One more nap and maybe it will be better((Anyone))

[ames]

Amelia awoke. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness the drawn velvet curtains produced. Her little naps came more and more frequently. She lay there, staring up at the ceiling of her dorm room. She wasn't looking at anything particular. She lay there, doing nothing, as if dead, because that was how she felt. Dead. She felt tears join in the corners of her eyes and her teeth grabbed hold of her bottom lip. She tried to keep the tears back, but, as usual, it was much too hard to control. Silent sobs escaped her as she shut her eyes, the tears streaming from her eyes and pooling in her ears. She didn't wipe them as she opened her eyes to look up at the ceiling once again.

Her days that lay ahead of her seemed to blur and she was no longer sure of her future. The uncertainness caused by the sudden death of her mother. The thought of her mother made new tears form in her eyes. She felt harder sobs come, shaking her shoulders and wrenching her face, twisting her features as she cried, almost silently. She didn't want to wake anyone, whether awake or asleep. If someone heard her crying, they would want to know the reason, and Amelia didn't feel like telling anyone about her mother. They probably knew anyway. She knew the Slytherins wouldn't care. Jay'Na had been a Muggle, and the death of a Muggle would be nothing but a joy in the eyes of a Slytherin.

More tears came.

How could someone think a death or a person was less important just because they couldn't take up a wand, say a spell, and make it work? So they couldn't cook with a wand, so they couldn't make a book fly? It didn't matter! Muggles were still people. Her mother was more than a person. She was Amelia's world. That world was destroyed now, however. Adam Richardson and his wife, Emma, tried their best to comfort Adam's only daughter. He was confronted with Jay'Na's daughter, Jenny. Jenny, Amelia's half sister was without a mother. Amelia was without a mother. Jenny's world was in ashes in her heart, Amelia's was in flames.

More tears came.

How could she passably get through the school year? She remembered Adam's pleas to stay for a bit longer, but Amelia refused. She needed Hogwarts. Hogwarts was her home away from home. It would help, right? Wrong. She was homesick, she missed her mother, she worried for her sister, and she wanted the hugs and kisses from her father. She cried herself to sleep more and more.

Amelia wiped her tears and stood, dressing herself. It was 5 minutes to midnight, but she didn't care. She put on a robe and, wiping new tears from her stained cheeks, left the dormitory. She needed away from her bed. She needed to look into the flames of the fire in the common room. She needed to think clearer. Maybe if she wasn't in bed, where sleep tempted her too much, then maybe she could organize her thoughts enough to consider her future.

But as she entered the common room, she realized it was a bad idea. She just wanted to cry more out here than in bed. She flung herself onto the couch, staring blankly into the fire. Her eyes spilled tears, but her body remained motionless, sitting there. Her sobs were heart-wrenching and quiet, but she continued to sit there, her eyes seeking clues from the flames. She needed God... she needed her mother... she needed love, comfort, and someone to hold her. Her chin trembled as she let the tears fall faster. Bringing her legs up against her chest, Amelia buried her face in her knees, crying silently.

[Jeremiah Baer]

It was dark. It was late. But Jeremiah just sat, almost statue-like and stared into the fireplace. The red-orange flickers of light danced across his empty face. His mind was much farther beyond the flames though. It was stuck in a memory...

Jeremiah was nine. It was his birthday. He awoke to the sound of the garage door opening, just like every morning. Dad was leaving; going to work. Ten hours later, he would return, come in the house, grab dinner and a beer, and then waste his entire evening sitting in front of the TV. Jeremiah knew the routine quite well by now. Their days of going out together and having fun were over. They wouldn't fish together anymore, or play basketball. A tear drifted down his cheek and landed on his pillow. He reached over to the end-table that sat by his bed and opened the drawer. Pulling out a picture of a beautiful young woman, he looked at it for a moment and then held it against his heart. As he drifted off to sleep again, he wondered. Would his mother have forgot his birthday if she were alive?

A sudden noise brought Jeremiah back to the present. His eyes were dry, and he blinked a few times before gaining back his vision. Then he heard crying. Was he dreaming? The crying was coming from the couch, but Jeremiah's angle prevented him from seeing who it was. Should he go check to see if they were okay? No, he thought. How could he help anyways? His body didn't listen though. Without even realizing it, Jeremiah was on his feet and walking over to the couch.

When he finally got a proper view, he recognized the hair. Even though the girl's face was covered, he knew it was Amelia. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned. He put his hand on her back and knelt down, trying to see her face. "Amelia, it's me, Jeremiah. Are you alright?" He was worried. She seemed very distressed. It was more than just tears, he could tell something was terribly wrong. Jeremiah was glad he had came over, but what if he couldn't help her? What if Amelia didn't want him, or anyone else, around? Timid, he backed off a bit, and waited to see if she would respond. The last thing he wanted to do was make her more upset.

[ames]

The sadness was overwhelming. How could she live without her own mother? The tears flowed easily now that they were released from their holding. Amelia wished she could burrow deep into the ground and just die. She wanted to see her mother once more, just once... to kiss her one more time, say how much she loved her, to hug her and listen to her voice.

Suddenly a hand touched her back and a familiar voice asked if she were ok. She jumped, her head snapping up to see Jeremiah's face. His eyes were concerned as he asked if she were ok. Amelia's chin quivered, her eyes on the verge of more tears. She stared at him, her eyes searching. For what, she didn't know. She knew her face was a massacre. Her eyes were red and filled with tears and her face already stained. He backed off for a moment, still concerned. She bit her lip and looked down, blinking, more tears falling down her already wet cheeks.

"I..." she couldn't speak, her voice was chocked with tears, but she tried again.

"My... my mother..." she felt more tears fall, "She was in an accident." She broke down finally, falling into Jeremiah's arms.

"She's dead, Jeremiah! Gone!"

((sorry it's so short...))

[Jeremiah Baer]

When Amelia finally looked up, Jeremiah could see shear pain in her eyes. He knew immediately that something was wrong- something terrible. Even before her river of tears fell down her face, Jeremiah sensed the deep sadness that Amelia felt. Something took him back to the past summer when he felt the same way. Thus, when he heard Amelia's words, they didn't shock or surprise Jeremiah one bit. He instantly could relate with the pain that he knew was tearing Amelia's heart- the same piercing pain that he had felt just months before. His pain was gone now though, and Amelia's wasn't. When she fell into him arms, Jeremiah held her tight for a moment and let her cry on his chest. Even if he had gotten over the greatest of his pain, he still knew what she was going through, and he wasn't going to leave her alone.

"I...I"m sorry," Jeremiah said softly as he stood and took Amelia in his arms, sitting her back on the couch with her head resting in his lap. He searched his memories for the words to say. What had it been that others said to make him feel better after his father's death? Nothing came to Jeremiah's mind. He really didn't talk to anyone about when his father died. He kept it all in. Only crying once that he remembered, Jeremiah wondered how he had gotten over it. He was bad with things like this, but he knew he had to come through for Amelia. "It's going to be alright," he whispered into her ear, over the sounds of her sobs." Taking his hand, he moved the strands of hair that were clinging to the wet streaks of tears that ran down her face. "She misses you too Amelia." They were the only words Jeremiah could think to say. He hoped that they were enough for Amelia; that she would understand that he felt terrible for her. Most of all, he figured she just needed someone to cry with. Even if he was helping her by being there, it made Jeremiah feel better. For a few minutes, he just sat there while Amelia cried. He thought back to his father, and a single tear fell from his eye. Not now, he thought as he wiped it from his face. I have to be strong for Amelia. Deep down though, a part of him wanted to just cry along with her. Maybe it was part of the grieving process that he never let himself go through. But he remained strong and just looked down at the girl in his lap. He barely knew her, but he knew her pain.

[ames]

Amelia was suddenly grateful for the arms she fell into, weeping uncontrollably. She felt safe in his embrace as Jeremiah held her tight. She grasped his shoulders, her tears staining his shirt. Her world had fallen apart and finally, she was letting it out. She hadn't truly cried since the accident and it sort of felt good to finally cry again. She heard Jeremiah's apology and clinged harder to his chest. He pulled her onto the couch, her head falling into his lap. She didn't care. She still felt safe as she sobbed onto his knee.

She felt Jeremiah's breath on her ear as he told her it would be alright. She felt better, but the tears came harder. The fact that someone was there, someone who cared made her grateful and for the first time since her mother's death, she felt a soft stab of happiness. Through her grief, she felt a smile. Her eyes tightened with sobs as Jeremiah tried to comfort her, moving her hair from her tear stained face.

The words he said next made Amelia's heart race, her eyes snap open and her chin quiver harder than it had before. The thought of her mother in heaven, missing her daughter as much as she missed her mother, made Amelia tremble. She wanted more than anything to see her again, to hug her, to at least say good bye. A tear fell onto her chin, she turned and looked up at Jeremiah, her sobs quieting a bit. He wiped the tear away. She suddenly understood. He understood her pain. She felt silent tears run down her face. She couldn't speak, only look up at him with thankful eyes.

[Jeremiah Baer]

Amelia continued to cling to him desperately. Jeremiah couldn't help but fight the memories of his father's death that kept coming when he thought about the pain Amelia was feeling at this moment. He also began to wonder about Amelia and her family. Were they closer than his? Did she have a father yet? Hoping that eventually he could tell Amelia about his father and mother both dying, Jeremiah assumed it might help her to realize that she wasn't alone in feeling the way she did. He didn't want to take from her moment of sorrow, for it was a natural part of the grieving process, but he wanted to be there for her and help her get through the pain. Deep down, he even wondered if maybe her being there would help him as well. He hadn't talked to many people about his father's death, assuming that most wouldn't care or know how to respond. But with Amelia, he knew that she was experiencing the same terrible situation as he had. Even if they might have been slightly different, it was still the death of a parent.

When Jeremiah looked down, he saw that Amelia was now looking up at his face. Her eyes spoke sorrow, yet he saw a glimmer of gratefulness behind the tears. He realized too that she had seen him wipe his own tears from his face. "I'm sorry Amelia," he said quickly. "It shouldn't be me who is crying. I just couldn't help it." He wondered if it was the right time to tell her. "My dad died this summer," he said before he could stop himself. The words were quiet yet clear. "I know that it isn't important to you know, but just trust me when I say I understand your pain. I know it's real because I've been in your shoes." He said no more- not wanting to turn this into something about him. It was Amelia's turn to grieve, and he wouldn't take it from her. He just hoped that by telling her these things, he could show her how much he really did care and understand about her pain. Jeremiah closed his eyes and ran his fingers along Amelia's forehead, brushing them through her hair.