Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby (Open)

by **Charlotte Smith** Thu Feb 23, 2012 6:34 am

Charlotte was very rarely angry or upset and she didn't really know how to deal with it so often she just bottled it up inside until it exploded out, and the last time that happened was a very long time ago, so to feel it now was strange.

Realising that she might be falling into what Viktor said she would, Charlotte merely shrugged that off, she didn't really care if being slightly angry made her a bad person at the moment.

Sitting down on one of the common room chairs Charlotte curled herself up into a little ball and thought about everything that was making her angry, mostly it was a person.

When she had come to Hogwarts all her classmates and housemates had seemed really close, and now they didn't want anything to do with her! She hadn't spoken to her supposed best friend for months on end and it was making her sad.

More than anything it frustrated her, something that was coming across a lot in her art, and she took a deep breath, trying to still the lump in her chest lest it begin to seize, and thought some more.

by **Cobalt Smith** Thu Feb 23, 2012 6:52 am

Cobalt had been wandering through the dungeons on patrol, as was his duty as a professor, when he decided to check up on Charlotte within the Slytherin Common Room. The common room opened to him but Cobalt wasn't able to stop the shiver that went down his spine at seeing the entrance again. The last time he'd been here he'd ghosted through the entrance and gotten his entire right arm almost burnt to a crisp.

Walking into the common room proper, Cobalt frowned when he saw Charlotte curled up in a little ball in one of the chairs. This immediately made him upset because that was the position that Charlotte assumed whenever she was really angry or upset. Moving across the common room, he sat down on the chair's arm and lightly brushed her hair with his hand,

"Hey Char-kitty..." he greeted her with a soft smile, "Just thought I'd check in on you. Is everything alright?"

by **Charlotte Smith** Thu Feb 23, 2012 6:59 am

Charlotte heard the door open to the common room but couldn't be bothered to look up and see who it was who had come in, however she wished that she would have done however because it was a huge shock to her when she heard a very familiar voice.

Feeling the stroke to her hair Charlotte looked up and saw Papa standing there and she wibbled her bottom lip and hugged him tightly to her, immediately having to fight against tears welling up.

"I'm not very happy daddy and I don't know what to do about it..." she sniffled.

by **Cobalt Smith** Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:50 am

Seeing his daughter's bottom lip wobbling, Cobalt instantly knew that something wrong and that he have to comfort his daughter the best he could. He hugged her tightly, lifting her up and sitting down so that when he hugged her tightly she was sat on his lap, curled up against him,

"Alright baby girl..." he stroked her hair soothingly as he held her close, "Tell me what's been bothering you Char-kitty."

by **Charlotte Smith** Mon Feb 27, 2012 9:17 pm

Charlotte was lifted up and placed on her fathers lap and she felt a little bit better already, she didnt want to cry because she didn't want to be thought of as weak, and she wanted to make sure that she was strong for her father but...

"Well...well..." she sniffled "Every since the ball people seemed to have not liked me, they haven't been speaking to me at all and my best friend Pyxis said she'd invite me over for the holidays and she didn't and she hasn't told me anything that's been going on and hasn't talked to me at all since we've been back at school."

Taking a deep breath she continued, her voice crackling slightly:

"And I can't help but wonder if I've done anything wrong to make them not like me! And now I'm worried that Airen might not like me either and I'm just all alone because nobody talks to me, nobody has done since we've been back to school and I just want to go hoooooome." she wailed.

by **Cobalt Smith** Sun Mar 11, 2012 11:03 pm

Cobalt gave Charlotte a light squeeze of a hug when she sat on his knees, knowing that it would do her some good to know that he was there. He could see that she was already tearing up so he merely hugged her to him tighter, knowing that she might have to cry,

"She hasn't spoken to you at all?" he asked gently, just making sure that he understood the situation. He hugged her tighter, "I'm sure she's just been very busy babe..."

He could tell that her emotions were running higher and higher because her voice sounded like it was going to crack any second now,

"Well I know for a fact that Airen still likes you, very much so." he reassured her gently, "And other people will talk to you babe, you're not a bad person in anyway so we both know they will. As for going home... well it's the christmas holidays soon. You can come home then."

by **Charlotte Smith** Sun Mar 11, 2012 11:19 pm

Charlotte closed her eyes and as she did some tears spilled out onto her cheeks and she looked at Cobie wondering if she should tell him about the things that had truly been bothering her...the thing that she hadn't even told him yet.

"No she hasn't, she said that she was sorry and then didn't talk to me after that and I don't know what to do because I get really angry whenever I see them."

Suddenly Charlottes temper glared and her hair flashed red, she didn't see the point in school she was going to die anyway all she wanted to do was to draw and paint.

Sliding of Cobies knee she glared: "I want to go home now there's no point in me being here anyway! It's not like this is going to matter in a few years."

by **Cobalt Smith** Sun Mar 11, 2012 11:25 pm

Cobalt saw his daughter, his little girl, crying and it broke his heart a little bit with each tear. Cupping her cheek gently, he wiped some of her tears away with his thumbs,

"So she's appologised but not really followed up on it..." he muttered, mostly to himself, before nodding, "I understand how you feel. You get angry because you remember what they've done. It happens to everyone. But some friendships are worth working past that."

He frowned a little bit, concerned, when Charlotte's hair turned red to show her anger. When she slid off his knee and went into a little rant, mostly to herself it seemed, Cobalt's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he picked up on something,

"Why Charlotte?" he asked her quietly, "Why won't school matter in a few years? The war will be over by then and if it's not then school would help you. So why Charlotte? What aren't you telling me?"

by **Charlotte Smith** Sun Mar 11, 2012 11:34 pm

Charlotte leant her head into Cobalts hand as he wiped away the tears from her eyes, it was nice that she had her Papa here when something went wrong like this, she needed him to be here for her.

"I know Papa I know but there's very little that I feel like I can do now, I'm always so so tired all the time and I don't know what to do."

Although she felt comforted by her fathers presence Charlotte didn't know what she was thinking having said what she did, now there would be no getting out of it. Even if she wanted to.

"Nothing is wrong Papa," she attempted to rescue the situation "Its just that I want to be an artist so I don't need any of this..."

Hoping he would buy it, Charlotte looked at the floor, shuffling her feet and covering up the black marker heart she had drawn on her hand.

by **Cobalt Smith** Sun Mar 11, 2012 11:43 pm

Cobalt thumbed away her tears carefully as Charlotte leant into the hand that cupped her cheek so gently. He kissed her gently on the forehead,

"It's alright Charlotte." he reassured her with a light smile, "I will always be here to help you if you need it. And you have other people that will be there too. Just talk to them... you'll figure out what to do."

Cobalt could tell that there was something very wrong. That wasn't what worried him the most. What worried him the most was that Charlotte thought it would be a good idea to keep it hidden from him. His eyes narrowed slightly more,

"I thought you knew better than to try to lie to me Charlotte." he replied quietly, "You can say one thing but your body language screams at me. You're hiding something from me and it's something very important... isn't it?"

He sighed a little bit, noticing her movement to subtly move her hand away from his line of sight. Cobalt was able to catch a glimpse of a black heart drawn on her hand. It caused him to pause for a few seconds,

"Charlotte..." he paused again, afraid of the answer to his own question, "Why do you have a black heart on your hand?"

by **Charlotte Smith** Sun Mar 11, 2012 11:51 pm

Charlotte knew that lying to Cobalt was a bad idea but she couldn't help it because she knew that what it was that was going to effect him so much and she didn't know if he would be able to handle it when she did actually...when it did happen.

Seeing him narrow his eyes, Charlotte looked at the floor even more and felt her cat ears pop up out of her head, and flatten to her hair.

"It might be important...but I don't think that it would be good for you to hear it at the moment, or at all, it will just make you back into your old angry self and I don't want that."

When Cobalt noticed the heart on her hand Charlotte rubbed it slightly and decided there was no point in hiding it any more, it had been seen.

"It's just a drawing Papa don't worry about it." she said quietly.

by **Cobalt Smith** Sun Mar 11, 2012 11:57 pm

Cobalt wasn't angry with Charlotte. Not even a little bit. No what he felt right now was disappointment and a whole lot of it. Whatever this was, not only was it huge but his daughter didn't trust him enough to even tell him about it. And to make it worse she even point blank lied to him in an attempt to cover it up. The addition of her cat ears made Cobalt acknowledge just how serious this issue must be,

"It is important. I can tell." he paused for a second and sighed slightly, "I can never go back to the way I was Charlotte, it's impossible for me now. But regardless... wouldn't it have made more sense for you to tell me and see how I reacted instead of just assuming I'd react angrily?"

He looked at the heart, and the way that she touched it almost gingerly, before nodding slightly,

"Yes, it's just a drawing. But you're an artist and artists have meanings behind drawings." He paused and suddenly he felt sad, "You don't trust me... do you?"

by **Charlotte Smith** Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:07 am

Charlotte didn't know if what Cobalt said was true, she thought that it would be very easy for him to go back to the way that he used to be. That was something that Charlotte would never want for him and it pained her to think that she wouldn't be around to see him grow old.

"Not to me no...it doesn't make sense to me, but I dont want to tell you Papa you'll get upset, do you promise me if I tell you, you won't get upset?"

Biting her lip Charlotte shuffled forwards a little bit, back to be nearer to Cobie as if she needed to draw on his strength to tell him what she needed to.

Gasping Charlotte shook her head, it wasn't like that at all! Of course she trusted Cobie she loved him very much but there were things that she found easier to keep secret.

"I do trust you Cobie! Papa please don't be sad, I'll tell you if you really want me to..."

by **Cobalt Smith** Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:13 am

Cobalt paused. So it was something of an emotional problem, if it was provoking such an outright emotional response. His mind was racing, trying to figure out what could possibly have caused this and he came up with nothing,

"Why would I get upset Charlotte?" he asked quietly, not agreeing to not being upset because it was looking more and more like a promise he wouldn't keep, "Tell me Charlotte... I need to know."

He saw her edging closer to him, seeking some form of comfort and he managed a weak smile. It was just so painful, the idea that she would keep him in the dark over something that was so obviously important. The gasp told him that at least she still trusted him. That meant there was some other reason why she didn't tell him. He closed his eyes briefly. Cobalt nodded slowly,

"You trust me. But you didn't feel like you could tell me." He looked at her again, "Can you tell me now?"

by **Charlotte Smith** Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:22 am

Charlotte took a deep breath and she looked at Cobalt, wondering how exactly she could phrase what she was about to say and she decided that if she kept him waiting any longer he would start to get even more upset.

With a small squeak she coughed and began to speak:

"Cobie I...Papa...I'm sick Papa." she said simply and put her hand on her heart, looking into his eyes with her own beginning to fill with premature tears which she blinked away.

Rubbing at her chest she smiled lightly:

"I'm sick and I'm going to die. When I'm 25...I did that experiment where I aged myself and...I can't go past my 25th birthday...s-so i...I don't see the point in being here..."

by **Cobalt Smith** Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:28 am

He could tell that she was about to tell hime exactly what was wrong and he took a deep breath to prepare himself. If it was half as important as he thought it was then it was going to be big. He was glad that she wasn't going to try and get away with not telling him anymore,

"You're... sick?" he blinked a few times, his mind racing to piece it together, "It... it's not small... is it?"

Cobalt could see that she was beginning to cry and his logical mind was telling him that it was going to be a big one. His emotional mind was panicking now. If it was enough to make Charlotte cry when she hadn't even told him yet then it was going to be really bad,

"You... you're..." he stuttered out before stopping. Cobalt sat there for a moment in comment silence before letting out a small, strangled, cry and putting his head in his hands, "You can't... you can't die... I..."

He stopped and looked up at her again, holding in tears,

"Who have you seen about this? We can get treatment!"

by **Charlotte Smith** Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:35 am

Charlotte looked at Cobie and stayed where she was, he seemed to be in disbelief, as was she when she finally came to terms with it a few months ago and she had waited as long as she could until she had to tell him, which might not have been the right thing.

"Yes Papa I'm sick..." she repeated quietly, absentmindedly tracing the heart on her hand, wondering if it now made sense to Cobalt why it was there on her hand.

When he finally seemed to register what was going on Charlotte rushed to him and hugged Cobie about the waist, she didn't want him to get upset like this but she snuggled her head into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Papa...I don't want to...I don't want to die. I thought it was healed when Professor Henley fixed me after the war, but it just keeps coming back and I don't know what to do." she sobbed "I'm scared!"

by **Cobalt Smith** Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:42 am

Cobalt took a deep breath after he realised that he had gone into a form of shock. Utilising his training, Cobalt calmed himself down somewhat. Truth be told he'd never thought any piece of news would require the same calming down technique that came from taking a bullet. He was obviously wrong. He noticed the way she touched her chest and swallowed, hard,

"It's..." he stopped when he heard his voice cracking and solidified it again, "It's your heart... isn't it? The sickness is in your heart."

When Charlotte rushed over him to hug him, Cobalt wrapped his arms around her tightly and hugged her desparately to him. He needed to feel her in his arms. A few stray tears streaked down his cheeks,

"Don't be sorry... it's not your fault..." he assured her quietly. He swallowed and hugged her tighter, "And you won't die Charlotte. I promise you Charlotte... if I have to move mountains or tear the sun from the sky! I will not let you die! You will not die Charlotte!"

by **Charlotte Smith** Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:51 am

Charlotte nodded her head slightly, the sickness was in her heart, when it flared it felt like her chest was getting ripped open and a hole being stabbed in her heart, but it beat slower than ever now which often made her cold and tired.

"Yes, it is in my heart, I've been trying to keep quiet and rest so that it doesn't hurt but sometimes it just happens anyway."

Blinking some more tears out Charlotte rested her chin on Cobies chest and looked up into his eyes, a part of her wanted to believe him, that he was her superhero that would save her...but the other half.

"Please Papa don't say that, you can't help me, please don't make promises you wont be able to keep."

Charlotte clutched onto Cobies arm and said quietly: "I won't leave you, when I die. I'll stay here for you, so you can still talk to me, and see me everyday, that will be good...won't it?"

by **Cobalt Smith** Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:00 am

When Cobalt saw her nod at his assumption he closed his eyes and a few more tears fell. Why? Why his daughter? His only reason for living was to live for her. He swallowed a little bit,

"It hurts you?" he asked quietly, "Have you... have you been taking anything for it? Putting painkilling charms on yourself?"

When she rested her chin against his chest he hugged her tightly to him and sniffed, more tears breaking out despite his best attempt at control. He couldn't be weak here. Charlotte was counting on him to be strong, for her. He looked down into her eyes,

"Charlotte..." he looked at her for a few seconds before his eyes hardened with resolve, "I will find a way to cure you of this. I will make you well again Charlotte. You will live to a ripe old age, I swear it. I, Cobalt Julius Smith, swear on my magic and my life that I will do all that is within my power to make sure that this heart condition does not kill you."

When she said that she wouldn't leave him, essentially saying she'd become a ghost for him, Cobalt was of two minds. His selfish mind wanted her to stay with him forever, even as a ghost. But another side of him wanted her to be happy, even at the cost of his happiness, so wanted to urge that heaven was the best bet. In the end he didn't answer with either,

"Don't talk like that Charlotte..." he told her with a reassuring smile, "I won't let you die at all."

by **Charlotte Smith** Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:11 am

Charlotte reached her hands up to wipe away the tears from Cobalts face, she didn't want to see her Papa cry, she wanted to make him happy, but he did ask her to tell him about what was going on. Charlotte almost regretted it for a moment.

"No I haven't, I can't do any of those yet but I did try and talk to Healer Henley about it...there was nothing that she could do apart from keep healing it..."

Sniffling Charlotte lay down on the sofa in the common room and tried to calm herself down as the familiar feeling of palpitations ran through her body, making her feel nauseous.

Frowning Charlottes hair turned red and she glared up at Cobalt: "That's enough Cobie, I won't let you give me false hope, I won't believe you..." thinking that he might need to know something more...

Charlotte smiled softly and pressed a hand to Cobies cheek: "I'll stay here for you, then we can go together...if I'm going...there." she looked up.

by **Cobalt Smith** Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:18 am

Cobalt let Charlotte wipe away some of his tears. He was supposed to be the strong one here and yet she she was the one wiping his tears away. He took a deep, shuddering, breath as he tried to stop crying,

"And the 'keep healing it' option is bad because...?" He asked quietly, honestly not seeing what the problem with the option was until it hit him, "The tissue would grow back weaker each time... oh no..."

When Charlotte laid down on the sofa, Cobalt sat on the sofa with her, putting her head in his lap so that he could lightly play with her hair. When her hair turned red and she frowned at him, Cobalt wasn't impressed,

"It's only false hope if nothing becomes of it." he replied firmly, "And I will make this work. Hell, I'd have Richard make you a new heart if I knew a viable way to replace your old one. I'll work something out."

He smiled a little bit at her and leant down to kiss her forehead,

"You're going up there when you... go." he told her with confidence, "I might not see you there though..."

by **Charlotte Smith** Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:30 am

Charlotte was glad that Cobie was getting to understand exactly what Charlotte had been going through on her own, she really didn't think that he understood what was happening at all and then she remembered that she hadn't told him something important.

"Papa, I think that you should know that...I think that this condition, I think it's a curse...but because my Mother isn't alive any more...I couldn't...I couldn't be sure..."

She couldn't think of any other reason why it would keep going wrong when she had it healed up, it was something that she didn't fully understand. Whimpering quietly as the palpitations got worse Charlotte wiggled to look up at Cobie.

"You will be coming with me Cobie, I promise that I'll stay with you, wherever we end up. Maybe my mother was right..."

Charlotte thought as she remembered the scars on her back.

by **Cobalt Smith** Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:35 am

Cobalt was just starting to get a handle on the situation, as he saw it, when Charlotte told him about the possibility of it actually being an inherited curse. He winced a little bit before frowning as he thought. A curse would mean that there was actually nothing wrong with her body itself, just that something was acting on it,

"A curse you say?" he paused for a second, finding it easier to work through this problem because otherwise he'd probably start crying again, "This curse... did your mother get it when she was pregnant with you?"

He looked down at her, frightened and concerned, when she whimpered in pain. Cobalt held her loosely to him,

"I'll do my best to follow you Charlotte." he told her with a small smile before frowning ever so slightly, "What might your mother have been right about?"

by **Charlotte Smith** Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:44 am

Charlotte looked up at Cobalt with shock in her eyes, how when he knew at least a small portion of her past experiences would he not get the thing ghat she was implying, sitting up slightly she looked into Cobalts eyes and smiled sadly.

"No, she didn't get it when she was pregnant, she put it on me when I was about four. At least I think I was four...I...I don't remember."

Realising that Charlotte had never shown Cobalt the scars on her back Charlotte flipped over and lifted up her tshirt so that he could see the ragged scars that was made by her mother.

She had written on her back with a jagged piece of glass;

'Demon.'

Other scars surrounded it which were the ones that were sometimes seen by Cobalt.