ONLY LIGHT. harry potter

╰➢ stages of grief

Grief comes in and out of our lives, in some shape or form, more than we would like in life. It's hard to know how to navigate our feelings in the midst of such immense change, and it often can feel like you're the only person experiencing what you're feeling. Grief looks different for everyone, but the silver lining is that you aren't alone in the experience of it. Whatever stage of the grieving process you're in, there are people all around you who've been through tough times too and have offered their own wisdoms to help you feel less alone.

That was not the case for Aurora and Nicole. The moment they came back from King's Cross, there was this unspoken agreement to not talk about anything that had happened— much to Atlas and Noelle's dismay (with the added pressure of not seeing their kids due to the order). They wanted their kids to talk about their feelings no matter how much it hurt, but the twins, no matter how different they were, are both stubborn.

However, despite the difference, the grieving stages were almost quite the same.

First stage: Denial.

Aurora, for one, found herself fantasizing someone will call to say there's been a mistake and nothing really happened— that Cedric wasn't actually hit with the killing curse and was dead. At one point, she's convinced herself that the Ministry was just hiding him somewhere to calm everyone down.

Nicole, on the other hand, although not in the same exact way, was still denying everything she'd seen. The emotion pain was always there when she was awake, so she thought that the solution was simple: sleep all day and drink an excessive amount of potion for a dreamless sleep.

Second stage: Anger.

Aurora's approach was weird. She was irritated, bitter, anxious, and extremely impatient. For a moment, Noelle and Atlas were glad that the order was keeping them busy, because every time they went home the twins were ripping their heads off.

At least, they started talking again. When you're numb, you disconnect from everyone. When you're angry, you connect, even if through this emotion.

Now anger— anger was Nicole's speciality. After trashing her room, and getting into a very brutal fight with Aurora that left her with a bandaged lip and a bloody forehead, locked herself in her room with only one question ringing through her mind— why me? What did I do to deserve this?

Then, she chopped her hair off. It now went a little past her shoulders.

Third stage: Bargaining.

Aurora wasn't familiar with loss. She turned so desperate that she's willing to do almost anything to alleviate or minimize the pain. She started to promise to whoever higher being was out there— I promise to be a better person if Cedric isn't really dead.

Nicole started thinking about what could've happened. What if Cedric got lost in the maze instead? Would he be dead? What if she never talked to Ellis that day— would none of these things have happened?

Fourth stage: Depression.

Beside her family, Aurora only trusted one person— her best friend, Blaise Zabini. Her emotions finally started to calm down and she slowly started to look at the reality of their present situation. Bargaining no longer feels like an option and she's faced with what is happening.

So what does she do? She packs her bags, writes Nicole a note (who couldn't care less about where her sister ran off to) and slept at the Zabini's— it was a great idea, since Ms. Zabini was happy to welcome her.

Atlas and Noelle tried to visit their kids as often as they could (because god knows how much they want to be there for their children) and although their presence was comforting and that both of their mental states turned better, whenever they left, there was this lone feeling that would engulf the twins.