Translucent Hopes

[Catherine Barrington]

Catherine Barrington had haunted the New Zealand since the day she died at sea on the way over. It was strange, as she had never set foot here while alive. She had perished on her way to reunite with the love of her life, who had gone here before her. Even now, centuries later, she hoped to find him. She knew that it was impossible that he was anywhere to be found now, as too much time had passed. But she still looked, and hoped, searching for any sign of him or any relatives. She had now fixed her hopes on finding Thomas' descendants so she could at least know a part of him after her death, but there was also a part of her that desperately hoped he never married another girl. Her reason for staying here on earth conflicted with her own feelings, and she wished for an answer one way or the other. For some peace.

Brightstone village had been an obvious place to linger, as many wizarding families made their way through it on a daily basis. Students of the school often came to visit as well, eliciting deep pangs of nostalgia in Catherine's chest. Once, long ago, she had been a student like them. A student of Hogwarts in Scotland. But she hadn't been allowed to finish her education, forced to enter society before her seventh year. With the promise of getting to marry Thomas, she hadn't minded. But the sights of young girls in their school uniforms still made her feel flickers of envy. Though there wasn't anyone in a school uniform around today. As an immortal spectre, it was easy to lose track of time. But Catherine suspected the school was closed for the holidays, though it still felt strange to her that it would close in the winter.

Most of her time was spent in the establishment of Madam Puddifoot's, but after a nasty encounter she had largely been avoiding the place. Aimlessly, she floated through the streets, careful to avoid gliding through anyone even though she wasn't always successful. She stopped and sighed, staring up at the sky. In the daylight, she wasn't very visible, though in the shadow of a nearby building she knew humans could see her. Pensively, she stared at Borely Mansion in the distance. Occasionally, she had wondered if she ought to go there. Maybe that was where she would be better suited. But something about the place frightened her, as unreasonable as it was. Surely, nothing in that house could hurt a ghost? Still, she decided to stay out for now. Perhaps, one day she would feel the urge to explore there.

 

[Thomas Parish]

It was difficult to make and maintain friendships for Thomas, due to his current state as very much deceased. It wasn't just that the witches and wizards he met would grow old before his very eyes, to change as people and move away to start families while he remained in the same village, immortal and constant, a teenager until possibly the end of time. It was also that it was difficult to even keep in contact with those he did meet, and who were willing to build a friendship with him. Without any one place to call his home anymore, there was no address to send him letters to, nor a way for him to physically open and read said letters even if he were receiving them to begin with. Unless he somehow managed to find a ghost owl to deliver ghost letters. Even if that were a possibility, the tangible people would have the same problem opening his letters, but in reverse. It also raised the question; Did ghost owls even exist? Thomas had seen ghost horses in the past, accompanied by a rider they had some sort of strong bond to, so perhaps the birds were able to linger on earth as he had.

Without ease of communication, Tom was stuck sort of wandering Brightstone until one of the people he'd met and befriended in the past came to him, or he encountered someone new to hang out with. The locals were generally nice to him, but the vast majority seemed to be working adults, and few enjoyed the same topics or activities as the ghost did. Sometimes, Tom wondered how they'd even been teenagers themselves. Adulthood sounded so boring and stressful. Perhaps he was lucky to have avoided it forever, to not know real responsibility, to not waste life working all the time to earn money and survive. Food, water, a roof over his head. None of it was important anymore, but part of him still missed it. The taste of a chocolate milkshake or a juicy steak. A warm bed on a cold night. Feeling. He tried not to think about it, but with so much free time to himself and not always a lot to do, it was difficult not to.

Much like how he walked in life, Thomas slouched as he floated from place to place in the village, his posture atrocious despite being completely weightless and unburdened by a physical form. It was simply what he was used to doing, and like him, it never changed. Most days were much of the same, and after so long loitering in the one spot, his hometown in life, they occassionally blurred together. Today was different however, as while drifting through the street, avoiding the occassional pedestrian who hadn't quite seen him in his semi-transparent state, he too came across someone else who was semi-transparent themselves. Ghosts weren't entirely common in the wizarding world, and it was always a surprise to come across others. He felt like perhaps he'd seen her once or twice before, for just a brief moment. He knew some of them tended to stick to one building - the grumpy Kuya ghost of Honeyduke's among them, but for Tom that was boring. He needed space to roam, and preferred to be outdoors during the day instead of cooped up in a shop or house doing next to nothing. Straightening his hoodie and slicking back his hair, the teen boy approached the other young spectre. "Sup?" He asked, sounding nowhere near as smooth as he'd been going for in his head. "Checking out Borely? It's pretty sick. Did you die there?" So smooth.
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[Catherine Barrington]

Catherine's gaze drifted from the mansion to the streets and back. Perhaps she should return to Madam Puddifoots after all. So far, no one working there had seemed too bothered about her being there. Perhaps if she stayed away from the customers, it would be fine. But something about seeing young couples together made her want to talk to them, to experience even a little bit of their love.

It was startling, somehow, to see so many people walking the streets around her. Everything had changed so much since she was alive, but a few things had stayed the same as well. It was hard for her to adjust to how casual people were with one another, how open in their affections and in sharing their thoughts and opinions. Maybe some people had been like that when she had been alive, but that definitely hadn't been how she had been expected to behave. A small gasp of surprise escaped her when she heard a voice nearby, she turned her head to see another ghost. "Oh!" She said, floating back a few paces before coming to a halt. "Oh my, I do apologize. I didn't mean to be rude, you simply startled me." She said, floating closer again and giving the boy a small smile. "It's been a long time since I spoke with another ghost," she added, hoping he wasn't too offended by her reaction to him. His question was one she wasn't sure how to answer. Somehow, it felt personal to share information about where she died with a strange boy. The manners her mother had taught her had never covered this specific question, though, and she knew it was a little silly to stick to rules that not even the living seemed to care about anymore. It was just difficult to shake old habits. "I did not die there. I died at sea." She told him, eyeing him curiously. "Have many people been killed there? Is that why it is haunted?" She glanced at the Mansion again. "Did you?" Then she realized to her horror that she hadn't introduced herself yet. After she had worried so about the propriety of telling a stranger where she had died, how could she forget her manners like that? She curtsied, a faint ghostly blush on her cheeks at her own rudeness."My apologies, I've neglected to introduce myself. My name is Catherine Barrington, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She said, somewhat hurriedly to make up for the fact that she had forgotten.

 

[Thomas Parish]

There was some irony in spooking a ghost, and Thomas couldn't wipe the amused grin off his face if he'd wanted to. There was a first time for everything even after being deceased for some years, it seemed. "Don't sweat it! Sorry for giving you a bit of a scare. I prob shouldn't have crept up like that." It was difficult to make a noise as a ghost, given the fact there were no footfalls or anything of the sort to announce their arrival when their feet simply slipped through the pavement below as if it were nothing but more air. That's all anything was now, space and air. "Tell me about it! People dying every day but I still meet hardly any others. You would think we'd all stick together in one place and hang out, celebrate our Deathdays every year. The ghosts up in the castle have the right idea." The teen looked toward the distant Brightstone Castle - or Hogwarts Castle as it was now called. Tom still thought a school in New Zealand should have had its own name and houses and uniforms, not copy one in another country. It was a school, not McDonald's, and he didn't think it needed a chain. Either way, he was still disappointed he missed out on a chance to experience it for himself, to be sorted and learn magic with hundreds of other students, not just the boys and girls in his village.

Dying at sea sounded pretty brutal, Thomas thought. Middle of nowhere, surrounded by sharks and stuff. Freezing to death because some rich chick refuses to share the space on her piece of debris, while the Titanic sinks in the background. Or pirates, he bet there were pirates involved. As brutal as it was, it was a pretty badass way to go out. It certainly beat some of the more boring, or embarrassing ways to die. When his new ghost friend turned to look over at the Borely, Tom followed her gaze. "Nah, not me. Loads of other people, I think. There's always been stories. It's been around forever, longer than I have. Dunno whats actually up there but. I haven't seen anything when I've flown over, but I know a few people who've gone in haven't come out." Like the castle, the mansion had been a fixture near the village for as long as Thomas could remember. It had been something of a game for him and his friends to throw rocks at the old building, or go and knock on the door and run off again to see if anything came out.

The girl, Catherine as he now knew her, introduced herself with a curtsey, much to Tom's surprise. That was another first. Having lived in the early 2000s, introductions were a lot less formal for him. He gave her a quizzical look for a brief moment, but it quickly left as he realised he wanted to impress her, not offend her, and so he bowed in response, just as he'd seen in movies. It was difficult to remember that despite the fact she looked much the same age as he did, she was probably from a completely different time period entirely, particularly judging by her clothes. "The pleasure is all mine, um, m'lady." It was a bit of a cringe to say the last word outloud, as in his life the term had been associated with fedora toting neckbeards on the internet, but it seemed appropriate in this instance. "I'm Thomas Parish. You can just call me Tom if you like. Most people do." Most people did was a little more accurate, back when he'd had a real group of friends, and a beating heart.

 

[Catherine Barrington]

Once Catherine had gotten over the shock of meeting another ghost, she was quite happy the boy had come over to talk to her. The way he spoke made it clear to her that he wasn't someone from her own time. He had probably died quite recently, relatively speaking. If he wasn't translucent like her, he wouldn't have looked out of place on these streets. She knew she would have. "Do not apologize. There isn't really any other way for us to approach anyone, I have unintentionally scared humans in similar ways in the past." She told him, sighing softly. His mention of Hogwarts ghosts made her curious. "Do you know any of the ghosts in the castle?" She asked, glancing at the school in the distance. "Did you go to school there?" She asked him, quickly forgetting all about propriety the longer they talked. It had been a long time since she had a conversation with someone even remotely similar to her. It was like taking a breath of fresh air. At least, as far as she remembered.

Catherine was happy to hear this boy hadn't died at the mansion. If he had, she really wouldn't have known what to say. "I have never been inside." She said, gazing at the mansion. "Do you suppose there is anything in there that could harm a ghost?" Her curious streak wanted to look inside, but she was wary. "I suppose not. We could hardly die once more." Her voice took on a melancholy tone. Even the concept of mortal danger was something one started to miss after a few centuries of being a ghost.

With some amusement, Catherine noticed how her introduction had puzzled the boy. It confirmed what she had thought, he was not as old a ghost as she was. Though in physical age, he looked around her own age. She appreciated his bow in response, happy with the small gesture. Perhaps she could be friends with this boy. He would linger here forever, just like her. But when he said his name, Catherine froze. For a moment, she thought she had been pierced through her nonexistent heart. Thomas. The name brought back a flood of pain, hurt, misery,and longing. Her Thomas had been the reason she boarded the ship, the last thing on her mind until the cold sea took her life. He was the reason she was now a ghost, forever waiting for someone that could never come. Catherine felt herself grow more transparent, as if she wanted to hide from the memories. It was a cruel joke that while she couldn’t feel physical pain anymore, the ability to feel emotional pain hadn’t diminished after death. But the rudeness of her behavior caught up with her before anything else. She had been raised properly, after all. Pulling herself together, she quickly smiled, appearing more visible again. “Tom.” She said, nodding. She could manage that. She had never called her Thomas anything like that. “My apologies… I was reminded of something sad.” She forced her smile to brighten slightly. “But lingering on sad things is never very helpful, is it? Especially for beings like us.” Catherine had found she could mope and be miserable for literal years, and it wouldn’t change anything. Even her sadness seemed frozen in time, like everything else about her.

 

[Thomas Parish]

The question of Tom's knowledge of the Hogwarts ghosts, and if he'd ever gone to school there had the boy shaking his head a little sadly. "Hah, nope. The castle only just opened before I died. I never got the chance to go." It sucked, a lot. His parents, a few of the local parents really, hadn't known quite how to feel about a branch of Hogwarts opening in their community, and bringing with it all of these foreigners who flooded the village with their own store brands and culture, their own Ministry and their own laws. It seemed practically no one these days could even remember the native wandmakers after Ollivanders had steamrolled through the Obsidian Harbor community and essentially crushed the competition. Despite all of the changes, he'd wanted to see for himself what it was like to go to a real school like Hogwarts, with hundreds of other people and not just the few local kids he knew. Unfortunately, his parents hadn't felt the same way. "I dunno any of the ghosts myself. I've heard of them. There's this Dark Rider guy, or Night Rider, something cool like that. No one knows his real name. He's been 'round forever, I think when the castle was built like a million years ago?" A million years was an obvious exaggeration, but it had been a long time. That castle had always been a feature in Brightstone's landscape and apparently the horse rider dude came with it. "The others I dunno. Someone the Courageous, Someone the Fair, Someone the Right. Pretty sure they've all got titles or something. Think a lot came from England, just flew right on over the ocean when the school was founded probably." It was a shame they had, Thomas missed out on an opportunity to become one of the House Ghosts himself, which sounded like it would have been a lot of fun. Mention of something in old Borely that could harm a ghost had Tom cracking a grin. "No way. We can't double die, not unless the Ghostbusters live there or something." It was a reference that was probably lost on her, but he didn't know where to even begin with explaining it. The mansion was creepy, but surely nothing could actually harm them now.

The conversation took a bit of a drop as Catherine seemed quite upset, and Thomas couldn't be sure why, or what it had been that he'd said to trigger it. Fuuuuu. You were doing so well. Way to go buddy. His thoughts scolded, and he raked his brain for where he'd gone wrong. Was it the bow? Should he have kissed her hand instead, or just done nothing at all? Time period etiquette was so annoying to try and keep up with. Thankfully the girl seemed to recover and he breathed a soft sigh of relief that their interaction hadn't gone too far south. "No worries, hope you're ok. Comes with being dead, huh? Kind of sad enough as it is." It was plenty difficult already being unable to touch real people, to eat real food and feel real sensations. Everything that came after just made it worse, watching loved ones grow old and die, and how much everything else changed. "What do you like to do for fun? Take your mind off of the sad stuff. If you ever want to visit the Borely with me, I'd be down. Find out if its really as spooky and dangerous as people say it is."
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[Catherine Barrington]

"Oh, that's too bad." Catherine said as he admitted he hadn't been able to go to the castle. "I attended Hogwarts in Scotland myself, though I had to drop out in my final year..." She trailed off sadly, before conjuring a smile on her face again. "You must not have died too long ago, then?" Catherine asked, not really considering how long it would probably feel for him. In her mind, the school opening in New Zealand was a very recent occurrence. While she had been curious about the school in the past, her questions had mostly been idle thoughts to herself. Now she had someone to actually talk to about it, and Tom seemed very knowledgeable about the school. "Dark Rider? That sounds... intimidating." She said, trying to picture someone that would go with a name like that. Catherine nodded as Tom explained more about the Hogwarts ghosts, interested in the subject but not having must to add. "I didn't know ghosts could fly over from England." She said softly. "Though I suppose I flew here from the ocean when I passed." Maybe it was the same idea. With a last glance at the castle, Catherine turned her attention to what the boy said about Borely Mansion. He grinned at her in a way that made her think she had said something amusing without realizing, and his next words had her furrow her brow. "Ghost busters?" She asked, tilting her head slightly to the side. "Is that something like a werewolf hunter?" Catherine had no concept of any humans trying to harm ghosts, but Tom seemed to know a lot. Perhaps there were dangers she hadn't known about? "But if they do not live there, maybe we could someday pay a visit to the mansion?"

Catherine felt a vague sense of embarrassment at her reaction to a simple name. It had been centuries, but the pain hadn't dulled. A lot of her memories of her afterlife were muddled, but she could still very clearly recall things from her life despite how long ago it was.Talking to someone else like her was too wonderful to pass up, she just had to push away her pain for now. Catherine didn't want to scare Tom off and be alone again. "I suppose it does. I'm afraid pain doesn't appear to dull with time the way it used to. Perhaps we lose our ability to heal mentally as well as physically." She sighed softly, tucking a curl back behind her ear. "But I am fine, thank you." The boy was friendly and quite sweet, and she was happy she hadn't appeared to make things too awkward with her burst of emotions. "I enjoy spending time at Madam Puddifoots. I think it's so wonderful to see couples in love. They're so... alive, so happy." She sighed, a soft smile on her face. "Though sometimes they are definitely ill suited. Sometimes, I give them some advice. But often they do not appreciate it." Catherine had always enjoyed matchmaking when she was alive, speculating about potential couples with her friends. As a ghost, she felt like she could sometimes see more objectively than the living did. "But I suppose I also startle them. Which I sometimes forget." The last time, she had angered a young woman terribly by mistake. Seeing the girl's blue hair had made her assume she had been the victim of some cruel joke. Her assumption had been incorrect. "I hurt a lady's feelings last time... so I have been keeping myself invisible since. It's just sometimes hard to only watch as a spectator." The boy hadn't been dead very long, perhaps he still had ties to the living world. That couldn't be easy either. She gave him a bright smile as he told her they could go to Borely Mansion together. "I would quite like that! You have made me curious. If there are no ghost busters there, I would enjoy seeing the inside."