Drying in the rain

The unlikely acquaintances

"Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." — Marcel Proust

~A~

I didn't sleep that night. Sleep had always been a struggle, especially when all in one day I had experienced all five stages of grief. When I was younger, things that should have traumatized me never did, but as I grew up those things reappeared in my slumber. Whether they showed themselves as empty words or horrific faces, they were always there. Always a part of me.
Had I known what they would become when I was young I probably would not have been so numb to them. When my family cat passed away, I was heartbroken, but after a few days, my pain turned into a forgetfulness, one that took those memories with my cat and flushed them out of my system. I had grown up beside him for fourteen years and yet, I was completely numb. It was the same for my father, after about a week I could barely remember him or the things we had done together. Hell I could barely remember what I had eaten for breakfast. Therapists had told me it was a form of post traumatic stress disorder, that my brain had not forgotten these things but kept them stored away as some type of coping mechanism. But as much as they warned me against it, I didn't mind it. Why would I want to dwell on those that I had lost? What would that gain me? Of course it hurt, it hurt to not be able to picture my father or my cat, even if I had tried and tried. This is most likely why I had such a difficult time learning divination. It wasn't possible for me, my brain just didn't work at that wavelength. It stopped once the wave crested and froze, never letting it crash.
My mother must've been so confused, how could her daughter not be completely torn apart by the presumed death of her father? The death of her pet? And the truth was that I in fact was torn, just in a way I couldn't express because I just didn't even know.
I had left my quarters, my tie in shambles I held my head up as confidently as I could, knowing I looked like an idiot American.
"I thought you learnt how to tie it!" Laughed Evan as he exited the common room and into the hallway heading to breakfast.
"Well truth is snape saw me and took it upon himself to adjust it." I explained, a cool wind blew our faces as doors swung open and closed.
"You're lucky he didn't kill you just for that." He smiled. "You know word travels fast here right?"
"Oh god what are people saying?" I asked as we entered the great hall. I hadn't gotten the opportunity to eat the day before given my late awakening and awkward exchange with the potions Professor.
"You and Draco got caught by snape off campus.... doing it." He blushed as my jaw completely dropped.
"Who is saying that!" I shouted, he looked away bashfully.
"Draco...."
"That slimy scumbag! He forced himself along! I was gonna go on my own but he threatened telling Snape so I let him come with me! We literally only talked!" I felt the rush of anger gurgle within me. "So that's why everyone's looking at me like I'm some slut."
"No ones looking at you Anna." Reassured Evan. I grabbed him, spinning him around to see the disgusted faces of my classmates. "Okay. I get your point."
"How do I fix this?" I questioned as we sat together in an empty table. The professors sat at their table in the front of the room, dining and respectfully chatting about their coworkers and classes.
"Well you need to set the record straight. But Anna I warned you not to get close with him!" He reminded me, his face overturning into a cocky composure, basking in my mistake.
"You little bastard. How do I set the record straight when I don't even know ten percent of them!"
"You know, to them, you're like some type of celebrity. You're a Hollows. You're rich, you're pretty, you're smart and most important you're powerful. I know you don't realize it, but everyone's been on the edge of their seats to meet the heir to the Hollows name."
"Okay let me stop you right there, I'm not rich my family is. And they might no me but I don't know them, and they intimidate me. I don't even know where to begin." I sighed.
"Tell off Malfoy in front of everyone. At least then they'll hear your side of the story and it will be up to them to make up their minds."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? Him and his friends are like Slytherin royalty, way more than I ever could be."
"Well if you end up with a bloody nose, it will serve as a good lesson." He joked, taking a sip from the hot cocoa handed to us from a gentle house elf.
"I'll do it today then, in the courtyard during the class rotation."
"Just keep in mind that dueling is against the rules here, if the professors catch you you'll be in even deeper shit than you're already in."
"Trust me. It can't get worse than how it already is. I have to stand up for myself if I'm gonna make it out alive. Come on, let's get to the greenhouse early, I want to check on the wolfsbane while Sprout is busy." I smiled, grabbing his lanky arm and pulling him off towards the mist ridden garden.