Empty Corridor~ 2029

Lara sat curled up on the floor, with her knees drawn to her chest, her form hidden in a corner concealed by shadows. A few weeks ago, she had just begun her first year and Hogwarts, and although her parents always told her that her Hogwarts Era would be one of the happiest of her life, she was miserably depressed. Especially when she happened to glance up at the Head Table, painfully aware of the two empty seats her parents once sat.

A few tears slipped from her icy guard, treckling down her face. She tried to be strong, especially for her siblings, but... she couldn't help it. She felt so alone, and knew it was mainly through her own faults.

Will was searching the halls for a certain half-russian first year girl. One of the aspects that made him look forward to entering Hogwarts was that he would be reunited with Lara Kaminski. In fact, she might have been one of the components that... influenced his decision with the Sorting Hat. Well it was more than that really, he was brave there was no doubt about that, but he was cunning too. Gryffindor and Slytherin it considered. But then at the last second, he thought of Lara and how she'd probably be in Slytherin and how much fun they both could have if they were in the same house. It really wasn't that big of a variable, but it was a variable nonetheless. Slytherin it shouted and his fate was sealed.

Will's apparent childhood crush on her still hadn't gone away, and if anything else, it might have gotten stronger. But more than that, they were friends, best friends even and she was acting very different. Will was very concerned. He understood what she may be feeling with what happened to her parents - Will wouldn't have wish that fate on anyone, especially her. But she was closing herself up from everyone. Even him and though it did hurt him to see her do that, Will was a very persistent guy. He wouldn't stop short of Voldemort coming back in power and making him stop.

Anyway he'd been noticing that she'd been skipping trips to the Great Hall. Blueberry muffin at hand, he was going to go look for her and made sure she at least ate something. People she could avoid if she wanted, avoiding food... well that was just madness in Will's humble opinion.

As luck would have it, when he turned a corner, he saw her walking quickly away. He followed her but he was still far behind, and a bunch of slow moving fifth year Ravenclaw girls had hindered him greatly. When the girls finally broke away, he'd lost her and he was left to guess where'd she gone. Two hallways, a secret passage and a bucket of water later (Peeves was still around and unfortunately Will was an 'Ickle First Year'), Will finally found her in an empty corridor. He probably wouldn't have if he wasn't desperately looking for her, she was well hidden in the shadows. But they'd known each other for long enough that Will could recognize her form even in the dark. Numerous games of hide-and-seek and just good old obsessive devotion can do that to a guy.

"There you are Kaminski," Will exclaimed in their old playful manner, hoping to cheer her up. "I was looking all over the Castle for you." It wasn't an exaggeration, in fact he had to take several breathes in order to speak. "I brought you a muffin." He'd carefully shielded it when Peeves' bucket of water came about, it was perfectly dry, unlike Will's hair and robes. He offered it to her.

Lara flinched in reply as she heard the familiar voice of Will, her friend for as long as she could remember, calling for her and approaching her. The whole point of hiding out here was to avoid Will as much as possible. It was hard for the young girl to explain, but it was hard to be around her old friend. It wasn't anything against the other Slytherin. Far from it actually. In fact, it had become a common trend of Lara's to avoid contact and conversation with anyone.

With deaths of her Mother and Father, along with events in-between and prior to the loss of her Father, she lost much of her trust in other people, even people she'd known since the beginning, and especially herself. Over and over again, she watched as all those she'd loved leave her and her siblings, from both choice and death. Now she feared getting close to someone again, establishing another bound that would only turn and lash upon her once they left or were taken from her, like all the others she had loved so much.

It hurt to be alone, but Lara knew she would just have to learn to deal with it.

Quickly wiping away any evidence of her tears, she turned to Will with a glare. "What, are you stalking me now, Casilllas?"

Curious green eyes scanned his appearance, wondering why he was soaking wet. She almost smiled at the lengths he went to bring her a muffin in one piece, but forced herself to cling to her mask of neutrality. She was doing so well staying aloof and seperated from everyone, so well at staying alone. She couldn't start all over now and force herself into the same cycle of getting close to someone, only to lose them again. She had to learn from her past mistakes.

She hesitated a moment, nearly reaching for the muffin, only to push Will's hand away. "Get away from me..." she uttered in a low tone, avoiding eye contact, biting her lip to keep tears from forming again.

Had her tone been different, Will would have answered her with a slightly cheeky comment on him stalking her, as was their usual banter. But as it was, Will felt as if a sharp needle went through his spine by her greeting. Troubled and unused to this new Lara. Will was struggling to maintain their old relationship.

He assumed though, that she was going to get the muffin regardless. Therefore, as she reached for it, Will's grip on the thing loosen and thus, when Lara pushed his hand away, the muffin flew from his hand to the other end of the corridor.

"Hey!" Will said looking after it. "That was a perfectly good muffin!"

For a second he wondered if he should get it, the five second rule and all that. But he perceived that the muffin could wait and that the need of his friend was greater. It was apparent that she was on the verge of tears.

"Lara?" He asked softly as if testing the waters.

An additional stab of guilt filled Lara as she watched the muffin Will had strived to protect fly towards the other end of the hallway. She hadn't meant to have it go soaring, she just wanted it away from her.

"Please.... just go away..." she begged him softly, as she started to turn and head towards the other direction. She didn't want him to see her cry, and she definately didn't want to have a nice, long chat explaining why she was the way she was now.

"No." Will said more determined then he felt. "I won't go away."

He grabbed her arm fearing that she'll runaway from him again. "I'm worried about you. You're acting..." Will struggled to find a word, "different."

Will frowned and thought it best to elaborate. "I mean, you've been skipping meals and avoiding people."

Will decided to mask his feelings on the matter in the pretenses of a joke. "And you've ignored me since we got here, now I know I can be an arse most of the time but..." Will grinned. "I like to think I'm not that bad."

Lara felt a surge of panic upon feeling Will's grip on her arm. The Purgers had done the same thing on the attack on Viper Manor....

She closed her eyes as images of that day flashed before her mind, like the pictures on the box in her Uncle's living room that he'd watch for hours at a time: Smoke, Flames, Screams, Blood.... "Let go!" she exclaimed in panic as she desperately tried to get away.

"Alot's changed, Fitz..." she uttered softly as she focused on her shoes, not wanting to make eye contact. "I-It's not you, it's me..." she added as an explanation. Overly cliche, but completely true. She wanted to be with Will, really. She missed him... alot.

But she was afraid. She was terrified of losing him too.

Will's grin didn't last very long as he felt Lara recoil from him. He let go of her arm at the shock of Lara's outburst ignorant of the details of that night.

"I... I'm sorry." Will said blinking rapidly, not entirely sure what he was saying sorry for but it seemed necessary.

He made a move, he wanted to put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her but he was afraid of her reaction with the physical contact. He let his arms drop to his sides. "But I don't care about that... I miss you."