Fed Up With It All

[Devin Baines]

January 25

Devin stopped running only when she was thoroughly lost. She barely knew which floor she was on. It looked like the place where McKenna had found her as she wandered the halls on her very first day. Her sister wasn't the nicest person, but she would be welcome company right now. She needed someone to give her a big hug. The invasion had ended, and classes had started back up as if nothing happened. She hadn't been able to see her parents, and that was who she really wanted to talk to right now. They could make her feel better faster than anyone else.

But none of her family was here right now. It was just her. And she had to deal with everything on her own. It just felt like so much. With a sigh, Devin leaned against the wall and slid down until her knees almost to her chin, school bag flung aside. The red sunlight streamed in a severe angle from the window at the end of the hall and created rather eerie shadows all along the corridor. If she was more herself, she would have brought her paints and easel with her.

It reminded her of that night, right before everything went crazy. And then the tears that had been fighting to get out since her last class finally came flooding forth. She suppressed her sobs, not wanting to draw attention, but the emotions needed to come out. Even if she was 12 and not a little girl anymore. That was the image she was trying to avoid, having lived with it at home all her life, the youngest in a large family. Her desire to cry on her parents' shoulders warred with the feeling that she was not a little girl anymore. It only added to her confusion and made her sob a bit harder.

The emotions came and the tears flowed for a long time. The sunlight grew redder and disappeared, leaving a dull grey in its place, before they finally stopped. Dinner must be almost over by now. She should probably get some. Devin wiped her eyes on her sleeves one last time and gave a big sniff. But she still sat against the random wall, lost in the castle. She didn't feel any real desire to face the other students with red eyes and puffy cheeks. She leaned her head back against the wall and waited again, watching the light dim and only hearing the approaching footsteps when they were almost upon her.

((Closed. Gail L. only, please.))

[Gail Lawrence]

Gail leaned her head back against the wall and resisted the urge to hit it once. Just for good measure. It would really be awful to finally get the all-clear from the nurse, just to go back to the Hospital Wing again, because of her own stupidity.

The battle at the end of the Hogwarts siege had given Gail several injuries, including a badly sprained ankle that had to partially heal the muggle way. It was an inconvenience, to say the least, in a castle full of secret passages and moving stairways. Fortunately, the professors seemed fairly forgiving on this point, and she was very grateful for that. She could only imagine trying to hobble between classes in the normal amount of time.

A smile graced her face at the image, and she finally pulled herself away from the wall. As she headed down the hallway toward another staircase and Ravenclaw tower, she stopped suddenly. In her hurry, Gail had almost run over something. It was someone, she realized, sitting on the floor of an abandoned hallway. The figure looked vaguely familiar, likely a younger year from the size, and the person's face glanced up to reveal the identity.

It was little Devin, whom she had barely seen since being taken away 10 days ago. Gail had wondered how she was doing, and they did not seem to be going well. Recognition flashed through the Hufflepuff's eyes as well, and she averted her eyes quickly. Then the girl slid along the wall, away from Gail.

She leaned down a bit and asked, "Devin? What's wrong?" It seemed a stupid question, considering recent events, but at least she had avoided asking if something was amiss, settling for a slightly smaller idiocy.


Thread Replaced due to Request