Open Here Without You

[Sapphire Michaels]

Keeping up her letters to Onyx was quickly becoming a normal part of Sapphire's routine. She sat perched in a window, unable to help but giggle at his latest letter. If there was anything good that had come from this entire mess, it was how sweet and innocent her brother seemed now. Making Uncle James do a photoshoot so he could have seventh year pictures too, it was adorable. She shifted through the photos Onyx had sent her, smiling warmly. He was such a dork. She sighed softly, tears welling up in her eyes for the hundredth time, but she was quick to swipe them away. She hated being away from him, but there was nothing that could be done about it right now. She sat back, leaning her head against the cool stone and shutting her eyes.

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana's year had been uneventful and rather boring so far, not at all what she had expected from her final year. When she was younger, she had always thought the seventh years seemed so glamorous and adult, but now she realized that they were just... waiting for school to be over. It felt almost like there was no point in trying anything new, with graduation waiting for them at the end of the year. And she missed Cole, a lot. It just hadn't been what she had expected, and that frustrated her. Diana had taken to just walking around the castle when she was bored, hoping to pick up some interesting gossip. Nothing that interesting had been happening, but she was sure something was bound to come up. The girl spotted Sapphire sitting on a windowsill in one of the towers, and frowned before approaching her. She knew Sapphire had had a difficult break, but she didn't think her friend should be moping all the time. She also thought her choice in other friends was rather questionable, but she didn't want to fight with her. She headed over to her and peered over her shoulder. "Are you staring at your brother to make sure you're still the prettier twin? Because you don't have to worry about that." She said, hoping the girl wouldn't mind a joke when she clearly missed her brother dearly. Diana just wasn't very good at mushy feelings talk.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire opened her eyes, surprised to see Diana there. "Hey," She greeted, shifting in her seat so that Diana could sit with her if she wanted. "Onyx didn't like that the rest of us would have graduation pictures and he wouldn't." She held up the photos. "My uncle is a professional photographer, after all." She gave Diana a small smile. "Overhear any good gossip?" She asked.

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana was interested to hear that Sapphire's uncle was a professional photographer. That was a good connection to have. She glanced at the photos, and smiled a bit. "Well, they're certainly him." She said with a slight nudge to Sapphire. "Glad to see he's okay." Somehow, in her mind she had feared he would look worse, though she knew the damage was on the inside and not out. "Not really. I think there's something weird going on with Sam, though. She's been acting strange." She said, referring to their roommate. "Would you know anything about that?" She knew Sapphire was close to the other girl. "Besides that, I have another cousin in Ravenclaw now. But that isn't really interesting. She's Grace's younger sister." She said dismissively.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire chuckled a little. "He's certainly dramatic as ever," She sighed, tucking the pictures into her robes. She hesitated when Diana asked about Sam. Sapphire did know what was going on, but for once she wasn't sure that it was her story to tell. "I think she's having some family issues," She stated with a shrug. That was the best she could offer right now. Sapphire smiled a little at Diana's statement about a cousin in Ravenclaw. "You certainly have a lot of family," she teased. "That's what, four sisters and three cousins?" She grinned.

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana saw the hesitation on Sapphire's face, and knew she likely didn't want to tell her anything. But when she heard it was just family issues, she sighed. "Oh, okay." She muttered, trying to hide how boring that answer was. She shrugged at Sapphire's next statement. "Four sisters and two, no, four cousins." She said, wrinkling her nose. "Grace and Violette, but also that gross kid Eric and his brother I guess." She said, rolling her eyes. "He's such a pain and hates us, so I don't really feel like he counts." She shrugged. "You have cousins here too, right?"

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire listened, shifting so Diana could sit with her if she wanted to. "I have three cousins, but only two in school. Amaya is in Slytherin; she's usually tucked away scribbling on her parchments in a corner somewhere. Jasper is a Gryffindor; apparently Amaya is not only dating Jasper's roommate, but now I have to patrol with the guy." She rolled her eyes. "Some New Yorker. And Kira's brother-in-law married Amaya's boyfriends cousin." She shrugged again. "Some famous quidditch player I think." She offered to Diana, unsure if the girl would find it interesting gossip.

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana nodded as Sapphire spoke about her cousins. She knew who Amaya was, and even Jasper vaguely seemed to ring a bell in her mind. Diana laughed a bit as Sapphire complained about having to patrol with her cousin's boyfriend. "Shouldn't have become a prefect, then." She said with a shrug. The next bit was a bit confusing, but Diana didn't bother trying to keep track. It wasn't her job to know Sapphire's family tree, and especially not Kira's. "I see." She said lightly, not really caring. "My cousin used to be a famous quidditch player. Or at least a professional one, until she settled for teaching here." A baffling decision, Diana thought. "But that's cool. So you and Kira are sort of related in a roundabout way by marriage?" She had never really warmed up to the Ravenclaw, but knew better than to let Sapphire know that. "Do you know yet what you want to do after graduation?" She added, fully aware that it was a rather abrupt subject change. But it was something she was curious about.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire laughed. "Right, because telling Styx no would have worked so well," She teased lightly. She nodded when Diana mentioned her cousin, knowing it was the flying professor. "I wonder why she would change careers like that," She mused a moment. Sapphire lit up a little when Diana asked about being related to Kira. "Actually, Di, it's a lot closer than that." She gave the girl an impish grin. "Turns out, she's actually my cousin. Her mother and my mother were sisters, and we only found out because they had a third sister who died recently, and her two daughters went to the Inn to talk to Kira's older sister." She chuckled. She smiled a little when Diana asked what she wanted to do after graduation, but it was a little strained. "Well... once I'm sure Onyx is doing better, I'm going to travel like my uncle. I'm going to photograph magical creatures in their natural environments and sell my findings to magizooligists." She told Diana.

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana smiled a bit at the mental image. "Could have just done your job so badly he gave it to someone else instead." She teased. Diana shrugged when Sapphire wondered about Grace, changing her career. She didn't know, though to Diana neither career sounded very appealing. She listened as Sapphire explained how she was related to Kira. It was slightly complicated, but she got the gist. "So... she's your cousin too?" She asked her. "You just said you only had three." She added with a teasing grin. "But... that's cool." She raised her eyebrows a bit in surprise at Sapphire's plans. "I didn't know you liked photography." She muttered. "That's a cool plan, though."