𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲 | 𝐝.𝐦.

forty six

The funeral crept by Betty in an instant.

The mourning white that she wore, the humid sun that hovered above the trio of siblings, the sombreness of the field surrounding her mother's coffin.

Everything seemed a mournful grey.

Juliette's funeral was held without much planning, put together roughly and tied together with bogus tears.

Betty glances up at the Death Eater standing before her, eyes slightly puffy and pink from all the crying he did the past few days. All a hoax.

He speaks to the headmaster of her former school, tone shallowly regretful.

The girl could intuit that he had spent hours standing before one of the ornamented mirrors, practicing his soulful weeping he would perform during her mother's funeral.

Just the image of it caused bile to rise up to her throat.

Following her mother's death, she was torn away from the ward of Remus and Tonks, and so were her siblings.

Now, her guardian was none other than the man who had entangled their lives into such a tragedy. She had no say in this matter as the court would only count her as a minor who lacked the ability to make such crucial decisions.

Unfortunately, neither did Remus despite how much he protested and - shamefully - pleaded.

The sisters dropped out of school the same miserable day they were called to the Headmaster's office to receive the news.

Betty could still remember the gleeful smirk on Joseph's face despite the swelling bump on his left eye. It made it difficult for her to take the man seriously, but not enough to cause a smile to lift her face.

The three children, arm in arm, watch as their mother's coffin had been gently lowered into the ground, then swathed by the earth.

Barely a tear fell from the two sisters while their brother sobbed ceaselessly.

Now that the funeral is over, Betty can only watch in silence as Joseph Bennett steals control of her world, smiling politely at the headmaster of her old school - like he was her true parent.

"Come on, children." The man whips around, snaking an arm around Josette who reluctantly leans into him.

Betty shakes in revulsion.

"Say goodbye to your headmaster. It's a miracle he even came," Joseph adds, pulling Betty in place by her hair even though she tries to make a run for it.

Snape's beady eyes sweep across the three children, where none of them could meet his eye as they mutter their thanks and goodbyes, teeth gritting - painfully obviously.

For a moment, worry flashes across the former teacher's eyes, before he returns to his usual, stoic demeanour and disapparated away.

Betty tugs herself free from her father's strong grip, ignoring the pain that spikes through her scalp as a couple strands of hair fall away.

Her hair has been religiously dropping from her scalp since her mother's death. She does not know why, nor does she have the strength to prevent it, not even when Theodore noticed and voiced his concerns.

"Let's go home, shall we?" Joseph continues, looking significantly pleased by himself once there was little to no one left around. "The Malfoy's must already be preparing your rooms."

Betty freezes briefly. "We're staying with the Malfoy's?"

"It's headquarters to the Dark Lord. The closer we are to his presence, the more useful we are to him. If we live there, we'd be as good as having Malfoy as our last name," the man replies, matter-of-factly.