Selenophile // Marauders

|111| The Void

TW: Abuse, violence

———

Nothing changed in the next week.

Riley wasn't feeling any better about anything, she still didn't let anyone help her much. Remus had visited once, Lily kept calling, Penny kept coming.

Penny was helping, she visited a lot, probably more than she should have. But she was genuinely trying to make her feel better, she was somebody Riley could talk without worrying about giving too much information. Except for her being a witch, of course.

She sometimes talked to Sirius on the two-way mirror, he also tried his best to help out. Remus had visited two days after the funeral.

But all these things didn't make Riley feel anything different, she still couldn't think about that day, or even look at a picture of her mum without bursting into tears.

It was as if she were in a void, constantly floating around. Nothing strange happened, yet she always felt insanely strange around the house on her own.

There was a knock on the door, Riley walked up to it.

"Who is it?" she asked without opening the door.

"Lena—"

Riley sighed, and then opened the door. The girl stood there shyly, she didn't look the same. She didn't look confident, goofy nor joyful.

"Why are you here?"

"And hello to you too, friend," said Lena nervously. "I am just here to check up on you."

"Oh, I see," said Riley flatly. "I'm fine, you can leave."

"No — you can't just block me out like that. I'm here for support," said Lena softly. "I actually wanna help."

"Er — sure."

"I'm so sorry about your mother," said Lena. "I really am... You must be feeling terrible now."

"No shit," said Riley with mockery in her tone. "But er — thanks."

"How are you doing?"

"Could be better," replied Riley with a wry smile.

"Y'know," said Lena. "My mum, she died when I was only four. I didn't get to know her much, I have very few memories with her. I wish I could've had more time with her..."

"I didn't know..." said Riley softly. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," said Lena. "But just don't forget this, you got to know your mother well, and she loved you. Yes, she won't get to see you be a super cool spy for a super secret, confidential order, but she's also in a better place now, with all the others, watching over you..."

Riley chuckled at the statement, then saw Lena smile.

"I'm not trying to tell you to get over it, no, that's absolutely absurd. I would honestly be worried if you were over it, take your time. But try to think of the better memories you have with her, maybe it will help."

Riley nodded, then smiled. It was actually a helpful advice, she never thought of it this way. Her time with Madelyn Spade was not enough, but she could try to think of all the things they got to do in that short time they had.

"Thanks," she said shakily. "Thank you."

"Also," said Lena. "I've got more information about the mission."

Riley was happy to see the subject change. "Like what?"

"I got to talk to You-Know-Who personally, and he actually told that he would give you some time to think about joining. Which got me thinking that he might actually be making me fall into a trap, but I don't think he is and we really have to trust my guts."