Goodbye Sky Harbor

A BIG thank you to Holly [aka Fuzzy Elf] without whom I would have no motivation or self-esteem when it comes to fan fiction. It's only due to her relentless nature that I got this chapter out. And my main character also happens to be her namesake ^_^

Chapter Four: Speechless

It snowed heavily through Wednesday night and into the next morning, much to the delight of the students. Due to the upcoming Christmas holiday, the workload was a bit lighter and so that afternoon the common rooms and corridors were mostly empty of students, the majority of the action being outside and concerning large amounts of snowballs. Holly took the time to fall asleep in her empty dorm room with her headphones softly playing the usual Muggle music.

With her music on, she remained in a state halfway between reality and dreaming, the music lacing in and out of foggy images. She saw her house, and her brother (though much, much younger than he was now), she saw dark figures whispering at night, and then she awoke to a pounding headache. These images, of course, were familiar. She saw them often, ancient memories. But never did she find any memories earlier than these, earlier than eleven years ago. She closed her eyes again, ignoring the sharp pain in her temples, and concentrated, trying as she had so many times before to summon any recollection of that past, of her parents. The pain only worsened until she was dizzy and could think of nothing other than the pounding in her head. She felt her nose begin to run and put a hand up to it, only to find her nose bleeding. Stumbling into the bathroom, she grabbed a towel and stared at her image in the mirror. Her reflection showed the fear in her eyes and the crimson stain against her pallid skin.

Holly sat down on the cold marble floor and sighed. She felt weak and her hands shook as she held the towel in place. She knew there was a simple explanation for these occurrences, that should she just leave this memory block alone, the pain would stop. She was actually quite afraid of what she would see.

But Holly was stubborn, too. She knew there had to be a reason for why this would seem so important to her. There were reasons why no one discussed what had become of her parents. The Hocks' never even told the papers, leaving any precise information out of the obituary, and simply telling everyone that they did not want the information released until the children of Aidan and Fey Hocks were of age.

And so the children had been left to their own devices and Holly had always imagined her parents' death as something beautifully tragic. Eamon had been more practical, insisting it must be something absolutely horrid and gruesome for them not to be told. It became a morbid fascination to them, part of the rather vague and mysterious history of Aidan and Fey Hocks, people which both of them barely knew.

But she was now 16, and he was 22. Were they not old enough to know? She often wondered it, and the thought surfaced again. Perhaps this year, this holiday, this time she'd know and she could stop torturing herself over what she didn't know, or perhaps, didn't remember.

Holly threw a glance around her dorm room once again, attempting to locate any other items that she'd want to bring home for the holiday.

"This room looks awfully strange without your mess covering one fifth of it," Cho observed with a laugh as she took a seat on the window ledge.

"I half miss it already," Emma agreed from her spot sprawled on Holly's bed.

"I'd be careful what you say, you'll be singing a different tune in two weeks when me and my mess have returned," Holly laughed.

"Only when I want to borrow your copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray and we find it hidden among the folds of your Quidditch uniform, which was under the dresser instead of in it, next to my copy of last year's History of Magic textbook that you borrowed, brought home on accident, and brought back after summer holiday only to forget to give it back once again; only then, will I regret having said I'd miss the mess," Emma said in an almost lazy manner. Holly cracked a wry grin.

"But that's half the fun of rooming with Holly, it's like Christmas everyday. You get to find things you'd thought you'd lost for good hidden in her mess," Cho laughed.

"Speaking of which," Holly said, picking up a dusty book off of the top shelf of her dresser and tossing it next to Emma, "it's your Potions textbook that I borrowed two months ago," Holly said nonchalantly as she rifled through the papers on her desk.

"So when does the train leave? Tomorrow evening?" Cho asked.

"Mm-hmm," came Holly's muffled response as she tried to pull a stack of books out from under her bed, "though I'm probably the only person boarding it," she sighed.

"Don't tell me you're regretting your decision now. You've got an awful sense of timing, Holly," Emma groaned.

"I know, but it's too late now so I'll just go home. It's probably for the better anyhow," Holly replied, still rummaging under the bed.

"What's brought on this change of heart? I thought you were dying to return home and see Eamon, Terence, and the whole crowd," Cho frowned.

"I was. I mean, I still am, too. I just..." Holly faltered.

"Wanted to go to the Yule Ball with George Weasley?" Emma suggested lazily. Holly started at that, managing to thwack her head on the wooden frame of her bed as she was still searching for clothes under it.

"I'll take that as a yes," Emma laughed.

"I hate you," Holly grimaced as she wriggled out from under the bed and sat up, rubbing the back of her head, "am I that easy to read?"

"Quidditch practice with him on Sunday--" Emma started.

"And Tuesday--" Cho continued.

"And studying with him all Wednesday night." Emma finished.

"I like talking to him," Holly shrugged.

"He's not going to the Yule Ball with anyone at all, you know," Emma said quietly.

"I know," Holly played with the hem of her pyjama shirt.

"You have to say goodbye to him tomorrow. Find him before you leave and whatnot," Cho said thoughtfully.

"I have to, do I? And this is according to which romance novel?" Holly laughed.

"All of them. And I think he'd want to see you off anyway," Cho shrugged. Holly looked thoughtful as the other girls decided to call it a night and climbed into their beds. Pulling herself into her own and closing the curtains, she smiled a bit. It was still as a pleasant a thought as ever to know she'd be home at this time tomorrow.

The following evening, Holly found herself red in the face and breathing heavily as she attempted to drag her ridiculously heavy trunk down one of the corridors.

"Oh curse these rules about no magic in the corridors," she groaned.

"Need some help?" someone behind her asked, obviously choking back laughter. As if she needed to guess who it was.

"Not if you're going to laugh at me," Holly frowned as she turned around to face George.

"I think I can manage that," he smirked as he picked up one end of the trunk, Holly grabbing the other.

"So do you enjoy stalking me in your free time or are you blessed with the ability to always show up at the right time?" she inquired.

"Neither actually, I wanted to say goodbye to you and Katie said you'd just headed down to the Entrance Hall with your trunk."

"Simple enough," Holly shrugged. The two walked mostly in silence down the corridors and it was almost unsettling to Holly. Usually it was a lack of time, not words, that limited their conversations.

Arriving in the Entrance Hall, she and George set down the trunk next to a few others that lined the halls and stood awkwardly. George sighed and sat down on the trunk, Holly following suit.

"I'll write you," George said with a nod before he took another deep breath, "I find it quite bizarre, words are failing me. That never happens," he said with a smirk.

"Perhaps I've stunned you into silence with my charm and beauty," Holly suggested.

"That would be an understatement." Holly looked up only to meet George's gaze. He leaned forward suddenly, pressing his lips gently on hers in a brief kiss. As he pulled away, her eyes fluttered open and she saw him stand up suddenly.

"I'll see you in two weeks," George said quickly and then he was gone, back up the stairs. Holly shook her head and pulled on her jacket, checking quickly that Emma had brought down her cat as promised. Then she headed out into the blistering cold to wait for the carriage that would take her and the few other students to Hogsmeade Station.

Reviews are nice. *grins*