Spillages ((Ingrid))

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony tucked her homework carefully under her arm with a patient smile as she made her way slowly to the student lounge, hoping it wouldn't be too full. She had completed her practise in Charms spells earlier, finding it rather funny to use some of the lighter, undamaging hexes on some of her friends. Although she had no more homework aside from Ancient Runes and Transfiguration essays to complete by next week, which didn't necessarily have to be started till a while yet, Harmony had enough energy left to attack it with just about enough enthusiasm, and was sure she'd be able to complete both if she concentrated for the next hour or so.

Harmony had been doing the work in her dormitory, but everyone was gone, probably having fun and neglecting their homework, and the loneliness had gotten on Harmony's nerves after a while, the only sound in the room being Dori's occasional purr in her sleep. Harmony had swiftly moved to the Hufflepuff common room, but her friends had also been inhabiting the same area, and as much as she appreciated and loved their company, Harmony found her concentration wavering every few minutes or so; in a quarter of an hour she had managed to write two lines, when she was capable of at least a page. Afterwards, Harmony had left for the Library with genuine apologies, but the shuffling of books and people around her was rather irritating, especially when first years wandered past, staring at you curiously. Harmony had breathed out with little patience left, and after gathering up her notes, headed for the usually calm and warm student lounge. It was often one of Harmony's favourite choices to do homework in. She just hoped it wouldn't be too noisy to the point of annoying, but the thought of getting to an area with a glaringly hot fireplace just beckoned irresistibly in Harmony's mind.

Thankfully, only a few occupants were in the nearly empty student lounge, and Harmony made her way to sit in a comfortable, unfilled spot near the roaring fire with a pleased expression. Setting about her homework with a determined expression, Harmony was confident she'd be able to finish this before the end of the day. Thank goodness she was very conscientious and hard working.

Half an hour passed by in a flash, Harmony's black head bent over lots of parchment, her quill scratching methodically and continuously. Finally, she raised her eyes to look away from her hundreds of written words, and gave a satisfied grin, reading over her hard work. Not bad. That was Ancient Runes essay finished. Shoving it aside, Harmony tackled her second paper with equal resolve, pleased at the rate she was working at. At this speed, she would be finished soon, Transfiguration's homework being easier and smaller in comparison to the previous piece.

As Harmony predicted, she finished in under half an hour, and with a stifled yawn as she grinned contentedly, she shuffled her parchment into a neat little pile, glad that it was out of the way. She just knew the day before the hand in date, her friends would come streaming at her, asking to copy or look at her long finished essay, and this brought a wry smile to her face. She didn’t mind, found it rather amusing, really. Harmony was just glad she could be of assistance, and although she admitted she felt guilty that her friends should really do their own work, because they wouldn’t learn anything from copying her stuff without taking any of it in, Harmony found herself giving in to their pleas (well, she couldn’t even say the word no) and there wasn’t any point in making them lose points from their house. Plus afterwards, they’d kill Harmony, and would just copy off someone else.

Deciding to retire to her dormitory and see what fun her friends would perhaps be enjoying now, Harmony gratefully got out of her seat and piled her sheets and books into her arms, making sure she didn’t leave a single piece behind. Happily, she turned to leave the room, but in the process of doing so, she bumped into somebody walking in her direction, probably trying to get past her. With a little cry of surprise, Harmony fell back slightly from the impact, eyes wide with shock. Stabling herself against the table, Harmony breathed a sigh a relief, but realised she had scattered all her sheets to the floor, and… well… her bottle of ink had spilt all over the newcomer’s robes, leaving an invisible stain, as their clothes were dark, but nevertheless, they were wet and needed drying desperately. “I’m so sorry! How clumsy of me!” Flushing red, Harmony hurriedly whipped her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at the person’s clothes. Frowning in concentration and determination, Harmony uttered the needed words for the spell, and quickly the ink had disappeared, leaving clean, undamaged robes. Grinning apologetically, a shy blush across her face, Harmony flashed a coy smile, repeating her words and bending down for her papers.

[Ingrid Lewis H4]

Think positive, Ing. Not negative. Life can turn itself around and everything can be rainbows and roses again. It really can. Except that she didn’t fully believe that it could. Ingrid ran her fingers through her limp white blonde hair. It had grown considerably and she had cut it, hoping that would give it life. It hadn’t. She sighed as she turned away from the mirror and slipped her arms through her robes. The Hufflepuff crest was position over her right breast and Ingrid felt a twinge of guilt. Last year she had thought that being a Hufflepuff meant she would always be bubbly. So much for that. She had gotten a little bit better, she was certain, but she wasn’t back to her old bubbly self and she probably wouldn’t be for awhile. Aaron had done a decent job of cheering her up over the holiday, but she still felt something in her stomach that made her want to hide away. She was fairly sure that the thing was her relationship with Sita. When Ingrid had been hospitalized she had stopped talking to Sita as much as she used to. This resulted in the two girls fading away from each other, which was something very new to them. They had done everything together. Now they were lucky to be in the same class together and Ingrid say at least one word to her best friend. Ingrid had become rather introverted and she hadn’t meant to hurt anyone, but she had.

“Well, Ingrid,” she said to herself as she looked at herself in the mirror, “your life is in limbo. Things can get worse or they can get better and the only way to find out which way it will swing is by living it.” It was the bittersweet truth. Ingrid left the dormitory that she shared with Sita and 4 other girls. It had been empty and the common room appeared to be just as empty. There wasn’t any life in Hogwarts anymore; everyone was always out doing their own thing. Ingrid was making her way toward the library, her shoes barely making any noise. At the last minute, Ingrid turned toward the Student Lounge. She didn’t feel like studying. That was one thing Ingrid had kept up with. Just because she had felt like she was becoming depressed it didn’t mean she had to let her grades drop. It wasn’t too much effort for Ingrid to write up an essay or so every day. Besides, she had nothing else to do with her day. She opened the door and looked around; people had more of a life than she did. Deciding to take a seat and curl up with a book from one of the bookshelves, Ingrid weaved her way around a group of students who were discussing classes.

She plucked a book she had read plenty of times before from the bookshelf near the window and turned to sit down in an empty chair. Only she didn’t get very far when ink was spilt all over her robes. Ingrid jumped back as she let out a slight gasp. She shifted the book so she had it tucked under her arm and wiped at the stain, only to get it all over her hands. The girl who had spilt the ink was apologizing profusely and saying she was so clumsy. Ingrid offered her a small smile as she looked at her hands. The girl then made the ink disappear with a spell and Ingrid looked up. It was then she realized the girl was Harmony Chan, a girl who shared her dorm. She smiled again as Harmony then bent down to pick up her papers. Ingrid bent down as well and handed the papers to Harmony. Once the papers were gathered, Ingrid stood and pulled her book back into her hands.

“It’s okay, really. If I had a sickle for every time I spilt things on people, I would be very wealthy. Or, at least wealthy enough to buy a fair amount of candy from Honeydukes.” Ingrid smiled brightly, though the brightness had a slight dim to it, and sat down in one of the near seats. She opened the book and turned to the first page, trying to read. But her conscience told her that she needed to at least talk with Harmony, what harm could it do? She lifted her gaze to Harmony, “How’ve you been, Harmony? I can sadly say that I haven’t spoken to anyone lately.”

[Harmony Chan H6]

After shuffling her mass amount of papers and books into her arms, Harmony had glanced upwards to a face she recognised instantly, though hadn't beforehand because of her flustered and embarrassed attitude. "Oh, Ingrid, it's you. I'm so sorry I did that." Harmony's smile grew, standing up with a stifled yawn as she looked at one of the girls who shared her dormitory with. Harmony hadn't talked to Ingrid lately, even if they saw each other quite frequently, and remembered that the girl who was in her year appeared to be having problems recently. Although Harmony sympthatised with whatever was bothering her, as she had noticed the blonde didn't smile with the same tenacity as she used to, she doubted Ingrid would want to know this, and kept it to herself. She had observed without doing it on purpose that Sita and her had become increasingly strained towards one another, especially since they shared a dormitory together. Hoping Ingrid was all right, and finding it impossible to leave now that she had spilt ink down the poor girl's robes, Harmony proceeded to sit down beside Ingrid, who took out a book to read. However, Harmony didn't complain inwardly, as she hadn't socialised with Ingrid for a while, and hoped they could do so now. Perhaps Harmony could cheer her up; the second year certainly looked like she could do with a good laugh. Ingrid was really nice, and Harmony thought sadness really didn't suit her at all.

Harmony had been sitting there quietly, thinking about Ingrid, until the said girl lifted her head to speak to her. Almost jumping in surprise, Harmony smiled back, trying to smother a frown of concern, "Oh, I'm fine, thanks. Just so much homework to do. What about you? How have you've been? You sound like things haven't been going so well recently... Is there anything I could do to help?" Harmony wrung her hands nervously, knowing perhaps she shouldn't delve too deep. She wasn't as close to Ingrid as Sita was, and Harmony wasn't exactly curious. She was just worried, was all, and Sita hadn't been looking happy herself either. She knew this was none of her business, but being concerned wasn't a crime. Ingrid was one of the only people in her house and year she talked to, and as Ingrid had said herself, she hadn't been talking much to anybody recently. Maybe Harmony should change that now. How ironic. Harmony had never been much of a chatterbox.

"If... If anything's troubling you, I'm happy to listen." Harmony added softly, turning away with a flushed expression. Being open about sensitive topics wasn't Harmony's style, and she didn't want to make Ingrid uncomfortable, but she genuinely wanted to help. Even if the other girl didn't want to say anything, Harmony would respect that, but she could at least try, and perhaps cheer her up a little. She gestured with a friendly smile at Ingrid's book, "What are you reading? Is it any good?"

[Ingrid Lewis H4]

Ingrid tilted her head as Harmony answered her question and then seemed to babble out her own questions. It amused Ingrid slightly, because she had been that way once. Moving onto a new topic before the person could even have time to answer the previous one. She felt her head spin slightly and leaned back into the chair, letting her book fall into her lap. “Hum? Oh, no, there isn’t anything anyone can do. It’s all up to me, which is slightly overwhelming and I’m not quite sure I can do it, but I suppose I have no choice.” She offered Harmony a small smile and tucked her blonde hair behind her ear. “Other than a few things here and there, I’m doing okay. Not amazingly fantastic, but not completely horrible, either. I’m sort of in between.” Maybe she was making her life sound better than it really was, but if she was doing that she wasn’t meaning to. After all, she knew it wasn’t terrible but she also knew she wasn’t doing as well as she was letting Harmony believe she was. Ingrid wondered why it was that Harmony had offered her help when she didn’t even know what was going on with her. Honestly, though, Ingrid was slightly offended by Harmony’s sudden offer to help.

Harmony offered to listen, now and Ingrid fidgeted uneasily in her seat. After a moment of silence, she breathed in and turned to Harmony. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. But, really, I don’t think I’ll be talking about my problems any time soon with anyone regardless of how much I know them. I can’t share them with Sita, and she’s my best-friend… or at least I hope she is. We’ve been on an emotional roller coaster a bit lately and I have no sense of what is up and down much less what is going on with us.” She hoped Harmony wouldn’t feel bad with the words Ingrid was speaking, but she couldn’t help it. People had offered to be a listening ear almost every time she’d spoken to them and Ingrid had no intention of talking to them until she could tell Sita everything that was going on with her and fix the problems that were between them. “Really, thanks for the offer and if I ever feel the need to express anything, I’ll make sure I come to you. You seem really nice, and with the two years I’ve known you, you’ve proven to be a really great person. Don’t take it personally; I’m just not an open person. Not anymore.”

Ingrid grinned again, hoping that Harmony wouldn’t take anything she said offensively. It was just the way Ingrid was. She wouldn’t talk with anyone about anything until she had made everything okay with Sita. Sita was first priority on Ingrid’s list of things to do or make right. Harmony had asked about the book Ingrid had been reading and she held it up, the glossy letters on the front said Peter Pan. “This is my fourth time reading it. When I read it the first couple of times, I thought it was so magical. The idea of never having to grow up. But now? Now I know that growing up is inevitable. You can’t avoid it.” Ingrid looked at the book in her little hands. It was just a plain book now. “It’s lost its magic, now.”

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony's face crumpled a little with sympathy as Ingrid replied with a somewhat miserable tone of voice. She did seem like she was battling through a lot, and Harmony hoped she'd be okay. "Good luck, then." She attempted an encouraging smile, feeling uncomfortable that she was trending into unfamaliar and unwelcome territory. She realised immediately that Ingrid probably didn't want to be helped, especially by Harmony, who she barely knew well. "You know, I'm not asking for you to... just open up and confide in me. It's just, sometimes talking can... help..." Harmony gave a little helpless shrug, knowing that from Ingrid's tone, she was delving way too deep into affairs that did not concern her. "But yeah, like I said... I'm always here..." She trailed off, feeling rather shy and embarrassed. "I think if you wanted to though, Sita will be listen. She seems, um... well..." Great. It appeared Harmony had lost the willpower and basic ability to speak simple English. Great. Ingrid would think her even more insane and probably very nosy. Sighing audibly, Harmony pushed some hair out of her wavering eyes as she averted her flushed face to the ceiling. Hm. It seemed the heat of the fire was really getting to her now. Strange. It hadn't felt so intense before. Calming and tender, actually.

Harmony nodded along with Ingrid's words, very aware she should probably change the topic of conversation... Though that was obviously too late now. "I'm sorry if I pried too much..." Harmony now turned to look the other girl in the eye as honestly as she could. "I was just concerned... though it was probably unfounded. I'm not offended at all that you don't want to talk to me, and stuff like that. I understand since we're not exactly the best of friends..." Harmony tried to laugh off the situation a little, sending a wry grin, "But... I think you're great too, even though we're not particularly close. You, and Sita, and Wendi. I've never been friends with you guys... well, not best friends, anyway. But it's been nice sharing a dorm." Harmony smiled at vague memories that began to slowly surface. Hm. The old days. The old first year days. Hm indeed. "And you needn't worry about offending me." Harmony chuckled now, shaking her head at the thought of it, "No one offends me. I just don't take offence to anything. So just... yeah. Let's drop it." Harmony smiled encouragingly, a little bit of an apologetic gaze tucked into it too.

Seeing the name of the book Ingrid was reading, Harmony's face lit up a little, and was very glad of the change of subject. "Oh, I've read that before." Harmony nodded almost to herself, remembering most of the storyline, "But it was such a long time ago. Can't say it's a favourite of mine." Frowning slightly at Ingrid's comments on the book, Harmony gently took it from her hands, and turned it over and over again, gazing intently at the glossy covers, the shiny bright words jumping out of the page to dance for your attention. "Well... maybe you just need to rediscover the magic." Harmony suggested with a soft smile, fingering the letters which glimmered in the light of the fire, "Discover Never... Never Never Land, isn't it? Yeah. Discover that again...." Harmony shrugged with a smile at her daft-like statement. "I'm probably making no sense, but... I find sometimes when things 'lose their magic', I just... wait a while. And when I do it again, it seems amazing. Just like the first time I tried it, or did it, or read it. Take... um... dancing, for example." Harmony grinned genuinely at this thought, recalling her meeting with Rachel that had vigorated her to begin to practise ballet again. "I thought I couldn't be bothered with it anymore when I came to Hogwarts, which was a bit of an excuse really. I have always loved my ballet, and I used the fact that Hogwarts doesn't have any lessons of dancing as an excuse not to practise anymore. I think I got fed up of it really, and was glad of a break from it. Hey, you know I started doing ballet when I was four? God, eight years worth of dancing my backside off." Harmony laughed softly, staring at her toes which wriggled in their shoes. "But recently, someone helped me re-establish my old love for it... And I'm going to start practising quite a lot... hopefully. If homework doesn't swamp me first. So... um, what was my point agian?" Harmony giggled, blushing slightly as she peered over at Ingrid's expression. "I'm sorry, rambled on a little there, didn't I? Sorry I bored you. But um... I think give it some time. Maybe after a while, you'll pick this book up again and just... feel the magic it once had." Harmony flashed a bright reassuring smile, and handed the book back to Ingrid.

((Discontinued.))