The Girl from Azkaban ~ Tom Riddle (18+)

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕿𝖍𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖞-𝕺𝖓𝖊

~✧~

It was May 28 when the funeral took place, but she had already died five days earlier. The news that Meredith Malfoy had passed from the world of the living spread like wildfire. Like people, wizards died, but this woman's death had been as unexpected as it was to be expected. Most wizards knew nothing of the curse that had shaken her and gradually taken more and more of her life force, yet they noticed that she showed up less and less often at balls and fetes. The wizards noticed her husband Jamethy's increasingly unbridled temper, but for the time being they had no idea what was behind it.

Taraphina and Abraxas did not learn of their mother's death directly; only the day before the funeral could Jamethy bring himself to visit the school he once called home. For him, it was agony. He had married this woman not out of love, but merely because his parents wanted it that way, but time after time more and more feelings of sympathy and finally love for Meredith arose. He loved her with all his heart and his wife returned these feelings at least as much. Precisely because the forced marriage between Meredith and him worked so well, he never had anything against continuing it. Abraxas as well as Taraphina were soon enough finished with school and ready for marriage. Though he wouldn't say it now, he soon liked the solitude better than any other drug in the world- the quiet could be addictive and seemed to heal wounds. He forgot, sadly, that the day he showed up at Hogwarts, he opened up an equally large wound in Abraxas and Taraphina. They were both broken as well, the woman they had called Mother for years and with whom they had had what had been a wonderful childhood after all, was now gone. Mother by blood or by name, it hurt equally.

Both children already knew that death would come and take Meredith with it without remorse, but despite the emotional preparation, they were devastated. Taraphina cried the entire time until the funeral began in Tom's arms. The world seemed to be coming to ruin, she was learning things she didn't want to know and feeling pain she had never thought was possible. The pain that literally crushed her heart was far too familiar, as it probably is when you lose your mother for the second time. She fought, but everyone saw that day, dressed all in black, how useless it was. Her mine kept twitching, her eyes were red, her other face pale. The skin was shiny because of all the tears.

She tried to find some words for her mother, she had literally begged her father to let her take the lectern, but out came, as he had predicted, only sobbing:

"I thank you all for being here. It means a lot to me to see so many confidants here, family and friends were the most important thing for my mother. They gave her strength and made her laugh even though she was not in the mood. I know how happy she is right now, for all your support. I am sure you will never forget her; neither will I. Because I still know how amazing she was. I loved sitting with her in the garden by the fountain and-"

Taraphina could no longer continue, throughout the speech her voice trembled and the tears flowed more with every word. Everyone continued to watch her anxiously to see if she could finish her words, but eventually the battle was lost. Tom was the one who put an end to this sight and led her away from the lectern, after murmuring a quick "excuse me". Then back on the sidelines, he hugged her tightly against his chest and let her crumple his black suit with her small hands while he forced himself to shed a few tears. If he had had a family of his own, he might have understood how awful it must be to give a speech next to the Sag and a beautiful painting of the person you loved so intangibly; but he didn't know that, and he never would. Instead, he just watched as the Sag was lowered into the ground in a large hole under a tree, next to a small stream. He and Taraphina remained standing for ages beside the freshly shovelled hole, while everyone else was already making their way through the mist into the Malfoy mansion.

"Princess?" he asked cautiously, not expecting a verbal reply. Tara nodded her head gently.

"Are you all right?" he knew how stupid the question was, but asked it anyway. Tara, of course, denied it with a shake of her head, but Tom wanted to get her talking again. He had learned early that people who were easily broken often just needed to say what they feared, desired or regretted.