July 6th, 1992 (Monday)
Location: Granger's House - Heathgate, Hampstead
Meissa rubs her hands together as she watches Henry pace back and forth. Her mind is constantly reviewing the runes and the circles - questioning if maybe she did botch up somewhere. It'd be arrogant of her to proclaim that she didn't mess up - something of this magnitude, it was a miracle that they weren't immediately injured for entering the property.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" Jean asks, putting arm around Meissa's shoulders.
"Yeah… I'm sorry about this whole mess."
Jean looks at the raven haired girl before she begins to run her fingers through Meissa's hair in an effort to comfort her. "I'm sure you didn't mean for any of this to happen."
"I…I just wanted to protect everyone."
"Nothing wrong with that, hun."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
Meissa crosses her arms, all but hugging herself as she leans into Jean.
"Songbird!" Henry exclaims, drawing their attention back to him and to the fact that Hermione and Daphne have stepped into view. "Anything?"
"I…" she glances at Daphne, "Welcome home, dad." Her words are tentative and unsure. She's not entirely sure how well this plan will go but it's worth a try.
Underneath Jean's arm, Meissa holds her breath, hopeful that this will work. Because she's not sure how to undo the damage done if this fails.
Henry's tense shoulders slowly relaxes as the house came into view for him. "That worked, Songbird," he wraps his arms around her in a tight hug. "I can see the house again."
"That's great news, hun," Jean smiles as she smooths down Meissa's hair. She watches as her daughter tries to make eye contact with the girl beneath her arm. She's not entirely sure about the reason for the tension between the two girls but until it proves to be disastrous to their friendship, she'll stay out of it.
"Mum," Hermione wiggles out of her father's grasp and throws her arms around her mother. Meissa just barely managed to escape the sudden hug, going over to stand next to Daphne while they wait this out.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Daphne asks softly, having noticed that Meissa's mood has taken a hit.
"Could be better," Meissa shrugs as she straightens her shirt and jacket. "I'm kind of ready for today to be over."
"What did you hope to accomplish with this?"
Meissa waves a hand carelessly, wordlessly indicating she didn't intend to answer the question.
"Thank you, hun, I can see the house now," they overhear Jean say, smoothing back her daughter's hair as Hermione finally released her hold on her.
Meissa, sensing that the immediate issue has been resolved, instantly made a bee-line for the door - disappearing up the stairs before Hermione could say anything.
"I…I messed up," Hermione sighs, reluctantly meeting Daphne's eyes.
"At least it doesn't have to be mentioned," she remarks idly as she pats the Gryffindor's shoulder, offering a small token of sympathy. Hermione groans slightly as she follows her parents and Daphne into the house.
~MJB~
Daphne frowns as she looks at the ceiling - she hasn't seen Meissa since she ran up the stairs and there's a very small part of her that's concerned about the fact that it's extremely quiet. Usually when the other girl is upset about something there's typically a giant mess to clean up afterwards. It's actually nearing supper and the Grangers have talking about ordering out.
"I'm going to check on Meissa," she tells Hermione before slipping away.
The closer she got to the second floor the more she became disturbed by the silence.
She's not sure which is worse - Meissa's already had her big blow up and is in a near comatose state or she's building up to a massive blow up. Neither one is exactly a favorable outcome.
With a concerned frown she knocks on the door to the guestroom, pausing long enough for Meissa to give a response - which she did not - before pushing open the door. The fact it swung open so easily reassures her by a small margin.
The small lamp on the nightstand is the only source of light in the room, revealing that Meissa is sitting crossed legged on the bed with papers and tomes strewn around her. On her lap is the little notebook she's been carrying around with her and she's scribbling like a maniac.
"Meissa…?" Daphne slowly shuts the door behind her as she cautiously steps further into the room. Now that she has a better look of the whole room, she can see that even more paper on the floor - some balled up, some torn into shreds, and others were simply tossed aside.
"Mm?"
Meissa didn't even look up from her scribbles, pausing briefly to peer at a page in the tome she's reviewing.
"How are you feeling?" She doesn't like that this feels not that different from some of the fall outs they've gone through a few times. There's a lot of things wrong with the possibility of going through another one.
"Not really feeling anything." At first reflection it'd be easy to agree that Meissa isn't feeling anything. But the way her shoulders are hunched up defensively tells a whole other story. The slight tremor in her voice is a fair giveaway as well.
"Meissa…" She reaches over and place a hand on the other girl's, all but forcing her to actually look at her.
She's not surprised at all that Meissa would flinch away from the contact.
"… Leave it."
"No." She clears a spot on the bed before sitting down, carefully folding her legs beneath her as she faces her friend. "I won't."
Meissa glares at her as she scoots back, her eyes a little bit red and her cheeks shined just a smidge in the light. All of this, Daphne has no intention of mentioning to Meissa or Hermione - no one will ever know that she has seen the proud Black with her walls crumbling.
She doesn't want to give Meissa any reasons to build up those walls to keep her out.
"Why - I. I don't want to -," Meissa clears her throat, her voice slightly rough, "Just leave it be."
"No, not when it bothers you this much." Daphne leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees, "Is it because of how 'Mione reacted?" A frown appeared on Meissa's face. "Because the Grangers' got locked out?" The frown deepened and Meissa's head turned down - most likely pressing her chin against her chest. She hesitates, wondering if it'd be a good idea to say this next bit.
"Because you botched up?"
Meissa's head snaps up and a look of raw animosity flash its way across the other girl's face.
It didn't stay for long - barely a 'blink and missed it' moment - but it was enough to unsettle Daphne. It's a faint reminder of the early days of their friendship. When there's a constant push and pull between them - the good days and the bad days.
She has crossed a line.
"Bugger off," Meissa bit out before effortlessly sliding off the bed.
"Meissa - wait," Daphne follows after the fast moving girl, "Look - I'm sorry but -."
"NO!" Suddenly Meissa was in Daphne's face, dark eyes blazing. "I know that I'm not perfect - but both of you - harping on me, on the mistake I made - THAT DOESN'T HELP JACK!" The blonde flinch back at the scream.
"Girls? Is everything okay up there?" Henry's voice floated up to them and out of the corner of her eye, Daphne can see him at the base of the stairs, peering up at them. She hadn't realized they've gotten to the stairs.
She scarcely has the time to think of a reply before Meissa's flying down the stairs and -
Bloody hell.
"Meissa!"
She's down the stairs and out the door faster than she could think, chasing after Meissa who is running without shoes.
She's running without shoes.
"Meissa, stop!"
"Daphne!"
How is it that Meissa can run for so long?
There's a stitch in her side and her breath keeps coming in short pants - gasps really at this point. She can't even see the other girl anymore. Her dark clothes is too much of a help at this point of the night.
"Daph, what happened?"
She'll answer that… when she can breathe.
She points a finger between them as she presses a hand against her side. It doesn't help but it beats being doubled over. The puzzled look on Hermione's face doesn't clear up.
"She's…" Daphne groans as she shifts her weight to relieve the ache in her feet, "she's mad about earlier. Among other things."
Hermione sighs as she drags a wary hand down her face.
"I should've said something sooner," the Gryffindor finally mutters, her shoulders slumping as she accepts that delaying her apologies may have caused this.
"That probably would've helped," the blonde agrees evenly, idly rubbing her side. She still feels short of breath but they'd need to find Meissa soon. "Any idea where Meissa would've gone?"
"I don't know. Dad has gone looking too - Mum stayed home just in case Meissa finds her way back." Hermione looks around thoughtfully. "Maybe to a place she'd be familiar with?"
"We've barely been staying here for two days," Daphne points out. "Your house," she holds up an index finger, "the zoo," she extends her middle finger, "and the park." She extends her ring finger as well.
"Maybe the park?"
"It's worth a try."