Bombshell

It was that time of year again, the time of year when Amelia would be heading off to Hogwarts until the Christmas period. Unlike last year when Professor Cooper headed up to the school on the Hogwarts Express the witch would be taking a journey up there a couple of days before, unlike a lot of the staff who would be escorting the students aboard The Hogwarts Express. The reasons for this was a simple one: administration, preparation and the fact that Amelia would be returning to Hogwarts as the deputy headmistress.

Last year the Professor had managed to scourer an odd Saturday every so often to take time out of Hogwarts for a couple of hours to catch up with her daughter, Hallie. Hallie had married Theodore Rookwood in the marriage law and, although their relationship had taken many twists and turns it was finally on track. There was just one problem. Theodore was to be reinstated as Headmaster of Hogwarts in Professor Du Hunts absence meaning Hallie would have nobody outside of Hogwarts. Chances are Hallie would be popping up for the weekends to stay in the Headmaster's study but those would be far and few and Amelia felt like a final visit before she returned to Hogwarts was in order.

It was a Saturday morning, half past ten. She hadn't prearranged the visit but decided to drop in on the off chance that Hallie wouldn't be working, which was often the case given the fact that she was now a fully fledged auror and the role wasn't exactly a monday to friday nine to five job. Still, if Hallie wasn't home she'd at least be able to find out from Theodore when the best time to catch her would be.

Turning her key in the front door (Hallie had always told her to let herself in) Amelia found herself in the hallway. There was a faint cheering noise coming from the living room. Nobody was actually cheering, not in person anyway, the sound of wheezing old man was now shouting at somebody, somebody whose Father wasn't happy about their gender reassignment surgery or something bizarre like that.

Walking into the living room she was greeted by the sight of a lady, who Amelia presumed to be Theodore's sister; a baby, who Amelia guessed was most likely Theodore's niece and Theodore himself. Little did Amelia know how far out of the loop Hallie had kept her. Hallie had refrained from informing her that her and Theodore had been living apart, that he had an illegitimate child, that they'd lost their own child and that she had filled for divorce just yesterday. The bomb began to tick.

'Congratulations, Professor!' Amelia greeted, placing emphasis on the word Professor, referring to his soon-to-be-reinstatement as Hogwarts Headmaster. 'Is Hallie home?'

“Dad will be happy, then,” was Adriana Rookwood’s first comment upon the arrival of the divorce papers.

The said papers had only served to blacken the already foul mood that had encompassed the Rookwood man. Upon arriving home sometime after being encouraged to do so by the Hayes whom he’d been with for a few days, Theodore’s temperament hadn’t lifted until he set his gaze on his daughter whom he grasped away from her drawing and for an hour to coax her into a nap for the sake of just being able to hold her, to memorise every feature and every expression as she dreamed, to be able to listen to her breathing knowing that she was safe, alive, well, his.

The following days had only sufficed to return him to his melancholy and though alcohol helped to subside much of that misery, it did not go far enough to do so. Theodore and Adriana had since lapsed into a strange existence. She still refused to talk about her Muggleborn in Kilkenny whom he had noticed she spent much of her time writing to if the comings and goings of owls were at all indicative of anything. They watched the television, Theodore having bought one a while ago for the sake of learning about Muggle culture. They ate take-out. They looked after Esme.

That was their life.

When the divorce papers came, it became clear that almost everything in Theodore’s life had been reset. The inclusion of a Hogwarts recall in the event of extenuating circumstances only further proved as much. All he hoped was that his father didn’t walk in with a pretty chit for him to marry in the coming months so that everything went full circle. No, he would have rather inquired after whether his sister’s Muggleborn had a sister. Or perhaps he’d stay celibate – boring though that fate would be – and just raise his daughter. That wasn’t such an awful thing, he realised, as he might have found it all a year before.

That morning, Theodore had gotten up late. Esme was sleeping through the nights fully now, bad dreams and missing her mother had taken up her first few weeks, and as well as a sweet tooth she’d also inherited his penchant for lying around doing nothing. She was a chip off the old block and so the pair of them got up just after eleven o’clock, showered, got into another set of pyjamas and went in search of breakfast. Then it was a case of watching whatever they had recorded the night before then moving on to daytime television.

When the door opened, the mise en scene would see Theodore sprawled across his sofa, his legs hanging over the end, his head propped up by pillows. His sister was curled up in the large arm chair by the window, writing furiously in her pretty calligraphy on a piece of parchment and Esme was sat on the floor, drawing happily on her sketchpad which Theodore had gone and gotten her not long after she’d moved in with him. Theodore and Adriana both looked up when Amelia’s voice resounded around the house and both flinched, too.

Neither wanted this interaction.

Theodore sat up, extending his hands to his daughter who got to her feet, allowing him to lift her up into his embrace. He then in turn cast his eyes across to Amelia and he sighed heavily, setting Esme down on his lap.

“Hallie doesn’t live here anymore,” he answered gradually. “She left. Ages ago.” Theodore inhaled deeply. “Do you want something to drink, Amelia? This is going to be a bit of a long chat I think.”

“I’ll get something,” Adriana volunteered, putting her writing things away in her box of precious items. This, of course, meant she was there to stay. Ordinarily, Theodore would have complained but she’d been a life saver. He only wished he could have articulated as much.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Adriana offered, sidling past Amelia before moving out of the door, retreating to the back of the house after the kitchen.

“Sit down,” Theodore asked of her wearily. “Please.”

The news that Hallie had left, 'ages ago' was somewhat confusing. Hallie had been keeping in touch with Amelia, they'd been writing once a week up until about a month ago. Had that been when Hallie had left? But then if she had left surely she would have wrote and told her? Even if she had wanted to keep that information from her Mother why would she have left? A month ago her and Theodore had been perfectly happy, content with their lives and looking forward to raising a child together. Unless the ministry was forcing them apart? Too much work? Hallie never was one for knowing when she was getting to wrapped up into something. Or was it that she was away doing something for the Ministry? That would explain why she hadn't received and letters from her daughter, Hallie was lying low under Ministry orders.

Somehow Amelia was beginning to doubt the optimistic explanations and was beginning to think it was something more. The Professor herself had been the bearer of bad news on numerous occasions. She knew the routine. You ask them to sit down, make them feel a little more comfortable, offer them a drink. Clearly whatever Theodore was about to tell her wasn't good news. 

'Theodore?' Amelia said cautiously, although she didn't ask questions. The expression on Theodore's face told her that the news would come to her, besides, she never was one for losing her emotions. No, that was Hallie's job. Instead she obeyed, choosing a seat on the sofa. 

Amelia was forty one years old but really she was seventy one. She'd lost her parents in a freak accident at the age of eighteen, lost her husband, heard him murdered whilst she hid their children from the death eaters; lost Toby from a werewolf attack, thankfully he hadn't been slaughtered for they'd been reunited five years later and less than a year ago Amelia had almost lost Hallie: twice. All of this had strengthened her skin, of course weakened her in the process, but she had learnt to deal with grave situations in a calm manner. Hopefully the news Theodore was about to unleash upon her wasn't the worst, yet, Amelia began to feel her optimism swiftly fading preparing herself for the worst. 

Hallie couldn't have died, she would have been notified a long time ago but something must have happened. Something dark, unfriendly to the ear, something that made ones thoughts stop. This atmosphere was oh too familiar to her. 

Adriana returned with a tray of tea and not for the first time Theodore took a moment to admire the eagerness to commit herself to certain muggle diversions. She set the tray down on the coffee table and extended her hands for Esme who went with her aunt happily enough, content when offered a glass of brightly coloured juice to mystify her gaze with. Her father, meanwhile, poured the tea for his former-to-be mother-in-law. He added the appropriate amount of sugar, swirled in some milk and moved the cup and saucer closer to Amelia for her to take at her leisure.

“Hallie lost the baby,” Theodore announced quietly without preamble, bringing his hand to the back of his neck as he tried to reconcile that fact even unto himself. “And,” he went on hesitantly, “because I didn’t linger at the hospital beyond ascertaining that fact, we are now in the midst of divorce.”

Theodore took a breath and glanced over at his daughter who was drinking eagerly from her glass. Adriana’s hand teased it away from her face and the little girl suffered to pout absently before becoming enamoured with the rings on her long, nimble fingers. They were drawn into the infant’s mouth and though Adriana gave a half sight of dismay she allowed the child to indulge herself at her will.

“I couldn’t look,” Theodore admitted gently. “I didn’t want to acknowledge the loss and now, because of that act of self-preservation, by all accounts we are finished, over and done with.” He took a breath, resolving to pour a cup of tea for himself. “I don’t want to have to close my eyes and imagine his face and drive myself to distraction by imaging what could have been. It was better not to form the futile attachment.” He took a breath. “But I admit it was errant given the expense I made of Hallie’s feelings as a result.”

He brought the tea to his lips and Esme struggled from her aunt’s grasp, finding her feet and making wide strides across the room to her father’s side once more, arresting him with her little fist, taking his t-shirt into hand. Setting his tea down at once, Theodore lifted his daughter onto his lap and secured his embrace around her, bringing his chin down to rest on her head as she fixed Amelia with her wide, saucer Rookwood gaze.

“This is my daughter,” he informed Amelia, also; deciding against letting that one lay. “She was the child of a previous partner of mine. Responsibility of her has been handed to me and provided much of the initial bad humour between myself and Hallie. Obviously subsequent events has exasperated matters.” Theodore took a breath. “But it’s her choice. I did wrong by her, I shan’t dispute that. But this is what it has come to.”

Amelia never was one for sugary tea, over time she'd grown to prefer her cup strong, not much milk either. Perhaps this was because she'd taken kindly to fruit teas, raspberry and summer fruit being her drink of choice. In spite of that, out of politeness, Amelia accepted the cup and took a sickly sip before returning the cup to it's home on the saucer awaiting Theodore's news.

It was perhaps a good thing that Amelia had placed the drink down because it most likely would have gotten everywhere. She'd been expecting many things but the idea that her daughter had miscarried was once that had escaped her.

Hallie was very much like Amelia know. Both had lost a parent, both had lost the love of their lives for Hallie was now divorcing and both had lost a child. Life really was one fast bicycle ride, deadly and with bumps in the road. Fortunately for Amelia Toby hadn't died as the family had feared, but returned into their home five years later. Sadly the same wouldn't be said for Hallie.

Theodore's information explained perfectly why Hallie had kept her so out of the loop, as much as Amelia was offended by her daughters intentions. Naturally, had Amelia learned all this information she'd have worried over Hallie, not that she was put to anymore comfort finding out later than she would have liked.

Theodore had a daughter, which Hallie was guessing he had failed to mention at the start of their marriage, not that she could blame him there were things Amelia had wanted to hold back from Brant, stories about herself that she didn't want her partner to know. However, the two had grown happy surely it would have been a better time to alert her of his child at an earlier date? Of course, Professor Cooper didn't really know the ins and outs of this tale. She weren't to know he'd paid the girls Mother to hide away.

Amelia didn't say anything at first, she simply listened absorbing this knowledge. The Professor had always questioned Theodore's strength as a human. He never came across as strong as her husband or Hallie - not that Amelia could comment the loss of her son and husband had completely shut her down, sent her into a numbed state of reality. However, hearing Theodore tell her this, seeing the pain in his eyes really made her realise there was a strength of character in her son-in-law after all.

Had the two been standing Amelia would have gave Theodore a hug, a silent hug that would have told him everything, offloaded his trials and tribulations onto her. Instead a hand reached across, finding his and holding it tightly. The mother inside of her casting a wave of protection and love across to Theodore.

'I am sorry for your loss.' She said.

After a minutes silence, more out of respect for Theodore to ponder Amelia - who'd remained surprisingly calm given the bomb that Theodore had dropped on her - simply took a long drink of her tea as to avoid any awkwardness on her part.

'Have you spoken to Hallie since?' She needn't say since what, those were words nobody needed to have repeated to them over and over.

Esme was the lone consolation throughout all of the suffering. It seemed as though he was due to be dealt the same lot as his father before him but there was, as ever, a glaring difference betwixt him and his father, Thaddeus. Her blood, as far as his father would have been concerned, was too diluted to be of any use to him. Theodore, however, had done the mystifying thing of immediately assuming official guardianship of her after he had returned home from the Hayes’. He had drawn up his will once more and had, against any of his family’s wishes for himself, made Esme his heir, second to no one. She was whom he would provide for, at all costs.

“She hasn’t ventured to,” Theodore sighed gradually, “and I daren’t – especially since the papers came.”

Esme jumped down from his lap at this point and reached for a spoon off of the tray. She shoved out her arm and offered the spoon to Amelia with a bright smile, scuttling back to Theodore’s side once the metal olive branch was extended. Theodore leaned down and kissed her head briefly, causing her to turn and offer him a grin. Then she danced back to her aunt who happily accepted her niece back into her arms. Esme snuggled against Adriana’s chest and the long fingers resumed their role as play things once more.

“I take it, then, she hasn’t reached out to you, either.” Theodore assessed carefully. “I’m sorry, Amelia. I thought she would have told you.” Theodore picked up his cup again. He sighed again, closing his eyes briefly before setting his gaze back on his mother-in-law.

“The thing is,” he admitted his confusion, “I don’t understand what happened. She was fine. She was fine. And then,” he smothered his words with a sip of tea. “I don’t know how to talk to her, I’ll admit it. But then she obviously doesn’t want me to so I suppose I’m spared that.”

The gift from Theodore's daughter brought any awkwardness away from what may have happened whilst Theodore took a moment to think, whether he needed it or not it seemed polite to offer him that opportunity. Esme seemed sweet, innocent. It reminded Amelia much of her own children. How fast they had grown up, how strong their characters had become. Perhaps Amelia was being biased, but even if she weren't, there was no doubt the witch was proud in everything they achieved, even if perhaps Hallie's decisions hadn't always been the best ones to make.

'She hasn't been in contact with me for over a month now.' Amelia replied somewhat sadly. 'We used to write once a week and then it sort of stopped.' That could have been down to the fact she'd momentarily moved out of the house, or that she was rather busy trying to juggle too many things at once. What with her work, leading the Order and her own personal life.

'The thing is with Hallie is she tends to follow her heart as opposed to her head.' Amelia informed after taking another sip of her tea and pretending to ignore Theodore's pause. 'She's rash and doesn't usually think through what's the best decision to make. The longer you don't speak the worse it'll be. You really should rip off the plaster and talk about it, even if you don't have much to say simply telling her how you feel, that you don't know how to feel it'll help with the healing otherwise.'

It was Amelia's turn to take a pause.

'Otherwise you'll go through it alone and come out the otherwise with more wounds.' She was no referencing her own loss. Not her husband but Toby. Toby had vanished on the face of the earth, however unlike their situation there was no closure. Amelia didn't know whether Toby was alive, somewhere out there, or whether he'd be mauled by the werewolves and murdered (unaware one of the werewolves was her son). At this point in time Amelia's husband had died, she was alone with Hallie and although she had her daughter to distract her and care for it hadn't healed her fully. There was nobody she could relate to, nobody to explain how she was really feeling (a mother couldn't put that burden on her teenage girl). The result: Amelia had become an empty shell. Starting a new career at Hogwarts the previous year had ignited some passion but still, an empty shell.

(OOC: PS: I know the saying is rip the band aid off but Amelia isn't American so I adapted it slightly haha!)

Theodore Rookwood stared at Amelia Cooper, dismay and disbelief clouding his features at the very suggestion he should endeavour to entreat with his wife on behalf of repairing the fractured marriage. He would have thought ‘divorce’ would have made it plainly clear that they were beyond talking and that, if it wasn’t for the fact that Theodore by nature resented the idea of divorce – all Rookwood marriages did tend to end in a death, after all, but not usually of anyone other than one of the spouses – then he would have signed them as soon as they came through the door just to get it all out of his hair. Yet of course, even without that principle at the forefront of his mind, it was an absurd scenario to him.

“Sorry, why, again, should I?” He asked sarcastically. No clarification was needed, he’d heard well enough.

“Theodore,” Adriana admonished openly, turning Esme in her arms so the babe was able to ebb into her afternoon nap against her aunt’s chest.

“No, really,” the Rookwood glanced over at his sister. “Tell me, why should I bother having to deal with the harpy of a woman when she’s made it very clear I needn’t bother anymore? Hm?” He raised his eyebrows, opening out his arms and palms wide in question, daring anyone to pinpoint where exactly he had gone wrong.

“Mind your tongue, little brother,” Adriana sniffed, rising to her feet. The demure woman retired from the room to lay down the child, her dark hair swishing behind her. Theodore sighed, bringing a hand up to rub across his forehead.

“She is rash,” he agreed, bringing his hands down to his knees. “And wild and tumultuous and I loathe that. She never should have been allowed to try for aurorship. It has made her thoughtless rather than thoughtful. Yet I, my dear, am the bad bastard, you see.” Theodore softened his lips together and closed his eyes briefly, trying to temper his anger.

“This is not how marriage is supposed to work in my family,” he accentuated. “Traditional and pig headed though we are, we desire quiet lives. Rookwood men make enough mischief for themselves without having difficult wives. We ask after the hands of demure, temperate women. We like the fragile and for the ire to be present in our sons, not our daughters.” Though in saying that, Esme bore an unruly temper like his own. “I am not right for Hallie. I am not of her calibre, just as she isn’t of mine.”

“And that is why,” Theodore found his words finally, “I am not going to go after her. She is her own wind, her own lashing rain. I am but a man trying to perceive it and I fail at every turn. Without me, she’ll be happy.”

Perhaps Amelia had been too optimistic in thinking that Theodore would take her advice kindly, after all Hallie had just filled for divorce - something that Amelia was rather surprised given the fact her daughter was rooted so strongly in the mindset of never giving up. Clearly her miscarriage had shook her, affected her in a way Amelia could only feel heartbroken thinking about.

'Theodore.' Amelia responded softly hoping to dilute the tension and anger that had flooded into the room, clouding her son-in-law's vision. 'I'm going to tell Hallie the same thing. You need each other to recover. You may have friends, family members' She lightly bowed her head to his sister, 'And even a daughter to help you get through it but only one person knows exactly what your pain is.'

'When I thought I'd lost Toby I only had Hallie. Hallie kept me going, allowed me to live one day to the next but I never truly healed. I never had that someone who was just as broken as I was and now I'm a shadow of my former self. I may seem strong but I'm eighty years old and broken down. You need her to get through this. It may not be what you want but, in the long run, it'll help you to stay the person you are.'

(ooc: sorry it's short!)

“No,” Theodore swore passionately.

The rejection and the grief still played perilously on his mind but the reluctance to forgive for the subsequent slight. He had left the papers in his office. He wanted to get them, to show them, to exhibit them as the reason why he had no need to. He felt bitter, twisted, but that had come not just from this instance but a lifetime of interesting a bizarre choices. This had sealed his fate, however. Gone was the optimism of the twenty-one year old. No, arguably here was the man; in some form or another.

“I’m not going to bother, Amelia. I’m sorry but I’m not like you,” Theodore pushed down on his knees and rose to his feet. “I don’t need to ‘sort through my feelings’ or whatever else. I’ve got this in hand.”

He departed from the living room, whisking away the tea and such with a wave of his hand, and he moved back into the kitchen where he dumped the things in a bowl of foamy water in the sink. He swallowed a heavy sigh and heard the squeak of the stairs announced Adriana’s return. She strayed into the living room, her brows furrowing over her dark gaze and she stepped out again, spotting her brother.

“Amelia can I get you anything?” Adriana asked politely.

(OOC: Same!)