Closed Broken Hearts PV Simon

Returning to Hogwarts after the Christmas he had felt like stepping back in time. It was almost like the whirlwind of a holiday was not behind him, but that perhaps it hadn't even happened. Of course it had - the good, the bad, the.....crazy. It all had happened, but now he was back at Hogwarts and doing daily tasks and returning to classes like everything was the same as it always had been.

But it wasn't the same.

He now knew a friend's life was in danger. He now knew the horrors that his father was committing. But with that, he also knew that his Uncle Mark's restaurant would be as busy and successful as it had ever been and he knew that his new baby cousin/sister would grow a little more each day.

Returning to Hogwarts almost felt as if none of that had happened. Everything was mostly the same. Everything but an important piece.

Clair would not return.

She had written him upon leaving for the holidays, stating that she wasn't going to attend Hogwarts anymore and apologized for not telling him sooner because she didn't know how to say goodbye. ....But how had she not told him? Why would it have to be goodbye?

Simon swirled a bottle of Draught of Peace into the air and watched as the sparkling turquoise blue liquid inside swirled around. He placed it onto the shelf before taking another vial from the box and doing the same, ensuring there were no cracks in the glass and that the contents seemed to be correct - the quality check they did when unpacking supplies.

Maybe a little Draught of Peace could be what he needed in the moment - with all that going on and back to the reality of Ordinary Wizarding Levels that seemed anything but ordinary: they were stressful! But no. No. While certain potions and spells within the wizarding world could certainly aid in situations where fit, that didn't mean one needed to lean on them when they could handle it themselves.

He'd find a way to help his friend. He'd find a way to somehow stop the atrocities done by this father. He would help out Aunt Maggie and Uncle Mark come holiday breaks and he would spend precious time with Maeve then. He would write to Clair - again (and hope to get a response this time around). And he would study and prepare and complete his OWLs with decent grades. Right?

There had been so much silence in that room, a gentle clinking of glass once in awhile or scrapping of a moving box against the floor - but it had been nothing but uproar with his thoughts. Just as he was working on silencing them, Colin spoke.

He could tell his voice carried sadness within it. Wait? she didn't talk to Colin first either? Simon was a little upset that after YEARS of friendship she would up and leave him without any word, without any hint - but she had done the same to her boyfriend?

How could she have done that to either of them?

Simon sighed as he sat down on the edge of the nearest hospital bed. "I miss her, too," he whispered. "She.... she didn't say anything. Not even a hint. I thought maybe she had told you but.... no. I only got a letter after we left." He understood that it would be hard, he did but you still didn't end friendship like that with a letter. You still didn't end a relationship with a letter. "I'm, I'm so sorry, Colin," Simon continued, meaning it to the fullest. He couldn't imagine what that heartache felt like.

"I wrote to her a few days later. I couldn't right away. I didn't have the words. I didn't get anything back...."