Love Like You

3. The Misunderstanding

The piece of advice Draco had given me was one to remember, and I sincerely took it to heart.

Hermione was kind enough to lend me a book on psychological well-being, which turned out to be a self-care jackpot. It was jam-packed with information on various topics related to mental health, such as maintaining your sleep schedule, listening to your body, boosting your mood and so on. I started implementing these changes to my daily routine with skepticism, but was surprised to find that I immediately began to feel the difference. Two weeks of experimenting with self-care strategies had passed by in no time at all. Before I knew it, I felt a lot less stressed, much fitter, and overall a whole lot better about myself as a person.

I feel happy. And this might come as a shock to you, but that's not something I can say very often. My life has been rough, and when you've seen as much cruel, sinister things as I have, all the joy just kind of... fades away.

But it isn't what you have, who you are, or what you're doing that makes you happy or unhappy; it's what you think about it. And I think taking care of my mind, my body and my soul more often will pay off in all aspects of my life. Self-care is not always easy. More often than not, taking the time required to take care of myself just leaves me with a feeling of guilt and selfishness. As hard as it is, push away those emotions, clear my head, and proceed. Above all else, my mental health comes first. And if I keep that in mind, I just might be able to enjoy life like I used to, not just today, but for the rest of my life.

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October had everyone in a festive mood. Last year's unfortunate events had been looming over most people like a thundercloud that followed you wherever you went, so in attempt to raise morale, the school staff was throwing a Hallowe'en party in the Great Hall on October 31st. Rather than the annual feast, this year there'd be music, a dance floor, and students were allowed to wear costumes. This certainly cheered everyone up, but no one's euphoria could compete with that of the eight years', who were allowed to drink alcohol at the party given that they were of age. I had never been one to enjoy liquor (it makes my head feel fuzzy), but drunk or not, one thing was for certain. The party was going to be fun.

Though October 31st was still ages away, the Great Hall had been decorated in advance. There were pumpkins everywhere you looked, both regular and ones carved with scary faces. Hundreds of live bats aimlessly fluttered around the Hall in low black clouds, and the air smelled pleasantly like pumpkin pasties.

One morning at breakfast, after having to shoo a bat away from the table (it was trying to steal a grape from a plate of fruit), Ron and I made small talk as we feasted upon our scrambled eggs with bacon.

"So I said, "If you talk to me like that again, we're through!"" Ron told me while digging into a forkful of eggs.

"What'd she say?" I asked eagerly, as I wiped my mouth with a napkin.

"You know my mum," Ron said. "She sent me to my room."

Hermione, who had her nose buried in a large Astronomy book, softly muttered, "Fascinating," to herself before turning the page. Ron gave her a judgmental look.

"It kind of defeats the point of studying together if you do it beforehand," he remarked. I reached for my goblet of pumpkin juice and took a big swig out of it, listening closely as the conversation went on.

"I'm just preparing for our study session in the library this afternoon, and it wouldn't kill you to do the same, Ron," Hermione commented matter-of-factly, her eyes glued to the page of her book. A belated realization caused me to choke on my drink, and after a moment of frantic coughing and gaining some worried looks from Ron and Hermione as well as other Gryffindors at the table, I put my goblet down and said, voice raspy, "Hold on, that's today?"