Shattered Glass and Broken Edges Solo Summer 2025

Interacting with: N/A Mentioning: N/A Date: 07/20/25

Word Count: 1165

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The air was different. Heavier. Like a storm brewing on the horizon and just waiting for the perfect moment to drop in. Avery shivered as she pulled her jacket tighter around her. The morning was chillier than normal. Just adding to the strangeness of the morning and adding to the feeling that something was coming. Something big. Something dark that would probably change her life forever. Avery walked out of her room. Her footsteps echoing down the empty hall. It was late enough for her to be awake as well as her aunt, but early enough for everyone else to continue to sleep. As Avery walked down the hall, a picture she hadn't noticed before caught her attention. It was old. Well, "old" wasn't exactly the right word. It was a picture from when Avery and Dylan were eight. Right before everything took a turn for the worst. It was a family photo. Everyone smiled back at her and blinked as she observed them. It was her family. Her parents, herself, her aunt, her uncle that she hadn't seen since then, her cousin Dylan, and her grandparents. There was a metal sign attached to the bottom of the picture frame. It was small, with the word "Teulu: Lle Mae Bywyd yn Dechrau… Ac Mae Cariad yn Berffaith Ddi-Ben-Draw" Family: Where Life Begins… and Love Never Ends written across it. Avery touched the smooth metal gently. Memories flooding her mind. When she looked at the picture again, one thing had her attention. Her grandfather. He looked so young and full of life then even though the picture was taken nearly five years before. So much had happened that he had gone from young and healthy to weak and nearly dying. The thought alone brought tears to Avery's eyes as she turned her head away. Unable to look at it anymore. The pain too hard to bear. Avery rubbed her arms gently as she walked into the kitchen. Her aunt and grandparents were there whispering. The moment they heard her walk in, their whispering stopped and looks of sadness and sympathy crossed their faces. Avery, unknowing of what they had been talking about became worried. "Is everything alright? Did something happen?" Avery asked in a voice a little higher pitched than usual. She watched as the shoulders of her aunt and grandmother tensed, but her grandfather kept his same calm demeanor as before. As if nothing had ever happened. "Everything is fine. Well, as fine as it can be for the moment. Come. Sit. There is something we need to tell you that we believe you're old enough to know and understand now." Her grandfather explained as he motioned for the seat between her aunt and grandmother. Avery approached the couch slowly and sat down silently. Unsure of what there was to be said. She watched as her grandfather took a deep breath before beginning what he had to say in his aged and rumbling voice. His voice would have soothed her nerves if it wasn't for the information he was telling her. Information that she thought she'd never hear in her lifetime. "As you know, nearly five years ago is when you left our lives when your mother took you away. I know you only saw part of our argument, and I also know you don't understand, so that's why we're having this conversation. You of all people deserve to learn the truth." Her grandfather took in another ragged breath as Avery sat there in complete silence. Afraid to break the moment. "The reason why your mother was so angry runs deeper than you may expect. It all started soon after your parents graduated from Hogwarts. Your mother was planning on going straight into the Department of Mysteries as you already know. Now, it may seem that nothing would be wrong with this, but there was. Your grandfather and I were worried. A good friend of mine had worked in the same department and had recently died of unknown causes which had raised suspicion." Her grandmother explained as Avery listened intently. Never hearing this part of her mother's story until that moment. "Soon before she applied for her job, your grandfather and I approached your mother in an attempt to warn her. Of course being the headstrong woman she was and still is, she didn't take our advice well. Instead? She disappeared in a flash of anger and we didn't see her for weeks." Avery's grandmother sucked in the breath as she relieved the memory. "I barely even saw your mother over those weeks. She was staying at your father's house at the time and had refused to come home. It wasn't until your father proposed and your mother accepted that she finally came home, but she was. . . different. She had started her new job then, so we didn't really know what to expect." Avery's aunt explained further. "Over time, your mother began to grow distant. Even your father began to worry about her well-being. It was then that he had suggested to bring you out here with her as well as bring your aunt and Dylan. It was our one and only chance to ask what was going on and to see what we could do to help." Her grandfather said as his eyes closed for a moment before opening again. "The day came fast. Faster than we expected, and we knew it was time to talk to her. Once you and Dylan had left for the woods, we confronted her. The conversation had started out easy, but quickly evolved into a full blown fight. That's what you saw." Her aunt shivered. Avery sat there. Shock on her face as she listened to the story. "So what happened? What did she say?" All three of her family members stared at her for a moment without blinking. Their eyes showed the sadness they felt deep inside. Her aunt was the one to say the words Avery had never expected. Words that cut through her like a knife. Leaving her raw, open, and broken. Like shattered glass. "Your mother never wanted children. Your father did, but when she had you, we thought she would change her mind, but instead everything got worse. She threatened things that you couldn't even imagine. That's why you probably haven't seen her much the past five years." Her aunt choked out. Avery had no words left to say as tears fell down her cheeks and dripped down onto the fabric of her jacket sleeves. Leaving dark grey spots on her light grey jacket. That's when her grandmother and aunt embraced her tightly. Like her life depended on it. "So I was a mistake?" Avery choked out. "No. You were never a mistake, and you'll never be one. You are brave and beautiful and worth way more than what people tell you. Don't let your mother make you feel like a mistake because you aren't and never will be." Avery's grandmother said as she gripped Avery's limp body tighter.

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