White Blood ↣ T.Riddle

6, MOONDUST

CHAPTER SIX • MOONDUST

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AFTER A FULL DAY of classes, Georgia dragged herself back towards the common room, which seemed empty due to all of her friends being in divination. Exhausted, she went up to her dormitory and grabbed her book that she got for Christmas, and then came down and collapsed on a sofa that was overflowing with stuffing. She was lost in a world of fiction, and her hands seemed to not be able to turn the pages quick enough. Her feet were being warmed by the fire (the weather hadn't gotten any better, and there was still snow outside).

After five minutes though, Georgia seemed to not be able to concentrate. This was due to many things. The stress of school; she had piles of homework and no motivation. The task Dumbledore had set her also seemed impossible; she had no desire to speak to Tom, the arrogant, selfish twit. Also, the constant, underlying fear for the future if she wasn't able to change Tom's mind was putting even more pressure on her. It wasn't her duty to change him. It just wasn't. He was a bad person, and nothing could change that, and certainly not a single girl.

But that fear for the world was enough to get her to try. Georgia now felt the weight of the world on her shoulders, and while it was dragging her down, it made her feel like she had a duty. Some way to pay back every person that was good to her. Some way to make sure her future children, grandchildren, and their friends' friends lived a good life, and if not, better than Georgia's current one.

Letting out a huff of air, Georgia slammed the book shut with a snap. She just couldn't concentrate. Thoughts had been circulating her mind for a while now and she needed the fresh air, so she pulled on her warm clothes and ventured outside (by a door in the basement led up to the gardens, by the greenhouses).

No one else seemed to be out there. The sky was bordering on dusk, but it was clear and Georgia could see the darkening blue of the vast landscape in the sky. It was very cold. Her nose was already reddening from the temperature, sharp and biting, and so she pulled her coat tighter around her body.

The fourteen-year-old girl strolled down to the back of the school to the Black Lake. She sat herself on the edge of the bank, the same place where Carrie had fallen, feeling the damp grass beneath her fingers. The forbidden forest was on her left and was as quiet as everything else around her. It was peaceful and she was content.

Stars were just beginning to reveal themselves as the indigo sky dimmed; Georgia knew that she was meant to be inside by now, but who was going to find her? No one, she hoped.

She tried to clear her mind but with no luck; the thoughts would not leave her head and she was beginning to get frustrated. The black lake glowed gold with light from the lanterns which were hanging from the back of the castle. Georgia turned her head and saw the castle, still and silent, dimming by the fading light. Rooms were filled with warm light which was shown through the windows that were stamped into the castle, it seemed, at random. She could see the Gryffindor tower, and could vaguely make out a few people shutting the rich burgundy curtains that hung from the top of the windows every few minutes.

In that moment, she felt so lucky that she had been born as a witch. She couldn't imagine herself not being at Hogwarts - well, technically, she could, but she didn't want to. She would probably just be coming home from muggle school, in a tight, mundane school uniform with a gas mask tucked neatly into her small satchel. She probably wouldn't have many friends, possibly none at all - unlike herself at Hogwarts - because she was an orphan. No one liked orphans, she had found that out at primary school. The other children banned her and Tom from playing any games with them, and turned their backs to the poor, motherless children.