Empty Gold • d.meadowes

-04-

Having a friend who was a prefect came with its benefits, for Dorcas and Silver were able to drag themselves out of the horde of students as Maeve used her authority to get them in an orderly line, though she received a few glares from some of the disobedient second years. Dorcas was surprised by their audacity but Maeve seemed oddly blasé about it.

When they were out of the train, they dragged their trunks to an empty spot while Dorcas looked around in search of Leigh. She caught sight of him a few minutes later, jumping up and down, presumably to look for his parents, and stifling a chuckle, she made her way over to him.

"Hey, why are you jumping like that?"

He halted and looked at her with a huge grin. "Hi. I was looking for my brother. He's short, so it's hard to find him." She laughed a little.

"Your parents won't come?" she inquired, helping him to drag his trunk away from the train.

"No, they said they had to leave for some work," he shrugged. "And anyway, my brother is an adult now, so I believe he'll be the one to pick me up from now."

"Alright," she said and ruffled his hair lightly. "Write to me and let me know how your Christmas goes."

He nodded with a smile and walked away to find his brother, and as Dorcas turned her head, she caught sight of her mother, standing by the barrier between the muggle and wizarding world, talking to Mr and Mrs Saunders – Silver's parents. She heaved her trunk forward, and upon reaching them, threw her arms around her mother. Jenna Meadowes wrapped her arms tightly around Dorcas, though she had to stand on tiptoes for her daughter was a head taller than her. She kissed her mother's cheek, grinning broadly, before pulling away and looking into her warm brown eyes that exactly matched the shade of Dorcas's.

Their eyes were the only thing that matched, for Dorcas had inherited neither her mother's pale skin, nor her chestnut brown, straight hair. She also had a long face, unlike Dorcas's heart shaped one, but despite the dissimilarities, Dorcas felt that she was her mother's daughter. "Her excessive kindness," as her friends put it, was a courtesy of Jenna Meadowes, for she had only one motto in life: Kindness is contagious; pass it on. She had successfully ingrained the motto in her daughter's mind as well.

"How's my little girl?" asked Jenna, ruffling her hair fondly, and she gave a beaming smile in return.

"I'm great!" she answered, and hugged her mother again. A small tap on her shoulder took her attention and she turned to find Silver grinning at her, bouncing on her heels.

"Christmas at my place. You remember that, don't you?"

"Yes yes," she gave a short laugh, "I remember."

The taller girl leapt forward and pulled her into a quick, but tight hug, before pulling away and rushing to her parents, who were standing patiently by the barrier through which they were supposed to disappear. Dorcas smiled slightly and turned to look for Maeve, who she found a few seconds later. After exchanging hugs and goodbyes, they finally returned to their own parents, and Dorcas got into the car which awaited them in the muggle platform.

They reached home about an hour later, and Dorcas smiled as the warmth and light of the fireplace greeted her. She flopped down on the sofa and curled up, allowing the radiance to envelope her in a cocoon of warmth that felt like home. But her comfort didn't last long, for her mother came inside a minute later and ushered her up, telling her to get dressed and ready for dinner.

"Is Dad going to visit, Mum?" asked Dorcas once she was seated at the dining table, her hands laid on the table atop which she rested her chin. A few of her unruly curls fell in front of her eyes, but she didn't move them.

"I don't know, darling, we'll see."

Jenna was a muggle, and Dorcas's father, who was a wizard, had left his wife and eight year old daughter to marry another woman who was a witch. Despite being young during that time, and despite going through the trauma of watching her mother crying over a letter and knowing that her father would not return home anymore, Dorcas still remembered bits of pieces of the days in which Jenna attempted to recover, usually forgetting about little Dorcas who would attempt to cook breakfast on her own to cheer up her mother. She wasn't aware of why her father had left, only realising years later the exact reason when she began to understand and process her surroundings.

Jenna was highly skeptical about her husband's magical abilities, always feeling paranoid about something going wrong, as though he would leap up at her anytime and put some spell on her that would put her to eternal sleep. Though she had never stated it explicitly, Dorcas could guess that that was the reason her father had grown tired of her and allowed his heart to find someone else.

Of course, Dorcas didn't understand it during that time, but upon gaining maturity, she realised how much afraid Jenna was of her, fearing that she would inherit her father's magic. It was quite ironic, really, for no sooner had she recovered from her husband's departure, did she become absolutely protective over Dorcas, watching her moves and rejoicing at any small signs of magic, and when she started attending Hogwarts, listening about everything that went on in school, about the subjects, about the castle itself. Dorcas could tell that she was still scared of the world that she knew nothing of, of sending her daughter into the unknown where she would not be present to protect her, and yet she always put up that smile and encouraged Dorcas to do and be the best. Dorcas wouldn't say she understood the struggles her mother went through, for she couldn't ever imagine being afraid of magic, but she understood how much Jenna loved her and how much she was ready to sacrifice for her.

"What are you daydreaming about?"

Dorcas jumped upon hearing Jenna's voice and blinked up at her. She smiled and shook her head. "Nothing."

"Really?" her mother answered as she brought a platter of food to the table from the kitchen counter and laid it down. "Then tell me what I just asked you."

Dorcas attempted to conceal the smile that was threatening to spill past her lips. "How was school?" she guessed.

Jenna laughed and ruffled her hair fondly, causing her to let out an annoyed groan, for her curls were already hard to manage without any ruffling itself. "I asked you how's your choir going."

"Nothing new," she answered, piling up her plate with food. She was rather hungry from the train journey.

"Are you going to practise singing?"

"I'm fine with playing the flute, Mum."

Jenna shook her head. "I know, but you have such a wonderful voice. You should try practising some songs."

Dorcas let out a cheerful laugh, the food having elevated her mood considerably. Jenna seemed happy to see her daughter laughing like that, and her brown eyes lit up as she looked at her. "Mum, my voice is nowhere near as good as some of the other singers in the choir."

Her mind immediately went to Juliet, and her sweet melodious voice played in her head. She remembered the choir performance during Halloween and how Juliet had stunned everyone, especially her, by her voice alone. She had also looked extra beautiful that day.

Her thoughts had probably shown on her face, for Jenna asked, "Anyone in particular you're thinking of?"

Colour rose to her cheeks and she hoped fervently that it wouldn't show in the dim lighting of the kitchen, though she knew perfectly well that there was nothing that could skip her mother. Nevertheless, she shook her head.

"Nope. No one I'm thinking of."

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