The Magic Within

Chapter 31

It had been a few days after the funeral but emotions were still high. Lavana spent most of her days shut up in her new room in the safe house and tried to avoid everyone. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't eat. She couldn't do much with the days that went by.

Teddy visited more and more, trying to get her to do something else other than mope around in her room but she couldn't do it. It was like she was a broken toy that everyone wanted to paly with but how could it work if there was no life left? 

It was now August and Lavana had heard talk of being moved back to England but she was not quite ready to leave. As often as she was allowed to, Lavana visited her family in the hospital, hoping for any signs of improvement. There had been none. Her plan was to stay until they woke up but every time she asked the healers of any updates, they would say again and again that they weren't sure how to wake them but they were doing everything that they could. 

Rubbish, Lavana thought. As if the American Witches and Wizards wanted to help the Grindelwald family, not after the stunts Gellert Grindelwald pulled in their country when he was alive. 

Lavana knew that she couldn't hold off leaving America much longer, due to their safety, but she so desperately wanted to stay a little longer. So she struck a deal with Harry. 

The deal was that she could stay a few more days, protected by Aurors in the safest house possible. Then Lavana, Cressida and Reemey would be moving to the Potter's house where they would be cared for and kept safe. It wasn't much time left in LA but Lavana understood that it was very dangerous times. She just wanted to be there when her mum and Ambrose woke up. 

Since she didn't have long left in America, she knew that she would have to visit Lucas, Noah and Ethan soon, thinking back to their letter. They wanted to clear things and she wasn't sure when she would be returning to America. Lavana kept putting it off for as long as she could, not knowing what would happen once there but on her last day in America, she knew it was time so she got herself and Cressida ready and joined Teddy to pay one last visit to the band. 

Normally, she would feel nervous but she couldn't feel much these days. She just wanted to go there, say goodbye and leave again. It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes, she hoped.

Lucas, Ethan and Noah were all stood at the door waiting and invited them in, surprised but pleased to see Cressida in Lavana's arms.

"We might not be able to stay for long." Teddy told the boys as they walked in through the door. Lavana completely blanked the boys and sat down in the garden, Cressida sat on her lap who was unusually quiet and shy but then again even she hadn't been the same since. 

"Okay. Well can we get you anything to drink?" Lucas asked and Lavana noticed that he seemed a lot more nervous than usual. Maybe it had something to do with Lavana's absent facial expression as she stared at all three boys. It was like they were there but nothing was the same anymore. They weren't the same boys she had met a year ago and she certainly wasn't the same girl they had met.

She wished that she could read their thoughts but due to the pain in her life, she had no control. If she could, she imagined that they would be wondering what had happened to her but clearly they didn't care enough to ask her. Or maybe they were just too nervous. They kept looking at her like she was a bomb that was about to explode. Like they were scared of her. This was something that Lavana was very much used to by now. Just not from them.

"No thanks. We're good." Teddy replied, looking anxiously at Lavana who was rocking Cressida to sleep.

"Cressida's grown, hasn't she? We haven't seen her since last Summer. Are you looking after her for Ambia?"