Laura Miller sat on the lake-shore of Bassenthwaite Lake, feet dangling into the water. She had spent the day surrounded by the trees of Dodd Wood, roaming from peak to peak, not really seeing the beauty around her. She admitted that she was escaping, escaping from her problems under the shadows of the wood. Even the osprey couldn’t catch her attention as her mind dwelt away at Mirehouse, where she’d met him.

She had come to visit her cousin Arthur Spedding, her best friend and confidant. While under his roof during the winter holidays she had met Jonathan Were. His reddish brown hair, deep brown eyes, and confident attitude had won her heart almost immediately. Jon was a college friend of Arthur's. They had met at Merlin University in London where they both studied advanced Potion-making with a focus in Transfiguration.

It was true that wizard universities were fairly new. In the past most wizards did apprenticeships for their chosen careers. Laura hoped it took off because it allowed young wizards the chance to learn more than just their specialized field. She was to start at Merlin University herself in the fall.

Jon had a dream of working at St. Mungos, preparing potions for the Healers there. In his spare time he liked to write poetry. He had come to Arthur’s home at Mirehouse to see the forest and lake that had inspired so many great poets before him. Even the Muggle world knew of this magical wood because of the poems of Southey, Wordsworth, and Tennyson. Though her cousin’s family had to open up a small portion of their manor to Muggles, most was hidden in an illusion that the Muggles couldn’t see through.

Laura was enthralled by Jon. When they first met, he had spoken of his dreams for the future; they all matched her own. They both wanted a serious relationship, to find someone to raise children with, someone they could share their dreams with, and whom they could grow old with.

Six months had passed. They had seen each other on weekends and during breaks from school. But she struggled at times. She sent him frequent owls that told him all about her life at Hogwarts. She talked about her activities, her plans for the future, and sent him pictures she had drawn. He would return the owl with short messages of hello but little else. She learned more about his activities from her cousin than from him. She ached inside, trying not to show him how much this affected her.

She struggled to explain to him that she wanted to know, about even the mundane things in life. She wanted to hear about his classes, about his interactions with other students, what he had for meals, or even how well he slept each night. She read his poetry and saw the trees, the buildings, and the colors around him. She saw him in his art, but he wouldn’t tell her in words. It hurt her to be closed out, to not have him confide in her. She just couldn’t understand how to get through the door he invited her through, but then blocked her from entering.

Tears came and flooded down her cheeks. She wiped at them, angry that she was so confused, angry that she couldn’t seem to find a way to make things work, angry that he seemed so ambivalent to her. When they saw each other, her mind went blank and she felt like he wanted her there, but much more frequently they were parted and she felt like she was a burden. She kept trying to talk to him; she told him she needed to talk to him, to ask him questions, to tell him her needs. He just remained silent and seemed to ignore the things he didn’t want to deal with. He would fall silent or stop sending owls until she sent another that went to more neutral ground…back the mundane things of her life that really didn’t matter.

She tried to talk to Arthur about Jon, but he just didn’t seem to understand either. Her heart belonged to him, but many others around her saw the pain in her eyes, in her drawings, in the storms that raged in her heart. She lashed out at friends who had nothing to do with her aching. She apologized, they said they understood, but they walked on tip-toes when near her. She knew that she needed to figure out how much her love was worth…if it was worth this aching, but she just didn’t know how.