On A Mission

Ryan didn't talk about Wynter's mother much and whenever Wynter asked about the woman, he quickly shot her down and changed the subject. She was always reminded about the wonderful family she already had and that she didn't need to worry about her mother because she was no longer in her life. But it was so hard to not wonder what she was like. She knew she looked like her but she didn't have a name or anything. All she knew was that she was on the opposite team of her father's quidditch team and that she graduated the same year. She had seen a picture of her before but she was sure the woman looked different now, at least a little bit. And she had only seen one picture and she had only seen it once, so it was hard to recall what she had looked like.

But she found herself looking at old yearbooks anyways. She was desperate to find her mother. But she didn't quite know what to do with the information once she found out. Of course, she would never tell her father. But what was she supposed to do after that? She doubted that the school would know where her mother was, they probably didn't keep tabs on their old students like that. So, she was basically just doing this to put her mind at ease. But she wasn't quite sure what she was looking for. There were plenty of girls with blonde hair and blue eyes in her father's year. She sighed and set down the yearbook. "Do you ever look for something but not know what you're looking for?" she whispered to the person that also occupied the table she was sitting at. It was big enough for the two of them and Wynter's spread of yearbooks and other documents wasn't the in the other student's way.

Ursula was still looking for something that explained her magic being a lot stronger in South America. The most she'd found until now was "There may be a connection between certain places on Earth and the magical abilities of certain people.", which didn't mean anything. She knew that! A lot of people had come by, from the new Quidditch players to some guy in seventh year (he came by multiple times, so Ursula thought his intentions were pretty clear), but she - sometimes politely and sometimes (maybe most of the time) not so politely - told them no to whatever it was they were asking. Well, there were a few people who got a yes, but it was only for highly necessary things. Like, eating. Or Quidditch. Or Transfiguration. Not many others got a yes.

But right now, what she needed was a break. She was halfway through an essay about magic in space, and although she understood most of it, she'd probably have to ask Stephanie to explain again what was written there. Moreso, she did a quick background check on the author and could confirm that he did go to space, but his mission was aborted after two days and he was forced to make a crash landing. Well, at least he did actually go to space, unlike some of the other theories she'd read.

So there she was, looking for maybe a cup of coffee, as dark and bitter as she was feeling right now. Was that first year talking to her? Apparently so. Maybe she should reply. "Yes. Very much so." She looked at the girl for an instant. Blonde. That is never a good sign. Yearbooks? "Isn't it a little early in your life to start being nostalgic about things you didn't participate in just yet?" They looked pretty old. "Listen, maybe I'll help you search in a bit, but right now I really need some coffee. I'll be back in five." 

And she was back! With steaming hot coffee - without milk, because coffee with milk is for the weak - in her mug, she returned to the girl. "So, if anything, you look like you do know what you're looking for. Ugh, how old are these? There's dust between pages."