Harry Potter Fan Fiction: For Talia

Chapter 30

"I wonder if there will be Christmas decorations this year," Jennifer mused. It was the 1st of December and the great hall had yet to be decorated with all its usual splendour.

"Who knows?" Talia replied unhelpfully. Her mind was focused on other things, mainly Tabitha's absence. She was on a walk with Chris, Chris who Talia had barely talked to for the past two months.

"Do you think they'll even let us go home for Christmas?" Jennifer asked half-heartedly, sensing her friend wasn't paying too much attention.

Talia shuddered at the thought. "I don't know. Maybe they'll..."

Without meaning to, Talia found herself completely distracted. Anton was laughing with his friends at his table. He was full on laughing, absorbed by some joke one of his Slytherin friends had made. His friends, Talia had to remind herself that that was who they were. She hadn't spoken to Anton since that day by the lake. Life had gone on. He played along and fit into his house seamlessly, she had her own friends and troubles to deal with. It was as it should be and Talia found it very strange. She shook it off for her own sake.

"Maybe they'll what?" Jennifer inquired snappishly. Talia hadn't finished her sentence and it had begun to get on her nerves.

"They might pass a law or make up some other reason for us to stay here. I wouldn't put it past them. It might even be a good thing." Talia stated that last part, more for her than her friend. Going home for her meant returning to a house with a bewitched father and being back under George's control. Talia didn't consider that a good thing.

"There would be an uproar. Too many parents would want their children home. My parents certainly want to see me, make sure I am safe." Jennifer rubbed her wrists subconsciously, part of her very much doubting her safety. "Staying here is not necessarily a good thing."

Talia was mildly surprised to hear Jennifer say what most students were feeling. Hogwarts was no longer safe. If students had a choice, Talia theorised that the majority would go home for Christmas and never come back.

An attack of cold on her shoulder made Talia flinch. Turning, Talia wiped the snow Chris had carried with him from outdoors onto the ground, muttering a curse as she did so.

"I'm sorry," Chris said impatiently, "Can you come with me? It's Tabitha..."

"What's wrong?" Talia asked concerned. She got to her feet as the question left her. Within moments, she and Jennifer had followed Chris into the Entrance hall.

Tabitha was seated on the bottom marble step looking dazed and damp from her venture outdoors. Her long black hair curled and was slightly dusted with snow. Her face pale, her clear eyes showing her disorientation. One look at her friends provoked an "I'm alright. Really, I just had one of my moments. You know how I get."

Jennifer and Talia shared a glance. They knew what Tabitha was hinting at. Chris, however, remained confused.

"You weren't alright. One minute we were talking, the next you were on your knees staring at a frozen puddle as though you were enchanted by it, deaf and dumb to everything. I had to drag you away before you could even hear me. What happened? What aren't you three telling me?"

Chris had finally noticed how still the three Ravenclaw girls were. He saw that neither Jennifer nor Talia were surprised by his story.

"Have you ever wondered why Tabitha is really good at Divination? She is incredible at it, really." Talia asked, trying to lay down some clues rather than give Chris an outright answer. The answer she still found quite fantastical, despite knowing a lot about magic.

"She's smart and studies hard? I am friends with enough Ravenclaw's to know that you all live up to the whole wit and wisdom part of your house. What has Divination got to do with anything?" Chris asked frustrated.