An isolated conversation closed

Heather opened her eyes groggily. Last night she couldn't fall asleep until the early hours of the morning- which, by all means, was still something she was thankful for. How many hours had she actually slept in the last few weeks? Much less than required. And, while she would gladly miss out the breakfast in change for some rest, the girl had an important thing to do that day.

Yawning, the Ravenclaw freshened up, paying little to no attention to the prominent dark circles that were under her eyes (normally she would try to cover them up, but this morning, Heather was too busy with other thoughts to put some care into her appearance) and dressed in some casual attire. Taking the letters that were neatly sitting on her bed, the tall girl skimmed over her once more. One for Valentina, one for mom, and one for Ortensia and Lottie, right. Today, Heather had decided to send some owls; besides that one, she hadn't received anything from her family ever since she came here, except a short owl from her mother, and, while all of her previous sent letters received no reply, she still continued to try and contact her family. A good relationship or not, the blonde girl still cared for her sisters and mother. She would have sent something to her newfound aunt too, but given the recent circumstances, she didn't really know where to.

Thus, armed with four letters, Heather entered the Owlery, too lost in her own thoughts and problems; she almost didn't notice the boy that was leaning on a table in the center, seemingly in deep thought. On a closer look at him, though, Heather raised an eyebrow. "Well, we meet again, Slytherin boy," Heather replied teasingly. Now, while she really wanted to send out those owls to her mother and sister, Heather had another initial reason to come to the owlery: meeting up with Henry, and discussing his condition- which the Ravenclaw had a lot to ask about. In a way, she was happy to talk to him once more- especially right now, their playful banter was just the thing Heather needed to free her mind from the stress.

"It appears we have, Ravenclaw." And, there he was. Heather couldn't stop a silly grin from appearing on her face; strangely enough, she was really having fun whenever she talked to Henry. And, after their summer meeting on Diagon Alley, the girl was sure that she could call the boy her friend.

They never really had the chance to talk after their last encounter, but Heather really wanted to show how grateful she was for being given the chance to spend the day with the Knights. Not only she gained a friend in Annabeth, but she felt like she was almost a part of a family, something which she hadn't felt in a long time. "Erm, before we start, I wanted to thank you. For letting me hang out with you and your family back then when we met at Weasley's." Looking down at her owls, she shrugged. "I think you noticed that I don't have the best relationship with my own family, so it meant a lot to me." The Ravenclaw added, rubbing the back of her neck. She didn't really know what to say anymore, and the girl certainly didn't want to be the one interrogated that hour. So, with her usual cheerfulness, she quickly changed the subject. "So! I think we should start with the beginning; how did you even become a werewolf, while your siblings didn't?"

In the meantime she was waiting for the Slytherin's reply, Heather approached some school owls, deciding to send the letters to her own family. Looking at the majestic birds, she couldn't help but admire them. Maybe, with her saved up money, she could buy a pet to call her own. Not only it would make her more responsible, but the girl would also have a companion to count on.

Waiting to hear Henry's reply, Heather noticed a strange silence falling between them. Finally, after some minutes of being deep in thought, the boy decided to speak out, though his tone seemed to be much sadder than before. "Just promise not to tell anyone and definitely not to repeat it. Alright, Heather?" Nodding, the girl raised her hands up in defense. "You don't have to worry about it, I'm not spilling anything to anyone," she replied, sympathetically. Though, the blonde started feeling uneasy... Maybe asking about how he got his condition wasn't the best choice.

As Henry started recalling what happened back then, a deep sadness washed over Heather. Now she really felt like the bad guy... It was obvious that the Slytherin was hurting while he thought about his mother's death, and he probably even blamed himself for it. As Henry finished his story, clutching tightly something in his hands, he tried to smile, but it was a forced one; the subject was too painful for him. And Heather clearly understood why.

"Now you know my two biggest secrets, Ravenclaw. Do you have any other questions?" Hearing his question, the blonde girl couldn't help but to sigh. After she realized that her nosiness made her friend remember some painful memories, Heather's curiosity was suddenly missing. "I... I'm sorry for your loss, Henry," She said after a few moments, trying to choose her words carefully. "You were a child, so please don't blame yourself for the death of your mother, okay?"

The girl thought about her father, who was also an Auror and who died in some mysterious circumstances, and she couldn't help but start wondering if all this time... Her father died not because of an accident, but because someone wanted him gone.

The girl could easily see that Henry, while he appreciated her encouraging words, wasn't truly going to change his mind. Maybe she should have said something else, to be more convincing?...

Sighing, Heather decided to let go of the subject, since it was obvious that it bought her Slytherin friend too much pain. "So any more questions?" Grinning slightly, the blonde returned back to her old joyful self. "Of course I do, after all, I waited almost a year to-"

Suddenly, an owl almost landed on Henry, bringing his mail. Wow, talk about great timing! Nodding as the boy excused himself, Heather massaged her temples, cursing the headache she was starting to have. As she closed her eyes, the girl let her head fall into her chest. Goodness, she was so tired! Maybe in the few minutes Henry read the letter, she could take the fastest nap in the world. Though, it seemed like her plan didn't take into consideration a thing: the owl was actually meant for her.

"Huh?" Sitting up straight, Heather noticed that Henry got closer to her, handing her the piece of paper. "-my twin actually prefers you over me now, I can't believe it." Smiling cheekily, the Ravenclaw dramatically threw her hair back. "What can I say? I am a charming person," she joked, taking the letter and starting to read it.

Now that was sweet: Heather couldn't believe that Anna took her time and had actually written her an owl! Not even her family did that for her! "Henry, your sister is an angel, I swear-" Turning her attention back to the boy, she furrowed her eyebrows as she noticed something. "Why isn't she going to school though? I mean, doesn't she feel alone being homeschooled?"

Heather had to reply to Anna as soon as she found the right moment. Searching through her pockets, the Ravenclaw got lucky when she found a pen- but sadly, besides a napkin, she had no other piece of paper right then... It seemed like she had to wait until she returned to her room, so she could write her letter to her friend.

"I don't actually know, because what Anna wrote me was there were some incidents and nothing more. And Arthur doesn't seem to know why either and our father, well he bloody is keeping something from us so I wouldn't rely on him for help," Henry replied, a tint of anger quite noticeable in his tone. While the Ravenclaw didn't know much about the boy's family, she inadvertently thought of her family, and how little she knew about her siblings... Maybe her familial situation happened more frequently in other households than she believed to.

As she turned her attention back to the Slytherin, Heather bit the inside of her cheek, nodding. "Yeah, please. The thought of bringing my quill here didn't cross my mind." Only after saying the words, Heather realized how dense she sounded. Of course, she didn't have any reason to bring her quill in the first place- after all, she was only supposed to meet Henry there! Not to write any letters. As the boy handed her the quill, Heather turned the piece of paper Anna had sent her letter and quickly started writing the first things that came to her mind.

Hey Annabeth!

I'm really sorry to hear that lately, you've been feeling down, but I am here for you! If you ever need to went, don't hesitate to send me a howler or two, I don't mind them at all! As for the pranks, I haven't done anything big...yet! I have been a bit tired recently, mainly because my family is a wreck so I didn't really get the time to prank anyone yet. But, I promise I will do it in the close future! Right now I am currently studying some spells that I've already learned last year, so the classes have been pretty boring. I certainly would enjoy your company here, too bad that you're not studying at Hogwarts!
PS. I was wondering
PPS. Henry told me that you' ve
PPPS. I hope I am not too nosy, but why did you stop going to school? Is everything alright at home?

If you don't wanna talk about it, I totally get it.

With love, your favourite Hogwarts student,
Heather

Grinning, the blonde read the contents of the letter once again, then turned around to Henry. "Here." She pointed at the piece of paper. "I'm going to send this letter off real quick, then we can resume talking, 'kay?"

Not bothering to listen to the boy's reply, she headed towards another school owl. Having this break between her and the Slytherin's chat was actually welcome since Heather wasn't sure if she could continue talking so easily to Henry after she pretty much urged him to tell her about his mother- she still felt guilty about that, but Anna's owl raised her spirits up, so she hoped that she could keep their conversation going.

@Henry Knight I apologize for being so late!!