Elise hugged her knees to her chest, shaking rather violently and staining her robes with her tears. Memories of her mother that Elise thought she'd forgotten resurfaced immediately and brought on a whole new wave of tears and Elise was struggling to break free from their grasp.

Hearing a familiar accented voice, Elise broke out of her reverie and looked up to see a pair of violet eyes staring at her. Kurumummy! But just before Elise could cling to her psuedo-mother, she had moved towards another Gryffindor. Why were all her mothers leaving her now?

Elise put her palms to the floor in a feeble attempt to push herself off it when she heard another voice. Alice. "Ally?" she whispered, reaching for her younger friend. "You don't mind?" she asked, finally mustering enough strength to push herself off and onto her feet although she remained in a crouch for a while before standing.

So gathering her courage and her equipment, she gave Alice a feeble hug before shuffling over to Kurumummy's station. She was not going to cry any more. No. It wasn't important, and Elise should have gotten over it. It happened 5 years ago, and she needed to get a grip on reality.