Coming back to pieces... SOLO

When:End of June 2023
Newell Griffis speech
Marietta Griffis speech

Marietta lugged her trunk and satchel off train searching for her Father. Sure, she was sad to be leaving hogwarts... though she hadn't made many friends, and there was definitely some moments she thought she was dead. She had still had a great time! She had still learned magic. Anyways despite all that she was excited to go home. There would definitely be an awkward bump discussing it all with her mother. yes mom just like dad has been saying, magic is real! Its all true! Marietta knew it probably wouldn't go over any better than when her dad explained it to her mum, but you never knew till you tried! Marietta knew that even if it didn't go over well, her mother would still love her.

Marietta squirmed between crowds. Not terribly fond of all the hustle and bustle and loud noises. She did her best to keep her eyes glued to the ground. Not terribly fond of watching the happy families hugging... it wasn't that her family wasn't happy! Well actually... it was very unhappy, but Marietta was happy in it! Her parents loved each other, at some point, just with her Mom being so unsure on whether or not she could trust her spouse.. put quite a strain on what they once had. Marietta kept looking for her dad. its usually so easy to spot him in a crowd. she thought. Searching over people and stupid, hugging families that wouldn't just move.

She spotted a flash of dirt brown hair that seemed to hover a little above most of the other heads. "Dad?!" Marietta said running towards the head with her trunk. "Marietta?!" A male voice shouted. Marietta was soon knocked off her feet by a a very tall man in his mid-thirties. He had brown hair similar to hers but Marietta's was a dollop redder. He smiled at her a browner version of her eyes staring back. "How was school?! Oh, oh was your birthday nice? How bout Christmas, was Christmas okay? How are you?! I missed you my little Knarl!" Newell [Marietta's dad] hugged her again.

Marietta spoke into her dad's chest. "Dad I can't tell you if you keep hugging me! I don't mind though..." Newell would laugh loudly at that. "Okay, okay" He said releasing her. "Lets go sit on that bench over there." Newell would point at a bench as they both took a seat. "First things first... there were no 'Particular boys' right?" Newell would say taking on a very serious look. He had talked to her about not getting romantically involved at school until she was 15. Which was fine by Marietta. "Eeeww gross dad! No, there was no 'particular boys'." Newell let out a sigh of relief. "Okay good now the we've got that out of the way... tell me everything!" He'd say clapping his hands together and grinning.

Marietta immediately knew something was off, in the way he smiled and looked at her, something was definitely off. there was something nervous about him. His foot was tapping and the look he gave her was a tad forced, as if he was hiding something. "Don't you want to get home before I tell you everything? I bet mom will want to hear too! Wait, what did you end up telling mom?" Marietta would ask with sudden realization. Newell would rub the back of his head and avoid eye contact with his daughter thinking: D*** it kiddo. Why are you so emotionally aware? "...Dad?" Marietta would ask concerned her dad's mask was gone now. He seemed nervous, afraid even. "Sweetheart..." He said with a sigh. "Your mother and I, well... while you were gone..." he'd sigh again covering his face with his forearms. A habit he picked up by working in the beast division. When working with nasty beast chemicals, you really didn't want to touch you face with your hands. "I'm sorry it wasn't suppose to happen like this. We were suppose to talk about this after Florean Fortesque's" he'd say taking his arms off his face and cupping Marietta's hands in his. "While you were at school your mother and I got a divorce. Now I know its a lot to take in but we tal..."

Newell's words seemed to run together for Marietta her head had begun to spin faster than if she was in a teacup. He was explaining how they got out of going through the muggle court system but she couldn't really hear it any more. She felt as if she had left her body and was sinking, drowning. She was in a daze. Marietta barely heard herself when she said. "W-what... n-no y-you, D-dad your joking r-right?" Marietta stuttered slowly. She vaguely felt her dad putting an arm around her shoulders and saying something else, but she couldn't hear him. Her head was screaming, her face felt hot with tears, and at some point her body had begun to shake. Marietta could hear her father's words grow more urgent from outside. Hands drawing her close as she vomited and gasped for air.

Thankfully vomiting seemed to have really done the trick she blinked a few times coming back down to earth as her father hugged her close. "Can you hear me. Marietta, can you hear me?" He was saying as she came back, even only a little. "Y-yes" "Okay you went into shock, I'm going to slowly move you off my lap and then were gone run for it before some train station worker yells at us," he said slowly moving her. Newell wasn't entirely sure Marietta had really com out of shock yet. Her skin was cold, and she was still shaking. "Why would a train station worker yell at us?" "Cause you vomited in the middle of a walk way" "Oh" Said Marietta as Newell guided her out of the station talking partially to himself and to Marietta. "Well I think Ice Cream's off the table... What else could I do to cheer you up... uhhh hey you've always wanted a pet right? You wanna go get a pet? Lets go get you a nice fluffy kitty, or maybe an owl..." He'd continue to ramble as Marietta got into Newell's old car that he had bought to seem more 'muggle-ish'. As Newell started the car Marietta looked back at the train station. Though technically her old life had ended when she started hogwarts, the-the di-div. She couldn't even think the word, the word that made this new life she had started nearly 6 months ago, all the more final.