A Friend for the Lonely
Maggie was not having a good day. She sent an owl to her mother six days ago, and one to her father eight days ago, and neither had been returned. Every other student had owls flying in at breakfast, ready with letters, presents and general well wishings from loved ones, but Maggie had yet to receive a single thing.
She was currently sulking in the library, too upset to read and too weary to face the world. She idly flipped at the pages of 'A Standard Book of Spells: Year One' as she skimmed the words on the page. She had read the book more times than she could count, so she really wasn't paying attention. She looked up from the book at the relatively empty library and felt a wave of sadness wash over her. The castle was so big, and it all of the sudden felt very lonely. She bit her lip and closed her book, needing to find a distraction from the feelings.
She got up from the arm chair she was sitting in, walking over to the bookshelf and skimming the titles, looking for something interesting. There were books on plants, and books in potions, but both of those options seemed very dull. There were books on philosophy, but those books seemed very long, and she didn't really want to have a long reading session at the moment.
She missed the fiction of the muggle world, for it seemed that Witches and Wizards neglected that genre, focusing on what was true. Maggie supposed that if your reality was full of sorcery and excitement, there wasn't much need to make things up.
A book caught her eye. 'A History of the Dark Arts'. She pulled the book off the shelf and wandered to an armchair, settling down and beginning the book.
She didn't know how long she stayed in that armchair, but she finished the book in one sitting, still overflowing with information. It was as fascinating as it was horrific, and she was eager to read more. They were cruel, dark spells, that only worked if you truly wanted to cause pain and destruction. She went back to the self to find more, her eyes glinting with morbid curiosity.
She was currently sulking in the library, too upset to read and too weary to face the world. She idly flipped at the pages of 'A Standard Book of Spells: Year One' as she skimmed the words on the page. She had read the book more times than she could count, so she really wasn't paying attention. She looked up from the book at the relatively empty library and felt a wave of sadness wash over her. The castle was so big, and it all of the sudden felt very lonely. She bit her lip and closed her book, needing to find a distraction from the feelings.
She got up from the arm chair she was sitting in, walking over to the bookshelf and skimming the titles, looking for something interesting. There were books on plants, and books in potions, but both of those options seemed very dull. There were books on philosophy, but those books seemed very long, and she didn't really want to have a long reading session at the moment.
She missed the fiction of the muggle world, for it seemed that Witches and Wizards neglected that genre, focusing on what was true. Maggie supposed that if your reality was full of sorcery and excitement, there wasn't much need to make things up.
A book caught her eye. 'A History of the Dark Arts'. She pulled the book off the shelf and wandered to an armchair, settling down and beginning the book.
She didn't know how long she stayed in that armchair, but she finished the book in one sitting, still overflowing with information. It was as fascinating as it was horrific, and she was eager to read more. They were cruel, dark spells, that only worked if you truly wanted to cause pain and destruction. She went back to the self to find more, her eyes glinting with morbid curiosity.
Am I too soft or is the world too cruel?