„Oh, my dear..." (Mattheo Riddle ff)

how she returned 'home'...

(TW: mentions violence, assault, blood and death. please don't read if easily triggered by one of these!) And by the way: are y'all aware, that I can see not just your usernames, but also the titles of the readinglists which you add my book to? I'm over here laughing my ass off. 

P.T.

Fucking hell, my heart hurt so horribly. 

I watched him walk away towards his next platform, to catch his train to Norwich. That alone was fucking crazy. How did we never realise, how close we were actually living to each other? Okay, maybe not super close, but definitely not far away from each other either. 

He'd drive back to Norwich and his brother, and I couldn't do anything about it. Tears burned in my eyes again as he disappeared behind all the other people, leaving my standing at the stairs to my own platform. 

Barely keeping it together, I managed to lift my bags and suitcases up the steps. Why did this have to be so difficult? I had been so close, to telling him about my conversation with Snape a good week ago. But I didn't, and although it felt like a horrible mistake, I knew it was the right thing. He'd do something stupid without thinking if he knew... 

Tom would probably tell him anyway, at least in a few days, right?"

I don't know how long I stood there, between all my luggage, waiting for my train, until it finally arrived. Not many people took this one to Peterborough at this time, so it was mainly empty. Sitting down heavily, I gathered my things around me and started mentally preparing myself for my so called home. 

The scutum defensio spell hadn't done anything in quite a while now... The last time I felt something, was one random evening two months ago, when it suddenly felt like somebody had smacked the back of my head very harshly. But that was mild, compared to what I had to go through in the first three years at Hogwarts. 

Father and Marcus lost interest in getting their frustration out on Valery after not getting the right direction from her. Sometimes, there was a slap or a shove to the shoulder, but nothing too painful anymore. Luckily.

After arriving at Peterborough station, I would have to take another bus out of the main center, to the edge of town. And then... I'd walk another mile. In no life, would somebody pick me and my luggage up from the bus stop.

And then, after the thirtyfive, or fourty minute walk, I'd finally arrive at my final destination for the summer. Greyback Castle. 

And yes, unfortunately, it was actually a castle, and the name wasn't just show. It was small, and pretty ugly compared to other castles, but it was one indeed. Not like Hogwarts of course, god no. It was much darker, and tinier. 

Sighing deeply, I got off the train at Peterborough and made my way to the bus platform. Looking up at the display, I quickly realised that the next bus with number 135 would already depart in ten minutes... 

Amazing. 

I made it to the bus and inside, and then left it again at the last possible stop, far outside the city center. 

Although I was still about a mile away from the castle, the sky already seemed to darken. With every step I took in the wrong direction, the slight wind seemed to freshen up just a touch. The closer I got, the more the birds stopped singing. The trees went from healthy and green to rotten skeletons. 

The further I walked, the more the originally hot and bright summer day with perfect blue sky and sunshine turned into a stormy and cool day, the sky getting darker and darker, filled with more and more grey clouds that could have started raining off at any moment.