Granddaughter of Voldemort Book 2

Chapter 4: Blaise

There was something going on with Atlantia because she has been acting really strange. She would get this look in her eye like she was fearful of something but it would disappear like a second after she saw any of us looking at her. I mean I could be imagining it but I wanted to be sure so I decided to call for a little meeting with our friend group while Atlantia was busy with a professor's meeting/group grading session.

We gathered in the courtyard near to the path that leads to the Quidditch field to talk. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Draco, Millicent, and Pansy all showed up. Atlantia repaired the relationship between her and our other friends about a month ago so they have been hanging out with us for the last month. It felt nice to be able to be with them again since although they did mistreat me last year, they were still friends and I would not want to be separated from them.

"So, what do you not want Atlantia to know?" Draco asks raising his eyebrow, "Or is there another reason for making sure we met during a time that Atlantia could not come?"

"Have you guys noticed that Atlantia has been acting weird?" I ask, " I mean like she is worried about something or scared?"

"Yeah, I noticed that." Ginny admitted, "The other day when Hermione, Pansy, Millicent, and I were doing a girl's weekend, she randomly shot her head in a direction where no noise or person was heard and seen. She looked frightened but then quickly laughed at the joke that Pansy made. I don't know if any of you guys noticed but it did worry me."

"I noticed as well but didn't want to say anything because I thought I imagined it." Hermione said.

"Could Atlantia be having a form of a PTSD?" Harry asked, "I mean we are all struggling with the memories of last May but she is the only one who seems strong. I mean except for her not wanting to stay in London during the summer, she did not seem affected by the battle or her dying."

"Should we ask her or at least talk to her?" Ginny asked, "If she is struggling mentally, it won't be good especially now that she is dealing with the stress of teaching potions to fourteen classes and two of them are taught everyday instead of once a week. We have all seen how her powers react with her emotions and it can not be pretty. It could cause her to hurt herself."

"But if we approach her wrong, she may just deny it and push it deeper inside of her." Draco pointed out, "Atlantia is not someone who would push her problems onto someone else. She is the kind of person who takes other problems."

"I know," I say with a small smile on my face, "Perhaps the best plan is to just watch her for the next few months and see if we can find a good opportunity to talk to her about the situation."

"I think we need to talk to her today." Pansy argued, "Everyday she is already stressed and each of those moments could be a chance that she hurts herself or others. She would feel so guilty that she hurt others with an accidental release of her powers which would send her in a spiral downward."

"That is true." I say thoughtfully, "Alright, let's talk to her tonight. Pansy, Draco, Millicent, and I can chat to her tonight, after dinner. I don't think it would be good to make it so public which is why I think we have to do it in the Slytherin Common room."

"Sounds like a plan." Harry said. He glances at his watch before saying we should head back to Hogwarts for dinner before Atlantia worries about us. We all nod and together walk up the path that leads us back into the castle. Atlantia meets us in the hallway carrying a lot of papers which I am assuming where the graded essays from the last week. She greets us and says she has to drop the papers off before dinner. I grabbed a stack of them and told her I would help. As we walk to the dungeon, she talks about the day with the professors and how they were trying to recreate the Yule Ball except just for Hogwarts so it would be sort of a prom in a normal school. They felt it would boost the spirits of everyone since the Yule Ball did three years ago. I thought it would because Atlantia had such a bad experience at the last one that she deserved to have a better one.

When we got back to the Great Hall, dinner was already underway so we just slid in next to our friends and joined in. I kept making eye contact with Atlantia because we were sitting on opposite sides of the table and I could see behind her smile was a sad scared girl and it made me more confident that we were doing the right thing after dinner. She needed the support. I mean she barely turned sixteen last month. She is younger then us and we rely on her to do so much so hopefully this time we can help.

After dinner, Atlantia wanted to go for a walk near the lake so I agreed and told the others we would meet them in the common room. It was quiet as we walked near the lake since typically students try to ignore the lake. Many are scared of the mer-people in the lake and of the many other creatures living in it so they don't think it is romantic to walk by the lake like we do. Eventually, we head to the common room where we see Draco, Pansy, and Millicent sitting alone. Nobody else was around which was perfect for the talk we needed to have.

"Atlantia," I say softly, "We want to ask you a question so could you sit for a minute?" She looked a little surprised at that but does as I ask sitting on the couch next to Pansy. I slide in right next to her. There is silence for a little bit so Atlantia raises her eyebrow silently asking if we were going to ask the question.

"Um," I clear my throat, "Recently, Atlantia, we have seen you acting really strangely."

"Strangely? How?" She asks a little stiff.

"You have been having moments where you think we are not looking at you and you look sad, upset, depressed, or however you want to describe it and then happy and joyful when we are looking." Pansy quickly says.

"You also haven't been sleeping well and I can tell because your bed has not changed in weeks." Millicent added.

"Atlantia, we all care for you so please let us in so we can help you." Draco pleads, "We are all dealing with the memories of the battle and your death but we have been ok because you talk to us. Talk to us about the battle. We want to help you." Her face contorts like she was about to deny it when she breaks down in tears. I immediately pull her into my arms and allow her to cry to her heart's content.

"We will always be here, Atlantia." I say softly kissing the top of her head. "Talk to us. Any of us. Draco, Pansy, Millicent, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Ron, me, and many others. We all care for you so allow us to care for you in your time of need like you did for us." I give another kiss to the top of of her. "Just talk to us." And that is exactly what she did.

An: I cannot believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve! I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday! Merry Christmas everyone!