The Hufflepuff and the Slytherin

Chapter 15- Seven Years Later...

7 years later

The late summer evening was like any other evening the past few months. As you walked down the bustling streets of London after a busy day at work at the Ministry, the sky was a dusky grey, the sun still not going to set completely for a few more hours. Despite it being early August, there were little spots of rain here and there, nothing harsh, just a drizzle. It didn't bother you though. Nothing really bothered you in fact. You were your usual numb self, the brightness of your spirit that had painted your youth with happy memories, now dim and motionless for the past seven years. You were still kind, polite, and thoughtful towards others, however you were numb...always numb inside.

From that tragic moment when love broke your soul seven years ago you hadn't truly ever managed to recover. Something as shocking, unexpected and devastating as what you had been through never truly left you. And now at 24 years old, you were existing in life but never truly living.

The end of your sixth year, after he broke your heart and the year that followed you had began just only existing. After the incident, you never again went down to the Slytherin common room, losing all of your Slytherin friends, including Amalie. It was as if the moment he severed your relationship, that included the rest of the Slytherins, which broke your heart since they had all been family to you. The pain of Amalie distancing herself was just another dagger into your heart of betrayal.

Weirdly you never saw him after that fateful day. Not in the Great Hall for any meals, not in your shared Potions class...it was as if he never existed.

And similarly to that, it was as if the old you never existed as well. Going into your seventh year, you had excelled as a student, the top Herbology and potions student of the entire school. Not only did you often assist Madam Pomfrey with healing potions and herbs in the Hospital Wing, but you were a professor's assistant to Professor Sprout as well, almost single handedly running all of the various greenhouses on the grounds of Hogwarts. All of your professors noticed how quiet you had become, and yet they were all still impressed with your intelligence and studiousness and so they never questioned what had happened. Even the times you would return home, your parents noticed the change in you, and you could tell it broke their hearts at your change in spirit.

After your own graduation, it felt nice to leave Hogwarts. The place which you had so long considered your home and your favorite place on Earth had become painful. So many memories and reminders of what had been; it was nice to leave all of those behind, so that you could start anew. Right out of Hogwarts, the Ministry had instantly wanted to hire you for your reputation of being one of the youngest masters of plants and potions, and so you had joined their Department of Healing with Magic and Herbs. You had also started a side business as well in which you were a specialized gardener for the rich and famous of the Wizarding World, creating spectacular gardens that often graced the covers of the top Wizarding magazines and gardening books. You had made quite a name for yourself in the Herbology world at such a young age, and yet you still often felt as if you had a giant hole in your heart- in your soul. You felt pathetic for still being affected so much by that one tragic day, but it truly did wreck you. You had never loved again since then, never been able to trust anyone, and the change in you had become permanent.

You finally made it back to your flat in South Kensington and put away your umbrella. Having been rather successful, you were able to afford a beautiful two story flat in one of the nicest neighborhoods of London and yet despite all of your success, you still came home every night feeling the same empty feeling.