AN: Here's the next chapter then, hope you like it!
Sunday May 25th 2014
Dear Diary,
I can't sleep. It's six o'clock now, and I haven't slept all night. I don't want to blame him, but I think it's how Hieronymous sort of confused me yesterday.
We spoke through Farspeak again… but it was a really short conversation, and he left kind of abruptly and I'm worried… He seemed worried, so should I be worried? I don't know! Ugh, my mind is reeling and I'm tired and confused…
I have no hope of sleeping now… I guess I should study or something.
So she rolled out of bed and went over to her suitcase, pulling out a book on Black Magic. She was keen to study Black Magic, mainly for its many uses when combined with Blue. But no matter how many times she tried to read the chapter… Nothing went in. She was tired and on-edge, and it was similar to the feeling one got when reading a book for English class; knowing you need to read it, and for that very reason you simply can't, even if normally you would enjoy the book very much, but because you need to, you just can't find the motivation.
Arianna gave up as she heard her parents stir in the next room, putting the book back in its place, carefully, and re-sealing the case. She sighed as she brushed her hair vaguely and went to head downstairs. As she reached the top, she smiled, hearing her parents talking happily, as a waft of toast and butter came up the stairs.
But when she began her descent, they went silent. Arianna didn't take much notice of it, and swung herself around the banister at the bottom of the stairs, almost skipping towards the kitchen.
"Morning Mo-" but before she could finish her sentence she stopped in her tracks as she found herself face-to-face with a gun. The gun her father kept in the dresser for intruders… And her heart stopped as a horrid realisation hit her like a sack of bricks to her gut.
They had forgotten her.
"Who the hell are you!? What are you doing in my house!?" he cried, angrily. Arianna's eyes flickered to her Mother, who looked terrified… But there wasn't a hint of recognition in her eyes. Tears threatened to pour down Arianna's face, but she held them in as she backed away from her Father, quietly beginning an incantation under her breath as he advanced on her, finger hovering ominously on the trigger.
As the connection opened, the warm familiarity of Hieronymous' voice entered her mind. Arianna? But it did little to comfort her. She was backed up against the front door now…
"HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE!? WHAT DO YOU WANT!?" Her father screamed.
HELP! She thought frantically. But the connection broke as the gun was pushed against her throat. She couldn't concentrate on the connection in order to keep it open, nor did she have the energy to uphold it…
"I- I… I live here!" she knew it was a ridiculous thought that perhaps she could make him remember, but she had to do something, lest her pitiful life end at the hands of her own father… But he was having none of it.
"BULLSHIT! WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU WANT!?"
"I'm your daughter! Please…" she whimpered. The plea didn't reach him though… He tightened his grip on the gun, and twitched his finger. She closed her eyes, waiting for the bang and the inevitable end.
But instead, the gun swung away from her as she felt magic permeate the air. Opening her eyes, her heart leapt suddenly as she saw Hieronymous appear behind her father. He pulled the trigger.
"NO!" she cried, as the gun erupted, and in her mind she already saw her husband dead on the floor, blood pouring from his chest… But the bullet sailed through thin air as Hieronymous disappeared, reappearing in front of her, at which point, he swiftly teleported the gun into his own hand and unloaded it.
"Do not hurt her." He said in what Arianna could only perceive as a growl, protective and angry, like a Lioness whose cubs were in peril.
"What the hell…?" Her father's eyes were wide as he stared at the professor, clad in robes and his wizard's hat. Suddenly, Hieronymous turned to Arianna, her own eyes wider than her fathers.
"I am sorry, Arianna." And he chanted a familiar spell. Teleport other.
When she found her feet, she looked around her, panic gripping her tight as she realised she was no longer backed up against the front door of her house, and Hieronymous was nowhere to be seen. Her throat was dry and she felt sick. And then, her legs gave way, and she was on the floor.
But the room was familiar… It was Hieronymous' room. She was back at Iris Academy. Her breathing slowed as she tried to grasp what had just happened to her. But her mind turned up a blank; she couldn't think, she couldn't breath… Everything had been so perfect, and now it was crumbling around her.
Her train of thought was broken when a pair of feet appeared before her. She looked up to see Hieronymous, who promptly noticed her on the ground.
"Arianna, are you alright?" he asked, offering his hand to her. And suddenly it was all too much. Tears erupted from her eyes and she wrapped her arms around her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. She didn't see Hieronymous kneel down beside her, unsure of what to do. But he didn't have to wait long, because a knock sounded at the door. He left her side to answer.
"Ah, Hieronymous… You managed to find her. How is the little lambkin doing?" it was Professor Potsdam.
"I'm unsure. She began blubbering." He said awkwardly, stepping aside to let the headmistress in. She walked calmly to Arianna and laid her hand on her shoulder. Arianna looked up at her, face drenched with tears.
"Come now, dear… Don't cry. I know it's upsetting, but you'll be alright. We'll look after you. Won't we, Hieronymous?" she said, looking at the man in question.
"Right…"
Professor Potsdam helped the snivelling Arianna up from the floor, a steadying arm wrapped around her student's shoulders.
"Let's get you to your room, hm?" Arianna did not protest, going with the Professor as she guided her through the hallways to Horse Hall. Her husband followed - a solemn, slightly awkward shadow - a metre or so behind them.
When they reached the room, Professor Potsdam pushed the door open and led Arianna to sit on her bed. By this time, she had cried herself out, and the usually cheery, but now slightly subdued, fairy-godmother of Iris handed her a pink, flowery handkerchief to wipe her tear-stained face and blow her nose.
"I'm terribly sorry, chicky… This doesn't normally happen."
"Wh-why don't they re-remember me?" Arianna sniffled.
"Well, you know, of course, about the memory alterations that are required to keep the magical world concealed from those who are not magical." Arianna nodded. "Unfortunately, in some rare cases, this can lead to a family forgetting the witch or wizard in question. It's very rare, and it simply happens because some people respond differently to magic than others." The Professor explained. "Hieronymous notified me last night that something might be amiss…"
"L-last night?"
"Yes." It was Hieronymous who now spoke, "You mentioned, during our short conversation, that your parents had been acting as they used to before you came to Iris academy."
"Y-yeah?"
"This is usually a sign… A small mercy the magic gives to the one it tries to protect, in a sense. It allows you one last day with them, before taking over their minds entirely." He explained, in a softer form of his normal lecturing voice.
"But… how can a spell…?"
"Magic is an energy, dear." Professor Potsdam explained. "It can be guided, controlled... How to explain...?" she paused. "Magic cannot control itself, so we control it, but that is not to say we can always control how it affects our targets. There is no evil magic; nor is there good magic. Like I told you, it is only how people use it that makes it good or evil. We don't quite know why, but when a wildseed's family is about to forget them, the magic disappears for a day to allow them one last chance…"
"So… So my parents will never remember me?"
"I'm afraid not. It has had the same effect as if we had wiped their memories by choice. They cannot remember you, because to them you never existed."
And a fresh tirade of sobs wracked Arianna's body then, as her head fell into her hands. Everything had been perfect… Why had it changed? Her parents were no longer her parents… She was an orphan.
Then, the door to the dorm room opened. Hieronymous stood aside to allow the entrant access to the room. It was Ellen, one of Arianna's closest friends.
"What- Arianna?" the other wildseed seemed confused, taking in the scene of Arianna crying, the Professors seeming like they just explained something very important to her... She quickly put the pieces together, and a wave of understanding washed over her. "Oh no… Arianna, I'm so sorry." She said. The girl in question looked up at her friend. She looked quite pitiful in that moment, sat in her pale gray pyjamas, curled up defensively with tears streaming down her face. Ellen didn't quite know what to do with herself, so she placed the book she'd been carrying on her bed, before sitting beside her sniffling friend and wrapping her arms around her shaking frame.
"They-they forgot me…" the girl explained, her voice shaking and weak. Ellen patted her hair awkwardly.
"I know… It's hard, I know." Ellen may have chosen for her family to forget her, but it had barely taken away from the pain. She had found herself with no family, and now Arianna was going through the same, through no fault or choice of her own.
At that moment, Professor Potsdam stood up straight again and smiled gently.
"I'll make arrangements to bring your things to the academy as soon as possible, chickadee." She said brightly, which caused Arianna even more pain. But if the headmistress noticed, she made no show of it, as she turned to leave. She paused before the door, looking back at the two girls. "Miss Middleton, I trust you can look after your friend?" Ellen nodded mutely, and the Professor's smile widened. "Wonderful!" and she was gone.
Ellen looked up at Professor Grabiner, who frowned, before he too left, completely silent. She turned her full attention back to Arianna, trying her best to soothe her ailing friend.
Meanwhile, Hieronymous Grabiner stalked down the hall after a certain Petunia Potsdam.
"Petunia!" he cried, defiantly. If he was going to get no other chance to talk with her, he was going to say his piece.
The elder witch spun to look at him as if she were a member of the Ballet Russes, a pleasant smile on her face.
"Yes, Hieronymous? Don't worry, Miss Middleton will take good care of Arianna, if you're worried." And she was about to turn away again…
"That's not what I want to talk to you about. I'm no fool. You've been avoiding me all summer."
"Whatever's made you think that?" she asked, a fake, serene smile on her face.
"That doesn't matter. I want to know what you thought you were doing concerning the Freshman yearbook!" he cried, exasperated.
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Stop playing dumb! Her profile? The picture that I expressly forbid the use of?"
"Why her profile? What's wrong with that?" she asked, not seeming to be actually confused in the slightest.
"Have you read it? The implications are…" he turned away, fighting a blush. Hieronymous Grabiner did not blush. "And that damned picture! 'The Happy Couple'!? Have you lost your senses, woman!?"
"Oh, that picture. Why? It's such a lovely picture."
"Were you absent in the final weeks of term? Did you fail to see what the entire school was doing? Bullying her? They think she's…" he took a shaky breath, attempting to steady himself.
"They think she's what?" Potsdam prompted, cheery as ever, without a hint of remorse.
"They think she's seducing me to improve her grades!" he cried, unable to control the flush that entered his cheeks. Whether it was from anger, or embarrassment, he couldn't tell. Professor Potsdam laughed lightly, and his hands curled into fists.
"Oh, Hieronymous! We don't even have grades!" she said, as though he was a school-boy himself.
"Apparently, that doesn't seem to stop them!"
"Oh come now, no sense worrying about it. What's done is done."
"You're not even sorry." He said. It was not a question.
"Would it make you feel better if I said I was?"
"I'm not sure."
"Well, I'm sorry." She was insincere. "Honestly, Hieronymous… I see the way you two act around one another. You do make a wonderful couple. Just give it a chance."
"NO!" he yelled, defiantly. "I will NOT see her school life suffer simply on one of your WHIMS!" he raged, before turning on his heel and storming away. As he left, he failed to see the face of the headmistress, which was at last serious.
"Oh dear…" she muttered to herself. "I fear I may have made things worse."
I feel really mean...
By the way, if anyone is interested, I currently have another Magical Diary Fanfic ongoing over on AO3... It's rated explicit for later chapters, so I haven't put it up here (although at this rate, I might just put it up without the scenes that will make it explicit, it's turning out much more about character development than I thought XD)
It's called "Always Read The Fine Print". My username is MysticPuma over there as well so it shouldn't be too hard to find if you wanted to check it out x
Don't forget to review guys :) Love you all x