Time: 27th of March
Place: Benjyâs house
Status: Closed, for @benjyfenwiick
We can be selfless for now. Iâll help you. But then, when itâs over, weâll have to be a bit selfish, okay? Weâll have to.
Thatâs what Maddy had told Benjy Fenwick on the 21st of March, not long before the first injured fighter had walked into the make-shift infirmary and asked for help. And then? Then âitâs overâ hadnât come. Not for a long while.
First the worst injuries and curses were treated, all through the night, and then in the morning the minor injuries. As promised, Maddy stood by Benjyâs side and helped. Those who had been able to wait, had waited, but eventually they came in, too, and between waiting for Emmeline to wake up and realising that once she did, she was still not ready to resume her work, there was the task of recuperating anything they could from the Potter Estate and moving it over to the House of Bones. And as promised,Maddy stood by Benjyâs side and helped. There were a couple of other people who sometimes took over, just long enough for them to take a nap or go home and notify everyone that they were doing okay. To shower. To eat. And as promised, Maddy stood by Benjyâs side and helped.Â
Eventually all had ebbed down a little, and she asked if she could go take a look at Diagon Alley, see how bad it was, and she had asked when theyâd see each other again, where, and if that would be because it was finally all over or because it wasnât, and she had asked if he was okay. And Benjy had said yes, he was okay, and Maddy hadnât believed him and left anyway. No longer by his side, no longer of help.
Sheâd done that a long time ago already, and in a way sheâd never forgiven herself for it. The anger she felt towards Benjy and Dorcas was in so many parts anger meant for herself, wasnât it? Sheâd slept eerily well, the whole week through, perhaps out of exhaustion, perhaps because she knew she was finally doing something, but that night, the night after Benjy said he no longer needed her help, she couldnât find rest. The moment the morning greyed, she sent an Owl. It came back with an address. Maddy recognised it vaguely as being where Benjy and his dads lived and didnât hesitate. She was dressed in no time and out of the door in even less.
By 10 oâclock, she arrived at the address. âBenjy?â she asked, the moment the door opened.
Benjy was packing. He knew Maddy would be coming, though he didnât exactly know when, but that didnât stop him from needing to get things done. Since he and Dorcas had decided to find a place together, it wasnât as though it was a top priority. But, if heâd learned anything in the past week, it was that he needed the space. Needed to get out from under the roof of his parents, who it felt were trusting him less and less with his secrets.
Knowing Maddy would see him packing and realize that he was, once again, pushing himself even closer to Dorcas filled him with his overarching sense of anxiety that had been returning to his bones on and off since he pulled a bleeding Emmeline from the wreckage. But she would learn eventually and it was better sooner than later - better coming from him than Dorcas. It would be hard, trying to maintain a relationship with them both when the two witches practically hated one another, but heâd vowed to try. He didnât want to lose Dorcas. And he wouldnât lose Maddy.
When there was a knock at the door, he bustled down the steps as quickly as his leg allowed. He was, thankfully, home alone. He didnât want to try and explain to either of his dads why his former best friend was showing up at their home again - because the reasoning behind his and Maddyâs reconciliation would be a lie. And heâd done enough lying in the past week.
âHey,â he said with a breathless smile as he opened the door and saw her standing, windswept curls, on the other side. âCome on in.â He scuffed his toe against the ground, a bit shy, and looked at her, trying to decide if he should come right out and tell her what heâd been doing before she got here or not. In the end, he decided that, yes, he should be honest during the times he could. They couldnât move forward with anything less than that.Â
âI, uh, Iâve been packing,â he started, looking almost guilty at her. âDorcas and I got a flat together. We decided this before the attack,â he added the ending quickly, as though trying to justify it, even though he shouldnât have to. âYou can come upstairs with me, if you want.â