𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑; t.riddle

000...𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

𝙼𝙰𝙽𝙴𝙰𝚃𝙴𝚁
(000...𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚞𝚎)

CASSIE WAS SAT IN THE COLD LIVING ROOM, ANXIOUSLY CHEWING ON HER NAILS. Her parents were on Aurror duties and it wasn't unsual for them to be late but they were never this late. A few hours earlier, her father had woken her up to inform her that him and her mother will be leaving for work; as she was old enough to stay home alone she tried to go back to sleep, like she usually did. Only this time a feeling of unease kept her away, her mind racing with all the bad things that could happen that night. Her cat Patches, lay in her lap as she stroked her stomach. Many horrible thoughts crossed her mind,

What if they got kidnapped?

What if one of them dies?

What if she never gets to see either of them again?

Grinderwald was not a weak opponent but he was sly with his next move and was very unpredictable. Or at least that's what her father told her; she'd never seen the man in the flesh and she hoped it stays that way but she heard many stories of his battles and she knew that he was merciless - if he wanted to kill, he will.

Cassie knew many people who lost a loved one at the hands of Grinderwald and his army of followers and he was very famous for striking fear wherever he set foot. And as the minutes turned into hours, the girl couldn't take it anymore. As she set foot on the stairs, making her way to her bedroom to write a letter to the Head of the Aurror's Office, she heard the door of the house open. Relief shot through her - surely her parents must be back.

A smile spread across her face as she ran into the hallway to find her father shutting the door behind him. Assuming her mother was already in the house, she ran over to him and hugged him, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Dad, where's mum?" She asked, letting go of the hug. He remained unresponsive and his face fell. "Father, where's mum?" But he passed by her, letting his coat fall to the floor and setting his hat on the dresser, pretending as if he hadn't heard his daughter speak.

He sat on the couch resting his head between his hands, staring down at the floor. Her heartbeats quickened, what could have happened to her mum that her dad wasn't telling her about? She wanted to shout at him to listen to her, to realize that she was standing infront of him, waiting for an answer.

"Dad, why aren't answering me? What happened?"

But he stayed quiet as the silence of the night and only Cassie's quick, short breaths can be heard.

"Dad, please-!" Her cry cut through the silence like a knife.

"Your mother is dead! And she is not coming back. Is that what you want to hear?" He shouted back, violently standing up, "She's dead! She's dead! She's gone! He killed her, he killed her. I saw it. With my own two eyes." He began to sound like a madman, his hands shaking and his pacing around the room started to worry her.

His daughter stood infront of him, looking at him blankly. She couldn't believe her mother was dead, surely her father must be wrong, that her mum would walk through the door with a bright smile across her beautiful face and give Cassie a hug like she always did. She would go downstairs and help Bee make delicious apple pie even when the house-elf begged her to go rest.

Though Cassie's hopes did not come true as barely two days later she found herself dressed in black standing over her mother's grave. Tears ran down her face and the numbness of the past hours were washed away, replaced by agonizing pain. She sat there, next to the gravestone for a long time, crying and remembering how good of a mother she had.

Before the sun set, Cassie whispered a goodbye to her mom, remembering their happy days and the smiles they shared and how she first taught her how to ride a broomstick. "I love you mum and I know you want me to be happy so I'm gonna try." She whispered, but she knew that the empty hole in her heart is going to take a long time to heal. With that, she walked back home.