Ripples II

[Elspeth Brookes]

Elspeth sat stiffly by the water's edge, watching it gently lap on the stones in front of her. She had barely spoken a word since the holidays ended, and even then it was only if directly asked a question. The last time she had sat here, she had been talking to a distant relative of hers, Sia Riversend. She had liked Sia, and, if the holiday's events had not occurred, they could have been friends. But she doubted anyone would want to be friends with her now. She knew she was sullen and aloof, but she simply couldn't summon up the energy to pretend otherwise. Sia, who'd only seen her at her best, probably wouldn't even recognise her now.

 

[Sia Riversend]

Sia strolled amiably along the lakefront, tossing pebbles into the water and watching the ripples they made. She threw in the last of her small handfull, and paused to watch it; a series of perfect concentric circles spreading serenely outwards as the stone sank to merge with the others on the lakebed. She had come to like this place, perhaps the best of all the castle's various environments. It was peaceful. She desperately needed peace in the hectic, confusing life she had been dragged into.

But seemingly not today. Out of the corner of her eye, Sia glimpsed a girl she called friend in her own mind, whether it was true or not. She hadn't seen much of Elspeth lately, except in Care of Magical Creatures class, where she was too preoccupied to talk to. Now, the Ravenclaw had a melancholy air that Sia recognised all too well. So many people she cared about had been looking like that lately. Sia did what she could to help.

She approached Elspeth cautiously, anticipating a negative reaction. Faced instead with nothing but stony silence, Sia sat down beside her.
"Hey," she said softly. Always curious, always one to get straight to the point, she added, "what's wrong?"

 

[Elspeth Brookes]

Elspeth started out of her reverie when she heard Sia's voice. "Just the girl I was thinking of," Elspeth said softly, her voice on the verge of breaking. When the Hufflepuff asked her what was wrong, she closed her eyes to hold back tears. "Wrong?" She tried to say nothing; this girl didn't need to hear all Elspeth's troubles. She knew what happened when people heard that family members had died. They said pretty words and went away, grateful it hadn't happened to them. Why would Sia be any different? But she couldn't say it. The third year sitting opposite her had been her friend, though they had only met twice, and she didn't want to lie to her.

"Over the holidays, my aunt Emily was killed." It was better to say it quickly. "Her fiance killed her when I made her leave him because he hit her." Elspeth wasn't sure if Sia understood the convoluted sentence, but she didn't care. Tears she had been holding back since she saw Emily's body on the ground flooded down her face, and she clung to Sia, weeping. "She was my only family left. We were happy!"