 Phone post Sorry for typos! Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll
Gaston was exhausted by the time he reached the Gryffindor table. Maybe it was the physical exertion of limping back and forth between the house tables taking its toll on him, or maybe his sadness finally overwhelmed him. Either way, he all but collapsed into the first empty space he saw on the bench, his cane falling to the floor beside him with a dull CLUNK. He sent a quick apologetic look to the students sitting around him. Sorry, kids! He'd be out of the way in a minute… just as soon as his heart stopped racing.
He sat slumped with his head down, blinking against the tears that threatened to blind him even more than his injuries already had. He caught the tail end of Sir Nicholas’s words, but he didn't say anything to the ghost yet. He didn't feel very heroic. How could he when so many students were injured, both physically and emotionally, on his watch? It was only when he heard Celestia speak that his head jerked up. He gave her a sad sympathetic look in reply, though he knew the question was meant for the students instead of him.
His eyes wandered down the table to the students… Abra, Stasya, Anna, Ronan, Rylee, Quinn, and all the others. Each one got a look or a nod in acknowledgement, as he was too emotionally drained to offer a proper greeting. He didn't know what was worse, seeing his Lions so subdued or knowing there was absolutely nothing he could do to make them feel better. Some head of house you are! He inwardly berated himself, and his feelings of guilt redoubled as his thoughts went to his uncertain future. What would become of his Lions if he left Hogwarts? Would they think he abandoned them? That he stopped caring about them? He couldn't have that!
Realizing he could no longer keep silent, Gaston picked up his fallen cane and struggled back to his feet. He slowly made his way down the table to seek out the graduates (one of whom he had exciting news for). He managed a small sad smile as he came to Ronan. “Congratulations, Ronan,” he said, pulling a long box that contained a quill pen out of his jacket pocket and setting it on the table in front of him. “And thank you for everything… for being a great student and Head Boy, for your courage in fighting the Inferi… and don't think I've forgotten about your help at the Dufftown field trip.” He would always be grateful for that!
He glanced around the table sadly as his mind searched for the right words to say to his Lions. “Sir Nicholas is right,” he began, though he could already feel his throat tightening. “We've been through a lot this term. I-” Merlin, was it too much to ask that his voice not break just yet?! He had to swallow hard before he could go on, “I don't know how long it'll take for us to feel right again....I don't know what next term might have in store or even how many of us will be back to face it… but whatever the future holds, I'll always be there for you, one way or another.”
__________________ Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led
If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true... |