The question that Eddie asked her almost made Maisie feel choked, but she swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She often thought about that night, and wished there had been more that she had been able to do. The logical part of her brain told her that a fifteen year old was unevenly matched against a Death Eater, but she wondered if she had been able to fight, would she have been able to save someone’s life? Anyone’s...even if it had cost her her own. She hesitated a few moments, but she didn’t shy away from answering, “I was there, but I wasn’t allowed to fight...my brother locked my sister and me in a classroom, and stood guard outside. I still wonder...if I had just done something...but I guess it doesn’t matter now,” she felt like her mind was drifting back to that night, and wondered if he could see the ghosts of her past in her eyes. Maisie hated reliving it...the terror of not knowing what was happening outside the door, but being able to hear so many horrible sounds. She felt disarmed, helpless...but she kept herself carefully intact.
The change of subject was like a godsend. She managed a smile that mostly made it to her eyes, and her shoulders straightened a bit. The weight of their conversation was suddenly infinitely less burdened, “Two more blocks straight, then take a left and it’s the third building. That’s where my flat is. But if it’s out of your way, I can make it back without coming across too much trouble, I believe,” she was giving him an out, even though she didn’t really want to. Even if their conversation had been at least momentarily serious...Maisie liked talking to Eddie. She liked the company, any company...he’d made her day a little brighter.