Silent Riot | Regulus Black

SIXTEEN

Here she was, at the second funeral she'd attended in half a year. Both belonging to the two people she'd been closest to. 

A familiar knot of pain had once again seized her, but this time she wasn't so sure it would be as easy to forget about. It weighed her down- first like a pebble, then a rock, and now it was a boulder. It's pretty hard to keep going with a boulder in your chest.

Dan Greene had always wanted to be cremated. But she couldn't find it in her to do it- somehow it just felt like she was finishing off the job for whoever had murdered him.

Murdered. A cold shiver went down her spine just thinking about it. 

A week had passed since it happened. Distant aunts and uncles came from all over the country to offer their sympathies. She didn't much care for them, but at least she didn't have to plan anything.

But then the muggle lawyers showed up, asking about her mother, whether she could live with her, etc. She'd told them she didn't know anything, and abstained from answering any questions about her school. They probably just thought she was being petulant. 

She stood on a stage, just like Mr and Mrs Rosier had that day. Ted and Iz stood behind her, sort of like bodyguards or something. Luke stood in the audience, trying to hush one child who was complaining loudly to his parents that there wasn't any cake at this 'boring party.'

'So, um, hi,' she said, deciding to just start talking. 'So, I knew Dan for, um fifteen years. Obviously, I mean he was my father. Well, I'm not saying that people have to spend years with their parents I mean my mum's out somewhere doing god knows what and I haven't seen her in-um- well you get the point, right. Right?' 

Behind her, she could see Iz bury her face in her hand. Gemma bit her lip. 

'Anyway, I think what I'm trying to say, is that-' But she was interrupted by the child, who started wailing. His parents tried to hush him, but he just lay down on the floor and began screaming.

'Shut up,' she said sharply. 'Shut up! What do you have to scream about?' She saw Iz and Ted exchange a glance, but she couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of her mouth. 

'I should be the one screaming and crying. Me! Not you, you bloody spoiled brat!' All the while, the child had continued to wail, and now he was very close to the stage. So this time when he opened his mouth to let out a scream, she slapped him. Hard. His face went very red, and he was momentarily stunned. Everyone was, even herself. 

'Okay, that concludes that,' Iz announced. She guided Gemma hurriedly off the stage, and the boy's parents began talking, voices pinched with fury, Luke trying to calm them down. 

'Be sure to... pay your condolences! And use condoms,' Ted added, following his friends. This caused a further frenzy in the audience.

'Oh brilliant,' Luke mumbled, as he now guided them all to the exit, trying to calm them down.

Iz took her straight back to her own room. She sat on the bed, and inspected the surroundings. Her dad had helped her decorate the place.

One wall was red, and the other three were black. All her wooden bookshelves were filled with everything but books, and she'd hung fake ivy on them. Posters covered almost every inch of the black walls, and she had plants on her windowsill and in every corner of the room. Now, they seemed slightly wilted, as though they knew what was happening.

'That went well,' she commented. Iz rolled her eyes.

'I know your grieving and all, but like, please could you be a bit more sane about it?' She said.