[i]"Huh, This reminds me of something I read once, but I can't place it." [/i] [b]Yeah,"[/b] I answer in response to Bridget, [b]"There's little things here and there. Whispers of the room of 'coming and going' or a room that only appears at great need, or a hidden place."[/b] I follow as she opens the door; and am taken completely by surprise. The room is spacious, with thick fluffy carpeting. There are several wall scones complete with candles. In each corner of the room, I can see small end-tables topped with a single Candelabra per table. And there is just one piece of furniture, a big, fluffy love-seat. I hear Bridget sigh as she pushes past me. I stare, gaping in surprise. I...I certainly had not expected this. I hadn't [i]tried[/i] to make that happen...it just...it just did. [i]Huh...Interesting,[/i] I think to myself. The room must be attune to more than just conscious thoughts. It must be able to sense those lingering in the back of your mind, ones that you might not even be aware of. Arching an eyebrow, I walk into the room, letting the door swing shut behind us.

[i]"So, uh...what did you want to wait to tell me?"[/i] I hear Bridget ask as she sits down, chest at her feet. I walk over, sitting down beside her. Though large, the chair is small enough that our hips are brushing together. I flush again, unsure of whether or not I am entirely okay with what the room decided to conjure. If she'd heard of the place, and knows how it works, she might think I did this on purpose. Oh well, better to NOT draw attention to it. Besides...the question she asked...I did say I'd answer, when we got here. 

I take in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. [b]"Well,"[/b] I begin, gazing into her eyes for a few moments. [b]"It's a bit of a long story. It...it was my second year. I'm a mudblood, you see? Muggle-born. My mother was a witch. My father...well, he was an amazing person, but he was about the muggliest muggle I've ever met in my life. He didn't know anything about magic, never bothered trying to understand it. He didn't hate magic, though. He just...had the mentality of, 'if I can't use it, why bother trying to understand it?'[/b] 

I pause, gazing at my hands. Biting my lip, I continue on. [b]"I have--had two sisters. Kira and Elsaria. And an older brother, Eldarin. He would have graduated Hogwarts if...My sisters would be in this year with me. The three of us were the same age. Just before the start of the second year..."[/b] I choke up. I clench my robes in my fists, feeling a deep rage, and a deep regret. I failed them. I failed to protect my family. My hands begin to shake.

[b]"There was a fire one night. Now, we're in a muggle neighborhood, mind you. My mother thought it would be good for me to experience life as muggles do, that way I would better appreciate not only magic, but the hardships the non-magical community has to deal with every day. Anyway, there was a fire. I don't know why nobody woke up before it got so bad...the flames. They were so hot...too hot. I'd never felt anything like it in my life...When I woke up, it was just raging. I ran outside of my bedroom, to hear my father yelling for me. Everyone was in the living room. I jumped down the banister of the stairs, using featherfall so I didn't break my ankle. There they were, my family, in the center of the room, surrounded on all sides by flames. Soon as I leapt off the banister, it, too, caught fire. We tried, you know. I tried, but I...I couldn't..."[/b] I can feel the tears glistening in my eyes, but I clench my teeth, trying desperately not to cry, not to [i]let them fall.[/i] Not now, not like this, not in front of her..

[b]"Aguemente. Freezing charms. Hell, my mother even tried to make it rain. My dad had the fire extinguisher...Eldarin was literally spraying out water, my mother shooting jets of ice from her wand. I tried Aguemente myself, but nothing...nothing worked. My mother told me to go. I refused. Elsa...she was the first to go. As the circle of flames got closer and closer...it was almost as if they [i]reached out[/i] to her. At once, her body erupted into flames. Her screams...I'll never forget them. The same thing happened to Eldarin, then Kira, my dad...my mother was the last. Her last words...[i]'get out of here, Alex. Go! Just go--I love you!'[/i] I cast the protego spell around myself, following it up with a cone of Aguemente, and I ran for the window, leaping through. My family...all of them...dead."[/b]

By now the tears are falling down my cheeks. I failed to NOT cry in front of her. In front of Bridget. Just like I failed to save my family. I swallow hard, my knuckles white from clenching my robes so hard. [b]"The next day,"[/b] I go on, [b]"the house was a pile of ash. The flames were so hot, the police said, that...that the bodies were incinerated. No bones. Nothing but ash. To this day I don't understand why our magic couldn't fight the flames. I suspect magic. And that's why that book interests me. FiendFyre. I've heard the term before, but I don't know what it is. I just know that somehow my family died, and they shouldn't have. I...I failed them. They are dead, and it's my fault because I wasn't strong enough! Wasn't wizard enough, I [i]let them down!!![/i][/b] I can't take it. Tears streaming down my face, I leap to my feet, yanking my wand from my robes and hurling it across the room. It hits the wall, bounces, hits the floor. [b]"What kind of wizard can't protect their own family?!"[/b] I yell, slowly succumbing to all he grief and hidden (and some not so hidden) feelings and thoughts I've had since whatever had happened...happened. [b]"They are dead because of me."[/b] I state flatly, arms folded across my chest. [b]"I don't deserve that damn wand!"[/b] I stare at my wand as it lies on the floor, a grief beyond measure filling my heart. Chest heaving as I sob, all I can see are their faces. My dad...my mother. Eldarin, best older brother someone could ask for. Kira, whom I loved and often pretend dueled with...and Elsaria. Elsa. Elsie. My favorite sister. We did everything together. Gone. Just like that. I continue staring, but all I can see are the all consuming flames that took everything from me.