Your mother and I are getting a divorce.
Annie had to read it over a few times, chest tightening as she reached towards the other envelope, dreading its contents.
Annabelle,
Oisín and I are getting a divorce. From now on, you will not be living with Seamus and i-you'll be under the care of your father during summers and breaks until you reach 17. He will have sent you a key and your stuff is already at the flat. I ask you to not try to reach out to Seamus or I, for your own good.
-Finniola O'Shealy
Annie's lip trembled, as her eyes moved over the parchment again, clutching the paper tighter in her hands.
The last straw was the key-the bloody key. It fell out of the final parcel with a soft clang onto the table, glaring up at her with its ruddy stains. She gathered up everything in her arms before sprinting out of the great hall, tears blurring her vision.
As soon as she found an empty corridor, she sagged against the wall, sobs shaking her tiny frame, curling in on herself.
It didn't take long for someone to find her, a large, gentle hand settling atop her head.
"Annabelle?" The soft voice of Amulius Sangster filtered in, but she dared not look up.
"Is everything alright?" She shook her head no.
"People are starting to move about the castle, would you like to accompany me to my office? I've got tissues? And I need help with some sorting."
Annie paused, looking up for the first time; her face was red as a cherry, and cheeks stained with tears, lips crumpled at the edges and eyes rimmed pink. She looked around, noticing the sounds of students mulling about, before nodding her head, taking his outstretched hand  and pulling herself up, letting him lead the way.
As he closed the door to his office, she collapsed in the chair seated next to his, lips wobbling as she pulled out the contents from this morning, smoothing them down on the desk before placing the key on top. She stared at them for a while, before burrowing her head in her arms and sobbing again.
A soft tissue was placed in one of her hands and she drew it in, blowing her nose rather loudly before drawing into herself.
Amulius set the box of tissues next to her, before going about his work. The girl sobbed until it turned into hiccups, her eyes feeling heavy as she started to drift off.
-
Annie awoke to arms wrapped tightly around her, head resting on her shoulder. She turned to see Lee Jordan, peering at her, eyebrows scrunched together in concern.
"You alright Annie?"
Annie shook her head.
"Come on." He hoisted her up, noticing as her hands grappled for the papers she was leaning over.
"Thanks Professor Sangster, got her from here!" He called over his shoulder, dragging the girl out into the hallway.
He set her against the wall and she shoved her papers in her robes.
"What's going on?" Annie's face crumpled again.
"Come on, let's take a nice walk outside, mum always says it helps." Lee wrapped an arm around her shoulder before steering her towards the closest exit.
The two walked alongside one another in silence, hiccups escaping the girl every once in a while. She leaned further into his hold, and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Parents are the worst" she breathed shakily.
"That it?" She nodded.
"My parents are...getting a divorce" Annie handed him the scrunched up papers to read.
Lee stopped, eyes skimming over both before he handed them back to her.
"They sound rubbish."
Annie nodded, putting them back in her robes.
"They could have told you in a nicer way." She nodded again.
Lee pulled her into a hug, holding her tight.
"I'm sorry Annie, that isn't fair..." he rested his head against hers, before pulling back,
"I've got an idea-you can stay with me!"
She tilted her head sideways, curious expression seeping through her sadness.
"I-"
"We've got a spare room-and hardly anyone uses it! And it'll be nice not to have my siblings be the only ones around-! And then you'll have cool parents-my parents are cool! And then we can have more time together!" He was grinning now, and he could see a smile forming on her lips.
"I-would they really?"
Lee bounced excitedly, "I don't see why not! And you could visit your dad at any time!"
Her smile dampened, "yeah, just him."
"Oh, Annie" he pulled her back into a hug, "we'll figure this out."
—
The two sat down at dinner, immediately Ambushed by their friends.
"Where have you two been all day?"
"We've been worried sick!"
"Annie are you alright?"
"There you lot are! Been waiting ages!"
Bennett placed a soft hand on Annie's cheek, seeming to study the girl's face for a moment, before nodding.
"I've got just the thing" she started to rummage through her bag. Maisie draped herself over Annie.
"Oh Wannie bear are you alright?!" She pressed her cheek to her friend's, "is everything ok?"
"My parents are getting a divorce" Annie said softly.
"And she can't see her mum or Seamus" Lee added. The twins tilted their heads and Annie sunk lower in her chair, for once not wanting to be the center of attention.
Bennett supplied a cup of tea and placed it into Annie's hands, curling her fingers around it.
"Drink this." The girl complied, a warmth seeping into her chest.
—
After a letter to her father, it turns out she could not stay over at Lee's,
I have not met this family and I do not feel comfortable letting you stay at someone's house if I do not know them.
Fair enough, but it was still disheartening.
Annie looked over at Lee and shook her head, bringing a frown to his lips.
—
She spent the next few days moping about. Everyone had tried to cheer her up, but nothing seemed to help.
As she sat by the fire, finishing up her work, she felt someone sit next to her.
"Annie?" Her cheeks heated up, and she turned to see Oliver Wood sitting next to her.
"Were you still interested in learning about Quidditch?"
Annie's head felt like it was gonna fall off with how fast she nodded. He beamed at her, and she felt something warm in her chest, melting away some of the coldness that had settled over the past few days.
"Yeah, yes-yes I am."
"Can you work Sunday? 7am?"
Annie hesitated, it was early, but he looked so excited. She nodded again, and it seemed his smile brightened.
"Brilliant, I'll see you then."
"See you" she breathed, as he got up to head to his dorm. As he disappeared up the stairs, she kicked her legs excitedly, before looking over at Lee, who had witnessed the whole exchange, eyebrow lifted.
"What?"
"You're so gone."
"Have you seen him?"
"Aye."
"Then you should know why."
Lee rolled his eyes with a fond smile before going back to his work.
—
Annie was up with the sun on Sunday morning, catching the last fragments of the sunrise on the horizon. Creatures slowly filtered in, the sweet chirping of birds and scurrying of rodents crawling out of their nests to start the day. Cold nipped at her nose as she stuck her head through the window to inhale the crisp late autumn air.
She rummaged around her trunk, looking for appropriate flying wear, before pulling it on, along with a scarf and thick socks. After deeming herself presentable, she tip-toed down the steps before sitting in front of the fire to keep warm.
The clock on the mantle read nearly half six, drawing a yawn from her. Much, much too early for her liking.
Not much later, the telltale sign of someone coming down the steps captured her attention. She turned to see Oliver, dressed in something akin to his practice uniform, holding a box under his arm.
"Ah, good! You're awake!" He moved forward, taking a seat next to her.
"Wanted to go over gear before we got to practice." He opened up the trunk, revealing a gold ball and a much larger red one. A mini bludger rested in a case, jostling the box, and a small bat was stored in the lid.
Annie looked over everything in awe, the objects looked so much better than they did in quidditch through the ages. She reached her hands out to touch, placing them on the oddly shaped red ball-quaffle, she remembered.
"You can hold it." The boy's voice was light as he softly nudged her arm. She picked it up, rolling it around from hand to hand.
"You know what that is?"
"Quaffle, of course."
"Excellent"
They went over the various objects, before Oliver led her out to the field.
"We're just going to work with the quaffle today, yeah?" Annie nodded, "good." He tossed it to her and she caught it.
The next half hour was spent playing catch with the quaffle, on foot and on their brooms-Annie's one borrowed from the shed.
"I think we're good for today" Oliver called as he started to set down. Annie felt her excitement quell, and followed suit, trailing after Oliver to the broom shed.
"Good job today, you're a natural."
The girl practically glowed, "you think?"
"With some more training, I definitely think you could make the team sometime"
Her smile widened, "I would like that" Oliver gave a chuckle, before locking up the shed and collecting the box of equipment.
"Breakfast is soon, you should eat."
Annie nodded, trotting after him.
—
It was barely noon, Kings Cross Station buzzing with people ready to head home for the holidays. By platform 9, stood a man, tall and lanky in frame, frantically looking around, leg jiggling. His coat nearly swallowed him as he pulled it tighter, shivering in the cold.
Silver strands peppered themselves through his bird's nest of hair, his cheeks gaunt and skin sallow.
Annie nearly didn't recognize him as she stepped out of the brick, walking past him before spinning around.
"Da?" His head snapped in her direction and something resembling a smile stretched across his thin lips.
"Annabelle" his voice was crackly, weak, it sounded as if it had been years rather than months since he'd seen her last.
"Where did you come from?"
Annie made a vague gesture to the wall, making the man tilt his head in confusion.
"I'll tell you about it at home-"
"Is that all your things?" He asked, pointing to the overstuffed duffel.
"Yeah" she hoisted it higher on her arm, still standing in her spot.
He held out his hand for her to take, instead receiving a hug, the small girl wrapping her arms tightly around his thin frame; they could almost wrap entirely around his middle. Something tugged in her chest as she buried her face in the fabric of his coat, waiting for him to wrap his arms around her. Instead, a hand was placed tentatively on her head.
"Da? You alright?" Annie scrunched up her nose at the strong smell of tobacco that seemed to permanently settle in the fabric of his coat.
"Should get you home, 'fore it gets too dark. Got a night shift"
He unwraveled himself before taking her bag, and walking off to the tube, Annie scurrying behind him, trying to keep up with his brisk pace.
"We've not got far to go, just in case you need magic things...though I'm not quite sure where it all is-you can show me tomorrow." He handed Annie a ticket before they boarded.
Not long after, they stepped off into a station seemingly forgotten by most-trash piles in corners, cracked arrival time boards, and the distinct smell of urine. Annie gripped onto the back of her father's coat as he led them up the rust-stained stairs.
The outside air wasn't much better, rotting trash and wet cardboard seemingly seeping into every space as they walked along the mottled sideways. Houses seemed to crowd around each other, units turning into one, giving the next no room to breathe, seemingly a bad design choice as they seemed squashed together near the end of the road.
"Not long now" Oisín Finnigan called over his shoulder, his pace quickening. Soon, the two had turned the corner onto a darker street, the  units now older and more worn by the years.
"Here we are" his voice crackled over the silent sounds of the street as he pointed to a creaky, old building that looked on its last legs. Annie shivered, a small frown pulling at her lips.
"Not much, but, it's closer." Oisín mumbled, before heading up the steps and opening the door.
The building was composed up of three floors: the ground floor had two doors, first floor had three doors, and the second floor had three as well.
"We're at the top, flat is 2A" the man's voice was barely audible over the ancient creak of the stairs. She bumped into him as he stopped abruptly at the top, rooting around in his pockets for his keys.
"Blasted-aha!" He pulled them out and unlocked the door, a loud squeak of the door hinges welcoming the two into the flat.
It was small-barely enough room to fit everything in it-shelves overflowing with books and papers, oddly-stuffed furniture placed half hazardly around the space. The kitchen area was just enough to fit the essentials, and the bedroom and bath were back to back.
"You can take the bedroom..."
"No." Annie took one look at her father, his bedraggled appearance, dark circles resting below his eyes, and the way they seemed permanently red.
"I'll be on the couch." She stalked over and sat on the lumpy furniture, arms crossed tightly over her chest. Oisín gave her a stern look, and she returned it back.
After a few moments, he relented, shutting the door behind him, and setting her bag on the floor.
"I'm going to take a nap, there's food in the fridge" he mumbled, before heading into the bedroom, closing the door.
Annie shifted uncomfortably, looking around. It was cold, and the smells from outside permeated through the windows. She scrunched up her nose again before falling back on the faux velvet of the couch, shifting to get comfortable.
Only a month...she could do this.