Fictober23

Just in case this doesn't work 21/10

You were feeling dizzy by the second, and you couldn't say if it was the room getting hotter or if watching Natsai walk back and forth had made you sick. You leaned against a wall outside the Right Long Gallery tower and watched Nati wander at the bottom of the ladder of the divination classroom. You've stood there for fifteen minutes and watched Nati not wanting to go in.

"Are you planning on telling her today or are you going to wait until after the holidays?" you asked frustrated,  your complaint echoed through the empty hall and frightened your friend.

"I will... I just need another minute" she answered. Her gaze went to the ladder for a moment and she started to wander again, she mumbled some words you couldn't understand.

"Nati, since when are you so afraid of your mother?" you extended your arm to make her stop walking and stared into her big frightened eyes.

"I'm not afraid of her. I'm just worried about her answer" She looked up to the end of the ladder and wondered if Professor Onai heard you.

"We just want to go to Edinburgh for a couple of days" You and your friends planned this trip for over a month, and when Nati decided to tell you that morning she didn't have her mother's permission you almost lost your mind.

"Yes, but she has been overprotective since my small incident with Harlow" she explained.

"Small? Did you have another incident that I'm not aware of? Or are you seriously calling a small incident to that bastard blasting an unforgivable course on me and you jumping in to protect me?"

She gave you a confident smile and relaxed her features.

"Yes, precisely"

"Nati you spend over a week on the hospital wing!"

She shrugged his shoulders like it was nothing. You wanted to shake her in reprimand.

"What kind of Gryffindor are you?" you asked ironically "You took Crucio as if it was nothing but you are afraid of asking your mum for permission to take a trip with your friends for a couple of days?"

Nati just blinked for a couple of seconds, her gaze went down to her shoes embarrassed.

"Yes, precisely"

You didn't mean to make her feel bad, but you couldn't help finding the irony amusing.

"Merlin, I can't believe this." you laughed for a moment but stopped when Nati looked at you annoyed. "I'm sorry, I know it's not funny."

"I just don't want to upset here." She leaned against the wall and slowly lowered herself to the floor. "Before you arrived at Hogwarts I didn't have many friends, so much of my free time was just me and my mother. But it hasn't been like that for a while, and I don't want her to think I'm abandoning her when we just had each other for so long."

Your friend was struggling with the situation, so you did the only thing you could, sit by her side and comfort her. She kept talking about her mum and their time together, how she missed her but was happy to be with her friends. After a while, you came up with an idea.

"What if you spend the afternoon with her? Maybe some tea, chatting and if you are comfortable bring the subject up" She looked back at you, it wasn't a bad idea  "And, just in case this doesn't work, I'll stay here with you, we can go to Hogsmeade in the evenings and you can spend as much time with your mum as you wish."

She looked at you and smiled.

"Thank you, MC, but that won't be necessary. We are going, I promise. Also, I already told Poppy I share the inn room with her, I don't want to disappoint anyone."

You smiled back at her, stood up, and offered Nati a hand, she took it gladly and you moved aside when she made her way to climb the ladder.

After a couple of hours, Nati came to find you and your friends at the library with good news. She told you she had a pleasant afternoon with her mum and that Professor Onai was the one who brought the journey up, apparently, she had foreseen it weeks ago and was waiting for Nati to talk about it.

"... so I told her my worries and she was understanding about it, but told me not to worry, she understands I'm making my own path and told me that I will always have her whenever I need her."

You felt your eyes get filled with tears.

"Wait," interrupted Sebastian "You didn't have permission to go until now?" your exact thoughts, but you smiled and said nothing.

"At least your mother said yes" said Ominis "If I ask my parents for permission I would never go anywhere" 

"So what did you tell your parents?" asked Imelda.

"Oh Merlin, nothing" answered Ominis like it was the silliest question he had ever heard "As long as they think I'm staying at the castle it's enough for them. But good for you and your mother Nati"

Luckily for everyone, Poppy changed the subject "So your mum foresaw our trip, did she tell you anything interesting?"

Nati hesitated for a second, but she sat next to Amit and started talking "She said some of us could get food poisoning, but she said the reason wasn't clear, just warned me to be careful."

Right on cue, Garreth and Leander entered the library and made it to your table in a few steps.

"Guys, guess what?" announced Garreth, proud of himself "I got my new brew ready on time for our trip. Who's ready to party?"

You and your friends looked at each other and burst into laughter so laud Madam Scribner threw you out of the library while Garreth kept asking what was so funny and said something like "Your lost, more for Prewett and myself."