Chéri || Fred Weasley

lxxix

Two long trains later, Madeleine arrived to the first place she had in mind. She didn't know where to go hence why, she now found herself knocking on her grandmother's door at six in the morning. Her cheeks were tear stained after crying for the entire train ride, her under eye bags darker and her heart aching more than before after leaving Fred behind.

"Madeleine!" Mamie opened the door and stared at her in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"I ran away so I was wondering if I could crash here while I find some place of my and own and a job," she said quietly, her knuckles white from gripping her suitcase's handle so tight.

"Of course you can stay here ma belle," the pure veela opened the door wider to let her in. "I'm going to-"

"No one can know I'm here," Maddie blurted. "I left for a reason and the last thing I need right now is people begging me to go back."

"I was going to say that I was going to make you a drink," Mamie smiled softly and cupped her grand daughter's cheek lovingly.

"I will gladly accept that," Maddie sighed and followed her to the kitchen, sitting down on the table and running her fingers through her now tangled hair.

"Why didn't you apparate? It looks as if you walked all the way here," mamie sat down next to her after placing a drink in front of Madeleine.

"I didn't," Maddie downed the martini in two large gulps. "I took two trains and then the tram brought me to station nearby, I only had to walk a couple of miles."

"My question is, why?" the woman frowned.

"I'm no longer witch, I've hidden my wand and I don't intend to use magic again for as long as I live," Maddie cleared her throat and stood up.

"What?"

"Magic is why they're dead, magic is how I killed and tortured and lost my mind so the solution was simple," she shrugged. "If I ran away to where nobody knows me and hide my wand then I'm no longer a witch."

"What about everyone else you've left behind?"

"I'm done sacrificing myself for others, it was my time to be selfish so here I am. Being selfish."

"I think you were selfish enough during your sister's funeral Madeleine," Mamie said sternly.

"I was drunk, and I can't turn back time so that's another reason to never go back," she chuckled dryly, "spare myself the humilliation."

"I don't think that God himself can spare the disaster that you caused yesterday's afternoon," she shook her head disaprovingly.

"I'm done giving a fuck of what people think of me, I'm not a good person and I can't change that," Maddie snapped.

"What you said about your brother was cruel."

"He deserved it," Maddie spat, "and why are you taking his side anyway?"

"I'm not taking sides Madeleine," Mamie huffed. "You don't understand what it it like. A mother is not supposed to outlive her child and a grandmother is not supposed to outlive one of her grandaughters either."

"Well, what happened to Clotilde is still my brother's fault and no one will be able to convince me otherwise," she rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna go look for a job tomorrow."

"So you don't have any money with you then? If you've left everything behind so did you leave the fortune in your vault."

"That's why I intend to get a job. There was nothing for me there anymore."