A Very Brief, Slightly Pointless HPDDD Ficlet
Friday, 6 February 2004 22:27![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apollaMaybe pointless, but you might like it. Let me know either way.
Connaught Manor, Co. Galway. November 2008.
The wind whipped from the fierce autumn seas over the cliffs and towards a lone woman standing near the edge. The wind caused the woman's long red hair to fly up and around her pale, thin face. The only colour in her face was provided by a pair of eyes the colour of blue ice. She stood, not caring about the chill winds that made her black trench coat swirl around her as if she were one of those ancient banshees from around these parts.
"It is better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all," she murmured. The words were carried away on the air. As she said it, she wasn't convinced of their truth. Perhaps it was that she'd only ever known love for a fleeting moment before it had been stolen from her.
Maura's home was so isolated from the few friends she had that sometimes she almost forgot she had them. Making friends had never come naturally to her, and if she was honest, they had worked to make friends with her, not the other way around.
Her friends were magical, but she didn't think they were psychic (although Ron had his moments). Yet, every time she felt truly isolated or truly alone, they'd do something to prove her wrong. She was a lot lonelier since her daughter had started at Hogwarts and was away for most of the year. Maura was, at thirty, an old woman who had seen and done things most people would never see in a complete lifetime. Her work during a frenetic three year period had ensured peace and quiet for most of Europe- at least from mystical and magical forces. It also meant that Maura Kennealy Richards was bored. She was born for action and she'd done very little for a long time. She hadn't noticed when Deirdre was around, but now... She almost felt like starting a fight to have something to do. Almost.
Money wasn't an issue. She had a particularly large amount of the stuff- a legacy that had its beginnings with Queen Maeve herself. She didn't need to work and she didn't really want to. But she needed to do something. All this alone time was making her think and it was her strict policy not to think. Thinking brought ghosts to her. The parents she treated so coldly all her life, George, even Katerina. Especially Kat. She wondered where Kat was: if she was happy, if she was even still alive. Yes, the ghosts came back to her when she allowed herself to think.
She turned away from the sea and trudged back to the house. The house was part of the legacy too- it had been built by an Heir in the 1800s and stood overlooking the West Coast of Ireland. Maura shivered as she took her coat off and let it fall to the marble floor of the hallway. She slumped down in a chair in the sitting room and tried to keep her ghosts at bay.
Then, a voice jolted her from her dark mood. A small boy, about eight years old with messy blond hair, came barrelling out of the fireplace.
"Auntie Maura!" he squealed excitedly. She got up from her seat and allowed the boy to bounce at her and wrap his arms around her.
"Hello Flynn," she told him with a smile. The ghosts disappeared. "Where's your dad?"
"Here," announced Draco Malfoy, stepping out of the fire, hair immaculate even after a long Floo journey.
"Draco, what brings you here?" she asked, taking his coat.
"Flynn wanted to visit you."
Ah, she thought, Flynn Malfoy: the most spoiled boy in Europe. And according to his grandmother, his father had been exactly the same. Maura smirked. Flynn missed out on the Death Eater training, at least. They settled down and began talking about the
So once again, Maura was saved from her ghosts by her friends. They may not have been psychic, but it felt like it sometimes.
*
The End
Connaught Manor, Co. Galway. November 2008.
The wind whipped from the fierce autumn seas over the cliffs and towards a lone woman standing near the edge. The wind caused the woman's long red hair to fly up and around her pale, thin face. The only colour in her face was provided by a pair of eyes the colour of blue ice. She stood, not caring about the chill winds that made her black trench coat swirl around her as if she were one of those ancient banshees from around these parts.
"It is better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all," she murmured. The words were carried away on the air. As she said it, she wasn't convinced of their truth. Perhaps it was that she'd only ever known love for a fleeting moment before it had been stolen from her.
Maura's home was so isolated from the few friends she had that sometimes she almost forgot she had them. Making friends had never come naturally to her, and if she was honest, they had worked to make friends with her, not the other way around.
Her friends were magical, but she didn't think they were psychic (although Ron had his moments). Yet, every time she felt truly isolated or truly alone, they'd do something to prove her wrong. She was a lot lonelier since her daughter had started at Hogwarts and was away for most of the year. Maura was, at thirty, an old woman who had seen and done things most people would never see in a complete lifetime. Her work during a frenetic three year period had ensured peace and quiet for most of Europe- at least from mystical and magical forces. It also meant that Maura Kennealy Richards was bored. She was born for action and she'd done very little for a long time. She hadn't noticed when Deirdre was around, but now... She almost felt like starting a fight to have something to do. Almost.
Money wasn't an issue. She had a particularly large amount of the stuff- a legacy that had its beginnings with Queen Maeve herself. She didn't need to work and she didn't really want to. But she needed to do something. All this alone time was making her think and it was her strict policy not to think. Thinking brought ghosts to her. The parents she treated so coldly all her life, George, even Katerina. Especially Kat. She wondered where Kat was: if she was happy, if she was even still alive. Yes, the ghosts came back to her when she allowed herself to think.
She turned away from the sea and trudged back to the house. The house was part of the legacy too- it had been built by an Heir in the 1800s and stood overlooking the West Coast of Ireland. Maura shivered as she took her coat off and let it fall to the marble floor of the hallway. She slumped down in a chair in the sitting room and tried to keep her ghosts at bay.
Then, a voice jolted her from her dark mood. A small boy, about eight years old with messy blond hair, came barrelling out of the fireplace.
"Auntie Maura!" he squealed excitedly. She got up from her seat and allowed the boy to bounce at her and wrap his arms around her.
"Hello Flynn," she told him with a smile. The ghosts disappeared. "Where's your dad?"
"Here," announced Draco Malfoy, stepping out of the fire, hair immaculate even after a long Floo journey.
"Draco, what brings you here?" she asked, taking his coat.
"Flynn wanted to visit you."
Ah, she thought, Flynn Malfoy: the most spoiled boy in Europe. And according to his grandmother, his father had been exactly the same. Maura smirked. Flynn missed out on the Death Eater training, at least. They settled down and began talking about the
So once again, Maura was saved from her ghosts by her friends. They may not have been psychic, but it felt like it sometimes.
*
The End
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re:
Date: 2004-02-08 06:46 (UTC)I always felt bad for Maura but some of it is her own making- but only some of it. Her friends are the best thing that ever happened to her.