AN: Prompts will be displayed at the bottom to avoid them potentially giving away things.
candy floss
AlwaysPadfoot
Daphne was not sad.
Earlier in the week her great aunt Edna had died. When her mother had told her, Daphne had simply blinked and said 'Okay'. Daphne hadn't been close to Aunt Edna; she had barely even spoken to her when they had met. Even so, on the Saturday morning that followed Aunt Edna's death, Daphne was dressed up in black.
She did not want to go to her funeral. Funerals were supposed to be sad.
"Come, Daphne, we're going to be late if you don't hurry up."
Answering her mum's call, Daphne fixed a black headband in her hair, and then hurried downstairs. Her mother looked as elegant as always, in a black skirt and matching blouse, her hair in a pristine updo. She gestured irritably for Daphne to join her.
Her mother walked quickly to the Floo, heels clicking against the polished floorboards, and Daphne had to run to catch up. She took Daphne's hand and they Flooed together to her Aunt Edna's estate.
Daphne didn't expect there to be so many people; she had expected it just to be family. Fortunately, that meant that as soon as they were there, Daphne's mother abandoned her to go and socialise. She was grateful for that at least. Her mother was stern and Daphne didn't really like spending time with her; she wished she'd been allowed to stay at home with her sister, Astoria.
Daphne squeezed through the gaps in the crowd. She moved to the edge of the ballroom, glancing out through the slightly misted up window.
The weather was so bad that no one would dare to go outside. The rain hammered against the windows and every so often there was a bright flash of lightning. She was distinctly aware of the low rumbles of thunder outside.
Daphne continued her quest to find a quiet place to sit, away from the other kids she knew would annoy her. She didn't get on with most kids; they were too noisy or too stupid.
The only exception to that had been the red-haired girl Daphne had met at Lewis Rowle's birthday — Susan Bones.
Daphne had more fun at that event than anything her family had ever dragged her to. Her mother had been less than impressed. Apparently, Susan had led her into bad ways. Doubting that the red-head would be here, Daphne headed to a spot behind the piano so she could sit out of the way only to find that the spot was occupied.
"Daphne?"
"Susan?" Daphne blinked at the girl sat cross-legged opposite her. "What are you doing here?"
"My auntie worked with the lady who died," Susan replied, as she scooched over and patted the ground beside her. "Sit with me? I have Bertie Botts Beans."
Daphne nodded, squeezing into the space beside Susan as she held to packet out. She ended up selecting a light pink bean that tasted like candy floss. The red-head, however, picked out a green bean chewing it slowly. Susan pulled such a weird face that Daphne laughed.
"What is it?"
"Uh. It's definitely a fruit," Susan said, swallowing it. "I think… kiwi?"
One by one they picked beans from the packet. Daphne got bacon, blueberry, soap, and salt, whilst Susan had better luck, getting raspberry, banana, milk, and toast. They both found themselves giggling, the world around them non-existent as they caught up. Lewis Rowle's birthday had been a long time ago now; both girls were now eight and Susan showed off her nails — her aunt had painted them all glittery. Daphne loved them; she wanted her nails like that.
"Are you sad about your great-aunt?" Susan asked as they flicked through the comic that the red-head had brought with her.
Daphne shook her head. "No, I didn't know her."
Susan nodded, accepting that as an answer, before flicking onto the next page for them to read. "I love this comic, Magic Minnie is my favourite character."
Daphne had never read a comic in her life, so this was an experience. She was really enjoying the combination of pictures and speech bubbles. Engrossed, neither girl spoke — except for the occasional giggle — as they read through the story of Magic Minnie, the world's clumsiest witch. She was funny, regularly tripping over her cat, and getting into bizarre situations.
Like the last time they had met, Susan and Daphne got entirely engrossed in their own world, until eventually, the funeral seemed to be winding down.
"Have you seen Daphne?"
Daphne's ears pricked at that sound of her mother's words and she exchanged a look with Susan. She didn't want to go home; she also didn't want her mother to know she was with Susan again. Daphne didn't want to draw attention to them so she raised a finger to her lips. Her friend stayed silent and they watched together as Daphne's mother had a short conversation, before walking away through the crowd. Daphne hadn't even realised she'd been holding her breath until she exhaled shakily once her mother was out of sight. She was going to have to leave Susan.
"I have to go," Daphne said slowly.
"That's okay," Susan smiled, closing the comic. "You go now, then I'll leave and go find my auntie."
"Clever," Daphne said. "I hope I get to see you again."
"I'm sure you will," she responded. "We're still best friends."
Daphne found herself blushing as she weaved through the crowd to find her mother. She liked Susan a lot, and she hated that her mother didn't like her.
This was the best funeral she'd ever been to.
Comp/Challenge & Prompts:
- QLFC Semi-Finals, Season 5: A fluffy story using the prompt 'the funeral of a loved one' (concept)
- Insane House Challenge: 682. Event - Funeral
- 365 Prompts Challenge: 139. Food - Bertie Botts Beans
- Scavenger Hunt: 6. Write a fluffy fic.
- Writing Club [Character Appreciation]: 15. Family (word)
- Writing Club [Showtime]: 18. For Good - Genre: Friendship
- Writing Club [Days of the Month]: Umbrella Day - Write a fic set in a rainstorm.
- Writing Club [CYB]: 3. Fruit (word)
- Writing Club [Year in Entertainment]: Mean Girls - (colour) Pink
Word Count: 935 — not inc. notes, titles, or ANs.