The Lake

She frowned. "Well if you're not breaking the law, then it's certainly something dangerous. The two of those tend to come hand in hand in matters concerning wizarding jurisdiction."

"Ah yes, 'nothing'. That's what I like to hear when discussing matters regarding dangerous and potentially illegal activities." Raegan rolled her eyes, sweeping up her cards in a single, deft motion and shuffling them. "I'm not sure if you noticed but they also gave me this shiny prefect badge last year, if it's not for the concern of the school, I'd rather not have a classmate dying on me whilst I hold some authority."

She huffed. "I'll drop the issue for now but the cards know everything, I'll find out eventually. And when I do, if you think for a second that I'll let you run around doing whatever it is your doing then you're sorely mistaken."

Raegan scowled, watching his retreating figure before making her own way back, muttering under her breath as the cards in her hand felt heavier than ever.

Cora sat at the edge of the lake, hugging her knees and holding a bottle, which seemed to be almost empty. There were dark circles under her eyes as she watched the water, trying not to cry. At least now, she was numbed to a point where the constant worry and panic was gone. Although it made the rest of her body ache, it was a small price to pay for some temporary relief.

Cora looked up, sitting up straighter and looking almost guilty when she saw Bianca. "O-oh, hey, Bianca," she replied awkwardly, hiccuping.

"It m-makes it go away," Cora responded vaguely, looking up at her. "It fixes things for me, Bianca."

Cora stood up, stumbling. "I'm fine," she mumbled. "Please, Bianca- you don't understand-"

Cora's breathing quickened. "It makes the the- the anxiety go away," she answered finally, shaking and trying not to cry. "It's always there... always there... except for times like this..."