"Dennis?" Mrs Creevey called out, knocking on his door again.
"Go away, Mum!" came the rather disgruntled reply. Mrs Creevey sighed and took out her wand. While she was not usually one to invade on her son's privacy, he had not come out of his room for hours and there were limits to her patience. She simply could not let him sit in there any longer, without any food or sleep. Thinking thus, she whispered a quick "Alohomora" and turned the doorknob.
The sight that greeted her when she entered was not one she was prepared for. Dennis' room was extremely messy, which was unusual given that he was normally very keen on organisation. Parchment was strewn on the floor, along with clother and raven feathers, even as the aforementioned pet bird flew around the room in agitated circles. But what really caught her eye were the pictures that were stuck to the walls, almost covering every available inch of the lilac papering. Dennis was sitting on the floor, in the middle of the room, staring at the photographs.
"Dennis?" she called out again, almost afraid this time. He turned to look at her and she noticed there were tears in his eyes. He slowly got up and walked towards her, but he did not stop when he reached her. He kept walking until he reached the wall, and plucked out a picture from it.
"Do you know who she was?" he asked, handing it to her. She shook her head, frowning.
"Her name was Lavender Brown. She died in the war. Dead before her time," he told her, his voice flat. She stared at him, confused. "Just like all of them," he added, gesturing to his walls. "Colin photographed everyone at least once. And now, these photographs are all that's left of them."
Mrs Creevey was surprised at the look in her son's eyes. He looked...old. Older than he was, like there were things he saw that he should not have seen. This, she knew, was what a war did to people. She thought she had made her peace with her losses. But it was still hard to believe, sometimes.
"I know your brother was taken from us far too soon, but this..." she said, looking around again, and ducking slightly as the raven flew over her head, "this is insanity! You cannot expect your father and I to stand by while you spend hours looking at pictures of those that died in the war!" In a way, she knew it was unfair to not let her son grieve in his own way, but she was not sure that this was an entirely healthy way.
"I knew you wouldn't approve, mum. That's why I told you to go away." His voice was softer now. "Please." Mrs Creevey flinched at the last word. Something in his voice told her he was broken, and she could not fix it, not like this at least.
As she nodded and walked out of that door, leaving him alone in the room again, a terrifying realisation hit her.
She might have lost both her sons in the war.
Notes: For Jenny, via the Singing a Song Along Challenge! Prompt: parchment.
Also for the British Literature Challenge. Prompts: lilac, insanity, dead before her time, raven
And for the Mother's Day Event: Mrs Creevey.
And for the Through the Universe Challenge. Prompt: Dennis Creevey