Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. They all belong to J.K. Rowling.
"Kasper, what happened?" asked Layton as we sat down.
"I just came down to see what was going on. And he just started fighting with me. I let things get out of hand." Kasper turned his head away from me. I sat down on the coffee table in front of him.
"Kasper, you need to look at me." I said warmly. His left eye was swelling quickly. Black and purple bruises decorated his eye. "Well you're not bleeding anywhere. Layton I'm going to get ice from the kitchen." I left the room before anyone could object. I took a deep breath and head for the kitchen. Some would say it's nice to have boys fight over you but not me. I absently twisted an imaginary ring on my left finger. I knew in one week a real ring would be there, no doubt a gaudy one Draco's mother would insist I wear. There really was nothing wrong with Narcissa but her taste in jewelry was awful. That's how I felt about things that everything was awful right now and I couldn't change a thing. I had reached the entrance to the house elf kitchen, which was in the basement of the house. I knocked on the door and waited for an answer.
"Can I help you, Miss?" said Beanie
"Yes, can I have some panacea ice?"
"Yes Miss is back."
I stood there wondering how the kitchen basement could actually be bigger than the first floor of the manor. Before I could wondered about anything more Beanie returned with the ice in a large bowl and had some towels in his grubby hands.
"Thank you, Beanie." I said to the small elf as a left the basement.
I walked back up the stairs with the bowl in my hands. The bowl felt cold like rain. When I entered Kasper's room the boys looked at me silently. Kasper's right ankle was propped up on the table. It was considerable swollen. I took some ice and wrapped it up on a towel. First I used it to reduce the swelling of his left eye. Within a minute the swelling was gone as well as the bruises. My attention then turned to the afflicted ankle. Gingerly I applied the ice and waited for it to take affect. After about five minutes the swelling went down some. I suspected that something else would help bring it down but pushed those thoughts away.
"Let the ice stay there for a while." I said.
"The swelling hasn't gone down much?" Layton said
"Well there's only one option left if the ice doesn't work."
"Lydia there are several reasons not to do that." said Kasper
"I know I don't want to get kicked out of school."
The room fell silent. The main reason not do to do what I was thinking was that I'd be momentarily drained of my magic, which could be somewhat dangerous to any wizard or witch. Sitting in silence drove me half crazy after thirty minutes. It was a good thing the panacea ice melts slowly. I checked Kasper's ankle again. The swelling was down to a manageable level. "I'm going to go far a walk. Now that everything looks good here." I said. The hot summer air hit me as I walked out the front door of the mansion. I had three options: if I went west I would hit the beach in the late afternoon, if I went north I would be in the woods for hours, and if I went southeast I would be in a small muggle town by the early evening. So I made the choice of going into the woods. Any other place would have a lot of people, magic and non-magic. I quickly walked past the house's guards and entered the woods. It had been a long time since I was in them. I wasn't really walking on a trail but I didn't need one my feet remembered the way. At some point clouds began to color the sky grey. That's when I came upon it. The stream that we had cooled off in on the hot summer days of my youth. I sat down on a familiar rock and looked at my reflection. What a mess everything had turned into, in only a matter of days. "I shouldn't have let Kasper come." I whispered to the wind. Stretching out I walked away from the stream and went in further. I was surprised with how much I remembered these woods. The last thing I came upon was a little old hut that had been set up so we could change before going home from the woods. I walked into the little room and sat down. I guess it was a good thing because the rain started to come down. I didn't move from the room for hours I guess because at one point the light faded and darkness came. It was like I was in a trance I couldn't move or maybe I didn't want to move but at some point I saw light coming towards me. Someone had actually come after me in the midst of the storm. "Lydia". I heard coming from beyond the light. He sat down and pulled me close wrapping the cloak around the both of us. "Wolfe left not long after you went out. He left a note for you on your dresser." He whispered against me ear.
"You mean you kicked him out."
"I can't have someone that upsets me in the house."
"You provoked him you know. He doesn't like you or the way you treat me. Hey, how did you know I'd come here?"
"Well because I know you. Neither of us has really changed since we were kids you know."
"Pttff..."
"What is that suppose to mean?"
"You and I have changed and not just physically. You use to be nice and easy going. Now you're just a menace and it's hard to be around you. I think that your father beat out all of the old Draco. You're becoming your father, you know."
"I am not becoming my father."
"Yes you are! I'm not your mother Draco, I won't sit around and let you act this anymore! I won't marry you if you keep acting like this. I'll leave you if you act like this!"
"You love me too much to leave me."
"I'll leave you because I love you."