Catching Up

[Isaiah Jeffreys]

Isaiah Jeffreys was sure that he wasn't supposed to be in this room. He'd been wondering around looking a quiet spot to write to his siblings, but every time he'd sat down, he'd been interrupted, and losing his concentration meant that he got up and went somewhere else. The only problem with this being that he was quickly running out of places that he could actually go. That was until he'd stepped into what looked like a bathroom. It was a strange and empty place, and perhaps not the first place that anyone would go to unless they really needed it. Isaiah wasn't sure if this was for males or females. He was just sort of questioning it in his mind. He glanced around the room and gave a small shrug. He couldn't decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing. He smiled ever so slightly, the only noise was the faint dripping of water from a tap. Which made the boy smile. He was certain that he could write the letter in peace. His dorm room had obviously been an option but there had been students in the common room causing a racket, and he'd left because of that originally. He took out the parchment and quill and began to write his letter. It wasn't overly complicated. Just a simple and long letter that he decided to write. explaining how he was, how he'd helped bring his team victory in the first quidditch match. All of that. Isaiah grinned as he thought of it.

The Ravenclaw had not actually scored but he'd gotten pretty close and that was really all that mattered. Isaiah remembered it fondly. He glanced around at the bathrooms as he picked his next words. He was looking forward to seeing them again. he really missed his siblings. Despite how they'd first made him feel, he actually missed them terribly. He knew that it had to do with that rough patch that his brother's didn't remember, which he thanked all the gods for. And their life had gotten easier since his father had found someone new. It didn't take away from the incredibly close bond that the brothers had, but it definitely took some weight off his still small shoulders. He smiled as he thought of them. Despite everything, Isaiah loved his family, he wouldn't change it for the world. Not now, not ever. His green eyes where no longer looking at the letter he was writing but staring off into space. He had a faint smile, but it was clear that in Isaiah's mind he was seeing his family, and everything that came from it. He was telling in his mind the story of how they were spending time in the sun together as a family. Just being with one another. Which was the best thing. With a small shake of his head, Isaiah went back to writing the letter. He still had much to tell them, and Isaiah was a story teller at heart, he couldn't really stop himself from telling a story even in writing a letter.
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[Aliyah Wright]

Aliyah skipped up the Hogwarts stairways, unfazed by their sudden movements and turns. The second year had spent far too much time during the last couple of months running up and down the stairs from the Slytherin Common room to the Owlery. Her parents found it necessary to send her updates at least once a week about how her mother's pregnancy was progressing. Now that it was November and the baby was due any day now letters were coming two and even sometimes three times a week. Tsk. Like the young witch really cared how often the baby kicked or that her mother had developed a craving for Sticky Toffee Pudding ice cream with pickles. Finding out that she was going to become a big sister was as closest thing to a traumatic experience the twelve year old had ever encountered. Over the winter holiday she had managed to tear through the first four stages of grief over the announcement of the new little life. When she first stepped off the Hogwarts Express after her first year away at school, she was sure that mother had just had stopped going for jogs and had gotten fat. She knew something was horribly wrong the moment the Wrights stepped into their Wellington home and her parents sat her on the plush burgundy couch for "a family chat".

The pre-teen only caught bit and pieces of what her parents were trying to say. "only a few months along" "nothing will really change" "I think you would like being a sister" After several moments of stunned silence, Aliyah erupted into tantrum of epic proportions. Tears, raised voices, and harsh accusations flew liberally from the petite girl. She had never seen her father look as shocked and disappointed as he did that day, but Aliyah didn't care. This was probably all his idea anyway. She was out of sight and out of his mind and Harrison Wright was just itching to replace his first child with a new model the first moment he could. She angrily stormed off to her room, which was now being used as a storage facility for unassembled cribs and changing tables, and collapsed into heap on her bed. She didn't spend much time outside of her room or speak much to either of parents for the rest of the time she was home. Although the time and space she gained from being away at school allowed her to relax a little, Aliyah was just as depressed and bitter as she was on the day she first got the news. She would trade all the Os she earned last year for chance to stay at school next break.

Aliyah hadn't even reached the Owlery Tower when she heard a familiar hoot and watch as her owl FeFe swooped down dropped her a letter into hand. An unsettled feeling made her stomach feel heavy with nerves as peeled open the letter. Her father's hand writing was messier than usual, like he written the note in hurry. The twelve year old had to squint to make out all the words.

Aliyah -

I'm writing this from the hospital. Your mother is fine. So is the baby. She is here. You have a sister. Vanessa Lucille. There were some complications, but your mother and sister are doing well. I hope that classes are going well. Don't let this distract you. Finish strong.

Dad

Aliyah flipped the letter over a few times, hoping that there was something more. What complications? The second year didn't know anything about child birth, but she knew that a complication was never a good thing. So much for not being distracted. The news turned the Slytherin a bubbling cauldron of emotion. She felt angry that a father hadn't told her anything more, sad that she couldn't be there for her hurting mother, and annoyed that this baby (whom she didn't even want here) had caused all this trouble to begin with. Aliyah felt the tears gather in her eyes. Keenly aware that she was still standing in the middle of the fifth corridor stairway, she rushed into the first bathroom she came across. The small girl shut her eyes and rested her back against the closed door. She deeply exhaled and finally allowed the tears to roll onto her cheeks.