Helen Yaxley

“I thought you were nice. I’m commandeering this cat, since you are clearly too cruel to be raising an animal.”

“ please. he would never leave me for you. ”

“Don’t judge us. We’ve connected.”

“ oh, i’m judging you. i’m judging you hard. ”

“I’m making a friend, Helen. Why are you trying to ruin this for me?”

“ mostly because of the position. “

Olive had other people to see this evening, so she couldn’t understand what made her turn around towards the girl instead of leaving entirely. The look on her face was questioning as she slowly started to put the lace mask back over her eyes. “Do remember that tonight is about fun.”

She could be nicer, she knew that, but this party wasn’t doing anything to serve her. She was tired of being the outsider, tired of always trying. Why should she be the one to make them all laugh?

            “ remind the rest of the world. “ 

“Hmm, what? No, I wasn’t sleeping I was just… Okay, yeah, I was sleeping. What of it?”

“Alright, so here’s how it’s going to go.” Maggie clasped her hands together. “Either you tell me where I can get myself a nice bottle of firewhiskey or you can just walk on along. There is no way that I will spend this night sober.”

“ firewhiskey? there has to be something            better than that around here.          ”

Even if it was a school event, there was always alcohol. In fact, even she had a flask strapped to her thigh, though she’d filled it up with wine. 

“Please tell me someone was able to sneak in a bottle of Firewhisky. I can already tell this is going to be a long night.”

“ firewhiskey is only good if you want your throat to burn.”

 Her assignments had been finished, some earlier than needed to be and some right on time, but all done none the less. Being cooped in her room for hours was what  lead her mind to rewarding itself with a walk. She always did enjoy a walk or admiring the outdoors when she could, though by the time she got to her reward it was evening and a bit cold. That was expected of October though, so with her coat wrapped around her she continued on outside to get what she had intended to on her way there.

She let her mind wonder as she walked, thinking about events of the day, home and upcoming plans  anything it really wanted to. Most of the walk she had been alone, many weren’t out in the cold, probably didn’t want to be  or had things keeping them indoors, but she did see someone in front of her. As she got closer, she could tell who it was, it was  good friend Helen or at least someone who looked much like her. It had been awhile since they had a real conversation, in fact they hadn’t had one since the year began. Margot chalked it up to Helen being busy and in a different house, but she was excited at the chance to speak to her.

“ Yes, pretty cold. “ She said picking up pace to walk beside her friend. “ Though that is something we’d all assume it would be with what month we are in. Are you just out for a walk today or have a reason for being here, Helen?”

         She almost sighed out loud when she recognised the voice the moment it rang through her ears. Helen liked Margot; in fact, she would go as close as saying that she loved her almost like a sibling of her own. It was Margot who knew her when she was still barefoot in the apple trees talking about how she was going to be a princess one day. And that was why they couldn’t be friends anymore. Margot knew too much and she was the wrong kind of person, an attachment to her would only put Helen in an uncomfortable position in the long run. She couldn’t get her to where she wanted to be, which was only going to be a problem. There was no hope of continuing their friendship. That was why she’d been avoiding her for so long. 

          “—I was simply walking.”

         Helen didn’t want to lie and say she had plans to meet up with other people and then explain that she had been stood up. The lie wouldn’t serve her here. She didn’t want Margot thinking that there were any cracks in her friendship with those she needed to impress. There could be no doubt that she was having a wonderful time in her house and with her new friends. If she had Margot concerned about her for a second it would be harder to keep up the act of not caring in the slightest. 

         “—And why were you out here?”

“A medieval dress? That does have potential to look quite lovely with the correct accessories. I’m sure you’ll pull it off quiet well. How were yo planning to accessorize it?” 

“—I have a few older jewellery pieces in the vault.       My father is going to send them to me so I can       make a decision.”

“Eye of newt should help.” She said, pointing over to a cabinet in the back of the classroom. “Or it could make it worse, but I’m right ninety-nine percent of the time, so I’d bet on me being right.” Alaina went back to her work, not bothering to see if she had in fact been right. She knew she was.  Sure enough, the whining sound of the potion soon subsided.

          She followed the instructions the other girl gave her, not even bothering that she hadn’t taken the time to do anything about the mishap herself. She had bigger things to worry about than the Potion that she’d completely butchered. The world was screwing up around her and she needed to work out how to make it right again.

“—Any chance you want to help me      finish it off without killing someone?”

“The ironic thing is, is I dressed up as a witch for almost every Halloween when I was a child.” Adelaide crossed her legs as she sat on a bench in the corner of the courtyard “It was always a very… reliable costume and it made me happy every fall. But ever since coming to Hogwarts, I can’t seem to figure out anything else to be. There are just too many options.”

“—I hardly think that a costume is      meant to be reliable.”

She didn’t mean her words to sound so petulant; so much time with those in her house must have been changing her speech patterns once more. Helen was meant to be the nice one. She’d poised herself to be looked over as someone harmless. So instead she smiled wide after she spoke.

“—I’m sure I can help you work      something out.”

Alaina drummed her fingers on the table in annoyance and looked over at the only other student in the Potions room. It was an open classroom, so she figured she could just get some Potions work done, but the student next to her had been trying to perfect their potion for over and hour, with no success. And now it was making a high-pitched whining sound, like a kettle about to boil over. “Your potion’s about to explode.” She said pointedly, setting down her quill.

           She’d completely lost track of what she had meant to be doing. Apparently, she’d managed to mess up a Potion in class and was being given extra time to make it right or she failed the module. Still, she couldn’t concentrate. Getting herself ahead had meant that she was losing more and more sleep which meant that in moments like this, she had a habit of completely losing her mind. 

“—So it is. Should probably fix that.”

         Walking had been the best option. If asked, she could name a million situations as to why she might be out there. Meeting a suitor would be the best option. She could pretend that there was someone in this world who was helping in her hands. She could even convince herself that she was closer to her goals. When had she ever been so uncertain where the lies stopped? Vaguely, she registered the feet of someone coming up behind her.

“—Cold evening, isn’t it?”

“How riveting.”

“—Must you be so bored with my mystery air?”

“So you’re going as a princess then?”

“—I’m going in a gorgeous dress and      whatever else I want to wear.”