Miss Brightside

Chapter 7

   Luckily for Addison, Defense Against the Dark Arts was the last class of the day. The blonde girl had, after leaving Professor Lupin's classroom, immediately retreated to her dorm room. She was exhausted; physically and emotionally. Addi flopped ungracefully into her bed, pulling the curtains shut and falling asleep with the lingering memory of a dying Rose.

~~~

   The next morning, Addi had woken up to the sound of running water. The girl squinted tiredly, pulling the bed curtains open, and silently hissing at the sunlight streaming in through the window.

   'Did I sleep through the night?' Addi thought to herself as she rolled sluggishly out of her bed. Her eyes wandered to Hermione's empty bed and assumed that she was already down in the Great Hall for breakfast like she was most mornings. She knew that it wasn't Hermione in the bathroom because she could hear Lavender singing in the shower, and Parvati was still sleeping in her bed. 

    As quietly as she could, Addison got ready for the school day, pulling on her uniform and brushing through her pin-straight hair. Make-up wasn't a priority today because she didn't feel like it. Grabbing her discarded bag, Addi headed down into the common room, which was practically empty except for the occasional fifth or sixth year student lounging around before classes.

   Surprisingly, Addi made it to the Great Hall without seeing anybody. She figured that it was because the students were still getting back into their routines and whatnot. Waltzing lazily into the hall, Addi spotted her three friends sitting with the twins, Ginny, Dean, Seamus, Neville, and a few more of her friends. Plopping into the seat between Harry and Hermione, Addi started buttering a piece of toast, looking up when nobody said anything. All of them were staring at her in concern.

    "What?" Addi mumbled through a mouthful of toast. 

   "Are you alright? You didn't show up to dinner yesterday, and when I went to up to the dorm you were fast asleep," Hermione babbled from next to her earning a wide-eyed look from Addi, who swallowed her toast slowly. The others had gone back to their own conversations, as her three best friends waited for her answer.

   "I went straight to bed after Defense. I was completely exhausted," Addi told them, grabbing another piece of toast and slathering it with strawberry jam, completely missing the look her friends shared with each other.

    "What did Lupin want anyways?" Ron asked while stuffing a sausage into his mouth, making Hermione and Addi grimace slightly.

    "Just to see if I was alright," Addi answered, chewing her toast slowly on hopes of avoiding any more questions. She wasn't sure she was ready to tell her friends about her sister yet; in her mind, that made it feel real, and she sure as hell didn't want it to be real. 

    "Are you alright?" Harry implored, staring at her deeply. Addi glanced at Hermione and Ron, who were also waiting for her answer. It warmed her heart to know that they care...but, she didn't want them to know how overwhelmed she was inside.

   If there was one thing Addison Tyler was great at, it was hiding behind a smile.

   "Ask again later," was her reply. The trio shared a look, but dropped the subject for the time being. 

~~~

    It had been two weeks since the start of term, and the air was getting colder. There was excited chatter in the clocktower courtyard as multiple students huddled together and waited for McGonagall to finish her speech so they could give Filch their permission slips and run off to Hogsmeade. Addison was among those student, standing between Hermione and Ron as Harry approached McGonagall in hopes of getting his permission slip signed. By the looks of it, Harry wasn't going to be going to Hogsmeade this year.