Clear My Mind

[Nell Night]

Nell hated how everything felt right now. Being at home felt wrong, going about her usual life felt wrong, everything was... empty without Selene in it. She desperately wanted to think about anything else, but everything she did reminded her of the last year. The journals she kept so lovingly were filled with page after page of thoughts and feelings about Selene, her schoolbooks were a reminder that they would be back at classes together next year, it all piled up one thing after another, a tower of the life she had built around the false idea that she and Selene were in love, and would be forever, none of which had ever been true.

Staying home hurt, so Nell was trying going out. As much as she hated that her mind was still full of information about Selene, it was a relief to know that the other girl wasn't going to be around Obsidian in the holidays. That made the Leaky Cauldron the perfect hideaway, a place Nell hadn't spent much time before, without any heavy associations to drag her down. Being alone was miserable, so maybe talking to someone, anyone would be better. She was a bit disappointed not to see any familiar classmates, but maybe that was for the best. Everyone knew she and Selene had broken up, the school that had voted them 'first to get married' would be watching ready to comfort her over her failure, a comfort Nell desperately didn't want. She would... meet someone, then. Find someone new she didn't know and maybe make a new friend, one who wouldn't care about Selene. Reporting for the Monthly gave Nell a pretty good memory for who people around the school were, and she recognised a girl sitting at one of the tables from many quidditch matches. "Hey! Gwen, right!" Nell's voice was just a little too cheerful as she slid into a seat at the older girl's table. "Do you mind if I join you? I don't know anyone else here. I'm Nell by the way, from the Monthly?" She added, smiling as she sipped on her drink. "You just graduated, right? How does it feel? Must be cool, getting to leave everything behind and start fresh..."

 

[Gwen Owens-Lee]

Gwen couldn't be more happy in her life at the moment. She had so much planned since graduating from Hogwarts and couldn't wait to start her journey of a lifetime. She had mastered Apparition and was using it a lot more frequently now, especially since leaving school and being able to use magic outside. It was going to be so much fun exploring the world now, visiting every single country there was, and she had so much time to do it all. The girl knew that she was going to miss New Zealand though, as it was the country where she had spent most of her life. She knew a lot of people there too, had lots of people to talk to, and so she knew it would be somewhere she would have to come back to once she left.

Gwen was sat in the leaky cauldron, flipping through the pages of the magazine her cousin gave her the last time they saw each other as she waited for her food to arrive. Gwen never spoke to Alis too much, and she wasn't even entirely sure what she wrote about in these magazines, but it seemed interesting enough, not that Gwen thought it was a reputable source for news. As Gwen heard a voice approach her she quickly looked up to find a familiar face. She had never spoken to Nell before, never had the need to as she was in a different house and different year at Hogwarts, and so it was a little bit of a surprise to see her take a seat right across from her. "Yeah, you write those articles." Gwen said, clarifying that she knew who she was. Nell asked her about graduating and Gwen beamed. "Oh I love it! I haven't started travelling yet, but I will soon and I'm looking forward to it!" Gwen closed the magazine she was reading as her bowl of soup arrived, and she thanked the waitress before speaking again. "How did your OWL exams last year go? Did you get the grades you wanted?"

 

[Nell Night]

Nell could feel that she was maybe being a tad over the top in her cheerfulness, but happiness just didn't feel natural right now. Maybe it wouldn't for a long time. This was the closest facsimile she could manage, so this was what Gwen was getting. "Oh, cool!" She said brightly, leaning over the table slightly to listen. "Where are you gonna travel?" Traveling would be so nice right now, but even if Nell had been old enough to travel by herself, she had no idea where she would want to go. Maybe it would be nice to live vicariously through someone else's plans. She shrugged when Gwen asked about the OWLs, taking an evasive sip of her drink. "They were better than I feared." She said a little heavily. "Like, at least I'll make it to NEWT level. Not super great though." Dropping a bunch of classes had helped Nell finally rise above her previous P average, but every A and E still felt like a scrape, and it was disheartening. She wasn't stupid, far from it, but time management had never been her strong suit. Eager to change the subject, she tilted her head slightly. "Any advice for the NEWTs? Did you do well?"

 

[Gwen Owens-Lee]

Gwen found it cool that Nell seemed interested in where she wanted to travel. Traveling was Gwen's favourite thing and she really couldn't wait to finally conquer the world and discover things that she had never discovered before. She would definitely come back with lots of stories. "I've already been to Wales, I go there quite frequently, so basically everywhere else." she told her. "Have you travelled anywhere cool? Seen something you think I should see?" Gwen was definitely open to suggestions and was more than eager to get started on her journeys. She picked up her spoon and began eating her soup as Nell told her how her OWL exams went. "Yeah I think everyone thinks they're gonna be super bad but they never end up being too hard at all. They're just exams just like every other year." Gwen told her with a shrug, knowing that ultimately the exam results meant nothing. As Nell asked her for advice for the NEWTs, Gwen thought for a moment before speaking. "Honestly just try not to worry so much. I did pretty well considering I honestly didn't care. I think stressing too much can really take a toll." she said truthfully. "What subjects are you taking?"

 

[Nell Night]

Nell snorted softly when Gwen asked if she had any travel recommendations, shaking her head. 'I've never really been anywhere." She shrugged slightly. Nell knew there were a million incredible things out there in the world to discover; that if she ever started travelling she was likely to never stop, but for the moment she had lived her whole life in New Zealand. She relaxed slightly when Gwen spoke about the NEWTs, relieved to hear they hadn't been too difficult. "I've got History, Astronomy, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Divination. I'm hoping to go into journalism." She explained, feeling a little strange listing her subjects. She knew for a fact that dropping most of her classes had been the right call; it reflected clearly in her fifth year grades, but it still felt a little strange having a list that was so short by comparison. "The OWLs were okay, but the NEWTs feel so much bigger. Seventh years always seem so stressed out..."