Scratches (Fred Weasley)

(150) Healing Hearts

Florence was in no mood to decorate Julien's office after her encounter with Nicolai, tears spilling from her eyes as she fled the Ministry as fast as she could. She didn't have time to worry about Alanna and Hadley wondering where she went, since she could just tell them later when she got home. Choking back another sob, she ran out to the nearest alley and apparated herself back to her house.

Sirius was nowhere in sight by the time she flung the doors open, rushing up to her room before locking her door.

She let her tears flow uncontrollably as soon as her body hit the bed, a sob rocking her body as the sensation of grief and sadness coursed through her. Florence felt as though she couldn't breathe, her throat closing up with every sob that she had released. Her world was simultaneously shrinking and spinning, leaving her overwhelmed and unable to think straight.

A knock came on her door a few seconds later, the worry in Sirius' voice evident even through a closed door, "Florence? Are you quite alright?"

She swiftly wiped the tears from her eyes, inhaling and exhaling a few times before responding, her voice still cracking in evident sadness as she spoke, "Yes. I'm okay."

"No you're not," he said, "I dont know why I still ask you that when I know the answer. Please open up? Talk to me, dear."

Slowly, she felt herself gravitate towards her door, unlocking it hesitantly before pulling it open.

"Sirius," she sobbed, "I miss my mum."

He felt as though someone had plunged a knife through his heart, seeing the once cheerful girl so broken and miserable in front of him. Memories of a young Florence playing with both her parents, when they were young, vibrant, and alive, flashed in his head, feeling empathy for all the tragedy she has been through since after those blissful years. It was those kinds of deaths that hurt the most, the ones you least expect. But then again, how can you prepare a child to lose the only parent she's ever known?

He pulled her closer to him, arms circling protectively around her small frame as if wishing it would be enough to shield her from all the pain and hurt in the world.

"Florence... I'm so sorry... I can't imagine how you feel..."

"I didn't even get to tell her that I loved her one last time," she said in between sobs, clutching the fabric of Sirius' shirt as though it were her life line, "I didn't get to say goodbye to my mother."

"I'm sure she knew, I'm sure she knew. You were the most important thing in her life, dearest. I'm sure she knew how much you loved her, because she probably loved you just as much."

He could feel her tears pooling on his shirt, paying no mind to it as he continued to comfort the crying girl, his hand rubbing her back to comfort her. Sirius was aware that this was the first time he's seen her openly grieve Jane's death. As much as he had wished for Florence to express her grief to the people around her, instead of bottling it up like she had been ever since, it was painful for him to see her in such a state.

"I want to see her." she said through her sobs, pulling away from Sirius before wiping away her own tears, "I want to see her."

He frowned, not quite understanding what she wanted, "Florence, I don't think that's possible. She's gone."

"I know," she said, "Just take me to her. Please."

—————-

The wind was blowing harshly around her, Florence's long brown hair whipping around in different directions as they trudged up a fairly steep hill. Sirius was trailing right behind her, along with Sloan who had dropped everything at work to come with them upon hearing where they were about to go. He looked worriedly at his niece, who was a few paces ahead of him and Sirius, wondering whether or not she was ready enough to do what she was about to do.

In Florence's arms were two bouquets of blue hydrangeas, each one bundled together by a thick silk ribbon. A few petals had fallen off due to the wind, but it looked whole and beautiful nonetheless. They took a few more trudges down the hill, before arriving at their destination.

She had seen the familiar headstone several times over the course of her youth. She remembered the countless picnics and the several hours she and her mother would spend lying on the grass beside it while looking up at the clouds. Only this time, there was another one beside it, the sight of it sending a thousand knives into Florence's heart. She could feel a lump building in her throat, her fingers tightening around the bouquet of flowers as she found it harder to breathe within every second.

She felt a hand touch each of her shoulders, a soft whisper coming from her left, "I know how hard this must be for you, dear. Take all the time you need." she heard Sloan say.

Taking a few short steps, Florence crouched down and placed one of the bouquets over the headstone with Gabriel Flynn Price engraved on it, taking a minute to run her hand over the smooth marble, instantly remembering that it had been awhile since she had last came to see her father. She stood back up and stepped over his patch of grass, before crouching down to the much newer headstone.

A ghost of a smile dawned on Florence's face, "Their headstones are the same colour."

"Thought Jane would have liked that," Sirius said softly, "We didn't really recall her having a favorite colour so we just went with the same one. We could have it changed if you want—"

"No, it's perfect," she replied, her index finger tracing the intricate calligraphy that spelled out her mother's name, "She would have loved this.Thank you."

Florence's heart clenched at the mention of this, remaining motionless for a few minutes before laying the bouquet of hydrangeas down on her mother's headstone, before shifting to get down on her knees. "Mum," she said, her voice low as a whisper. "Mum, I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."

Both Sloan and Sirius watched her shoulders slump, to be followed by soft sobs as she ran a hand through her hair. They took it as a cue to step back a bit, giving the girl time to grieve.

"It was stupid. I should have went to your funeral... Mum, I'm sorry I missed it. That was such a stupid thing for me to do..." she cried, wiping her tears away with the palm of her hands, "I-I was so caught up with the pain of losing you, mum, I still am. I don't know what to do without you."

"I wish you were here... Merlin, mum, I need you here. Even for a single minute. I need you to tell me that I'll be okay. I need you to tell me that everything's going to be fine because I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I'm lost."

Tears continued to stream from her face, multiple sobs rocking her body as she buried her face in the palm of her hands. She would give anything to hug her mother one last time, to look into her ocean blue eyes, to hear her soothing voice once more time.

"Please," she sobbed, pain and desperation evident in her voice, "Please tell me what to do, mum. Please."

Almost instantly, through her teary eyes, she noticed a white petal peeking out from a few tall pieces of grass on the opposite side of her mother's headstone. Florence blinked her tears away, before reaching for it in curiosity, only to find a single white rose. It looked quite fresh, no signs of wilting or browning on its petals. She swiveled around towards her uncles, "H-Has anyone been here recently?"

They looked at each other almost nervously, Sirius timidly twiddling at his fingers before responding, "Well see, Fred's been coming over ever since the funeral. He said that you would have wanted your mother's grave to always have flowers on it. I didn't think he was still doing it..."

Her breath hitched, clutching the rose tightly with both of her hands, holding it closer to her chest, before glancing back at her mother's headstone, her heart feeling a little less heavy than before she had came to see her.

"Oh mum... I know now... thank you...."

//////

a.n:

Hey y'all! Belated Merry Christmas and advance Happy New Year! I thought I should update one last time before the year ended. Treat this as my gift for you all.

Also, I wanna take this opportunity to say thank you for being extremely understanding. I know it's been annoying that I haven't been updating as much. Breakups suck and I feel like shit half the time but I'm using all my energy to power through all the moping. So, thanks so much for waiting up!

-Denise