black coffee | remus lupin [2]

112. st. mungo's

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ON THE MORNING OF OCTOBER 31st, Margaret Maple finally woke up.

Claudia couldn't remember anything about the most recent days in her life. After everything had gone down at Maple Manor, she had gone straight to St. Mungo's with her sick grandmother.

The old lady passed out the moment they arrived from the effects of the apparation, and then she simply just didn't wake up for days. But she was alive.

Claudia, however, did the exact opposite of her grandmother. She stayed up for days. Most of the time, she was at St. Mungo's. She couldn't understand it. Nothing made sense about that day at Maple Manor. But after talking to Regulus, who was far more sane than she was by now, she understood that her grandmother had saved her life.

Louisa was going to poison her. It wasn't really a shocking revelation, and Claudia was sure she kind of knew it from the very beginning even if she did take sips of her drink. Anyhow, it seemed that Margaret had listened to whatever conversation Charles and Louisa had had when they had left the dining room, and that she then had switched the teacups so that Charles was the one to drink it instead.

That, however, didn't explain how Margaret too got poisoned, which the healers informed Claudia of at the hospital.

Claudia didn't really have any memory of the days that had gone by. She was mostly at the hospital, sitting in the chair next to Margaret's bed.

She felt as though she was waiting for something. But she didn't know what.

All she really thought about was the fact that her father was dead. She had no idea what was going to happen next. At first, she was sure aurors would come and put protective charms around Margaret so that she wouldn't be able to leave since she had just killed somebody, but no one came.

And that fact always brought Claudia's mind back to Betty.

She was gone. And Claudia, once more, felt that it was her fault.

Inez and Betty had followed Claudia and Regulus to the manor, and decided to step in once things got bad. That, however, led to Betty's life ending.

And Claudia couldn't feel a thing. Years of memories suddenly felt like pain rather than happiness. Betty was one of her very first friends. And now she was just gone.

Inez had disappeared after. Regulus couldn't find her. It was easy to say that things were just one big giant mess.

And the fact that it was now October 31st of course didn't change that.

Louisa and Nolan had most likely disappeared due to the fact that they had murdered Betty. They couldn't get their revenge on Claudia and Margaret, because they themselves were in trouble.

So, there was no one at Maple Manor. None but two dead bodies, locked away by some house-elves before somebody knew what to do.

On the morning of All Hallows' Eve, Claudia was stirring awake. It didn't take long for the girl to discover that somebody was watching her, with weak and sunken eyes.

"Claudia," Margaret said, the hint of a smile playing at her lips.

"You're awake," Claudia said airily.

"Yes," her grandmother nodded. "Claudia, I-"

"Thank you," Claudia said. "Thank you for...you know."

Margaret nodded understandingly, and sat in silence for a moment before she began speaking once more. "I have been sick for awhile. I am sorry I did not tell you, but I didn't wish to worry you."

"Grandmother, what-"

"You know where I'll end up. For what I did."

"Grandmother, you only tried to-"

"I'm not ashamed of it," she said. "I really am not. He had done enough to you. Somebody had to stop it."

Claudia smiled sadly, "It sounds weird, because he just died, but I don't know how to repay you."

"You already have," said Margaret in a weak voice, grabbing Claudia's hand.

Claudia smiled faintly, "The healer's said you got poisoned too."

"Yes," Margaret nodded. "They were going to poison Mr. Black as well."

"But..."

"Death is better than Azkaban my dear," she said, and squeezed her hand.

"What?"

"Go back to sleep, little girl," said Margaret. "You're tired."

"So are you."

"Then let's both go back to sleep," Margaret said softly.

And so they did. Two awake people entered their slumbers, and it didn't take long until one of them was instead faced by death.

It was quiet. Claudia woke up, only to find her cold grandmother laying there, looking more peaceful than she'd ever seen her before.

And then she looked up and saw that her grandmother had a visitor that had come a little bit too late.

It was Newt Scamander.

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