Empty Gold • d.meadowes

-29-

"You are moving to Greece." she said in a whisper. It didn't sound like a question, it was a statement. Dorcas didn't know what to think of it. They had always talked about how Silver would be migrating from one country to another, but now that she actually had the opportunity to do so, Dorcas didn't know what to say.

"Well, I'm moving to Dublin," said Silver with a small smile. "Greece is my first trip for the job. We'll be staying there for around a month or two, as far as I know."

Dorcas returned the letter to her and remained silent, staring at her hands.

"Dorcas?" Silver placed a hand on her shoulder. "Aren't you happy for me?"

"I am," she said, smiling. "Of course I am. I'm so proud of you, Silver. It's just, it's so sudden. You are moving away this summer? We probably won't even get a week after graduation with you. It's a lot to process. But I am happy for you, Silver." She leaned over and hugged her, holding on a bit longer than usual. "You are following your dreams; I know you will make all of us proud."

"I'll tell Maeve tonight," she said as they pulled away from the hug. Silver put the envelop back in her pocket and closed her book. "And you'll be there in case she starts yelling at me."

"She won't," Dorcas said with a laugh.

At the library, Juliet was waiting for her, it seemed, quite impatiently, for she kept drumming her fingers on the tabletop. Her books lay closed on the side, untouched and abandoned. Dorcas suppressed a smile as she joined her.

"Hi," she said quietly, opening her books. "How confident are you for the NEWTs?"

The blonde shrugged nonchalantly, as though she cared nothing of her grades. "Moderately confident. I'd be surprised if I manage to get some E's though." Before Dorcas could say anything, Juliet had pulled her books closer to her and shut them. Then she began to pack her own books into her bag. "You know what, let's take a break today. We've been working too hard these past couple of days –"

"Have we?"

"– and we deserve some free time. Let's go take a walk."

Dorcas wanted to stop her – she really needed to catch up on her revision. But how could she say no when Juliet herself was asking her to hang out? Wasn't this what she had sought for such a long time?

And thus she obeyed, leaving her books with the librarian to be picked up later as she had not brought her bag.

"What do you plan to do after leaving Hogwarts?" asked Dorcas.

They were walking slowly, close to the walls of the corridor. Large tapestries hung at regular intervals, and a suit of armour stood at the other end. People walked quietly around them. With a jolt, she realised how much Hogwarts has changed. How lively and noisy it used to be – now it seemed to be just a shell, housing miserable souls trying to ignore the inevitability of the war.

"To be honest, I haven't really planned anything," answered Juliet, surprising her. "I don't really like planning my life. I just follow whatever road I am on, and see where it takes me."

"I imagine your family isn't really fond of that strategy?" Dorcas teased, shoving her lightly with her elbow.

"Oh, Caradoc sent me a letter the other day," she said like she has suddenly remembered it. "He asked me to apply for a job at the Ministry. Right now! he said." She was laughing now, and Dorcas stared at her, mesmerised. "But I don't want a job at the Ministry. Ministry folks are boring …"

She trailed off and looked cautiously at Dorcas, who understood. "Don't worry. I don't plan on working at the Ministry."

"Oh, thank Merlin," she sighed and continued. "Ministry work is boring. Not always, of course. I mean, Caradoc is an Auror and his job is full of excitement. But the stability of a career in the Ministry, the certainty – it's too monotonous for me. Besides, the Ministry is corrupt. I prefer doing things my own way. And at the Ministry, I won't be able to do that."

"It's nice to be so confident in yourself," said Dorcas. She found herself admiring the girl more and more. "I'd never have the guts to leave things to chance."

"Well, it's scary of course. I might just end up face down in a ditch, starving and thirsty. But I want to see the fun in life, I want to take chances and risks, I want to meet new people, learn new things. I've learned a lot of things at Hogwarts, but it's not enough. I want to go out there and learn what life has in store for me."

Dorcas wished they were sitting down, preferably face to face, so that she would be able to look at Juliet as she spoke. But this wasn't all that bad – walking side by side, hands almost touching. It was a lovely feeling, listening to her talk about her life, her ambitions. She decided to remain quiet most of the time so that Juliet would do the talking. She could listen to her voice all day.

When Juliet asked her what she planned to do with her future, Dorcas almost told her about the job offer she had got. But she held herself back at the last moment. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't want to tell her about it. Perhaps it was because Juliet deserved the job more than she did. Although she knew she would never be jealous of her for the job, it just didn't feel right to her.

"Oh, look there's Cillian," said Juliet suddenly, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Let's go say hi to him."

But Dorcas abruptly grabbed her hands, holding her back. Juliet frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Let's get back."

"Don't you want to say hi to him?" she asked suggestively. "Come on, no need to be shy, I've seen how close you two are."

Dorcas felt her mood drop suddenly. She couldn't talk to the two of them together, not when she knew what Cillian possibly felt for her. She couldn't take it.

"Please, Juliet," she pleaded. "I don't feel so good. Can we go back to the library? I need some quiet."

Juliet pursed her lips, but nodded and followed her as she made her way to the library. They didn't talk for a long time, but Juliet didn't seem like she was about to let the matter go. "Did you two have a fight?"

"No, Juliet," she said stiffly. "It's not what you think. There's nothing going on between us."

"Oh, come on. You don't have to keep it from me. You are –"

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" Dorcas snapped finally, startling her. "Just stop. Cillian is my friend, that's all. There's nothing between us, and there never will be."

Ignoring the bewildered look on Juliet's face, she stalked past her and into the library, where she collected her books from the librarian and without thanking her, left the library and trudged across the hallway, shoving Juliet in passing.