The Potency of Kindness PV Finished

“No. I should be apologising, not you. I... I’m sorry. I ruined what we had with Katrina and now she’s alone. Maybe we should take different paths from now on,” Margo said. Thora opened her mouth to speak just as Margo continued, “No... wait, I didn’t mean that. If you would allow it, and could bring yourself to forget what I’ve done, I should give us a chance. I don’t believe you said what your favourite subject was.”
Thora's mouth dropped open. "No...no... it's fine," she replied, chin quivering. Why did she always have to cry at the smallest things? Toughen up already, Thora, she told herself. Steeling herself, she continued, "It's no problem at all, I promise. My favorite subject..." the redhead paused to think, "I like Charms, and--and Flying too." 
Even though Margo hadn't been very nice to her in the first place, Thora was willing to forgive Margo and give her another chance. Like your typical Slytherin, Thora didn't trust easily, but unlike other students from the House of Snakes, Thora would easily, willingly, give fellow students a second chance. 
Thora watched the waves of shame rush over Margo's face, changing her demeanor completely. Immediately, the young first year felt horrible. 
"I'm--I'm so sorry, Margo, if I did anything wrong," the words came out in a rush. 

Thora looked so sad that it did the impossible- made Margo feel even more guilty. She didn’t know what was happening to her. Why did she feel so shameful? Sure, she never usually made people this upset, but that didn’t provide a reason as to why her heart was suddenly weighed down with guilt. The only time that she had felt like this was when she’d wronged her parents- and even then it was in mild doses. She didn’t care about Thora on anywhere near the same level, so why the regret? 

Perhaps her mask was slipping, after all this time. She couldn’t remember when exactly she started building it, but from age 7 and upwards she had started adding layers to her spiky exterior. Nowadays, she didn’t even know where the mask ended and she began. She rarely thought of it as a mask anyways. Something so important to her deserved more than the title of some accessory. 

No. Margo told herself. The mask has to stay. She wouldn’t survive without it, and comforting Thora would go against it. The mask held her happiness and sadness, all of her temperamental nature. But... then again, there was the girl in front of her. With the mask firmly in place she would likely get more hurt, and Margo didn’t want that. Perhaps she could make a compromise. 

So, with her compromise in mind, she spoke. “Flying’s cool. But then again, it’s so overdone, you know? Everybody likes it, and amongst that you can’t really stand out...” Be nice, be nice, be nice. Margo chanted internally. “I like charms too though. It’s one of the main things that defines a wizard, and no matter how overdone that is, I still value it.” Bleh. She didn’t think she’d ever been so honest in her life. She hated it.

However, she did owe the girl. “Thora, if you’ve ever done anything wrong in your life then please enlighten me. You seem like one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. You have done nothing wrong.” 

After speaking for the last time, Margo strode off over the grounds, vowing to never let her mask slip again... no matter how intriguing the experience.

Thora almost felt tears well up in her eyes again as she watched waves of shame continue to wash over Margo's face. "I'm so, so, so, so, so, sorry," the girl wanted to say. But Margo beat her to it.
“Flying’s cool. But then again, it’s so overdone, you know? Everybody likes it, and amongst that you can’t really stand out...” Margo answered Thora's previous question, “I like charms too though. It’s one of the main things that defines a wizard, and no matter how overdone that is, I still value it.”
A smile played across Thora's lips. Honestly, she felt the same way. Flying...was fun, but it did annoy Thora sometimes. Even the teacher--Professor Bercegeay--was honestly quite the...proud...lady. Her instructions were always injected with random clips of her life, which drove Thora nearly insane sometimes. And Charms...being a Muggleborn, Charms was new and quite cool for her, as Thora, after all, had come to Hogwarts most excited to learn magic.
"I agree," the redhead murmured, although no doubt her voice was carried away by the wind.
“Thora, if you’ve ever done anything wrong in your life then please enlighten me. You seem like one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. You have done nothing wrong.” Margo said abruptly and rather uncomfortably.
What a misinterpretation, thought Thora. Others often saw the Slytherin as unusually kind and sincere, but Thora knew that she had done many, many, many things wrong in her short 11-year lifespan. 
With her last words, Margo stood up and walked away, her robes swaying in the wind. 
"No--I, I really am not perfect, I promise!" Thora wanted to yell after the other girl. She wanted to chase after her, to let her know that she wasn't just "the perfect girl". The fights with her sister, parents, snapping at classmates, even at herself. But she remained seated. After all, it was enough for Thora. She was proud of herself--talking to someone without palms sweating and clamming up. But above all else, she was glad she could get to know both Katrina and Margo and that they hadn't ended up in a fight. With the cold way Margo had left, Thora hoped the other girl had felt the same. As Thora had rather liked the other two girls she had met, she hoped they would cross paths again.