Grace's stomach was in knots following the first part of the Herbology NEWT. Her confidence in her ability to do well had not been tested, but she had received some news prior to the exam that morning that had certainly weighed heavily on her mind and thus tested her concentration. At breakfast, an Owl had arrived from her brother letting her know that Eugenia's condition had taken a turn for the worse in the early hours of the morning.  But he said that since Grace was due to finish her exams that day anyway that she should not worry too much; they would contact her as soon as it really got worse.

For someone who made his living with words, Cadan had managed to use a horrible combination of them and they did nothing but linger. Luckily, Grace had managed to make it through the Theory NEWT on autopilot and she was certain she did well enough to pass like expected.

But now with it over, her thoughts naturally returned to the grim nature of her brother's correspondence. Grace had returned to Gryffindor Tower to retrieve her Herbology books and notes which she had used for last minute cramming. She still had work to do. Grace made her way to the Great Hall so she could spread her materials out and hopefully feel settled before the next exam. She would never admit it, but of all the exams she took that week, Herbology was the one causing her the most stress. She felt more pressure to do well in that class than any other. Most of it was pressure from herself, but she also felt like she needed to do well for Professor Bombay, so as not to let him down, even if they were still on testy terms with one another. Grace really hoped that when she went to visit him when school was out that she could tell him how well she did.

Grace set her things on the table but as she was about to sit, she caught sight of her brother's note that she had stuffed into one of her books. It called to her and instead of picking it up again, she chose to start pacing the floor in between the long tables in the hall. She took several breaths and muttered quietly, “C'mon, Grace. Focus. One more and you're done.” She wrung her hands at her sides. “You can do this.” She stopped for a moment and closed her eyes. She tried to think of something that would help keep her calm and relaxed so that she could focus on studying. 

Her mind seemed to be cluttered with so many thoughts at first, but eventually they all simmered away and the image of her mother was left. Eugenia was working in her gardens and upon seeing Grace, she beamed. Grace could feel her own lips turn upwards into a soft smile.

Feeling more centered and calm, Grace opened her eyes again and continued to pace, this time, she began to rattle off the names and descriptions of various plants that might come up in the Practical. The encyclopedic way she did so was soothing as well and she had very little concern than anyone might be watching.

For the first time since he'd returned to the magical world, he hadn't had to fight the urge to be anywhere but Hogwarts.  There had been no slew of suddenly remembered dentist appointments, no urgent sensation that he'd left a kettle on back home.  If it had been any other day, the irony would have been enough to make him smile.  Apparently Muggle-repellent charms didn't bother to kick in when you already desperately wanted to be anywhere but here.

But here he was, and he couldn't avoid it.  Adon, comforting in his silent understanding, had apparated him to the edge of the Hogwarts grounds; Jonas had walked in from there.  He'd found Myrni Levartian, spoken to the Head of Gryffindor quietly to explain the situation.  Grace still had exams.  School wasn't over yet.  There was no way around that. 

But some things were more important than NEWTs.

The Auror sighed, rubbing a hand tiredly over his face as he entered the Great Hall.  His niece hadn't been in her dormitory, in her house, or in the library; the giant room that had been turned into a study session was the other place that Professor Levartian had suggested to look.  He had dragged his feet in the search, but once he finally entered the last place that he had to look, it took less than a second to spot his niece's distinctive red hair.

His first attempt to speak caught in his throat.

"Grace."  He didn't have to try hard to make the sound of her name carry across the room.  Jonas swallowed hard, and then steeled himself, set his expression before she could turn around.  He'd come because Melor couldn't; because he owed that much to his sister, who understood more about this world than he'd ever given her credit for.  This wasn't easy for any of them, but it was hardest for her husband and her children.  The least he could do was be here for his niece.

Grace felt such confidence in reciting her herbology information. Even without someone else there to quiz her and check for accuracy, Grace knew that what she said was correct. Grace had, with great speed and determination beginning in her first year, endeavored to memorize entire textbooks of information on the subject. Early on, it was in an effort to soak in the knowledge, to get ahead or to even the playing field with her pureblooded counterparts who knew so much about the magical world already. Now she did it because it was soothing. She needed more soothing in her life.

And abruptly her soothing little bubble was popped when she turned after finishing a full length of her pacing to see her Uncle Jonas just a moment after he called her name.

It was the briefest of expressions but Grace caught it. And her heart sank as it slowly began to sink in just what exactly it meant.

Grace wasn’t sure if she had walked towards him or he had walked to her or if they had met somewhere in the middle but in the next moment she was standing in front of him, looking up into his face.

“Is she gone?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She tried to keep her composure, but she could not hide the quiver of her jaw and her eyes that were on the verge of tears.

Of all the trials that he'd faced in the past few months -- the stress, the threats, the dangers -- there had been none that left him feeling quite so defeated as this.  It only took an instant after his niece had caught sight of him for the expression on her face to change, for her entire sense of being to start to wilt.

Jonas felt his throat catch again, but he caught himself more quickly this time.  Grief was never something that had come naturally, though he didn't know if it came naturally to anyone.  It left him at a loss for words, searching for a way to express sentiments that he was never sure how to voice.  The past few days, ever since his brother-in-law had called to give the news, had felt like a blur, as if the days were dragging by behind an unreal, fogged glass.  Dreogan's visit, Adon's worried looks, Anna's quiet support -- he could barely recall any of it, between the harsh reality of visits down to Cornwall.

Seeing Grace here now forced it all into sharp perspective.  His niece had reached him, looking as if all it would take was a wrong word to send her all to pieces.  This had to be harder on her than any of them; she and Eugenia were so close, and she had spent the past few months sequestered away at school.  Waiting and dreading, anticipating this day.  Hoping it would never come.  Knowing that it would.

Her whispered question made his heart break.  Swallowing hard, Jonas wrapped his arm around her.  "No," he murmured, giving her a fierce hug.  "Not yet." 

But they both knew that if he were here, then it was coming soon.  Eugenia Eddy loved both of her children fiercely; Jonas half suspected that that was why she had held on so long, in hopes of making it through the end of Grace's schooling this week.  She wouldn't have wanted to pull her daughter out before the end of her exams, not for anything less than the very end.

"Look."  He tilted his head to look her in the eye, took a deep breath as he tried to consider what to say.  The thought of it, of trying to put himself in his niece's shoes, left him with an empty feeling.  His parents -- Grace's grandparents -- were still alive.  Anna's were too.  The closest feeling he could imagine was closing his eyes when he'd heard of Tait's death, but even that wasn't the same.  Every parent left their children eventually, but mothers weren't supposed to die when their families were so young.

"I've a friend waiting at the edge of the grounds," he said quietly.  "He can apparate us home.  We ought to go soon -- Professor Levartian said she can gather your things, if you'd rather."  He didn't know, in Grace's shoes, if he would have accepted the offer or not.  It was one last chance for solitude before the soon-to-be Hogwarts graduate was plunged into a very adult world of family and death and grieving, but at times like this, Jonas wanted nothing more than to not be alone.

Grace knew that this day was coming; she and everyone in her family had been preparing for it for the past six or so months. On some level, there was  a sense of relief that the wait was over. But it still didn't make the grim reality of what the end of that wait meant any less shocking.

She opened her mouth to say something in response to her uncle, but she couldn't get anything out. Instead, she dropped her gaze to the floor and for the briefest of moments, she thought that she saw it move, as silly and as cliched as that image was. But maybe she did move because her body suddenly felt weak.

Grace was grateful for her uncle's embrace at that moment as it both gave her someone's strength to lean on and it also was a means of hiding the tears that welled in her eyes. She managed to reach up in time to brush them away before they fell too far down her cheeks. She returned Jonas' hug and then pulled back to finally look to his face again, trying her best to be the ever brave Gryffindor.

"I want to go now," she said softly, but with some measure of being a demand. Clearly she had very little regard for unfinished business at school. At this point, nothing else really mattered. She just wanted to be with her mother -- for five minutes or five hours before she was no longer going to be around -- and she would figure everything else in her life out after that. She sniffled and quietly pleaded, "Can we go now, please?"

For once, there wasn't any use in words.  There were no clever quips he could make, no nonchalant observations that would make this any easier.  Dying wasn't something that could be staved off by changing the subject, any more than it could be stopped by waving a wand.  Magic had a limit, just like everything else in the world -- only death went beyond.

He already felt exhausted, but he knew there were still long days ahead.  Grace seemed to know it, too.  She wiped away her tears too quickly, catching them almost before they fell, and tried to meet his eye.

"Can we go now, please?"

Jonas took a deep breath and steadied himself.  For now, exhaustion didn't matter.  They'd find Adon, and then apparate to Cornwall.   He could set the weight of it aside and be there for his niece and nephew, his brother-in-law and sister.  Ministry casework, Hogwarts examinations -- the lot of it could wait until they were through to the other side.

"Yeah, Grace," he said gently.  He kept his hand on her shoulder, directing her toward the enormous doors of the Great Hall.   "Let's go."