Hannah was lost. Without her mother her home was an empty shell where even the walls seemed to mock her existence. Her father had turned in on himself, shutting himself in his study and refusing to speak to anyone. Hannah brought him food three times a day but she found nothing else she could do to help him. Her brother had also retreated to somewhere Hannah couldn't reach, at only twelve years old his mother's death had affected him terribly. To add to that he was slowly losing his father. Hannah would often find him muttering to himself as he sat curled in an armchair, watching the embers in the fireplace glow.
Hannah had become head of the household. She cooked and cleaned for her lifeless family. There was a part of her that was glad for the role, it kept her mind off of things and the more laborious jobs let her release her pent up emotions. But underneath her calm surface, Hannah felt broken too. Without her mother everything felt cold and empty and there seemed to be no colour in the world, she felt as if she were just existing rather than living.
The other emotion that was now a constant in Hannah's life was fear. She was scared for her family, herself, the wizarding community in general. But another fear had raised its ugly, scaled head inside of her as well. The fear of her epilepsy. The attack after the news of her mother's death had frightened her, but what had truly scared her was the realization that her mother was no longer there to hold her hand. No longer there to give her a big hug and whisper comforting words in her ear. No longer there to simply write a quick letter to. She felt completely and utterly alone. The fear gripped at her insides and made her break out in a sweat if she let herself think about it for to long, she often lay awake at night, terrified of an attack. Although if she was honest with herself, it wasn't the fit she feared, it was the aftermath, the part where she would have to lay alone, with no-one to help her.
Her fits became more frequent than they had before her mother's death. When they were in the same room her brother would come to help her, but he offered her no comfort. He just did what he needed to do, made sure Hannah was okay then went back to sitting still. Hannah felt like she was slowly dying inside. She could not return to Hogwarts until her brother was ready, which didn't look promising for any time soon, she tried to help him in any way she could think of but nothing made a single shred of difference. He had set up a wall to the world around him and Hannah couldn't break it, instead her spirit was slowly broken, day by day.
I tried to think of a reason why Hannah wouldn't come back to school for a whole year so i chose her brother just not being ready to go back and Hannah having to look after him. Hope that makes sense.
