diggory | d. malfoy

5 3

YEAR SIX, CHAPTER FIFTY THREE

THE WOMAN WHO WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND
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Sixth year ended and Francesca was more than happy to be leaving Hogwarts. Hogwarts was no longer a happy place for her, but a place of pain. No good had come out of attending Hogwarts.

Once she was home the pit in her stomach didn't fade away, it remained perfectly in tact. The sight of her deathly sick mother was enough to bring her to tears every time she saw her.

Francesca found herself locked away in her room most days, Amos had told her to stay strong in front of her mum. She couldn't even walk around the house without crying. Her bedroom was the safest place.

It wasn't fair. At Hogwarts she suffered, at home she suffered, Francesca could never catch a break. It was draining, to wake up every day and realise that this is your life. You can't change it, can't fix it, can't help it. You just have to sit and wait.

Francesca wrote letters to her friends, Draco included. All of them responded, except for Draco. He never wrote back, Francesca wondered if he was even getting her letters.

The Summer dragged on one month down and two to go until she'd be back at Hogwarts, not that she was excited.

Francesca woke one morning with a horrible feeling that she couldn't shake. It was a different feeling than she normally had. She walked into the bathroom to wash her face and that's when she really noticed herself.

Her reflection was a stranger. She couldn't recognise the girl she once was. Her bright eyes now sunken and hollow, her cheek bones were projecting from her face more than they ever have, she was more pale than she had ever been. How thin her hair had gotten, she ran her fingers through her blonde locks and watched as strands upon strands of hair pulled straight from her head.

She undressed, staring at her entire body in her bathroom mirror, tears steaming down her cheeks at the sight of her. Francesca didn't know when this had happened. Every bone in her body was visible on her skin.

Francesca noticed everything and she was scared. She didn't mean to let herself get to such a state, she wondered if she could ever fix herself. Francesca sobbed on the bathroom floor for hours, until she had the courage to stand up and dress herself again.

She was weak, dizzy, she was starving but eating felt like the biggest chore in the entire world. As did showering, brushing her teeth, making her bed. Things she did so easily before felt like things she could never achieve now.

Francesca headed down the stairs to say good morning to her parents. Amos was cooking breakfast for everyone and her mother was asleep. Francesca wondered if her dad had noticed the state she was in, or if he was too busy taking care of her mother to notice.

Either way it wasn't his fault.

Francesca sat down across from her mum, staring at her sadly. The woman who birthed her, taught her how to walk, talk and look after herself. The woman who went above and beyond for Cedric and herself no matter the cost was a dead woman walking.

The horrible feeling in Francesca's stomach didn't fade away in fact it only got worse the longer she stared at her sleeping mother.

Francesca couldn't hear her breathing, Francesca couldn't see the rise and fall in her chest like she normally could. Francesca noticed that her entire body was limp.

Francesca stood up, slowly making her way over to her sleeping mother. Her hands were shaky as she placed two cold fingers against her neck to find her pulse.

No pulse.

She gently pet her mother's shoulder. "Mum?" She whispered. No response, no movement. Francesca shook her a little harder. "Mum." She said again.

No response.

"Mum!" Francesca screamed. Amos came rushing into the room, pulling Francesca away from her mother. "Dad, she's not breathing!" Francesca yelled, tears streaming down her face.

"She's fine, Francesca! She's asleep!" Amos yelled. Francesca shook her head. "Go to your room." He said.

Francesca watched her father in disbelief as he hugged his wife's lifeless body, stroking her hair gently and whispering things in her ear. She turned on her heel, heart in her stomach and walked up the stairs to her room.