Skuld: making your mind up

Chapter 15

Disclaimer blah blah blah. I own nothing and nobody


Mia awoke the next morning feeling rubbish, with sore eyed from crying over her situation and a headache. She was basically done in, success in her mission was out the window, that meant Barty would be furious and he would be the least of her worries if what he’d said about Voldemort was anything to go by. She thought again how she’s got to this point. When her mother had told her that an important family had heard about her talent for healing and producing remedies she’d been just a teenager. It seemed like the ideal opportunity to escape the life of poverty and petty crime her mother had descended into, when Winky the Crouch’s house elf arrived to take her away, paying her drunk mum off handsomely to forget about the whole thing she’d left without a second thought.
A previous attempt to get away by running off to live in the wilds with her father had proved unsuccessful when she discovered how fickle he was, soon getting bored of having someone depending on him.
She splashed herself with cold water and tried to shrug off the inertia and impending depression, then quickly dressed and headed out towards the little hut near the dark forest to see Hagrid, for tea and sympathy.

As she reached the door it was flung open and a cheery red faced Hagrid stood at the entrance,
“Mornin’ I saw ya headin down the path, and thought ya looked like yer might need a brew! Blimey Mia, what have you bin doin ti yerself yer look awfull!”
“Thanks Hagrid you really know how to make a girl feel better” she did smile though, at his lack of tact and headed thankfully inside for promised cuppa.
After settling down in the huge chair with her mug of tea, she took a huge chocolate biscuit from the plate offered to her then settled back.
“It must be bad, chocolate at this time o the day! Wha’s up littl’un?”
“Oh Hagrid. It’s nothing really.”
“You can tell me, I’m not bad at keeping secrets you know!” He tapped the side of his huge nose with one finger and winked, “Well most of the time anyway” he chuckled.
“Well I‘ve been worried about a friend of mine. The thing is that she, my friend, she’s with this man.”
“Oh! Its man troubles is it! For your ‘Friend’” He laughed.
“Hagrid, I’m being serious, I’m worried about her. This man well he started out a perfect gentle man, you know treated her well and all that. But the thing is well just lately he’s changed and she’s can’t seem to do anything right, you know, but I don’t know what to tell her.”
“You know if he can’t see that your friend is a lovely person and beautiful too, then maybe he don’t deserve her? I’m sure your friend could do fine without im.”
“I wish it was that easy. The thing is my friend, she’s always telling me she’s lucky to have this guy. Because no other men would want to, to take her on because of her background. I give up, If it all comes out I won’t even have my job, and then I’ll be homeless too!” Mia was getting a bit teary by then, she sniffed into her tea.
A huge ham hand reached over and rested over hers, patting her reassuringly, “I can’t think of anything that could be that bad. You’re a very special young woman, any chap’d be lucky to ‘ave yer.”
“You just don’t understand Hagrid, I’m so confused, I was so sure about things before I came here, but now I don’t know. I mean you’ve worked here for years haven’t you and you went to school too. I never thought, oh I just don’t know.”
“Ya can tell me what yer worried about, I promise not to tell a soul, I’ll even take a vow if yer need me to. If some young lads too stupid to see all the good things in you then they’re a fool and as for losin yer job! What makes you think that?”
“Well first of all I know that they’ll look down on me because of my mum, shes a squib.” Mia was looking down at her empty tea cup, when she sensed he was about to interrupt her, “that’s not it though” she added, “its cos of my father, he’s well, he’s not a wizard he’s an elf. So you see I’m only half human, like you. I’d never met anyone else before with the same problems, I’ve always been told I’d never be accepted”
“Ah! Bless you love, none that’d be bothered by that kind of thing should matter to yer anyway, them kinda people aren’t worth knowin.” He gave her an oversized hankie to blow her nose, “Dumbledore’d never sack ya cos of ya Dad, nor yer mum, all he cares about is what kinda person you are. I mean giants aren’t exactly welcome for tea at most wizards houses are they!? Eh.”
Mia gave him a red eyed half hearted smile,
“Tha’s more like it. You’re a lovely lass, you could get any young man you’d want and don’t let anyone tell ye otherwise! Now I’ve got some bits I need to do but you can stay ere with Fang for as long as you like.” He patted her heavily on the shoulder once more before standing.
“Thanks Hagrid,”She sniffed and straightened up, “you know you’re right I can do this.”
“That’s the spirit, I’ll see you later then, an’ I want to ‘av a word with you soon about how much you know about Merfolk.” He gave her a toothy grin as he harrumphed off out of the door leaving her to finish her tea in thought.



That evening Mia, stood with renewed determination and confidence waiting to take her seat for the evening meal. Attention to the finest detail of her appearance for the evening and the plan to do so for the rest of the term was already producing renewed interest from the male student body from affable Hufflepuffs to grim looking Durmstrang students. Sitting next to Hagrid at the lower end of the table she was also aware of how the cut of her chosen sweater, which accentuated the smooth swell of her breasts and nipped in waist, produced a pleasing reaction in several members of the faculty. The artificial eye of Alastair Moody was keenly trained on her person, although the rest of his face was in conversation with Dumbledore. Karkaroff the Slavic headmaster was shooting lascivious looks her way which she found slightly made her skin crawl. Satisfyingly, she thought Snape appeared to be stuck between giving Karkaroff dark glares and glancing at her through slit narrowed eyes, he looked less happy than normal.