I Shall Wait; A Cutdawn Fanfic

Mrs. Scamander

I thought things could not possibly be worse. 

But I'm never right about these kinds of things.

I was in my office with Goodwin when the letter arrived. I had read it in a hurry. It was short and quick to the point. I had dropped it when I finished reading. The expression on my face must of told Goodwin something was wrong. Horribly wrong. "What is it?" he asked. I choked.

"Grandma's sick. Really sick."

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I apparated as fast as I could to Grandma and Grandpa's house. I ran inside to see Aunt Alice, Uncle Theseus, Mom, Dad, Phoenix, Apollo,  Aunt Caoimhe, Uncle Credence, Dorothy(Caoimhe and Credence's daughter), Uncle Jacob, Aunt Queenie, Carter, and Grandpa all sat in the living room, each with the same grim expression. Grandpa stood slowly, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Grandma wanted to see you, love," he said, all traces of his normal playfulness gone. I nodded before I turned away and walked into her bedroom.

She was extremely pale, propped up on some pillows, her red hair streaked with gray. But she still wore her same smile and her green eyes still shone like they used to. "Dawn, sweetie, I'm so glad you could come. How's work?" I couldn't answer. A lump was stuck in my throat. She could tell though, and gestured me to come closer. "What happened?" Grandma asked gently, taking my hand in hers. 

The whole story spilled out before I could stop it. I started to cry halfway through, but she smiled gently and squeezed my hand to give me strength. By the time I had finished, I had lost it. Everything was so overwhelming and frightening that I felt like I had slipped into a deep, dark hole and would never be able to climb out.

"You can't die! Not when I need you most!" I sobbed. "Don't be afraid," she said, her voice calm. "Death is a part of life. You can't have one without the other." I wanted to say something, but I was choking and unable to find words. She seemed to understand. "I have served my time here. I have tried to change the lives of the people around me for the better. I am ready, Dawn." I was mostly under control again. "I need you, Grandma. I'm scared I'll never be happy again."

"I understand. There were many times in my life where I felt I could never be truly happy. But, if it weren't for those times, I never would have met your grandfather."

"What do you mean?"

"My parents died when I was about your age. I ran away from our home in Ireland and was forced to beg for money on the side of the streets. That's when your grandfather found me. He took me into his care and nursed me back to help. I never left him."

I couldn't respond.

"Honey, it feels like it will never get better. But it will. When the time comes, you'll know which man is the right one for you. You will live and be happy, truly happy."

"I hate death! Death ends everything!"

"No, sweetie. Nothing, not even death, can end love."

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Grandma died that night. It was peaceful and painless. She died in her sleep.

I didn't cry. Not when I was told. Not at her funeral. Not for the next few days. It felt like I was in a depressive coma, fading in and out of reality, going through my day like a machine. I didn't cry until the day I came back to work.

I was in my office, staring off into space, when I heard Goodwin say, "Dawn, are you okay?" I jerked, my hand knocking his mug of butter beer off his desk and smashing his ink bottle, staining one of my hands black. I got down to try and fix the mess with my unstained hand, but my hand was cut several times. I finally lost it, bursting into tears and collapsing on the shards of glass. Goodwin sat down beside me and hugged me. I stained his shirt with tears and inky hand stains, but he didn't care.

How could I get back to where I was from here?

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If you feel a need to honor Mrs. Scamander in the comments, go ahead. I won't judge. What do you think Dawn should do next? Let me know down in the comments.