Futility ||

She sat under a tree near the lake. Aria had always had a fascination for the body of water, even after she had almost drowned in it. Her attention wasn't on the lake, however. Instead, the blonde was looking down at the immobile chocolate frog in her hands, gaze almost stricken.

The package lay discarded on the ground beside her and the chocolate had started to melt, but Aria made no move to eat the candy. It was lunchtime, but she wasn't hungry. In fact, she couldn't recall the last time she'd felt hungry; she'd been eating without appetite for weeks. When the thought of food didn't make her feel nauseous, that is.

Aria had opened the frog, not to eat it, but simply to watch it, holding it captive between her hands until its futile struggling had ceased. It had died; so small, so insignificant. And yet, it had never truly been alive in the first place. Did its death have any meaning, then? With an existence so brief, did it matter that it had ceased to be?

A tear tracked silently down her cheek.

The answer was no. It didn't matter. It had been created for one purpose and that purpose had already been served. Its struggles had no meaning, for its end had always been inevitable.

Casey was wandering around outside when she felt the confusion and sadness of another person coming from behind a tree. She walked towards it and managed to see that the girl was an older Slytherin. She hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. Everybody deserved to have another person there when they were confused, older and Slytherin or not.
Casey walked toward the girl from the side so she'd be seen and not startle her. Casey was surprised to see the girl was crying gently.
"Hi," she said quietly, crouching down. "What's wrong?"

Mismatched eyes moved upward, the tears that filled them only serving to emphasize their contrasting colors. Aria lifted the frog.

"It died," she rasped, throat constricted with grief. The words were exactly the same she had uttered the first time she'd encountered the magical candy, but they lacked the wonder and curiosity of that time. Only anguish colored the words, now.

Casey looked at the slightly melted chocolate frog in her hands. Strange, she had never really thought of it like that before. She'd always just eaten the frogs and never thought once about ending their artificial life. But now that felt wrong. Like murder.
I'm never eating anouther chocolate frog again, she swore to herself, looking at the forlorn, melting lump of chocolate.
"Well all things have an end," she said softly. "Even chocolate frogs. And the best thing to do after an end is to move on, but never forget. Because holding on just makes us wish everything is the way it was, but in doing that we forget to look around and see the beauty in now. We can bury it if you want, instead of eating it," she offered.

Aria stared incredulously at the younger girl.

"So, it's alright, then, is it?" she demanded. She rose to her feet without the aid of her hands, which drew the melted frog protectively close. "Because it was supposed to end, it doesn't matter that it had barely started to live - is that what you're saying?

"IT ISN'T FAIR!" Aria shrieked. "Just because it's small and silly and insignificant doesn't mean it's alright for it to just die! It was real. It was alive. How can you so casually say, 'well, all things have an end'? It might not have mattered to anyone, but it was alive; even if it was just for a moment, it was alive." The blonde bowed her head, holding the inanimate chocolate close, and began sobbing in earnest.

Casey stayed calmly on the ground as the girl lost her temper, then stood up as she began to sob. "No. I am not saying it's alright. And I'm not saying it didn't matter either. I'm saying that it happens, whether we want it to or not and there not a single thing we can do to stop it. So we should remember always that life is precious, but also remember that when it ends, we can't bring it back."

Casey put her hands on her hips and looked at the girl closely. "And I think that's it's really sweet of you to care, because I never thought about it like that before and now I feel terrible about every time I've ever eaten a chocolate frog and I'm never eating another one again. Now, will you let me calm you? Because I can." She held her hand out, hovering about 6 inches from the girl's shoulder.

Aria jerked away from the girl with a snarl.

"I do not need to be calmed!" the blonde snapped. She threw the frog to the ground, hands clenching at her sides. She began to tremble with the emotions coursing through her. "I'm allowed to feel angry and hurt and sad. I don't care who you are or what you can do - you have no right to try to take that from me!"

She stalked around the girl, then broke into a run towards the castle.

Casey looked after the girl. Well! See what trying to be nice got her? She'd do it again though. Even for a Slytherin. She continued her walk, still feeling pretty good because she'd tried and even if she hadn't really helped, it made her feel better than just walking past someone sad and hurt.
Casey did wonder, however, if the girl would be ok. She really hoped so, because it wasn't every day you met a person so compassionate as that girl had been. SCasey shovered her hands in her pockets and continued up towards the castle in the wake of the girl. She wished she'd at least gotten her name...