“Weird. Not that your dad is weird, but it’s just a bit weird that he’s going out into the muggle world.” She repeated, swaying her legs back and forth, as they slammed deftly into the headboard. She seemed unbothered by such things, springing to her feet as she kept talking to Adam about his father. “Maybe I’ll go visit him when I go to pick up school supplies! I’m sure my grandparents would love to meet your dad.” She beamed, already making plans in her head for such an occasion.

His reassurances fell upon deaf ears, as Eris had already zoned out. She believed him, wholeheartedly. “Supply demand? Well, I demand FOOD!” She yelled the last word, flying down the flights of stairs to the dining room. She had been kept inside with only adults and boredom for too long, and everything faded away from her mind’s eye at the presence of another child. She could play, she could have fun! She didn’t have to be serious or monotone. Charging down a hallway, slamming doors shut as she ran, Eris beamed from ear to ear.

“Come ooooon, Adam! We have to get to the food!” She stopped running and poked her head down the hallway to stick her tongue out. “The floor is lava and we gotta get to the dining room in time! Before we Diiiieeee.” She had grown bored of acting like the manor home was just a house. There were so many things to do, and sitting around wasn’t fun. There would be so much time to talk and do mature things. But, she was bored now! Peeking her head back towards him again, Eris smiled. “It’s just a game, by the way. I swear there’s no actual lava!” She kept running, slamming into the walls of the manor as she zoomed.

Eris had already swiftly changed the discussion topic, rushing down flights of stairs and leaping down the last step, as if she was imagining herself on a broomstick. “Come ooooon.” In her mind’s eye, she was a graceful gazelle, darting through the bushes and leaves of the savanna. The imagination on the young Fawley Heiress was precious and big, because there was much life could take away from a her. There was trial and pain in the world, and sometimes Eris felt like Atlas the Titan, holding up the world. Yet, with her mind in far off places, with daring sword fights and horse races through the ambiance of unknown, it was impossible to dwell upon sadness.

Giggling and racing down the flights of stairs, her future spread gloriously in front of her like an unfinished tapestry, all the parts fitting together and making room for more to be written and weaved. There would be days like this when Eris came back to Hogwarts. Days with Adam, doing everything that made her happy. There wouldn’t be such loneliness or sadness. Not when Adam, Reid, and all her other friends were with her, instead of her all-powerful grandparents whose lifestyle was so lush and grand, but desperately lonely. Yes, it was lonely indeed. As she ran through the halls of the manor, Eris could almost see the hopelessness and despair etched into the walls of such a large manor, somehow still stagnant and devoid of much life, after the countless years it had stayed standing.

A momentous castle, and a solid reminder of the Fawley Family’s power. Yet, all that the heirs and owners of the home could see in the beautifully painted rooms and hallowed walls was the reminders of a past, and the reminders of a man screaming into the darkness, denying his daughter the right to affection and familiar love. But such thoughts did not plague Eris Fawley’s mind, as she skidded to a stop in the large dining room, eyeing the copious foods. With half a thought, Nym the house elf had made herself scare, a fact that pained Eris. Nym reminded Eris of herself, small and forced to be obedient to her grandparents. To be honest, Nym was one of the only friends Eris had really connected with over the summer, and she wanted Adam to get to meet the house elf. But, she was already gone and Adam must think that house elves were bad, just as her grandparents and many other pure blooded individuals tended to think.

Oh well. Her stomach grumbled loudly, as Eris struggled to lift her tiny body in the oversized chairs in the dining hall. It was a struggle that left her panting, but proud, as she hopped into the chair and patted the one next to her, faint blush coating her cheeks. The gesture was simple enough, and was an invitation for Adam to sit next to her, instead of sitting in one of the many other ornately decorated chairs around the black table. Once he sat, she beamed and started to eat more, filling her mouth with food. The silence was calm and comfortable, interrupted only by the conversations that the two tried to have when done eating. Swallowing some of her food and taking a sip of water, Eris seemed even more animated and excited than before.

“Oh no! I’m more hungry than I was after Ackerly’s speech last year. Do you remember that? I nearly ate every bloody thing on the Gryffindor table. Thought I was going to ruin the mood, but I didn’t really want to sit and remember all the horrible things. So, I shoved my mouth with food.” She meant to make a joke, but her smile faded, as her hands rubbed at the faint burn marks on her arms and face, tone growing somber as she considered the situation. But, she was safe now! She was with Adam, and at her family house, with lots of magical protections.

Her smile came back, as she weakly attempted to pretend that she had never faltered in her smile. “Urgh! I wish we could eat at the same table. You shoulda been a Gryffindor, stinky! We’re much better. And, our food tastes better, I bet.” She giggled, before leaning forward to take another bite of her meal. When she spoke again, she was even more energetic than before.

“I can’t wait to see everyone! I’ve only really seen Rhea over the summer. I miss everyone so terribly. I can’t wait to kick Reid’s arse at Quidditch. And Max, wow. I wonder where he’s been all this summer. It’s awfully lonely without him and Dorian around. Oh! Apparently Dorian has a sister now.”

It was thrilling to be invited back into the world of Eris's imagination, because that imagination was a force beyond belief. Adam was a creative person, he had little doubt about it -- in fact, he suspected that was the reason he'd been put into Ravenclaw on his first day in school -- but the little light bulb in his mind was incomparable with the blazing sun inside of Eris's. She spun an invisible reality around her everywhere she went, and made sure that she always kept the door open for friends like Adam to experience it. It was a wonderful quality to have, an even better quality to experience, and a very, very rare thing to find. He couldn't imagine what his life might have been like if he hadn't met Eris that afternoon in Madame Malkin's; especially now, with the lingering crisis that had struck the family, he certainly wouldn't have made it to second year with the gleeful outlook he so often praised himself on.

And he certainly wouldn't have been attempting to jump from wall to wall of the London manor house on a whim, finding it much harder than he had anticipated. The house hadn't been designed for a family of monkeys, which meant there were little footholds to hold Adam up when he landed, and just as few handholds to reach for when he inevitably started to slide back down to the untouchable floor. When he finally had to admit defeat, he raced down the corridor after Eris with a grin still spread across his face. In no time at all, they arrived in her daunting dining room. The thrill of the journey had made him forget how hungry he really was, and it looked fortunately like he wouldn't have to wait any longer to eat -- the Fawleys' house elf had already prepared everything in advance. Now, in their short break between adventures, he could catch his breath, fill his stomach, and talk to Eris freely.

He laughed at the memory she shared of Professor Blackburn's welcoming speech, the one that felt so long ago that he could barely remember its contents. He did, however, remember the dinner that had accompanied it, a delightful affair that had admittedly distracted him from anything else going on at the time. He didn't know if he could believe Eris's outrageous claim about the Gryffindor table -- how could you beat the meal he'd had with the rest of Ravenclaw? "Aw, I'd never make it over there. Red looks absolutely terrible on me." Laughing, he took another bite of food and grinned around it before he continued. "If you want to be part of a better house, I think it's you that should come join me in Ravenclaw. I don't know if you know this, but we're kind of a big deal."

It would be a strange thing to see Eris Fawley in the blue and bronze of his house. He didn't mean to suggest that she wasn't smart enough -- oh no, he could never do that, especially knowing just how clever she was. It was just that she was so well suited to her house, remarkably so. It made Adam a little jealous sometimes how well she'd fit in from the get-go and how many friends she'd made over there. He wondered if he would have had the same experience if he'd gone down the same road as his father and his brother. Of course, last year had proven that people didn't need to be housemates to be friends. Just look at the people he'd come to meet since then!

"I miss everyone too. It's been forever since we were all in the same place." The topic of conversation had shifted to mirror Adam's thoughts, and he listened as Eris shared a surprising bit of news about Dorian Gray, the boy that Adam had never met but heard plenty about."Really? Like, a new sister, or a long-lost one? Both of those would be super cool. The long-lost one a little more, obviously, but then again I guess that never happens." It did seem like the type of thing that only existed in the movies, and he felt a bit silly for asking the question. "Still, that's awesome. I hope he thinks so too."

Adam allowed himself a short moment of silence to finish off the rest of his plate and set it aside, happy to sit back for just a second longer before they were off again like rockets. As he looked around the grand room, an earlier question that had gotten lost in the rush of dinner reemerged in his mind and he leaned forward to ask Eris. "Is your house-elf okay? I noticed she disappeared kind of quickly, and I wasn't sure if it was me or something. If I did something wrong, can you let her know I'm sorry?" He wasn't exactly aware how house-elf service worked anymore. Some families seemed to follow the old ways, but some were for reform nowadays, and it made it all kind of confusing to think about. "How long has she worked here, or how long have you had her, or...something along those lines?"

Here was yet another advantage to staying over in the Fawley manor, as if he needed to think up any more. It was slowly dawning on Adam that in a few years he was going to be out on his own. His brother was already reaching that point, and the realization that it would one day be him faced with moving out and starting a new life was beyond intimidating. With the way his family was restructuring itself, he might have to take on some of that responsibility even earlier. In this palace, he would certainly learn a thing or two about the proper way of doing things. Even just by observing he could pick up some tips or rules on behavior, what to do and what not to do, how the respectable families acted. Last year, Eris had visited Nottingham and become something of a Harringtom, if only for a week. This year, maybe he could do the same, and just for a weekend learn how to be a Fawley.