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Post by Delilah Simon on Aug 14, 2007 15:56:13 GMT -5
It was happening again.
It shouldn't really have come as a surprise to her, but it had. After nearly six years you'd think that things like this would be almost routine. But every time it occurred Delilah found herself feeling hurt all over again, even though half of her had been expecting it all along. The light, cool rain pelted gently against the window as she sat on the sill, her knees bent and her feet flat on the wooden sill below her. Her passive face was leaning against the cool glass, her bright blue eyes staring without seeing out into the misty rain.
Her feet were bare and slightly chilly. The cold was beginning to creep into her bare, smooth legs as well. Her comfy grey shorts only came about halfway to her knees; not indecent or anything, but short enough to keep her cool, seeing as the humidity in the castle seemed extra high today. Though the heat seemed to be slowly dissipating as the cold seeped into her being. The simple white tee she was wearing wasn't providing too much warmth either, but honestly she didn't notice. Her full, curly blonde hair was tumbling freely down her shoulders, she'd let it down before she'd came out of the Owlery.
She didn't know, really, why she'd stopped here of all places. She could've went to the comfy Ravenclaw Common Room, but faced the questions of Colton Riley. She could go to the Great Hall for lunch, but faced the concern of the Marauders and Lily and Ripley. So she stopped on her way back from the Owlery and hopped up onto the windowsill, where she'd been for the better part of ten minutes so far.
Her hands weren't idle, either. Clutched in her smooth hands was a crumpled piece of paper, the reason for her silence and buzzing mind. The reason for her distress, and, as she decided, the reason for the rain.
Dearest Delilah,
How's Hogwarts? We miss you so very much and we're so proud of how well you've been doing! Your father always said you were going to be the brightest girl in the castle! Thank you for the beautiful and exotic flowers you packaged last week, glad to know you haven't forgotten your dear old Mum's birthday. They should be in full bloom by summer, don't you think? Maybe we can water them and take care of them together when you get home!
Your Christmas presents will be arriving by owl this year. I'm sorry darling, but I've checked the calender and it appears that your father has a business trip on the days you're off for the holidays, and I've got to fly back to the States for a few weeks for a meeting with a potential new manager. Maybe you could stay with one of your little friends, even Lily or Ripley! I'm sorry, dear, but next year I promise you can come home for Christmas.
We love you!
Mum and Daddy
That's what the letter said every year, in a nutshell. A month or two before Christmas break, she'd get a letter with some shit reason that she couldn't come home. It was inevitable, every year, but it still stung. Letting her death grip relax a bit on the paper, her fingers drifted open and slowly the damned parchment slid out of her hands and onto the stone floor below where she was sitting. Other than that, she didn't move.
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Post by Remus Lupin on Aug 15, 2007 10:12:57 GMT -5
Remus at lunch slowly, hoping to see a familiar face in the giant crowd that occupied the grand room. But as he waited, occasionally tuning into James and Sirius' conversation, he didn't see her. Somthing was probably up, she just didn't not show up without a reason or other plans. Last time had been a good reason, 'homework' in the library, he thought remembering that lovely day. Clouds hung over the students, mirroring the weather outside as it was rainy and getting colder. And once lunch finished, students either attended the classes they had or lounged around for the rest of the afternoon.
Remus excused himself from his friends and slipped away before they could ask questions, namely James and Sirius who would ask him if he was off to the library again or something. It had become almost normal now, dieing down a bit as they became accustomed to the fact that Remus Lupin was not single and they both were as far as he was concerned.
He walked around for the better part of twenty minutes, no particular destination in mind, just keeping an eye out and thinking. He strolled along corridors and after going up another flight of stairs he ended up on the seventh floor. Turning another corner he saw a corridor with a window that was taking a beating from the rain itself. And next to that window he saw who he had missed at lunch. Standing in the doorway a moment, he leaned against the frame, wondering if she was lost in thought about something, he didn't initially notice the piece of parchment on the ground.
"You alright?" he asked, giving a worried look. Something was bothering her, he could tell but didn't know what. It couldn't have been him, because he was free for at least another few weeks. He slowly made his way over to her.
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Post by Delilah Simon on Aug 15, 2007 10:22:33 GMT -5
"You alright?"
Delilah jumped slightly, which was unusual for her. She wasn't really the type to be easily startled at all. Usually her sharp mind and senses were constantly aware of everything and therefore was rarely taken by surprise. But she supposed she'd been distracted, and for good reason. Lifting her head a bit off of the window she'd been leaning it against, her bright blue eyes shifted toward the voice. Her heart jumped a bit as she saw him and she smiled lightly, letting her head fall back against the window. "Sure I'm alright." she said, but found herself unable to look at him in the eyes. She was a good liar, as long as she didn't hold eye contact.
She should've known he'd come looking for her, or wonder where she w as. Usually she sat close to the area the Marauders sat in, sometimes even back-to-back with one of them. Though they sat in different tables because of their houses, they always managed to find a way to do it sort of together, even if that meant passing sparing glances and smiles just to make sure the other was present and alright. Guilt settled in her chest, he'd probably been worried. But she'd lost track of time, maybe she'd been up here longer than she anticipated. Still staring at the rain, a light frown replaced her smile and she looked up at him. "Did I miss lunch? I'm sorry, I just... lost track of time, I suppose." It was true, but even if she hadn't, Dell knew she wouldn't have had an appetite.
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Post by Remus Lupin on Aug 15, 2007 10:33:50 GMT -5
She jumped and he figured she had just been lost in though or something, even then he still didn't know her to do that. But he would ask questions later, he just needed to figure out things first. Her answer could have convinced somebody, but her eyes didn't look at him, as if he would be able to read them if she did. Something was definitely wrong in some way. "Are you sure?" He asked again, wondering when she would budge on her own without him having to force it out of her. But he wouldn't be like James and Sirius who were impatient and wanted answers and details at that moment, he'd give her time.
Her absence at lunch had almost been unsetteling, he was used to seeing her smile from behind or across from him. A wink or a wave of some sort. That hadn't been there this time and he didn't even tune in to whatever Sirius and James had planned for their next prank, they would fill him in later again to make sure the idea would work. They always did. Remus nodded, he would walk with her to the kitchens if she wanted, get food or something. "What's bothering you?" The same thing happened to Remus, when he was in thought about something he lost track of time, that applied to problems and homework. He stood now on the side of the window, leaning on the cold stone that was there.
"This yours?" he said picking up the piece of parchment on the floor. It was folded, but he didn't open it, unless it wasn't hers, then curiousity would get the best of him.
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Post by Delilah Simon on Aug 15, 2007 10:47:18 GMT -5
"Are you sure?"
Delilah continued to stare out of the large window, the glass cool against her temple as she leaned against it. She stared at the Black Lake, dark and murky, and at the Whomping Willow, shadowy and eerie. She sighed. "No..." she murmured, she kenw she couldn't keep anything from him for long. She refrained temporarily from looking at him, because she knew if she did she'd confess. Not that she didn't want to tell him, but... at the moment she just couldn't.
"What's bothering you? This yours?"
Just as she was about to answer, he asked her another question, and her blue eyes shifted to what he was holding. A scowl twisted onto her slightly sullen features and she scoffed. "That- she muttered, giving the parchment a distasteful glare, "- is what's bothering me." Lifting her eyes to him momentarily, her scowl faded a bit, leaving a lgiht frown. "You can read it if you like, but then I'd like to go chuck it, burn it, rip it up, feed it to the Squid, or something to that effect." Usually all she did with these letters was toss them out, but this year was one too many and she couldn't take it quietly anymore. Bloody hell, it was Christmas. Just one year, why couldn't she go home for Christmas? Was it honestly too much to ask?
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Post by Remus Lupin on Aug 15, 2007 11:06:45 GMT -5
There wasn't much to look at outside, so he wondered what comfort did staring out the window on a rainy day provide. But everybody was different, but she did finally admit that something was bothering her. Now the mission was to figure out exactly what. That wouldn't prove to hard, he figured. They should be able to be open with one another easily, he was with her, letting her accompany him on full moons. The trust was there, now it was time to utilize it properly.
Her expression when he picked up the letter told him that it was not good, not at all. She seemed to have dropped it on purpose she was all but glaring at it with a force to make it spontaneously combust. Well now they found the the source of the problem, he just needed to fix it, but first he needed to get details. "Okay, i'm here if you need help." He offered, opening the parchment and reading the words that said a message. After a moment or two he folded it back up and looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry, do they do this every year?" He asked, but it wasn't all that bad staying here for Christmas, Remus and the Marauders stayed all the time.
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Post by Delilah Simon on Aug 15, 2007 11:21:35 GMT -5
"Okay, i'm here if you need help."
Giving a small sigh, Delilah offered him a smile, not wanting him to feel like she shut him out. That was the last thing she wanted, after everything he'd shared with her and allowed her to experience. One of Dell's worst habits was holing up everything that was bothering her, and she didn't want it affected their new, yet strong, relationship. "I know." she said honestly, reaching out to touch his arm briefly, as a sign that she really did trust him. "Thank you."
"I'm sorry, do they do this every year?"
She watched his face as he read that damned letter, and felt herself frowning a bit as he finally spoke up. "Yeah." she said softly. "I'm just surprised she actually didn't mention it until the second paragrah. She deserves an award or something." she groused, shifting a bit. She'd never really spoken to Remus about her homelife, yes she was bloody rich out the wazoo but it was all for the birds she felt sometimes. Her father was always away on business, her extravagent mother dating freely in his absence. Her nose crinkled slightly. "Not that I don't love it here, but I'd like one holiday with them, is it too much to ask?" Lifting her eyes to his, she gave a small, somewhat sad, smile.
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Post by Remus Lupin on Aug 15, 2007 23:30:56 GMT -5
If she wanted to physically damage the paper and couldn't think of any spells for whatever reason, then Remus would stand and watch, whispering words of doom into her ear. He smiled reassuringly, assuring his presence to help her or whatever other need shey may have had. "Anytime."/b] He muttered back. Surely that should have been obvious, for now he ignored the fact that she didn't initially tell him.
He watched as she explained, almost surprised, how could people do that. Remus never went home for Christmas, but not that he had much of a choice. The Shreiking Shack was here and not at his home, his parents understood that. "That's just....I don't even know." He mused, for once in his life not able to think of a word. But it wasn't right, he knew that much. "No of course not. But you know that me and the gang are always here on Christmas, so you can hang with us." He said to make her feel more comfortable about it, not that they would have excluded her for any reason.
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Post by Delilah Simon on Aug 16, 2007 7:52:53 GMT -5
"That's just....I don't even know."
Seeing her normally word-ready boyfriend with a lack thereof to describe her parents' selfish actions brought a small smile to her face. "Horrible?" she suggested. "Selfish, rude, concited? Got my parents down to a T." she groused, letting her head fall back against the window and her eyes drift once again to gaze out of it. "I'm surprised she praised me in the letter, usually it's not enough to have top marks. I have to also be the prettiest girl in school, and the most athletic, and also it would help if I was a mermaid, and then maybe they'd like me a bit more if Dumbledore decided I'd be better suited and gave the school to me." She rolled her eyes. Exaggerating a bit, of course, but maybe it would help her deal with her parents' cruelty. "Pretty, perfect Delilah." she groused, passing another glare to the paper. "Bloody pigs..." she murmured with a small sigh, before looking back to Remus and smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, I... I've been wanting to say that for a long time." she said softly with a light blush.
"No of course not. But you know that me and the gang are always here on Christmas, so you can hang with us."
A smile broke over Delilah's face at this and her blue eyes brightened. "That would be fun." she mused with a light chuckle. She remembered the year previous, how James and Sirius had shown up at breakfast Christmas morning with Santa hats and sleigh bells and wished everyone a happy Marauder Christmas. Poor Remus, those two got all the attention. Letting her happy smile be replaced by a sly one, Delilah chuckled lightly. "Think they'll stick mistletoe up everywhere like they did last year?" she asked, her sly smile growing a bit bigger, hoping he'd catch her inner intentions.
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