Not quite the reaction Terrence was expecting, but not the one he was dreading, either. That didn't mean the awful part wasn't still to come, though. Terrence watched her closely, patiently.
"Francie Bell," he said. "That's your mum, right? She was listed under the dead from last year, in the records in Azkaban. I saw it myself."
There was a small chance that wasn't her mother's name, he supposed. It wasn't like he'd asked - he probably should have done that before. But if it was her mother's name, maybe hearing it from him - who hadn't known - would help her believe him.
He sighed inwardly. He hated apologizing, hated the words 'I'm sorry', but this was the type of situation where he was probably supposed to say them. He did mean them, he just... "I really wanted to bring you good news," he said instead. "But that's the truth."