things i'll never say ~ l.l.p.

nine - ache

Four days before Christmas, Mason's mum returned from Switzerland. She showed up at our door at two o'clock in the afternoon, holding an umbrella in defense against the frigid rain that had been falling persistently since the previous evening. Mason jumped up to meet her the moment she rang the bell, and I was right at his heels. Mum beat us there, and was ushering Mrs. Bones towards the kitchen (presumably for a cup of tea) when we reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Mum!" Mason burst out as he practically tackled her. He had missed her these past months, as I well knew, and he was unabashed by the fact.

"Hello, darling." Mrs. Bones let out a breathless laugh, wobbling on her feet as she embraced him, then stood back to look at him. "Merlin, how you've grown! And what's this?" Her slim hand brushed a mark on his cheek.

My friend grinned. "James is teaching me some quidditch strategies... I may have crashed into the shed."

Playing Quidditch while it was sleeting had not been one of James' better ideas. Mason was lucky he'd ended up with no more than a small scar.

Mrs. Bones shook her head, smiling, and as she continued to look at her son, I looked at her. She was noticeably thinner than she'd been at the beginning of September, and I was sure she hadn't had so many worry lines when I'd seen her last. Her voice and posture radiated exhaustion. The look in her eyes as she stared at Mason was decidedly pained. "Are your things ready, dearest? We've got to get things ready for your Grandad and Nana; they should be arriving before supper."

"Sure. It's all ready to go, I've just got to grab it." Mason smiled and headed for the treehouse.

"Why don't you go help him, Lily?" my mum said, in the tone that meant 'give the adults a moment alone.' She wore a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes, and that was how I knew there was something happening that I didn't understand. I was tempted to linger, but my conscience won the debate so I followed Mason out to the treehouse.

By the time I reached the ladder, he was already halfway back down the ladder, one bag slung over his shoulder and the other tossed down to the ground.

When he set foot on the grass, Mason looked at me, and his expression was more troubled than I'd ever seen it. But he didn't say a word, just trudged back towards the house. I trailed behind him, wondering what was going on.

The moment we set foot in the kitchen, our mothers fell silent. Mason glanced at me, perhaps wondering what to do next, but I could only shrug in return. I thought it strange that he, who had a level of confidence that I could only dream of, seemed at a loss for words.

After too long of a silence, Mrs. Bones spoke. "Alright, shall we go?" Her voice seemed strained, and the smile she wore as she made her farewells to me and Mum was too cheerful to be genuine. Mason and I did little more than wave; we'd be seeing each other again before long. I watched my mother take Mrs. Bones' hand and squeeze it reassuringly, and then they were gone.

I made for the back door, intending to retrieve a book and retreat to a quiet place, but my mum's voice halted me in my steps. "Lily, can you stick around for a moment? It's important that I speak with you."

Frowning, I turned back, joining my mother where she was leaning against the marble countertop. I noticed that the grey in her dark red hair was more noticeable than it had been in the summertime, and wondered if there was a reason for it. Her eyes, at the moment, were a tumultuous mixture of pain and trepidation. Standing there, in our kitchen, she told me all I needed to know.

Susan Bones was ill. In the course of her secretarial job at the Ministry, she had come in contact with a certain package, meant for the Minister, which had contained a curse. Upon opening the package, she was knocked out by something - not, as was first suspected, a simple delayed jinx, but something much more sinister.