"You don't hate me?" Mabel asked. There was no way George didn't look at her differently. Not when everyone else would.
George shook his head. "I don't. Even if I tried, I can't. I mean, the whole time I've known you, you've taught me how to love b...
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*~~~~~~~~~~*
Nobody had seen Mabel all day. So, when she walked into the Great Hall, her friends were shocked. She had her hair pulled back in an intricate plait. It was a five-stand dutch braid that ended at the nape of her neck—the rest of the hair laid in a pony down her back. Pinya had done it after the funeral. It calmed Mabel down and allowed her sob silently on her own.
"Where have you been?" Hannah asked as Mabel sat down at the Hufflepuff table. Hannah caught on to her sister's red eyes and puffy face. This made her even more concerned for Mabel. However, Mabel ignored Hannah and scooped beans onto her plate. She kept her focus on her food as she gradually ate them.
"Ms. Abbott," The familiar voice of Dumbledore spoke behind her. Dumbledore rarely left his seat at the professors' table during a meal. He had never walked down to talk to a student before, so everyone in the Great Hall knew it was bad.
Mabel turned around. "Yes, sir?" She asked. She acted completely unaware that she wasn't in lessons all day.
"Would you care to join me in my office?"
"Ooooo! She's in trouble!" A first-year announced. Other young students copied the kid, ooing and whistling at the girl. Mabel rolled her eyes. Without saying anything, she stood up and grabbed her plate.
Dumbledore led the way out of the Great Hall. Mabel trailed him through the corridors, eating the food off of her plate. The two were silent. Mabel was thankful for this. She did not want to talk to Dumbledore at all.
"Albus," A voice behind them growled. The two spun their heads to see Mad-Eye Moody.
"Yes, Alastor?" Dumbledore spoke. Professor Moody glanced at Mabel. Dumbledore caught onto his glance. "Mabel, would you mind meeting me in my office?" Mabel scrunched her eyebrows. She briefly looked at Moody before nodding her head at Dumbledore. "Good. I'll be in there soon." Mable spun on her heels and headed towards Dumbledore's office. Before she could get far, Dumbledore stopped her. "Oh, and Mabel. Do have some lemon drops once you're there." Mabel looked back at him. He sent her a wink. She slowly nodded before she spun on her heels.
Mabel silently walked to Dumbledore's office, snacking on her food. It wasn't an adventurous trek. She tuned out the world for most of it. Her focus came back when she was face-to-face with a giant eagle gargoyle. It took her a second to figure out what the password could be, but then it hit her.
"Lemon drops," Mabel said to the stone art. The gargoyle spun upwards as if a cork and revealed a staircase.
Mabel walked up the stairs into a large office. She had been here once when her parents were called in after she missed a whole month of classes. Not her proudest moment.
This time, she decided to explore Dumbledore's office, as she didn't have the opportunity to last time since she was being lectured the entire time.
She quickly placed her plate down on a random stack of books. Her eyes already caught onto the room. She started with all the paintings of old Headmasters. They looked at her weirdly, but she ignored them and stared at the intricate frames. Then she went to the bookshelf. She tried to read as many book titles as possible, just for fun. Mabel lifted her hand to brush off some dust that covered the bind of a book.
