Empty Gold • d.meadowes

-18-

Dorcas didn't realise how much the hushed atmosphere of the Hogwarts Express was putting a pressure on her nerves; not until she had stepped out of the train and drawn in a deep breath of the warm air that circulated around King's Cross Station. With her bag swung clumsily over her shoulder, she passed across the small crowd of parents and reached the pillars under which to stand and wait for her mother. She had left her trunk back at Hogwarts for she needed only a few of her belongings for the short, one week holiday.

It wasn't hard to spot her mother in the crowd, which was very small and dispersed, and as she watched a smile break over Jenna's face, Dorcas half walked, half ran to her. Without giving her the chance to speak, she placed her hands over her shoulders and let the words flow uncontrollably out of her mouth.

"What's going on, Mum? Has anything happened? Why did you ask me to come home? How's Dad? Is everything okay?"

Jenna looked stunned at the wave of questions that were thrown her way, and even after Dorcas had stopped, she stared at her with wide eyes and slightly parted mouth. Dorcas let her hands fall from her shoulders. "Mum?" She waved one hand in front of her face, and used the other to push a few strands of her own hair out of her eyes.

Jenna blinked a few times. "Everything's fine, Dorcas," she mumbled, a confused expression prominent in her face. "Why would you think something was wrong?"

Dumbfounded, she stared at her mother in the equally confused look she had given her. "I – your letter – you weren't very expressive. I thought – that – I don't know – I just got worried."

A look of realisation crossed over her face, followed by apology. "Oh. I didn't realise –" she muttered quietly, "I haven't been myself lately. I'm sorry I made you go through that. I hope it didn't distract you from your school work –"

"I'm fine, Mum," she reassured her mother. "I just got worried, that's all." She paused to smile brightly. "Everything's okay then? Nothing to be scared of?"

Jenna shook her head, and Dorcas finally took the time to look at her, registering in her mind how the strands of chestnut brown hair had paled in some places, and greyed in others. Dark shadows were visible under her eyes, despite the makeup she had put on, and this complemented the exhausted aura that seemed to flood out of her in rivulets.

"No," she answered some time later, "nothing to be scared of." A pause. "At least, I hope so."

"What –" Dorcas was only able to let the single word out before her mother grabbed her arm and began to guide her gently away from the wall and toward the barrier marked Platform 9¾.

"Let's go home," she said cheerfully. "There's so much I want to show you." She smiled in a mysterious way that immediately signified she had a surprise for her daughter. Dorcas grinned in response.

"Really? What do you have?"

"All in good time," she sang playfully, and both disappeared among the crowd of muggles that rushed around busily.

---

Dinner was over, and Dorcas had just finished doing the dishes, when Jenna entered the kitchen with a mysterious smile, hands clasped behind her back. Her hair was knotted above her head, though some strands fell over her forehead and down her cheeks. Stowing her wand away, as she always tried to avoid doing magic in front of her mother, she placed the clean dishes on their respective places and looked at her with an equally wide smile.

"What are you hiding behind your back?" she prodded her shoulder playfully, peeking behind her to take a look. Jenna stepped back.

"Patience. I need you to sit down."

"Is it something bad?" Dorcas asked, she knew, rather foolishly.

"If it was, do you think I'd be grinning like this?"

Dorcas shook her head in mild embarrassment, as her mother pushed her and sat her down at the kitchen table, before taking the seat across from her. The same mysterious smile still etched on her face, she brought a hand out from behind her back and placed an envelope precisely at the middle of the table. Unlike the Hogwarts envelopes, this one was a faded blue, and the address was printed on the back, rather than handwritten. Dorcas eyed it for a moment before leaning forward to take it.

The letter was addressed to her, and the flap was sealed. She frowned and looked up at Jenna, who kept grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "You haven't opened the letter."

"No, it's addressed to you," she answered cheerfully. "Why will I open it?"

"What are you so happy about if you don't know what's in it?"

"Oh, I know what's in it."

Giving her mother a confused look, Dorcas ripped open the envelope, inside which lay a single rectangular card, coloured the same faded blue as its container. She shook it out, and it fell on the table with a soft plink.

In small, elegant letters were written the few words that made Dorcas's eyes widen and mouth part in surprise:

Ms Meadowes,

We are pleased to inform you that your voice has mesmerised us, and that we are proud to welcome you among our humble group. We would be expecting your response soon as we would like to know whether you would start working with us now, or after your graduation.

Best regards,

The RadioRoll team.

When Dorcas looked up at her mother again, Jenna was still grinning. Unable to believe herself, she once again brought her eyes over the card to scan over it, playing the words again and again in her mind, trying to process whether or not it was real.

But she needn't have worried. The smooth feel of the card against her fingertips, the dark blue ink etched onto it and patterned into elegant letters, and the delightful smile on her mother's face were real enough. Her happiness radiated off of her in waves, and Dorcas had no doubt at the moment of the pride that Jenna felt for her.

She didn't need to ask anything. Her mother had some of her songs recorded, and she was sure that she had sent them off to the radio station. Radio Roll. It wasn't a widely popular station – in fact, it was quite new, which was probably the reason they had accepted her without any deeper inquiries. But Dorcas didn't think it mattered. She knew she had to step on numerous stepping stones in order to reach her destination, and she knew this step wasn't the last. More would come her way, and she would use them gladly.

Setting the letter and the envelope aside, she leaned across the table to embrace her mother, whose eyes suddenly looked suspiciously glittery.

"Thank you, Mum," she whispered into her hair, and let out a soft breath as she felt Jenna's hand move comfortingly over her back. Her reply came a minute later.

"Anything for you, baby girl."

---

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