ALONE AT LAST (AURORA)

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Everyone was out for the day. Hannah and Neville were tending to the busy holiday hours at the Cauldron downstairs, Henry was Merlin knows where, Philip was with the younger Lestrange, and as for Aurora? Well, Alice could not have cared less if she had gone and ventured into a Horntail's nest or something. Since she and Andromeda's arrival to the Longbottom home, Alice had spent most of her time cooped up in her room being dramatic and miserable, thinking about the fight she had gotten into with James and how he had chosen Aurora over her, and just wallowing in a bunch of negative thoughts. Every now and then she would think of the new friend she had found in Carcer Hagrid and she would spend a while looking back at all of the fun things she had done before the holiday with him such as riding his Abraxans and meeting an actual unicorn. Not to mention she had gone on her first date with him to the Slug Club Party. She was kind of sad that Carcer wasn't here with her, actually. At the moment, Alice felt like he was one of the only real friends she had. She hadn't told him all that was bottled up inside of her because... when she was around Carcer, all of those negative thoughts and feelings disappeared. Alice smiled a lot more around Carcer, and she wished he was around to make her smile now.

Alice was currently rummaging around the kitchen for something to eat. She had avoided most family meals, claiming she wasn't hungry or didn't feel well. She knew that both of her parents knew better than to believe that, especially her father, but neither of them were pushy and just let her act like the dramatic little teenaged girl that she was. Alice was thankful for parents that let their kids do what they wanted instead of trying to get them to do what they wanted them to do. Alice loved her parents but she was still very bitter about their inviting these girls into their home without asking Alice or her brothers. Her brothers didn't seem to mind, though. Especially Philip, who seemed to be hanging around Andromeda quite a lot... almost too much for Alice's liking. When she did happen to venture downstairs to be around the others and she saw Philip with Andromeda, she shot him disgruntled and disapproving looks. It was sickening to her, a Longbottom with a Lestrange. Alice sighed as she set sight upon a jar of dill pickles. This would have to do.

With the jar in hand, Alice went and sat down at the island counter on a stool. She wondered briefly where Aurora could be... if she was out with Philip and her sister or if she was helping her mom around the inn, or if she was even with James. Usually on holiday the Potters were around a lot, but they weren't for some odd reason this year. James hadn't even heard her parents mention Harry and Ginny. She wondered if everything was okay... if James was okay... then she heard footsteps coming down the hallway and she felt her heart beat speed up anxiously. There was only one person that those footsteps could belong to...

@kay

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Day and night Aurora spent more than a couple hours working for the Longbottom family. She pitched in whenever she could, except for today. Mrs. Longbottom asked Aurora to stay in and get some rest. Aurora tried to fight and follow her but she just wouldn’t have it. Aurora ended up locking herself in her new room. She was curled up in bed trying to sleep, but had no luck. Ever since going home, Aurora couldn’t get a single ounce of sleep. She always woke up to herself screaming and kicking. She wasn’t scare of her father. She was scared of the spell he used on her. It was horrible to feel and she never wanted to feel it again. The pain was what would wake her up. Aurora had to sound proof everything. She did so to her new room and had to remember every night to close her bed curtains ensuring her charms to work. It was a difficult time for her but she kept it to herself.

Aurora gave up on her attempt at sleeping. She pushed herself out of bed and dragged herself to the door. Back in school or down in the Leaky Cauldron, Aurora was bright eyed. Her hair was done to perfection and her face covered in makeup. Today she wore a pair of sweat pants, a tank top and she did not look like the bright eyed Lestrange she always seem to be. Her eyes were red with dark circles caused by sleepless nights and constant crying. She thought she could go at it alone and keep to herself, just come out stronger, but some things took more than a few weeks. Her hair was in a mess of curls from the night before which finished off her current look. She knew nobody would be home and therefore there wasn’t a need to pretend. The girl took a few cautious steps before she came into the kitchen. Andy should be somewhere with Phil. The parents were working and well, who knows where the youngest was. As for Alice, Aurora hadn’t seen her at all and at this moment she wasn’t sure if she could.

The brunette went to the cupboards and searched around. She ended up pulling out pieces for a sandwich. Aside from her current look, Aurora was a tad bit skinnier. Most days she hed no appeitite, either from lack of sleep or just forgetting. There wasn’t much to push her to keep herself healthy. She was constantly in a frenzy of worry and trying to work incredibly hard to get everything done, work, school, her skills with a wand. It was a good thing her room was sound proof.

And to be respectful to the Longbottoms, especially Alice, Aurora didn’t mention a thing to James. She avoided all conversations about her holidays and what she was up to. She didn’t owl him and she tried her hardest to avoid him while being at the Cauldron. She knew bringing James around was not the best thing at the moment. She couldn’t bring any more distress compared to what she already brought on. The girl ran a hand through her hair as her eyes trailed around looking for a knife for the spread. Aurora turned around and her eyes landed on Alice. She freezed a bit before realizing her current state a being. She looked down at herself and then over her shoulder. Aurora panicked a bit before she turned straight around and headed down the hall. What was wrong with her, she should have cleaned herself up. Of course people who be around.

@alice

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Alice almost couldn't believe that Aurora was standing in front of her. How had she not seen Alice when she came into the kitchen? Alice just blinked at the girl, really not sure of what to say. Then the more they just stared at one another, Alice could feel something bubbling up inside her... like she was getting angrier and angrier the more she stared at Aurora. Alice felt her cheeks get hot, and they were no doubt probably turning red. Alice had gotten over her anger with her father, but she still was mad that she had to share her home with the likes of her over the holidays. It was one thing to have a Ravenclaw, but a Lestrange? While everyone else seemed to have crossed that bridge long ago, Alice was still on the other side. Deep down, she knew it had to do with Aurora's relationship with James, but there was no way that Alice was going to admit that. Ever.

As Alice stood there, her mouth open slightly as she thought of something to say, Aurora had turned around and headed down the hall. Alice started to see spots, her vision clouding out of anger. The next thing she knew, she was getting up from her seat and she headed out into the hall after Aurora. What exactly did Alice plan on doing? Even she didn't know. She stopped, seeing Aurora at the opposite end of the hall and she didn't seem to have any self control left from stopping herself from saying, "What are you doing?" It was harsh, it was accusatory. It was more mean that Alice needed to be. But she couldn't help it. She hated Aurora for reasons Aurora couldn't be blamed for. And while that made Alice upset with herself, she was still more upset with Aurora.

@kay

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It had been a while since Aurora had actually seen Alice. Most days they were able to avoid each other and stay away from each other. As for today, plot twist.

Aurora was never truly sure about the reason Alice disliked her. She heard rumors that the girl just disliked all Ravenclaws. But then again, Aurora was until now, a Lestrange. There was a lot of history between the two families. But Neville never blamed Aurora for the transgressions of her family, he saw her as another hard working student trying to make a name for herself. Aurora guessed that could have caused some strife. But when James started paying attention to the brunette, she could see Alice going deeper into a pit that now seemed to have Alice hating her completely. Coming in and becoming a family member might have not helped the situation at all. Aurora couldn’t blame her for the way she thought but she wished that Alice was a little open minded or willing to hear her out.

Auora managed to snapped out of her trance and run. She didn’t know what else to do. She wasn’t sure how Alice was going to react to her and quite frankly she wanted to be far away from the blonde. Aurora had manged to get to her door when Alice’s voice reached her. The brunette flinched at the tone and kept her head down. She didn’t dare look up. “I should change.... My appearance is distrustful. I need to change...” Aurora muttered the last part. She felt like she was back in her own home, watching every little detail of herself. She had no confidence and felt the intense need to stay quiet and just let Alice have her way. “Sorry.” She apologized when she turned her door knob and pushed it open. The girl stepped inside and went straight to her closet. Everything in her room was organized and plain. No pictures on the walls, no crazy paint, no extra pillows, no rugs. Just shelves filled with books upon books, a couple open next to her bed or on the desk. The girl began searching through her things. She’ll just quickly changed her attire, apply some makeup and do her hair, then maybe she’d feel a tad bit better. She had no idea Alice had a different meaning to her question.

@alice

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So much for being alone in the house. Alice suddenly could not help but feel an extraordinary amount of anger coursing through her veins. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and furrowed her brow at Aurora, wishing more than anything that she could make someone disappear just by blinking her eyes at them. She was half tempted to try it on Aurora now, but she knew better than that. To be honest, nearly everything about Aurora just made Alice's blood boil. First off, she was a Ravenclaw. That certainly didn't help her cause. The fact that she was a Lestrange made it all even worse. Then, of course... James. Probably the worse crime Aurora could have unknowingly commited was preying on James. Alice was being irrational, but she couldn't help it. Alice could not help but dislike Aurora because, in all truth, she had what Alice wanted and that was that.

Alice had been staring at Aurora, waiting for her to say or do something, when she just turned and ran. In that moment, Alice felt an impulse that caused her to jump up from her seat at the counter and she found herself following Aurora into the hallway. She slowly walked down the hallway until she reached Aurora's room and she hesitated just a brief second before pushing the door open the remainder of the way and saw Aurora rummaging through her closet. She crossed her arms again and watched her. She could not help but glance around the room to see what Aurora had done with it. It was pretty plain, aside from all of the books. No surprise there, as she was a Ravenclaw. Alice looked back at Aurora and finally decided to speak up again. "What are you doing?" She repeated again, more agitated now that she had to repeat herself once again.

@kay