Snuffing Out The Light; Goodbye, Love
Magnilda had left the library with books piled in her hands. She refused Callum's offer of helping her carry them, and other than that, had ignored him the whole day. She sat in the corner of the Ravenclaw commoroom, cramming her brain on things of Transfiguration. Just as she was going to move onto Defence Against the Dark Arts for a quick review, a voice had shattered the silence that she so hungrily enjoyed, only to be disappointed that it was gone. Especially if the voice belonged to her stupid brother.
"Nilda, listen." he had began, sounding serious. "I'm sorry, alright? I didn't mean to. . . . I mean. . . . ." he tried to get out the right words, but somehow found it difficult. Magnilda didn't have to look up to know he was standing in front of her, trying his effort to make a sincere apology. And by the sound of his voice, she knew whatever he was trying to say, he really meant it. However, the 6th year Ravenclaw shook her head. She couldn't let this pass. He was thirteen, not eleven. "I've got too much to do. Leave me alone, Callum." her tone of voice was quiet and full of hurt, yet firm. Callum hung his head and sighed. He seemed to obey her wishes as he turned and walked away without another word. Magnilda listened as the door to the commonroom was opened and then closed. Her brother must have left to his dormitory. As she thought about it, she might have went a bit too far ignoring and not forgiving him. It seemed to take a toll on him, because he hadn't even tried to continue apologizing. Just left her alone, as she told him to.
The commonroom was once more quiet, but Magnilda hadn't hungrily held onto it as she did before. Instead, she actually wanted to hear her brother's voice. The Ravenclaw felt lonely. And then, after some time, she came to a decision: she would quit this love thing she had going on. No more love. No more Neville. If it meant losing her brother, she didn't want to go through it. No, instead, she decided that the Gryffindor would just be her friend. She knew he wouldn't like it, but surly he'd go with it. Certain she was making the right choice, the 6th year stood up from the floor, stretching her and legs a little. "It wasn't really a good idea to study on the floor!" she complained to herself. And, leaving the books there, she left the commonroom to the boys' dormitories.
"Cal! Can you come out? I need to speak to you." Magnilda had knocked on the door of the boys' dorms, her voice polite. Callum, fortunately, had opened the door. "Okay." he had only replied quietly. After coming out---and making sure to close the dorms' door----he had joined his sister back into the commonroom. "What do you need?" Callum asked, sounding a bit down. Magnilda couldn't help but feel that he was somehow afraid of standing in her presence right now. She took a deep breath before telling him her choice.
"I decided to give up."
The 3rd year blinked in confusion, not sure what she meant. The downed feeling was replaced with surprise and confusion. "What?"
"I give up on loving Neville. I think maybe it'd be better if we were just friends. . . .I don't want us to drift apart. I'm sorry for the way I acted, because you're right. He's right. I understand how you feel, and he does, too so. . . . I don't want you to be mad at me or Neville. I'm not going to love hi anymore." Callum blinked at his sister once more, but this time in total astonishment. "O-oh. . . . .But Magnilda, really, it's---"
"No,"Magnilda had interrupted firmly, which surprised her brother even more, "It's not. Besides, I have too much time on my hands. I don't have time for love." Magnilda's brother was silent for a while before finally speaking. "Well. . . . . Okay, if that's what you want, then I'm not stopping you. But just know that I'm terribly sorry. You're older, boys can fall in love with you and you're allowed to date one if you wanted to. I have no room to butt in. I'm not our dad or mum." The 6th year gave a small smile, nodding. She embraced him in a hug,thankful that he was her brother. Callum had returned the smile, patting her back. After the sibling moment, they had pulled away, feeling much better. "So. . . . . Help me with my homework?" Callum had asked sheepishly, shrugging casually. Magnilda laughed, happy to have his usual annoying self back. "Alright, but after that, I need to study' kiddo."she ruffled his hair, which made him make a face, an expression of protest at being called "kiddo." This only made Magnilda laugh again. Callum looked annoyed and sighed in exasperation, rolli g his eyes, but hiding a smile. The two siblings then went to a sofa and sat comfortably, and the 6th year helped her brother on his homework.
Love can wait a bit longer, Magnilda had thought to herself, determined to push aside thoughts of Neville from her mind and instead focus on seeing him as a friend. The light that she had felt at first meeting the 7th