Some Peace and Quiet

[Kate Archer]

Kate got dressed in her dorm.It was a warm day today and she was going to make the most of it by wearing some summer clothes and going outside.The dress that had once fit her now hung off her.It didn't look that noticable but it didn't make Kate feel any better.She did her best to put color into her pale face and she did her best to lighten up her tired eyes.She yawned continuesly as she did this.She had gotten a total of three hours of sleep alast night which she had to admit was better then other nights.she knew she would soon have to take the sleeping pills because she couldn't continue living like this.She was constantly tired and her sto=upic stomach kept bringing her food back up so she got no nutrition.Her hair wasn't as thick as it usually was and her nails were very prone to breaking and cracking.June couldn't come any quicker and she was just counting the days until all of this would be over.She hoped they would be able to do the operation even if she was as thin as a stick.If she had to she would scream and shout until they did it because she refused to live any longer like this,it was a horrible way to live and she wondered how people did it for most of their lives.Sighing she walked out of her dorm and out of the castle

When she was outside she stopped and breathed in the clean fresh air.the sun was beating down hard and Kate qas glad she had dressed lightly as it was roasting.This was very unusual weather but she didn't mind,it kept her body warm,which would be hard if it was cold as her immune system and body central heating weren't up to their usual standers.She still had the cold from playig eth Quiddtich match but that was the least of her worries.She had taken her painkillers so her head ache wasn't that bad and there was no worries of a panic attack as she had taken her medication for that and she was feeling rather peaceful.She made her way to the rosebush,a place where she always felt calm and peaceful.When she entered she sat down at the bass of an old willow tree and closed her tired eyes.

 

[Nephrolepis Undersee]

Nephy had been sitting on a sturdy branch in a willow tree, concealed by the long vines that hung around her. She'd almost dozed off several times, which could have ended in disaster since it was a long drop to the ground for such a small person. She was so sleepy, she didn't even notice that a girl had settled underneath the tree until she prepared to climb down. Stopping in her tracks, Nephy looked down at her. There was no doubt about it - this was the girl who had helped her at the incident on the cliffs. She blushed a little, embarassed to see her again and now unable to avoid being seen by her, since she was getting tired and didn't want to fall out. She decided to wait a few minutes longer, in case the girl was just having a rest and would leave soon, her now sweaty palms sliding on the tree bark. Nephy's heart began to race a little at the prospect that she would fall out, or be stuck up there for a long time. As she tried to pull herself back onto the sturdy branch, her right hand and left foot slipped at the same time. This didn't make any noise, and she managed to grab hold of the tree trunk and hoist herself back into a safe position. But what had made a nose, and most likely given her away too, was the high pitched squeal she'd let out when she'd slipped. Nephy pressed her lips together, hoping she might have sounded like a bird, but watching the girl and waiting for her head to turn upward and see her. There wasn't much point in hiding anymore, but she stayed where she was for the time being anyway.

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate was enjoying herself and the peace and quiet.Living in the sort of world they lived in today ,it was hard to find peace and quiet.SO Kate was experiencing a rare moment of perfect tranquility and she was enjoying it.Her peace and quiet was interrupted when she heard someone squeal,she looked up and saw the girl she had helped the other day above her.Kate wondered how long she had been there for,she was glad to see that she looked okay,last time she had seen her Kate had been putting her on a hospital bed and she had nearly been unconcious.Kate hadn't found out why she had turned out to be that way,all she knew what that someone in her year had scared her and tried to hurt her but for wwhat reaosn Kate didn't know.Kate smiled at the girl "Hey"She said,she didn't not know the girls name and she didn't know if she knew her's either "I'm Kate"She said moving slowly,if she stood up to quickly the blood would go rushing to her head and whole lot of bad things could happen,so she raised herself slowly "Are you coming down?"She asked curiously

 

[Nephrolepis Undersee]

Nephy smiled in relief, glad to see that the girl was feeling friendly. She glanced around, not sure how she was going to get down when her hands were sliding and her heart was racing. But still, she nodded, placing her feet in the right places and slowly edging her way down the tree. As she reached the lowest branch her foot slipped and she fell to the floor with a quiet and muffled thud. With no harm done, she blushed and stood up, brushing tiny body off and hanging her head low so that Kate couldn't see her pink cheeks. 'I'm Nephy,' she replied, although Kate probably already knew this from her encounter with her, where everyone was calling her this. She had to apologise for getting the girl into that situation the other day, though she didn't know how to put it and her throat had closed up completely. 'I.. I'm sorry about the other day,' she mumbled, her eyes still trained on her feet. She'd been extremely embarassed, but only because of what everyone else might have thought of her. 'I feel awful,' Nephy risked looking up, and she noticed for the first time that Kate looked unwell, and like it had been going on for a while. She was sure the girl would have been tired of people asking her all the time, but just because she couldn't bear to stand there being rude, she asked, 'Are you okay?' Nephy was suddenly full of concern, though she tried to hide it to make Kate feel better. If she replied yes, then Nephy would not pursue her. She knew how that felt, and it was almost worse than feeling the pain.

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate smiled at the girl when she smiled.At least things seemed to be better for her,which was good.Kate made a mental note to look out for this girl in case the fourth year came after her again.How could anyone bully this cute little firsty.Kate was going to go over and help her up after she had fallen but she seemed okay and was able to get herself up.Kate smiled "Nice to meet ya Nephy"She said.she had to sit back down because her legs were close to crumpling.She got down slowly and when she was down she took a few deep breaths.Kate shook her head "No need to feel awful or say,sorry,none of it was your fault"She said firmly,Nephy was not to go blaming herself when she had done nothing wrong. "If you don't mind me asking ,what actually happened?"She asked,she was angry at the girl who had confronted her,Kate felt a strange sense of protectiveness over the girl,she didn't know why.Maybe it was because she couldn't take care of herself and Kate didn't like not being able to do that,so maybe she was taking care of someone else instead?Kate looked up when Nephy spoke again,she pursed her lips and looked at the ground and looked up again "I've had better days"She said truthfully,but those days were long ago,Kate found it had to remember the last time she hadn't been sick.

 

[Nephrolepis Undersee]

Nephy wanted to put her arms around the poor girl when she sat down and took deep breaths. She had no idea what she was going through, but knew that she was trying to hide it. 'Thank you,' she replied. It was reassuring to hear that Kate wasn't blaming her for what happened, but when she asked the next question, she blushed again and hung her head, slowly sitting down next to her. 'Well, I was..' Nephy realised she was about to let out another secret, but it was too late - her mouth had already said it before she had a chance to think propery. 'Being.. teased by a girl in the fourth year,' Nephy didn't mention any of the name calling. 'Not the one on the cliffs, a different one. I wrote about her, about her hair and makeup, and when Jen found it, she'd thought it was about her. It wasn't bad. I wouldn't write anything bad. I don't know why she took it like that,' she sighed, hoping Kate hadn't picked up on the more important aspect that Jen wasn't the only person who had been hurtful towards her. It had slipped out without her thinking about it, and her cheeks flushed with annoyance. She really had to be more careful about these things.
When Kate told Nephy she'd been better, her mind was taken off her own problems again and back onto the girl's. She wished there was a way she could help her, but Nephy couldn't really do anything, and didn't want to pry anyway. She stroked the grass by her side and sighed sadly. 'Is there anything I can do?' she asked, her eyes full of worry and fear. She hated it when other people were upset or ill. She would have made a very bad healer.

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate could see that Nephy was relieved that she hadn't blamed her,Kate nodded when she thanked her.Kate also say the worry in her eyes.Kate didn't blame her she probably looked awful but there was nothing she could do about it and that frustrated her to say the least.Kate was horrified,what was the matter with the girls in her year.Strange thing was that Kate didn't know much of the girls in her year.She knew a total of five and four is you didn't count her sister.That was a bit sad in ways but she did know people from other years and those four girls were her good friends,she had definitely talked to other girls in her year.Kate sighed,if this girl called Jen had taken it the wrong way that probably meant she was a bit insecure with herself "Who is the other girl?"She asked,she didn't want Nephy getting bullied,she didn't want anyone getting bullied,it was just wrong and mean.She looked annoyed at herself for accidently telling Kate "You shoudn't suffer in silence"Kate said meeting Nephy's eyes.Kate smiled at the girl who looked so scared "If only you could,but sadly what is wrong with me is out of both of our hands"She said her smile turning into a sad smile. "So how is school?"She asked changing the subject

 

[Nephrolepis Undersee]

Nephy stared at her lap, turning still and silent. Kate had noticed what she'd said about another girl, and she squeezed her eyes tightly shut to try and block everything out. No way was she going to answer Kate's question. She just couldn't. The girl and her friends would kill her for sure if they found out she'd told someone. Nephy shook her head slowly, the colour drained from her face. 'It doesn't matter,' she said quietly, half of her hoping that Kate would pursue it, the other half hoping she'd let Nephy change the subject. The comment about not suffering in silence hurt her, and it was an effort not to cry. She did have to, or else where would she be? Certainly not here, at Hogwarts. She would have such awful rumours told about her that nobody would come near her again, and eventually she'd be expelled. Nephy dabbed her eyes, pretending she had something in it and thinking about what Kate said next. So she had been right, there was something wrong with her. This made her feel extremely sad. There was nothing wrong with Nephy, and she was being a complete wimp about it. And here was Kate, looking strong despite having something wrong with her that she couldn't maker better. 'I'm sorry,' she whispered, looking at her hands in her lap. 'It.. it's fine,' she replied feebly, but also quite truthfully. If you didn't count other people, school was definitely OK. 'What about you?' she asked, trying to turn the conversation towards Kate instead of herself. Her heart was thumping in anticipation of what the girl would say, and she hoped it wasn't a threat to tell a professor.

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate saw the way she went still and silent and she knew it was something very bad.she moved closer to Nephy and put her rm around her "It does matter but if you don;t want to tell me I'll respect that but if you ever need someone to talk to I'm here"She said smiling and giving the girl a tight squeeze,before putting her hand back down.Kate was going to keep a watchful eye on Nephy just in case she needed some help.She sensed there was something bad going on here and she didn't like to turn her back to it but she respected the girls decision to not say anything. Kate smiled "Don't worry,it's grand"She said."That's good,school is pretty okay,lots of homework though"She said sighing,she did most of it during the night when she couldn't get to sleep

Out of Character:

Sorry,It will be better next time

 

[Nephrolepis Undersee]

Nephy stiffened as Kate put her arm around her. She didn't like physical contact, even from the people closest to her. But she couldn't really object, since it was a nice gesture and Kate was just being friendly. 'Thank you,' she said, truly appreciating the fact that she knew there was someone to talk to if she needed to. 'And.. You too,' Nephy dabbed her eyes again and managed a small smile. She felt silly really, but with all that had happened recently, this was one of the least embarassing moments. Nephy cringed, but then giggled inwardly just thinking about it. When Kate complained about the homework, she nodded in agreement and smiled. 'Oh, I know. I'm sure the Professors like setting us lots of homework,' she said, looking up at a few students walking past. One of them she recognized instantly. Nephy jumped up. They hadn't seen the two of them yet, as they were quite well concealed by the willow, but they were heading her way. Nephy panicked for a moment, not quite thinking straight as she heard their voices coming closer. You could see the desperation in her eyes as she darted up the willow and hid in the vines until they'd passed. Trembling, she clung to the tree and didn't dare to come back down.

Out of Character:

No problem, mine's no better

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate felt Nephy stiffen,but appreciated the fact that she didn't push her away."No bother"She said smiling,Kate was good at comforting and making people feel better that was probably why she was put in the Hufflepuff house.she didn't mind she liked that quality in her.Kate smiled and appreciated the gesture.Not a lot of people knew about what was wrong with her so not a lot of people were there for her here in school.Kate didn't mind really but it was nice to know that there was somebody there. Kate laughed,she knew this wasn't actually true as her parents were teachers but it was still easier to think that.Kate saw her start to panic immidiately ,she jumped up and the fear on her face was almost scary.She followed Nephy's gaze and she she could just make out the outlines of some girls.Kate did her best to hid and when she the girls were gone she looked back and looked up the willow tree.Nephy was up there and she looked terrified. "It's okay Nephy the girls are gone now"She said gently and carefully

 

[Nephrolepis Undersee]

Nephy was still clinging to the tree when Kate told her it was safe to come down. But to her, it wasn't, since Kate would obviously now be full of questions. She wanted to run away, to avoid the awkwardness when she got back down. But she couldn't. Slowly, Nephy made her way down the willow and landed on her feet. She looked around carefully before she saw the back of the girls a long way away. She shot Kate a worried glance, her feet wanting to take off in the other direction as quickly as possible. She hugged herself in fear, not of the girls coming back, but of what Kate would think. 'I'm sorry,' Nephy had been full of apologies recently. She stared at her feet, unwilling to look up or move away, even though her body was telling her to do just these things. The girls were now long gone, but her heart was still thumping, her body full of fear and adrenaline. She had been completely stupid to hide like she had. Now Nephy was wishing she'd just simply walked away with Kate, found a distraction to get them away from the girls. Mentally kicking herself, Nephy dared look up, though her eyes didn't meet Kate's. She feared that there was a lot of explaining to do - which was the one thing she had been trying to avoid as best she could since she'd met Kate on the cliffs.

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate's head was full of questions she wanted to ask Nephy.But what Kate had learned from experience was that if Nephy wanted to tell her she would when she was ready.Kate could safely say that that method had worked for her before and she was sure that it would work again.She watched as she made her way down after Kate had told her it was safe.She could see that Nephy was dreading what she would say.Kate had seen that look on people's faces before and she knew what it felt like. "Don't be"She said,smiling and sitting down by the willow tree again.Ever since Kate had gone through one or two nasty experiences,she had learned from her mistakes,she was good at advice and she tended to dish it out to people. "Look,Nephy if you don't want to tell me about the girls that's okay,but just know that you can't spend your days in school running away from them"She said making sure Nephy was looking her in the eyes

 

[Nephrolepis Undersee]

When Kate sat down, Nephy slowly slid down beside her, keeping a small distance between them as she wasn't keen on physical contact anyway. She kept her head down, knowing she didn't really have much choice. Her blonde hair covered the blush on her cheeks. 'I have to. What else am I supposed to do?' she asked, her voice sounding a little choked and as though she was crying. Nephy sat perfectly still, her tiny hands balled up into fists in her lap, her knees drawn up to her chest. She looked down at her fingers, once again wishing that she was alone, that there was nobody constantly asking her questions. She didn't need it, what with everything else she had to keep to herself. Another person asking her what the matter was was the last thing she needed. But she knew that Kate only wanted to help. It really wasn't her fault that Nephy had to hide so much, and so she tried hard not to show her annoyance at Kate's offer of help.

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate sighed,realizing she wasn't going to get anywhere with Nephy.Kate smiled a sad smile,if Nephy ever wanted to talk she would be there for her but she knew it was hopeless to say anything about it now. "Okay so"She said bringing her legs into her chest.She wrapped her arms around them and looked out at the distance.She hated it when she couldn't help someone who she thought needed it but,she had some experience with this feeling,for the past three years she had been feeling the same.All she could do was wait and maybe Nephy would never be ready and that was something she would have to deal with it.After all it wasn't she who was suffering it was up to Nephy to decide how she was going to continue her life in school.After a few minutes she lay down on the ground,her eyes staring up to the sky."Life sucks"She said letting out a sigh.