She was a misfit, he was a git.
Matilda Diggory enters her fifth year of school, ready to remain as under the radar as possible, only there's a catch. She's somehow managed to catch the eye of a particularly annoying redhead, who seems hell-bent on...
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The next morning, Matilda crept silently through the house back to the couch after having used the bathroom. She was careful to walk quietly, but the sound of her ankles cracking carried through the hallway with ease. She walked with a limp, making her gait much smaller than normal and her ribs ached with every step. The sun was rising, casting the home in glorious rays of golden light and Matilda moved to sit by the east-facing window so she could feel the warmth through the glass.
Outside the window were vast fields of grass and trees lining the edges of each paddock. From what she could tell, the home sat atop a hill that overlooked the property and its neighbours. There were a few homes in the far distance, and it reminded her very much of her own home. The main difference was the presence of livestock on the Lupin's land. She looked out at the sheep and lambs, white speckles amongst the green fields, and sighed.
"Something on your mind?"
Matilda looked over her shoulder to see Lupin leaning against the door frame. He offered her a smile, which she returned, before entering the room and sitting in the seat next to hers. She shrugged as a response to his question, not knowing how to answer without speaking.
She reached for the notepad on the coffee table, took the pen and flicked it between her hands, thinking about what to write. After a few moments of silence, she placed the pen tip on the paper and wrote her reply.
Can we go see the sheep?
A smile spread across Lupin's face as she turned the paper so that he could read it. Matilda raised her brow, pressing for a response.
He chuckled and ran a hand over his face, "Uh, yeah. I suppose. I'll put the kettle on and make us each a tea so we can keep our hands warm." Matilda watched him try not to give her an obvious look-over, "If you want to have a shower, feel free to do so, just be mindful of the bandages. We've put some clothes in the chest of drawers in your room. And there's a towel on your bed."
She nodded her head and followed him out of the living room and into the hallway. There was a window at the opposite end of the hallway, showering it in early morning light. The first door on her left led to the bathroom, and a sliding door at the start of the hallway led to the front of the house. Further down was another set of doors opposite each other, presumably Lupin and Lyall's rooms.
"The last door on the left. I'll be in the kitchen."
Giving him a thumbs up, Matilda continued down the hall to the last door, and pushed it open.
It was similar in size to her room back home, perhaps a bit bigger and brighter. There was a large window on the wall parallel to the door and another to her right, north-facing, looking out to the back of the property. Furnishing the room was a double bed, chest of drawers, a nightstand and a desk, as well as a mirror set in the corner between the windows.
Walking over to the chest of drawers, Matilda grabbed a pair of flowy linen pants, a grey t-shirt, and undergarments, with a slight chuckle at the thought of Lupin's dad going into the girls section. She picked up the towel on the bed and made her way to the bathroom. She clicked the door shut behind her and changed as quickly as she could out of her blood-stained clothes.
