Christmas Break passed by in breezes for Naomi. Although there was much to celebrate over the course of Christmas and New Years Day, Rodrigo Serdeys didn't spare the two celebrations a thought during Christmas Break. He just spent his days snacking on whatever food there was and watching the television.
Although, Naomi no longer had to stress over how much food there was left, or how many times she'd have to clean the house, because today was the day she was going back to Hogwarts.
Truthfully, Naomi didn't quite understand why her father sent her a letter every year to return home for Christmas Break. She'd rather just stay at Hogwarts, her real home. Besides, Rodrigo proved that he didn't spare his daughter a thought, having been neglecting her presence over the break. So, was it to rub it in her face that he didn't care about her? If so, then Rodrigo did a great job, because Naomi felt very lonely and miserable over Christmas Break.
Her and her father couldn't even hold a civil conversation; there was nothing to talk about. And, he wasn't even a wizard, so he found it useless to even try to relate to her.
Sure, at Hogwarts she only had two friends, both of which refused to be seen in public with her, but that was better than spending all of her time around a lousy father.
During Christmas Break, after Naomi went grocery shopping and ran into Sirius, she kept on getting the feeling that she was missing out on something. Should she have said yes when he proposed of her to come over?
Even though two weeks had passed since their encounter, the question kept on lingering around in her head. Naomi was positive that, had she said yes, her Christmas Break would've been brightened by a considerable amount. There were too many complications for her to agree, though.
After having a brief run-through with herself, Naomi finally grabbed her suitcase and carried it downstairs. This was probably the most happy she'd felt throughout the whole of Christmas Break. She was extremely pleased that she was finally able to escape from the glooming presence of her father.
Speaking of the man, he slowly exited the kitchen once hearing Naomi coming down the stairs. A car key jingled in his hand, and his boots and jacket were on. Unlike when she was coming, Naomi's father had the decency to drive her and drop her off at Kings Cross Station this time.
And so, without further ado, Rodrigo swiftly walked out of the house, leaving Naomi to do the same.
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The car ride was filled with an unbearable silence, and words couldn't begin to describe how happy Naomi was when her father pulled up at Kings Cross Station.
"Well, bye." She murmured. She went into the backseat to retrieve her suitcase. However, just as she was about to shut the car door, her father suddenly stopped her from doing so.
"Wait, Naomi!" He shouted. Naomi was rather surprised that her father spoke to her, but was able to conceal it with the distaste that she expressed for him.
"What?" She pressed, pretending she was not concerned for what he had to say.
He paused. Their eyes met, and Naomi looked deeply into them. Their was an unfamiliar emotion behind his identical blue eyes. Rodrigo opened his mouth, but just as he was about to explain himself, a car noisily honked behind them.
Naomi only gave her father one last deep look, before slamming the door shut, not wanting to keep the car behind them waiting. She was a little curious as to what her father had to say to her, but she didn't look back as she entered Kings Cross Station.
The time came when Naomi ran through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, and she was greeted by a familiar feeling—magic!
Children were running around and playing, friends eagerly waved to each other, adults politely greeted one another, parents were giving their children a heartfelt goodbye, and overall, it was everything Naomi wished to see.
At last, Naomi couldn't and didn't have any of that—friends to greet, parents to wave goodbye—and so, with no other option, she boarded the train and found an empty compartment to sit in. Making herself at peace, Naomi grabbed out a book to read. However, not long after she began to read, four rambunctious voices pulled her out of her peace.
The voices were heard from outside of the compartment door, and Naomi quickly picked up on the fact that these were the voices of the Marauders.
She looked up through the compartment door's window. Judging from the density of their voices, the Marauders were coming closer and closer to her compartment. The time came when the boys were passing her compartment. Rather than simply walking by, Sirius bent down and looked into the compartment.
Naomi was rather confused—why would Sirius look into her compartment? However, it made sense to her when he hollered to his friends, "This compartment's full too!"
Obviously, Sirius and his friends were searching for a compartment to sit in.
Naomi's eyes slightly lit up at the sight of him. At first, he didn't do anything in response, and it made Naomi a little worried—was he avoiding her because she declined his friendly request to visit him over Christmas Break? However, Naomi's concern for the matter was diminished when Sirius discreetly waved to her.
She brightly smiled and waved back, and he smiled back at her before giving her an apologetic look and heading off. Once he left, Naomi proceeded to read again, however, she was interrupted once more. This interruption was more shocking than the one the Marauders had created.
Standing outside of Naomi's compartment door was Severus. Before he even entered the compartment door Naomi looked up because she felt his presence.
The appearance of Severus was more shocking than ever because he blatantly refused to be seen in public with her. So, what was he doing outside of her compartment door?
Before she could even wave at him to come in, Severus opened the compartment door on his own, and entered. The moment he did so, he mysteriously switched the door latch so that it was locked and closed the blinds so that nobody could see them.
"Why, hello," Naomi frowned at Severus as he sat down directly across from her without invitation. She sarcastically continued, "And to what do I owe this pleasure?"
She closed her book to direct all of her concentration on Severus. He looked the same as before. His black hair was tremendously greasy, his skin was as pale as death, and his obsidian eyes were just as intimidating.
"Naomi, I need you to tell me," Severus spoke slowly and carefully, and his eyes widened excitedly. He seemed to be bottling in a bucket of eagerness and it strongly concerned Naomi. Especially since he waltzed into her compartment, unannounced. This definitely had to be something of importance. "Back at the Christmas Party that took place just before Christmas Break in the Room of Requirement, you were seen hanging out with a rather curious person."
Was this Severus approaching her because he felt hurt that she was caught hanging out with one of his school bullies, Sirius Black? Naomi began to feel anxious, but she didn't let it show and calmly said, "Go on."
Severus continued at her command. "Well, I'm just curious. At the end of the party, I saw you chatting with Remus Lupin. You two seemed to be having a curiously intimate conversation. So, do you care to explain why you hastily ran out of the party in the midst of your hushed conversation?"
It was then that Naomi realized that this was slightly worse than Severus finding out about her secret friendship with Sirius. No, because, if Severus was given the truth to his questions, then she'd also have to admit to him that she had cancer.
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I feel like you guys are really dull readers. I mean, out of the 200 people that viewed the last chapter, only four commented, and 13 voted. And three of the four comments were only answering my Q&A. Being very blunt, I find that to be pathetic. Feedback is something that I find to be very important, and yet I'm getting none. This is making me really insecure about my writing.
Because of the lack of comments and votes, I'm really wondering if this is a good story. Please tell me: do you like Naomi as a character? Do you believe that Naomi can overpower her cancer? Do you think Rodrigo has the potential to be a good father? Do you think my writing is not detailed? Do you think my writing is too detailed?
Comments regarding both the chapter and my writing skills would be tremendously appreciated. I'm not saying this because I want more comments. I'm saying this because I really want to understand how you see this story. You can even PM me if you want to. All I'm asking for is feedback.
Q: Favourite Disney movie?
A: Beauty and the Beast.
Sincerely,
Manny