So That's What it Really Does to You

[Katalina Harker]

Brightstone weekend. It was what Kat had been looking forward to for the last few weeks and was exactly what she needed to take her mind off everything that had consumed her as of late. With the recent engagement of two of her friends she had been thinking a lot about her own future lately and how her own actions at the beginning of the year had drastically altered what could have been for her, but even now she couldn't bring herself to regret any decision she had made. The only regret that Kat had now was that the one person she knew she was head over heels in love with didn't love her back and she now knew that perfectly clear.

Clearing her mind of all of that Kat rattled her change purse that was in her messenger bag and smiled as she heard the sound of coins clanking happily around. Slipping on her most comfortable outfit Kat headed down and out of the castle and off to the small wizarding village alone.

Wandering silently through the streets she went from store to store, not looking for anything particular, but her birthday was in a few weeks and she was getting ideas as to what she might like to have. Stopping suddenly at the sight of something shiny in a store window Kat drew closer to the glass display. A lump grew in her throat as she stared at the small ring that glittered in the autumn sunlight. Kat thought of Lily and Sumner and how happy they were with each other and how she wished nothing but the best for the two of them. Then her thoughts wandered to something else...someone else. A certain green eyed Slytherin. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about the two of them together like that one day, but as she stared at the ring once more she could simply mutter aloud, "So much for dreams and happy endings."

 

[Estrella Drage]

"No happy endings?" Estrella huffed, waddling up to someone she recognized all too well. "You're not even graduating this year!" The nineteen year old's breathing was heavy and moist, as if someone had slapped a wet rag over her mouth. It wasn't so easy getting to where she needed to go at eight-and-a-half months pregnant. She was nothing but smiles for Katalina, a Gryffindor that she had come to call a friend throughout her school career. The older of the two girls nodded at the younger. "That's a cute shirt," she sighed. "If I tried wearing something like that, it'd probably end up next to the cleaning supplies."

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat grimaced when she heard a familiar voice repeat what she had just said in question form. "Nope...no happy endings, not for me at least," she said with a shrug before adding, "But I'm getting used to the idea to be perfectly honest." She looked Estrella up and down and grinned stupidly. "Though I see happy endings are in store for at least one of us. Good gravy girl you look like you're about to explode. You're HUGE!" It took Kat a minute to realize just how horrible that had sounded so she tried to pick up with, "I mean you know...just really pregnant. And this is where I shut my mouth before I dig myself any deeper." Awkwardly she hugged the older girl, though it was difficult due to the size of Estrella's belly.

 

[Estrella Drage]

"You know that's not true, Katalina Vanderhol, and if you say it again, I'll turn you into a toad!" The idea was laughable; Estrella was absolutely horrible at Transfiguration, and even more so now that she was out of school. "And I might just explode any minute here, so you better watch out," the older girl laughed. Squeezing her friend back tightly, she grinned all the more. Now that she was so close to the end of term, her words did hold some truth to them. She was expecting to rush to the healers anytime now. How she was going to get to them in any timely fashion was beyond her. Her features gaining something dreamy, she murmured, "You know, gravy sounds really good right about now. Biscuits and gravy..."

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat snorted when the older girl said she just might pop at any moment. "Well I know nothing about birthing babies so I'm probably not the most qualified person to be right here if you happen to...ya know...squeeze that thing out," she said laughing as she gently placed her hand on Estrella's belly. Her face brightened significantly when she felt a little thump against her hand. "Oh sweet Merlin...it kicked me. At least I think that was a kick," she said excitedly, never having actually known anyone that was pregnant before. "So other than, well you know," Kat stated pointing to the girls stomach, "What have you been up to since you graduated?"

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily was walking alone in the Villiage, having made plans to meet up with her fiance later on that night at the Mall for dinner. She wanted to get a bit of shopping done and he, well, Sumner wanted sleep. Knowing that her friend had a birthday coming up, she wanted to find her something nice. Lily felt like she put Kat in a hard spot. How they were able to stay friends was beyond her. She was now engaged to her friend's very recent ex boyfriend. It was an odd relationship the girls had, but they managed to make it work.

Walking down the street, she was surprised to see the friend she was shopping for talking with a friend she was not expecting to see at all. A very pregnant friend who she was planning on sending an owl to soon with her own news. Walking up to the pair, she smiled as she spoke. "Merlin, you had to have swallowed a few quaffles since Christmas! My goodness. You let someone out of school and look what happens to them," she added, giving Kat a smirk. "So, what are you two up to?" Lily adjusted her handbag on her arm to allow herself to give a hug to each, then waited to hear what they had planned.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat beamed at Lily. It was odd really. Most girls who were in the position that the two of them were presently in would be at each others throats wanting to practically murder each other, but the two of them had been through so much together that this felt like some sort of normal for the two of them. "If this is what happens after graduation then I'm staying at Hogwarts forever. You think it's too late for me to fail this year already?" Kat laughed as she hugged Lily back. "Well I'm not sure what Mrs. Waddles here has planned...she ran into me while I was window shopping. Mum and daddy have been giving me a fit about what to get me for my birthday so I'm getting gift ideas."

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella let out an oof in response to the baby's kick. At least her child had kept to the side. "I have a feeling this kid is going to be a vicious Quidditch player," she laughed, "Yeah, that was a kick. She must like your voice." She smirked at the Gryffindor. "Other than being pregnant? Eating, sleeping, and eating. Though I must say I have been shopping like a madwoman. Jaken is probably going to start hiding money from me one of these days..."

Well, wasn't this an odd day. She grinned at Lily, giving her the customary awkward hug she gave everyone since she had swallowed a quaffle, as her Ravenclaw friend had so eloquently put it. "Well, what can I say? Quaffles taste delicious, especially if you have powdered sugar and syrup close by!"

The roundest of the three girls rolled her eyes. Mrs. Waddles? How endearing. "Hitting up every store in Brightstone, of course. Merlin knows I have nothing else better to do than charmwork and packing away jars of pickles."

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily couldn't help but laugh as Estrella talked about food. "I see the appetite has not gotten better since Christmas. Still eating everything in sight?" She stuck her tongue out at her friend, knowing that she had teased her about her food consumption over the holidays. After watching her friend put away an entired stack of pancakes on Christmas morning, she couldn't help but laugh at the thought of her friend and food.

"Sweet! Shopping is my goal for the better part of the day. Need to get a few things for school. Plus, I have window shopping to do also." She raised her hand with the engagement ring on it to her face and brushed her blonde hair behind her ear. Lily was hoping that Estrella would catch a glance of it, and that Kat wouldn't be too upset over it. She hadn't really spoken to Kat since the very public engagement, but by the hug she had just receieved she hoped they were okay.

 

[Hades Styx]

Hades usually prowled outside at night, but everyone could change every once and a while. Hades never had a plan, nor a schedule. He knelt down on the edge of a building. Three girls caught his interest, and Hades recognized the large one immediately as Estrella Styx, his sister-in-law. Oh, how interesting. Then he saw that one girl, Katalina, from the mall. Lovely and beautiful, but underage. Hades wondered how they knew each other, and he could just hear their conversation from above. But who was this other girl? Hades narrowed his eyes, recognizing her as a stranger, but maybe still in school. Having his interest obtained, he kept his eyes upon the trio of young females from above.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat didn't miss the flash of the gem that graced Lily's left hand and it made her heart drop to the pit of her stomach, but not for the reasons most people would think. She herself couldn't have been happier for the pair, but seeing the ring reminded her of Chace and what she desperately wished she had with him, but most likely never would. Before Christmas she had told him that she was in love with him, but he hadn't returned to gesture so now moving on was the one thing she had going for her and that was proving difficult. Instinctively Kat grabbed Lily's hand as she hadn't actually seen the ring on the day of the proposal. "Sweet Merlin Lily. I hope no one tries to throw you in the lake...you'll sink straight to the bottom," she said as she admired the beautiful rock on her friends hand.

 

[Estrella Drage]

"Affirmative. Eating for two, remember?" Estrella leaned in closer to see the piece of jewelry on Lily's finger. It took a few moments for her to understand its true meaning. "Lily; it's beautiful!" For some reason, she had never imagined that Lily would be married young. Of course, she had felt the same about herself, and look where she was now.

Throwing her arms around her friend's neck, she scolded, "I knew you were with Sumner; but you never told me we were gonna be sisters-in-law!" The oldest of the three was squealing a bit at this point, though no one could really blame her. She was just too damned emotional these days. The tears coursing down her cheeks were not slow at the onset; it was an immediate downpour around a nose flushing red. "I'm sorry," she sniffed, "This kid is making me bat-crazy, I swear."

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily smiled as she looked to Kat. "Yeah, he did good didn't he?" She couldn't help but giggle a bit as Estrella caught on to what was going on. "Ok. Wait a second. We actually were not together at Christmas. I thought I explained that!" She ran her hand through her hair, then continued. "We really happened over break. Sumner was sick of being attacked by the kids and came to my apartment for the rest of the time before we headed back to school. Things heated up between us, and, well, Sumner proposed right around Valentine's Day."

Lily left out the part where they had thought they were pregnant, trying to keep her promise to Kat as much as she could. She promised to not tell her if she made love with Sumner, and did her best to keep from saying it out loud. "But, yeah, we are going to be sisters-in-law whenever we get around to actually getting married. We haven't set a date or anything yet. Oh, stop crying!" she added with a laugh. Grabbing Estrella, she gave her another hug. "You can't tell Tristan and Julie or anyone other than Jaken. Sumner hasn't said anything to them that I know of yet."

 

[Katalina Harker]

Sister-in-laws? At first Kat had thought that she'd heard wrong, but then Lily reaffirmed it. Sumner and Estrella were brother and sister? Apparently she had missed something somewhere along the line which really didn't surprise her much as she didn't really talk to Sumner much anymore...not even in classes. Kat couldn't help, but giggle a little bit as Estrella started to cry. "So that's what that really does to you then? Pregnancy makes you a blubbering ball of emotions," she asked, making a mental note to NEVER get pregnant if she had any say in the matter.

 

[Hades Styx]

Hades made sure that he was unseen by the girls, but heard their conversation. However, when he heard sisters-in-law, Hades turned his eyes toward the girl with blonde hair. That brought out a few questions, would she be related to him, or to Estrella? Hades smirked, and his eyes landed on Katalina for a moment. There was another thing that he caught on, Estrella called her 'Lily', and she said the name of Estrella's husband. Lily knew Jaken. Lily would be a sister-in-law to Estrella. How interesting. He went back over the conversation in his mind, and remember another boy's name mentioned. Sumner. He was not of relation to Hades. He had the information well packed, and usually, he would turn and walk away, but now, he was curious to how much Estrella enjoyed Lily and Katalina. In case Estrella was to get on his bad side, he would have a weakness of hers.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily laughed at Kat's reaction to the way that Estrella was so emotional. "Yeah, you should have seen her at Christmas. Blubbering over the silliest little things. If she wasn't puking she was shoving food down her throat or blubbering. It was hilairious if you ask me." She couldn't help but add another giggle. Looking between the pair, Lily asked quickly, "Who is up for food? I am starving and realy want to grab a bite before I head over to the mall." Lily was glad that Kat was handling things well, at least, she appeared to be. It was odd for her that she was now engaged to one of her best friend's ex-boyfriends. Odds were that they were not going to get along at all, but they did. Their bonds of friendship held beyond the men in their lives.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat smiled. She seemed to do that a lot lately. Every time someone would ask her how she was handling things she'd simply smile and say she was fine...just fine. In fact it was getting a little old. People thought that just because one of her very good friends was now engaged to her ex that she was supposed to be an emotional train wreck or something, but in all honesty Kat couldn't have been happier for the two of them. As odd as that was it was true. When Lily asked about food her stomach dropped...Kat didn't know is she would be able to handle the two of them going over details of the baby or talk of weddings and other such things. It might have been selfish, but at least she was willing to admit to herself that that was not something she was just quite ready for yet. Quickly making up a lie she said, "I'm actually not very hungry right now and I have a few things that I need to still shop around for. Mum's got a birthday coming up soon so I need to finish getting things ready for that." Before turning to leave she hugged both of the older girls tightly once more and said, "Maybe we can meet up at the mall a little bit later on?" Without waiting for a reply she turned and left them both in a hurry, not once looking back.