Ignatius merely nodded and followed his daughter into the small, uncluttered room that had been hers all this time. He had wanted to move her to a ward that afforded a bit more luxury, but the Healers had denied it, saying that too much stimulation would be bad for Helena (and surprisingly, his granddaughter Violet had backed them up! (when had she become so grown up as to defy him? that was more than any of his sons had dared to do, come to think of it, and that made him smile a bit...)
Ignatius shook himself out of this reverie, for it was not what he had come here for. "Well, I'm glad...we're all glad...that you're well enough to leave. I ... we've all missed you at home all these years, and I'm sure you had your reasons for leaving, though you were so young..." Ignatius cleared his throat before betraying any more unbecoming emotion that his currently husky voice. He watched his daughter move around the room, collecting her things as if she knew what she was doing, and he sat on the edge of a nearby chair and watched her for a few minutes. Yes, she was certainly far improved from the nearly hysterical woman who had been brought here at the beginning of the summer.
Finally he cleared his throat again and began to say what he had really come for. "Helena, I know we did not part under very good terms. I admit that I was not very happy at your wanting to marry a Muggle, but I want you to know that that wasn't the only--wasn't the main reason I objected. There was just something in that man that seemed...slippery, unsettled, not entirely honest. I truly didn't you want you with him because I was afraid he wouldn't take care of you, would hurt you in the end. And from what I've seen, it seems I was right!" Ignatius started off gently enough, but he was not quite able to stop a rather sharp edge creeping into his voice on that last sentence.
He paused briefly to collect himself, then went on. "Well, that's all in the past, I just wanted you to know. But now..." Ignatius frowned as he continued to watch his daughter pack up, ready to move on. "Have you given any thought as to where you're going? Because...surely you must know you're always welcome back at home. Things are not what they were, they have changed...I have changed." He was truly worried about what Helena's plans were--well as she might seem, he was not convinced she was ready to embark upon the world unsupported, a world that had changed a lot in the years she'd been missing. Besides, he did not think he could bear to have her leave him again so soon after he'd finally found her. |