Eloquence.

Mrs. Cartwright looked a little worse for wear when I came stumbling out of her fireplace and getting ash all over her kitchen. The woman had started violently, her mug of coffee crashing from her hands and her chair toppling backwards when she snapped up wand in hand. I apologized hurriedly, trying to wipe the ash from the places where it stuck to my wet cheeks as I stuttered. It took her a moment to lower her wand and a shaky laugh tittered out from her mouth.

“Alouette, you- you look like a raccoon.” The strange sound escaped her again once more before she hurried over to where I was stuck standing and wrapped me in a hug that smelled like pastries and sadness, “Oh, Alouette.”

She was warm and soft, her hands smoothing over my back as she held me. There was something about the woman, something that left you feeling warm and loved and welcome. It was a thing that startled me when I first met her, when I had my first Cartwright hug. My family wasn’t the hugging kind, we gave rather awkward one armed things that required the minimum amount of touching. The Cartwright’s on the other hand, they’re bear huggers. If you were in arms length and they wanted to hug you, they would. They’d give you these big hulking hugs that pressed into you from all sides and suffocated you against their chests. I missed them dearly.

It took her a few minutes to release me, letting me lower down from my position on my toes. Mrs. Cartwright ushered me into a seat and promised me food when she set a large mug filled with steaming coffee in front of me. She hurried off disappearing through the open doorway and I could hear her banging around in the kitchen cursing at the pots and pans. I held the mug tightly between my palms letting the heat warm them until it began to burn and placed it back down on the table with a sigh. There was a soft shuffle and the swish of the top and bottom of the side door opening together.

Maxwell Cartwright appeared around the corner of the hallway and froze at the sight of me. The bag he had slung over his shoulder dropped and he shook his head a bit as though to clear a haze. It took him three strides to move across the room and sweep me up in a Cartwright classic hug. It hurt just a little, the way his arms locked me in and let my feet dangle off of the ground.

“My mothers cooking. She hasn’t done that since Loyd…” Max muttered into my hair and his hold tightened after he said his brothers name, “Thank you.”

I looped my arms around him the best I could and gripped the leather of his jacket, “For what?”

“For helping her to get better. She loves you too, you know.”

We stayed like that for another moment, soft humming filtered in through from the kitchen and Max set me back down. He moved me back at arms length and stared at me for a long moment then squeezed my shoulders and let me go. Max looked a lot like his father the same way that Loyd looked like his mother. Dark brown hair was tied back at the nape of his neck, Loyd had been growing out his hair to look like that, but his eyes they were like Loyd’s the bluest kind of blue. Max and I had always had an odd relationship. It was a familial sort of bond that never went away from the long spans of time that he’s away. Max comes home once every two years from the dragon compound, always changing from Christmas to one of his family members birthdays. The first time I met him, Loyd and Max were fighting in the backyard. I’d sat talking Max down in the backyard for close to an hour. About half an hour later the two of them were sitting at the table throwing pieces of bread at each other.

“Max, coffee heading your way.” Mrs. Cartwright called from the kitchen and a cup of coffee zoomed expertly straight for Max.

After a little while Mrs. Cartwright came out with plates piled high with food and ushered us to eat. We sat together not talking about the empty seat at the end of the table and listened to Max tell us stories about the compound. I watched Mrs. Cartwright out of the corner of my eye, she was shaking gently and her smile kept twitching. She looked fragile like any slightly wrong mention, any interruption of the life she was gluing together, Max and I glanced at each other worried about her. When we were full and staring at what once was Loyd’s seat, Mrs. Cartwright asked me why Loyd and I used to make sugar cookies when one of us was upset. I leaned forward my face between my hands, eyes trained on Loyd’s seat and smile for the first time in the month and half since he’d saved me.

“It’s a secret.” I murmured and pushed back from the table after a long moment I spoke again, “I’m sorry.”

Mrs. Cartwright shook her head slowly, “It’s not your fault, Alouette. It never was. Is this why you declined to live here?”

“I was worried that you’d throw me back in the flames when I came through the Floo.” I shrugged and pushed my hair away from my face.

“Oh, dear I’d never do that. You can come back anytime, love.”

“Honestly, I don’t think I can. My grandmothers house you know.” I trailed off shifting nervously in my seat, “I’ll come back while I’m on vacation but I shouldn’t have let my grandmother’s house go for so long.”

There was a polite rap on the front door and I stood ruffling Max’s hair before heading toward to fireplace again. Remus Lupin’s voice drifted from the front door, my eyes closed and I paused listening to Mrs. Cartwright’s reaction. It was much the same as mine, the terrible lashing out caused by the need to deny that they weren’t in fact gone that they were still here only just outside of our sight. Turning slowly, I moved to the front door still listening as Mrs. Cartwright tore them apart. I was careful when I approached her from behind and put a hand on her shaking shoulder. Remus and Sirius looked pale standing on both sides of the doorway and Lily was having trouble looking at Mrs. Cartwright and the others were shifting unsure of what to do.

“Why don’t you go back inside, Elsie. I’ll-” I managed before she rounded on me knocking away my hand.

“I don’t need to be reminded that my only son is dead!”

I leaned back glancing back inside the house for a moment, “I think-”

“What do you mean you think? You never came back here after Loyd. You left me too, Alouette!”

“Mom?” Max rounded the corner just as Mrs. Cartwright pulled out her wand and rounded on the group outside the door, “Mom!”

“Mrs. Cartwright, please!” I moved quickly in between her and the others holding both of my hands out toward her, “It’s not their fault, please put the wand away.”

She was crying so hard her hand was shaking the wand moving places around where it was pointed at my chest. Max was holding her from behind trying to hold her back. He said my name just one time, a warning and kept pulling her inside. I heard the Floo activate and I saw Maxwell Cartwright Senior, Mrs. Cartwright’s brother race into the hall just as I wrenched the front door closed. Just as the door clicked three spells smashed into it, one blowing straight through and whizzing by me. I stumbled to the right to avoid the spell and slammed into Sirius as I went. He caught me looping one arm around my waist and steadying me as best he could. The two of us stumbled a bit bumping into the porch rails and another spell took out the door handle making Lily shriek and dive into James. I could hear both Max’s shouting inside and Mrs. Cartwright yelling something about wanting her son back.

“You okay?” Sirius asked releasing me slowly making sure I could stand.

I wiped the blood off of my cheek, “Yeah, I’m fine, thanks. I think maybe you should talk to Loyd’s brother next time.”

“I thought she said she only had one son.” Peter pointed out as he moved back out from where he’d pulled the brunette under the porch.

I sighed and rubbed at the cut on my cheek snapping as I glowered at the door, “I know what she said, Pettigrew.”

“S-sorry. I just-”

“It’s fine, forget it.” I scrubbed at my cut even harder only to have my hand grabbed by Sirius, “Hey!”

“Stop rubbing, damn. It’ll get infected, here.” He pulled out his wand and waved murmuring softly.

It tugged lightly and the pain dulled. I muttered a soft thanks and headed for the door listening to sounds of the older Max’s soothing voice. I tapped four times and stepped away from the door staring with arms crossed at the burn marks made by the spells. It swung open and younger Max slipped out closing it quickly but not enough to block the sight of Mrs. Cartwright crumpled on the ground crying into her brothers shoulder. His hand was shaking when he turned back around to look at me, he looked so sad. I nodded and took the hug he offered letting him lift me straight up off the ground. He took a moment before setting me back down and turning to the others.

“My mom was babbling about a memorial. I’m guessing you lot are setting it up,” Max waved with his hand and crossed his arms, “I’ll help in anyway I can.”

“That’d be great and I’m sorry for your loss.” Lily offered glancing between us as though we made her nervous.