buck:
he feels numb ; eyes unseeing and merely fixated on a spot on the ground , knuckles white from gripping on too tightly at the hem of his shirt . adding to that was a form of silence so very unlike him , but it pairs nicely with the somber mood . minutes later , a sudden pop and bursts of color pulls him out of his misery , eyes wide and chest heaving from being startled . but it nearly chokes him when he sees the colored words , the bright names — his father’s name . buck doesn’t want to let himself be compromised as such an event but he can’t help it . he finds himself struggling to even breathe , a lump forming in his throat and lodging itself in . he reaches a hand up , as if to dislodge it , but before he could even claw at it , a voice reaches him . buck drops his hand immediately , like a child nearly caught doing something naughty . he blinks , takes in the sight of one of his professors , managing a small smile despite the sweat above his brow and the shaking of his hands . ‘ i’m— i’m okay , professor . that was just— i wasn’t expecting that . ’
Guilt washed over Maxime like an unforgiving wave. Who was she, to feel so shaken by this, when Neville’s children were all around her? Who was she, to feel so filled with grief? He’d been a mentor, just that, not a father or a friend. She looked at Buck, and all her own sorrows seemed to be pushed away, drowned by the need to act. His shaking hands, his sweaty forehead — none of it went unnoticed, and Maxime wished that she was more, more than this mere shell of a human. Powerless in the grand scheme of things, unable to do more than just be there. “Nor was I,” she admitted, because she didn’t see any reason to lie. She wanted to discuss what had just happened, but she was afraid of being overheard — but then, if her fear would start standing in the way of her work, then shouldn’t she just quit? “Must have been quite a shock, to see his name.” Her tone is softer now, both tentative and hushed. Her eyes shoot around, noticing the commotion, the Wraiths dragging people off. Her stomach sunk. “I’m sorry, Buck.” Not mr Longbottom — that was his father, still.
