InsaneJournal

Who: Hannah and NPC Constance Abbott
What: Getting advice and learning bad news
When: Begins just after midnight and concludes about 5:15 am
Where: Hannah's flat then the Abbott house in Bromley
Rating: worksafe


After her row with her two best friends Hannah had headed back to her flat and changed out of her dress into a pair of blue jeans and a tee shirt. She headed to her bedroom but knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep in there tonight. She decided that even though she didn't have a room anymore, her father did have a hide-away in the sitting room that she could sleep on. She picked up her wand, her cell phone, and the house keys and apparated to a spot in her old back yard. She was relieved when she saw that the kitchen light was still on, it meant someone was up.

"It's just me," she called as she turned her key in the door and opened it. Almost immediately a very pregnant Constance waddled out of the kitchen. Before Hannah could speak she was told that her father was out of town on business and Hannah could do nothing but sit on the couch and begin crying again.

"This is about that MacMillan boy isn't it?" Constance asked as she awkwardly lowered herself onto the couch beside her step-daughter and wrapped an arm around Hannah's shoulders. She would sit here with the younger woman as long as she needed.

Eventually, Hannah opened up and told Constance about the argument. Constance listened without interrupting before offering advice. "Hannah you've go to make him sit down and talk. You need to tell him exactly what you told me. Men don't do subtle, you've got to tell him exactly what you're feeling." After a bit of an effort Constance stood and walked over to look at a picture of Hannah and her mother that still sat on the mantle. "You're father still hasn't told me much about her," she turned to look at Hannah, "or about you as a matter of fact. Tonight is the most I've ever learned about you." The new Mrs. Abbott returned her attention to the picture, "Eventually, I hope your father will be comfortable enough about his feeling for your mother that he will tell me more about her. He thinks he's protecting me and I accept it for what it is. You have to remember that he and Justin spent a great amount of time together in school. Now that the two of you are together more it seems like he's telling you less when he's likely telling you exactly what he's always told you. You just notice the lack of information now that there's a bulk of time. Eventually, he'll tell you more. But for now you need to be happy with what he can give you or else you'll never be content in your relationship."

Constance sure gave Hannah a lot to think through and a perspective that she'd never noted before. Hannah knew that she would need to apologize to both Justin and Ernie. They deserved that at the very least, and if they didn't forgive her immature outburst she would just have to live with it.

*********************************************


A few hours later Hannah was awaken by a scream. She sat up in the bed frantic. Please don't let the nightmares be here too she thought before realizing that her step-mother (who wasn't sleeping well these days) had dropped the pan she'd been cooking breakfast and was looking at an owl that was frantically rapping on the window. "I'll scare it off," she quickly stood and made her way to the back door where she made a shooing noise before walking off out of view of the window. When the owl landed on the fence, she took the note from it's leg. She quickly scanned it non believing what it said but knowing that Ernie would not lie about something like this and that he was likely extremely worried. Immediately, she took out her cell phone and called Justin to leave a message.

Hannah entered the house and told Constance she'd just gotten word that a dear friend had died and needed to leave. Her step-mother gave her a quick hug and told her to call later. Hannah promised she would. She then exited through the front door and walked a bit down the street to where she could safely apparate back to her flat.