Closed Everything is fine

[Estella Fuentes]

For once, Estella hated the idea of going back to Hogwarts and seeing her friends again. She didn't think she would ever forgive herself for what she had done, and the thought of admitting everything to her closest friends, especially Rose and Ana, was definitely keeping her on edge. She had purposely avoided them lately in fear that they knew of what happened and they didn't want to be her friend anymore. She deserved it though, she was sure of it. For once she just wanted to talk to her sister again. She was the only one that knew the full truth and still didn't totally hate her. But as Estella entered the Great Hall for breakfast that morning, she surveyed the Gryffindor table to not find her sister anywhere. She knew her friends would be coming into the Great Hall soon and so quickly tried to find someone to sit with so her friends didn't have a reason to join her. The only person she could see was Harper, so she approached her, smiling broadly. "Hi Harper! How was your break?" she asked, in her best attempt to portray that everything was fine.

 

[Harper Alston]

After cutting back on her morning workouts, there really was no reason for Harper to be up so early. But she couldn't help it. Somehow, it felt wrong not to be up at dawn. She had always loved the quiet hope of an early morning, and now that she no longer had to worry about wind sprints or kilometer repeats, she could appreciate these moments a little more — even if they made her a little sad.

Of course, the moments never lasted, and the Great Hall was already starting to fill as the rest of the castle woke up. Harper was watching the entrance for any sign of her friends when Estella suddenly appeared in front of her. For a second, she just stared at the girl in confusion. Estella was acting perfectly normal, as if she hadn't cheated on and then ghosted one of Harper's friends just last semester. Harper would have assumed that the Hufflepuff would try and avoid any of her ex's friends.

Unless Estella didn't know that she and Nikko were friends, which would be a bit strange. Then again, Harper had kept her distance from both last year while she worked to get over her feelings for Nikko. Regardless, it seemed Estella was waiting for an answer to her question. "It was fine," she said in a neutral tone. Her break had actually been the exact opposite of fine, but Estella was one of the last people Harper wanted to confide in about her football or sibling woes. Nikko situation aside, she remembered the Hufflepuff once deriding her own sister for liking "boy things." "Are you... looking for someone?" she asked, wondering if maybe Estella was looking for Nikko. Last Harper had heard, the Hufflepuff still owed him an apology.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Estella hadn’t expected Harper’s reaction. It seemed as though Harper didn’t really want anything to do with her, especially since she didn’t even say hello. She was a little dry, and it made Estella immediately think the worst. Nikko had obviously told all of Gryffindor what had happened. She didn’t want to believe it, and she didn’t want to be angry at him, but she was definitely starting to feel it. Estella didn’t want to be too obvious, but she could feel her heart beating strongly against her chest at the thought of losing a friend over this. She was suddenly no longer hungry. “Um, no.” she said when Harper asked if she was looking for someone. It was a little rude, but again, Estella didn’t want to lose a friend. Trying to hold back some tears that suddenly wanted to fall, Estella spoke again. “Harper w-what’s wrong?” she asked, her voice a little shaky.

 

[Harper Alston]

Estella's entire demeanor changed, leaving Harper even more confused. While she definitely hadn't been warm and cheery, Harper had thought she'd at least been cordial. Maybe Estella did in fact know that she knew about the breakup. The Hufflepuff was definitely acting that way. Harper sighed. She didn't enjoy seeing Estella so upset, but it was probably better to address this head-on and she was almost grateful for the girl's question.

"Look, I know it's not really my business," Harper started, trying to choose her words carefully, "but I really think you should talk to Nikko about what happened last semester." She assumed Estella would know exactly what she was referring to. As upset as Harper was that Estella had hurt one of her friends, she didn't see any point in torturing the girl by spelling out her mistakes and throwing them in her face. "He was really hurt." Harper decided to just leave it at that since she didn't want to speak for Nikko. She would have preferred not even having this conversation in the first place, but she couldn't not say something, not after watching him spend most of last semester visibly upset.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Estella listened as Harper spoke, and her heart sank as she mentioned Nikko. She hadn't mean to hurt Nikko, but clearly she had, and there was nothing she could really do to change that now. Obviously Nikko and Harper were close, and it was all making a little more sense to the Hufflepuff. "I'm sorry." Estella said softly, feeling a little stupid as she looked down at the empty plate in front of her. Estella was pretending everything was fine whilst Nikko seemed to be really hurt, and the teen had not felt so bad about anything in her life before. "I promise I will talk to him. It's just a bit of an awkward thing to bring up, isn't it? I'm a little nervous about it." Estella knew she was just finding excuses now, but she also knew that she just wasn't ready yet, despite how long ago it was. She didn't want Nikko to react negatively.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper shook her head. "You don't have to apologise to me." After all, Estella hadn't done anything to her. The only person who could accept an apology was Nikko. She sighed a little when the Hufflepuff mentioned how awkward the conversation would be. "It is," she agreed. Harper certainly didn't envy Estella's position. At the same time, she didn't really think Estella had anyone to blame but herself for any awkwardness or nervousness she might be feeling. And compared to the hurt Estella had caused, a little awkwardness wasn't that bad. "But I think you owe him at least a conversation," she said gently. "Try to think about things from his point of view, how he must have felt." As a fairly conflict-averse person herself, Harper knew that running away for your problems was often easier. But she hoped that urging Estella to have a little empathy would push the girl to finally talk to Nikko.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

As their conversation continued, Estella realised that Harper was simply just concerned for her friend. Estella always thought Harper was the nicest of all of the Gryffindors, and so this did not surprise her. She didn't realise how close Nikko and Harper were until then. The Hufflepuff sighed, from relief that Harper didn't hate her entirely, but also because she wasn't looking forward to what she inevitably had to face. "Don't worry, I'll talk to him." she said, looking down at the empty plate. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen, but thanks for... you know... giving me a heads up." She appreciated it, and it was definitely the push she needed to face what she had done and try to fix it the best that she could, especially if she wanted to keep Harper as a friend. "No bad feelings between us though, right?" Estella asked, hoping to find some reassurance.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper wasn't sure she believed Estella. After all, the girl had had over seven months to apologise to her (then) boyfriend, someone she presumably cared about, and she hadn't even spoken to him. Harper wasn't arrogant enough to think that anything she had said to Estella was particularly convincing. All she could do was hope that the Hufflepuff felt guilty enough to actually do something.

At Estella's question, Harper hesitated, which was probably answer enough. It felt a little like the Hufflepuff was looking for someone to soothe her conscience. The question also struck Harper as a little audacious since Estella was asking it before she had even apologised to Nikko. She wondered if Estella would be so quick to embrace someone who had hurt one of her friends. "I... I don't know." Maybe it was the weight of everything that had happened over break, but Harper just couldn't find the energy to hate the girl. Anger was an exhausting emotion, and Harper had bigger problems to deal with. At the same time, she knew she didn't want to spend any extra time with someone who could be so casually cruel. "What you did was pretty messed up," she said, wincing a little as the words slipped out. She hadn't wanted to scold the girl, but she didn't know how to put her thoughts into words. "And Nikko's my friend." And she had always been exceedingly loyal to her friends. Harper sighed and started to gather her belongings. "Just... make sure you talk to him." She felt like a broken record, but there wasn't much more she had to say to Estella.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Estella just nodded as Harper spoke to her and was unable to really answer her question. She didn't blame her for it and as Harper began gathering her things, Estella knew that it was the end of their conversation. She knew that in order to prove how much their friendship meant, she needed to talk to Nikko and come to peace with everything, even if it felt impossible at that moment. She couldn't lose a single friend over this, and she would make sure of that. "I will. Thanks, Harper." she said, feeling like an apology would just be a waste of words. She stood up from her seat and began to walk out of the great hall.