Maddison Morley
The Night of the Attack
The Irish blew in like a great wind, green and grey smoke trailing behind them as they entered into the arena on their new Firebolts. She could just barely hear someone call out the Chasers names over the loud roar of cheers from the hundred thousand some odd chants sounding off in the stadium, but she was only screaming one name.
"AIDAN! WHOO!" she yelled out, even though she knew he'd never hear her. It was still worth trying,
right? She admired him and had a slight crush on the Irish team Seeker.
Throughout the night, Maddie's eyes were focused on Lynch, although she
did however witness the Bulgarian seeker
"Krummy" (as she liked to call him) get a bludger to the face by the Irish team Beater, Quigley. The action, later announced, broke the poor guy's nose. It wasn't much longer after that that Maddie notice Aidan had spotted the snitch, and off he went. Maddie screamed out his name a few more times as she watched the seeker dive for the thing, but ultimately he came just short as Krum snatched the snitch right out of the air, calling the game. Ireland still came out on top by 10 points. 170-160.
It was disappointing Lynch hadn't caught the snitch, but Maddie went ahead and celebrated with her boyfriend,
Oliver Davies and their group of friends they'd come along with anyway. The Irish had won, and that was good enough for her. Maddie thought back on the match and how fast they were going on their new brooms. If only she had a Firebolt. Her Inline Bandit was great and all, but those Firebolts were the newest and fastest brooms out there. If only she had the chance to ride one. With Aidan Lynch. Pshh. That'd be the day.
The partying went on for a couple of hours undisturbed until suddenly yelling turned into screams. Campfires began to spread across the campsite, as well as explosions from every direction sounding off. And the screams. The terrible screams. They echoed in one's ears as if they'd never go away. Maddie nor her friends intended to stay any longer. Once they all made sure they were accounted for, each of them apparated away. One by one, Maddie and Oliver watched their friends flee to safety, and finally so did they. Once safely back in Maddie's bedroom, Oliver sat down on her bed as Maddie began to pace back and forth. This continued for some time before Oliver spoke up.
"There's no need for this, love. She'll come. She always does."He was right, and Maddison knew this to be true, but
what if? What if she didn't this time? It was practically irony at play when there was a loud
clap! that sounded off downstairs. Maddie's eyes flashed wide open and immediately tore off down the stairs to find her
mother in the kitchen tucking her shirt into the breast of her uniform.
"Well hello, dear." Maddie stopped nearly dead in her tracks, mouth dropped open.
"That's what I get? 'Hello, dear'. What kind of.." Oliver, without warning, came from behind her and clapped his hand over her mouth gently and gave a charming smile to Victoria.
"What she means to say, is she's glad you made it back safely."Victoria smiled back at Oliver and nodded,
"Indeed. Well, I was just dropping by to be sure you had gotten her home in one piece." She raised an eyebrow to Maddison,
"Would you mind going to stay with Oli, for the night? There's unfinished business I need to tend to, and I have to get back right away." By the look on Maddison's face, it was clear she was unhappy about it but wouldn't argue the matter. She hugged her mother firmly with a quick 'Be safe' before walking upstairs to her room to grab some things before she and Oliver traveled to his own home. With another loud
clap!, Maddison and Oliver were left alone to finish up.
A Few Weeks Later
It had been days since Maddie had seen her mum. The Ministry had the aurors constantly tied up. There were little notes and things left around the house that proved her mum had been home, but she hadn't actually seen her. Maddie had done all of her shopping for school with Oliver and his parents, along with her owl,
Igor, who wouldn't allow her to leave him at home alone.
In the weeks following her shopping spree, Maddie spent her time visiting Oliver as well as a few of her close friends as much as she could. It kept her mind off of her mom not being home as often as she was used to. It wasn't until the day the train would be leaving that Maddie literally ran into her mom in the kitchen. She was running late and thought she'd make things go a bit quicker by apparating downstairs, slamming straight into her mom who stood in front of the sink. Maddie's supplies and her mother's coffee spilling out of their hands.
All items froze mid-air and slowly fell back into place, Victoria giving her daughter a slight smirk.
"You take after your father." Maddie gave a simple half-smile, collecting herself and tucking a few stray hairs behind her ear.
"If only he was here." Victoria's smirk faded slowly, replaced with an apologetic look. A silence fell over them both, holding for a few moments before Victoria spoke again.
"I thought I'd join you today, and see you off. Last year, first day. It'd be a shame to miss out."Maddie sped around the kitchen, hand making a quick breakfast for herself. Just a piece ofbuttered toast, a slice of leftover ham and an apple, taking a few bites of ham before approaching her mom again.
"I'm pretty sure I've got everything I need. I sent my suitcases to the station this morning with Tsarrin." Tsarrin (pronounced 'sarin') was the Morley Household house elf. A free elf, who they were gifted and set free, but given that his 'masters' had set him free he decided to stick around a while and help the family when needed.
It hadn't been long before Maddie finished her breakfast and they both apparated to the train station together, standing just outside the pilar that read 9
3/4.
"Why?" Maddie glanced at her mom with a look, getting a smile in response.
"Just.. walk with me, hmm?" Maddie rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, smirking a little as she hooked her arm into her mums and walked through to the other side.
The station was busy. Owls flying here and there, everyone was bussing around trying to get to their designated cars, kids prying themselves from their parents arms.. something Maddie felt she'd probably have to do here, in a moment. Victoria stopped and turned Maddison to face her, looking deep into her eyes.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you in these last few weeks. I know you are old enough to understand why, so I won't bother getting into the boring details. Just.. please don't forget to write, okay? Tell me everything."Maddie smiled up at her mum and nodded, wrapping her arms around her tightly in a hug. A few moments later, Maddie pulled away.
"I gotta go. Till we see each other again." Slowly they both let go of each other and went their separate ways. Maddie pushed her way through the crowd of kids and parents alike, making her way to the car her and her friends had set to meet in. She slipped inside and was attempting to go one way when a hand clasped hers and pulled her back into the opposite direction. Maddison tried yanking her hand free as she turned but stopped as soon as she saw who it was. Oli.
"Oh, hello love." Maddie grinned sheepishly before Oliver leaned in quickly with a kiss to her lips.
"My queen," Oliver smiled charmingly, causing Maddie to blush.
"Could I convince you to come sit with me?" Although the thought was tempting, Maddie shook her head and smiled apologetically.
"Not this time, lovey. Waiting on the girls. Besides, your kind don't like mine very much." Oliver raised an eyebrow and laughed,
"Oh, my widdle badger not feeling up to fighting off some vipers, today?" Maddie laughed and shoved his shoulder, to which he chuckled at.
"You know they're just jealous. The girls cause they're not you, and the guys because they don't have you. They're all mad because I got the prettiest girl in Hogwarts to go out with me. Houses be damned!" Maddie rolled her eyes and smiled even wider.
"Oh hush. All this sweet talk isn't going to get me to come sit with you. I'll see you when we get there, okay?" Maddie leaned up and kissed him one more time before parting, walking up the crowded train car hallway, not waiting for his rebuttle.
Once Maddie found their usual spot, she slipped inside and shut the door. She was the first one there. Looking up into the luggage compartment section, she could see a suitcase with a tag that read her name on it overhanging from the ledge. She'd write a letter for Tsarrin later and tell him, again, thank you. Part of her wanted to change into her robes, but instead she decided to open up the car windows and sit down beside one, looking out at all the commotion just outside. It was going to be one hell of a long ride. Well, it always was, but this was going to be the last one she'd make, besides the trip back home. This was it.
Year 7.