Things Are Not What They Appear

[Maya Fergusson]

Before going home, Maya had high hopes for Christmas. Regardless as to whether or not her step-monster was going to be there, Maya had told herself repeatedly that she was going to have a good time and she was going to be with her brothers and she was going to tell Ethen all about magic and what he would see when he got to attend magic school and all the wonderful things that had been in her life since first setting foot inside the beautiful castle she had grown to think of as her second home. Of course her seven year old brother would not be attending until she had graduated, but that was okay, there were a couple of younger students that she knew and had asked if they would look after her brother in his first year in her place. Emily had agreed to it, though Ravynn was a little bit reluctant. She didn't mind so much though, she had just been excited to be able to teach her brother all these things and that he would be able to appreciate it all with her. She'd had such plans. She was going to show him all of her school books and her wand and her robes and everything she thought he would want to see. It was going to be the best christmas ever and she was going to return to school and be all ready to begin her classes again. Refreshed and happy and in a glorious mood.

Her arrival at her home had dashed those hopes as soon as she'd walked into the house. Melinda was curled up on the lounge, her phone in her hand. Tears stained her eyes and she was speaking quickly to the person on the other end. Her brothers were no where in sight and her father had not come to pick her up at the airport like she had thought. Instead she had been picked up via taxi and brought back home to be greeted by the one person in the world she had not wanted to see. This was all completely ridiculous. Maya rolled her eyes and dropped her bags by the door. She yelled at Melinda and demanded to see her father and her brothers. She was home from school now, she didn't want to see her stepmother. It was then that the asian woman had held the phone out to Maya, making her pause. She blinked rapidly and stepped forward to retrieve the phone. The voice on the other end was her father and she was about to greet him in anger, asking where he was when his words silenced her. Ethen had collapsed and was taken to hospital. They didn't think he was going to last the night.

Thankfully he had survived, but he was still very ill and no-one was sure what the problem was. The beautiful christmas that Maya had imagined, turned into a very quiet dinner, absent her father. She visited Ethen in hospital everyday that she was able to and even stayed when her father could not. Maya's house was only a half an hour away from the hospital if she walked, but she usually rode her bike. She never missed a day. Ethen was usually asleep when she visited, but she didn't care, intrinsically she knew that he could feel her there, she usually left him little gifts so that he would know. On the rare occasions that he was awake she told him stories about Hogwarts. Most people thought she was just making them up, telling her brother stories to cheer him, but he knew better. They shared knowing smiles when she told him about hippogriffs and pixies, giant squids and mermaids. He knew they were real and that was all that mattered to Maya. This was a routine that she kept for much of her time at home. In the end she barely saw Melinda. She was happy about that, she had been dreading seeing her all day, everyday, but not at the expense of her brother.

The whole time that Maya was at home, no one saw her cry. She was amazed at herself really, she expected to break down at the breakfast table, or whilst walking Daniel to school, but no, she'd kept it confined to her time in the shower, or late at night when everyone was asleep. One time she'd almost been caught by Melinda, but as soon as she'd seen the lights flicker in the hall she'd immediately covered her head with blankets and cried silently into her pillows. Melinda would have been the worst person to find her. Maya was bad enough to her in a good mood, she dreaded to think what she might've said to the woman in her lowest moods. At school though, she needn't worry about her father, or her brothers finding her. She needed to be strong for them, like she was with her mother. She couldn't let her father see her cry. He was highly strung enough without Maya adding to his stress and so as Maya walked along the second floor corridors, she finally let go of the tears she had been holding. Not wanting anyone to see her she rushed into the first room she saw and slammed the door behind her, sliding down it to sit on the floor as she screamed in pain and frustration. Tears streamed down her face and she brought her knees up to her chest and buried her face there. Her brother was sick, he was all alone now and she couldn't do a damn thing about it.
​

 

[Daniel Clairoux]

Daniel sipped his coffee loud as he made his way through the second floor of the castle. He was on his way back to the library after going for a walk around the castle. He had been planning to meet up with Jonathon, but had been unable to find the man, and so abandoned the idea, grab himself a coffee, and just go hang out with Stefan in the library. The older man was good company and Daniel enjoyed talking with him. There was also the fact that he should probably get back to his office. He had been visited a few times, but otherwise still felt that it was better to walk the grounds. He couldn't expect every student to come to his office if they never saw him walking around, so he made his first priority to walk around, be seen, and actually interact with students when he saw them. Sure, they probably thought it was a little awkward talking to someone they either assumed was a professor or a seventh year, but if he wanted to do his job, he had to get out there and have himself known.

He smiled slightly at the older Hufflepuff girl he passed, and paused when he heard a door slam shut. That sounded serious. Especially the screaming. He turned on his heel and approached the door. His hand hesitated over the handle as noise continued to come from the room, but he eventually decided that it would be better to talk privately, rather than yell through the stone walls of the castle. He attempted to open the door, but found that it was dragging anyway. He could open it, sure, but he was not about to push the Hufflepuff from the door to do it. Instead, he sat down in front of the door, his back against the wood. He could almost feel the vibrations of her shaking through the wood.

"Hey," he said quietly, though loud enough to reach through the closed door. "My name's Danny - are you okay?" He wasn't even sure if she would know who he was. He usually didn't first introduce himself as the counsellor, as sometimes he could be regarded skeptically by students, but this was certainly the time to elaborate on his purpose. "I'm the school counsellor. what's your name?"
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[Maya Fergusson]

Many things were going through Maya's head and she wasn't sure she could even understand any of it. There was a time when she knew how to help herself. She thought she knew what to do when she needed something, someone. She didn't have anyone though. She was completely alone with this. How was anyone going to understand how she felt? Why would her father have not told her about any of this? Did they all hate her so much that they didn't think she deserved to be with her family? They send her away to school, with thoughts only of her brother, yet her brothers stay together as a family. Maya continued to cry into her knees, undoubtedly getting both her stockings and her skirt wet in some way. She could feel the door shaking behind her as she herself shook, but try as she might to stop the movement in her body, she couldn't. She just wasn't strong enough. All of these things she was feeling, she didn't know how to stop it. The memories of her brother in a hospital bed flashed through her memory and she squeezed her legs closer to her body, trying to give herself as much physical comfort as she could alone in the room. She wished her mother was here, because she always seemed to know what to say to Maya, but now her mother would never be able to help her. She was with God and Maya was not. She was stuck on Earth, full of a magic she did not understand, helpless in the face of her brothers illness.

She felt the door move and she almost instinctively pressed herself further against it, keeping out all manner of intruder. Whether student or professor, she was not letting them in. It wasn't that she wanted to be alone, she just simply did not know how she could be of any coherency to anyone. How could she explain this to another person when she as yet could not explain it to herself? The person spoke, a male voice. Though one she was not familiar with, so it definitely wasn't one of her friends. She sniffed, her tears coming in drops now instead of waterfalls, but still stinging the backs of her eyes. He introduced himself to her and it became apparent that he was leaning against the door as she was. She sniffled more and pressed her ear to the door, listening to him. He told her he was the school counsellor and Maya sniffed again. She'd had to see a counsellor when she was still in muggle school after a kid drowned in the local well. She'd never actually seen it, but she had been there. She didn't see him more than a few times though. Last she heard some of her muggle friends still saw one. Maya's eyes continued to release her anger and sadness as she spoke to the person beyond the doors. "I'm Maya." She turned back around and pressed her back to the door again, lifting her legs to her chest. "Are you a good counsellor?" She asked slowly, through a scream-strained voice.
​

 

[Daniel Clairoux]

It was difficult to listen to another person cry, let alone have just a door separating him from the other person, but that was the reality of his situation, and the only way he could get in was if she allowed him, because using his strength to open the door would never help the situation, and he was here to help. He did not think he knew the girl, not from what she looked like nor how she sounded, and that usually made it more difficult to talk - especially without being able to read her body language. But it had to be done. He smiled slightly when she finally told him her name. "That's a lovely name," he complimented, before running his hand through his hair. He hoped he was a good counsellor, but he really couldn't be the judge of that now could he? As far as he knew, he was doing his job acceptably enough to still have it, so that was something. But that wouldn't be very reassuring for Maya. "I guess you should tell me that," he replied, sipping his coffee. "In any case, it's nice to meet you, Maya, though I wish it were under different circumstances." Like, literally any other circumstance he could think of ever.

He allowed a moment to pass before posing his next question. "May I come in?" He put his coffee down once more, and crossed his legs in case she said no. "I'd rather talk to you, than to a door."​

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