Feelings and Worries and Hope

The cool air made Lucy's blonde hair flow beautifully as she gazed into the greatness of the lake. It was so soothing, so calm, so familiar. It was home. Hogwarts was home.
No other place, not even her own home, compared to the safety she felt when she was here. It was her escape and her own world.

Her thoughts wandered of as she saw a shadow hovering over her, and she hoped it was someone she knew as she wasn't in the mood to meet new people.

Ella stood behind Lucy. She hadn't seen her in awhile, there was so much to catch up on with her. Ella liked Lucy, she was a great friend. The sun shone on Lucy's blowing hair, making it seem to sparkle. "Lucy...hi." Ella finally said, deciding to speak up.

Turning around, she saw Ella and a big, bright smile appeared on her face. "Ella!" Lucy exclaimed as she stood up quickly and wrapped her arms around her friend.
"It's been so long!"

Ella smiled, tears threatening to fill her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Lucy as well. What has she been doing? How was this going to affect their friendship? Would Lucy give up? She hid all her thoughts from Lucy and asked as cheerful as she could, "How's it been going?"

Sensing something strange in Ella, Lucy backed away a little and looked her in the eye. "It's been great. How's it been going for you?" she asked.

Ella looked Lucy in the eye. She had a feeling Lucy knew. "It's going good." Ella managed a half smile before looking out over the lake, mesmerized.

"Is it really?" Lucy asked as Ella turned away. "You seem..." she hesitated, "Distant." As much as she hated to admit this, it was true. Ever since the talk Ellie and Lucy had had in the Girl's Lavatories, she had been avoiding Ella and Spencer Quinn. But now, she missed her friend, and she wanted to spend time with her.
There was, however, a strange aura around Ella that Lucy couldn't shake away. It was not the Ella she knew before.

"I'm sure." Ella's voice cracked as she turned back to Lucy. "Really." she said softly. Her mind was wandering through different things, wondering what Wade and Lucy would do, what they would say, regretting but also now regretting what she had done to Ellie.

Finally letting it go, as Ella wasn't going to say the truth anytime soon, Lucy glanced towards the lake.
"I'm worried about Wade." she said finally, her thoughts now gathered and ordered and her feelings as real as ever. She thought about Wade, her cousin, her brother. Her everything. No one else knew her the way he did, no one else had saved her from almost drowning in a California beach when she was nine years old, no one had ever calmed her down the way Wade did when she was scared, and no one had ever brought such happiness and hope into her life. Well, maybe except James and Ella. But they were only friends, Wade was everything Lucy had besides Phoenix.

"He's been..." she hesitated, trying to think of the right words, "Different." She wasn't sure why she was worried, but something about Wade was changing. The way he stared off sometimes when they spoke, and how he asked Phoenix to buy him books on curses and spells that didn't go with a second year's curriculum, and the way he'd acted when they'd gone back to New York, as if he was better than every one of her Muggle friends.

"He's also contacted his father." she said, recalling what he'd said about his trip with Shah to the Owlery. "And I'm afraid he'll be disappointed."

Ella was lost for words. She was glad Lucy had given up on trying to get the truth out but she was also worried that Wade was becoming what she thinks he was. "Lucy..." Ella started then choked up. Her eyes filled with tears. What had she become? What did she do to Ellie? She knew she had to leave, she had to go somewhere because they were going to come look for her.

"Lucy, I'm sorry about Wade. I don't know what to tell you honestly." she continued bluntly. Her voice beginning to sound unlike her. Her eyes dried off and she stared into the setting sun, the breeze ruffling her hair.

"It's alright." Lucy replied, almost in a whisper. Her foot played with the grass and dirt below her, and her gaze was now down. She didn't like the feeling at all, but she'd had to deal with it. Maybe she could talk to James about it. He'd know what to do in case things got strange with Wade.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" she asked as casually as she could, trying to drift away from her thoughts and imaginations.

The corner of Ella's mouth curled up into a half smile trying to reassure Lucy but that's all she could muster. Noticing the girl looking down and trying to start a small conversation Ella stared off into the horizon and nodded her head. "I suppose it is Luc." Her mind wandered far, far away.

"Do you ever think," Lucy began, looking up and gazing off into the greatness of the lake, "That things wouldn't have been the same if our parent's hadn't died?"
It was a morbid question, but she had to ask it.
"What if, they were still here? Would we be the same people we are now?"

Ella was taken aback. She didn't know how to answer. "Well, I've actually never thought about it. Maybe I'd feel loved for once..." her voice trailed off. "Father was always too busy to spend time with me and Ellie. I had to work and take care of Ellie because our mother died when Ellie was born." It was Ella's turn to look at the ground now. Her anger at Ellie was just too much. "I'd like to meet grandmother soon. She wrote me a letter asking me to meet her." Ella said pulling a piece of parchment out of her pocket.

Seeing Ella's hesitation, she realized that her question had caused something in Ella to be brought back. "You are loved, Ella. By Ellie, and Wade and I...and even Phoenix is very, very fond of you." she assured her. "Isn't your grandmother a Death Eater though?" Lucy's soft voice suddenly became a little stronger.

"Phoenix, really?" Ella hesitated, "Yes, I suppose she is, but I...I have proof right here that she...at least thought about me." Ella's heart sank, wondering why her grandmother has wrote in the first place.

"Yes, he said he wanted you over with us again. He really likes both of you, Ella. Not just Ellie." Lucy admitted as she pulled her sweater tighter to her body. "What do you mean?" she asked once her friend's last words sunk in.

"Well," she thought as Lucy pulled her sweater around her. Ella had been in a skirt and a shirt with her green tie on, she left erobes in the dorm. She was so numb, she never felt the coldness. "She wants me to meet her. My grandmother." Ella finally announced.