The Tribrid and Her Reflection {Book Two - - Complete}

Reflecting The Past

It was late afternoon when Hope found a decent enough establishment to rest. She'd been walking since that morning, enjoying the scenery and the peace of the calm atmosphere. It was nice- listening to the bird's caw while picking at rotten vegetables in the gardens she passed.

Okay, maybe it was a little gross, but she didn't mind it.

Entering the quaint little place, Hope sat down at a rickety but charming wooden table and asked for the stew they had. Which happened to be rabbit and frog eyes. Just imagine it's caviar, she thought as she dipped her wide wooden spoon into the mixture and slurped up the slimy little ball that popped in her mouth.

Hope made a face but ate another spoonful as her stomach growled encouragingly.

"What brings you out here, dear?" A plump woman with gray curled hair and a pleasant smile sat nearby. She was the only one in the place and the person who had brought her the soup. The owner, she assumed.

Looking around, she realized she must seem a bit out of place. Most people here were probably regulars, not from far off Hogsmeade or Hogwarts.

Hope offered a little shrug and a thin smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Troubles?" The woman asked and nodded. "I've been there..." She trailed off and smiled. "Alice is the name." She nodded, leaning back a little and flattening out her apron. "What's got you so troubled?"

Biting her lip, Hope was met with a fork in the road. Confide in a stranger or let it fester into an infected wound. Neither sounded particularly appealing; unfortunately, the liquor had worn off its effects.

Maybe she could get advice from this stranger without spilling everything she harbored.

"A lot of things, but..." Hope trailed off and glanced at her, "it turns out I don't exactly play well with others."

Grinning, she raised her bushy eyebrows and nodded. "Ah, I know the type. I am the type." She winked and stood, going to the mini display case, bringing back a pumpkin pastie and setting it down. "My own recipe. On the house for troubled minds." She sat back into her chair, which Hope didn't realize until now was a rocking chair.

Rocking back and forth, a pair of knitting needles continued a pattern for what Hope assumed was a scarf.

"Hufflepuff?" Hope asked, watching the black and gold colors lace together.

Alice nodded with a grin. "My great-nephew just started this past year at Hogwarts, and his birthday is coming up."

Hope couldn't help but smile at the simple yet kind gesture. "That's nice."

"Hm," Alice looked at her more keenly, "who exactly are you not playing nicely with?"

Pursing her lips, she sighed. "My boyfriend. We don't exactly agree on something, and I..." Hope swallowed hard; was she revealing too much? "I like making my own decisions."

Alice nodded slowly. "Ah, without interference?"

"Exactly." Hope ate another spoonful of stew and resisted the urge to cringe as another eyeball popped between her teeth.

"So you want to do what you want when you want, without someone to interfere?"

Hope paused and looked at her, swallowing hard, but not because of the stew. "I mean..." She felt a strange itch behind her ears as Alice leveled a gaze on her. It was odd how a stranger could make her feel like she'd known her for years.

"You mean you want to be alone. That's what you mean," she scoffed half-heartedly and continued to knit, "because if you didn't want to be alone, you wouldn't be here talking to me, avoiding whoever he is."