Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2021 20:59:34 GMT -7
TW/CW: Death, mention of drowning
May 15, 2026
Hogsmeade, Scotland
Hogsmeade, Scotland
As soon as she had gotten wind of the fact that there was a fire at Hogwarts from some of her coworkers after she had already left work for the day, Tamatha had been waiting for any word from her sister, Cameron, or their parents back in Canada. Hearing nothing as the time passed and not wanting to wait a second longer, Tamatha threw a pair of sneakers on in place of the heels she'd worn at work, grabbed her phone and her wand, and Apparated to Hogsmeade.
Even in the village, leftover smoke hung heavy in the air, still not fully dissipated. It reminded Tamatha too much of the scene following the explosion at the British and Irish Quidditch League finals match between Wimbourne and Yorkshire the previous year, and she looked around for any sign of her sister among those who were gathering in the street on the way to what remained of the castle. It looked as though some of the students had made it all the way out to high street, Tamatha observed, and she became acutely aware of the sound of any accent that was clearly more American or Canadian in its sound.
Overhearing the conversation of a group of teenage girls who seemed to have come from Ilvermorny and looked as though they might be seventh-years like her sister, Tamatha practically sprinted over to them. She knew that she was probably being paranoid; Cameron's phone had probably just died, and she hadn't been able to get in touch with her or their parents to let them know that she was safe. Regardless, she took the opportunity to identify herself and to ask the girls if they knew Cameron and knew where she was. They did know her, they said, and Tamatha was filled with sudden hope that they could tell her where she was. Unfortunately, they said that they hadn't seen her since dinner.
Okay, they hadn't seen her since dinner, thought Tamatha. That wasn't so uncommon, she supposed, even under normal circumstances. She was just about to thank the girls and turn back in the direction of her path to the castle, except one of the girls in the group mentioned that she thought Cameron had been one of the ones to end up paralyzed.
"Paralyzed?!" Tamatha's mind began to race, and her composure began to break apart. They were joking, weren't they? Her mind immediately flashed to the idea of having to care for her younger sister for the rest of her life, likely without the use of her legs or something like that. That wasn't what they meant, though, as the same girl elaborated upon seeing the expression on Tamatha's face that the students who had begun to eat dinner early in the evening were affected by a paralysis potion.
Desperate to find out what had happened after that, Tamatha glanced between what was left of Hogwarts and the group of teenage girls. She considered going ahead and moving in the direction of the school, but she stopped as another girl—presumably a friend of the other ones—came back down from the direction of the school, a blanket draped over her shoulders.
The others who had been standing there explained to the girl who had just come that she was Cameron Berg's sister and if she had seen her or knew where she was. The girl with the blanket over her shoulders swallowed heavily and shook her head quickly, her eyes watering from more than just the smoke that remained in the air. "She… She didn't—didn't make it out. I-I'm so sorry," she told Tamatha, her breathing heavy.
Tamatha, too, could feel her eyes flooding with tears as she choked up. The feeling of losing a sibling suddenly was something that she knew already. It had happened once before, with their younger brother, Arthur. Cameron had always blamed herself for that because she was the one who was supposed to be watching him when he had drowned, and Tamatha was suddenly filled with the understanding of what that must have been like for Cameron back then. She had been the one responsible for looking out for her sister while she was at Hogwarts, even if she had been eighteen and of age, and she didn't want to believe that Cameron was dead.
Feeling as though everything had begun to spin, Tamatha braced herself against the exterior of the shop that some of the Ilvermorny girls had had their backs to. It was embarrassing to have a group of seventeen-year-olds helping her to the ground so that she wouldn't fall, but Tamatha knew that she had little choice in the matter. She was her parents' only child again, just as Cameron had assumed for years that she had wanted.
Even in the village, leftover smoke hung heavy in the air, still not fully dissipated. It reminded Tamatha too much of the scene following the explosion at the British and Irish Quidditch League finals match between Wimbourne and Yorkshire the previous year, and she looked around for any sign of her sister among those who were gathering in the street on the way to what remained of the castle. It looked as though some of the students had made it all the way out to high street, Tamatha observed, and she became acutely aware of the sound of any accent that was clearly more American or Canadian in its sound.
Overhearing the conversation of a group of teenage girls who seemed to have come from Ilvermorny and looked as though they might be seventh-years like her sister, Tamatha practically sprinted over to them. She knew that she was probably being paranoid; Cameron's phone had probably just died, and she hadn't been able to get in touch with her or their parents to let them know that she was safe. Regardless, she took the opportunity to identify herself and to ask the girls if they knew Cameron and knew where she was. They did know her, they said, and Tamatha was filled with sudden hope that they could tell her where she was. Unfortunately, they said that they hadn't seen her since dinner.
Okay, they hadn't seen her since dinner, thought Tamatha. That wasn't so uncommon, she supposed, even under normal circumstances. She was just about to thank the girls and turn back in the direction of her path to the castle, except one of the girls in the group mentioned that she thought Cameron had been one of the ones to end up paralyzed.
"Paralyzed?!" Tamatha's mind began to race, and her composure began to break apart. They were joking, weren't they? Her mind immediately flashed to the idea of having to care for her younger sister for the rest of her life, likely without the use of her legs or something like that. That wasn't what they meant, though, as the same girl elaborated upon seeing the expression on Tamatha's face that the students who had begun to eat dinner early in the evening were affected by a paralysis potion.
Desperate to find out what had happened after that, Tamatha glanced between what was left of Hogwarts and the group of teenage girls. She considered going ahead and moving in the direction of the school, but she stopped as another girl—presumably a friend of the other ones—came back down from the direction of the school, a blanket draped over her shoulders.
The others who had been standing there explained to the girl who had just come that she was Cameron Berg's sister and if she had seen her or knew where she was. The girl with the blanket over her shoulders swallowed heavily and shook her head quickly, her eyes watering from more than just the smoke that remained in the air. "She… She didn't—didn't make it out. I-I'm so sorry," she told Tamatha, her breathing heavy.
Tamatha, too, could feel her eyes flooding with tears as she choked up. The feeling of losing a sibling suddenly was something that she knew already. It had happened once before, with their younger brother, Arthur. Cameron had always blamed herself for that because she was the one who was supposed to be watching him when he had drowned, and Tamatha was suddenly filled with the understanding of what that must have been like for Cameron back then. She had been the one responsible for looking out for her sister while she was at Hogwarts, even if she had been eighteen and of age, and she didn't want to believe that Cameron was dead.
Feeling as though everything had begun to spin, Tamatha braced herself against the exterior of the shop that some of the Ilvermorny girls had had their backs to. It was embarrassing to have a group of seventeen-year-olds helping her to the ground so that she wouldn't fall, but Tamatha knew that she had little choice in the matter. She was her parents' only child again, just as Cameron had assumed for years that she had wanted.
