I wake the next morning to the glare of the sunlight coming in through the open curtains. With a groan, I lift my head slightly and check the clock sitting on my bed side table.
Noon. Great, I'd missed breakfast and lunch wasn't for another half hour. My stomach grumbles suddenly, as if in protest to this news. The dormitory is empty and I lay my head back down and try to clear it.
It's Sunday morning. Well, technically Sunday afternoon now. Last night was the Ball. Jonathon what's-his-face is a pig. I met a mystery-man outside in the garden and spent and enjoyed my entire night with him. I don't know who he is. Did I leave anything out? No, I don't think so. Great, now I'm up to date.
I sigh. Perhaps I should have found out who last night's bloke was. Maybe that was the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life. Then again, perhaps I should be congratulating myself on not knowing who he is because, as I most definitely know by now all the toe-rags and jerks start out as nice guys.
I finally force myself out of the bed and go to take a quick shower. By the time I get downstairs, lunch has started. I find Stacey and Penelope about halfway along the table, and sit across from them.
"Morning girls!" I say cheerfully. I look purposefully at both of them. "Well?" I ask expectantly.
"What?" Stacey replies, although I'm pretty sure she and Penelope know exactly what I'm referring to, based on the fact that they have both just turned slightly pink.
"Ok Stacey, let's start with you" I say playfully, thoroughly enjoying embarrassing both of them. "Did you even make it back to our dormitory last night?" I watch as Stacey turns from slightly pink to tomato red.
"As a matter of fact," she snaps, "I did make it back to the dormitory, and I slept in my own bed. That's all you need to know."
I chuckle, and turn my attention to Penelope. I'll pry more details out of Stacey later. "Alright, what about you Penelope? Tyler Walks seemed about ready to murder me when I suggested you and I go back up to the dormitory."
Stacey jumps in to save Penelope. "Hey, wait a minute Irene. YOU"RE the one who disappeared all night, and came back at 1am with our mask still on. What did you do all night, and who did you do it with?"
Now it was Stacey's turn to smirk. "Touché Stacey. Ok, why don't we finish lunch and head back up to the dormitory. We'll swap stories, and everyone has to spill, everything." I responded. A lazy afternoon in the dormitory with my friends sounds like a great way to spend the next few hours.
As we're finishing up, Penelope pulls something out of her robes. "Irene, I almost forgot. A letter came for you this morning. It was your mum's owl." I could hear the confusion in her voice, and feel a frown growing on my face. Why was mum sending me another letter? This has never happened before.
Just as Penelope is reaching over the table to hand me the letter, a chocolate brown hand reaches out of nowhere and snatches it. I turn around quickly, and see that that hand is attached to Adnin Patel.
"Boscawen you've got another letter! Didn't your yearly one arrive last week?" Adnin smirks as he begins to open my letter. Behind him Michael is laughing, and Everard is looking very uncomfortable. I know Patel is only joking around, but I'm not in the mood for this, and if that letter actually is from my mum, I definitely don't want him reading it. I grab for the letter, but he turns away and I catch nothing but a fistful of air. He turns back to me; by this time he's managed to open the envelope and take out the parchment inside. He stretches his arms up so I can't reach it, even I if I were to jump, which I most certainly am not going to do. He tilts his head up and begins to read it at arm's length away, suspended way above my reach.
"You're such a prat, give it back!" I exclaim. Behind me Penelope and Stacey roll their eyes at Patel, but know it's futile to try and stop him from reading my letter. As soon as he begins to read it though, I know something is wrong. The smirk on his face vanishes in a heartbeat. It's replaced by a mix of horror, pity, and guilt. He lowers his arms and holds out the letter to me, not saying anything. I stare at him, not daring to take the letter from his open hand. "What? What is it?" I can hear the panic in my own voice, but I still don't reach out for the letter. The look on Patel's face tells me I don't want to read whatever it says. Everard and Neil are now reading the letter over Patel's shoulder. I hear Everard mutter a curse word and then cover his face with both hands; Neil's breath audibly catches in his throat. Both are wearing expressions similar to Patel's. Stacey
comes up from behind me and snatches the letter from Adnin's still outstretched hand. In
a matter of seconds, she's looking up at me with tears in her eyes. Penelope, who's also just arrived beside us, reads the letter over her shoulder and gives me a similar look.
"Oh my God, Irene. I'm so sorry." Stacey whispers; with a shaking hand I reach out and take the letter. I immediately recognize my mother's cold cursive handwriting.
Irene,
Your sister was in an accident four days ago. She died in 's last night. You will remain at school for the the holidays. I will send for you when it's time for the funeral.
I'm so sorry,
-Lydia Boscawen
I stare at the paper, rereading the words, willing them to disappear in front of my eyes. Please, disappear. Don't be true. Go away. I feel a sudden irrational explosion of hatred for these words. These curly letters, aligned on the page. I hate them, want to murder them. Waves of pain crash over me and I feel something catch in my throat. I don't know if it's a sob, a scream, or the lunch I just ate. I look up to see five horrified faces staring at me. I see Stacey move toward me, see her take hold of my right arm. I see it happen, but I can't feel it; I don't feel her hand on my shoulder, or her arm against mine. It's there though; I know it's there because my eyes tell me it is. My field of view changes as Stacey steers me away from the table. We begin moving toward the entrance. I see a couple of faces staring at us from the tables nearby.
My mind is blank. The only thing I think about is the images I'm seeing as I continue to move forward. I can see Stacey by my side, propelling me onward. Now I see the double doors, and then the main staircase. When we reach the stairs, my legs automatically know what to do. I've heard that when you're injured badly, you become unconscious to escape the pain. It's the brain's method of protecting your body from the excruciating pain. I think the reverse is happening to me know. My body has taken over so that my mind alone can lose consciousness. Dimly, in the back of my head I know that if I start to think about what I read in the letter, about what's happened, if my mind comes out of its coma-like state, I would not be able to continue walking. Images of the hallway continue to blur past. Finally, I'm standing in the hospital wing.
Madam Pomfrey rushes out of her office. Stacey is speaking to her. Madam Pomfrey is responding. I don't know what they're saying, and I don't really care. I try to move away from Stacey. I want to be in my dormitory, alone. However Madam Pomfrey grabs hold of me and steers me into a bed. She runs into her office and returns with a potion vial with something green in it. She hands it to me, and when I don't take it, she puts it up to my lips, tilts my head back and forces me to drink. I vaguely recognize it as something for shock. I'd taken it in fourth year after an unfortunate encounter with a boggart in Care of Magical Creatures. I know the potion is supposed to taste awful, but I taste nothing as the yogurt-like substance slides down my throat.
I take another potion, this time purple. I recognize this one as a dreamless sleep potion only after it begins to take effect. Soon, everything goes black.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes I realize it's been about a year since my last update. I don't really have a good excuse, just that I got busy with my last year of highschool and university applications and many other life-related things. But I'm back with some new inspiration. If anyone's even slightly interested, tell me what you think. I feel like I should finish the story and put it to rest.