An Unwanted Follower ((India))

[wendi]

Wendi pulled the black headband over her blond locks as she smoothed them out of her way. She sighedeying herself in the mirror. When did life become so complicated? Wendi eyed the locked door to her room at the McDuff mansion. She didn’t want Emory anywhere near her. Truthfully, Wendi didn’t know much about the boy, but Carr had instructed her to stay away from him. So, that was reason enough to do so. Carr knew more about Emory than Wendi ever would, so she figured to jus listen to Carr. Still, it wasn’t easy avoiding the boy. Emory seemed to pop up everywhere Wendi turned. It was like he was determined to follow her. Nothing annoyed her more than this boy. But, he didn’t seem to mind all the fowl names she called him to get him away. He was still everywhere she was. Wendi eyed the locked door again. She wasn’t afraid of him really; she just wanted to be alone. Plus, Emory was up to something and it couldn’t be good. Wendi tugged on the black cardigan and the crème camisole that went with her crème shirt as she stood up eyeing herself in the mirror for a split second. All she needed was some time away. Some time to herself. The question was, was this possible?

“Hey, you look hott.” A voice called as Wendi walked down the hall. Wendi turned eying Emory for a split second. She then just shrugged him off and kept walking down the hall. “Hey you look pretty.” Another voice called. Wendi smiled knowing who it was. There was a reason that Wendi had chosen Carr after all. He was a good guy. “Thanks.” She said as he kissed her cheek. “I need some time alone.” She said looking at him with big kitten eyes. He laughed at the cute look on her face. “You don’t have to ask, crazy.” He said smiling. Wendi nodded. “I know. I’ll just be in Diagon Alley if you need me.” She said easily. “Need anything?” She asked. Carr shook his head. “Nope, but if you see Henri and Lori, opps, I mean Henrietta and Lorraine..” He shook his head pausing. “Tell them to get home.” He said laughing a bit. “Will do.” Wendi said smiling as she kept walking to the entrance hall, heading towards the Floo Network. Little did she know, that someone had been watching her conversation with Carr and watched her leave.

Wendi walked through Diagon Alley casually looking at the store windows. She didn’t really have a reason to leave the mansion besides that she just wanted to. Plus, Carr had a rather large family and they could get a bit annoying at times. Wendi loved his family, but she wasn’t used to having so many people around all of the time. Wendi had lived with her grand-parents and Jamison basically her whole life. The only family that had ever visited was her Aunt Belle and Jonathan. Wendi sighed looking at all the people that she passed. Living at the McDuff mansion was different, a new experience, but she liked it. Well, all except for Emory. He couldn’t be more jerk-like or annoying. He was a typical stuck of Pure-blood, which was funny because as far as Wendi knew, Emory was a half-blood. Wendi finally decided to go in somewhere, so she entered a jewelry shop. Wendi instantly walked over to the Pearl section as they were her favorite. “You like pearls, eh?” A voice behind her asked. Wendi jumped and turned around. “What are you doing here?” She asked Emory in near fear. “Looking for you.” He said an odd tone. Wendi shook her head. “Leave me alone. Okay.” She said turning to leave the store. “Wendi wait!” He called after her. She shook her head trying to leave, but as she opened the door, she hit someone who was trying to get in. No one fell, but Wendi felt bad for the girl. “Umm, sorry. I just..” Wendi peered through the glass window trying to look for Emory, but he wasn’t there. Where did he go? “I was trying to get away from someone is all.” Wendi said to the older girl.

[India Nightingale]

India was slightly disgruntled as she stalked down the alleyways of Diagon Alley, passing each shop without much interest. She couldn’t believe she was stuck babysitting her sister. Admittedly she did it on her own will, but why did Skye had to be so troublesome? Couldn’t she wait till nearer the end of the year to come bouncing into Diagon Alley for supplies? Sighing in frustration to herself, India stuffed her hands even deeper into her pockets before continuing onwards in annoyance. Wherever Skye went, India followed most of the time; not because she wanted to copy her twin’s actions, not because she wanted to reciprocate the love her twin kept pushing onto her, but because India always felt that strong need to look over Skye despite everything. India always had that weird feeling that Skye was in danger… especially since the day she lost her freedom of speech. Perhaps guilt still lay within herself, but India dismissed it as nothing more than a sibling blood bond. Although India came this far to follow her twin, Skye actually had no idea she was on her trail; she never did. India followed in silent secrecy always.

But India never marked her twin’s actual footsteps. She just wandered around aimlessly in the area she knew Skye was in – this being Diagon Alley – and preoccupied herself as Skye went about her business. India would know if anything bad happened to her twin; somehow, she always felt it, like there was some sort of psychic connection between them. India had never admitted this to anyone, not even Duke. It was creepy, impossible, and she didn’t want the one man she trusted to think she was contaminated with the thoughts and feelings of the person she hated most. Raising a hand to rub her forehead, India frowned to herself as she continued along the cobbled steps. The day was quite fair, but there were a few snowy clouds floating against the azure sky. India wasn’t really bothered about what was happening around her; the people bustling along, the outlook of the day, the open shops teeming with customers. A part of India desperately wanted to get away from this area, from people and society, because it annoyed her, gave her a headache, but she stubbornly refused to leave until Skye was safely home, so she carried on like nothing was wrong. No one here that passed her cared about her anyway. No one knew who she was, what her life had been like and what it was like now, the people involved with her… No one knew anything.

India found herself stopping several minutes later, looking around for something to do. She was bored out of her mind, and she might as well enter a shop and browse for the sake of it. India could buy some more books for prep study for the upcoming NEWTs year; the thought was promising. It was then something in a shop window caught India’s observant eyes, and peering in from a distance away, not even stepping up against the pane, she watched a scene unfold before her. She could see two figures, a girl and a boy, and recognised the former to be a Hogwarts student. She wasn't familiar with the blonde haired teen, but India was sure she was younger, a Hufflepuff. Probably a fourth year from the look of it. India wasn’t bothered about their business, but watched nevertheless as the two talked for a while, the girl becoming more and more aggravated and nervous, and the boy… well, the boy was hiding his true intent well. Was he harassing her or something? Now that was something India couldn’t stand. Her experience with James popped up in her mind, and she found her blood beginning to boil at the thought of men in general. Boys should keep their dirty hands to themselves. Angrily, India found herself stalking towards the shop and flinging the door open, only to find the Hufflepuff girl was on her way out already, bumping into her not too hard.

India looked down expressionlessly at the smaller girl with a now blank face. She didn’t know what had come over her, but at that moment she had felt such a strong urge to… to save the girl from that boy. Because she knew how it felt with men. But maybe that wasn’t what the Hufflepuff had been experiencing. India cursed herself for her stupidity and rashness, and promised she wouldn’t act so impulsively again. Looking around, she noticed the boy had disappeared into thin air, and narrowing her green-blue eyes, India dismissed him from her mind. He looked like a typical slimy Slytherin... But India was sure he didn't go to Hogwarts. She was sure, though, he wasn't worth anyone’s time. India had never found any of the boys in her year in Slytherin attractive, but she distanced herself in particular from men in general. Hearing the girl apologise for bumping into her, India muttered a quick, “I know.” Dismissing the Hufflepuff with a hand, India walked into the shop, finally noticing it was one which sold jewellery. Of all the shops she could’ve come into. Turning around, India watched the girl out of the corner of her eye. Perhaps she should follow her… India was good at that, and she had nothing better to do. This girl seemed somewhat interesting, seeing as that boy was harassing her. Ignoring the gleam of the jewellery around her, since India had never been fond of such things, she waited to see what the Hufflepuff would do.

[wendi]

Wendi looked to the older Slytherin. Had she seen her before? Probably not. Wendi didn’t usually make it a habit of hanging out with Slytherins. Probably because in her head they all acted like Emory. Wendi sighed. Yep, Emory would probably fit right in with the annoying Slytherin boy crowd at Hogwarts. Even though Wendi knew in her heart that not all Slytherins were bad, she couldn’t grasp her mind around it. Putting your heart around it and your mind around it were two totally different things. Wendi couldn’t help but wish that Carr was with her to keep Emory at bay. Why was the boy so obsessed with her? Why had Emory even come home for the summer? After all, he much preferred Uncle Archibald to his crazy half-blood family. Thought jumbled Wendi’s head but she forced herself to push them away. She couldn’t let Emory’s presence destroy her summer. Still, a little voice inside her head told her that Emory was up to something. Wendi didn’t find it hard to sum up any of the McDuff family. No, she knew them too well. Even though Wendi hadn’t known Emory for long, she felt as though she did and that scared her a good bit. Emory wasn’t that different than Diem, but this would infuriate Emory if he heard this. It was common knowledge that Diem and Carr were very much alike. So, if Wendi said anything about Diem being like Carr, she knew that Emory wouldn’t stand for it. Because the one person Emory claimed to hate with his big brother.

Wendi nodded to the Slytherin girl as she said she knew. She smiled a tad before looking around in utter confusion. Where had Emory gone off to? It wasn’t as if he could apparate. He was a fourth year! So, where did he go? What happened to him? Wendi couldn’t even begin to understand this. She looked around, her eyes wide eyed. And even though she had been leaving the store, she turned back into it and walked over into the Pearl section that she had previously been standing in. Wendi glanced around for any sign of Emory, but there was nothing. How on earth did he just jet off like that? It seemed completely crazy and irrational. Wendi finally gave up the search, she sighed noticing the girl that she had bumped into previously was still in the store. It seemed that she had seen Wendi’s encounter with Emory or had she? Wendi yawned for a brief moment deciding whether or not to approach the girl. Wendi had never been shy to talk to people, but the situation was quite different. Wendi eyed the girl for a second before walking over. She had to know if the girl saw anything.

“You saw that didn’t you? Emory come up to me, sort of harassing me?” She asked the older girl. Wendi looked to the ground for a moment. “He’s my boyfriend’s brother. He’s been following me all summer. I know he’s up to something, but..” Wendi stopped herself knowing that she wasn’t getting to the point. She didn’t even think about how weird it was calling Carr her boyfriend even though basically that was what he was. She had such a look of determination in her eyes. Wendi had to know what Emory was up to because she felt that she was in the middle of it without even knowing it. Wendi shook her head lightly looking back to the spot that Emory had disappeared to. “Anyways, did you see how he left? I mean he is much too young to apparate.” Wendi shook her head looking to the older girl. Wendi just felt the need for answers because the faster she had them, the faster she could get Emory far away from the family he hated so dearly, the family Wendi loved so much. “This doesn’t make sense.” She nearly whispered looking out of the window. Thoughts clogged her mind. The need for answers, haunted her.

((Actually, Emory doesn’t attend Hogwarts. He goes to Durmstrang, but I didn’t clarify that in my post so that was totally my fault. ))

[India Nightingale]

((Ack! Well, lol, I went and changed my post. Sorry about that. And apologies it took so long for me to reply. In finally dragged India out to play. ))

India watched her target closely as secretly as possible with a blank expression, her eyes flickering from the blonde girl’s worried face to the gleaming of pearls that sparkled before her eyes. Duke had once commented that India fit diamonds and pearls well, because they were so white and pure. India had proceeded to become rather miffed with her guardian, remarking tightly that she was far from “pure”, and that Duke should know she was anything but innocent and holy. India believed strongly that the colour white did not suit her at all, mainly because it usually represented the good, the light, the holiness, the angels… Just like Skye. If Skye were to be a colour, she’d no doubt be white. Her twin was too untainted, too fresh and clean. And India, being the dirtied polar opposite of her twin, knew then that that meant she’d be black. And it was true, everything about India was black, from the clothes she wore to the permanent dye of her hair. She was evil and black in personality, and her aura held gloom and doom. India was forever shrouded in eternal darkness, and she’d never find the light.

India noted expressionlessly that this Hufflepuff girl was looking frantically around, deducing with a sharp mind that she was probably searching for that same dark haired boy. India had noticed he had disappeared into thin air as soon as she had bumped into the blonde girl upon entering the shop, but she had obviously only digested this fact. India narrowed her eyes and turned away when the girl’s attention seemed to focus on her, and switched her gaze temporarily to stare at the diamonds twinkling in the afternoon sunlight filtering into the small shop. India realised the shopkeeper was probably a little irritated with the fact that so many customers had entered the shop, but it appeared the last thing on their minds was to purchase anything. India smirked to herself, eyeing some diamond earrings with fake interest, when out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the Hufflepuff girl approach her. Rather alarmed, India steeled herself for whatever she wanted. No one dared to usually come up freely and talk to her. Perhaps she had something of importance to ask. Then again, India thought to herself, what information could she be holding? She wasn’t normally an object of interest, never had been. Rumours circled about her for a while, but that was expected, due to her neglect of Skye, and her twin’s condition. People left India alone most of the time, and she preferred it that way.

India blinked as the Hufflepuff girl addressed her boldly, obviously not pausing to think. She smirked inside at her rashness, listening to her words with a nonchalant expression on her face as her gaze left the jewels to stare into this girl’s clear eyes steadily. India’s unwavering looks usually unnerved a lot of people, scaring them away from her. Reluctantly, India nodded in answer to the girl’s question, not sure where this was leading to. How could she possibly be of any use to this Hufflepuff? India absorbed the boy’s name with little interest, but stored it into her memory nevertheless. ”What a girl’s name.” India thought sneeringly, ”Though that’s probably why it fits so well/” She almost gave a huge sigh of frustration and disbelief when the blonde declared that the boy was her boyfriend’s brother, for two reasons. Firstly because India didn’t believe in things such as boyfriends, and her opinion of this girl changed dramatically upon this knowledge. She was stupid for allowing herself to weakly submit to this supposed “love” in the first place, but India also sympathised with her, that a boy would so nastily imprison her in a relationship. Boys were nasty things. Secondly, India decided that this blonde’s life sounded awfully like some badly written, typical soap storyline. A woman strung between two men that were brothers. Phff. It couldn’t get any more radical, could it? India didn’t envy this girl one bit.

India listened with a little interest as the Hufflepuff, for some odd reason, explained to her, this utter stranger, her situation. India wondered what had twanged in this younger girl’s brain to make her decide to approach herself out of the blue and confess her love life. Perhaps the boys had driven her insane? From the sounds of it, the dark haired boy India had witnessed earlier was some sort of stalker. She tried not to let a scowl brace her face. India hated male stalkers. Perverts, cheaters, that’s what they were. She suddenly felt the biggest urge to find that boy, grab him by the collar, and knee him in the golden jewels (haha, India thought, how ironic she was in a jewellery shop) so much he could never declare himself a real man anymore. India was adamant most men deserved that treatment, anyway, she wasn’t sticking up or feeling protective over this strange blonde. “Don’t let the creep lead your life. Don’t let any man rule your life.” India declared suddenly in a brazen, firm tone, starkly honest and aggressive. If this girl wanted her opinion, she’s give it without a second’s thought. She had nothing better to do anyway, and this Hufflepuff was obviously stupid. India had never had anything against the Huffles, like most of her fellow Slytherins, but her opinion of them was gradually dropping. “In fact, don’t let men into your life. They do nothing but ruin it and bring you down with them.” India’s advice was bitter and filled with contempt, and she didn’t care if she scared this girl away in the process. India shook her head in disbelief. This girl was seriously pathetic. Then again, most females were when concerning the opposite sex. “No.” India then replied with a blank expression to the girl’s question, arms folded across her chest uncaringly. She hadn’t seen where this Emory boy had gone, it was true. A weird expression came onto the girl’s face now, and India stared at her blankly. This was certainly an odd child.