Empty Gold • d.meadowes

-20-

The crisp April sun shone down on Dorcas as she walked across the paved street lined with trees on both sides, her hands shoved deep into her pockets. The weather was comfortable and soothing, and soon she began to skip slightly, humming a tune softly to herself. Her voluminous hair fluttered in the breeze.

She was returning from her father's house, where she had visited to meet Lucas, her stepbrother. He had an impressive interest in Herbology, for which she had gifted him a Herbology book that wasn't required for the school syllabus, but which she believed would help quench his thirst for knowledge. Dorcas has discovered that if the prefix text was omitted from book, she found more joy in reading it, even if it had nearly the similar content as an usual textbook.

Lucas would be starting his Hogwarts coming September, and he was undeniably ecstatic about it. He had asked her all sorts of questions about the school, about the subjects, he had asked whether he would need his knowledge in maths and basic science for Hogwarts, and was delighted when she had answered no. His joyous mood had crossed over to Dorcas, and she had a permanent smile plastered over her face as she made her way home.

She came across a shop soon, and stopped before it. Without anything in mind, she stepped in.

The place was a collection of several smaller shops. She walked around and observed what they had to offer. The shop immediately next to the entrance sold glassware. Plates, glasses, showpieces. A few elegant dinner sets. Two large mirrors hanging on the wall. There was a child attempting to sneak behind her mother to touch a set of ashtrays, blatantly defying the sign that said in large block letters: FRAGILE, DO NOT TOUCH. Dorcas smiled and left.

Next she came upon a shop that sold girl products. Several hairbands and hairclips were hung right at the front of the shop. On one side were makeup boxes and on the other were lipsticks and nail varnish. She bought a crimson nail varnish for herself before proceeding to the next shop.

This one had mainly stationery. There were pens, pencils, notebooks and other school stuff. Rolls of coloured paper were kept in long containers. Stickers, cardboard boxes filled with books. On one corner, there were pens stacked to form a pyramid. Dorcas stopped and thought, trying to remember whether she needed anything for school. In the end, she bought three pens of three different colours for Silver and Maeve each, and a journal for Leigh.

Into the next shop and she found herself surrounded by a wild assortment of wool and spools of strings. This time she didn't need to think, and the first thing she did was walk up to the shopkeeper and ask him to give her five balls of wool and a pair of knitting needles. She paid for it and left the place, a wide smile on her mouth.

Dorcas knew how hard her mother worked to keep their family going. She had to juggle several jobs together, one of which included selling homemade knitted socks and mittens. Her profits usually soared during winter, but as the snow melted away, she could only sell socks, which remained in high demand throughout the year. Dorcas wished she could help her more, but she had no choice as she had to stay at Hogwarts for majority of the year.

Her arms packed with paper bags, Dorcas walked home happily. When she reached the front door, she arranged the bags in her hands to make sure her mother wouldn't notice the knitting materials she had bought. Kicking off her shoes, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Jenna walked out of the living room and stood silently by the door, watching her with a slightly nervous look on her face. Frowning, Dorcas dropped her bags and took a few steps forward. "Mum? Everything okay?"

Jenna pursed her lips and she noticed how she was twisting her fingers together. Dorcas walked over and held her by the shoulders. "Mum, you're scaring me. Is something wrong?"

She shook her head, but the odd look in her eyes remained.

"Then why are you acting so strangely?"

"I want you to meet someone," she uttered finally, speaking so softly that Dorcas had to crane her neck to hear her. Her heart began to thud inside her chest, and her mind conjured up all sorts of scary possibilities that she never could have imagined some other time.

"Well, who?" she asked impatiently. She wasn't liking the suspense at all.

Jenna visibly swallowed. "Come." She held her daughter's hand and led her into the living room.

Dorcas's heart skipped a beat as she saw a man in the room, who was initially sitting on the sofa, but stood up upon seeing them. As long as she could remember, it had only been her and her Mum in the entire house, with occasional visits from her father. Thus, it took her a few minutes to regain her composure.

"This is Noel Murphy," Jenna introduced, looking extremely nervous. She continued to fidget with her fingers. "Noel, this is Dorcas. My daughter."

"Hello," Noel greeted her, offering her a pleasant smile. He had a soft accent. He stepped forward and held out a hand to shake. "Jenna's told a lot about you."

Dorcas felt dazed. She could guess who this man was and why he was here, but it surprised her nonetheless.

"Dorcas?" Her mother placed a hand over her shoulder.

She blinked a few times to recover from her dazed state. Smiled. Took his hand and shook. "Hello."

Jenna seemed incredibly relieved to see her reaction. She smiled too, but not before letting out a small breath. "We've been seeing each other for about two months," she explained, speaking slowly. "This is why I actually asked you to come home."

"Oh." Dorcas realised finally, and all the fears and worries she had gone through over her letter broke down. She felt immensely happy all of a sudden.

"I was afraid you wouldn't – well – like it," Jenna began twisting her fingers again.

"Why wouldn't I like it, Mum?" Dorcas laughed shortly, going over to her mother and giving her a brief hug. "I'm happy for you."

She exhaled, smiling. "Well, why don't you two talk? I'll go and prepare lunch."

She turned to leave, but stopped at the doorway. "Dorcas, could you come here for a minute and help me with the groceries?"

"Sure."

She stood and followed her mother into the kitchen. Once they were inside, Jenna came and stood close to her and spoke in a whisper. "Just to keep you notified. He's a muggle, and I haven't told him about magic. I've only said that you go to a boarding school, a little far from here, though I haven't told him where. Just be vague about it, okay? He's not very curious, so you should be safe."

"Got it, Mum," she laughed. "Now where are the groceries?"

Her mother sent her a look. "I only said that to bring you here, genius. Now go be friends with him."

Dorcas laughed abashedly, ran over to her mother and embraced her in a tight hug.

"I love you, Mum," she whispered, burying her face on her shoulder. "I'm so happy for you."

Jenna ruffled her hair fondly in response.

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i missed writing this book so much, you have no idea