Under the Willow Tree | Draco Malfoy

chapter 24: did you just say mum is home?

Lorelei Jones | Summer After 3rd Year

"Gran!" Lorelei cheered when she got off the train and saw her grey-haired grandmother waiting there for her. Lorelei dropped her trunk at her feet and threw her arms around her Gran. "I missed you so much, Gran."

After the loss of Cedric Diggory, a well-known Hufflepuff boy, Lorelei was shaken. Hogwarts didn't really feel safe for the weeks after his death, and she was easily spooked by everything. Once Enzo tried to come talk to her, but she hadn't heard his approach, and she stumbled and yanked her wand from her pocket on instinct. Lorelei had never done that before.

Somehow, seeing her normal, muggle grandmother at the station in London reminded Lorelei somewhere was safe, and that somewhere was home. Gran gripped Lorelei in a tight hug and sighed, "Ah, my sweet child. I've missed you, dearly. Easter was far too long ago."

Lorelei pulled back and nodded with her eyes already glossed over. She gave her Gran a watery smile.

"Get your bags, sweetie. Your mum's just flew in from the states yesterday, so we'll go out to dinner tonight," Gran said and motioned towards Lorelei's bags on the ground a couple steps back.

Lorelei wrapped the long strap of one bag over her body and then picked up her trunk with both hands. It was rather heavy, and as she was only thirteen still, she couldn't use her magic outside of Hogwarts. She had to just suffer under the load of her overly stuffed bag until she and Gran made it to the bus station. Then she could set her trunk on the floor for the ride. She was already smiling at the thought of that relief. This all delayed her processing of Gran's second statement until a few moments later.

"Wait. Did you just say mum is home?" Lorelei clarified with hope lilting her voice upwards at the end of her question. She gripped her trunk even tighter and made a series of hurried steps to keep up with her Gran who had already started to walk off towards the bus station.

Gran nodded at Lorelei's question and continued to lead the way through the busy crowds. Lorelei stayed close behind her so as not to get lost with her large trunk held to her chest. Every few seconds, the trunk started to slip, and Lorelei had to do an awkward skip maneuver to adjust her grip.

"How long is mum staying?" Lorelei asked once they made it out of the heavy crowds and into a less hectic area.

Gran had slightly white hair with a twinge of her old blonde still in it. She was relatively short, but that didn't take away from her power in the slightest. Gran had two children of her own, and she was normally a sweet and kind woman, unless one messed with her family. If one of her family members were hurt, her wrath was feared.

"I don't know, sweetie. I told her to stick around longer this time. I know you need her now more than ever after what happened with that classmate of yours," Gran sighed and shook her pale hair away from her face. She placed a hand on Lorelei's back and encouraged her along to the slightly busy bus stop in front of them.

"Gran, I...I can't believe he died," she whispered and drew closer to her Gran.

"Let's discuss it when we get home, alright? I wouldn't want you to get in trouble discussing it out in the open like this," Gran said with her gaze scanning the public space.

It was the middle of the afternoon, and there were many commuters using the busses and trains at that hour to get to and from work. It was an unusual day for weather. It was hot, the air feeling almost sticky with its humidity, but the sun was completely hidden beneath a blanket of thick, grey clouds.

Lorelei silently prayed it would storm that night. It would get rid of this awful humidity, and she loved to crack open her window and listen to the sounds of the thunder and the downpour of rain in such severe weather. Storms like that were considered to be dangerous and feared, but Lorelei was comforted by it. She hadn't known a reason to fear what many others looked at with horror.