One sister to another

[Imogen Blyth]

Set in the Y48 break.

Imogen had recently been informed of a development between her brother and his friend, a development that Imogen didn't quite know how to deal with. On the one hand she was glad that he had found someone, and Lilith of all people she knew would be good for him. But where that did that leave her now? She had been the one to tell Eoghan to go to Hogwarts, and therefore it was her fault she'd pushed Eoghan into Lilith's arms. Imogen needed her brother, and regardless of whether she liked the Ravenclaw she still needed to let Eoghan do what he'd gone to school to do.

Eoghan had invited her over during the winter break, and she'd gone if not mostly because it gave her a valid reason to leave the country. After last year it had been hard to return to the way things had been before she'd left, but things were getting harder for the girl the more that time went on. She wasn't, in truth, entirely sure whether or not she regretted convincing Eoghan to leave in the first place. "Hi Lili!" She smiled widely at her brothers friend. Well, girlfriend she supposed now. She'd asked her to meet her in town, just the two of them, so that they could have a very overdue girly afternoon.​

 

[Lilith Ilves]

Lilith wasn’t sure how to feel about Imogen inviting her out alone. Something about the exchange had sent the alarms in her head ringing. The Ravenclaw just couldn’t quite put her finger into why it felt like that. Lilith had accepted the invite nevertheless, having wanted to hang out with Imogen anyways, even if she wasn’t sure of the purpose of this chat they’d be having.

As Lilith saw the blonde who was almost the mirror image of her boyfriend she smiled and waved. “Hi Imogen, how are you?” Lilith said as she approached her and went for a hug. There was a pool of nerves and array of butterflies coloured in different shades of anxiety running wild at the pit of her stomach. Something was off, but for the life of her she could not figure out what. Maybe she was being paranoid, Merlin she hoped that was the case.

 

[Imogen Blyth]

Imogen was not as tall as her brother. In fact, she was practically the same height as his girlfriend who immediately swept her up in a hug. Imogen patted her gently on the back. She liked her, but that didn't change the situation she had to work with. "Better now I'm out here," she replied honestly, glad for the change of scenery. "What about you? Are you still enjoying Hogwarts?" She would always be a little bitter that she wasn't able to go and learn magic, and instead she was stuck at home learning boring subjects that didn't give her any power at all. If she had been a witch she wouldn't have wasted the opportunity doing pointless magic, although in truth at this point all magic would have its good use.

"I've planned out our day," Imogen smiled, handing her a small scrap of paper that had been bundled up in her pocket, a scrawl of shops and cafes that she wanted to visit throughout the day. She knew their were limitations on what she could see because she didn't have the right blood type, which seemed completely discriminatory the more she thought about it. Why shouldn't she be able to see magic in action, even if she couldn't do it? The first thing on herself was a clothes store, because even if Lilith thought her muggle lifestyle was boring, Imogen didn't exactly have the choice to be as fancy as she was. ​

 

[Lilith Ilves]

Lilith smiled, understanding what she meant by being better getting out of Finland and her usual surroundings.“I am good, glad to have another semester done.” She admitted with honesty. Besides considering that second semester would have all her favourite lessons, how could Lilith not be happy about it?

Taking the paper Lilith read it over nodding her head. “Looks good, shall we go then?” She asked bringing her gaze back up to the blonde and gesturing the way they’d be heading. “So how have you liked Brightstone so far?” The Ravenclaw asked as they began walking.

 

[Imogen Blyth]

"Why are you in such a rush for it to be over?" Imogen asked truthfully, wondering whether Lilith genuinely thought it was a good thing that time was passing and they'd be graduated before they knew it. "Don't get me wrong, I can't wait for you both to leave, but you should enjoy it while you're there." Hogwarts was more than just a school for magic. It was a home, safety and security. A choice of food at your fingertips and afternoons not spending doing chores for people who just used you for their own comfort.

Imogen followed her gesture, beginning the walk up the road. She glanced across to Lilith with her pale blue eyes when she asked her about Brightstone. "Lilith, if I could live here I would," No amount of work would ever be good enough for someone like her to be there though. "I spoke to Eoghan yesterday," she added, still walking a little ahead of the brunette. "He told me you and he are officially a thing now?" She turned again for confirmation, wondering if he'd already mentioned to her that she'd know.​

 

[Lilith Ilves]

Lilith was a bit take back by the question, but then supposed it might have seemed like she wanted it all to be over. “No don’t get me wrong I am enjoying every second but the first semester was quite challenging for me. A lot of not so good things happened and I was struggling a bit to stay on top of it all, all I am saying is I am glad for a bit of a break and to start the next semester with my favourite classes.” Was it really so wrong she had needed a break? Suddenly Lilith felt selfish and rude for even insinuating she had any problems. She knew things at Imogen and Eoghan’s home were less than delightful, so perhaps she should have been more considerate and kept the truth to herself.

Lili smiled at the thought of Imogen living here too. “I wish you could live here with us, it’s not fair you can’t.” She admitted, it wasn’t fair for Imogen nor Eoghan. They needed each other and to be separated for their blood types was unfair. The brunette felt her cheeks redden at the mention of her relationship with the blondes twin. She had recently told her family about it so it was only fair he’d tell his sister. “Yes, yes we are.” Lilith admitted, biting her lip gently to focus on the sensation rather than the ever growing anxiety. “Though I want you to know it doesn’t change anything between you two, I would never jeopardize his relationship with you.” For some reason the Ravenclaw felt she needed to make it clear that she would never come in between them.

 

[Imogen Blyth]

Imogen struggled to know what Lilith meant by struggling. How could she be when everything was quite literally handed to her on a silver platter? "A lot of not so good things?" Imogen frowned, trying to figure out what would be deemed as not so good at a school as good as that. Imogen had had her bike stolen a couple of months ago, which meant she now had to walk the three miles to school every morning because she didn't have the benefit of sleeping there. Not that she'd want to turn any of those dingy classrooms into a bedroom, either. "What sort of things?" She wanted to know what would constitute as a problem. She didn't doubt that everyone needed a break now and then, but she was convinced they had very different problems in their lives.

"What are your favourite classes again?" Lilith had probably already told her once, but it was hard to remember considering most of them were basically made up words anyway. The blonde shrugged as Lilith tried to validate her being cast aside, as though she'd come to terms with it ages ago. In reality she wasn't sure she ever would, especially if things kept up the way they had been recently. Imogen noted the shade of which her brothers girlfriend's cheeks were turning, a small smile appearing on her own face. Now that felt like being at a normal school, teasing one another for having a crush. "I should hope not!" She replied, head angled a little higher in the air. "I like you, but you'll have to give him back once all of this is over," and one day soon enough, it would be.​

 

[Lilith Ilves]

Lilith grimaced a bit at the thought of what all had happened and that the girl next to her seemed to think this place was so far above what her life was. When in reality it was the same, sometimes just a bit more cruel because you could actually use spells to harm others while bullying, not to mention if you didn't get along with someone there was no escape other than your dorm and in Lilith's situation even that sanctuary had turned into active war zone. "Even witches and wizards can be cruel. They are just like the kids in my old muggle school, people use rumours to hurt others and to mess with peoples relationships just because they don't like a certain person. It's not all butterflies and rainbows here either Imogen." Kids were cruel to each other, magical or not.

Lilith straightened her back at the question and smiled. "Astronomy, I like space and celestial objects so it is very interesting to study their effect on magic, plus it has been somewhat of a hobby of mine. My other, probably even more of a favourite at this point, is Transfiguration, like the name might suggest it is the magic of turning something into what it wasn't originally." The Ravenclaw tried to explain it without sounding inconsiderate or arrogant. There was a fine line with Imogen what she could and couldn't say to her without hurting her feelings. Lilith was almost startled when Imogen exclaimed she should hope Lili wouldn't try to come between the two. The way she insinuated that Lilith had ever been the one to take Eoghan from her did not sit well with the second year either, that had never been the case. "But I never took him from you? How am I supposed to give back something I didn't take?" The Ravenclaw asked a bit bewildered by the statement of having to give Eoghan back as though he was a mere object. "Besides I don't think it is fair to talk of him as though he is an object changing ownership, it is his decision alone where he goes and what he does. I am fully aware you need each other and as I said I'd never come between that." The conversation had turned a bit weird already.

 

[Imogen Blyth]

"Oh don't I know about rumours," Imogen laughed, knowing Lilith wouldn't understand the reference at all, but she could at least relate to that part of the struggle. Rumours had almost ruined her a few years ago, and her brother. "Okay well next time someone is cruel, just hide their wand or something, I'm sure they'll ask for forgiveness." Once again Imogen knew she would have made a wonderful witch given the chance.

She listened to Lilith's favourite subjects, they did sound fascinating, but how useful would they be when it came to using them for a job? "Do you get paid a lot of money? For turning one thing into another?" Imogen wasn't sure what the muggle equivalent of a job like that would be, although it sounded like a creative job without needing to worry about not being skilled at creating anything. It was the wand that would do it for you after all.

Imogen looked across to Lilith, eyeing her suspiciously when she claimed she hadn't taken Eoghan. "Of course you have," a slight chuckle leaving her lips. "Even if you don't see it now, once he graduates we're going to find a place to live together, away from Helsinki," she went on to explain. It wouldn't be the easiest transfiguration, to go from having him around to not, Imogen knew that better than most, but it would be better if Lilith could prepare herself. "You're sweet, and I'm glad he has you, but I need him to stay focused on our goal." Imogen paused, turning to stop in the street and look directly at the girl. "Yeah it is his decision, but when it comes to choosing a life with magic or a life with me, don't forget he'll choose me."​

 

[Lilith Ilves]

Lilith would not mind not talking about the rumours and she just discarded the comment about hiding wands. Imogen would likely have been a great Slytherin, she had snake tendencies if Lilith had ever seen any. Though hiding ones wand wasn't going to solve anything, Lilith didn't feel the need to go into that with the girl right now.

Being asked how much they got paid to transfigure things felt weird, she hadn't even thought of that. She hadn't thought much of what she'd do after school. Merlin she was only twelve getting started with the basics, so she just shrugged unable to answer the question. The laugh that the blonde let out felt mocking at best and Lilith did not like it at all. "I have not. That would imply I was the one to tell him to attend this school, I only met him after the decision was made," It wasn't fair to blame Lilith for it and even she could see it. Being told that he'd leave everything behind did nothing to comfort the anxiety, if anything it left a foul taste in her mouth. Something resembling the taste of rotten milk perhaps. Her whole mood shifted, Imogen speaking of her as nothing more than a stepping stone. "And I would never deny him that choice." Was all she could say as her mind started to involuntarily slip into its own clouds. This was not a fun conversation, her gut had been right something was very wrong.