Lollipops ↬ Sirius Black

Lollipops - Chapter 17

Three full days had passed since the party, and the worries of Remus' acknowledgment to Naomi's secret were now the least of her worries. She was no longer fretting over the fact that her secret had been exposed, no, but, now that Christmas Break was officially starting that very day, that was the only thing that kept her mind busy.

Hogwarts was her safe place; Naomi refused to call the place that she resided in out of Hogwarts her home.

Naomi lived in a very small space with her father, and he was as rotten as the gum resting on the bottom of her shoe. There was no way she could look forward to being reunited with him.

"Ready?" Darcy Nallis questioned with a polite smile as she bounced out of the washroom, ready to go. Darcy Nallis was one of Naomi's fellow Ravenclaw roommates. Naomi and Darcy weren't exactly friends, but they were close enough to have a one-on-one conversation without question.

Darcy was slow on getting ready, and she was running late for the train back home, which was why Naomi offered to wait for her.

Darcy was rather pretty looking, too. She had luscious, golden locks for hair and fair, tanned skin. She was about yet the nicest person Naomi had met at Hogwarts.

"You bet," Naomi plastered on a grin once she was knocked out of her solemn thoughts, rising up from her bed and snatching her suitcase. "All set?"

"Yeah," Darcy off-handedly chirped as she carried her heavy luggage. With that, the two sixth years walked out of the empty dorm room and descended into the unusually still Common Room. "Thanks for waiting for me. I wish I could repay you," she gushed.

Naomi meekly shrugged. "You're welcome! Here," she handed Darcy a lollipop, "Relieve your stress." She said in a jokingly mystical tone.

Darcy giggled, and Naomi chuckled as well, and together, the two walked out of the room side-by-side.

To make light conversation, Darcy spoke about how atrocious her older brothers behaved, and how much she dreaded seeing them over the Christmas Break. Even though Naomi had an amused smile plastered on her face throughout the whole story, there was an underlying bitterness resting beneath her expression—didn't Darcy realize how lucky she was? To at least be able to go home and have a family greet her with happiness? To have a family properly care for her?

Naomi had neither of the two stated above, resulting in a bittersweet feeling settling in her chest. The family she had—which consisted of her father only—could never compare to Darcy's. They seemed like such a sweet and caring family. Meanwhile, Naomi did not want to see her father so much that she did not only wait for Darcy to finish getting ready out of her kindness, but because she was hoping to miss the train back.

By the time the two made it to the platform, most of the students were already on the train, and by the time the girls finally made it on, the train had started. Hagrid, who was watching on to make sure that everyone made it safely onto the train, shouted a quick farewell to Naomi, who gladly returned the call. Almost instantly, Darcy sighed in relief.

"We made it," She breathed.

"Yup." There was a pause.

"Well, thank you for the treat," Darcy widely grinned and gestured to the yellow candy in her hand. "You're welcome to come and sit with me and my friends, if you'd like," she kindly offered.

"That's alright." Naomi shook her head politely. Without supplying Darcy with an explanation, she merely nodded, "Well, I better get going. Have a fantastic Christmas!"

"You too, Naomi."

And with that, the two girls parted ways, Darcy reuniting herself with her group of friends, and Naomi reuniting herself with, well, herself.