Esme wasn't sure she could handle any more roses. She didn't want to have to read through the notes, what she told herself were forced, insincere condolences. There was no way that many people genuinely cared for how she was feeling. Still, she took the flowers, followed by the surprisingly long pieces of parchment that came with them. After Emily's note, she wasn't looking forward to what these two also had to say. She'd had enough for one day.
The first, a note from Jakobe, still apologetic over his mistake the previous year, before yet more apologies. He was right about one thing. The school was going to be a lot different. In the days that had passed, the Slytherin found the castle walls confining, and her usual hobbies and activities weren't bringing her as much joy as they used to. Everything reminded her of Avie, from Quidditch to classes. The common room. The lake. Even mere rocks she saw on the grounds.
The second, she at first assumed was from Vulcan, but the further she read, the more her face fell, and the sadness that was sweeping over her before was replaced with a burning anger. James Adams. The last person she wanted to hear of at a time like this, weaseling his way back into her life from outside the castle. "Incendio." The girl hissed through gritted teeth. Her fingertips grew hot, and a curl of smoke rose from the edges of the parchment she held, but no more came of it. They were all too reliant on wands. Instead, she snapped the yellow rose in half at its stem, pressing her shoe into the head of the flower once it had fallen lifelessly to the ground.
