16 Sept: Death by a Thousand Cuts - Puddifoots - Mary

[Daisy Hookum]

She felt like an idiot, standing out in front of Puddifoots today. She should have stayed in the dorm, as she had originally planned to. She’d awoken with her dorm mates this morning, joining them for breakfast and conversation. And then she’d helped Alex with Charlotte’s hair and makeup, the two of them determined to have her looking her best for her date with Remus, followed by helping Melody get ready for her date with Matthew. When everyone was looking their best, she’d shooed them all out of the castle, and tried to figure out how to occupy the time when everyone was away. Her options had been limited, there was school work, or reading, or crying again over Peter. None of those had sounded particularly appealing, which is how she had ended up here.

There were so many other shops in Hogsmeade, places that wouldn’t bring her spirit down. She could go to Poe’s, where she’d likely be able to find Charlotte and Remus in at any point during the day. There was the Three Broomsticks, where she’d be surrounded by familiar friendly faces. But this was her chance to get to see Mary, and she had missed the other girl’s calming presence in the castle. It still didn’t feel right, being back at school without all of her older housemates. She had missed having the older girl’s wisdom when it came to school work, to boys, to anything and everything. It wasn’t fair, that she’d ended things with Peter and hadn’t had a chance to talk to Mary about it. The two of them had often been mistaken for sister’s, and after the six years they’d had together so far Daisy felt she’d be quite honored to be considered Mary’s sister. Wiping some stray tears from her eye, she stopped her hovering outside and walked into the tea shop, putting on a smile when she saw Mary. “Hi Mary, it’s so good to see you!”

[Mary Macdonald]

day after chasing

Mary stole a treat and a moment's peace in the Puddifoots kitchen, wondering wondering wondering what was going on with Danny at Gladrag's up the road. Her new friend and housemate had confided so much in her last night, teaching her about his personal history and present, the lack of love in Colombia and the possibility of it here...She hoped she had done enough to boost his confidence for his first day of work and the chance at seeing the Hogwarts boy he was smitten with, but wouldn't know that or if he'd seen him until they were back at their house tonight. The house she was even more determined now to turn into a home for the pair of them and their other housemates. They could be happy here, Mary knew they could be, and she felt good about sharing that happiness with Danny. Something about him and his candid vulnerability had sparked the same in her, and she'd shared parts of her own history, even admitting things about her and Zach's relationship that she hadn't shared aloud before. Not that there was anything to do about that anymore, certain as she was that he and Em would find their way back to each other again, and she'd moved on herself, just because she hadn't fallen for anyone as deeply since didn't mean...

Oh, would you look at the time!

The young woman tightened her little apron - more fashionable than practical, but could you blame her? the first Hogsmeade trip of the school year meant that so many people she knew were around, she had to look exceptional. she was proud to work here, to take more responsibility at the teashop, so shouldn't her look reflect that? - and stopped that train of thought in its tracks. She gathered up the tea cakes she'd come back here for in the first place and returned to the bustling dining area to deliver them. She'd always enjoyed having Hogwarts students here - no better time to get material for gossip - and really, this time it was no different. Which couples made it through the summer? Who was here for the first time? Who was here with someone new? While she didn't have her roommates of seven years to share the information with, surely someone at the house would appreciate keeping up with Hogwarts's changing social tides with her...

"Daisy!" Mary squealed at the other redhead's greeting, twisting through the close tables to wrap her old friend and housemate in a hug. "You know I can't play favorites," she fibbed, beaming as she nodded towards one of the best spots in the place, squeezing the girl's arms affectionately, "so there is no way your table is set aside for you. I didn't know if Peter would be coming to meet you, but I figured it couldn't hurt to have it ready, just in case." She couldn't see the other's longtime boyfriend, so continued on in stride, "Either way, it's yours, and you're staying so we can catch up, yeah?"

[Daisy Hookum]

She didn’t need Peter to be a whole person. She was a whole person by herself, and she was in charge of her destiny. Sure, she had always thought that Peter was her destiny, and trying to accept that it wasn’t true was killing her, but she could do this. She’d managed through the first two years of school with just her friends, and they hadn’t even been as close back then as they were now. This was her last year of school, her last year to try and focus and make a fate for herself. She couldn’t work at the tea shop in St. Mungo’s forever, as fun of a summer job as it was. Peter had made his choice in life, and it was soon going to be time for her to make hers. Although, she certainly would have talked to Peter about the choices for her future, unlike he had done with her. Remus had talked to Charlotte about it before he even accepted, and they hadn’t even been dating for a year yet. Shouldn’t she have been shown the same level of respect, instead of finding out after the fact?

She pushed it from her mind, determined to have a good day. She’d spent the last couple of weeks moping about the castle, barely sleeping and not often going to meals, and she needed to move past that. She would find true love one day, and she would be blissfully happy, and things would be perfect in her world again. She thought about writing Tilden, although it was pointless as it wouldn’t get a rise out of Peter. She wondered if her ex was even thinking about her today, if he was here somewhere in Hogsmeade with the rest of the boys. Stop thinking about him! Even if he was here, it would be easy enough to avoid him. He probably didn’t even want to talk to her, seeing as they’d broken up the evening after Monty’s funeral. She could hardly handle that Mia and Monty had both died recently, let alone imagining the brutal things that Peter might be going through with the Order.

So it was good to see Mary, and Daisy returned the hug with a smile on her face. At least, a smile that was there until Mary was nodding towards her usual table, and her heart sank. Mary didn’t know, and Daisy hadn’t thought about that possibility. She had assumed everyone had heard about it by now, but she did suppose Mary was a little isolated from the group being in Hogsmeade full time. “Of course I’m staying,” she said, forcing a smile back on her face. She had made the choice to come here to see her dear friend, and she was going to that regardless of Peter. “But uh, Peter won’t be joining me today,” she added, swallowing the lump in her throat as she blinked back tears, “We aren’t together anymore, actually.”

[Mary Macdonald]

Mary watched in growing concern as Daisy's affect changed, her tone and her smile shifting however much she tried to keep herself even-keeled. She didn't have long to question the change as Daisy broke the worst news. She and Peter weren't together anymore? How was that possible? They were quite possibly the longest standing couple Mary knew, they had a bond that had seemed unbreakable, they were Peter and Daisy! Mary couldn't imagine that something as inconsequential in the long term as Daisy still being in school would have come between them, but what could have possibly broken them apart? They'd attended the graduation ball and Lily and James's wedding as a pair, she'd thought they'd attended the Quidditch World Cup together, and the summer had ended with another tragedy for the Potter family...

When had this split happened? Had she really become so detached from Daisy, from Peter, from her old housemates, that such ground-shaking news hadn't found its way to her? "I didn't know, honey, I'm so sorry to hear that," she said quietly.

She'd been through a broken heart and had seen her roommates and friends go through the trials in these last years, but Mary hadn't ever thought the day would come for her dear Daisy to experience such things. And that the girl had come to the teashop by herself, surrounded by couples all but flaunting their love through soft laughter and shared sweets and feet brushing under the table...While she loved it here, it hadn't been her favorite place while her own heart mended. "I'm happy to set you up out here, but if you'd rather, we can go talk in the back for a spell?" Mary offered with a small smile. "I've got some rosewater biscuits hidden away that I'd love to get your opinion on, it's so tricky to get the balance right but I think this one was a good batch."