Chapter 4:
waking up, it was a normal day for most of the students living in Hogwarts. However, for four significant students, it was anything butt normal. It was a day of sorrow, and mourning. Feeling the four were not at all comfortable with
"Have you lot seen Anna or Lore today?" Roxanne asked, climbing down the stairs to the common room, yawning as it was seven in the morning on a Saturday.
"no, Finn and Mark are missing too, maybe they all went for a morning walk?" James shrugged, not to concerned. The four had a habit of wandering off together, and not informing anyone else
"yeah.." Roxanne trailed off, unable to shake off the uneased feeling in her stomach
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three hours later
"okay seriously, it has been three hours, and they haven't come! They weren't, at breakfast, should we be worried?" Roxanne asked, as the Wotter clans were lazing in the common room, doing homework or just relaxing
"Rox, they are big boys and girls, they can take care of themselves" Dom sighed "but, if you are really worried, get James to check the Map"
"James, will you?" Roxanne pleaded, pouting at her cousin
"finneee" he sighed, lifting himself off the couch and treading up the stairs to the boy's dormitory
he came down five minutes later, map in hand and a worried expression coating his face
"they aren't on it" he spoke, confused
"maybe they are in the Room of Requirements?" Rose suggested, worried as well, she had grown attached to the four Americans, and enjoyed the chats she had with Anna about the different Muggle books she had read
"no, I just got back from there, they weren't in there" Fred responded, searching the map along with James, hand pulling his hai,r as he did when he was worried
"Hogsmede?" Lily suggested, she too, was concerned, thinking of the fierce red head she admired so much
"maybe, but Anna wouldn't have left without leaving a note" Selena spoke, getting off her place on the arm chair and moving next to the James, searching through the map over his shoulder
"should we tell McGonagall?" Rose suggested, anxious
"no, we tell her now, and they would be expelled for good" James muttered, closing the map "okay, lets spread out. Fred, Al, Scorp, Louis, Hugo, Ben and I can go check Hogsmede. Lils, Molly, and Lucy can go check the Room of Requirements again. Rose, you keep an eye on the map, and Sel, Dom and Rox go check if Anna left a note in your dorm" James commanded, they all followed his lead, running in different directions
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"found something!" Rox shouted, her voice was muffled as she was searching underneath Annas bed.
"it must of dropped" she trailed, referring to the note in her hand "check what it says!" Dom replied, impatiently
Hey guys, I hope you find this note before you start freaking out. Finn, Mark, Lore and I went out for a bit. No, not to Hogsmede, and yes, McGonagall does know. And no, she won't tell you. Anyways, my point is, don't worry about us, we just had some things to sort out, we will be back tonight, hopefully.
See you guys later,
Anna X"
"McGonagall allowed them to leave the castle?" Selena asked, surprised, McGonagall was extremely strict about these matters
"it must be important" Rox suggested, biting her lip "we should tell the rest, lets go"
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"she didn't c-care though!" Anna slurred, walking into the common room
"There you lot are! Where have you been! Its 11, we were so worried!" Selena exclaimed, jumping up from her seat on the two seater couch, where she was drifting off on James's shoulder
"Awww, Selena, you are so sweet. So caring, James, you really picked a great girl. She's so sweet" Finn slurred, pulling Selena into a sloppy hug
"Finn! Are you drunk?" she asked, pushing Finn off her
"what?!" exclaimed Finn is disbelief, before pausing as he smelt his breath "hmm... maybe. But its fun!" he grinned, pulling her into another hug
"where the hell were you all?" Rox asked, helping Anna onto a couch as she looked like she was about to trip over her own feet
"we can't tell you. Its a secret" Finn whispered, leaning in really close
"wheres Lorelai?" James questioned, realising they were one friend short
"she went for a..." Marcus trailed off, seeming to be confused by his own hands
"walk?" Rose suggested
"thats it!" he grinned, clicking his fingers "smart girl, Rose." he trailed off, tumbling over to sit next to Anna
"Rosie is very smart" Finn spoke, matter of factly, nodding his head
"and sweet"
"where is Lorelai walking?" James continued, looking worried
"down by the sea!" Marcus exclaimed
"you mean Lake?"
"YEAH! Thats it, smart James" Smiled Marcus
"... okay.. look, I am going to find Lorelai, Girls, help An up to bed, and Fred, help the guys take Finn and Mark up?" James sighed, ruffling his hair as he headed out the portrait hole
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Lorelai's POV:
there was something magical about nights at Hogwarts, that I had grown to love. It was just so peaceful.. in America, everything was so loud, and fast. Even at night, you could always hear drunk vomiting, and cars honking. But right now, it was so quiet, and serene. Just me, the Lake and the stars.
Thats until a certain raven hair boy sat next to me,
"hey" he muttered quiet
"who told you I was out here?" I asked, cutting to the chase, hugging my knees tightly, it was starting to cool down, and the navy blue knitted sweater I was wearing, did nothing.
"Marcus... sort off.. he said you were by the sea" he admitted
"oh, well, Marcus always losing his brain when he drinks" I shrugged, picking the loose threads of my sweater
"how come you aren't drunk?" he asked, curious
"oh, I am" I snorted "but, I have always been better at holding down my liqour than the rest. I don't usually get drunk, just really carefree" I explained
"you don't seem carefree" he observed, looking at the frown etched on my face
"long day" I shrugged, staring straight ahead at the lake, last thing I wanted was a round of 21 questions with James
"yeah. It must of been" he replied bitterly
"James" I sighed, really not in the mood, he was definitely the most persistent bloke I knew, and I was best friends with Finn West "leave it" I gritted my teeth
"you disappeared for the whole day, and come back drunk, why do I have to leave it?" he replied, agitated
"because I said please" I sarcastically responded, getting up
"where are you going?" he called, raising his voice
"I have a f-cking headache and I can't deal with your shit" I shouted, stomping to the castle.
I miss my bed
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next day
ANNA'S POV:
you know how usually in movies, the mornings are really magical, and the girls wake up to birds chirping and elegantly roll out of bed, and they have birds and bunnies to help them change?
Well, thats bullsh-t
today, the exact opposite happened to me. I woke up with a killer headache, and wishing to just be able to curl up in a ball and never move. I rolled over to check the time, but underestimated my movement and instead ended up falling on the floor in a large heap of body parts and covers.
That did not help my headache
groaning, I tried to untangle myself, but ended up failing miserably, so I took to lying in a pathetic ball on the floor.
"need help?" an amused voice spoke from above me
wow, even god was amused by my patheticness.. oh wait, thats Rox.
'no, I am an independent women who can take care of her self' I replied, voice muffled by my covers
she simply raised her perfectly shaped eyebrow at me.
"yes please" I corrected, meekly
she snorted, giving me her slim hand to pull me up, after she helped me flop pathetically onto my bed, she handed me a cup of coffee
"here, dad once told me this helped with hangovers, I think he expected us to be having parties and getting drunk every weekend. Didnt want to disappoint him, so I played along"
I took the cup gratefully, sipping it slowly "can you do me a favour?" I asked, my head calming down enough for me to speak
"sure, whats up?" she asked, sitting on my bed
"there is a box in my beside table, full of potions, grab the clear vial with purple liquid?" I requested, she nodded, and did so, passing it to me
"what does it do?" she asked curiously, staring at the contents, It took me a moment to reply, as I had put my pinched my nose and gulped the potion down, grimacing at the taste, but smiling as the headache faded
"hangover potion, Finn swears by it" I answered, putting the other half of the potion on my table, mentally reminding myself to give it to Lore
"I didn't know they existed" Roxanne remarked, examining the vial
"well, it doesnt technically" I responded, getting off my bed and ruffling through my trunk for an outfit to wear,
"Finn, Mark, Lore and I made it with a couple of seventh graders in third grade, they realised they couldnt attend NEWT classes hung over, and we realized four third years showing up to class drunk wouldn't sit well, we didn't perfect it for a while though" with that, I walked to the bathroom, I had picked a simple white full sleeve top to wear, it had black polka dots around the sleeves hem and a pair of skinny black jeans, I paired them with a black cardigan and my converses.
I showered, scrubbing my hair and body with my vanilla scented shampoo, I swore by the shampoo, it made me feel clean. And Lore swore by the same companies mint shampoo
after I showered and changed, I dried my hair (rhank you magic) and pulled my shoulder length hair into a pony,
"when did Lore get in?" I asked Selena, who was combing her hair infront of the mirror. I knew I forgot something, oh well.
"hmm, about one in the morning, I woke up when she came in, didn't talk to her, she seemed pissed for some reason"
I nodded, walked over to her bed, put the clear vial on her desk,gave her a kiss on the forehead and headed downstairs, opting to not wake her up, she looked so tired, and yesterday was really hard on her
when I headed downstairs, I looked around the common room and realised it was practically empty, except for a couple of seventh years, hoping to cram some early studying in before it got loud
"Hey, Hunter" I smiled, waving at the blonde seventh year, he was really friendly and had helped me in potions once or twice "hey Anna, whats up?"
"have you seen Finn or Mark?" I asked him,
"no, but the other boys from their dorm came down and I heard they say something about letting 'em sleep in, bout half an hour ago" I nodded my thanks and headed up into their dormitory. The curtains were shut and the only beds occupied were Finns and Mark, I walked up to Finns, careful to avoid the pair of jeans on the floor and sat on the side, next to his stomach, I shook him gently "Finnn, get upp" I whispered
"mhmm, fire?" he muttered
"no"
"why 'm I awake?" he questioned
"its ten o clock, thats why"
"too early' he groaned, rolling over
"Finn, you went to bed at 11 yesterday, you have been asleep for 11 hours, how is that too early?" I scolded
"its 11?" he replied, in disbelief
"yup, so get your fat arse out of bed" I told him, popping the p
"my head hurts" he groaned
"that would be the alcohol" I replied matter of factly
"no shit, Sherlock" he grumbled, sitting up and rubbing his forehead
taking pity on him, I gave him the potion from my jean pocket
"you're an angel in disguise" he told me, gulping the potion down and shaking his head at the taste
"I know" I simply stated, standing up and moving to Marks bed, he had woken up due to the noises in the room, and simply stuck his hand out of his blanket, I gave him the vial and he gulped the potion down before speaking
"is Lore up?"
"no, Sel said she didn't get in until 1, so I thought I should let her rest" I replied, sitting on the edge of his bed
"yeah, good, let her rest, she looked like shit yesterday" Finn remarked, trying to find a clean shirt from a pile next to his bed
'well, yesterday was hard for us" I whispered
"I didnt realise how hard it would be, I mean, I think we all knew we wouldn't take it easy, but I definitely underestimated it." commented Mark, looking down in sorrow
"especially for Lore, I mean we all loved the guy, but he and Lore had this bond, we were all family, but they were more than that, if thats even possible" Finn spoke, pulling on a white t shirt that he had deemed clean, ie, it didn't have a stain on it
"they were always the closest out of all of us, I mean they knew each other since they were five" I replied, all of a sudden, I felt tired again, even though I had slept for 11 hours, it was true what they said, emotions sure as hell affected you physically
"doesnt help that she saw it happen too" Finn commented
"yeah, and whats worse is that she won't fricken talk about it, she always acts like she is fine, even straight after it happen, we all broke down, we all cried, she was just stoic, the whole time" I ranted, fustrated, I hated that my friend was hurting, and I couldn't help
"its just her way of dealing with the pain" Mark replied soothingly, rubbing my shoulder in a comforting manner, I sighed, leaning my head against his chest,
"I know, I just hate it" I muttered
"we all do, but there is nothing we can do, we just have to be there for her" Finn told us
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Marcus's POV
after Anna calmed down, we all decided to go to breakfast, in the kitchens, as we couldn't be bothered to face the student body and their questions, yeah, cowards, I know. The three of us walked to the kitchen in silence, too exhausted to speak. Eleven hours did not seem like enough sleep, I wanted to just dive back into bed.
"we should take some food up for Lore" Anna muttered, stirring the bowl of porridge Winky had laid in front of us
Finn and I murmured in agreement, falling back in silence.
I was worried about Lorelai. Yesterday was tiring, for all of us, as well as emotionally draining, but, Lorelai was definitely the worse out of all of us, she kept on insisting she was fine. When Finn and I were hugging Anna as she cried, Lorelai chose to stand in the corner, an emotionless expression painted on her face.
That was a face I had become used to when it came to Lorelai. It was the face she wore when she found out her Grandmother and only relative she liked died in her second year. It was the expression she wore when Finn ended up in hospital for a week after going into a coma after a bad quidditch accident.
Lorelai had always been one to hid her emotions, in the six years I have known her, never once have I seen her cry. Angry, yes, happy, yes, but upset and broken? Never. And not to be a jerk, but her life brought her a lot of opportunities in which she could be upset.
Another person I was worried about was Finn. Yesterday, when we were in America, I saw how truly bad things had got with his parents. I mean, yeah, they had always had a shitty relationship, but, it seems to have gotten worse since we came here. His dad and him had a fight in the middle of the graveyard, and his mum, as always, was quiet. But, usually, Finn didnt give a crap what his parents thought, I was always the one who spent my days trying to gain their approval, Lore and Finn, on the other hand, had given up long ago. Yesterday, was a whole other story, after the fight, I looked at Finn and was stunned, never, had I ever seen Finn give someone a look of pure hatred in my years of knowing him. The look he gave his father gave me chills. The stare was powered by loathe.
But, as usual, he acted like he was okay, and that his fathers disapproval meant nothing. Every time I brought it up, he would simply answer by saying we had to focus on helping the girls.
"I still can't believe Lore's parents didn't show up" Anna muttered, breaking me out of my train of thoughts
"can't you?" Finn snorted condescendingly, I had to agree with him there, Lorelai's family not coming yesterday wasn't at all shocking
"I really hate them" Anna grumbled, finishing her eggs and giving the dishes to the elves
"we all do" I responded, also giving my empty dishes to Winky, we thanked the elves and left, planning on heading straight to our dormitories and waking Lorelai up. Anna had saved her a omelet, pepperoni and cheese sandwich and had put a heating spell and no spill spell on a cup of coffee
"still, he was practically Lore's brother, and they didn't even send their condolences" Anna ranted, Finn and I didn't respond, knowing better than to disagree or voice or opinions
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FINNS POV:
we decided to let Lore sleep in, and put the coffee and sandwich on her bedside table, so she could eat when she woke up, Anna stayed in the dorm to do her homework, while Mark headed to the library to research for an assignment. I let them go, knowing they wanted to distract themselves.
This left me to my thoughts.
Not good.
I wanted to distract myself, but lets face it, homework and I are an even worse combination than thoughts and I. So, I did the only other thing I could. I went around terrorizing first years. At least, thats what An calls it, I call it providing self amusement. She told me to stop being an idiot.
Gotta love that girl.
Anyways, I basically went around stopping random first years and annoying them by making them extremely uncomfortable. I did this for about an hour, then Professor McGonagall shouted at me and handed me detention. At least I had something to do tomorrow night. I suppose I should be grateful it wasn't more, but I am sure she feels sorry for us.
I hated that. Thats one reason I got sick of Ilvermorny, I hated the looks of sympathy we got. The condolences we received, as if people actually cared and were actually geuninely upset. Because, how could they be? If they didn't know him?
"West!" I turned around when I heard my name being called out, and plastered a bright fake smile on my face
"hey Weasley" I smiled at Rose, she was actually pretty cool, sure, she got annoying when she sprouted random facts out, and she was sometimes too judgmental, but she was also laid back and never too pushy. Out of all the Wotters who weren't in our year, she was definitely my favourite
"McGonagall told me to come find you, apparently you have been tormenting first years?" she questioned, raising her eyebrow at me
"hey! Tormenting is a very strong word!" I protested "I wouldn't go as far as to say that... more like.. umm" I trailed off, not being able to back myself up
"hey, I am not judging" she grinned, raising her hands up, as if to surrender "I am just pissed because you didn't include me" she smirked.
See? Gotta like a girl with that mind set.
"next time" I promised, walking towards the door leading to the grounds, Rose quickly fell into my pace and began to make an easy conversation
"so, why are you tormenting kids?" she grinned as she saw me glare at her choice of words
"bored" I shrugged "Marks studying, so is Ann and Lore is far in dreamland"
"oh, well, as long as you have a solid reason, West" she sarcastically replied, leaning against the willow tree near the Lake while I decided to lie down on the grass
"why do you do that?" she asked accusingly
"do what?" I questioned, confused
"any time anyone says your last name, you visibly cringe" she observed
"do I?" I asked, genuinely curious, I hadn't noticed
"yes" she stated
"didn't realise" I shrugged lazily
"that doesnt answer my question, why do you do it?" she responded, glaring questioningly at me with her big blue eyes
"Rosie, if I didn't notice I did it, how am I supposed to explain why I did it?" I replied, amused
"well, now you know you do it, think about it and tell me" she quipped back, grinning as she straightened her green blouse, even though it was a sunday and most students decided to wear sweats if they even bothered to change out their pjs, Rose, as usual, looked prim and put together
"I guess I hate it because its my fathers name. Its a permanent reminder that, I am, in fact related tto them"
"were they really that bad?"
I groaned, "Rosie, we have talked about this"
"I know! I don't mean it like that.. I just.. I am curious. Where they always like that? Or did something happen? Do they just ignore you? Do you miss them?.." she trailed off, and a horrified look replaced her curious demeanor "Oh my Merlin!" she whispered, horrified "I sound like my mother. Finn, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to pry, I am just going to go... avada myself" she rumbled, standing up, I laughed, amused and pulled her back done
"Rose, its cool, you don't have to go avada yourself, I don't think your parents would appreciate it" I grinned
"you really don't have to answer" she whispered
"I don't mind" I shrugged, knowing, that for once, she was actually genuinely curious, she wasn't just asking to be polite
"It wasn't always like this, I suppose. Couldn't have been. To be honest, I don't remember when it all started, all I know is that some point in my life, my father began to loathe me, instead of giving me a candy like most fathers, I got a look of disapproval. Instead of him teaching me to play quidditch, he taught me to make a business deal. And, I never wanted it. I knew he wanted me to take over the business when I graduated, but I always wanted to be a Quidditch player, and I wasn't one to back down, so I rebelled. I would get dirt on my wizarding robes before a ball, when he would have an important business meeting, I would fly my broom round the living room to annoy him. And as I got older, he got more angry, started to tell me how much of a disappointment I was, how I would never amount to anything"
"and your mum?"
"like I said, she could never choose. She wasn't strong enough to. So, I chose for her, I let her remain loyal to my dad. I know, deep down, some where, she loves me, and for me, thats enough" I shrugged
"I can't imagine that" shuddered Rose
"yeah, cuz your parents are madly in love" I snorted
"yeah, but even when they fight... I always know that they will be okay.. whenever I am in difficulty, I know I can go to them, no matter how bad and no matter how wrong I was, I know they would help me" "who do you go too?"
"Lore, Mark and Ann" I replied seriously, it was the truth, they were my family, I relied on them for everything, and I knew they would be there for me no matter what
"do you ever wish for things to be different?" she asked, quietly, as if not sure whether she had gone too far
"not really, no" I answered carefully "I mean, when I was younger, definitely, but know, I just feel like this is the way it is, no point trying to change it"
"you are really mature, you know that?" Rose told me seriously
I stared at her, shocked "no one has ever told me that"
"well, you are, extremely" she stated firmly
I smiled, and pulled her into a nougie "thanks Rosie" she squealed, pushing me away and trying to fix her delicately made hair
"you know that my parents and your parents are entirely different?" I assured her
"what? Why would you say that?" she asked, confused
"oh c'me on Rosie, I know you are asking these questions because you wanna tell your parents something and aren't sure how they will react" I answered
"how-how did you work that out?" she stuttered, shocked
"because I am mature" I mocked her, grinning, she shoved me before replying
"I am sorry, I was genuinely interested..." she trailed off, I smiled at her and assured her "its fine, Rosie, I get it" I paused, then spoke again "soo.. what are you worried about telling your parents about?"
"my career choice" she admitted, glancing at her hands nervously
"what do you wanna do?" I asked, curious
"go into fashion" she whispered, so quietly, that if there was more noise than the water from the Lake hitting the shore, I would of missed it
"whats wrong with that?"
"well. Its not exactely ambitious!"she started "I mean, come on, my dad is an Auror and part time owner of WWW, and mum is head of the Muggle-Wizarding Communication department, as well as one of the most influential members of the Ministry, dont even get me started on my other family members!" she ranted "how is a fashion freaking designer supposed to compare to that?!"
"its not' I shrugged, trying to hold in a laugh as she gaped at me gobsmacked "but who cares, if its what you wanna do, then it shouldn't matter, you shouldn't compare it to others"
"but.. ." she didnt continue, unable to come up with a new reason
"Rose, life is too short to worry about others, do what you want, and don't worry about others impression of you" I told her serious, she was going to reply, but our conversation was cut short as a silver patronus came floating towards me "Lore's awake, come up to the girls dorm, get Sel to float you up" Mark's voice spoke, I stood up quickly and turned to Rose
"Rose, I am serious, do it, I have to go, I will talk to you later" I smiled at her before racing across the grounds inside.
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Lorelai's POV
"what time is it?" I asked groggily, taking a sip of the water Anna had given me
"3 in the afternoon" Marcus told me, glancing down at his watch
"shit" I muttered
"you needed the rest, don't feel bad" Anna smiled at me, I smiled back weakly, but internally cringed at the sympathy I was receiving. I didn't need sympathy, especially not from my friends
before anyone else could say a word, Finn came barging into the room "hey guys!" he grinned, sitting down on Anna's bed where An was fiddling with her black cardigan
"hey Finn" I smiled at him, Finn always knew how to ease a situation
"hey Lil' L, how you feeling?" he asked, concern etched on his face
"I am good, but I wasn't the one piss drunk last night, how are you lot?" I answered, desperately trying to avoid the topic from focusing on me
"we are good, Anna gave us that shit tasting potion" Finn told me, making a face at the memory of the taste
"well, no one said its easy to get over a hang over" Mark muttered, also grimacing at the memory
"hey, how come you haven't had the potion?" Finn suddenly exclaimed, pointing his finger accusingly at me
"because, apparently, I can hold down my liquor better than two sixteen year old boys" I smirked
"I prefer the whole "you're half Irish theory, more" " Finn frowned, throwing a pillow at me, I dodged it and began to eat my sandwich after placing a quick warming spell on it
"so, how long do you want to ignore yesterday for?" Anna asked me,
"forever" I shrugged, picking at my sandwich and avoided eye contact
"we can't ignore it forever Lore!" she exclaimed, frustrated
"what do you want me to say An?" I snapped, glaring at her "Lucas is gone, hes dead, we went to see his grave yesterday, it f-cking sucked! There, happy? I spoke about it" I raised my voice slightly, before sending her a glare and walking out my dorm, making sure to grab my leather jacket which I threw on over my pajamas, black trousers and a plain white t shirt, I looked like shit, but to be honest, I couldn't care less
"hey Lore! You're-" Rose began, I didn't stop to listen to listen to her and instead focused on getting out of the common room, I continued walking, and everyone jumped away from me as they saw me
I calmed down when I reached the astronomy tower, I loved it here, I felt safe here, like my own haven that no one could attack
I lay down on the terrace and began glancing up at the clouds, just thinking
I felt so angry, and lost, and fed up.
Angry that Anna was treating me differently. I wasn't the only one who lost Luke, they all did too.
Lost, because, for the first time in a long time, I felt alone. Sure, I had the Ann and the guys that I could rely on for anything. But, after loosing Luke, I feel so alone.
And fed up, because I hated what I was feeling. It has been a year, and everyday I wake up still missing him.
Luke and I met when I was five years old, his family and he had moved across the street, I remember running over to their house and asking him if he wanted to get out of unpacking by playing with me.
Luke was a breath of fresh air for me. He had the opposite of everything I had. His mum loved him and cared about him, while my parents didn't even care where I was half the time. He grew up with little money and a working mother, I grew up around riches and a mother who spent her days in spas and getting manicures. But, he was happy, he loved his life, while I felt like I didn't even have a proper life. He was my best friend, my brother. And I was the same for him. He loved me like he loved his four sisters, and I loved him like I should of loved my siblings
we were so close, and not in the romantic way, I remember in Ilvermorny, rumours always went round that we were dating, but it wasn't true, in fact, it was so unrealistic, that him and I would laugh about it, finding amusement in others stupidity.
And then, he dies, and leaves me to deal with all this shit. And It f-cking sucks.
Because I missed him, so damn much, and this pain in my heart wasn't leaving, no matter how hard I tried.
AUTHORS NOTE:
5000 WORDS! So now you know who died, but you dont know why... thats coming later, can't let my plot out all at once.
Hope you enjoyed, please review!
