jupiter blues! ━ cedric diggory

002

ii. QUIDDITCH CURES HEARTACHES

 
 
 
 

"THE ROOT OF SUFFERING IS ATTACHMENT."
 
- Buddha

 

IT WAS SAFE TO SAY that Carmen didn't end up sleeping well. Everytime she tried to go back to sleep, she ended up laying with her eyes closed for what felt like eternity before she finally drifted off, only to wake up an hour later according to the ancient grandfather clock across from her. The only plus Carmen found was the splitting headache was gone after the third time she woke up.

Carmen didn't have the will to go back to sleep when her headache left. Scotland was much colder than what Carmen was used to; with the quilt now wrapped around her shivering figure, she slid off of the insanely soft bed (it had to be charmed, no bed was that comfy!) and looked around the room. Quidditch decor was found on every side of the room, subtly placed on the walls and on the shelf and everywhere in between. Carmen looked down at the quilt wrapped around her and finally noticed the little moving broomsticks sprinkled on the patches sewn together.

She took slow steps from one part of the room to the next, peering at everything as if she were in a museum. There were several books on Quidditch scattered in the shelves and vintage posters with moving photos of different teams decorated the walls. Carmen smiled slightly at a poster of Japan's own team, and she delicately traced the letters with her index finger. In the corner of her eye, there were a few brooms neatly leaning against the wall: a Shooting Star, three Comet Two-Ninetys, and a Cleansweep collected dust. Carmen found herself wanting to take one of brooms and sneak out for a short ride, but she refrained from doing so out of nervousness.

Quidditch gloves lay untouched on the coffee table by the burgundy armchair. Next to it was a helmet, obviously worn with some places of the leather peeling off. Carmen turned around and found a Puddlemere Quidditch jersey hanging neatly folded on the dresser below the window. Curiosity led Carmen to quietly open the drawer, revealing several more jerseys of different colors and teams. Now that she thought of it, the room was actually quite nice with all the worn Quidditch gear giving it a homey sense.

In the reflection of the window, Carmen caught the first of herself since everything went downhill. She ignored her hair that stuck in all directions and her windswept bangs sticking up, freezing in place at the sight of her mother's blood on her cheek. The memory replayed itself against her will, and her lips quivered into a frown. Carmen slipped her wand from out of her pocket and began to search around for some sort of bowl or glass. Sure enough, there was a glass she somehow missed on the coffee table. Carmen kneeled in front of it and pointed her wand at it, then whispered, "Watashiha mizuwo shoukansuru!"

Water from the tip of her wand flowed like a river into the glass, filling it three fourths of the way. Carmen hurriedly dipped her fingers in the water and started to scrub at the blood, using the moonlight to her advantage by angling the glass so she could see her reflection. The blood came off more easily than Carmen expected, and soon enough, it was as if the red on her face was never there. She stared at her reflection for a moment before ridding herself of the now red water and cleaning the glass.

Time passed much more quickly than Carmen thought it would. Morning's glow began to enter, shining its light and revealing the true, saturated colors of the room and its furniture. Everything seemed to become much warmer despite the cold, and Carmen could only think that the furniture was truly fit for a warm, fairytale-esque house. It only made her feel more out of place, especially when the smell of a foreign breakfast wafted through the cracks of the door and to her nose.