{Too} Many (Questions)

[dobby888]

Leah stumbled through the halls of Hogwarts, tears flowing unevenly down her face.  She was long past trying to stop them, and as a consequence, there was a small trail of tears leading from the Gryffindor Common room all the way to where she was now.  She was following the familiar stairs and hallways that could only lead to one place. 

She clung to the walls, still stumbling forward.  If she didn't keep moving, she would collapse onto the floor.  She turned one last corner, seeing just what she was looking forward.  She ran forward, tripping and falling into the heavy wooden door.  She pounded on it with her fist and then crumpled against the far wall.

Leah hadn't felt emotion like this in a very long time.  It was nearly uncontrollable.  She only knew of one place to go when something like this happened. 

Ginny Weasley's office.

[Ginny Weasly]

Ginny usually wasn't at the school these days. Between taking care of her children and dealing with the Ministry as well as her husband's family, she had no time to come back to work. But for some reason she had decided to go to Hogwarts on this day and pack up some of the things in her office.

No one but her mother, who was watching her children, knew she was at the school today. So she jumped about ten feet in the air when she heard a knock on the door. Startled, she dropped a book she'd been holding, missing her own sneakered foot by inches.

Swearing under he breath, and hoping it wasn't the headmaster, Ginny walked across the room and opened the door. She saw Leah instantly, was hit by the girl's extreme emotional state just as quickly.
"All right with you. Come on in then. Mind the mess and sit down. I'll get a handkerchief for you."

Gruff in her manner at times, Ginny knew it was the best way to deal with such things. Coddling people in such a state only raised their frenzy, only upsetting them more.

[dobby888]

Leah looked up when she heard the door open.  She hiccuped and said through her tears, "Ginny! You're hiccup here!"

She stood up and followed Ginny's instructions.  She found a seat that wasn't covered with papers and boxes and sat down.  She took several deep breaths, knowing that she would have to start talking at some point.  Leah was already comforted just by the fact that Ginny was here.  She knew everything would be okay.

Tears continued to run down her face, as they had for a long time.  She wasn't quite to the point of stopping them.  Not yet.

[Ginny Weasly]

"Here." Ginny closed the door and pulled a linen handkerchief from her pocket, handing it to Leah. She pushed some papers off her desk, picking herself up and sitting on the surface, swinging her feet as she looked at Leah. The girl looked so depressed and upset. But Ginny didn't ask why.

She knew the girl would tell her her when she was able to. In the meantime, Ginny looked around her disheveled and torn apart office. So much of it was simply old paperwork that she had never thrown away, some of it was just the general cluster that came with being a teacher.
A few papers were drawn on with brightly colored crayons, courtesy of Cody.

[dobby888]

Leah mumbled something along the lines of a thank you and began to wipe at her tears.  She sniffled and hiccuped the whole time, but after a minute or so, she was ready to talk. 

She began to carefully fold the handkerchief of the desk.  She could talk, but she wasn't quite ready to meet Ginny's gaze.  Not yet.

"So, I don't know if you've heard.  I mean, I don't know if teachers catch wind of this sort of thing, but I used to..." Leah trailed off, tears already coming back into her eyes.

[Ginny Weasly]

"Used to...?" Ginny let the girl's own words echo back as a question. She raised her eyebrows, leaning back on her desk, propping herself up on her hands. She crossed her legs at the ankles and tilted her head to the side. She was curious.

"Teachers hear everything. The only thing about it is that half the time there is no use for us to do anything about it. How else will you learn to care for yourself if we don't let you deal with your own problems?"
That's what she had been taught. Ginny's pretty face remained impassive as she stared at Leah. She showed no emotion simply so Leah could show hers.

[dobby888]

Leah nodded when Ginny echoed back the question.  It made sense that teachers let them deal with there own problems, but how did they hear about them in the first place?

"Well, see, Pete and I used to... be a thing, I guess you could say." She sniffled and went on.  "One day he was just gone.  No explanation, no goodbye..." 

Leah's tears flowed freely again, having found a new reason to leave.  She wiped at them with the handkerchief trying to compose herself to continue.

[Ginny Weasly]

Ginny wasn't surprised. This sort of thing happened a lot. Not as much as it had when she was a student, however. Then the war had been at full strength, and disappearances meant many things. Going to get stronger, protecting family, to join the other side. Sometimes it meant she would never see the person again.

"And?" Ginny had a feeling that her boyfriends disappearance wasn't just hitting Leah now. Obviously he'd been gone for some time.

[dobby888]

Leah took a deep breath.  She had to finish the story, but if the tears kept interrupting, she would never get through it.

"So, that was hard to get through, but it was a long time ago.  I got over the fact that he left.  I just couldn't get over him! Then Nate came along..." Leah paused, taking a deep breath again.  "We were friends for a while, and then, out of the blue, we were way more than that.  I was loving it.  Nate was beautiful, and so nice! How could any girl not love him?"

She looked down at her hands, getting to the hardest part.  This was more recent, the actual cause of the tears.  Her voice was softer, trembling just slightly.

"This morning, I got a note.  It was from Pete. He said that he wanted to see me and talk things over.  I love Pete! I miss him! But he broke my heart when he left, and Nate fixed it up again! I know I'm going to be forced to choose... but, Ginny, I don't know if I can!"

[Ginny Weasly]

Ginny simply stared at Leah for a moment, his sharp intelligent yes watching the girls face with slight amusement.
"Pete broke your heart? Did he ask you to wait for him? No. He left without a word of good-bye or good luck. Nate helped you. I think it's obvious whom you would be happy with."

She shrugged one shoulder, her pretty hair tumbling over it. "I mean, I know who I'd choose."

[dobby888]

Leah nodded, agreeing with Ginny.  She knew who she would pick, if that had been the only problem.

"And it would be obvious, but then there's Jackie to consider too! She was one of my best friends! And she had been with Nate... that is, before she left. Now she's back and she expects everything to be the same!" Leah said, hoping Ginny would see her dilemma.

[Ginny Weasly]

Ginny looked up at the ceiling, smiling slightly. If only problems could stay like this. The only thing at stake here was people's feelings. Not lives. Ginny wished it was always that easy.

"They can't leave with hardly a good-bye and expect it to stay the same. Let Nate deal with Jackie. If she cares about him at all, she'll understand."
Ginny murmured her words, still looking upwards.

[dobby888]

Leah sighed.  She knew that Ginny was right, and yet, she wished that there was another way to handle this.  Jackie wouldn't understand.  She had already made that much clear.  Every time that Jackie saw Leah and Nate together, she would glare at Leah and then shoot a pained glance at Nate.  No, Jackie wouldn't understand.

"Yeah, you're right.  I guess Jackie's too naive to understand that."  Leah looked down at her hands, tracing the lines with her eyes.

[Ginny Weasly]

"She's young. You all are." Ginny looked away from the ceiling, her eyes settling on Leah's head.

"Do remember, you have much growing to do. Years from now, this problem will seem small and silly." Ginny sighed, shaking her head.
"I speak from experience, Leah."

It wasn't the same situation, exactly. But her friends had all left and returned at different times. She had never known who was next. But then, leaving when she was in school had meant one of two things. A mission to become stronger for the greater good, or to join the dark forces and work for Kiara's father.
She'd been the only one to really stay.

[dobby888]

Leah looked up at Ginny.  She knew she was right.  She was always right.

Leah nodded and said, "Okay.  Thank you Ginny.  I really appreciate it."

What Leah said was true.  If she were in Ginny's shoes, she wouldn't want random students banging on her door in tears all the time.  It would get to be a little bit overkill.