Grace burst free from the DADA classroom and sucked in a huge gulp of air. She was oblivious as to what havoc her departure may have caused as her only concern at that point was to get away from the suffocating situation. It had engulfed the seventh year Gryffindor in a torrent of emotions that she had no idea how to sort through. Normally, she was level headed and able to collect herself enough to manage even the roughest moments of her life. For some reason, this particular class subject had managed to unravel her.

At first, Grace sped down the hallway as fast as she could, as if she were rushing from a dementor and had no clue as to how to use her patronus. But eventually, as she neared the staircase leading down to the ground floor, her legs slowed. In fact, they started to feel like lead and as she neared the bottom, she wasn't sure she had the strength to stay standing.

Grace slowly lowered herself to sit on one of the stairs and leaned her head on the wall, closing her eyes with the hopes of reorienting herself. Maybe she would feel comfortable returning to class once she had calmed down, but for now, it filled her with nothing but dead.

No....not dead. Dread.

She had to keep reminding herself that even though it was a hard task, not everything in life had to be directly connected to death. There was a light at the end of this tunnel. Her mother promised her that.  No all she had to do was look for it.

Grace had no way of knowing that some form of brilliant light--in the form of two of her noblest classmates--was headed right in her direction.

Chance had seen something very wrong in his fellow Gryffindor prefect's demeanor.  Something was entirely off about the way Grace Eddy was acting.  Even her eyes just "looked" wrong.  After she burst free of Professor Storm's class...Chance had followed, after sharing some choice words with Storm in front of the entire DADA session.  This would come back to haunt him sooner than he imagined.  Right now...Chance didn't care much for consequences.  The chips would fall wherever they may, but he was going to do what he was called to do.  Right now he was called to action in pursuing and aiding a friend in need.

Chance had grown exceptionally closer to Grace recently.  She'd really been there for him when he called on her for assistance, even if it was just for company and an attempt at following Professor Levartian's instructions at the time.  Funny how Myrni's encouragement of their partnership wound up with the two pairing up to spy on their professors...

And...perhaps Grace had seen a bit more depth to Chance than she would have expected.  It seemed there was more going on than Chance had really told her...but it was comforting to have her around nonetheless.  And now Chance was repaying the favor in kind.  He trotted along after her, toting her belongings as well as his.  He'd definitely blown off this class...because at this point he couldn't return after taking such a stand.  He'd have to come back another day, if he did return at all.  Right now that didn't matter though.  Right now...it was all about Grace.

"Grace?  'ey 're y'a'right, lass?  I gotcher things rounded up 'ere."

Of course...Chance knew things weren't alright.  But he was trying to ease into the process.  This was new to see Grace more exposed emotionally...and the Irishman was treading carefully.

Interestingly enough...another girl that had become very important to Chance's life would be soon to follow.  But for now, Chance's mind was on Grace.

Fauna had escaped! She glimpsed Chance's retreating form, so as the door to the Defense classroom shut behind her, she started trotting after him. She made it only a few steps before her textbook slipped out of her arms and clattered to the floor, and spent the next few precious seconds stuffing her things hurriedly into her book bag.

Bag looking fit to burst, Fauna sped down the hallway, turned the corner, and - aha! Chance and Grace were at the bottom of the steps. She looked between the two Gryffindors, and then took a seat next to Grace. "Well, that was, uh..." Fauna started, unsure what to say. She hoped Grace wouldn't mind that they'd found her.

The only time Fauna had ever run out of class was when she'd gotten sick and puked in the potions cauldron a few years ago. Today, she'd left Defense voluntarily, knowing full well that she'd get a detention for it and face Ignan Storm's wrath later. The very thought made her palms sweat and caused her to keep glancing down the corridor.

But at the same time, Fauna felt good about this. Like she was doing the right thing and being a true friend. She never would have run out if Chance hadn't done it first, and though she worried about how Storm would likely single him out for the verbal attack later, she felt proud of him. He'd spoken his mind. Stood up for Grace.

Something was clearly upsetting Grace this week, causing her to act quiet and withdrawn.

"You okay?" Fauna gave her a worried look and put her hand on her shoulder, waiting for her to speak.

At first when Grace heard footsteps behind her, she thought perhaps it was the Professor who had followed, possibly intent on reprimanding her for leaving class. But clear thought would have made that one of the most unlikely of scenarios for the DADA professor. It wasn't that she would dub him as being cruel or heartless, but he was one of the professors who she considered probably preferred to not know about the intricate details of his students lives.

Grace was surprised but relieved to see that it was Chance who stepped up next to her. Their initial interactions that school year had been testy and they had gotten on each other's nerves more than they had been able to understand one another. But after Professor Levartian had practically shoved them together and they had subsequently gone on their little spying adventure, Grace had surprisingly fallen into a certain comfort level with him. Chance was not a bad guy at all and he had begrudgingly earned her respect of late. So much so that if they had had a moment alone since being back from break, she might have confided in him already about what was going on with her, seeing as some of her other friends were "busy" with other things and she hadn't wanted to bother them with a depressing sob story.

Even as part of her yearned to let down her guard, the other still was wary of being seen in such a vulnerable light. She opened her eyes but kept her head tilted away from him, instead focusing on the drab wall. Of course, opening her eyes allowed the tears that had been threatening ever since she had bolted from the class the easy access to fall.

Chance being the good friend that he was, had brought her the bundle of things that she had left behind in class.  He deserved an explanation. But before she could try to compose herself  and give it to him, someone else approached.

She took a deep, shuddering breath and reached up with a hand to hastily wipe at her damp cheeks. She looked over to see Fauna there beside her and she frowned. They had both left class to come after her? She looked between them both, marveling at them being there, considering that there were friends she had been closer with over the years who weren't there.

But it had been clear since returning to school for the semester that her old group of friends had their own issues that they were dealing with. Both George and Lou had their love lives to attend to. And Quinn, though Grace would never consider her inconsiderate, was engrossed in her own pursuits. Grace didn't begrudge any of them their own little worlds but it was a source of frustration since returning to feel as though she had no one to share her burden with.

Grace was unprepared to do so now. When Fauna asked if she was okay, she automatically nodded, even though it was clear she was not. She started to say something but her voice caught in her throat, betraying her response. Wiping at her eyes again, Grace then shook her head. As soon as she did that, she felt as though a small bit of weight had been taken from her shoulders.

She looked down at her hands, still not confident that she wouldn't completely crumble if looked them straight in the eye. "No, I guess I'm not," she finally admitted quietly. There was a prolonged pause as she haphazardly searched for the right words to let them in on what was happening with her. After chewing on her lower lip for a moment, she finally answered with a somewhat abrupt and jarring, "My mum's going to die."

Chance could see and hear how Grace was teetering on the brink of two options...at least two.  He could see how she was bobbing back and forth, straining to the utmost to commit to either direction.  Just when it seemed that she was about to open up that seemingly impenetrable shell of hers...Fauna came into view.

Chance was never upset to see Fauna.  She was definitely one of his favorite people.  Despite how odd his feelings for her felt at times, he definitely cared for her very much.  It was here that Chance realized that his own rather fuming speech towards Professor Storm was going to carry grave consequences...that would likely carry further than himself.  Chance figured that he was the one being disrespectful, though the Irishman did feel his actions were exceptionally justified.  Chance felt he was in the right to defy any authority figure who put anything ahead of the well being of a student.  It was the first time that his faith in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class had been shaken.  This was the one class that Chance had always excelled at...but maybe being so prepared to combat evil would come at the expense of caring for loved ones.  No...not for Chance Ryker.

Chance wryly placed a hand on Fauna's shoulder and shook his head, unable to believe that she'd followed suit in such open rebellion against a professor.  Only now did Chance feel any guilt or remorse for what he'd said...Fauna would get in trouble for following his lead here and that was the last thing he wanted.  He sighed slowly before looking back to Grace.  It seemed that her defenses had risen anew...until she shockingly spilled her dark secret.  Chance's eyes widened in shock for a moment, before he simply reached forward and tugged Grace into his arms forcefully.  He was going to hug her and be there for her.  She was his partner...and she obviously cared about his well being too.  She'd put herself on the line for him before.  Now it was his turn.  Chance was struggling to come up with any type of encouragement...but questions kept flooding his mind.  "What happened?  How?  Are you sure?"  and so many more...

"M'sorry Grace...ah didn' know....Jes'....what can ah-we do?"

Chance didn't want to speak on Fauna's behalf, though he felt she had quite clearly spoken up for herself by joining them both in leaving Storm's class.  He didn't feel he'd overstepped his bounds here.  But he was so completely shocked by this revelation that he truly didn't know how to deal with it.

The two Gryffindors both seemed surprised to see her there, but not upset. Fauna suspected Grace's tears had nothing to do with her, or even the Defense lesson. When they asked her if she was alright, she wiped at her tears and nodded, though Fauna understood it as an automatic reaction. She gave Grace's shoulder a squeeze as she struggled to talk.

When Grace suddenly came out with it, Fauna froze, eyes widening. Chance reacted faster than her, hugging her and asking the questions that sprang up unspoken in Fauna's mind. It took a few moments for it to sink in. Then she just looked at her, horrified and sympathetic and close to tears herself.

She glanced away, rubbed at her forehead, and seemed to find some composure again. A few of her friends had lost a parent before, and she even understood a little what that was like, when her grandfather (who had acted like a substitute father to her) had died in her fifth-year. But Fauna just couldn't imagine life without her own mother. Her mum was a workaholic sometimes, but that was only because she had to be, and had to make sacrifices to provide for her that many parents didn't need to think about.

"Grace... I'm so sorry," she finally said softly, echoing Chance's sentiments. Fauna wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders and leaned her head against hers in a comforting gesture. She didn't know what else to say, but hoped that Grace would explain in her own time, if she wanted to.

Of course when she blurted it out like that, they were going to want to know more particulars. Still, Grace was protective over the information and, even though she knew her behavior was justified in some way, she didn't want to be over dramatic about it. For someone who had a hard time being vulnerable with anyone, this quite the showy display.

After another heaving sigh and a grateful but still teary eyed look at both Fauna and Chance, Grace allowed Chance to pull her into his arms. She still wanted to resist, but the part of her that was tired from keeping everything bottled up wanted nothing more than to let go. She rested her head on his shoulder and felt the tears threaten again as she remembered what happened over the holidays.

"Most of the break was fine," she started with a faltering voice. "I mean, I love spending time with my family...and all had gone well for the first part of it. Nothing seemed off really. Even when I started to get the feeling that everything was too perfect, I pushed it away as me just being paranoid." She paused and closed her eyes, remembering the rest. "But I stayed at my brother's on New Year's Eve, and he told me that my mum recently found out that the cancer has come back. And this time it's spread so rapidly that there's little to be done about it."

Even with her eyes closed, Grace could feel the tears begin to trickle down her cheeks again. She sniffled pitifully and then whispered, "Even magic won't fix her. I've spent so many sleepless nights reading up on it....and for all the advances in the muggle world...and all the spells and potions in the magical world, they all still die. It's not fair."

Grace opened her eyes and looked from Fauna's face to Chance's and then back again. She could hardly begin to express how grateful she was for them being there to support her, even if they might not know how to do it. Even if they couldn't really fix anything. Allowing her to be a blubbering fool in their presence was enough.

For whatever petty problems flitted about Hogwart's, the matter that Grace was struggling with was something altogether different.  This was no whim.  No schoolgirl crush.  No teenage angsssst.  This was mortality at its most terrifying.  This was Grace's mother's life on the line, teetering, and about to topple off.  Chance couldn't help but think of his own mother...and though he resented her, she infuriated him, and she belittled him into being a bit of an emotional recluse himself...somewhere deep down, Chance still loved her.  He couldn't imagine receiving the news that she would likely die soon...Poor Grace.

Chance noticed Fauna and her gentle care towards Grace.  He saw how delicately she tread and how gently she comforted her friend.  It was easy to see how he'd fallen...That gentle spirit, loving heart, and wide eyed innocence were a mesmerizing mix. 

The three friends huddled there, holding on to something more than just each other.  They were holding onto each other's burdens and love.  Why was that word so constantly popping into Chance's mind lately?  Bahhh!

Chance watched Grace whenever she would lift her head into his view.  He was focusing on her and her sentiments.  If there was one method of "comfort" that Chance hated, it was the "it will be alright" in the face of near certain "no, it will not."  Still...Chance wanted to reassure Grace so desperately.  He wanted to tell her that Mrs.Eddy had beaten cancer once and could do so again, but he didn't want to give her a false hope.  Maybe it was best to start confronting the most grim outcome now...in order to be better prepared for it if it did come to pass.

"We can always 'ope an' pray fer th' best, lass.  Y'know we'll be there, right by yer side through this...if y'll let us?"

The Irishman needed to help her.  He needed to support her.  He had to be there for her.  Who else had been there through the Professor Levartian deal?  Who had been his rock after he'd been kicked out and disowned by his mother?  Grace may have been an extremely new addition to his life...but she'd certainly made an impact on it.

Cancer. Even the word felt sour. Like an Unforgivable that should never be spoken. Empathy welled up in her, and Fauna rubbed Grace's back as she listened. 'Come back' meant that her mother had been through this before. But this time, even magic and medicine wouldn't be able to help. She understood that. And it wasn't fair.

"I know," she murmured, glancing up when Chance reassured Grace that they would be there for her and help her through this. He always seemed to know what to say. Grace would need friends who would listen to her and support her, and give her space when necessary. Fauna wanted to be one of those people and hoped that Grace trusted her enough to let her be.

Watching a family member get sick, watching them die and being powerless to stop it, was something she could relate to. When she was a child, she'd witnessed the arguments between her mum and her grandfather over one thing: cigarettes. It hadn't made any sense to her at the time. They were these mysterious little objects that she wasn't supposed to touch, and they'd emit smoke that she wasn't supposed to go near. They were annoying little buggers that had prevented her from going outside when her grandfather was on the porch, smoking. It was an 'outdoor activity'. Never something he did in the house.

And she'd associated the smell of cigarettes on his clothes with who he was, as much a part of him as the smell of his leather shoes or the creases in his shirt. Familiar, comforting, positive. She'd rolled her eyes when her mother had nagged at him, and shared sympathetic glances with her grandmother, who viewed the habit as 'his only vice'. As something understandable, even, considering he'd picked it up when he was a teenager in the army.

But he'd started getting sick when Fauna was thirteen. And when she was fifteen, after a long struggle, he'd died. There'd been nothing they could do.

"He's right," she told her, in agreement with Chance. "Whatever you need, just let us know. And, well, if we can't... do enough..." That sounded strange, but Fauna's thoughts were racing and she didn't think about it. "Some of the professors might be able to. Be understanding, helpful- like Tulo. She's helped me more times than I could count. And Levartian- she's the Gryffindor Head of House, right? I haven't had any classes with her but I heard she's really nice."

Fauna didn't mention that she had a feeling Professor Storm would not make her life any easier, even (or especially) if he knew what was going on with her. But they would face him together, at least.

"Greyfriar even let me go home for a weekend when..." When her grandfather had passed away. Fauna winced. She didn't want to act like death was inevitable, and was reluctant to bring up her past struggles even if they applied. Grace deserved all of her focus right now.

"I don't know what Snark will be like but..." she sighed. Fauna couldn't hope for the best there either. "All I'm saying is, you don't have to go through it alone." She looked into her eyes and gently took her hand, then glanced at Chance in a moment of solidarity.

Grace was finding it difficult to quell her feelings of gratitude towards Chance and Fauna for everything that they were saying and doing for her right then. She knew that there was still so much about her situation that she had left to experience and at times it felt more daunting than she could begin to fathom. For nearly a week, she had coped by keeping her emotions bottled up because she thought that would be easier than sorting through them. What she had ended up doing was trapping herself in all of them--the sadness, the anger, the hopelessness--so that it felt like she was drowning.

In a way, she had been waiting for a reason to open up. She had been waiting for the right people to come along and throw her a  life preserver. And here Chance and Fauna were, doing their best to save her from allowing her to slip into total gloom. Grace was beginning to realize the extent of Fauna and Chance's specialness. It was simply unfortunate that she had not counted them among her closest friends much sooner than now.

Fauna had always been a classmate that she had gotten along with and perhaps her quiet nature and ability to be genuinely nice to pretty much anyone was easy to overlook when there were more dominant personalities around. She was a caring, loyal friend and had quite a bit in common, their mutual dislike in Maeve Whitman not withstanding.

And then there was Chance. He had also become someone who had proved his worth as a friend, even before now. He had managed to keep her sense of adventure alive, even if it had gotten her into trouble. He had once again shown her what fun was, something she had let slip away from her and hadn't experienced with such vigor since....a really long time.

Chance was valiantly attempting to stay optimistic and they reminded Grace of conversations she had had with her mother. Grace had sat with her mother for a long time and had talked to her about what was happening and the prospects for treatment. Grace had wanted to go over every single possibility, had wanted to exhaust whatever means possible to fix what was wrong. It was her belief that there had to be a way and just with every other area of her life that she had been able to fix with enough hard work and planning, Grace was willing to expend herself to that end now. Muggle or Magical fix, she would find it.

But Grace had found nothing to further the cause. There had been plenty by way of magical treatments and their evolution and success over the years regarding cancer. But it was still an ailment that had no outright cure--for muggles or for wizards. No one was immune to this pesky disease. When the cancer was as advanced as it was in Eugenia Eddy's situation, the chances for survival were even more grim.

Eventually, when all options were exhausted, all one could do was look at the reality of the situation. Grace's mother had admitted to not wanting Grace to know for a while because she knew that her daughter would likely dwell on the negatives of the whole situation and her decision to no longer pursue treatments. At some point, her mother had said, you grow tired of fighting to reach an end goal that never seems to get any closer.

Eugenia had laid a calm hand on hers and had reassured her that there was nothing left to be done and that she didn't need anything more to be done. She now wanted to be able to enjoy the rest of her life, for however long that would be.

Thinking back on that moment brought a new wave of sadness over Grace and she felt the need to reach up and wipe at her eyes again, even though now the tears had stopped.

She nodded when Chance said that they would be there for her and nodded again when Fauna echoed the sentiment. If Grace had been functioning normally, she would be filing away all of Fauna's suggestions for others who could help her, including a chat with Headmistress Snark.

When silence filled the air, Grace gave their hands each a squeeze, quietly showing her appreciation. Though her heart was still heavy and she thought it would be for a while to come, she was able to offer a smile to both without it feeling forced. "You guys are...well....just amazing. Thank you for coming after me." She paused and then, finally showing how oblivious she was to the fireworks that had occured following her own departure from the DADA class, she asked, "Do....you think we should head back inside?"