Away From Everyone

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah decided that he wanted to go somewhere for a few hours, somewhere where not many people would find him or think he would go to, as he did not feel like talking to people much. It wasn't because something happened between him and his friend, Asaiah just wanted to read his astronomy book without getting distracted by literally everything around him. The second year Slytherin eventually found himself standing by the lake, at a spot farthest away from the castle. He smiled at noticing the distance between where he was and the building, thinking that no one would walk this far because even he thought it perhaps was a bit too far away from Hogwarts. Asaiah walked toward a tree not far from him and sat down against it, opening his astronomy book on the page he left off before deciding to go to the lake.

 

[Louisa Clark]

Merlin it felt good to run. Ever since Avie Murphy had died, Louisa had avoided the lake, knowing the powers that be probably wouldn't be particularly enthusiastic about students swimming there now. Today, however, she had been unable to resist. The sky was blue, the lake was calm. She'd swum in much more dangerous waters before, and so she rationalized that if she were caught, she could at least argue her case that way. The far side of the lake had seemed the logical choice, since it was out of sight of the castle . As she ran, she took nothing in of her surroundings, running straight to the waters edge and withdrawing her swimsuit and towel from under her robes where she'd hidden them, and placing them on the ground before her. Taking a quick look around, she was about to change when she saw someone sitting under a nearby tree. Oh no. "Please don't tell!" she exclaimed, by means of greeting. It was just her luck that someone would be here on the one day she'd decided to indulge in her favourite hobby. He couldn't have failed to guess what she was doing; her swimming things were there for all to see.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah turned the last page of a chapter about the planets and their moons, a chapter he also had to read for an astronomy lesson. Lately the Slytherin tried his best in Professor Castor's lessons, partially because he really liked the subject and partially because he wanted to impress Zara, who seemed to know a lot about astronomy. Asaiah began to read the chapter about how stars were made. It was definitely a chapter the boy was excited to read ever since the Professor told them they would be covering it in one of then lessons this school year. However, the second year didn't finish the sentence he was reading as he heard a girl's voice. Come on. He thought. Why, when everytime Asaiah tried to read in peace, was there always something or someone that would distract him? He started to wonder whether the universe wanted him to get good grades or not. "It's OK," the Slytherin told the girl with a smile on his face, quickly glancing at her swimming things on the ground. "Just don't make too much noise, please." Asaiah said while his eyes moved back to his astronomy book.

 

[Louisa Clark]

The boy's response startled Louisa. He wasn't going to tell on her. The day suddenly became bright again, and she couldn't wait to get into the water. "Thank you so much!" It was here, at the lake, that Louisa felt most like the happy-go-lucky child she had once been. However, a problem quickly occurred to her. "Oh, um.. I should.." She couldn't exactly get changed in front of a boy. Her mother would not be impressed. Two years ago, it wouldn't have bothered her, but Louisa had come to an age where she was more aware of the difference between the genders. "Um, stay where you are! I'm sorry." she cringed, running to the other side of the tree with her things so the stranger couldn't see her. She changed quickly, and held her robes around her until she was dressed. Merlin this was embarrassing. She was very aware that the boy had asked her not to make noise, and yet that seemed to be all she was doing. Peeking around the trunk of the tree, to check that he was still reading, she made her way down to the lake's edge, her towel wrapped tightly around her.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah put his thumb in the air when the girl thanked him. He was fine with her swimming in the lake unless she would make so much noise that it either distracted him too much or that he wasn't able to read anymore. "Don't mention it." he said and continued reading once more. The book explained that the sun, along with the other stars, was a big glowing ball of gas, which made him chuckle when he read the word "gas" because his mind associated it with "fart". Asaiah looked up from his book for the second time when the girl told him to stay where he was sitting as she needed to change into her swimsuit. "No problem." the Slytherin said, "I wasn't planning on moving anyway." and shook his head when she ran to the other side of the tree he was sitting against. Moving his eyes, hopefully for the last time, to his book again, Asaiah finished a sentence he was reading.

 

[Louisa Clark]

With one final glance at the boy, Louisa threw her towel to where it would be safely dry and slipped into the water. Swimming here reminded her so much of home. She'd always preferred swimming in the river, but her Dad had brought her to the lake often, telling her time and time again how he'd met her mother there. Thought of Matthew Clark weren't exactly welcome ones for his daughter, but somehow, it felt easier when she was in the water; less like she'd lost him. Within minutes, she'd forgotten the boy on the shore, getting into deeper water and beginning with lengths. Her mother had been a swimmer and always advised lengths as a way of testing one's endurance. After a few turns about, she realised it had been months since she'd tested her eyes below water. As far as she knew, most of the lake life stayed deep below, but she didn't plan on descending too far, staying only about a metre below the surface. Her eyes, which had become unused to the intrusion of the water, took some time to adjust, but within seconds she began to see things. Mostly just pond weed swaying in the almost non-existent current of the murky water. As her lungs began to protest, she kicked back to the surface, allowing herself to float on the surface, looking up at the sky. Her Mum used to do this with her, picking out shapes and letting the water move you.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Happy that the girl listened to his request to keep the noise down so it would become an annoyance, Asaiah looked up at the lake every now and then, watching the girl closely as she was swimming around. After he was convinced that the girl was a pretty good swimmer the Slytherin boy turned his attention back to his astronomy book as he was about to read a paragraph on the sun and that it would eventually die, taking the earth with it because the earth wouldn't be able to survive without its sun. After a while Asaiah did not hear the girl anymore, so worried that something happened - and not fond of the idea of another death in the lake - the boy stood up and approached the lake's edge. Luckily for him, at the moment he stood still, the girl reached the surface. Smiling when he saw her.

 

[Louisa Clark]

Turning slightly, because the sun was hurting her eyes, Louisa could see the student had moved from the tree. He was looking at her, smiling. Very odd. Straightening and treading water, she watched him for a moment, frowning. People could be so strange sometimes. Swimming closer to the shore, she reached a point where she could call out. "Is there something wrong?" That wasn't really what she'd meant to ask "I mean, what are you doing here?" He'd asked her to be quiet, and and had now abandoned his reading. That made no sense whatsoever. "Like, I came here because it's out of sight of most in the castle and given recent events, I didn't want to be too visible, but I don't understand why you'd come over here if you're not swimming. It's quite a bit away." She had to raise her voice to be heard, but the water was so lovely that she had no inclination to leave it.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

''I'm making sure that you are not dead,'' Asaiah said, looking at the girl. ''It got rather quiet and I got worried something might have happened to you. I don't think the school can handle another death in the lake.'' The last bit came out a bit too cold for his liking, but it was the truth. He could feel the mood shift after Avie died, and didn't want something like that to happen again so thought that checking up on her wasn't that weird at all. ''It's OK for you to come here. I mean the weather is quite nice today so why not? And I came over here because I wanted to read without the usual distractions.'' the Slytherin told her, glancing his head at the book in his hand. ''Just make some noise when something is wrong, all right? I'll come as quickly as possible.''

 

[Louisa Clark]

"That's part of why I came over here, I didn't want anyone who might've known him to see me. It might be upsetting." Louisa answered defensively. Sullen and awkward as she was, she was a sensitive thing, knowing full well how it felt to lose someone. This boy, however, didn't know Louisa, and while the rational part of her knew he meant well, the pride in her nature was hurt by the insinuation. "Well, you won't be hearing any noise. I'll be fine. I've been swimming since I was little. My parents literally met on a lake, when my Mum was swimming." Her chin thrust defiantly forward, her indignation was rendered slightly comical by the fact that she bobbed up and down treading water. Most people would've been able to stand in this water, but the diminutive Slytherin couldn't reach the lake's floor. "I'm probably a better swimmer than you, even though you are older." The boy was older than her, of that much she was sure. He hadn't been at the sorting ceremony, though he looked somewhat familiar. Maybe he was a Slytherin. She couldn't see a crest from here.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah listened as the girl answered rather defensively, something which he didn't understand because he only wanted to make sure that she was fine. ''How very thoughtful of you.'' Asaiah commented back sarcastically because he felt attacked by the tone she spoke in. He didn't know her nor did she look familiar to him but she was giving him the impression as if she didn't like him checking up on her at all. ''I'm saying that if something might happen and you find yourself impossible to swim to safety, just shout. I'll help. You know, because I'm stronger than you are.'' the Slytherin told the girl with a smirk on his face. Of course she was a better swimmer than he was. He hated swimming ever since he almost drowned in the ocean when he and his family were on a vacation.

 

[Louisa Clark]

The boy's words were like a knife to Louisa's heart. It had been thoughtful, because she'd learnt that the callous words and actions of others could hurt. She could feel tears filling her eyes as he spoke, and as he continued speaking, they began to trail down her cheeks, She lowered her face into the water, knowing she was too far away for him to see properly. "Well, I guess you won't have to help me, because you entirely ruined it all." she called back, ducking into the water, and returning to shore, unhappy with how chrill her voice sounded. It wasn't exactly possible to cry underwater, which was a good thing, so when she emerged the tears would be gone. The swim to shore took far too long for her comfort, and as she stalked past the boy, she couldn't help turning around to say "I don't care if you're stronger than me, because you don't know me at all, so you shouldn't say sarcastic, mean things, when you know nothing- nothing- about someone." With these words she grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her torso, feeling the cold now that she was out of the water.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah looked at the girl as if he was about to kill her. How was this suddenly all his fault? His only intentions were for the girl to be safe as she was swimming and now suddenly he had ruined it all for her? No. This was on her, she ruined it for herself and she was wrong to blame her own mistakes on someone else. Asaiah followed the girl when she went underwater and stepped back when she reached she shore and stepped out of the water. When the girl told him that he didn't know her at all, he scoffed, saying, ''Says the girl whose assuming she can swim better than someone she doesn't know a thing about.'' Asaiah didn't like the way she spoke, especially since it wasn't even his fault to begin with, so without hesitation fired back at the girl. ''Maybe you should think about that..'' He wasn't showing it but Asaiah was slowly getting upset.

 

[Louisa Clark]

"I didn't assume, I said I 'probably' was, which I probably am!" Louisa fumed, wishing she were anywhere but here. The day had started so perfectly, and now it was utterly spoilt. "You know what? I wish I had assumed, because I bet I am. My Mum was a champion swimmer and my Dad; well he," but Louisa couldn't talk about Matthew Clark. Her eyes were visibly wet at this point, and her words came out too high and squeaky. She desperately tried to blink them away, to let her anger fuel her, but she was failing dismally. "You can't tease me for trying to be thoughtful, it's not fair. People, they don't think before they do things and then.." And then, a joke about how depressing homework was could send a little Slytherin girl to her dormitory to cry, or a casual remark about how you'd rather kill yourself than serve another detention could force her out of the room before her eyes betrayed her. Sometimes, casual words could be cruel, even when they weren't intended to cause injury. For this reason, Louisa was usually careful with her words and actions, but she wasn't being particularly careful at the moment, or she might've noticed that she was upsetting the boy.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah bit on the inside of his cheek and looked away from the girl as soon as he noticed that her eyes were wet. He sighed and looked back at the girl when she told that she wished she had assumed that she was a better swimmer than he was. ''Look,'' Asaiah said, carefully thinking about what to say next because he didn't want her to cry even more. ''I-.. I'm sorry that I ruined your day for you, OK? I am also sorry for making you cry.. I didn't meant to do that either.'' he told the girl whilst he was calming down. He wasn't particularly proud of the fact that he had made a little girl cry. Asaiah nodded his head at what she told him next. ''I know,'' the Slytherin said, glancing away from the girl from time to time. ''How about you go swimming again and I leave?'' he suggested, hoping it would somehow cheer her up a little.

 

[Louisa Clark]

His response startled her, and she found herself looking at him with a confused frown on her face. "What?" His apology brought her back into the moment, and she rubbed her eyes. She'd just cried in front of this boy. Crying in front of others was the one thing she'd spent the last two years avoiding, and yet here she was. She shook her head as he spoke, knowing now that she'd taken a moment to breath that her behaviour had been somewhat aggressive. "No, no... It's my fault." It was, to be fair. She'd taken out her own problems on an innocent party. "I'm going to just, get changed and go inside. You should stay and read. I.." The words nearly stuck in her throat. "I'm sorry. It- it really doesn't have anything, I mean, it's nothing to do with, Merlin that sounds rude too!" How could she explain herself? "I wasn't really crying, I mean, I never cry." That was more an aside than anything. "It wasn't your fault. It's me, and I was rude and it's something else, but it doesn't matter." she blurted out, oblivious to how little sense she was making, before walking rapidly past him to take shelter behind the tree, where she could get changed, and allow those few tears to fall silently. Perhaps she wasn't really as okay as she tried to be. This place held too much of him, knowing that her Dad had probably swum in this lake, had walked the halls. It just hit her every now and then, and with such an aura of grief in the castle, she couldn't help reliving her own.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah smiled as she tried to take all the blame, even though this was all her fault. He just really wanted the girl to be happy again like she was before he'd decided to check up on her. Something which he now regretted because it had brought him in an uncomfortable situation. ''Honestly,'' the second year began, ''It's fine.. You want to read with me? It's really interesting.'' he asked, desperate to cheer her up. He felt awkward. Other than Hannah, though he knew she was faking it everytime, Asaiah had never made a girl cry, so felt incredibly guilty for the fact that he had done so. Asaiah followed the little girl as she quickly moved past him to get behind the tree he was sitting against. He walked to the tree, to the spot where he sat down, so he could talk to her without having to raise his voice. ''If this makes you feel better; we were both being rude in our own ways, I'm sorry and you said you were sorry too. Please, you don't have to leave it you don't want to.''

 

[Louisa Clark]

He was being so nice now, which was terribly confusing, especially when she didn't deserve it. "What are you reading?" she asked, trying now, with all her might, to be polite. She shouldn't have acted the way she had, especially when she'd spent the first few months of the year trying not to be noticed. She'd already lost her cool with that horrible prefect girl, and now she was shouting at someone who was innocent of any wrongdoing other than saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. As she emerged from behind the tree, back in her robes, with her swimsuit wrapped up in her towel, and her hair still damp, she turned to face the boy. "Look, I appreciate you trying to be nice to me, because I don't really deserve it, but you don't have to be. I'm tough." Louisa hated sympathy, and above all, pity. "I didn't behave well, and I don't really have an excuse other than I was annoyed when you said I was being thoughtful, as in how you said it, which probably doesn't really make sense to you.." It didn't even really make sense to Louisa, who now felt she had to explain herself. Ella had always said an apology must be heartfelt and detailed, else it didn't count. "I know what it's like when people do or say things that upset you, even though they mightn't mean to, and so I did come here, partially so I wouldn't be seen by professors, and partially out of trying to be thoughtful, because when someone says something that reminds you of what happened, it's like you have to live it again." Louisa didn't want to inflict that pain on someone else. "I got mad with you, when really it's other people I'm angry with, which isn't fair, and so I'm sorry I ruined your day; you asked me to be quiet and I did the opposite." She felt she ought to leave, and began glancing back toward the castle.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah smiled again when she asked him what he was reading. He thought it was a good sign because it made the girl stop rubbing in her eyes. ''It's about astronomy. You will have to read this in your second year. It is really interesting and it couldn't hurt to read in advance, right?'' Asaiah said with a wink. He wasn't particulary good at talking with children younger than him, but thought that he was going pretty good so far because she had stopped crying and he could now talk to her normally. Asaiah nodded his head whilst he listened to her talk as she moved from behind the tree and chuckled when she told him she was a tough fellow. ''To be fair, I shouldn't have been sarcastic towards you. It was nice of you to be thoughtful.'' he told her with a smile. ''And it wasn't a nice thing of me to do, and it just made you more upset.'' If he'd be looking at it this way then he too was at fault for he had not reacted as he should have. When the girl was talking once more Asaiah couldn't help but feel like the girl was having a lot on her plate, so out of curiosity asked, ''You talk as if you walk around with a heavy heart. Is there something you, eh.. You wanna let go? I won't tell a living soul, I promise.''

 

[Louisa Clark]

Louisa wasn't particularly interested in astronomy. The only class she found she she really enjoyed was potions, because there was rarely any need for her wand, and the professor was kind without being nosy. "I'm sure you're right." was her lackluster response. This boy didn't deserve her anger, not the way that obnoxious prefect had. There was an inherent sense of justice in the young girl's character, and while she didn't regret shouting at the blonde a jot, she did regret her treatment of this boy. "I over-reacted." That was true, and it was something she was doing more and more these days. As the conversation moved to safer topics, the stone-cold Louisa returned. Her face betrayed little sign of the emotion she'd shown only moments before, but the boy's next question shook her to her core. "No!" she blurted out, too quickly for it to be true. She hadn't spoken about Matthew, not really, not since it had happened. She didn't speak to Ella about him, not wanting to upset her mother, though her lack of communication worried the woman more than any amount of tearful confessions could have. It hurt though, to keep it all bottled up, and part of wondered what harm it would do to to tell someone. This boy didn't know her name, and she didn't need to tell him. "Yes." she admitted with a sign, collapsing against the tree to sit where she wouldn't have to face her companion. "My Dad is dead. Suicide. A year and a half ago. Nobody here knows, because when it happened, my friends they acted so different, and I don't want to be the girl whose Dad died again. So, I don't talk to people here, because they'll do that too. I got angry, because when it happened, people just said things that they didn't realise were upsetting, but they were, and I don't want to do that to someone. You didn't do anything wrong, you didn't even really say something hurtful, so I am sorry. Please don't tell anyone." This admission came with a stony face, no tears, no crying. She wouldn't betray herself that way again.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah sat down against the other side of the tree and listened as the girl told him what was on her mind. He half expected the girl to talk about not adjusting in very well or having problems with the homework she was given, as it was something he knew most new students were struggling with, but instead she told him about her father, something he didn't expect at all when he asked the girl if she wanted to tell him what was wrong. For a moment Asaiah did not know what to say to her. How did you talk to a girl who actually didn't want to talk about what happened to the past and just wanted to have a fresh start? ''Sometimes you have to be that girl in order to make people understand why you react the way you do.'' He said softly after a while. He had absolutely no intentions of upsetting this girl again so chose his words carefully. ''And if they still react different after that, then they're not really your friends, now are they? I mean, they are friends, they shouldn't react differently around you. Ever thought about telling them that?'' Asaiah asked and smiled slightly, though she couldn't see it. ''And I won't tell anyone, I promise you.'' the Slytherin said afterwards.

 

[Louisa Clark]

The fact that he didn't speak for a while worked in Louisa's favour. Speaking about her Dad was something the tiny Slytherin was completely unused to. She rarely mentioned him, and hadn't spoken his name aloud in months. When the older boy did speak, however, he didn't try to sympathise, which was a point in his favour as far as Louisa was concerned. She didn't reply, instead allowing him to finish his speech before she said anything. "It's safer not to make friends. It's just more people who can leave you." Were the words that eventually slipped, unbidden from her lips, so quiet that he may not have heard them. "I almost did make a friend, at the Valentine's dance, a boy called me his friend and I ran away. It's not worth it." she admitted, staring at the ground and refusing to look at her companion. While her eyes were dry, she knew they betrayed the sadness that lived in her now. She didn't want anyone to see that. "It's too late now. All the people in school were muggles, I'd just have more secrets. It wasn't their fault really, they just didn't know what to say." Sometimes she wished she'd never had to leave Hamilton, at least there were no questions in Hamilton, everyone knew she was the dead fireman's daughter.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah looked confused when she told him about the valentine's dance. ''Why not?'' he asked, genuinely wondering why she thought that having a friend wasn't worth it. ''Don't get me wrong, but everyone needs friends. Even you do. Otherwise you will always be alone, and I reckon you don't want that either.'' Once again choosing his words carefully. He felt sorry for the girl. She was put in this situation because of the death of her father and she didn't deserve it at all. ''But that doesn't mean you have to shelter yourself from all the people at Hogwarts. All right, you're the kid with the dead father but you are probably not the only one who is dealing with problems such as that.'' When Asaiah noticed that it sounded a bit too harsh, he corrected himself. ''What I mean is that you are surrounded by people just like you. You don't have to run away or keep secrets from anyone here.'' He hoped his words would honestly cheer the girl up, as she could definitely use it. ''I'll be your friend, if you promise not to run away this time.''

 

[Louisa Clark]

He was probably right, but Louisa just wasn't ready to accept that yet. "I have Mum, she's enough for me. I'll look after her." She knew she'd probably be able to make friends, if she wanted. It had never been difficult for her before, the issue was that she didn't want friends, not any more. "I know other people have gone through the same." The reply was meant kindly, and she tried to remind herself of that, almost daily, it just didn't really help much. "It's not that I want to keep it a secret, it's just that people ask too many questions, and they do act differently, whether it's right or not, they do." His last sentence forced her to look at him. This was exactly the kind of thing she tried to avoid. "That's the problem though. When someone is your friend, you care about them, you love them. People don't stay. Something could happen to them, or they could tire of you, and they'll leave you." His counter-argument, she guessed, would be the one she'd fought herself with a thousand times before. "Please don't say that 'not everyone leaves,' because he wasn't supposed to leave. He wasn't even forced to leave. He chose to, he chose to leave me, when he promised he'd always be there, so don't tell me some people will stay, because he was my Dad and he left, so how can I trust other people won't?" Her eyes were watering again, but she blinked away the tears. This was the crux of the issue for Louisa, the fear of being hurt again. She couldn't understand why she was saying all of this to the boy beside her; perhaps it was the sadness that had permeated the school seeping into her soul.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah kept silent because he honestly didn't know what to say to the next to him anymore. At every attempt of cheering her up she had something to say, which frustrated him a bit. "Look," he began. "I know you told me not to tell you that 'not everyone leaves' but if you keep telling yourself that then I'm not surprised that you don't want any friends." The Slytherin looked the girl in her eyes. "The way I see it is you have two options; one, make friends and trust them, or two, keep running away from it." Asaiah didn't care anymore if he sounded cold or harsh. He just wanted this girl to be happy again and have a few friends. "What your father did was horrible, I'll not deny that. But you do need friends you can trust. You don't even have to tell them about you father If you don't want to." Asaiah smiled at the girl. It was really all he could say to her.