This Changes Everything... PV Mentioned Ravenclaw Finished

" " - speaking
' ' - thoughts
5c336b - colour

Anna yawned as she walked through the doors of the Great Hall, she was up all night reading, after doing a lot of homework, so she was up a bit later than usual. She walked over to the Ravenclaw table and scanned it for familiar faces. She spotted Ais sitting among her other friends and decided to sit there. “Good morning”, she called out to everyone. Just as she sat down an owl swooped down and landed in front of Ais. As Anna took some eggs and bacon to start the day, Aisley started reading her letter after feeding the owl.

As Anna poured herself some milk, she noticed Aisley stiffen next to her. She turned to the girl and noticed her face was a lot paler than usual, she looked like she was in a trance. “Hey Ais, everything alright?”, she asked the girl, feeling a little worried. ‘Could it be bad news from home?’, Anna shuddered at the thought. “Hey”, she said more gently, mimicking her fathers soothing tone, “do you want to talk about it or do you need a hug?”. Her father always did that when Anna was in distress, sometimes she didn’t want to talk at all and sometimes she just needed to rant, and she always appreciated when he asked that.

Cynthia slipped into a seat as it was time for breakfast. She often ate much earlier than the normal person, as she wakes up very early, at around 6:30. But today… no. She already did so many things yesterday and she was tired. The seat she chose was a random one. She did not think much as she slid in. Suddenly she recognise someone who seemed familiar sitting across from her. The girl had bright pink hair… was it Ashley? Noo… she was Aisely. Cynthia giggled as she remembered making that mistake when they had first met.

However, she stopped as she saw her furrowed brow. The girl next to her was also someone she recognised: Anna! She met the black-haired Ravenclaw when she was in the train, going back home for the Winter Break. She leaned closer to the two students, ‘Hello, Aisely and Anna. Is everything alright, Aisely? What’s wrong? What happened?’ She looked at Aisely with worry, an emotion she did not often feel and did not often show. Cynthia gave Anna a confused glance, mentally asking her whether she knew anything about the situation. She expected a shake of her head. Cynthia did not often care for others, especially those she did not know well, but the young duellist furrowed her brows as well.

Everything sounded so faint, so far away. The usual loud chatter in the Great Hall had been reduced to a quiet underwater noise. Why was she so affected by the few words her father had written? The letter fell from her hands onto the table as she blankly stared ahead. She'd been so out of it that she didn't hear her dormmate's initial words, only coming back to reality at Anna's soft voice, then a few seconds later, a voice she recognized from a sleepover she had earlier that year, Cynthia.

“Hey, do you want to talk about it or do you need a hug?”

"Hello, Aisely and Anna. Is everything alright, Aisely? What’s wrong? What happened?"

Without a word, Aisley turned toward Anna, engulfing the girl in a hug for comfort as a few tears slipped out. After a couple of minutes, Aisley pulled away again, wiping her eyes before beginning to explain to the two girls who'd shown concern.

"It's stupid, really." She started, "But my dad finally got a new girlfriend. I know I should be happy for him, but at the same time, I know everything is going to change. A new stepsibling, a practical stranger acting as my mother. I guess I just don't want this new lady and her kid to come into my life and screw everything up." She laughed as a few more tears fell, grateful for any type of comfort that Anna or Cynthia gave her, knowing that the latter didn't show concern often.

@Anna Blackrose ~ @Cynthia Beaufort

As Anna was trying to console Ais, another girl sat down and greeted them both. It was Cynthia, Anna met her on the train when she was going back home for the holidays. She gave her a nod and a quick smile, worried a bit too much for Ais to care about pleasantries. It seemed as though Cynthia noticed too, she expressed her concern, and she glanced at Anna looking for an explanation. All she could do was shrug her shoulders and turn her attention back at Aisley.

Just as she turned to the distraught girl she was engulfed into a desperate hug and her vision was blocked by a lot of pink. Anna hugged her back protectively, rubbing soothing circles on her back. She felt a few tears land on her neck and she felt her own anger bubble inside her. She wanted to know who made her friend so sad and she wanted to make her feel better. Setting her own feelings aside she kept her arms securely around her friend.

After a bit Ais pulled away and wiped her tears. She slowly started explaining her situation and for once Anna had no idea what to say. Her parents never even argued let alone anything else. But she had to say something, she wanted to comfort Ais and she tried. “It’s not stupid. You are allowed to be confused, angry even. Well, it’s a big change and maybe he should have talked to you in person about it, not over a letter”. Anna didn’t know if what she said was good enough, or if she even said the wrong thing. She looked at Cynthia for help.

Aisley listened to Anna's words, glad that her feelings didn't seem completely stupid or invalid. Aisley made sure all the tears were gone from her vision before looking towards Anna and speaking, "Thank you for the comfort, Anna. It feels good to know that my feelings are valid."

Aisley turned back towards her cold toast, grabbing it and taking a bite. She sat at the table in thought before speaking up again, "You know, maybe I did overreact just a tiny bit. I mean, I've never met this Scarlett woman or her kid. Maybe she's really nice and this will be a good change,"Aisley said before a sudden look of realization came across her face, "Oh! I need to go find Mari! And owl James! James will know what Scarlett is like..."

Aisley's sentence trailed off as she began to finish the last of her toast, making sure to thank Anna for the comfort and reassurances multiple times more. Then, the pink-haired girl stood up from the table, grasped the letter in her hand, then began to make her way out of the Great Hall, waving goodbye and telling her dormmate that she'd see her later.

@Anna Blackrose

OOC Note: I am so sorry for the almost month-late response. I have been lacking loads of motivation and school and my extracurricular have been so much work lately! Hope I am forgiven!

Ais thanked Anna, still looking very sad. She munched on her toast as she thought more about the whole situation. Her face gradually lit up as she talked about giving her fathers girlfriend a chance. Then she jerked up mentioning some names and quickly finishing her breakfast and thanking Anna once again sped out of the Great Hall. “Take care!”, Anna called after her. She herself finished her breakfast and soon left the Great Hall wanting to make it to class on time.

But her thoughts wouldn’t leave her alone. She was thinking about Aisley’s situation, and how it affected her, then she thought about her family and how much everyone loved each other. She couldn’t even imagine her parents fighting, it seemed abnormal to her. She realized how lucky and pampered she has been all her life. Having so many amazing people in her life. Tears welled up in her eyes as she leaned on one of the walls. She wanted to run up to her room and cry it out and then write an owl to her parents. But she knew she had classes and she didn’t want to be late to them either. Taking a deep breath she wiped her tears away and plastering on a slightly wavering smile she sauntered into her class.

OOC: No worries darling. Real life is always challenging us, hope you are alright now!