It's Been a While.

[Madeline Walden]

It was the start of the second semester and although Maddie had spent all of her holiday time at home she still missed her family. They were all pretty close and she loved helping out on the farm and seeing all the animals again. It was a shame to leave but then again, Hogwarts was a marvel in it's own right and she was excited to be back here. Maddie had missed her friends while being at home so it was nice to be able to see everyone again. Even if that did mean that classes were beginning once more. She definitely did not miss the amount of work and studying she had to do. In a particularly melancholy mood, Maddie decided she would write home and rant about the amount of work she was expected to do already and mention how much she missed home. She wasn't looking for any particular reaction from her parents but it was just a good way for her to get her feelings out instead of bottling them up. Ordinarily, she would talk to her friends but what she felt sad about seemed trivial and probably nothing. However, she was grateful for her friends though, they always kept her occupied and kept her spirits up. Especially with all the interesting and (potentially dangerous) adventures that they embarked on.

It was quite a drafty place up in the Owlery and it was also quite noisy, what with all the owls who were perched there. Unfortunately Maddie didn't have an owl of her own so she took advantage of the school's owls and picked out a small brown one and tied the letter to its leg and watched it hop off the ledge to take flight. She stood and looked out of the window for a while until the owl slowly disappeared into nothing.

 

[Amy Rosemary]

Amy missed home, no matter how much she tried to not think of her grandparents, who were getting older as each day went by, she missed her parents and wished that they would have been home more often than they actually were. She knew both her mother and father worked really hard just to get them into this wonderful school, but she couldn't help shake the feeling that something was not right. She just couldn't figure it out. It has been haunting her since she left home to come to Hogwarts New Zealand for the second semester of her career. Amy tried numerous times to just leave it alone, after all if her mother and father did not say a word that had to mean that it wasn't serious. Amy worried anyway, she was one to worry about other people before herself which may have hurt her in the past. She was here now though, and as a child who liked to help others she thought of her friends here. She never thought she would make friends that easily. Thankfully her two best friends wanted to be around her because of who she was and not because they felt sorry for her. Of course, she doubted either of them knew the real her (the person she was when she was alone minding her own business). She had told them about what happened when she was younger, at least James knew. But, if she was to tell them everything, she better do it soon before they decided she wasn't worth keeping her as a friend.

Amy wanted to make sure that everything was fine at home so after trying to convince her brother that she had work to do, she set out making her way to the owlery. The only way she could escape from her protective older twin brother. She hated lying to him, but that was just it, one way or another the truth would come out but for now, she wanted to keep it to herself for a little while. Sometimes, she just wanted to have a little freedom and what better way than to spend the rest of the day up in the north tower writing letters. Amy finally made it to the top and noticed it was not as quiet as it was made out to be, what with all the owls perched somewhere hooting. "Brothers," she muttered to herself. Amy was about to take her quill out when she noticed none other than her friend Maddie across the room. Her face lit up and broke into a grin. She missed her old friend. "Maddie!" she exclaimed, moving to give her Gryffindor friend a hug. Maybe she could spend the day with her, instead. She hadn't seen her in a while and she missed spending time with her.

 

[Professor James Cade]

James had enjoyed the holidays very much. Washington at Christmas was a special sight and there was more snow than he could throw in two lifetimes. But that didn't mean he didn't try. It had been a time of cheesy muggle Christmas songs, snow ball fights and hot chocolate by the fire with his mum. He had almost not wanted to come back. Almost. Hogwarts held a certain pull to him after the first semester and he had a good reason to come back. When James told his mother about Amy she jad squealed so loud the dog started barking in the next room. James had found it very amusing until she insisted onbhearing everything.

Now back at school the Gryffindor was missing his family. He had received a letter from his mother a few days after he got back to school keeping him updated about things back home. His sister had finally started flying the broom she got for christmas. His father seemed to think she would out fly her older brother before long, not if he could help it. It had taken him hours to compose his reply, despite only being away a few days there was so much to say. He had written individual letters to both his parents and his sister, the letter tobhis sister had been harder as she was a few years younger and her reading wasn't as strong as his yet.

James loved the sound of an owl screeching. It made him smile everytime he was close enough to the owlery to hear it so as he madr hos way up the steps to go inside, his grin was positively glued on. As he made his way round to a perch with a school owl on he thought he knew "Amy? Maddie? That you guys?

 

[Madeline Walden]

Too engrossed in watching the world go by outside the drafty window, Maddie didn't even hear anyone enter the Owlery behind her. She heard a familiar girl's voice so she turned round and she was surprised (but also happy) to see her best friend Amy who she hadn't seen in such a long time. She grinned and said excitedly "Amy! Hey!" and she opened her arms ready to receive the hug from the young Hufflepuff. Maddie's spirits were instantly lifted when she saw her best friend and then they came crumbling down again when a very familiar annoying fellow Gryffindor trudged up the stairs. She sighed "oh great" she thought to herself. "Yes" she said in response to James' question. She wondered how long it would take for her to feel awkward this time.

 

[Amy Rosemary]

Amy hugged her friend, glad she got the chance to see her again. "How are you?" she asked her best friend excitedly. She wanted to have a chance to spend some time with her, she guessed they had a lot to catch up on, but their reunion was interrupted shortly after by none other than her other Gryffindor mate, James. Se smiled just at the thought of seeing him again. If only she could tell Dan...she shook her head slightly at the thought. There was no need, if they were just friends it was all fine, that's what they were, no need to tell her twin more. About how she really felt. Besides if this was really only a crush, all the better. Crushes went away sooner or later, Amy didn't dare to think how her brother would react if her and James were more than friends. She was satisfied just knowing him. She looked over at Maddie and hesitated once James asked if it was them. She got a feeling Maddie didn't like James all that much, from the way she sighed, but Amy wanted to change that. They were all friends and she wasn't about to lose that friendship. The thought was soon forgotten once she could see her other Gryffindor friend. Her face broke into a grin. "Hey James!" She could feel the happiness bubbling inside of her, all of a sudden.

 

[Professor James Cade]

James didn't know what he had been thinking, in fact he probably wasn't thinking. Once he caught sight of Amy's shimmering blonde hair his brain switched off and he acted on instinct. Though his instinct didn't warn him away from enemy hostiles in the form of Maddie. "Ladies, I hope I'm not interrupting," He smiled warmly at them both before turning to Amy. "I do hope you weren't talking about me too much you know how she gets," He turned his head and threw a cheeky grin at Maddie. He knew she didn't like him but he didn't know why and he had decided he would run with and rather tham dance around the subject he would drag it into the open amd see how that affected Maddie. There was still a chance it could backfire.

James turned his attention back to Amy. It was strange;, they were friends officially but he struggled to see her as such, maybe things would change between them in a couple of years, maybe their feelings will fade and they can be friends without any awkward moments. Who knows what the future held for the two.

 

[Madeline Walden]

Maddie smiled at her friend "I'm well thank you, how have you been? It feels like ages since i've seen you!" she chatted away happily until James decided to pitch in with some comments. She rolled her eyes at him "of course you're interrupting" she thought to herself, for the sake of Amy she didn't say it out loud. She didn't want to lose her best friend, over a boy especially, no matter how much he annoyed her. He carried on with the sarcastic comments and Maddie had no idea why Amy liked him so much. If he wanted to make her angry, he was going the right way about it. Her hands clenched into fists as he smiled at Amy and gave Maddie a knowing look.