Chapter 4: Chiaroscuro

It was almost ten at night when Gin arrived in Stintborough with Mary Caroline. She had forgotten how dark it was out near Colony House; after the constant glow of the Fan District in Richmond the sky seemed to coat everything in ink. After her eyes adjusted she shouldered her small bag and looked over to her friend. "Get ready. This is going to be ugly."

Mary Caroline patted her arm. "Don't worry, sweetie. You'll be fine. They're your family."

Even though in her heart she knew her friend was correct, that no matter what her family would always be there for her, she dreaded what was to come. All of the preparation for her to study in Italy? Thrown away. Hugo? Thrown away. She closed her eyes and walked up the little lane that led to the gate in front of her childhood home. After opening it as quietly as possible she walked to the front door, unsure of whether to just walk in as she'd always done before or actually knock. Knock on the front door? She'd never done that in her life.

"Come on; let's go to the back door." She motioned with her head around the corner and Mary Caroline followed her. On the short walk she noticed that everything was just as she'd left it months ago; her father's Morris as well as the Volkswagen van in the small car shed, the garden furniture…all of it as if she'd never left. When they arrived at the back door she gingerly turned the doorknob, relieved to feel it move without any resistance. As they stepped into the kitchen she saw light coming from her father's office.

"Dad? Mum? Anybody home?" As her heart pounded she sat her bag on the kitchen table.

"I'll wait here. Go on; I can wait. I'll be fine." Mary Caroline gave her a thin smile.

Gin walked towards her father's office and felt a wave of comfortable familiarity; she could smell her father's pipe. She knocked quietly on the door and opened it enough to look inside. "Dad?"

Her father was sitting at his desk, headphones on, typing away at an ancient laptop that she and her siblings had offered to replace many times over. His pipe was on the desk, in a small stand, and the windows were wide open to the dark Stintborough night. Gin walked over behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Shit! I know, Mel, I know, I shouldn't be smoking, but it's just the pipe and..." He took off his headphones and turned around quickly, but stopped as if cold water had been thrown on his face when he saw his daughter. "Virginia! I...oh God, girl, come here." He stood up and held out his arms to her.

Gin moved the chair out of the way and lost herself in her father's hug. "I'm sorry, Dad."

"Shh…it's ok, Gin. You're here."

They stayed that way for quite some time until a small knock could be heard from the doorway of the office. "Pardon me, but where's the, what do you call it here? The loo?"

Virginia separated from her father and walked Mary Caroline towards the loo. When she returned to her father's office he sat in one of his big leather chairs and was just about to light a freshly packed pipe. She sat down opposite from him and sunk into the familiar warn leather of the chair.

"So, Gin, are you ok?"

"Yeah."

"Are you back for good?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"Do you know where you're going to stay? You can always stay here, you know. Your friend, too."

"I guess. I don't know."

Hank lit the pipe and made a few large puffs. "You're going to see Hugo, aren't you?"

"Yes. I…I guess. I don't know."

"That's a lot of don't knows, Gin."

Gin pulled out her pack of cigarettes and lit one. She watched her dad almost raise an eyebrow in her direction, but instead of saying anything he puffed on his pipe some more. Wanting to head off more questions she decided to deflect by asking one instead. "Where's Mum?"

"She's at HR and Lily's, watching Artie. Lily's restaurant has something going on; I didn't catch all of it. She'll either be back late tonight or tomorrow morning."

"Lily's restaurant?" Gin took another drag off of her cigarette. "Is that new?"

"Sort of. There's a lot of new things, and a lot of old things, too. Who's your friend?"

"Mary Caroline. She's an artist, too, went to Houdini. Met her in a gallery in Richmond."

Hank took off his glasses and ran a hand over his bald head. "Richmond! I haven't been there in years. Why don't I put on the kettle or…" he glanced at Gin and took in her nervous demeanor "…maybe pour us all a wee dram. You two can tell me all about Richmond. Go help your friend, she's got to be wondering what's going on."

After Gin left to go help Mary Caroline get settled into the guest room Hank took out a piece of parchment and wrote a quick note.

Mel,

Virginia is at Colony House with a friend. She's very nervous and upset but is trying to hide it. Let me have tonight to talk to her, please. She's fine, love. We'll all talk in the morning.

Hank

After debating for some time Hank took out another piece of parchment. He wrote a quick note and fastened that letter along with the letter to his wife on the owl's leg. He gave the owl the directions and sent it on its way. He stood at the kitchen window and watched the owl carry off the letters until the white bird disappeared into the black sky.

Gin felt as if she was still in a dream when she woke up, as instead of her flat in Richmond she was in her childhood bedroom. All of her old things were still there; the Slytherin pennant, some of her first paintings that looked horrifically crude, the large jewelry box that used to be her grandmum Lane's, everything was exactly as it used to be. Even the bedding was the same. Several woefully out-of-date magazines were stacked on the bedside table so she picked up the top one. Celebrity Wizard Weekly. She started flipping through the magazine, as there must have been a reason she'd bought it. Mione was the one with the subscription, not her. It didn't take long to find out the reason, as there in a big spread was an article with large photographs of Al Potter holding hands with Erin, his beautiful red-haired first wife. Apparently they had just married, and the magazine was printing the first photos of the 'mystery woman.'

The hazy dream-like quality of the morning shattered immediately, as the photos brought into crystal clear focus why she was at Colony House. Al had found her, had broken the illusion of Leda, and now she had to face not only the morning but her mum.

She slid out of bed and went over to sit at her dressing table. As almost by instinct she took the brush off of the surface and began brushing her hair in long, even strokes. For the first time in ages Gin looked at herself in the mirror, really looked, and she wasn't happy with what she saw. Her hair was, even with the brushing, a total mess. She'd need several inches cut off to restore it its former healthy state. There were dark circles under her eyes, and worse than that small blotches were barely visible on her skin.

A knock on the door brought her out her disquieting discoveries, so she turned to the door, nervous about who was outside. "Come in."

"Morning, Led…Gin. That's going to take some getting used to, I can tell you that." Mary Caroline walked into the room and sat down on the bed, still wearing the oversize t-shirt that she must have used for a nightgown. "I think they've been up for a while, I could hear them talking from that bedroom."

Gin nodded. "Spare bedroom. Yeah, we used to sneak in there to listen to Mum and Dad talk when someone was in trouble, usually Mione."

"I don't think it's going to be that bad. Your Dad didn't yell at all last night; he's just happy you're here."

Gin sat the brush down on the table and looked at her reflection in the mirror. "It's not Dad that I'm worried about, it's Mum."

"What about your fiancée?"

The door opened and Hank stuck his head inside briefly. "Glad you're decent. Breakfast's ready."

Gin nodded. "We'll be right there, Dad."

She'd steeled herself to the onslaught of questions from her mum, but as soon as she entered the kitchen all pretense of self-confidence faded away. There, sipping tea next to her father was Lavinia Ryder-Smythe. Gin was taken aback; she hadn't seen Lavinia in ages, and there she was at the table as if it was just a regular morning. She looked the same, her blonde hair in her trademark pixie hair style, but there was something about her eyes, the way she looked at her, that made Gin feel for a tiny moment that things might actually work out all right.

"Virginia!" Her mum came over and gave her a crushing hug.

Gin sank into her arms. "Hi mum."

Melody let her daughter go and wiped her eyes briefly. "Sit down and eat. You look horrible."

Lavinia chuckled slightly and Gin rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Mum. This is Mary Caroline, my friend from Richmond."

Mary Caroline shook Melody's hand. "So nice to meet you, ma'am. Thank you so much for your hospitality. You have a very beautiful home."

"Thank you, dear. Now have a seat. Would you like tea or coffee?"

As her mum busied about making a cup of coffee for Mary Caroline, Gin sat down and gave Lavinia a small hug. "Can't believe Dad owled you."

Lavinia smiled. "Well, I am your big sister."

"Wait, I thought you only had an older brother?" Mary Caroline looked over at Gin from across the table. "I'm so confused."

That led to a very condensed recounting of how Hank and Melody had agreed to become Lavinia's guardians after her parents' deaths. Lavinia explained that the Boyd children were like her siblings, although much younger in age, and that she'd been a nanny of sorts to them from when they were born. Lavinia recounted her founding of the primary school for children from magical families, which led into a discussion about the art classes at her institution. Mary Caroline's mother, a Muggle, taught art at a Muggle school outside of Richmond, and soon the two blondes were busy brainstorming ideas of how to incorporate art education into the curriculum.

Gin ate her breakfast very quietly, occasionally noticing pointed glances between her parents. Finally, after everyone was finished, her father stood up and put his napkin on the table. "Well, ladies, I think I should head up to Hogwarts and see what changes Neville has for the next term. Mary Caroline, would you like to take a tour? It's the least a former Virginian can do for current one."

"Oh my, that would be wonderful, Mr. Boyd. If you'll give me a few minutes I'll be ready in a flash." Mary Caroline put her napkin on the table. "May I please be excused from the table? Mrs. Boyd, thank you for a wonderful breakfast. It was so nice to meet you, Mrs. Ryder-Smythe. I've enjoyed our conversation so much, and hopefully we can continue it at a later date."

Gin smiled as her friend's manners went over very well, but she knew exactly what her dad was doing. Soon she would be at Colony House with just her mum and Lavinia. That was when 'the talk' would begin. She took another sip of tea, savoring it, and wondered if there was any possibility she'd be able to sneak away for a cigarette before that happened.

"I can't believe that nobody has yelled at me yet." Gin took another sip of tea and looked at her mum, sitting in her favorite chair, and Lavinia, perched on the sofa. "I've been waiting for the bomb to drop, but it just hasn't, and it's driving me mental. Merlin."

"We were just worried, Virginia." Melody glanced over to Lavinia, who nodded. "To be honest I'm just glad you're safe. You have no idea the horrible things that went through my head. You'll understand someday when you have children."

Gin rolled her eyes. "Don't hold your breath on that one."

Lavinia crossed her legs and gave Gin a bittersweet smile. "You'll have to talk to Hugo eventually, you know."

"I know." Gin's voice was quiet. She kept her head down but looked through her bangs at her mum. "How's he been?"

Melody took her glasses off and let them rest around her neck on a thin silver chain. "Not well, from what I can get your brother to tell me. I know there's more to it, but he won't say anything much, just that Hugo hasn't been taking it well."

"Fuck." Gin pulled her legs up so that her chin rested on her knees.

"Virginia Pauline! Please watch your language." Melody took a deep breath. "I should have known your father's bad habits would rub off on at least one of you kids."

Gin was thinking of the row she'd have with her mum if she found out about the cigarettes when the Floo roared to life. Before anyone could say a word her little sister Mione walked forward, still wearing her Wasps practice kit.

"It's about bloody time, Gin! What the hell did you think you were doing? Running off like that without a word, and sending Hugo's ring back without even a note? Did you think what you did to Mum and Dad? Of course not, it's always all about you. So now you're back and you don't even send me an owl? What kind of sister are you?" Mione walked over to Gin and put her hands on her hips. "You look like hell, too. Please tell me you were in jail, that would make it easier to understand the shit you put everyone through."

Instead of standing up and giving it right back to Mione, as she'd always done, Gin sunk further into the chair. "I know, Mione, I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Mione had been ready to lay into her sister again, but Gin's response stopped her short. She looked over to her mum and after she saw the look on Melody's face Mione ran her hands through her hair. "Well I'd hope so. You're just lucky I had an early practice today or I'd have been here this morning, waking your spotty arse up at the crack of dawn." She looked over to Lavinia. "Sorry to be like that, good to see you, Lavinia."

"Good to see you too, Mione. How's practice?" Lavinia hoped to deflect some of Mione's anger. "I heard your last match on the wireless. Chudley's improving, but not that much."

"They're just lucky they have Simon." Mione looked over to her sister and saw the obvious pain on her face so she decided to change tactics. "Your hair looks horrid. I'm going home to change and I'll pick you up after lunch. I'm taking you to Gaston, he's a miracle worker. He's going to have to be, looking at your mop. No backing out. I'll be here later." Without another word Mione headed to the fireplace and was off.

Gin flipped her bangs over and looked at her mum. "Well, that went about as well as expected."

"I think you need to prepare yourself for more of the same, especially from Hugo. Virginia, can you tell me what happened?"

"I can Mum, but not right now. I'm sorry, but I really need to talk to Hugo first."

Lavinia stood up. "Well, I really must be going. Gin, why don't you come over to my house some night for supper? You know you're always welcome at our place. William is just dying to show off his new shed to someone. I know it's very boring, but it does make him happy. And you won't believe how big Willy is these days."

Gin nodded. "Sure. Sounds great. Maybe later this week."

Lavinia and Melody exchanged glances and then Lavinia took the Floo, leaving mother and daughter alone in the room. After a long silence Melody couldn't help herself.

"It's just us, Virginia. You can tell me anything. I won't judge."

Something in Gin snapped. All of her resistance, all of her barriers came tumbling down. "I just…I just woke up one morning and couldn't do it anymore. All of it. Almost everything felt wrong, like I'd put my shoes on the wrong feet, or all of the sudden Dad could do magic and you couldn't. I could see my life all out in front of me and it wasn't what I wanted."

Melody sat very still. Eventually she asked the question she'd been dreading. "Including Hugo?"

"Yes. No, I mean…I'm so confused, Mum. I love him, I really do, but…" She buried her head into her arms. Virginia didn't hear her mum walk over to her, and she cried into her mother's shoulder for a long, long time.