Clash in the Hallway ((Charles Driscoll))

[Samantha Driscoll]

Samantha was seething because of the letter she had just received from her parents. She was upset that she had not managed to do as was expected of her, and she chided herself for not studying hard enough for Ancient Runes and Herbology. It was true she found them tedious subjects that required her to force herself to work very hard to score well on them, but still that was no excuse to disappoint her parents. "I need to spend more time on them, I'll try and set one hour a day to revise, one for each" she vowed. "I hate getting all muddy and wet. Honestly, who cares about those useless plants anyway?" she thought disgustedly. The very notion of spending an hour a day in one of the greenhouses repelled her. "I'll just have to resign myself to it," she decided. Her parents had high expectations, and she wanted to fulfill all their dreams and live up to those expectations. This last letter had filled her with frustration and self-contempt.

her eyes narrowed as she thought of the other thing she had to do. She needed to give Charles his permission slip for the Christmas trip. She had asked him to meet her in a hallway not too far from the Great Hall during breakfast, keeping her tone impassive and not looking him in the eye. She was feeling very angry and her self-esteem had reached an all-time low, and the last thing she wanted was her young brother to see her with her defences down. She braced herself for the meeting, and leaned against the wall in the hallway trying to look nonchalant, and then studied her fingernails as she awaited the arrival of Charles.

[Charles Driscoll H7]

Charles walked to the hallway Samantha had asked him to meet her in feeling bewildered as he had no idea what his sister wanted to talk to him about. Once they had been so close that they shared every secret, every experience, and every thought they had; Charles had even thought of his older sister as his best friend back then. "Hi Sam! Did you hear about the Christmas trip to Switzerland? And are you coming?" asked Charles, his tone light and friendly. "At least we can have a civil conversation, even if we can’t be friendly," he thought to himself as he waited for his sister's reaction. He tried to gauge her mood but with Samantha that was almost impossible, she always had that same apathetic expression on her face that told you nothing about how she was feeling or what she was thinking.

[Samantha Driscoll]

Samantha felt the usual mixed feelings of anger and sorrow when she saw Charles. She wished they had never grown apart, and that they had stayed close to each other like the time when they were children. Samantha had friends from Slytherin now, and she thought she loved her parents, but the only person she had ever really cared about was Charles though she would never admit that even to herself. "But he chose the losing side. He didn’t know what was good for him," she thought. How such strong contrasting feelings did not appear on Samantha's unmovable features was only a result of sheer willpower and training; she did not even bat an eyelash when she saw her brother, but instead looked at him icily and talked to him condescendingly, her tone full of disdain.

"Do NOT call me Sam you insolent brat, I told you never to call me that again," said the sixth year, her fury rising instantly as he referred to her with the nickname he had called her before he came to Hogwarts. Not that it is any of your concern, but no, I'm not going. I'm sure Mum and Dad are only sending you because they do not want to see you during Christmas. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself consorting with those worthless half-breed and mudblood friends of yours," said Samantha coldly. "And anyway, how do you plan to get those 5 galleons in the first place? Borrow from some of your friends?" she said her voice dripping with sarcasm.

[Charles Driscoll H7]

"I believe the term you're looking for is Muggle-born, Samantha," said Charles, now beginning to feel irritated himself. Why some purebloods felt they were better than other wizards and witches and deserved privileges and more respect than non-purebloods had always been beyond him. Now was not the time to discuss this issue with Samantha though, it was obvious she would not give him the chance to defend his views.

He felt his heart sink when she asked him her next question. He had never thought his parents might not send him the five galleons for the trip, what was he going to do about that? This was their punishment for him rebelling against the rules they had set for him, and though Charles had managed to endure all the previous punishments his parents told him were a consequence of his mindless actions so far, this new punishment was a hit way below the belt. They had never been able to do anything to him when he was at school, and he had always felt he could forget about them when he was far away and in the middle of his friends and teachers, but they had found a way to get to him now.

For a minute Charles looked at Samantha his eyes filled with disappointment. Then he remembered what she had just said about his friends and what she had called him, and he felt his hackles rise as looked at her defiantly and he tried to keep the sadness at this unexpected disappointment out of his voice. "How I'll get the money is not any of your concern. I expect you're not going on the trip because Mother and Father told you to go home? When are you going to start doing things because you want to do them, Samantha, and not Mother and Father want you to do them?" said Charlie, wondering what made Samantha and him such different people. They looked different, acted differently, how they had once been close was almost a mystery. In fact, people always wondered how they could be brother and sister. Another difference was that Charles had stopped calling them Mum and Dad after they told him they wanted nothing to do with him, he now called them Mother and Father.

[Samantha Driscoll]

Samantha folded her arms across her chest. Charles had touched a nerve. He always had the ability to unleash heated reactions from her, and she was fighting to keep her voice low. "Don't you take that tone with me, Charles. I've had about as enough of you as I can stand. I don't care about you pathetic problem, the relief is I won’t have to see you during the holidays wherever it is you decide to do go," said Samantha harshly. "What on earth do you mean when am I going to do things because I want to? For your information, spending a vacation with the likes of you and your friends is not my idea of fun! And what is wrong with doing what Mum and Dad ask of me? They have my best interests at heart, and they have never wanted anything for me except the best. This situation you are in is the result of you own senseless actions. Mum and Dad would never refuse to give me money if I wanted, and have always made sure I had the best of everything. You chose the losing side Charles, let your useless friends help you now. Muggles and the sorts you mingle with were never of use to wizardkind and never will be," she retorted, her voice calm but full of venom. "Why does he act like this? It always makes life much harder for him, can’t he see that?" thought Samantha.

[Charles Driscoll H7]

Charles sometimes thought of the Samantha he had known before coming to Hogwarts. There had been something so different about her, so real somehow. She was not this distant, elaborately made-up teenager standing before him, but a girl who was ready to listen to whatever her kid brother had to say, to fulfill his every whim, to hug him when he was hurt. How the person who was standing before him and the person he had known before were one and the same was something he found unbelievable. The person he could see now looked as if she was incapable of having any emotions for anyone. Samantha had built a high wall between them, and she would never listen to Charles, whatever he said was wasted on her. Much as this reality pained him, he was incapable of doing anything to change it.

Charles listened to Samantha's tirade and his feeling that she was a hopeless case was confirmed. "It's true that we've chosen our paths, Samantha, but I still believe that you did not give yourself the chance to choose. Mother and Father did that for you," said Charles, not waiting for her response. He then promptly left her and walked to the Hufflepuff common room with a sad expression on his face, feeling pity for his sister and at the same time wondering if he should after all she had said to him and the insults he had to hear about his friends.

[Samantha Driscoll]

Samantha watched her brother's retreat, and she was in half a mind to call him but stopped herself. She told herself that she should feel victorious and satisfied; she had told him off and tried to make him see reason. Instead she felt drained and tired, and she slumped against the wall she had been leaning against and sat on the ground. Then she was suddenly afraid that someone might see her and wonder what was wrong, so she got up and ran quickly to the Slytherin's girls' dormitories. She could hear Charles' voice in her ears as she ran, and she could feel a rush of feelings inside her, only they were not the same as the red-hot fury of the few minutes before but were closer to a feeling of despair. She put one hand to her head as she could feel a pain in her right temple. She wished fervently they had never had that conversation. She should have just put that permission slip on the Hufflepuff table for him to find.