Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ When the Spirit Breaks, When Does the Body Follow? ❯ Inexplicable: Drabbles XXII-XXIV ( Chapter 7 )

Drabble XXII: A Brass Bell

Junior had beaten another student. The headmaster’s stern words clanged like a brass bell inside her skull. He’d broken the student’s nose and had been about to kick him in the gut when several adults intervened.

Eileen apologized profusely, said all the conciliatory words, agreed with the one-week suspension from school. Yes, thank you, never again, promise.

When her son arrived home, she asked him about the incident, and he regaled her. Junior tried to conceal his glee, but it showed in the way he quirked his mouth and flexed his fingers.

Suddenly, shamefully, Eileen was afraid of her child.

Drabble XXIII: Laughing Together

“Do you trust me?”

Four simple words carried so much weight. Eileen stared into his eyes, found kindness and patience. She and Tobias had been planning their escape from town for four months. She’d been on edge ever since Mildred Gooseberry, a notorious town gossip, saw them laughing together.

“Yes,” Eileen whispered, hand on her belly. Whilst she wasn’t showing, it was only a matter of time before morning sickness gave her away, as it had done every pregnancy before.

 “Can we still take Marge with us? Have we saved enough?”

“We have all we need to go,” he confirmed.

Drabble XXIV: Hearing the Lie

“Leave?” Marge asked blankly.

“Yes. I want you to come with me and Mr. Snape,” Eileen told her daughter.

“What about Junior?”

Eileen looked away. “He’ll be fine, darling,” she murmured, hearing the lie in her own words.

“Is this because of that Drinkwater chap?” Marge demanded. “You’ll desert him for walloping a bully?”

She gaped speechlessly at the irate young woman with fists on hips, wilted under her hard gaze. Did not answer her questions, which was an answer in itself.

“I can’t abide this rubbish. It’s both of us or neither of us, Mum. The choice is yours.”