When it gets cold and it feels like the end | Lusie & Selene

[Deleted]

May 16th 2026 - Around 3:00 am

The last 24 hours had been a complete blur to her. Things had escalated from making out with her boyfriend in a quiet corridor before going down to dinner, to digging him out of a pile of rocks when the castle collapsed around them. Lusie has escaped it all nearly unharmed. She sported a few scrapes and bruises from the stones, but she was nowhere near as injured as Toby. She had been examined too when she arrived as most students were, but was given a clean bill of health and they told her she was free to go. She didn’t leave though. She stayed. Thankfully, Toby’s parents were healers and they allowed Lusie to stay with him there after seeing how upset she was. She was determined not to leave the hospital without him. She needed to get used to spending time here anyway.

She left his room a little later to get some coffee. The cafe downstairs was busy and Lusie recognized at least half of the people inside, which was incredibly unsettling. It was late, the clock on the wall showed it was in the early hours of the morning. Lusie hopes to never see the hospital so busy and packed like this again. She stepped into line and thought about how nice it would be to have a warm cup of tea in her hands. And that was when she stopped the familiar head of blonde hair. At first she couldn't tell if it was Selene or one of her sisters, but as soon as she saw her face she knew without a doubt it was Selene. They were identical, but Selene had a softer expression, at least Lusie thought she did.

She left her spot in line and went out of the cafe and after the blonde. “Selene?!” she called.

@selene

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Selene had been avoiding her sisters since the break out fight with Luna earlier that evening. She could use logics to reason it all away but she simply couldn't ignore all the hurtful things her sister had said. She'd told her sister that she'd find a different place to stay and figured that she could send an owl to Phoebe if she managed. At first she needed to get her wrist treated, since she'd broken it as she broke her fall when Luna shoved her in anger. It was frustating, but she knew there was nothing to be done. She'd quietly kept her injury to herself and travelled along with the other lesser injuries to St. Mungo's for treatment. She'd told the staff exactly what she thought her ailment was and told them she felt perfectly fine otherwise so they knew she wasn't a priority in terms of injuries.

By now it was nearly 3 am and the amount of healers she'd seen walk by with bags under their eyes and the stress seeping from their posture made her wish she'd been able to at least offer them a cookie or something. Perhaps make them coffee? Regardless she was aware it wasn't an option, so she sat quietly at first. Eventually she got thirsty and told the nurse she was going to get herself a drink at the shop and return after. She'd report back in and if needed would be perfectly fine being pushed back in the line for stepping out for a moment. She'd left and just got herself a coffee to drink, already on the way back when she heard a familiar voice call out her name. She turned around, a small smile on her face as it usually was, although clearly a lot more strained and weary than it usually was. "Hey Lusie." She said to the other girl. "Are you okay? I was just on my way back to the waiting room. I'm still waiting for my turn." She said with a small motion of her hurt wrist. "Probably broken." She said as a way of explanation. "Not exactly top priority right now. They gave me some regular painkillers so it's manageable for now." She said, rambling a little as she looked at her coffee cup. What if Lusie had lost somebody? Would she blame her too, like Luna had? Lusie knew she had visions but Selene had never really flaunted it much. She knew it was far too unpredictable and far too many people were sceptic to begin with. Especially after the fiasco with the train she'd mostly kept it all to herself. It just felt safer that way.

@lusie

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Lusie threw her arms around her friend, careful to avoid the wrist that she had just held up as probably broken. “Hey a broken arm is better than…” she didn’t even need to go on listing everything that it was better then. She didn’t want to put that sort of energy out into the world. She was just glad to see her here and alive and walking around on her own. She was better off than Toby at least. She let the girl go and nodded as she spoke, “I’m fine. I mean, a few bruises and cuts, but besides that I’m alright…” she was incredibly anxious, stressed, and possibly traumatized, but she too was alive and walking around on her own. She nodded when Selene explained that they had given her some good pain killers at least so she wasn’t in a ton of pain while she waited for her turn with the healer.

Lusie supposed she was lucky in that way, even in the wizarding world, royals got priority. She hadn’t even thought of that. And then there was Toby with his mom being a healer, of course he and his sister had jumped the wait too. “Maybe I can help you get seen sooner.” she suggested. She wasn’t sure how much pull she’d have, but at least she’d have some. “What about your sisters, are they all alright too?” she asked. There were more people than she could count that she would want to check in on.

@selene

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Lusie had a way about her that made Selene feel more at ease in seconds. She hugged her friend back easily with her good arm, careful not to put the bad wrist in harms way. As Lusie mentioned a broken arm being better than... well she never finished that sentence, Selene nodded mutely. She was more than aware that it was not the worst by far. "I guess I got lucky." She said in a softspoken voice, not wanting to call too much attention to herself or her friend. On that point she had no idea what it was like for Lusie to be in such a public place considering her heritage. She didn't want to think what newspapers could write based on nothing. She already dreaded the headlines due tomorrow, as the death toll seemed to flicker and change every second. There were many, that much was certain. Guesses were being made, calculations. It was hard to keep track in the chaos. It was a headache in the making. No doubt she'd be haunted by nightmares whenever she finally got to sleep.

Lusie offered help in cutting the cue and Selene smiled slight, with a minor frown on her face. "And give my wrist priority over the care of others? It seems a little unfair of me to do so. It won't kill me and it'll be my turn eventually. Not exactly in a hurry to go anywhere either." She noted, as going home was a dread. She figured it was possibly a good idea to ask Lusie if she could possibly stay at her place over the vacation. She'd likely not be at home too much since she did plan to visit the care home and volunteer there as she did about every summer. It was a good way to spend her time and she knew that the people there actually did look forward to seeing her again. She wrote them regularly and had told them she planned to come during the summer if she could. They'd been quite excited with the idea. Maybe wait a little in asking, as she did want to make sure she wouldn't impose. Lusie wouldn't be too likely to say now as she was a kind person, and Selene felt she had to protect Lusie from herself. Sometimes her friend reminded her of her sister, in that both were far too nice for their own good. Phoebe really should have been a Hufflepuff.

Lusie asked about her sisters and Selene all but cringed. "They're physcially fine. Phoebe was very scared and shaken up and Luna was..." Selene shrugged slightly and bit her lip. "Unpleasant. We had a bit of a big fight and I'm not too sure at what time we're looking to clear up that shithole." She said with a shrug. It was not something she wanted to burden Lusie with too much, but she felt safe to share it with her at least. Lusie was kind enough that she wasn't overly likely to try and pick a fight with Luna. That was about the last thing Selene needed now. Even if Selene was sick and tired of Luna throwing herself pity parties over not liking her abilities when they were just as powerful it didn't mean she hated her sister. She just didn't want to be around her highly toxic atmosphere at this moment. Maybe if Luna ever managed to find a way to put her pride aside and apologise, then she'd reconsider. If it went anything beyond that mostly depended on how long it took her sister to do so.

@lusie

[Deleted]

Selene had a point, since her injury was thankfully pretty mild she didn’t really need to skip the line ahead of others who had it worse. Truth be told, Lusie would have thought the same way if she had been of sound mind when she arrived at the hospital. But she hadn’t been. She had been in tears and her head hurt worse than any headache that she had ever experienced. And Toby’s mother wouldn’t have taken no for an answer anyway.

Selene went on to say that her sisters were physically fine. Lusie nodded. She understood that even anyone who was unharmed or alive would suffer traumatic consequences that would leave lasting marks even if those marks weren’t visible to the human eye. She then explained that she fought with Luna and that she wasn’t sure when they were going to clear it up. “What did you fight about?” Lusie asked. She felt confused as to why they could possibly be fighting on a night like this. Surely this wasn’t the time.

@selene

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Lusie asked what they fought about an an uncharacteristically bitter and resentful smile spread over Selenes features. "She blames me for what happened." Selene explained simply. "Says I should have foreseen it and stopped it." She said, her voice filled with so much anger and resentment that she herself would have been surprised. She calmed herself as much as she was willing to, for sake of her friend. "It's the same every single time something doesn't go right. It doesn't matter if it's big or small, I always should have Seen it and ensured a different outcome. I guess I'm just done with that attitude. I wish I couldn't see the future." She admitted with a careless shrug. "So I'm leaving home for at least the summer. I can't stand being around her right now, obviously. I feel I've endured enough. If not for Phoebe I'd probably sever all bonds with the family today." She said, feeling that bitterness. Yet with how Luna was, she couldn't bear the idea of Phoebe being left alone to endure her other sister's unjust criticism and demeaning behaviour. She'd last a summer and after that school would begin. She'd figure the rest of it out then, not wanting to consider it now. Especially not with all the secrets that Luna had been keeping. Selene just felt extremely isolated in the moment and she felt oddly satisfied about her anger and bitterness. With a little practise, she'd come to wear it well.

@lusie