Owlery
A few minutes later Leigh and Nova were careful not to slip as they rushed down the stairs from the common room to the great hall for dinner. Leigh's stomach grumbled, and she was painfully reminded that she had stupidly skipped lunch, and had opted for a plain apple for breakfast before rushing off to classes in the morning.
The scene with the spiders and Ron was still ingrained in her mind, and Ron still seemed shaken up as he was led down the stairs a few minutes prior, desperately holding onto the railing next to Hermione and Harry. Hermione seemed worried, while Leigh swore she could see a small smile fighting at the corners of Harry's lips.
"I can't believe it," Nova giggled. "One of the Weasley's actually set off the spiders?"
"Fred," Leigh huffed in annoyance. "Arsehole."
Nova shrugged. "I guess. But it is his own brother. I suppose if he's allowed to be an arsehole to anyone, it's him."
"It's ridiculous," Leigh started as they turned a corner and continued down the stairs, careful as they moved onto one of the moving staircases. "They're not even students anymore. It's inappropriate."
"Oh, shut it!" Nova exclaimed with a giggle, and Leigh looked at her with wide eyes. "They're not hurting anyone. Besides, people love them. Gryffindor quidditch heroes. Always used to make people laugh. Made Dumbridge get petrified and eaten by a firework dragon. What's not to like?"
Leigh grumbled to herself, not having anything to reply with. She supposed they weren't all bad. Still, annoyance grew in her chest and she was planning to send them an angry letter from the owlery after dinner. She certainly didn't appreciate being dragged into one of their stupid ideas, as she had been this afternoon, with Fred tugging her into the shadows of the corridor.
Her mind went back to the aftermath of the spider prank, remembering Ron's wide, glossy eyes looking her way after the insects had disappeared, a finger pointed in her direction. "W-was it you? I saw them coming from that way!"
Of course, once Ron had calmed down after this life threatening event, it was clear both to him and anyone else that the spontaneous accusation was absurd, and he had mumbled a sheepish 'sorry' to her, clearly embarrassed. Out of everyone in the school, Leigh had to be one of the least likely people to go around pranking people. Except, of course, when she was dragged along by one of the prank masters themselves.
Nova dropped her voice as they started to near the great hall, the both of them feeling the smell of freshly cooked food reach their noses. "I hope Terry's in," she murmured with a nervous smile, and Leigh scrunched her eyebrows together, not following.
"Terry Boot? The Ravenclaw?" Leigh asked in confusion. "Where else would he be?"
"Yes, Terry Boot," Nova giggled again. "We have charms together. And Herbology,"
"Since when do you have a thing for Terry Boot?" Leigh raised an eyebrow. She'd never heard Nova speak about the guy before, and now, just a few days into term, she was blushing before even laying eyes on him.
"I don't know!" Nova spoke. "He's cute, isn't he?" Noticing Leigh's pointed look, she rolled her eyes before continuing. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to be taken on at least one date to the astronomy tower before I graduate. Otherwise what's the point of attending Hogwarts?"
Leigh chuckled. "Hm, I don't know? Maybe the academics?"
Nova's smile widened. "Well, he can help with that too, being Ravenclaw and all," she spoke with a smirk. "With Terry maybe I'll get a few N.E.W.Ts after all." Receiving nothing but laughs from Leigh in response, Nova glanced at her friend.
"What about you? Don't you want to find someone this last year?" She wiggled her eyebrows towards Leigh. "Facing the horrors of the final exams together with someone?"
"Stop that," Leigh joked as she saw Nova's moving brows. She took a breath, "And to answer your question – no, I can't say I do." A shake of her head accompanied her words, and the smile slowly disappeared from her face.
Nova noticed the change in her friend's demeanour, her own smile dropping from her face as she placed a hand on Leigh's arm when they neared the great hall. "Look, I know it's hard but I think you just have to try to move on. It's been months," she spoke with quiet, soft words.
Instead of replying, or even acknowledging her words, Leigh walked up to the Gryffindor table with an upbeat 'hi' and took a seat next to her usual group of friends. Nova took a seat across the table, a bit further down, and Leigh felt a wave of relief wash over her when she knew the conversation was dropped.
She was thankful she put on an extra sweater, the cold late-summer nights seeping through the stone walls.
The food appeared on her plate, and soon enough Ron turned to her, the same sheepish expression present on his face as before. After yet another heartfelt apology, Leigh waved him off with a chuckle.
"You've been out fighting Voldemort and collecting death-eaters the last couple of months, but still get terrified by a few fake spiders?" Harry poked fun at his friend, who grimaced just at the mention of the small creatures.
"Shut up, Harry!" Ron whimpered. "I didn't know they were fake! You know I hate spiders." He visibly shivered. "I can still feel their tiny little disgusting legs all over..."
Harry chuckled slightly, shaking his head as he ate a forkful of potatoes from his plate, receiving daggers from Hermione as he did so.
Once dinner was over Leigh was quick to leave the hall, blaming a stack of new assignments falling into her lap. She couldn't help it, it felt as if her otherwise quite decent social battery kept running out; every interaction was draining. And while she felt bad pulling away from social situations she really had no clue how the others kept going on like they did. Was she the only one exhausted?
Her thoughts tore at her as she made her way to the owlery. The evening was cold, even though the last rays of the sun were still up. Once she began climbing the array of stairs she started to consider if it was even worth it to send this strongly-worded letter to the twins. So many stairs. In the end the annoyance of having to struggle her way up the steps combined with her annoyance at the pranking event that previously expired, and she quickly had her quill out once she reached the top, writing brashly onto the piece of parchment before turning to find a suitable owl.
"Weasley's Wizard Wh- whatsit? Uh-" she started, and the owl looked at her expectedly, cocking his head to the side. Leigh shook her head to herself. "The Weasley twins, Hogsmeade," she finally spoke, and the owl leapt off her hand and flew into the sunset. Thankfully for the owl, the trip was as short as can be.
Leigh sighed as she sat down on the stone. She was hoping to feel less agitated after she sent off the letter, but it seemed like that wasn't the case. When she really thought about it, she wasn't sure why she was so angry. Her brief touch of anger seemed to blend together with the sadness, and she found herself feeling overwhelmed with this massive emotional clump in the pit of her stomach.
On top of that, she felt guilty for not being chipper enough for her friends. They had all been through hell, just like her, and she couldn't even get herself to be...fun, no matter how hard she tried. Her mind drifted back to her conversation with Nova, and she subconsciously pushed her lips together.
'You just have to try to move on. It's been months.'
The words left a painfully burning sensation in her chest. Why did it seem so easy for everyone else to move on?
She felt like she burdened her friends with her grief. Like she had used up all of her allocated time. The clock was ticking, and it was no longer acceptable for her to feel the agony she was feeling. The hollow pit of nothingness that, despite being so incredibly empty, seemed to be ripping her apart from within.
Grief was a lonely, lonely place.
Perhaps that was also why she pulled back from even her closest friends, instead opting to spend her evenings alone and enjoying the silence.
The rustling of feathers broke her from her thoughts, and she saw a familiar owl approach her, dropping down onto a nearby perch.
"Back already?" Leigh asked softly, standing up to slowly approach the owl and retrieve the note. Thankfully, the unfamiliar owl didn't attempt to bite her, and she gave it a soft smile before sitting back down where she sat before, opening the piece of parchment.
Dear you,
Harsh words. One could argue that letter was worthy of a howler!
As much as we enjoyed reading your affectionate words, Hogsmeade is after all within walking distance. We would love to hear your constructive feedback in person. Come down next time and we'll show you the shop!
With greatness.
Fred and George
An unexpected smile tugged at her lips after she finished reading the letter. They were ridiculous, and for some reason their silly response caused her frustration with them to subside slightly.
Not giving it much thought, she started her new letter, letting the two of them know she'd be coming over to see their shop during their next meeting. If anything, it could be informative to see the space that students would soon be flocking to. And in any case it was always cosy to visit Hogsmeade.
Satisfied with her brief reply, Leigh again turned to the owl, who looked chipper and happy to take another short trip. With a few flutterings of his wings, the owl was out of sight, and Leigh started the long journey down the stairs towards the castle, not expecting any further reply to the letter. The sun had gone down, it was dark, but somehow she didn't seem to mind.