She stood at the 2nd window on the fourth floor of number 12 Grimmauld Place, London. It had been 16 days, 13 hours, 22 minutes and 18, 19, 20 seconds since she had heard the news that would change her life forever. As she looked out, the people around her seemed happy, normal. But nothing about this situation was normal. On the other side of the road was a park with an iron fence all around it. It must be hot outside, she thought. People were looking red, flustered and lots of ice-creams were being eaten. This girl didn’t feel like eating any of those ice-creams she was still in shock. In pain. She had lost her best friend, her boyfriend.

There was a tap on the door behind her. “I told you Padfoot I’m not taking you to the park.” She said.
A familiar, yet cold voice replied “Sincere as the gesture is, I am no dog.” She turned to see her uncle Professor Severus Snape at the door.

“Sorry uncle” she turned back to the window and he came to join her. His concern evident in his manner.

“Sirius sent me an owl.” He said watching.

“He shouldn’t have bothered you.” Her stare was fixed. She wasn’t really watching what was going on. It was just something to concentrate on.

“I see” his concern was deepening. She had been through a lot in the last few weeks. The days, the hours the minutes, the seconds. He had seen it before and he needed her to be alright now. But she wasn’t he could see it in her face. This is why Sirius had contacted him. Why even he was concerned. He had heard from them all. Moody, Tonks & Dumbledore. Today’s letter was a surprise. He hadn’t expected it. Sirius Black? contacting him?
“It’s lunchtime. I believe Tonks is coming.” He said in an effort to stir some enthusiasm from her.
“I’m not hungry, I had a large breakfast.” She replied only half-heartedly.

There were few things his niece could do to annoy him and in her current state she was fragile. “You should know better than to lie to me Louisa” he replied “I spoke to Sirius and he said you’ve not eaten the whole time you’ve been here”. There was really nothing that she could say. It didn’t matter anyway. So, she resolved to follow him down four flights of stairs to the ground floor. Where there was a long table and some food laid out on it. Tonks was sat opposite the stairs.

“Hi!” She gave the greatest hugs. All Louisa could think was “Hufflepuff just like Cedric”. It seemed that everything was making her think of him. They should have been spending the summer together but they weren’t she was alone. She hated seeing people from Hufflepuff because he was from Hufflepuff. When she got news, she wanted to tell him, send him an owl, but he wasn’t there. She had her exam results, Os and Es. How could she tell him? He wasn’t here to tell. When she looked out at the families, she saw everything that she wanted to be. Everything that they should have been this summer. They should be those people eating ice-creams. Instead she sat in the ground floor of a dimly lit room, looking at a ham and cheese sandwich. The tension could be cut with a knife. Instead she just stared at the sandwich. Wishing it could bring back Cedric.

Her throat was tight. “What if I transfigure it to something I can drink?” she asked Tonks, who looked a little pale and shook her head. It was almost as if this question had already been discussed between them.

“Just eat it” said Snape.

She did. To everyone else it was a matter of eating a sandwich to her it was very different. To her it was a strain on a pain that she was already feeling. 16 days ago, her life had been so immeasurably different.