Chapter 44: Breakfast With A View
March, 1975
Hogwarts
"So you really like her?"
Mary Macdonald and Caradoc Dearborn sat on the edge of the Great Lake, on it's sandy shore, with the sun setting above them. Caradoc leant back, a pensive hum in his mouth.
"I do," he eventually admitted, "I think I'm going to marry her, Mary."
Mary's eyebrows raised, "Already?"
"Not just yet," Caradoc shook his head, "But… I can see a forever with her, you know?"
"Very romantic."
"Like, everything just feels brighter and lighter when I get one of her letters or I hear her voice," Caradoc continued, "I didn't realise you could feel like this about another person. I didn't expect to be so… Consumed by everything about her."
Mary snorted, "That sounds healthy."
Caradoc rolled his eyes, "I forgot you're allergic to love."
"Allergic? No. Do I think I have better things to do? Absolutely," Mary shrugged, "I want to see the world one day."
"Really?"
"Don't act so surprised," Mary scoffed, nudging him, "I want to do something big in the world. Seems right to see it first, doesn't it?"
Caradoc smirked, "Maybe I'll come with you."
"Oh, no you won't," Mary huffed, "You'll be too busy with your fancy new life with your fancy new wife-"
"-not my wife yet-"
"You'll probably have a kid before you give me a second thought," Mary finished, and although Caradoc knew she was joking, he was afraid that, perhaps, there might have been an underlying insecurity beneath her words.
"Hey," he nudged her, "You know we'll be friends forever, right?"
"You sound about twelve, Dearborn."
"But seriously, I don't want to lose you," Caradoc continued, looking back out to the lake, "No matter whatever the future holds for us; you're still my best friend."
Mary smiled at herself, nodding and looking over at him, "Yeah, alright then."
The sixth years free periods were not, in fact, free periods. Mostly, they consisted of every single student frantically writing essays and finishing off homework for their NEWT classes. The lessons were becoming increasingly demanding, as if they had an exam every week. Non-verbal spells were now expected, not only in Defence Against the Dark Arts, but in Charms and Transfiguration too, something Madeline had to remember to write home and thank her aunt for.
And meanwhile, Madeline had slowly begun juggling her relationship with Draco. Yes, her relationship. Because they were officially, without a shadow of a doubt, dating. Suddenly, Madeline was finding Draco waiting for her in the common room before meals so that they could walk down together. She'd loop her fingers in his shirt cuff to bring him closer when they said goodbye. He'd always let her in through the classroom doors first. She was sure people would be catching on by now.
But this year, there was something different about Draco. Although he was uncharacteristically warm towards Madeline, he seemed even more cold and distant from everyone else. Not in a malicious way, but as if his mind was so preoccupied that he barely ever noticed anyone else. And it was slowly starting to worry Madeline, especially when she caught him staring off in space with a frown upon his face.
There were nights where they'd meet in the common room after everyone had gone to bed, just to talk and enjoy each others company, and quite frankly, get to know each other better. But there were other nights where he'd disappear from the common room straight after dinner, and Madeline suspected he didn't get back until the early hours of the morning. To anyone else, it would look like he was off to finish some homework. But to Madeline, it was… Odd.
It was a week after their first Astronomy Tower meeting. Their glances were getting more and more obvious, so much so that she was certain she'd seen Pansy and Blaise give each other a wink after Draco had lingered his hand on her shoulder a little too long. She was waiting for the right time to tell Daphne and Theo, too. But there really was no right way around it, was there?
They were all sat at their usual seats that Monday morning. She was, of course, sat across from Draco. Daphne was to her left, with Theo across from her, and Pansy, Blaise and Gabe sat around them.
"Have you finished the Potions homework?" Gabe asked the group, "You'd swear there couldn't possibly be more than seven ways to crush seaweed, but Slughorn has somehow managed to get us to write about forty nine."
Theo snorted, "And it's only the first week of the year."
"Sod off with the homework talk," Pansy groaned, rubbing her temples, "I don't want to hear another word about Potions until next year."
"Kind of a tall order with all things considered, Parkinson," Daphne joked, gesturing to the room, "You're kind of doing a NEWT on it."
"Shocker," Pansy muttered with a shadow of a grin on her face, "Should've taken Care of Magical Creatures."
Daphne snorted, "You would've hated that."
"I can't believe he took Divination," Pansy pointed over to Gabe, who seemed sheepish.
"Hey! It's all subjective," Gabe shrugged, "I make up half of the stuff in my essays; it's a breeze."
"That doesn't sound half bad," Theo muttered.
"Can we move onto more important topics? Please? Like the Quidditch trails this weekend?" Blaise pressed, buttering his toast, "I'm telling you, this Quidditch season is going to be wicked. With Urquhart as captain and Draco as seeker, the other teams don't stand a chance."
"Very interesting Zabini," Pansy mocked, sticking her tongue out at him as he flicked her off, "Give Potter a run for his money, will you Malfoy?"
"Of course," Draco scoffed, "Wouldn't dream of disappointing you."
Although he'd said it to Pansy, Madeline felt Draco nudge his foot against hers under the table. She could barely contain the smile on her face.
The post owls arrived, swooping down through rain-flecked windows, scattering everyone with droplets of water. Draco huffed as he wiped his robes with a napkin, letters getting scattered in front of them. Madeline recognised the stationery from her house, as well as her aunts, and one from Fleur. Madeline put them in a neat stack, sliding them into her robe pocket. She could read them later.
She looked up, and realised that Draco hadn't received any mail. It was odd, but also, she had to remember that his dad was, in fact, currently in Azkaban. Perhaps no one home wanted to remind him of that.
A copy of the Daily Prophet landed in front of Theo. Daphne immediately snatched it from the table, flicking through the pages with haste.
"Bloody hell Greengrass," Theo grumbled.
"There have been more dementor attacks," Daphne concluded, eyes scanning over the page, "And more arrests."
"Anyone we know?" Pansy asked.
"Nope," Daphne shook her head, placing the paper back onto the table. Madeline was certain that, in reality, Daphne was making sure that her parents names weren't in the papers. She knew that Daphne's greatest fear during the war so far had been losing her parents and her sister, and Madeline dreaded the day when, undoubtedly, the Greengrass family will be named as Death Eaters.
And deep down, she knew the Bisset name would follow soon after.
"I heard Eloise Midgen has left Hogwarts," Gabe added, "Her parents withdrew her because they don't believe Dumbledore can keep us all safe."
Pansy snorted, "They've got a point."
Madeline glanced over at Draco as the conversations around her continued. He didn't even look up; just kept his gaze fixed on a point behind Madeline. Clearly, his father being arrested for being a Death Eater wasn't exactly a topic of conversation he'd enjoy, even if they weren't directly talking about it.
Madeline hesitated. Whatever she had going on with Draco was still… Well, new. She didn't know how he would react to empathy or reassurance of any kind, and she knew better than others from her own fathers disappearance that sometimes, you just didn't want either of those things. Nevertheless, Madeline nudged Draco's foot with her own under the table. His eyes looked up, locking with hers, and Madeline attempted a small, reassuring smile.
The upturned corners of his lips told her that, although he remained stoic, he appreciated the fact that she was there.
"Enough of all of that," Madeline decided, taking the copy of the Daily Prophet and scrunching it up, "That's enough panic-inducing headlines for the morning."
"I agree," Blaise nodded, stretching his arms up to the ceiling, "These classes are kicking my ass already. I don't need to read about the possibility of another war every damn morning. Apple juice, anyone?"
She didn't know if Blaise had caught onto the same thing Madeline had with Draco, but she was grateful for the diversion nonetheless.
Blaise passed the pitcher of apple juice down the table towards Draco. He picked it up, pouring both himself and Madeline a glass.
"What a gentleman," Pansy wolf-whistled.
"Sod off, Parkinson."
"I'm just saying!" Pansy snickered, holding her hands up in mock surrender.
Eventually, everyone returned to their breakfasts, breaking off in smaller conversations. Draco and Madeline continued to exchange coy glances while Madeline debated the benefits of botanic-based potions with Theo. It seemed, all in all, like a normal morning.
Draco grabbed another piece of toast from the high-stacked pile in the middle of the table. He looked around, spotting the raspberry jam next to Madeline's hand. He gestured to Madeline, "Darling, could you pass me the raspberry jam-"
Both Madeline and Draco froze, as well as everyone around them. Darling.
Madeline looked over to Daphne with wide eyes, where Daphne could barely contain her laughter. Theo too was trying to compose himself after choking on a mouthful of coffee. Pansy simply raised her eyebrow, smirking over at Blaise and Gabe.
"Darling, huh?" Pansy teased, "You really have turned into a gentleman. Something you're not telling us, Malfoy?"
"She's blushing," Gabe teased, pointing over to Madeline with his fork.
"Put a sock in it," Draco grumbled, stabbing into his pile of scrambled eggs whilst nudging Madeline's ankle under the table in reassurance.
Blaise took one look at the pair, then turned back to Pansy, "They're dating. You win."
"Clearly," Pansy scoffed, "Took you long enough to slip up, Malfoy."
"Y-What?"
"You two are the least subtle flirters I've ever seen," Pansy continued. She put her elbows on the table, leaning her head between her hands, "You give each other the most sickening glances across the room in Potions, not to mention the absolutely obvious way you're somehow always ending up sat together in class. Honestly, you could've lit up a firework and been just as obvious."
Draco looked over at Madeline, searching her eyes. This was… Awkward, to say the least. And neither of them had expected their friends to find out in this way. Nevertheless, there wasn't much to do now, and neither wanted to keep it a secret anyway. And so, Madeline simply grinned, shrugging. He matched her grin.
"Well," Madeline answered, "It's like Daphne always said: we have undeniable chemistry."
"Look, I know you're angry that I didn't tell you-"
"I'm not angry," Daphne shrugged, turning to Theo as Madeline continued to pace the girls dorm room, "Theo, are you angry?"
"Not really, no."
"Seriously?" Madeline asked, frowning, "You're not?"
"It's your business," Daphne shrugged once again, "And I'm assuming you haven't been going out for very long?"
"Well, no," Madeline huffed, "We kissed before summer, but-"
"I knew it!" Daphne exclaimed, a grin on her face, "We were right!"
"You what?!"
"He kept visiting you in the Hospital Wing when you did your leg in during the… Battle," Theo used the word tentatively, "We had a feeling something was going on."
"Speak for yourself," Daphne huffed, "I've called it since fourth year."
"Just, uh…" Theo began nervously, the hushed conversations he'd had with Draco and his friends last year bubbling up in his memory, "Be careful with him, yeah? You don't want to be dragged into anything you don't want to be part of."
Madeline knew what he meant. Draco could turn around any one of these days and claim allegiance to the Death Eaters. She didn't want to believe it, but she couldn't deny the undeniable; his father was involved. And most likely, the rest of his family. Was she really willing to risk her safety for something that could just be a stupid crush?
She'd never made the safe choice, after all.
"I agree with Theo," Daphne nodded, "He doesn't have the best reputation, but we can't really complain if he's making you happy. And he's definitely a better choice than Fred Weasley had been."
Madeline smiled at her friends. She'd really lucked out in the friend department. Despite Daphne's intimidating persona and Theo's stoic expressions, they truly did care about her. And she felt the same about them, too.
"Now, onto important topics," Daphne continued, "Who's the better kisser; Fred or Draco?"
"Daphne!"
"What?! Come on, give the people what they want!"
It was only when Madeline was getting ready for bed that she remembered the letters she'd received that morning.
She scoured through her robe pockets for the letters, sliding her bed curtains shut and using her wand to illuminate the small space. Propping her wand between her pillows, she picked up the first one; from Fleur.
My dearest friend Madeline,
I apologise for not continuing our correspondence over the summer. Unfortunately, I have been kept rather busy with my family, and some new developments which I have yet to inform you about. With this letter, I do hope we can reconnect and discuss where our lives have been leading us in the last few months.
I'm sure you remember Bill Weasley? I'm sure I have spoken to you about him before. He has, undoubtedly, stolen my heart. I believe he may propose soon (which is rather intimidating, considering only a few years ago, we'd been playing with dolls and discussing our ideal happily ever afters!). I believe I've found my happily ever after, and in light of this, if he indeed does propose, I would implore to have you as one of my bridesmaids.
How are your studies? How's Hogwarts? Anything new and exciting to report?
I hope to hear from you soon.
Your friend,
Fleur Delacour
Madeline took a few moments to process the information. Fleur was going to marry into the Weasley family? She was sure that if Bill didn't propose in a timely manner, Fleur would do the honour herself and propose to him.
For a moment, Madeline considered what could have been. She could have been related to Fleur one day if things had gone differently with Fred. It was weird, seeing how her life could've unfolded had she taken a different path.
She shook herself out of these thoughts. No, they didn't serve her. She shouldn't dwell on what could've been, because it clearly wasn't meant to be. Instead. she moved onto the next letter.
It was written on beautifully embellished cream paper, with golden ink detailing her name at the front. Of course, it could come from none other than the Bisset family. She unfolded the paper and began reading.
Dear Madeline Bisset,
We would like to inform you that the passing on of Head of The Family will take place on Easter Sunday.
Please do bear in mind that we will be expecting you to return to France during every term holiday in preparation for this.
Further reading to prepare you for the ceremony will be sent over soon.
Alodie Bisset.
Her grandmother had always been one for the formalities. Madeline wanted to crumple the letter and throw it to the bottom of the Great Lake. She most certainly did not want to be Head of The Family, especially after what her aunt had told her.
She had until Easter Sunday to find a loophole. Something to get her out of this whole mess. She couldn't just walk out of her family, not really.
She moved onto the final letter, and frowned the instant she saw the handwriting. It was unfamiliar, the envelope rough, as if the paper was decades old. There was no return address either. She unfolded the envelope and pulled out the short letter. If it could even be called a letter. It was just… Well, an address?
Beddgelert, Gwynedd, Wales.
~M.M.
Madeline recognised the initials after a few moments. She pulled out her bedside drawer, taking out an old textbook and flipping to the middle page. She'd hidden the letter Dumbledore had given her before she'd left for her summer holidays. She re-read the last few lines.
Please, deliver this information to Madeline Dearborn. Tell her this is from a friend;
He fears you, because you can do what banished him.
~M.M
She highly doubted that anyone who hid their name was a friend, but the mystery was intriguing all the same. To her recollection, her mother had never mentioned anyone with the initials M.M, nor her aunty. It couldn't be anyone who was close to the Bisset family, which in itself made Madeline more inclined to find out more.
She'd never been to Wales either, nor did she know anyone in Wales. She'd never heard of Beddgelert, and she wasn't exactly planning a winter excursion to the country. Merlin, her head hurt…
She folded the two letters together into the textbook, placing it back into her bedside table. She put the other two letters in as well, sighing as her head hit her pillow.
It was going to be a long year.