Thicker than Water (Marauders Era)

14 July, 1989 - Smile

Her mother would have scolded her to the ends of the earth for it probably, but instead of making her curl in on herself, somehow the thought made her straighten her shoulders a bit, made her stand up straighter. Yes, her mother would have insulted every inch of her in this dress, would have told her she was fat and undesirable and disgusting, but Lavinia had learned long ago that Rhea Selwyn's opinions on the ideal feminine figure were more likely to bring pain than anything else. And looking in the mirror, she could see for herself that the woman staring back at her was beautiful. Sure, she wasn't wire thin or anything of the like but she looked... she looked good. She looked healthy. And that was what mattered. If there was one thing at all Lavinia had learned from her life, it was that it didn't matter what things appeared to be. It mattered what was under the surface. And she knew that under the surface here was a woman who was as healthy, mentally and physically, as she had ever been before. So who bloody cared it she didn't have a tiny waist.

Well. Rhea would have cared. But Rhea didn't matter anymore. Hadn't mattered for a long time actually.

So Lavinia merely straightened her skirt a bit, grabbed a small purse from the top of her dresser and tucked her wand safely away inside. Then she left her room and headed for the front door to find Remus sitting on the couch with a book that he lowered, watching her approach. There was soft sympathy in his eyes when she met them and Lavinia had to force herself not to look away. Not to cringe or cower or cry.

"I'll have dinner waiting when you get back," he said quietly. Lavinia smiled, the expression admittedly a bit forced and nodded.

"Thanks," she replied, and for all that the words were strangled, the gratitude was genuine. Not just for the meal, but... but also for not saying anything about the elephant in the room, about why she was wearing black. Why she was leaving. Why there was so much sympathy in the eyes he locked on her.

Shaking herself slightly, Lavinia took a deep steadying breath and made for the door, the click of her heeled shoes the only sound in the house. Outside, the sun was shining high and there was a light breeze that brushed the grasses and a smattering of wildflowers on the surrounding hills. It was picturesque, really and Lavinia looked at it for a long moment, taking in the shine of the sun off the sea in the distance, the bright blue sky with only a few clouds gliding across it. The perfect summer day.

And standing there in the middle of it all, was Lavinia. Clad in black, a stark contrast to the brightness and life of the scene around her.

But where the colored dresses had seemed wrong, somehow the lovely scene before her felt... fitting. It was tranquil here. Peaceful. Bertie would have liked it. Would have liked that there was such good weather today.

Lavinia sighed again and forced the hints of tears from her eyes as she made her feet keep moving, walking to the edge of the front path before she disapparated and landed in the middle of another sunny scene, but one that was somehow far heavier. Far more somber. And, Lavinia supposed, that too was only fitting.

The graveyard in which she now stood was mostly empty, the mossy stone markers of deaths from long ago left abandoned, or else adorned by small bouquets of dying flowers. And there, a little ways across the large burial area, a cluster of black clad people, milling about. Waiting.

Lavinia walked towards them.

She recognized a few of them, but others were strangers to her, for all that they were here for the same purpose. She inclined her head slightly as she met eyes with Elias Mitchell, neither of them saying a word. Not that that was unusual for Elias, but... but there were no words for this. And standing here... it was so real.

So Lavinia merely moved forward, counting heads as she went, making sure everyone was there. And they were. She had been the last to arrive, apparently, early though she was. So when she reached the front of the group, she nodded slightly to the squat little man who stood beside the dark stained wood of the coffin now directly in front of Lavinia.