Post by Ruth Hosker-Thornhill on Sept 18, 2008 16:01:43 GMT
For too long Ruth had been indoors. It was making her feel a little nauseous and certainly extremely sick of the boring white walls and dull brown furniture in her house. On top of that, she did nothing productive. She hadn’t yet bought her books for her seventh year so couldn’t begin studying those, and all of her sixth year books she knew flawlessly. So now she sat on an uncomfortable brown armchair, bored out of her mind and with nothing to do. The room she was in was simple; four walls, two armchairs, a coffee table. One window and a painting. Nothing else for her to look at. Opposite her armchair, behind the second, was the door. This would lead out into the hallway and if you followed that you would soon find yourself in Claudia’s room and where Ruth had just come from. Ruth couldn’t stand another minute in there. With two fingers she fiercely rubbed her temple. This headache was getting worse by the second... she knew a spell to make it lessen slightly, but her mother had asked her not to ever use magic in the house even in her second year. Surely, one little spell… No! She’d promised. What she had to do was do something, make herself busy. Rising from her chair she stepped swiftly behind it and looked out of the window. Nothing. Fields, fields and more fields. Endless green and yellow oceans. Ruth had moved her mother here just a few months ago; the muggle doctors had told her the quiet countryside would be best for Claudia’s situation. But what about Ruth? What about her situation?
With her back to the door she hadn’t been able to keep an eye on it, and now she jumped as a loud, callous voice came from behind her. “It’s Sssaturday.” The last word was spoken like a hiss that send a shiver through Ruth’s spine. She took a deep breathe before turning. “Hello mum.” Another breathe as she took in her mother’s apparel. She hadn’t got out of her bed all day but had somehow worked her way into one of Ruth’s favourite summer dresses, which was now ripped down the side and need years to iron out the creases. “Saturday?” The words caught in her mouth, choking her. It had been at least a whole year since Claudia had mentioned anything to do with the days of the week. It was in fact not Saturday, but Thursday- but that didn’t matter. “Yes! Yes mum, it is Saturday!” Her mouth grew into a broad ear-to-ear grin as her green eyes widened with joy. Not only had Claudia remembered that (although incorrectly) it was Saturday, she had directed her speech directly at Ruth. This was progress, although in which direction Ruth didn’t know. The two simple words her mother had said filled her with happiness and dispelled any thought of her headache immediately. She was tempted to ask, if today was Saturday, what would tomorrow be? But she couldn’t. She could not ask that of her mother.
“You took the dog out?” Again her mother’s words caused her to snap back into reality. Her smile disappeared and her heart sank as she listened. “It’s Saturday. Take the dog out.” This was an old thing Ruth was now used to; the mention of a dog. They had never owned a dog and Ruth didn’t know of her mother owning one when she was a child, so she didn’t know how to respond. What had the doctor said… just humour her? She didn’t want to- this was her mother. She shouldn’t have to humour her. Claudia should be doing that for Ruth. With a sigh, she nodded, defeated. “Yes, mum. You just go back to-” Before she could finish her mother had vanished along the hallway again. Ruth followed but paused by the telephone. It was a muggle device she’d learned to use with the help of her friend Oscar, and made everything so much easier. Phoning Claudia’s regular carer took just moments, and Ruth did so in a matter of minutes.
Half an hour later and she was gone from the endless green fields, away from her mother’s abstract comments and lost expression. The carer had obediently arrived and had agreed to look after Claudia for a few hours while Ruth got her school books. Oh how Ruth loved being out of the house! Everything was refreshing and bright, the sun beaming down on her as if wishing her a good day. She didn’t feel guilty about leaving her mother- she was no longer a child, entertained by the simple things in every-day life. She had to get out. It was almost too new to her now; she nearly smiled at strangers, pleased to see faces that didn’t hold a permanent lost expression. Walking down Diagon Alley alone felt like a treat, certainly one she wasn’t about to waste. At one passing stranger she did actually smile gently, only to see the wizard appear slightly fearful. She faltered slightly in her step. Being kind to random strangers certainly wasn’t a habit of Ruth’s; the smile disappeared quickly enough. How strange that it had sprung up in the first place. All this fresh air was clearly making her delirious.
Making a bee-line for Flourish and Blotts, Ruth tugged her leather jacket tighter around her slender frame. The clouds above were darkening with every step she took and already the air seemed fresher, colder. As she stepped through the threshold of the book shop she heard the gentle footsteps of raindrops beginning to fall outside. Lucky escape. Flourish and Blotts was warm and welcoming, the spines of the books seeming to scream out to Ruth. I know something you don’t know! Read me! They beckoned. And oh, how tempted Ruth was. She walked slowly, taking her time over each step, beside the bookcase on the left-hand side of the shop. As she walked the tip of her forefinger on her left hand gently brushed the spine of every book on the shelves next to her, caressing them subtly. Although she wasn’t looking directly at the spines she stopped suddenly, knowing that the book her finger now rested upon was a book to be read. She turned excruciatingly slowly and took her slim fore finger from the spine. Her head dipped slightly to read the cursive font scrawled on the leather cover and with the movement, her head of long blonde hair slipped from beneath the collar of her jacket. As her eyes flicked over the font a shadow fell onto the book. It was fairly short. Turning to view the newcomer took only a second and then Ruth found herself staring into the eyes of a tiny girl, who looked barely old enough to walk. She hesitated, oblivious to the young woman who held the girl in her arms. Ruth never came into contact with anyone under eleven; and those were the first years at school. She attempting a smile, the corners of her mouth turning up with unpracticed effort. "Hello..." The words came out as a whisper.
With her back to the door she hadn’t been able to keep an eye on it, and now she jumped as a loud, callous voice came from behind her. “It’s Sssaturday.” The last word was spoken like a hiss that send a shiver through Ruth’s spine. She took a deep breathe before turning. “Hello mum.” Another breathe as she took in her mother’s apparel. She hadn’t got out of her bed all day but had somehow worked her way into one of Ruth’s favourite summer dresses, which was now ripped down the side and need years to iron out the creases. “Saturday?” The words caught in her mouth, choking her. It had been at least a whole year since Claudia had mentioned anything to do with the days of the week. It was in fact not Saturday, but Thursday- but that didn’t matter. “Yes! Yes mum, it is Saturday!” Her mouth grew into a broad ear-to-ear grin as her green eyes widened with joy. Not only had Claudia remembered that (although incorrectly) it was Saturday, she had directed her speech directly at Ruth. This was progress, although in which direction Ruth didn’t know. The two simple words her mother had said filled her with happiness and dispelled any thought of her headache immediately. She was tempted to ask, if today was Saturday, what would tomorrow be? But she couldn’t. She could not ask that of her mother.
“You took the dog out?” Again her mother’s words caused her to snap back into reality. Her smile disappeared and her heart sank as she listened. “It’s Saturday. Take the dog out.” This was an old thing Ruth was now used to; the mention of a dog. They had never owned a dog and Ruth didn’t know of her mother owning one when she was a child, so she didn’t know how to respond. What had the doctor said… just humour her? She didn’t want to- this was her mother. She shouldn’t have to humour her. Claudia should be doing that for Ruth. With a sigh, she nodded, defeated. “Yes, mum. You just go back to-” Before she could finish her mother had vanished along the hallway again. Ruth followed but paused by the telephone. It was a muggle device she’d learned to use with the help of her friend Oscar, and made everything so much easier. Phoning Claudia’s regular carer took just moments, and Ruth did so in a matter of minutes.
Half an hour later and she was gone from the endless green fields, away from her mother’s abstract comments and lost expression. The carer had obediently arrived and had agreed to look after Claudia for a few hours while Ruth got her school books. Oh how Ruth loved being out of the house! Everything was refreshing and bright, the sun beaming down on her as if wishing her a good day. She didn’t feel guilty about leaving her mother- she was no longer a child, entertained by the simple things in every-day life. She had to get out. It was almost too new to her now; she nearly smiled at strangers, pleased to see faces that didn’t hold a permanent lost expression. Walking down Diagon Alley alone felt like a treat, certainly one she wasn’t about to waste. At one passing stranger she did actually smile gently, only to see the wizard appear slightly fearful. She faltered slightly in her step. Being kind to random strangers certainly wasn’t a habit of Ruth’s; the smile disappeared quickly enough. How strange that it had sprung up in the first place. All this fresh air was clearly making her delirious.
Making a bee-line for Flourish and Blotts, Ruth tugged her leather jacket tighter around her slender frame. The clouds above were darkening with every step she took and already the air seemed fresher, colder. As she stepped through the threshold of the book shop she heard the gentle footsteps of raindrops beginning to fall outside. Lucky escape. Flourish and Blotts was warm and welcoming, the spines of the books seeming to scream out to Ruth. I know something you don’t know! Read me! They beckoned. And oh, how tempted Ruth was. She walked slowly, taking her time over each step, beside the bookcase on the left-hand side of the shop. As she walked the tip of her forefinger on her left hand gently brushed the spine of every book on the shelves next to her, caressing them subtly. Although she wasn’t looking directly at the spines she stopped suddenly, knowing that the book her finger now rested upon was a book to be read. She turned excruciatingly slowly and took her slim fore finger from the spine. Her head dipped slightly to read the cursive font scrawled on the leather cover and with the movement, her head of long blonde hair slipped from beneath the collar of her jacket. As her eyes flicked over the font a shadow fell onto the book. It was fairly short. Turning to view the newcomer took only a second and then Ruth found herself staring into the eyes of a tiny girl, who looked barely old enough to walk. She hesitated, oblivious to the young woman who held the girl in her arms. Ruth never came into contact with anyone under eleven; and those were the first years at school. She attempting a smile, the corners of her mouth turning up with unpracticed effort. "Hello..." The words came out as a whisper.
