lived here. Amadea moved to pick up her trunk and bring it into their room when she heard a sound behind her and whipped around. Standing in the doorway was Alanna and Kai Greene, along with their parents. Amadea couldn't fight the smile that crawled onto her face and she dropped her trunk to go over and hug the two girls. They might not be related, but Alanna and Kai were like the third and fourth sisters that Amadea never had.

Kat quickly followed suit, coming over and engulfing all of them into one big group hug. Amadea let herself close her eyes and lean her head against one of the Greene's shoulders. It felt nice to be in this little bubble. Soon enough, however, they started pulling away. Mrs. Greene went over to Amadea's mother and gave her a hug while Mr. Greene emphasized how sorry they were for the Campbells. It all felt so weird to Amadea. It didn't even seem real. The apartment suddenly felt so small and Amadea felt as though she couldn't breathe. She pushed her way through the door, running down the stairs until she was out on the street, breathing in the cool London air.

Kat was quickly behind her, running up to Amadea. "You good?" she asked, rubbing Amadea's back. Amadea nodded, leaning her head against her sister's shoulder. It felt nice to have someone there.

"I just can't believe this is real," she said in a whisper. "I feel like this is some sick joke." Kat nodded, understanding exactly how Amadea felt. The girls stood on the street for a few more minutes before Kat said to Amadea, "We should probably head back up. Mom needs us and we have to talk about plans for the funeral."

Amadea nodded, lifting her head from her sister's shoulder and following her back up the stairs to the apartment. Once inside, the two girls joined the rest of the people in the kitchen and listened as they talked about the details. Once they had finished finalizing the plans, Amadea went into her room and flopped down onto the bed.

The day had been so emotionally draining and this was only the beginning.

November 9, 2020

𝒲hen Amadea woke up in the morning, she was surprised to be the first one awake. She pushed off the covers quietly, trying not to disturb her sister who was still sleeping soundly. She tiptoed toward the door, pausing at the entrance to unlock Nova's cage quietly and let her out. With Nova on Amadea's shoulder, she walked into the kitchen and opened up the kitchen window, letting Nova out for a little while.

Amadea took a deep breath, looking around the kitchen. Being here without her dad was weird. The thought that he was...No, Amadea thought to herself. She couldn't think about that this early in the day. She needed to get herself together and prepare for the funeral.

She took a deep breath and went to the cabinet, rummaging around until she found the cereal boxes, pouring out some for herself. Then she went to the fridge and grabbed the milk container, pouring the milk into the bowl. After sitting down at the table, she began to eat, thinking about the day. Soon enough, the rest of the household was awake and bustling around. Around 10 AM, the doorbell rang and Amadea popped up from the couch, wanting to be of use somehow.

"I'll get it," she said quickly, running over to the door and unlatching the lock. She flung the door open to see her grandparents, Barrow and Estella standing there. "Gram and Pop," Amadea greeted them, giving them both a quick hug. "Please come in." She gestured for them to step inside.

Amadea's mother rushed over as she realized who the guests were. "Barrow and Estella," she said, smiling nervously. Amadea felt a pang of sympathy for her mother. This must be so awkward for her. It had only been a little over a year since she and her father had divorced, and it surely must feel awkward to be reunited with your ex-husband's parents.

"Raina," Barrow inclined his head to acknowledge her. "Are you all ready to head over to the chapel?"

"Yes, almost," Amadea's mother replied. "The girls have to finish getting ready," she said, turning to look at Amadea. Amadea read her mother's gaze, understanding that she should leave and go get ready. She walked down the hallway and pushed open the door to her and Kat's room. Kat was already inside, putting the finishing touches on her makeup. Amadea quickly slipped into her modest black dress and straightened her hair.

In about ten minutes, the Campbells reunited in the kitchen, ready to head to the chapel. As they rode in a solemn group to the chapel, Amadea looked out of the window at the city of London. She was obviously sad about her father's passing, but as she stared at the familiar buildings and shops along the road, she realized how much she was going to miss London. Now that they were selling the apartment to go live in Camberley, Amadea wasn't sure when she would be back in London. The city was where she had grown up and experienced all of her life until the past three years. It was like she was not only losing a father, but also a part of herself as well.

When they arrived at the chapel, the Greenes met them at the entrance and they all walked in together. Amadea took her seat at the front of the chapel and watched as many other people filed in. She didn't know how they knew her father, but everyone seemed to be mournful. The entirety of the funeral passed in a blur for Amadea. One second they were standing for the opening and the next, they were being bombarded by the guests wanting to pay their respects to the family.

Amadea stood, overwhelmed at what had just happened, only imagining how her mother and sister were feeling at this moment. She tried to maintain a strong exterior, hoping that Raina and Kat would be able to lean on her if they needed to.

-

After a long day, the family filed back to the apartment, Barrow and Estella in tow. "Should we start packing up the apartment?" Barrow asked. Amadea's mother nodded.

"Now seems as good of a time as ever," Raina responded. "I'm sure you will want all of his things. As for the furniture and household items, I have no need for them and unless you want them, I suppose we can just sell them?"

As the parents and grandparents talked and began organizing things to keep, sell, or dump, Kat grabbed Amadea and pulled her into the bedroom. She sat down on the bed and motioned for Amadea to sit as well. She followed her sister's direction and waited for Kat to speak. "I'm worried about Mom," she said. "You weren't here when they divorced last year but it was really tough on her. And now...with this, I don't know. I feel like a part of her always hoped that they would get back together, you know? And now he's gone and they never got the reconciliation she wanted. I'm really worried about her." Amadea didn't know what to say, so she just nodded, wondering if her sister was going to continue. "I'm not trying to guilt trip you for not being there," she clarified, "obviously it was not your fault. But now that you are here, I don't think you should go back to school."

"What?" Amadea asked. This was surprising. She had obviously planned on staying in town for a few more days, but this was the beginning of her third year at Hogwarts. This was supposed to be the best year. She was prefect, she had so many amazing friends, and she wanted to keep getting better at everything she had been working for.

"It's just that Mom really needs us right now," Kat said. "And the holidays are coming up too and...I don't know. It just seems like the last thing our family should be right now is split up. I'm not saying you shouldn't ever go back, but maybe it's time to take a little break. Take some time off. You're always working so hard, from what it sounds like and I don't want you to go back and not fully process this. And I think it would be helpful if we are all together and can help each other through this."

As Kat explained herself, Amadea couldn't help but to realize that this was true. As much as she loved Hogwarts and loved everyone there, she knew that this was more important. Family always came first. She knew what she had to do. "You're right," Amadea said. "Of course you're right. Winter break is coming up, anyway, so maybe I'll just return after that."

Kat nodded. "I know this is hard, but its hard for all of us, and I think if we are together we can help each other," she said, patting Amadea's back.

"Okay, let me just send an owl to the school," Amadea said. Kat stood up and kissed Amadea's curls.

"Thank you," she whispered to her younger sister.