The two women spent the rest of the evening moving from emotion to emotion fluidly. They shared tears, laughter, anger and joy all at the same table, idly sipping peach tea and nibbling on bits of cracker and cheese.
�How long have you been living here?� Gwen asked.
�Since George died. I buried him as per his wishes and I didn�t have any desire to leave.�
�What happened?� She asked, trying to pose the question as delicately as possible.
�Heart attack.� She said softly. �We didn�t see it coming.� She sighed. �But he�s with his family now and sooner or later, so will I.�
Gwen was shocked to see her aunt thinking so morbidly. �Please don�t talk like that.� She urged. �I don�t want to lose another family member. I have so few left.�
Ann smiled at the genuine feeling obvious in Gwen�s words. �Of course dear. It�s just so hard now that he�s gone.�
�I know what you mean.� She said, thinking on her mother.
�I didn�t know Beorc had died until I saw her headstone. Do you know what happened?�
�Aunt Minerva thinks it might have been death eaters.�
�Aunt Minerva?�
�My godmother.� Gwen replied.
�Oh.�
�Yeah, she�s been great. Sometimes I don�t know what I�d do without her. She keeps me� level�
Ann laughed. �You must get that temperament from your father.�
�Really, I thought my mom was the wild child.�
�Oh no. I didn�t know Beorc very well, but she wasn�t nearly as wild as your father was. He was always getting himself into trouble. He was fearless.�
Gwen smiled warmly on memories of her father. He was fearless and for the first time since his death she felt a closeness to him. She couldn't understand her own strange fearlessness and perhaps it was something inherited, or maybe even something that she learned from him when he was still alive.