The Lake, the Badger and the Serpent

Piper had spent the good part of the last hour in the library, curled up in a corner, absorbed in a book on magical creatures of the British Isles. It was quiet there - but not the kind of quiet that she liked. It was the kind of quiet that the emptiness feeds on, the kind that really makes her feel. Makes her feel disconnected.
Lost.
Alone.
Falling into the dark, endless pit that grows in the silence.
It was too heavy. Too enclosed. Just too much.
She needed air. Movement. Sky.

Piper wasn’t really sure why she ended up walking towards the lake. Yes she wanted air and to stretch her legs, but why the lake? Maybe it was because she thought there’d be more people there. Or maybe because she thought that the slight chill of the afternoon air would help her. But she found her feet moving her there and she didn’t resist.

With her satchel over her shoulder, Piper continued to wander towards the lake. She pushed down the feelings. She pushed down the memories. The memories of being five and sitting at the top of the stairs while the grown-ups whispered in the kitchen. Of the silence and the cries that broke it. Of the quiet after the cries. The kind of quiet that wasn’t safe, that meant something was gone.

So she focused on the scent of damp earth and the sound of the wind brushing the water. She focused on walking, walking and not stopping. She focused on the shimmering lake, coming closer with every step. She focused on the sky and the freedom it gave. She focused on anything but the lurking memories.

She wasn’t expecting to find anyone there - not someone she knew anyway. But there she was, sitting by the water, Amelia. It was the girl from the train. Someone Piper knew…kind of.

Piper paused and looked over at Amelia. She watched as Amelia sat with her legs stretched in front of her like she had all the time in the world. She watched as a small smile crept onto her face with her eyes on the lake and her mind somewhere else, and Piper couldn’t help smiling too. The image struck Piper in a way she didn’t expect. Amelia looked exactly how Piper used to feel when her mum would show her something and help her build little trinkets. Like nothing else mattered and her thoughts could drift freely and wildly - free of the constraints of reality, trying to find more, something deeper.

Piper felt herself smile again. She seemed to have made up her mind. Adjusting the strap of her bag, she walked forward. As Piper got closer she hesitated.
What if she doesn’t remember me? Piper thought.
I think the more important question is: what if she doesn’t want you here. Came the everpresent voice.
No. Piper thought back. That wouldn’t happen… would it?
It might. The voice came again. Imagine what would happen if you walked up and she turned you away. Imagine what she could tell people. How you wanted to sit with her and she didn’t want you there. The hope in your eyes. The sadness when she declines you. Think about that first, and then make up your mind.
She wouldn’t do that… would she? Piper thought.
Well you never know, the voice said faintly, you never know….
And then, as quick as it appeared the voice was gone.

Piper stood, frozen, thinking over what had been laid out in front of her. Should she say hi? Should she just leave? She didn’t know! But standing there hovering wasn’t going to solve anything, so she continued. She continued on to talk to Amelia and see where this interaction took them.

Piper approached slowly. “Hi,” she said gently, “It’s Amelia, right? I’m Piper, one of the people you met on the train, remember?”

She felt a little awkward standing while Amelia was sitting down. “May I join you?” Piper asked. “It’s okay if you don’t want me too, but….” she trailed off. Piper had come to the lake to find a different kind of quiet, but maybe she needed a friend too.

Mentions: @Piper Hart

Piper felt relieved when Amelia gestured for her to sit down. And just like their first encounter, she hurriedly took a seat so she couldn’t be turned away.

It had been almost two weeks since they arrived at Hogwarts. Almost two weeks since Piper had walked into that compartment, worried and stressed. Almost two weeks - but it felt like a lifetime.

Piper nodded when Amelia mentioned her sorting. “Yeah. You were sorted into… Hufflepuff, right?”

She hesitated for a second, then added, “How has your first couple of weeks been?”

Piper had not yet met anyone in her house - not properly, anyway. Maybe a few waves here and there, but otherwise, nothing. To be completely honest, Piper felt lonely. Not in the I feel so lonely I might cry sort of way, but not in the way she was used to either. It was like a growing emptiness that was more present than an emptiness should be.


It wasn’t like the one she felt for her mother - not that deep, but still not shallow either. She longed for some connection. Someone other than herself. Someone she could talk to, even if it was only for a few minutes a day. Someone she could listen to. Just… someone to be there.

Piper hadn’t met anyone like that yet. But she hoped—possibly more than anything—that she would meet that person soon.

And maybe, just maybe, it would be the girl sitting beside her.

Mentions: @Piper Hart