GRAVEYARD | h.p.

𝖎. THE EMERALD IN BORGIN AND BURKS

THE FIRST MONTH OF MY SUMMER IS A NIGHTMARE. This is because Elenara and her boyfriend—I think his name is Michael or something—had an argument so she stayed at the Libson Mansion for four weeks with all of us. A whole month of having breakfast while Mother and Father only talk about her, and she even insists on helping me out with my quidditch-skills (so I can make the Slytherin team) since she's such an expert. But by far, the worst day is my own birthday—July 12th. My mother hadn't bothered to bake me a cake, and only Elenara had gotten me a present worth actual value. But a close second is when my parents ask me about how my classes were at Hogwarts.

I don't want to respond, because they can't seem to care less. They had sent me only one letter in 10 months! Additionally, I know that my grade isn't something they're going to be proud of, even though I am first in class and managed to earn 133.43%. This is because Elenara earned a 178%, which is significantly higher.

Nevertheless, I still shrug. "I'm first in class. Got a 133.43% in examinations."

Connor—who's nearby—raises his eyebrows, surprised, but his lips twist into a grimace, as though he's ashamed to have a relatively smart sister. My parents don't have any noticeable reaction, though, and only give me a short nod with a forced smile.

"That's... good," is all my mother says when I look at her expectantly.

I glance at my father pleadingly. I'm praying that he'll be at least a little proud—and really, I'm not against him being outright disappointed with my grades right now. At least if he starts an argument with me, I will know that, somewhere, he does have a little bit of concern about me.

But he doesn't even look my way, flipping a page of his newspaper and changing the subject.

Meanwhile, Elenara seems thrilled. She claps her hands with a grin on her face. And her joy only makes me more upset. Because why should she be happy? She got 45% higher than me—unless she expected me to score lower than I did! My blood starts boiling as I pounce up onto my feet and storm out of the living room and head into the one place I know that I'll be unbothered:

The Library.

And no, before you ask, I haven't turned into chipmunk-girl. My reasons for going to the library are simple; Mother and Father are too busy with their jobs to have any spare time for reading. Elenara also has a job—in the Department of Mysteries—and though it is less demanding, she spends her free time longingly looking out the window, as though wishing that her boyfriend sends her an owl apologizing for the argument. And I sometimes doubt that Connor has enough brain-cells to know what a book is. His O.W.Ls results are to arrive on July 13, and in a twisted way, I'm looking forward to see how many T's he got.

Another plus of going to the library is that I get to study extra. I'd calculated that if I am able to raise my Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and Astronomy grades by at least 20% each, then I'd be earning a 144% in all of my subjects, ten percent higher than I had received this year. In her second year, Elenara had gotten a 157%, so it will still be less than hers, but much closer.

But as the days go by, and my arguments with my father ensue, I'm finding it harder and harder to look at my mother and father without wanting to strangle them. After a particularly nasty one a week before Connor's O.W.Ls results are to arrive, when I see my mother and father fretting over Elenara, I feel like someone stabbed a knife in my stomach, and that they're slowly twisting it deeper and deeper into my gut. Instead of the wound releasing blood, however, I feel like I'm drowning in a dangerous mix of anger and hatred.