Don't Give Up. For Him. Solo Finished

Interacting with: Mentioning:

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Date: 22nd December 2022 Time: Breakfast Outfit: Uniform

Warning: Death of parent.

Christmas was fast approaching, and it was evident with the buzz around the school. The castle was chilly during this time of year, but no one cared that much as Hogwarts during the winter had to be one of the best things ever. It was magical, or at least, more magical than a castle full of wizards usually was. Adelaide, amongst everyone else, was feeling the Christmas excitement. The Ravenclaw was excited to go home. She couldn't wait to see her parents again and honestly, who didn't love Christmas? Of course she was excited for the upcoming holiday. It was even better for her considering her birthday was also on Christmas, and it was really a two in one celebration for her. Absolutely nothing could ruin her mood this morning. Nothing at all.

She even had a tiny skip in her step as she walked into the Great Hall this morning, eager to get some warm food and drink to warm her up on this chilly December morning. Making her way over to the Ravenclaw table and sitting down, she piled her plate high with a variety of breakfast foods and took a nice, needed sip of tea. Halfway through eating, the owls carrying the mail arrived, the same time they do every single morning like clockwork. Getting a letter wasn't an uncommon occurrence for Adelaide, as she tried to regularly keep up with her parents through owls, especially her father, who was usually busy in the dragon reserve in Romania, so she tried her best to keep in contact with him and send him a letter at least once a week at minimum. She missed him a lot, more than her mother, because at least her mother was in the same country as her. Missing someone was harder when they were in a different country. He loved dragons though, it was his passion, and she couldn't fault him for that. He still tried to make as much time as possible for his wife and children, so she really had nothing to complain about.

So, when a letter addressed to her fell down and landed in front of her plate, she wasn't surprised. The girl set down her knife and fork to reach for the letter and carefully open it. The first thing her eyes set on were the smudges of ink on the parchment, as if someone had spilt something on it during writing. But the smudges were scattered across the letter and not just in one place, which was weird, and it unnerved her the slightest bit, even if she wasn't entirely sure why. Adelaide started reading the letter then, a bit more apprehensive than she was when she had first opened it.

Her heart cracked.

And shattered into a million tiny pieces, scattering across the Great Hall as a choked sob ripped from her throat.

She dropped the letter, shaky hands moving up to cover her mouth as tears quickly welled up and started cascading down her cheeks. It was clear now what the ink smudges had been. Tears.

21st December 2022

Dear Adelaide,

Hi sweetheart. I hope you are doing okay, and I hope this letter reaches you before you depart for Christmas break. I hate to tell you this over owl and I wish I could be there with both you and your sister when you receive this news, but this was the only way I could inform you until you came home. It breaks my heart to write this letter, and If I could, I would do everything in my power to reverse everything that I'm about to say. Yesterday, I was informed that your father passed away while he was working at the dragon reserve. They said it was a freak accident, and by the time anyone realized, it was too late. I am so, so sorry. I know how terrible it is to get this news, especially over owl.

The funeral arrangements will be made for some time after Christmas, we will sort everything out when you and Eloise come home. I understand if you don't want to celebrate this year, I don't really want to either, but just know he loved you girls so much. You were the best thing that ever happened to him, I hope you know that. Please continue doing your best, Addie. I know it will be tough for a while, and some days will probably be unbearable, but please don't give up. For him.

I love you.

Love,
Mother

She choked on another sob again, gathering attention from the people around her. She didn't care. Couldn't bring herself to care about anything else right now except the letter lying on the table. Funny how 26 letters rearranged in different orders had the ability to break her heart and damage it irreversibly. Was this her karma? Her karma for everything wrong that she has done in her life, every wrong thing that she said to upset someone, to hurt someone? Surely, this was it. The universe had gotten its revenge in the worst way possible. Her eyes shot up to try and find her sister, Eloise, at the Gryffindor table, wondering if she had gotten the news yet. Surely, she would've. She probably had the same tears in her eyes, the same shaky hands, the same cracked heart. Adelaide knew that no matter how close she and her father were, Eloise had always had a special bond with him, and maybe that had made Adelaide a little jealous. Even though she'd never be able to attempt to get closer to her father ever again.

Her vision was blurry. The tears collecting in her eyelashes making it nearly impossible to see. All she could make out was a red, blurry ocean of Gryffindor robes. Her chest was tight, and she couldn't breathe. She couldn't catch a breath. Her lungs wouldn't expand to let air in. She felt like she was dying, either from a broken heart or lack of air. Maybe both. Just as she was about to give up on trying to find her sister, she spotted her in the crowd, at the exact same moment Eloise found her too. Their eyes met, and the entire world slowed to a stop. Now, there were just two broken souls staring at each other across a sea of people whose world didn't just turn upside down.

She was right, the same tears were in Eloise's eyes. Even from this distance, she could see the same heartbreaking pain reflected in her older sister's eyes. And just like that, years of bickering and squabbling meant nothing. Years of hatred seemed so insignificant right now. For they both had just received the worst news a child could ever possibly imagine receiving, and so, it was inevitable that they would need to walk this tightrope. Together.

Her chest somehow managed to tighten even more. It was unbearable. She needed to get out. Out of her mind, out of her body. She wanted to be anyone else in this room right now than herself. Bile rose in her throat. She needed to leave, get away from everyone. She needed to be alone, because she was fairly certain she was going crazy. She didn't know what to do, didn't know how to handle this.

She couldn't do this.

Grabbing the piece of parchment, she scrunched it up in her fist and abruptly stood up from the table, abandoning the food she had never finished eating as she made a break for it out of the Great Hall. She didn't know where she was running to, didn't really care, didn't really care if anyone noticed her running out of the Great Hall - she just needed to get out of there. As if somehow leaving the location she received the earth-shattering news would make it less real. She knew that was stupid though, it was futile. She wasn't ever escaping this. No matter how much she wanted to.

Something changed in Adelaide that morning, and she knew deep down that her childhood was over. She would never be the same person again. Something had broken inside of her, changing her irreversibly because now, life was pointless. It held no meaning. Sure, she would have the support of everyone around her while she was grieving, but that wouldn't bring him back, would it? That wouldn't bring her father back. So, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing.

What was living if she didn't actually feel alive anymore?