Falling Tears and Chandeliers

[Violetta Lestrange]

She didn't know how it felt to lose a real child, so the most painful thing the young brunette could of ever felt was losing her companion, her puppy. She'd had the animal for almost eight months, and suddenly the small Cavalier King Charles Spaniel had grown ill and passed away in his sleep.

Sitting at one of the tables with her chaperon, the debutante brought her handkerchief to her eyes and attempted to dab away the falling tears. If she would have owned a mourning dress, Violetta would have been wearing it with the way she was feeling at the moment. Instead, she wore a neutral-colored dress that had been enchanted to keep her warm.

  

[Demetria Longbottom]

Demy wasn’t planning on staying at Fudge & Sons’ for long. All she wanted was to buy a box of some cookies, maybe a cake, and then head back home. She’d only come to Diagon Alley to have a ball gown, destined to be worn during the holiday season, fitted.

However, upon entering the shop she caught sight of Miss Violetta Lestrange, visibly distraught. After their somewhat pleasant conversation at The Lady Morgana a few days ago, Demy didn’t have the heart to ignore her and head to the counter.

“Miss Lestrange!” Demy said as way of greeting, some measure of concern evident in her voice. “Is everything quite alright?”

  

[Violetta Lestrange]

Hearing the familiar voice of Mrs. Longbottom, Violetta quickly dabbed her cheeks in order to rid of the tears that had already streamed down her face. She looked up through her long lashes with saddened eyes at her friend and tried to offer her a reassuring smile.

"I ... I'm fine, really," she sniffed, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. "My darling puppy died in his sleep last night. He was my closest companion during the long days while I was at home," she said, feeling a little bit silly for being brought to tears by an animal's passing.

@'Demetria Longbottom'
@'Ellory Pendergast'

  

[Demetria Longbottom]

After having lost both parents, a sibling, and a child, crying over the loss of an animal seemed… trivial to Demy. There were bigger, and worser things to cry about.

Things that Miss Lestrange had likely not experienced, and which Demy hoped she never would.

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Demy replied. Her voice was awkward, stiffer than it’d be if she was giving her condolences for what she considered a worthier sorrow. “Did you have him for a long time?”

  

[Violetta Lestrange]

She could hear the stiffness in Mrs. Longbottom's voice, and was confident that yes, she was being quite silly. She had, however, never experienced greater losses and therefore didn't know the pain of losing a person she was close to. "I had him for about a half a year," she said simply, her cheeks flooding red. "I know I'm being ridiculous—there's no need to tell me. There's things far worse than losing a pet," she said, letting out a somewhat forced laugh. Some sarcastic voice in the back of her head told her that if there was something worth crying over, it was the fact that she was still single.

  

[Demetria Longbottom]

Yes, she was being somewhat silly (why go to a public place if you were close to tears in the first place?), but Demy was not impolite enough to tell her as such. Had her face given up her true feelings? She ought to improve her poker face in that case. Nine months of pregnancy had clearly taken their toll on her social skills.

“I would never tell you as such, Miss Lestrange,” Demy said. For that would be quite rude, and Demy was never rude. “Sorrow is not something we can control. It appears when it appears. We can do nothing about it.” Except, perhaps, mourn respectfully, in the confinment of our own home.