Homeward Bound

[Emily Hayes-Magonus]

[adminapproval=11329234] Emily looked at Carlotta, her sister and best friend. She was so happy to hear that Carlotta had transferred to the school, but it had been a short-lived enjoyment. She couldn't help the feeling that Carlotta was just like everyone else and just wanted her help for something. Everyone she saw only wanted her help, they only wanted her to do something for them and if she couldn't help them she knew they would be mad. She tried so hard to be useful, she really wanted to help her friends, but she wasn't strong enough. She preferred to stay in her dorm room and just hide from everyone but even then she couldn't escape everyone. It was getting harder every day to avoid her friends, but she didn't want to feel useless. She tried every day to help them, but she didn't know how and she couldn't do as much as she wanted to. She spent her every waking hour worrying that she had done something wrong and went out of her way to fix it, because she had to make everyone better again because that was her job as a friend, she had to make sure that everyone was happy and smiling no matter the cost.

Emily twisted her fingers and kept her head down as she walked beside Carlotta. She avoided the eyes of everyone she came past, just to be on the safe side. She'd not slept well during the night and she had dark circles under her eyes from the repeated patterns of awake and asleep she'd been suffering the last few weeks. Many of her routines were no longer recognisable and she went from one friend to the next these days, fussing over them and worrying about the next problem they would suffer. It was getting harder to fix their problems, because she had less and less time to help them as she was so busy with everyone else as well. She had thought to attend classes this year, but she'd been too busy to bother yet and so she was simply using the class times to avoid more of her friends. It was okay though, as long as she could fix them and make everything better it was definitely worth it.​

 

[Carlotta Raven]

Since moving to the school, Carlotta had been hit with the reality of the situation. Emily was not well. She could gage some of her emotions through letters, but they didn't hold the same gravitas as the real thing. Being sorted into her house, and being in her year, Lotta saw first hand the state Emily was in, and did not like it. Her sister seemed to be a mere shell of her original self, and was just wittling away more as time went by. She had done her best to try and help her, and be her confident, but all her attempts had failed. Now, it was time to get Emily to see someone that could help her, and the young brunette had devised a plan to get Emily to go.

At the feel of her fingers, Carlotta stroked them affectionately, even as their arms were linked. It served the purpose to both keep them physically close, and to ensure that Emily did not wander off. As well as Carlotta acting similar to a watchdog, eyeing everyone they passed to ensure that no one bothered them. She was with Emily under the guise that she needed to study, and wanted her favourite sister with her. Naturally, they were going to the library - where a certain counsellor resided, as well. But she wasn't sure Emily would have ever gone by herself, and that was where Lotta came in.

"I'll only be looking at History of Magic and Muggle Studies today," she told her, lying through her teeth. "I hope you don't mind me dragging you along like this, but we spend so little time together, I've missed you terribly." That was not a lie at all. Her eyes grew a little sad at all the missed opportunities to have them hang out and have fun. "You can help me drill, and remind me what a movie is, and who Helena of Troy was married to." Emily had some sort of need to help others, and this was Carlotta playing on that. As long as it all worked out in the end, though, she didn't care.
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[Emily Hayes-Magonus]

Emily didn't respond as Carlotta spoke, she didn't need to. She knew that Carlotta knew how she felt about being in the library, though it was admittedly better than being anywhere else. Emily looked up however when Carlotta told her that she needed some help, clearly with muggle studies and Emily immediately turned to her and nodded. This was what she did now, helping everyone with their problems. Carlotta needed her help and that is what she would get. She moved to a table so that her best friend and sister would be able to set up all of her books, she had a plan that would help Carlotta remember this easily as long as they followed it to the letter. Her hands shook slightly as she placed a couple of books on the table and sat down carefully, anxiously waiting for someone to see her and ask for her help. But she was helping Carlotta for now, so anyone would have to wait.
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[Daniel Clairoux]

Daniel had been wandering about the school for a couple of hours when he finally decided to call it a day and head back to his office in the library. Though everyone knew where he was, he supposed he wasn't all that surprised that most didn't come to see him, though he did enjoy the odd chat with the students and staff about random and unimportant things, he also very much enjoyed his job. Of course there were times when it was hard too. It was as he was walking back into the library that he spotted someone he'd not seen in quite some time. "Emily!" He hadn't seen her in the kitchens in quite a while and though he still went down there from time to time, it wasn't as interesting when he wasn't walking in on her cooking and yelling at him if he did something wrong. The Houseelves never let him help with anything and what was the point of going down there for something sweet if he couldn't even help with making it? He was worried about her, because he'd seen what was happening in the school and he happened to know that she was right in the middle of some of it. She didn't look okay at all. "I haven't seen you in the kitchens for a long time. I've missed your cooking, you should come and I'll help you make cookies later."​

 

[Emily Hayes-Magonus]

Emily watched Carlotta move around the library looking for the books she was going to need. She kept her eyes down cast and twisted her fingers nervously in her hands. She hoped that no-one came and spoke to her, she was too busy with Carlotta and she couldn't help them right now, but she knew that it might be important and if they waited it might be too late for them, but she didn't want Carlotta to fail her exams either and she knew that her mother would be disappointed if Carlotta failed where Emily could have helped her. She heard someone call her name and looked up, her eyes widening in recognition before she put her head back down again. Go away goawaygoawaygoawaygoaway. But it was no use, she'd already been spotted and he was heading over. She looked up at him and wanted to smile, but it just wasn't happening. "I don't go there anymore... too hard... I don't have the time." She told him, folding her hands in her lap and looking anywhere but at him. "I don't like cooking." She noticed Carlotta slip close to Daniel and whisper something in his ear and she frowned. "What is she saying, it's not true, I don't know what she is saying, it's not true whatever it is."
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[Daniel Clairoux]

Daniel was about to sit across from the young blonde when he was suddenly struck dumb by both her appearance and her answer. She doesn't have time to cook? She was always down there, she'd always complained about not having time to cook and yet she was always down there. He shook his head, he couldn't believe he was actually hearing this. Her appearance didn't make things any better either. She wasn't disheveled, that was not the issue with her. Quite frankly she looked utterly and completely exhausted, broken and in need of urgent repair. She didn't seem to want to look him in the eye either, which was not something he was accustomed to from any of the students, let alone this particular one. Was she trembling? "You... don't... like cooking?" It was definitely not something he would have expected to hear from her. This conversation was going down hill fast and Daniel was not entirely sure he liked where it would stop. He was about to mention this fact to her, when another girl, one he wasn't sure of, whispered in his ear. Help her? Daniel did not like those words, not at all, but it was all too clear that she was talking about Emily. How in the world was she allowed to get this bad? "Okay, Emily? I need you to be calm for me. Carlotta did not say anything, she wanted me to help you. Will you come to my office? Come on, we can talk about it."​

 

[Emily Hayes-Magonus]

Emily didn't look at Carlotta, but if she had, she would have been glaring. Carlotta had no right to interfere, Emily was fine and she was going to keep it that way. No-one needed to help her, that was her job, she did the helping around here. Emily shook her head and didn't look at Daniel. "I'm fine, I don't need help, I'm fine, nothing's wrong." She told him, twisting her fingers so hard she felt she might break them. "I don't want to talk to you, I don't need to."
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[Daniel Clairoux]

Daniel frowned, not believing the Hufflepuff in front of him at all. She looked ridiculously high-strung, anyone could see it, and from the concern that her fellow Hufflepuff confided in him (as well as what had been going on around here), he really wasn't wanting to let her leave when she was simply running them through circles. "Emily, 'fine' is not good enough. Especially the definition you are using," he said calmly, worry-lines working their way onto his forehead. "You are not doing what you once loved, you are working yourself up, and I am hear to try and help you, Emily. We don't have to talk about anything you don't want to, I promise you that. All I want if for us to hang out a little, talk about anything you like."
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[Emily Hayes-Magonus]

An hour later, Daniel and Emily were sitting in his office. Carlotta had left half an hour ago to do something that Emily had missed and so she sat with her head down in perfect silence. Daniel had just asked her a simple question and yet she'd frozen. She couldn't answer that question. She wouldn't answer that question. Instead she began shaking in the chair until it got to the point where she was seriously struggling to breath. "No, I can't talk to you! You'll send me away! You make me leave! I don't want to leave! I have to help them, I need them to be safe, I can't let them do this by themselves! It's all up to me!"
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[Daniel Clairoux]

Daniel smiled at her, though it was a sad one. It was clear to him that she was under a lot of stress and pressure, and it was definitely time to try and get her out of this environment. Having poured her a drink earlier, he offered it to her once more. "Emily, I want you to calm down." He felt he was repeating himself, but it never seemed to stick to the young girl. "It is not up to you, you need to start looking after yourself. Please stay a little longer, I'll have a note written to your professor explaining your absence." He nodded at her and moved for a piece of parchment. If he had his way she would be out of this school and on her way home by tonight.</SIZE>

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In the end, Daniel managed to calm Emily down and after taking her to both her head of house and the Headmistress, her family was contacted and it was agreed that she would be sent home for the time being until all were satisfied that she had recovered.​