#mi.

Her first memory is that of having a hot bow of soup running down her front, around... three or four years old, she’s not entirely sure. The time frame of her childhood is confusing at best and innaccurate at worst, but she can’t really be blamed when the orphanage where she spent the first few years of her life wasn’t the best of places to be in.

Over the time she spent there, Madeleine learned not to make a sound and to stay as still as possible at all times to ensure she occupied as little space as possible. She was a burden, her own parents hadn’t wanted her, so why would anyone else? The people taking care of her and the other children weren’t as abusive as they were simply neglectful, however, but she didn’t want to risk her odds angering the wrong person, it was tough enough with the older kids bossing the younger ones around.

She was adopted by the Longbottoms when she was four, that’s the one thing she remembers clearly because her fifth birthday was the first one where she was actually given a cake to blow the candles off of. Her new family seemed nice enough, but the bad memories and whatever complexes she had dealt with at the orphanage had rendered her rather distrustful, not only of other children but grown ups as well. 

Madeleine has a case of selective mutism, and over time learned sign language, but does not use it often, out of personal choice than anything else, but she hasn’t trusted anyone enough with the reasons for it.

She bears the scars of not being able to fully trust her new parents since in her attempts not to be a burden she often hurt herself; from climbing around the kitchen to get stuff for herself and falling or breaking glasses or flasks, running when there was no need to and tripping, trying to sew her own clothes when she could’ve asked for a new sweater or a new pair of socks... it took a few years before she felt confident enough in her place as Madeleine Longbottom and not just Madeleine the orphan.