Chamber of Secrets pt4
The fireplace roared to life as she stumbled out of it, a bit of ash coating her shoulders and coughing.
“RYLEIGH!!” Quinn screamed and ran toward her sister, hugging her tightly around the waist.
“Hey Quinn!” Ryleigh said smiling, “I missed you so much!” She hugged the girl back tightly and looked around. She seemed to be alone.
“Where’s everyone?” She asked softly.
Quinn shrugged and walked back over to her dolls that she’d left on the ground.
“Mam?” Ryleigh called out down the hall. She put down her bag and unbuckled her cloak as she searched the house. When she didn’t find anyone downstairs she began ascending the staircase where she found Ro, seated at the top step.
“Ro?” She asked softly. Ro looked up at her with a sad smile.
“Missed you Ry.” He said and stood to meeting her half way on the staircase.
“What’s going on?” She asked, peaking around him.
Ro shrugged. “Grandad is… sick I think.”
Ryleigh looked at him wide eyed before rushing past him and to her grandfathers door. She knocked softly before entering.
“Grandad? Mam?” She asked as she entered. She looked around the quiet room, the curtains had been drawn shut to keep out the morning light and the side table next to the bed was gone, replaced by a medical cart of some kind.
Erin was seated next to the bed where Grandad laid under the blankets.
“Grandad?” She whispered.
“Oh Ryleigh…” her mother said softly as she watched her approach.
Her grandfather looked pale and clammy, his normally bright eyes were tired looking and his cheeks hollow.
“What is going on?” She asked. “I… you didn’t say anything in our letters! Are you sick?” She asked her grandfather.
“Ryleigh we didn’t want to upset your during term… grandad has cancer.” Erin explained.
“He— what?” She asked, “no… no I just.. we were just writing letters to each other I don’t…” she stuttered shaking her head.
From his bed Ronan coughed hard and reached for Erin, motioning for her to help him sit up. She reached for him and gently helped him change potions to lean against the headboard.
“I’m sorry we kept it from you Ryleigh…” he said, his voice was gruff and sore. “I just… wanted you to have a positive first term. Not let it be clouded by worry, or worse, have you say you wouldn’t go.”
“I… I wouldn’t have!! I would have stayed with you! I want to be with you!” She cried. Her tears were running free now, sliding down her cheeks with no control.
“You should have told me! I—“
Erin wiped a stray tear from her own eye as she stood and walked over to her daughter, pulling her in for a tight hug.
“I just wanted to have Christmas together…” Ryleigh sobbed, and felt silly about it, Christmas didn’t matter right now but it was all she could think to say.
“Come here love.” Grandad said from the bed and Erin released her hold on Ryleigh so the girl could move to her grandfathers side.
“We will have Christmas together and it will be wonderful. You hear me?” He said and have her a firm look.
“You all are going to go today before they close down and get us a beautiful tree. We will decorate it together and it’ll be—“ his sentence was interrupted by a fit of coughs.
“Drink some water Dad.” Erin said and handed him a glass.
“What grandad was saying Ryleigh is that we’re going to have a wonderful Christmas together and we will take it from there okay?” She said. “I have a nurse scheduled to come and watch over you while we’re out, please be good to her and dad- no magic.” Erin said and Ryleigh couldn’t help but notice the twinkle of mischief in his eye as she pulled back from his embrace.
Xx
Picking out the tree was not the joyous occasion that if had been in years past.
“Is grandad going to die like grandma?” Quinn asked suddenly.
Erin froze in her step and looked down at the small blonde girl.
“Grandpa is sick. He’s very sick and the doctors don’t think that they can help him get better so… yes sweetheart he is…” she finally settled on.
Beside her Ro wiped a few tears off his cheeks.
“Is it a sick we can get?” He asked and Erin shook her head, “No darling it’s not.”
“Is it because Ryleigh left for school that he got sick?” Ro asked then and Ryleigh looked at him with wide eyes, shooting back and forth between her brother and mother.
“No!” Was Erin’s quick response. “Never! Your grandad wanted more than anything for Ryleigh to go to Hogwarts and learn everything that she can. He’s so proud of her, of all of you. And he’s not gone yet, so we will spend all the time that we can with him and then we will lay him to rest with grandma. Okay?” She said and then looked up at the tree they were standing next to.
“This one looks perfect.” She said and they all agreed silently.
Xx
While the chosen tree was far from the perfect tree Ryleigh had been hoping for she couldn’t bring herself to care much. All she really cared about was spending as much time in her grandfathers presence as possible.
“Could you tell us a story grandad?” Ryleigh asked the evening of Christmas Eve as they sat in the living room together around the blazing fire place. Ronan was comfortable in an arm chair, Ryleigh sitting in the floor next to it. Erin laying on the couch with both younger children draped across her body.
“I could.” He said with a smile, “I’ll tell you your story then.” He said and she raised an eyebrow.
“The story of your grandmothers great great great great great great great great great great grandmother.” Ryleigh counted back how many he’d said in her head.
“That’s 12 generations of lineage love.” He simplified.
From the coffee table drawer he pulled out a chocolate frog card and showed them, passing it to Ryleigh who looked it over then passed it to Ro then to Quinn.
“Cliodna was an extremely powerful witch and druidess, she was particularly gifted at potion brewing.. like someone we know. As well as an accomplished animagus.” He said watching as they all listen closely.
“It is said that she had two children. A daughter and a son. Her daughter, born without magic, and her son, born with. She loved her children equally and treated them the same. Her husband on the other had believed in an all magic lineage. So he took the son and left them. Well, as life does, it went on. Cliodna’s daughter eventually had her own children, 3, all of whom were powerful witches. And they continued this line all the way down to your grandmother, my wife when your mother was born, also a squib like her ancestor or before her. Legend indicates that a family is blessed with a squib just before the birth of a very powerful witch, much like Cliodnas daughter was a squib, her granddaughters were incredibly powerful witches who went on the make massive impacts on the wizarding world.”
Ryleigh smiled at the story.
“What about the brother?” Ro asked.
Grandad frowned. “I don’t know much about his family line Ro. I know that they were brought up in a light of pure blood idealism but for all I know that line could have died out years ago.”
Xx
Christmas morning was peaceful in a somber sort of way. They relaxed and opened gifts together, chatted and told more stories. A perfect white snowfall fell from the sky and though it didn’t last very long it was beautiful. On New Year’s Day Ryleigh spend the time curled up with her potions book at her grandads side. He was fading quickly and she refused nearly every suggestion to leave his side.
When the day came it was 2 January, the air was chilled and cloudy skies blocked the sun. Ryleigh stayed by his side as he shut his eyes, Erin holding his hand tightly and Ryleighs shoulders.
“You should go Ryleigh… you shouldn’t see this.” She said softly watching his chest slow in its rise and fall.
“No, I’m staying.” She said stubbornly. “I’m staying…”
Xx
Privately Erin composed a letter that night.
Dear Professor McGonagall,
I am writing this as a grieving daughter, and a concerned parent. My father has sadly passed away this evening. I am aware that Ryleigh is due back at school tomorrow morning however I will not be sending her. She is extremely upset and needs time to properly grieve. I hope to make arrangements for her return once she is ready. If you find it appropriate I’m sure she would be glad to do any work she can from home, barring practicing underaged magic of course.
Sincerely,
Erin Walsh
How long it would take to receive a response was unknown to her but she handed the letter to the owl and he flew off without a second glance.
Xx
The morning of the funeral Erin could not find any of her children. She had gotten them dressed and ready then gone to get herself prepared and when she returned they were gone. Panicked she began searching everywhere she could think. Every room in the house, the yard, the car, then it hit her. She grabbed her car keys, coats for all of them and walked outside, got into her car and drove straight down the road toward the rocky beach. When she arrived she saw all three sitting down on a large rock together. Quinn was sitting in Ryleighs lap and Ro at her side resting a head in his older sister shoulder. They were staring out at the ocean together as the sea wind blew in their hair, Ryleighs long dark curls flowing like she was the center of a painting in stark contrast to Quinns blonde.
The owl swooped in from above and dropped the letter into her hands. She opening it quietly continuing to watch her beloved children.
‘Dear Mrs. Walsh,
I am so sorry to hear about Ronan, we at Hogwarts wish you and your family peace at this time. Take all the time you need and simply let us know when you feel Ryleigh is ready to return and we will prepare her passage. Again I am so sorry for your loss. Ronan was a wonderful wizard and extraordinary person.
Minerva McGonagall’
She nodded as she read the letter and then stuffed it into her pockets, walking over to her children, taking a seat beside them.
After a few moments of peaceful silence together she shifts. “We’re going to be late.”
Ryleigh nodded in understanding and stood up, pulling Quinn with her while Erin helped Ro.
“We can come back after the funeral if you want to.” She said softly but the only response was from Quinn.
“I’m hungry mammy”
Erin nodded, taking the little girl into her arms. “I packed you a snack for the car, you can eat it as soon as we’re on our way.”
Xx
The funeral, as funerals are, was a somber quiet event. Ryleigh didn’t recognize most of the people there although she knew them to be wizards aside from her mothers best friend Marina who stood with them.
If she were honest and she usually was, she hadn’t payed any attention during the days of the wake and she wasn’t paying much attention now as the man stood at the head of the grave and spoke, as they lowered the casket into the ground. Nothing but the empty sadness was on her mind.
Xx
In the days that followed Ryleigh spent nearly all of her time at the beach. It was cold and windy but she felt like she could breathe there in a way she couldn’t at home. Her brother would join her often and they would sit together. Sometime he would bring a board game and they would play, other times he would bring hot chocolate for them to sip.
On January 10th Erin joined her at the beach instead of Ro.
She sat down beside her daughter and wrapped the throw blanket she had brought around Ryleighs shoulders.
“Thanks.” Ryleigh said quietly.
“Sweetheart… I think we need to talk.” Erin said and Ryleigh looked over at her.
“I don’t want to go back. I want to stay here with you.” Ryleigh responded.
“I know you do my love and I appreciate that but your education is important and I don’t want you missing things because you feel like you need to take care of me.” She said, her eyebrows raised slightly as she spoke.
“I am the mother, I take care of you.”
“But your dad—“ Ryleigh started.
“Is gone, but I knew he was going and we were ready. He was so proud of you for your Hogwarts accomplishments and how well you were doing. It’s time to go back.” She said.
“Well I—- I can’t anyway, the floo is closed and there are no trains during the term.” Ryleigh said.
“I’ve already spoken to Professor McGonagall about it via owl and again when she came to the wake with your friends.”
Ryleigh looked at her confused, “what?”
Erin matched her confusion, “what do you mean what?”
“McGonagall and my friends were at the wake?” She asked, having been apparently completely unaware.
Erin looked at her worry increasing, “yes Ry… they came to pay their respects to you… you don’t… remember?”
“I…” she said but trailed off, choosing not to answer.
“Ryleigh you’re going back to school.” She said, putting her foot down.
“I-okay.”
Xx
The next day Erin had sent another owl to Professor McGonagall and they received one back with floo instructions reading ‘Professor McGonagall’s office’ as the verbal indicator. So she packed her bag back up of her potions kit and books, missed work that she had completed and hugged her siblings goodbye, then her mother tightly.
“I love you.”
“We love you too.” Erin said back and the younger children joined her in waving farewell as Ryleigh took a handful of the floo powder and stepped into the fireplace. As she dropped it she spoke clearly “Professor McGonagall’s office” then disappeared, reappearing in the office of her head of house.
The woman was sitting in a large leather desk chair behind a solid wood desk grading papers when she walked out.
Upon her arrival the Professor stood from her chair and walked over to greet her.
“Good morning Ms. Walsh, glad to have you back with us.” She said.
“Thank you Professor.” She said and then reached into her bag. “I have my missed transfiguration work for you.”
“Oh you needn’t worry about that right now. Go on and get settled before your first class. They’re serving breakfast in the hall now if you haven’t eaten.”
Ryleigh shook her head and made to exit the office only to be stopped by the Professor once more.
“I am very sorry for your loss Ryleigh… I don’t know if you remember Ms Lovegood, Ms Weasley and myself came to the wake. You seemed, distant.”
“I… don’t but my mother told me you came, I appreciate that, thank you Professor.” She said and McGonagall looked at her, sorry etched into her brow but said nothing else on the subject.
“If you should need anything the other Professors and myself are at your disposal.”
Ryleigh smiled at her before taking her leave of the office and heading to her dormitory. She spoke the password to the fat lady with sadness lacing her words and climbed the steps past the common room to the girls dorms then straight to hers.
She set her bags on the ground and sat on the edge of the bed.
All she could really think of was how much she would rather be at her beach than in this stuffy dorm. Though she couldn’t deny she was happy to be back with her friends she had to no particular interest in doing much in terms of lessons. She looked at the clock on the wall. 30 minutes until potions. She had two very clear choices. Skip and sit here all day avoiding teachers and students. Or go to class and push through.
She couldn’t say if it was the Gryffindor or Slytherin part of herself but she decided then that she would not sit and sulk, she would push through until it didn’t feel like pushing anymore.
She took a deep breath and gathered her books and papers for her classes today. Potions, charms, transfiguration and history of magic, then stood to exit her dorm.