Needing You

Chapter 33

Not much had happened since Talia had got back home for Christmas.

Her and her father would have breakfast, lunch and dinner together everyday. Talia told her dad about the lack of practical skills being used in DADA, so he decided to try and help her as best as he could. They spent as much time together as they could, which meant Talia was not able to meet up with her friends. Although she missed her friends, it had only been a week and she was going to see them again very soon so there wasn't much to feel too guilty about.

Amos had hoped that his daughter's holiday would be a great way to distract the both of them from the missing family member. It seemed that the two were still not the same as before, and although Talia had friends to constantly keep her company at school, Amos did not. Every once in a while Molly and Arthur Weasley would pop by and Molly would give Amos a freshly cooked dinner to make sure he was eating. He also had duties to the order which got him out of the house. But his day-to-day routine would be leaving to go to work, not having much work given to him due to the sympathy he received from his coworkers, and then coming home and going to bed immediately.

It was now Christmas and the two Diggorys were eating breakfast in the kitchen.

On the table was a small display of tea, coffee (it was always nice to have a choice), crumpets and various jams. Amos thought it would be nice to have something a little different rather than the same cereal and toast.

The two hadn't really thought of any plans for the day, so Talia assumed they would be staying at home opening presents, tending to some plants and getting ahead of her school reading.

Midway through breakfast, Amos had an idea. He didn't really know if it was a good idea or not. But it was an idea. He asked Talia to get ready to go outside before she was able to make her way to the christmas tree.

She ran upstairs and put on a large coat. When she reached downstairs Amos gave her some presents to carry with her. Luckily for Talia, there were not many presents to carry. Just a few small ones from her friends and family.

The sky was grey, but that was what was to be expected during a British winter. Talia followed Amos' lead, not really knowing where they were going. There was a comfortable silence between the two, as they admired the scenery around them.

It wasn't until they reached a familiar location that Talia realised where they were going.

They entered the graveyard, which was not entirely empty. There seemed to be a few other families who were there for the same reason as them.

Talia felt a tear fall when they reached Cedric's grave. She hadn't realised that she was crying.

The weather hadn't been so pleasant as the grass was rather muddy, so Amos laid a blanket on the floor for the two of them to sit on.

"I thought it'd be nice for us to spend Christmas together", he said as he sat down and patted the space next to him for Talia to join him.

She not so gracefully sat down with a thud and hugged Amos while crying into his arms. Amos embraced his daughter, while also holding back his own tears. He never expected that he would ever spend Christmas grieving one of his children. Parents weren't meant to outlive their kids. It wasn't natural. Yet here he was, with one child crying in his arms and the other beneath him.

As she sniffled, Talia moved away from her father and made herself more comfortable on the floor. Sitting with her legs crossed, her hands in her lap and her head down.

"I still miss him", she says.

Amos chuckled to himself. "Of course you still miss him Lia, I still miss him. I still miss your mother for Merlin's sake".