A Note to the Sorrowful open

October 10

It really hadn't taken a long time for Jess to realize that out of all the many nooks and crannies of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the abandoned bathroom was probably the sight with the most breakdowns out of anywhere else in the school. It had only been slightly over one month since she had first come to the castle, but she had already been witness to two of these breakdowns in the room. Admittedly, her stumbling into Jackson and Illowy hadn't exactly revealed any tears to her, but it had seemed from the older Slytherin's reaction to being found in the stall that she hadn't exactly been trying to meet people in the bathroom. Anastasia, too, had probably been trying to hide herself away when Jess had found her sobbing, though that plan evidently hadn't ended up working all that well. Though she had opted for an empty classroom at the time, Jess didn't doubt that had she been closer to this room that one time when she herself found herself unable to keep from crying, she would have ducked into the bathrooms to keep from being seen, too. Point being, most people who came to the abandoned bathrooms came there to cry or just feel generally angry at the world.

So, then, this was the ideal place to make people feel better. Naturally, Jess had her own life to deal with, so she couldn't just hang around in the abandoned bathrooms forever, just waiting for somebody to come by. Plus, not everyone would let her hug them, and she already knew that if she did stay here and find someone crying, she would really, really want to hug them. Also- it might be a bit creepy to just wait here for people to come by. So, the solution must be to make herself available to everyone who visited the bathroom, just without physically being there herself. How? By writing a note to the sorrowful, and leaving it in the bathroom for anyone who needed to hear a kind word to find.

She had actually been toying around with the idea of doing this for a bit of time now, but, between her nerves of actually going through with it and the increase in the amount of homework assigned since the start of the year, she had never actually gotten it done. Now, though, she had the aforementioned note, in the form of a rolled up piece of parchment, clutched in her hand, and was rocking back and forth on her heels in the bathroom, staring at the wall. There was a crack in the stone right next to the door, and it looked like it was just begging to have a paper stuffed into it. Jess bit her lip. Was leaving this note here doing the right thing? Would it help anyone? Would anyone even see it? After another moment of uncertain hand-wringing, Jess promptly stepped up closer to the wall and stuffed the parchment into the crack. It may not end up being useful, but her note definitely couldn't hurt anybody, right? So, then, she might as well do it.

Stepping back, Jess looked over her handiwork. The parchment was a bit crumpled where the width of the crack narrowed out, but overall, it looked pretty intact. It was also stuffed pretty tightly, so hopefully it wouldn't just fall out and be lost to the world forever. Wait- was it too tight? Would people still be able to take it out and read it? Would they know to? Doubtful of her idea yet again, Jess quickly crouched down next to the note and scribbled a quick "Read me" onto the side of it sticking out of the crack. Deciding that she should probably leave before she started doubting herself again and took the note away altogether, Jess quickly turned her back to the parchment and walked out of the bathroom.

[font=Tempus Sans ITC]Hey,

I don't know you, and you don't know me. But I know this- you're here right now, so you're probably not at your highest point in life. If you are, and you came in here for some reason and found this paper, feel free to put it down and continue on with your day. You can keep reading, too, if you like. But if you're here why I think you are, then I implore you to keep reading.

I don't know if you will keep reading, of course, or if doing so will help in any way. But hey- why not do it? If you're here right now and still reading, and please pardon me for speaking directly to the sorrowful from now on, then I'm guessing you don't really want to talk to anyone about what's going on with you right now.

That's fine, really. I know it can be really hard to admit to someone, especially someone that you know, that you're hurting. But hey, like I said, you don't know me, and I have no way of knowing who ever did and who still is reading this. So, you might as well stick with me for a bit, and trust that what I say won't hurt you. It might even help, hopefully.

Really, there's not much I want to tell you here. Mainly, it's just-

You're going to be okay.

I know it may not seem like it right now, but you will be. I'm sure you've gotten through rough patches in your life before, and, no matter how tough, you can get through this, too. You may not believe in yourself to survive this, but I do. And that's really all that matters, isn't it? That somebody believes in you?

Another thing:

Talking it through can help.

I know I already said it can be difficult to do that, but it really can help. I know- it might seem stupid, because what can revisiting your pain really achieve? But- and yes, there is a but- it can help you see and understand the situation better. It might even let you come to terms with it, whatever it is. And, even if none of that happens, it's always nice to have someone who you could talk through your problems with. I know it's scary, but your friends really do care. I promise.

But I know, I know, that since you're here, you probably don't want to tell any of your friends what you're going through. So- tell me. I'm here to listen. I know you don't know who I am yet, but if you want, I can tell you and we can talk about whatever you want. It doesn't even have to be about what's making you sad. Just leave a little note for me, addressed to "A Friend," behind the portrait of the lady wearing pink on the first floor next to the Hufflepuff common room telling me a place where you want to exchange letters, and, within a week, you'll find my reply in that place. You don't even have to tell me your name in your note, I really don't mind.

Well, it looks like I'm reaching the end of my parchment here- sorry for the stains, by the way, I'm still not really all that used to writing with a quill- and I don't have much else to say. If you're still reading this, good job, I'm proud of you. And thank you for listening to what I had to say. Or... write, I guess.

Point being, thanks for reading. I do want everybody who comes in here to be able to read this, though, so if you would be so kind- could you please fold this paper back up and put it back where you found it? You can come back to see it whenever you want, my words will always be here for you. I'll come back sometimes to check if it's still here, just in case, and if it isn't- no biggie. I'll make a new one.

Oh, and-

If any of you want, feel free to add on to this. Write your own message. It could help you to put words down on a page, and I'm sure whoever reads this after you will appreciate it.

Alright, bye then. Hear from you later, I hope.[/font]

Hi, hi! This thread is open to everyone, and it's a bit different than normal, I guess. Basically, I want this to run like each person only posts once- so your post would be your person coming in, seeing the note, and then whatever their reaction will be. If they choose to take Jess up on her offer of writing to each other, just post a starter letter in whatever location you want them to exchange their notes in and tag me. If not, then that's obviously fine too, just post a little response here with whatever date your character finds the note on and that's all you have to do for this thread . Okay, have fun with this. Bye.