A/N: My first time writing Muriel, hopefully it's not a train wreck :) Followers of The System, the next chapter will be landing at the weekend!
QLFC R8: [Cannons Beater 1] HeadCannon: part of the reason Auntie Muriel is so nasty (she seems to revel in relaying any information that contradicts old Elphias' recollections) about the gossip she happily shares at Bill and Fleur's wedding is because she is a woman scorned. Long ago, Elphias threw her over for another woman and poor Auntie Muriel just never got over it / elegant / "You have his eyes."
Word count: 2993
Thank you Mary for being my wonderful beta :)
The Seven Stages of a Woman Scorned
1917
There was a spring in her step as she walked down the cobbled streets, and weaved through the crowds. She had to duck out of the way of a number of carriages, and was bumped into by even more people, but her good mood was unwavering.
Muriel turned down a side-street, her auburn curls bouncing against her shoulders, and stepped into Milana's Boutique, a narrow building with a wonderful varnished exterior and tall windows. A bell tinkled as the door opened, and Muriel's heels echoed against the mahogany flooring. She felt a little overwhelmed at the sheer number of items on display; the shoes alone took up an entire towering wall. How Muriel wished her friend Eleanor had been available to come and help her. She was the expert on fashion, and without her Muriel could tell this was going to be a lengthy process. Whilst she liked to think her clothes complimented her natural grace and poise, it always took her hours to pick them out. Today it may take even longer than usual; she was shopping for a special occasion.
Her two-year anniversary with Elphias was next week, and her friends all agreed he'd been acting pretty secretive lately, from answering questions indirectly to finding excuses to get her out of the house. Today was an example of this. Elphias had been hinting at taking her dancing next week, and suggested she buy some new shoes or jewellery for the occasion. Muriel's best friend Clarissa had suspicions that he was planning to propose to her, and whilst she'd been sceptical when she first mentioned it, it was becoming increasingly probable. Muriel's gaze lingered on her hand as she pushed the bell on the counter, and she allowed herself a few seconds to indulge in thoughts of what her engagement ring might look like, and how happy it would make her to spend the rest of her life with Elphias…
Shock
Muriel exited Milana's three hours later, a large bag in hand. It contained a beautiful pair of suede dusty-pink evening slippers, a matching headpiece, and an elegant pearl necklace. Muriel must have looked at every product in the store twice over, much to the chagrin of the witch helping her, but she wanted everything to be perfect. She'd been tempted to peruse the Wedding catalogues whilst she was there, but ultimately decided against it. She wasn't even engaged yet!
She hurried home and burst into the lounge, excited to show Elphias what she'd bought.
"Hi, Love, I found some amazing things at – WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME IS GOING ON?" Muriel froze in the doorway, open-mouthed, as she took in the scene before her. The Milana's bag fell from her hand almost in slow motion, and crashed to the floor, sending pearls rolling in every direction. The racket it made sounded distant to Muriel. In fact, everything in the room seemed out of focus… but there was one thing that was crystal clear to her, even through her tear-soaked eyes.
They were a tangle of arms and legs, but their faces were unmistakable. Elphias, her lover, her soulmate, was passionately kissing one of her best friends.
"Eleanor…"
Denial
It was a Boggart. It had to be a Boggart. Only a Boggart could make what she had just saw a reality.
But Elphias and Eleanor had sprung apart after her entrance, a mixture of shock and guilt on their faces.
It couldn't be a Boggart.
This was real.
"No." Muriel shook her head violently, her death grip on the doorknob becoming more severe as power surged through her. "No!"
They all jumped as the doorknob shattered in her hand. Muriel threw the shards aside, breathing heavily, not sure whether she wanted to scream, or crumble into a puddle of tears.
In the end, she could do neither, and remained rooted to the spot, staring at the guilty faces of two of the people she thought would never, ever, betray her.
Maybe this was a dream. Some sick nightmare. Elphias loved her; he would never… and Eleanor… they'd been friends since their Hogwarts days.
"Muriel," Eleanor jumped up off the sofa, looking at her in earnest. "Muriel, I – we –."
Muriel felt herself take a step back, not fully conscious of her movements.
"Please." Eleanor was tearful now. "This is all just a huge mistake."
Muriel didn't hear her over the sound of the pounding in her ears. She had fled the room, and was running down the streets towards Clarissa's house. She was the only friend left that Muriel could truly count on.
Obsession
"Here. This will help a little."
Muriel gratefully took the vial of Calming Draught Clarissa offered her and drank it in one. She'd woken up feeling anxious and unstable after a sleepless night. The image of Elphias and Eleanor locking lips was burned onto the inside of her eyelids when she tried to sleep, and it was impossible to distract her mind. She'd contemplated casting a memory charm on herself, but she didn't trust herself not to mess it up when she wasn't focused. So, Muriel had been left with nothing but her thoughts all night, and suffice it to say, they weren't pleasant ones.
"Why did they do this, Clarissa?" she groaned as Clarissa set two cups of coffee down on the table.
"I don't know," she said, looking at Muriel with a worried expression.
"Was that the first time it's happened?"
Clarissa made to respond again but Muriel continued to babble.
"How long has it been happening? Was it a fling? Did I do something wrong? Have they just been laughing in my face? Are they in love? Did Elphias ever truly love me? Did Eleanor –? "
"Muriel!"
She broke out of her stupor at the sound of Clarissa's voice. Muriel blinked at her, almost as if she'd forgotten Clarissa was there.
"Sorry," she said, rubbing her head. "I'm just a mess."
"Anyone would be in your position," Clarissa said gently, rubbing Muriel's back. "I know it will sound pretty impossible right now, but you mustn't obsess over this. It will just drive you mad in the long run."
"I can't help it, Clarissa," Muriel said. Her voice was shaky and defeated. "Not when I don't have any answers. But I don't want to face them. Not yet." She took Clarissa's hands in hers and looked at her best friend in the eye. "Please. If you knew anything, you'd tell me. Right?"
To Muriel's surprise, Clarissa seemed uncomfortable under her gaze, and pulled her hands away. She fidgeted in her seat and bit her lip, looking very conflicted about something.
"Clarissa?"
There was a long silence before she spoke. "Listen, Muriel… promise me you won't hate me."
"What?" Muriel sounded half-concerned, half-accusatory. Her gaze had hardened.
Clarissa gulped.
"Um, well, basically…" she paused, and scrunched her eyes up. She could very well lose her best friend over this, but if it would give Muriel answers, Clarissa had no choice but to come clean.
"Clarissa." Muriel's voice was firm and serious.
"This whole thing, with Elphias and Eleanor... I've known about it for the past two weeks."
"What?" Muriel's heart started beating rapidly.
"Don't make me say it again," Clarissa said quietly. "Muriel, I -." She reached out a hand but Muriel jerked away and stood up, feeling a bubble of rage surge up from her stomach.
"WHAT?"
Anger
Muriel drew her wand, and pointed it shakily at Clarissa, who slowly got up and drew her own wand, though by the look on her face it was merely in self-defence.
"Muriel, please," she said, her eyes welling up. "You don't want to do this."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Muriel spat, fresh tears rolling down her face. "You're my best friend. I thought I could trust you more than anyone. And you betrayed me, just like them!" She thrust her arm forward and the vase on top of the table shattered, making Clarissa shriek.
"I didn't betray you!" she cried. "I was scared. I didn't know how to even begin to tell you about El-."
"Don't say their names in front of me!" Muriel's eyes were wild.
"Okay, okay, sorry," Clarissa looked frightened now. "But you should know that she never meant for anything to happen."
Muriel snorted. "Well she obviously doesn't care that much judging by what I saw last night."
"Muriel -."
"No! Stop trying to defend her! You should be defending me."
"But-."
"No!"
Muriel pocketed her wand and barged past Clarissa to the front door. Despite how angry she was, she still couldn't bring herself to harm her. But at the same time, she didn't want to be anywhere near her either.
"See you around."
She slammed the door behind her, and stalked off. She didn't need Clarissa. She didn't need anyone if they were just going to break her heart and betray her like this. Maybe she was better off alone.
Muriel apparated home to pack up some of her things. Elphias worked on Sundays so there was no chance of him walking in on her. Muriel didn't know if that was a good thing or not. On the one hand, she wanted nothing more than to make him hurt as much as he had hurt her, but on the other, as much as she wanted to know, she didn't think she was ready to hear his side of the story.
She would have preferred to kick him out of the house, but she knew she wouldn't be able to stand being here for one more second with the memory of what she'd seen in the lounge looming over her, not to mention reminders of Elphias and their relationship everywhere she looked.
The photograph of them laughing together on the bedside table was taunting her. For a long time it had been Muriel's favourite picture of them, but now Elphias' laugh seemed malicious. He was laughing at her for being so easy to manipulate, at how pathetic and dumb she was for not realising something was amiss, for believing that he actually loved her and was going to propose to her.
"AHHH!" Muriel screamed with rage and made violent slashing movements with her wand in mid-air. A jet of light burst from her wand and smashed the glass before setting the photograph ablaze. The small figures of herself and Elphias ran out of the frame screaming with terror, and Muriel felt a sick kind of pleasure come over her from watching him at her mercy.
She suddenly found herself in a fit of anger, and she continued to destroy any memory or possession of Elphias that was in sight. She had never been so reckless and discomposed before, and whilst it scared her, she needed to do this.
When the last of his socks had been shredded to pieces, Muriel collapsed onto the bed, breathing heavily as she surveyed the chaos around her. She felt numb now that the anger had dissipated. Empty.
Her heart clenching painfully in her chest, Muriel picked up her bag, and disapparated, hoping to never step foot in this house again.
Bargaining
It ended up only being two weeks until she was back in the house. Muriel had spent the past fortnight at her sister's house with every intention to start a new life there in Devon, but after talking things through with Tessie, she'd gotten a different perspective on the situation, and gradually her anger had faded away. What if she had unknowingly done something wrong, and pushed Elphias and Eleanor together in the process? Maybe it was all a big mistake. Maybe it wasn't too late to salvage her relationships with them.
One thing was for certain: she needed to talk to Elphias. And now here she was, standing in the kitchen with the one man she swore to never see again. A renewed wave of anger had overcome her to start with, and Elphias had let her yell and cry until her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Why did you do it, Elphias?" she whispered. "Did I do something wrong?"
He shook his head. "You did absolutely nothing wrong, Muriel. What's been happening between me and Eleanor… it was never meant to happen."
"Both of you really hurt me, Elphias," Muriel said quietly. "You didn't even come after me when I ran out of the house. You didn't try to contact me at all. It's like you didn't even care!"
Elphias' face twisted. "I know."
"'I know'?" Muriel bristled. "Is that all you can say? Are you not even sorry?!"
"I am sorry, Muriel," he said. "I'm deeply sorry that you found out the way you did. But I can't say I'm sorry for what happened."
Muriel felt as if a hundred knives had just been plunged into her heart. "What?" Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
"Muriel, we've been together for almost two years," Elphias said. "And you deserve to know the truth." Muriel didn't like the look on his face. He was probably trying to convey sympathy, but all she could see was pity. She turned away, not wanting to look at him. "The truth is, I don't think I've loved you like I used to for a long time." Muriel scrunched up her face. It hurt. It hurt so much, but she let him continue. "I don't know how or why. In fact, I didn't even notice until I went shopping for your birthday present with Eleanor. She made me feel a spark again, and later, we wound up kissing, and, well, we've been seeing each other in secret ever since."
There was a long, painful silence before Muriel found her voice.
"Was it too much to ask to just break up with me then instead of stringing me along for so many weeks?" Her voice was dangerous.
"I was confused," Elphias said. He never wanted to hurt Muriel like this. "I thought I still loved you at the time. I didn't want to break things off with either of you."
"Well, you won't have to worry about juggling two of us anymore," Muriel spat. "You and Eleanor are welcome to each other."
And with that, she walked out of the door and apparated back to Tessie's without a backwards glance. Earlier, she'd had half a mind to try and make things up with Clarissa, but after what Muriel had just heard, she was as bad as Elphias in her book. Whether she thought she was protecting her or not, Clarissa had let Muriel go on thinking everything was okay, had even encouraged her to look at Wedding brochures.
Well, good riddance to the lot of them.
Depression
Tessie wasn't there when Muriel arrived at the house, and the isolation hit Muriel hard. She hadn't realised how lonely her life would be now that she'd lost her three best friends. What hurt most of all was how they probably still all had each other when they were the ones who'd wronged her. It wasn't fair for her to be punished for their actions.
Muriel ran to her room and threw herself on the bed. She buried her head into the pillows, and screamed and cried her heart out until gradually, she fell into a nightmare-induced sleep. Her unconscious mind was bombarded with images of Elphias and Eleanor locked in the throes of passion, then of Eleanor cooing over a swaddled baby in a hospital bed.
"You have his eyes," she said as she bounced the baby in her arms.
And the baby did have his eyes. And his face. He was a miniature version of Elphias, and he was laughing. He was laughing at Muriel. Maybe he could have been her baby if she wasn't so stupid, if she wasn't so unlovable…
"No!"
Muriel bolted upright in bed, covered in sweat, and alone.
The next couple of months were the worst of Muriel's life. She spent every waking moment in turmoil, spending hours at a time staring blankly into space when she wasn't reliving everything that had happened in excruciating detail. She started to hate herself. Something about her had made Elphias fall out of love with her, and made her friends turn on her, and Muriel found that since she didn't know what it was, she began withdrawing from Tessie altogether.
She didn't want to eat, or do anything she used to love, and when Tessie tried to encourage her to go out, Muriel would lash out with insults and hurtful words, ironically pushing her sister away when the last thing she wanted was to lose her. It got to the point where Muriel just wanted to disappear for good. Nobody would miss her, after all…
Acceptance?
Muriel was a shadow of her former self when she finally got the strength to leave the house. Her carefree and happy personality was gone, and she now possessed a cold demeanour and bitter attitude. She hadn't made any new friends since the fallout; she couldn't bring herself to trust anyone again. She hated humans, and as far as she was concerned, they were all rotten inside.
Maybe it was for the best that she was alone.
1997
She hadn't intended to make Elphias cry at the Wedding, but as soon as she started, Muriel found it impossible to stop. He seemed to care more about Dumbledore than he ever had about her, and Muriel took great pleasure in slandering the deceased wizard in front of him. She wanted to break his heart like he'd done to her all those years ago. He still didn't seem sorry, and Muriel hated him all the more it, and for making her what she was today.
Muriel ended up having ten minutes of fun, but afterwards she just felt dead inside. It was a hollow victory, and when she went home that night to an empty house, she collapsed to the floor, and cried.