The Potency of Kindness PV Finished

Katrina sat herself down on the grass regretting her outburst at the girls that were gossiping. She looked at Thora and realized that she was probably waiting for someone to start talking.

“Um,” Katrina began, “Thanks for being there and backing me up. And well getting me out of that stall.” Katrina stopped for she could feel tears well up in her eyes. She brushed them off and watched a bird fly above their heads.

“What a group we must look like,” Katrina commented, “Two Slytherins and a Gryffindor.” Katrina chuckled sadly. Katrina flopped back on the grass and lay watching the clouds.


“You know, I’ve never been here before,” Katrina tried desperately to talk about anything else besides the obvious topic. She heard a crumple as she lay down and saw it was the- now tear stained- letter. Why her?

Katrina put the letter away and looked around. She could see ripples move across the surface of the lake. She shimmied to a tree so her back was against it. There were a few trees around but not enough to block the light. The sky was pure blue with a few puffy clouds dotting the horizon. A deceptive weather to contrast her feelings.

Margo carefully placed herself next to Katrina so that the girl had support on both sides. She hadn’t a clue what the next subject of their conversation would be and, if she was being truthful, she didn’t want it to be about Katrina’s sorrow. It may have sounded selfish, but there was only so much that Margo could offer her condolences without having experienced the unfortunate event herself. 

At Katrina’s words Margo tried to summon a smile. The keyword being ‘tried’. Some of her late nights were catching up with her and she could feel a tired induced headache coming on. She stifled a yawn and her face was almost expressionless when she said to Katrina “The best ailment for a suffering heart is another’s company.” Oh dear, Margo thought, even her internal monologue sounded robotic. 

She hoped that Katrina and Thora weren’t too hurt by her lack of expression, everyone had bad days sometimes, right? However, what Margo said next would likely hurt Katrina more, something that Margo did not want to do. Unfortunately, one couldn’t change their personality, let alone their beliefs.

“It shouldn’t matter what others think. You’re Gryffindor, Katrina, and we’re Slytherin... is that really so bad?”

Well at least the subject is now officially changed. Margo sighed to herself, hoping against hope that Katrina wasn’t too offended. It wasn’t for personal gain that she thought this, she was not looking for friends. She regretted her words merely for the cause of preventing any further harm towards Katrina Walker.

Thora sat quietly in the silence, grateful that both Katrina and Margo seemed willing to talk. The red-haired Slytherin drifted off briefly in her own thoughts, only to be brought back by Margo's voice,
“It shouldn’t matter what others think. You’re Gryffindor, Katrina, and we’re Slytherin... is that really so bad?” Thora had to stifle a smile--she had just been thinking the exact same thing. Just as Thora opened her mouth to say something of her own, maybe something comforting, or to just distract the girls from the tragedy on hand, Katrina jumped in.
“Do you know if there are any magical creatures in this lake?” asked the Gryffindor. Kind of random... thought Thora. But she was in no place to criticize Katrina for that--after all, her social skills were, if anything, much worse than Katrina's.
"Honestly, I'm not sure," Thora answered hesitantly, "Although I have seen quite a number of different animals swimming by from the common room window." One of the best things about Slytherin's underwater common room, well, according to Thora, was the view of the Great Lake. The dark and strange waters mystified Thora. Although she really didn't have an interest in magical creatures, the dark shadows moving through the waters, seen regularly from her common room, were actually quite fascinating. "I've heard rumors of merpeople, although I haven't seen them myself. But I have seen the giant squid..." Thora trailed off. That's not magical, she thought angrily to herself. Can't you even carry on a normal conversation and answer people's questions? Taking a deep breath, she continued, "I mean, that's not very magical, but I still think it's cool."
Thora cringed as she noticed Katrina's cheeks blooming red as Thora answered her question, but decided to ignore it. After all, Thora herself easily embarrassed herself simply saying a few words to other people.
"So," Thora began, meaning to change the subject, "What's your favorite subject at Hogwarts?" Well, random, yes, but, why not get to know Margo and Katrina? thought Thora, After all, you are talking to them already...

Margo pondered Katrina’s question. How did one define a magical creature? Was it a creature that muggles didn’t know about, or a creature that could actually wield magic of it’s own? Margo didn’t know. Of course, the Slytherin Common Room was situated right underneath the Great Lake, so she had seen more than a few different species of water dwellers during her time at Hogwarts. However, she was not about to reveal this information to Katrina- she believed that each house’s secrets should remain just that: secret. 

At least, those were Margo’s beliefs. From the way the other Slytherin just gave the location of their dormitories away, Thora clearly didn’t feel the same. Margo glared at the offending girl and opened her mouth to speak. “Yes.” She said icily. “What a great and open place the common room is.” 

She did feel bad about being so spiky when Katrina needed comfort. The sad redhead hadn’t done anything wrong- it was the one from her own house that Margo had an issue with. Changing the subject before her annoyance could get the better of her, Margo spoke again. 

“Students are often afraid of the giant squid, but it has been proved to be perfectly docile. Harry Potter even fed it in his time, and a previous student reported it helping him out of the Lake when he fell in his first day. It definitely has some magical traits because any normal squid would have died in fresh water, but the squid lives on and has done so for decades.” 

Margo narrowed her eyes at Thora’s next question. She wanted to know their favourite subject? How boring. That didn’t give much information about a person whatsoever, in Margo’s opinion. However, she answered just to keep the conversation going.

“I like potions and defence against the dark arts.” She said, her eyes vaguely focused in other the Slytherin’s direction.

In reality her gaze was no longer on Thora, but over the girl’s shoulder and out over the lake. It really was beautiful, Margo thought. The water was a deep, greeny blue, and almost still enough to see the reflection of the clouds on its surface. The castle stood proudly in the distance and Margo realised with a start that she did think of it as a sort of home. Of course, she missed her cottage in Scotland and her dog, Mimi, but there was something comforting about the castle’s echoing halls.

“Yes.” Margo said icily. “What a great and open place the common room is.” Thora's mouth dropped open, taken aback. What had she done wrong? All she was trying to do was answer Katrina's question. As far as Thora knew, most everyone knew where everyone's common rooms were. Thora knew both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw's were up towers, and Hufflepuff's was on the first floor. Well, if Margo felt that strongly about Slytherin's secrets, Thora would just stay quiet from now on.
“Students are often afraid of the giant squid, but it has been proved to be perfectly docile. Harry Potter even fed it in his time, and a previous student reported it helping him out of the Lake when he fell in his first day. It definitely has some magical traits because any normal squid would have died in fresh water, but the squid lives on and has done so for decades.” Margo went on to say, although Thora was no longer listening. From the way Margo was glaring at Thora, Thora could tell that she thought Thora had somehow wronged her. Although Thora wished to be kind and not start a fight, she thought Margo was being unreasonable. Oh well, no matter, she thought. This isn't about me, anyway. 
Blinking tears out of her eyes, Thora turned the other way and buried her head in her knees. Margo didn't understand. Thora was lonely--no friends, no one to talk to. This, first time Thora tried to make a friend at Hogwarts, they now disliked her--Katrina probably didn't like her either. She didn't mean to do anything wrong, all she was trying to do was help Katrina out. 
“I like potions and defence against the dark arts.” Margo said. Thora nodded and gave a small smile, trying to show the Slytherin girl she was simply trying to be kind. As she got the idea Margo thought her questions were dull, Thora decided to keep quiet and simply rested her head on her knees. Stop it, Thora, she reprimanded herself. This isn't even about you!
Ashamed, Thora turned to Katrina. "I'm sorry, Katrina. I don't mean to be ruining this for you." 

Thora's breath caught in her throat. "I'm sorry, Katrina," she whispered under her breath.
“I, you aren’t ruining anything.” Katrina stammered. Now Thora felt even worse. Resolving to speak only to make Katrina feel better, Thora glued her mouth firmly shut. “My favorite subject is astronomy.” Katrina spoke up, ignoring Margo’s tone. “I think I should head back to my common room. I have 12 inches of parchment due tomorrow for potions and I’m not done yet.” 
As Katrina stood up and walked back to Hogwarts Castle, Thora swallowed hard. Had she made Katrina leave? Nevertheless, Thora hoped she had been a friend and helped the Gryffindor out.
"Bye, Katrina," whispered Thora. She glanced at the redhead's retreating figure for just another moment, then turned back to her fellow Slytherin. What was she to say? Thora knew she really should be getting back to her homework, too, but she also knew she had really messed things up with Margo. Although she, herself, never really got to know Margo, she thought she should at least patch things up. After all, she wanted friends, not enemies.
"Look, Margo, I'm really sorry," Thora began, "I--I honestly didn't mean to hurt your feelings or do anything wr-wrong. I was ju-just trying to answer Katrina's question," she stumbled on her words. Thora hoped she wasn't making a huge mistake. She stopped stammering and sat quietly, hoping Margo would respond. 

When Thora apologised to Katrina, Margo’s ears burned from embarrassment. She had  just accused a girl of something that hardly mattered in the scheme of things, and now Thora was apologising for her. So what are you going to do now, hmm? The little voice in her head asked snidely. Are you going to suck it up and apologise, or are you going to stubbornly stick with the morals of speaking without thinking? To Margo, it was a difficult question, which in itself should have put many of her flaws into light. 

She’d spent so long stuck in the shame in her head that Katrina was already walking away when she looked up. “WAIT.” She shouted. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Just... just please look after yourself.”

Why was it so hard for her to say? Was it her pride, her stubbornness? Margo sighed loudly, something she rarely did. She knew she wouldn’t forget this day. And you shouldn’t try to. She told herself sternly. She had no right to behave like that towards anybody... especially Thora. It was hard for her to admit, but the girl hadn’t done much wrong at all. Apologise. She struggled internally. It was so normal, apologising, weak even, and she’d just made a fool out of herself by doing it to Katrina. Perhaps she could do it in a more creative way... but her mind was blank. It scared her. Even the internal voice was gone. Shame had overtaken her creativity, so she’d have to get rid of the shame to get the unique side back. 

She was about to open her mouth when Thora spoke, or more like stammered. Margo listened with regret and  replied at top speed.

“No. I should be apologising, not you. I... I’m sorry. I ruined what we had with Katrina and now she’s alone. Maybe we should take different paths from now on.” 

No, Margo. She screamed internally. That’s the shame speaking. You have to fix this. 

“No... wait, I didn’t mean that. If you would allow it, and could bring yourself to forget what I’ve done, I should give us a chance. I don’t believe you said what your favourite subject was.” Margo looked over at Thora. Had she been crying? More shame swept over her, and she realised that there were many things an apology couldn’t change. She’d always liked the unexpected, but this was the worst wait of her life, and she wholeheartedly deserved it.