fade into you || d.m

comfort

A song for the chapter: Sparks - Coldplay

Elwia stood beside the drink table and watched with envy as the others danced with smiles on their faces. How could they act normal after what had happened? Elwia's mother had died, which stopped the time from moving for her, and yet somehow, the world kept spinning for everyone else. It wasn't fair how they could keep living their lives normally as if everything was fine.

It was obviously foolish of Elwia to feel that way because, in reality, she hadn't even told anyone. Not a single person in the Gryffindor common room knew that Elwia had just lost her mother. Even though Elwia wanted everyone to feel her pain, she didn't care for the pitiful eyes and the meaningless condolences.

The event in the Gryffindor common room was Fred and George's 18th birthday. It also happened to be the same day as April Fools' Day, which Elwia thought was very fitting, knowing the twins' personalities.

"Haven't you had enough to drink already this evening, Elwia?" Harry raised his eyebrow as he watched his sister pour herself her eleventh shot of firewhiskey.

"Don't you have any other things to keep yourself busy with, Harry?" Elwia rolled her eyes and downed the shot with ease.

Harry looked at Elwia with a serious expression and stood up from his seat. "Something happened in Dumbledore's office, and you're not telling me what it is. Why?" Harry asked and frowned his brows, causing his face to look extremely worried.

He almost looked offended – even saddened – that his sister wouldn't confide in him, fearing secretly that he had done something to make her feel as if she couldn't trust him.

"There's a lot of things I'm not telling you, and in fact I am allowed to keep it that way. You don't have to know every single thing about me, Harry. I don't think you'd even want to hear everything. It's better that we let things stay the way they are." Elwia slurred her words, not daring to face her brother.

"You're destroying yourself, and for what reason?" Harry questioned, almost shouted, and stepped closer to Elwia, only slightly towering over her.

Elwia gulped and looked Harry in the eyes, only to find herself faced with seeing her reflection.

"M-my..." Elwia stuttered, not strong enough to spit out the truth.

"Your what?" Harry's voice changed softer, and his eyes were pleading for answers, for he simply just wanted to know how his sister was doing.

Elwia opened and closed her mouth to speak at least a dozen times, but her actions progressed nowhere. "I'm sorry, Harry. I can't." She mumbled and quickly fled from the scene before Harry even had the time to react.

It felt like the walls were creeping in on her, inching closer by the second. Breathing in and out felt like piecework, Elwia's body noticeably struggling to perform such a task. The room was way too crowded until a familiar voice spoke out and broke Elwia out of her haze.

"Hello there, Delacour! We doing okay? You look a little rough." Fred smiled with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Oh, Fred. Happy birthday. I'm sorry I didn't get you a gift." Elwia laughed awkwardly and shook her head a little, trying to get rid of the feeling of dizziness and nausea.

"It's alright. There's no need for such pleasantries! And just between the two of us, I'm simply glad to see you alive and...well? Um, are you well, Elwia?" Fred asked and coughed a little.

Elwia, unable to talk about her feelings to another human being, simply answered, "I'm okay, just feeling a little under the weather. But it's nothing that alcohol can't fix!" And to make her performance even more believable, Elwia added a fake laugh at the end of her sentence.