It Looks Like This (open)

[skyeisthelimit]

Alex could always tell when something was wrong in the house, and today was no exception. It always got really quiet when her parents were upset about something. This was not what the nine year-old wanted to think about, though. Because she knew why they were upset. Both of them were still horrified that Alex's father had kicked their eldest, Angel, out of the house.

Truthfully, Alex could say that she was upset too. She hadn't spoken to her father in days, though he had tried, unsuccessfully, to engage her in conversation quite a few times. Ginny was a bit different though. She refused to bring up the topic of Angel, obviously, but she hadn't actually kicked her out, so Alex talked to her, occasionally. It just didn't seem fair. Though she was nine and supposed to go along with what her parents said, Alex knew that Angel being gone wasn't right. Their family seemed split into pieces impossible to pick up.

Her cereal crunched as she slowly ate it, looking around the room. A sad house, she thought. A sad house looks like this. And it did. The walls looked like they had faded and lights didn't seem quite so bright. Ginny was eating too, but silently. She was pretending to read the paper, but Alex could tell she really wasn't. Her eyes hadn't left the same spot on the page for the last five minutes. "Why don't we just let her come home?" Alex asked suddenly and Ginny jumped, looking up at her.

"What?" she asked, confused at first. Or, at least pretending to be. Then realization hit Ginny's face. "You know we can't. She did something wrong and she has to be punished. What's done is done; we're not taking it back now." With that, Ginny folded up the newspaper and put her dish in the sink. "You're turn to clean up," she added before leaving the room. And that was that. Alex scrunched up her face in anger. Poor, poor Angie. Living all by herself, dropping out of school. Alex wanted to visit her, but she wasn't even allowed out of the house by herself, let alone going to Angel's place. Nope.

She finished off the cereal and then stood. Alex put her plate in the sink and grabbed the sponge. She resolved not to speak to her mother now either. Why can't she just clean it with magic? Alex thought huffily. She lightly scrubbed the dishes and dried them off before sitting them back in the cabinet. It served her parents right if they were still dirty. Just then the doorbell rang. That was odd, it was the middle of February. What could anyone want? "I got it," Alex mumbled to herself, then ran for the front door. It swung open to reveal...

[calcetines]

Angel, fairly nervous, wearing an emerald green cloak fastened shut over a growing stomach. She was not planning on staying long, just long enough to get her things into her enchanted coin purse and get out. "Hi Alex," Angel said quietly. "Dad isn't home, is he?" He was the last person that she wanted to see when she collected her belongings. She was, however, glad to see that it was Alex who had answered the door.

[skyeisthelimit]

Alex's face lit up at the sight of he oldest sister, back at home. "Nope, he's working late," she replied, staying calm for a second. "But Mom is." Then Alex couldn't control herself anymore; she wrapped her arms around Angel in a big hug. "Angie, I miss you!" she said.

[calcetines]

Angel was a bit surprised by the hug, she had not been expecting much. She hugged Alex back, it really had not been that long since Harry threw her out. "I miss you too," said Angel quietly, then let go. "I'm going to get my things and head out, I don't want any conflict with mum or dad." She assumed that Alex was going to follow her upstairs as she packed away her things in the enchanted coin purse, if Angel remembered correctly, her younger sister loved magic.

[skyeisthelimit]

"Sure, I'll come with you," Alex replied, following Angel up the stairs. Luckily enough, Ginny had gone down to the basement to get something, so for the moment Angel wouldn't have to face her. "You know, Mum and Dad hardly talk anymore," Alex said with a frown. "This place is so quiet."

[calcetines]

Angel nodded as she opened her bedroom door, only to find that nothing had been moved since she was last there in January. "Things always get quiet when Mum and Dad don't agree on something," said Angel, reaching into her cloack pocket and pulling out her enchanted coin purse. Her Aunt Hermione had given it to her as a gift, she had enchanted herself to hold almost anything. She gently began pulling books off of her shelf and putting them inside the tiny bag, which didn't even look large enough to hold a galleon. It was designed for muggle coins.

[skyeisthelimit]

"Then things must be really bad, because they both forgot all about Valentine's Day," Alex replied with a frown. She hated that her parents weren't agreeing, but she hated more that Angel was kicked out. Still, Alex couldn't help watching in wonder as Angel stuffed huge books into the tiniest purse. Alex loved magic.

[calcetines]

Angel frowned a bit, but quickly turned it into a forced smile. "Don't worry too much about it, Al," said Angel, blowing dust off the cover of a book and then putting it into her purse alongside the others. She finished clearing her bookshelf and then turned back to her younger sister. "They'll patch things up after a little while." Angel added. She placed her laptop into the bag, and then her WWN radio. Her room looked nearly bare now, the bookcase empty, her desk completely cleared of supplies...

[skyeisthelimit]

Alex looked around at the room and couldn't help but feeling sad all over again. It seemed very empty without all of Angel's things filling it up. There were only a few things left; a desk, a bookshelf, and Angel's bed. "Yeah, I suppose so," Alex replied gloomily. "So you're leaving now?" she asked after a moment.

[calcetines]

"Not-" Angel began, reaching into the purse and rummaging in its depths. Where had she put it? After a moment, her hand closed around the handle of an old mirror. She pulled it out. "Without giving you this." Angel finished, holding out the mirror to her sister. She closed her coin purse and slid it into her pocket, she didn't feel the weight of the added objects, magic could be so useful. "It's enchanted," Angel explained. "Whenever you need to talk to me, just say "show me Angel Potter," I should answer most of the time."

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Alex grinned; she loved enchanted things, and this was a great way to talk to Angel more without her parents knowing about it. Plus they could hardly take away a mirror, could they? Alex hugged her sister again. "Thanks, Angie," she said as she released her. "It's perfect."

[calcetines]

"I figured you'd like it," Angel said with a small smile. She missed the days when she was Alex's age, not a worry in the world, running around with Gabriella and climbing trees... She now carried the burdens of a much older woman, the very things growing inside of her. Although they were causing tremendous problems in her life, Angel would not trade them for anything in the world. "Just make sure that Mum and Dad don't find out," Angel added. She left her room and started heading down the hall. She turned back after a few steps. "Good bye, Alex," she said, wishing that she could add something to relieve her of the emotional burden. Nothing came to mind, so Angel waved, then pulled a small stone out of her pocket. A Portkey. She tapped it, and was gone.