Needs More Salt. [[Faith]]

[Audrey Warren R5]

“Audrey, dear! Where can you come in here for a second?” Alora Warren’s voice echoed throughout the large manor home. Audrey was in her room watching tv. She walked down the creaky wooden stairs and looked around for her mother. She passed the bathroom, where her aunt Aly was singing in the shower. She did have a beautiful voice, but Aly’s voice lost its flare when you had to hear it echoing throughout the entire house whenever she stepped into the shower. “Yes mum?” She said as she walked into the room. Her other aunt, Abby was sitting on the kitchen counter reading a magazine and chewing gum. Her mother was standing at the large white gas stove stirring something in a pot.

Her mother had always wanted to be a chef, but somehow, something had always gotten in the way of her dream. She did attend a few cooking classes over the years, but it wasn’t skill that Alora lacked, for her mother’s cooking was amazing. It was money and time. Between magic, her job at the Ministry, and Audrey; Alora had never gotten the chance to open up her own restaurant like she always dreamed. “Here. Taste this. Abby thinks its fine, but I think it needs more salt. What do you think?” Audrey looked down at the red goopy sauce. It could be a special kind of tomato sauce that Audrey would love, but it could also be some weird new Ministry potion that caused terrible boils. It wouldn’t be the first time her mother had used her as a guinea pig for her potions. “What is it?” Audrey asked, eyeing the Potion. “It’s tomato sauce.” Alora said, rolling her eyes. “Just try it, it’s good!” Audrey opened her mouth and allowed herself to be fed by her mother. “Needs more salt.” Audrey said after a few moments. “That’s what I thought! But we’re all out, so I’ll need you to get some from Rosmerta.” Audrey groaned, but walked out anyway.

She was on her way to the three broomsticks when out of nowhere, someone smacked right into her. She accidently knocked the girl straight to the cold hard pavement. “Oh my gosh! I’m sooo sorry! Are you alright?” She asked, extending her hand for the girl to take.

[Faith Ellison S7]

Family. It was possibly the word that Faith despised most in the world. Except failure. Failure was unacceptable and therefore she hated it. To fail was to mean that she hadn’t succeeded and this world was one that didn’t hold back for people who couldn’t keep up. But anyway, family. The letter from her aunt was lying in front of her while Faith debated whether to burn it straight away or reply to it scathingly enough that her aunt would wish that she had burned it. The same aunt who had taken her in when she was just a few months away from her third birthday and then passed her on to James the day after her birthday. He had offered to take her in and he was a better choice because he had no children of his own to look after, Aunt Derry had informed her. At least while at Aunt Derry’s she had had the company of her cousins, both only two or three years older than herself. Maybe she should thank her. Faith thought with a bitter laugh. If she had been wanted by Derry Quenne, nee Ellison, then she wouldn’t have been taken in by Uncle James and she wouldn’t be the person she was now. And she quite liked who she was at the moment.

“I’ll reply to it later,” Faith declared out loud, bypassing her usual habit of making decisions without speaking, as she stood from the couch and grabbed her jacket, shrugging it on carelessly. When the letter had come, she had escaped to her house in Hogsmeade, her refuge, to keep away from any enquiring questions from any of her friends. But it was a Hogsmeade day so she’d probably run into at least one of them, which was why she was venturing out. She needed someone to glare at and insult while still knowing that they wouldn’t take offence. Or maybe someone she wouldn’t care about offending, that would work too. Faith didn’t bother pulling her blonde hair into a ponytail, not being bothered to do more than run a brush through it quickly. It was too early for Juliet to want to drag her to a party so she wouldn’t have to be concerned about a lecture from her best friend about always looking good.

The Three Broomsticks was always a popular hangout for Hogwarts students and she never failed to find one of her friends there when it was a Hogsmeade weekend and they weren’t floating around her house aimlessly. Maybe Adriahna or Celia would be there, Faith speculated with a slight smirk. She hadn’t seen her two Ravenclaw friends in a day or two so it would be nice to catch up with them over a butterbeer. When something knocked into her and sent her to the ground, Faith took a few seconds to let the situation sink in and catalogue her injuries. A bruised elbow, grazed shoulder, slight bang to the head and...yes, that was definitely her annoyance rising up. The girl in front of her was just lucky that her hands hadn’t been hurt. Faith had always been extra careful avoid injury to her hands; she wouldn’t know what to do if she couldn’t play her music to calm her down when her emotions were running high. “Were you walking with your eyes closed or are you just stupid?” Faith demanded irritably, standing up under her own power, ignoring the girls outstretched hand, and brushing dirt from her jeans and shirt. “No wait, don’t tell me. Pushing people over is just your secret hobby, right?”