Birthday Wishes from the Family PV Closed

Amadea had snagged a spot toward the end of the long Hufflepuff table, away from the chatter and loud noises coming from the middle of the table where friends were laughing and talking. She had sat down with her plate of food, cracking open a book as the morning mail arrived. 

Amadea was always discouraged by the morning mail. Everyone received letters and messages from their families, while Amadea was stuck with nothing. No correspondence, no checking in, nothing. She couldn't count the amount of letters she had sent to her own parents on one hand, but nothing had come back. 

She and her sister had left things on a rough note right before Amadea left for Hogwarts which explained why it was silent there, but Amadea assumed her parents would have at least sent something. No letters just reminded Amadea of why she was different from everyone else here. Her parents were both squibs, just like her grandparents (excluding her step grandmother) and they were ashamed of it, cutting off all ties to the wizarding world. Her great grandmother had been the only person that explained anything about magic to Amadea. It was a strictly off-limits topic in the Campbell household. 

Both Amadea and her sister still talked in secret about it in their room, discussing the possibilities. When Kat didn't get any Hogwarts letter it was disappointing for them both. Amadea figured if her sister wasn't magical then there was no way that she could be. Apparently, that wasn't true. 

Amadea was still lost in thought about her broken family relationships when she heard some screaming and looked toward the very end of the table where prefect Serena Towers was sitting. It looked as though she had received a Howler. As it continued screaming at her, Amadea began rethinking the whole mail thing. Maybe she was lucky not to be receiving any letters. After all, she would rather have no mail than this kind of mail. She looked around, wondering if anyone else had heard the Howler as well. It appeared to be someone yelling at Serena because she was useless. Serena looked close to tears. 

Amadea couldn't believe anyone would say that to anyone, especially Serena. And especially on her birthday. Serena was a wonderful prefect in Amadea's opinion and she didn't deserve hearing those rude things said to her on her birthday! She deserved to be celebrating this day because it was the day she came into the world and graced it with her presence! Amadea closed her book and decided to head over to Serena and try to comfort her. As she got up, she began to doubt herself. Serena looked as though she wanted to be alone, but she also looked really upset and Amadea couldn't stand to see her looking that way. A pang of sympathy ran through Amadea yet again. She hated when anyone was feeling badly but especially when it was one of her fellow Hufflepuffs, that was not okay. 

She sat down in a seat next to Serena, hoping that she wasn't intruding. "Hi Serena," she said quietly, putting a hand on Serena's shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. She didn't know what to say after this, hoping words would come to her as she opened her mouth to say something else. "Happy birthday," she said meekly, wondering if that was the right thing to say or not. "Whoever that was, they were wrong," she said. She didn't know if Serena wanted to talk about the Howler or not, Amadea figured she didn't, but she wanted to say this anyway. "You aren't a failure. You're a great prefect." Amadea wished she had the exact words that would make Serena feel better. Even to her, her words sounded kind of pathetic. But she didn't know what else to do. Hopefully the words sounded differently to Serena. Amadea wished she could just share her feelings with Serena, just take them out of herself and plop them into Serena so Serena would know exactly how she felt. For now, she would just have to stick with words.

Hufflepuff was a disaster house: their incompetent Professor, their tubby, friendly students festooned in happy yellows. It was a disgrace really, how they almost got each other killed and nearly burnt down the forest to boot. Thank goodness a Slytherin Prefect was there to help pull those Huffles out of the literal, not metaphorical fire. At least Slytherins could enjoy an outing in the woods without destroying it.

She would not know it was the Prefects birthday, only that she was a pretty poor leader of her house. She let everything go wrong, in fact there were rumors that she was one of the first to go down and one of the worst hurt. The heck was she doing out there? Did she cause the incident?

There were only two of them, some shadowy silhouette of a person she could not quite make out. She would rub her eyes, wasn't she supposed to be that dorky ginger with the glasses? She was not entirely sure. It was as if the image of her was now a barren slate (dude your avatar). 

She would sit down at the Huffle table, why the heck not. Many of them were still in the infirmary or hiding in their rooms like antisocial Ravenclaws. She would grab a corner of toast and start breaking it apart in her fingers before eating tiny bite sized pieces. "Sure you should be out here," she pointed up. "With all these open flames?" Sure, it was not anything clever, not anything that the Prefect had not heard before more than likely. "Sure glad you came outta your hidey hole tho," she continued as she popped another bit of toast into her mouth. 

"Thought you were going to hide the rest of the year away in shame," she dug. Yes, she was digging. Why? Well, Erin was a cruel, angry little girl. Jealous of Serena, people like Serena were well-known. She was popular, especially among the boys. Not that she wanted the attention of any boy yet but when she did she wanted her pick. She was also well-liked by her Professors, a first year and still a Prefect. It was impressive even in concept. She often confused the term Prefect with Perfect. They were the perfects, the ideal students. Competition. A target to be crushed under her heel. "I mean after you know... what you let happen." She smiled sweetly, but there was only venom on her lips. "I mean, it is not your fault. Right?"

"Heard you were unconscious most of it anyways. Nothing you can do when you are like that now is there?"

Serena swallowed her spit as she stared at the ash falling onto the table. She could no longer tell if she was angry or upset. It had gotten to the point where she was so angry that her eyes had started to water and her body shook slightly. 

Everything he said was correct. Her brother did not even know everything. He had no idea how weak she really was. What would he say if he found that she had to sleep with the torch on? Yes, the twelve year old was scared of the dark. She had reverted into a child. The darkness terrified her. What would he say if he found out how small her spell arsenal was right now? She had spent ages practicing and studying and yet, barely knew any spells. If she got attacked again right now, she was not sure she would be able to survive it. She knew nothing, she could not successfully cast even the most basic spells right now. It pained her so much. She was the sister that he wished he never had. He thought she was weak, that she was a failure and a stain on the family reputation already... Knowing the truth about her would just reinforce his belief. He was right. She knew that he was. She wished he was not but she knew she was not strong enough to wish that.

Serena fell back down onto the bench, releasing the wand that she had made an attempt to grab. It was definitely a good thing that the Howler decided to explode on its own. A second or two longer and she would have been aiming a fireball right at it - which definitely would not have been a good idea. 

Staring down at her plate in silence, she could hear his words echo through her mind. Again and again and again. Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a quiet but friendly voice and a hand appear on her shoulder. Flinching slightly, Serena snapped out of thought and looked up, "Oh, Amadea, hi- uh thanks," She replied automatically, as though her body was on autopilot. She was hoping no one remembered it was her birthday or even knew it in the first place. The day would go quieter if people did not know. Desmond, that awful boy, had ruined her only birthday wish already.

Her silent prayers, hoping that no one had heard the Howler over the chatter was quickly diminished as her friend brought it up. "My brother." She replied, not agreeing with her statement about them being right or wrong. All she did was clarify who it was, "Oh- uh thanks..." She replied again, as though it was a habit. A statement that she most definitely did not agree with, however.

Serena smiled weakly at Amadea. She wanted to run away right about now but it was rude to do so. So instead, she looked down at her plate. The toast on it had a bit of soup that had been spilt onto it. Not caring, Serena picked it up and took a bite as she gave herself a few moments to try and figure out what to say. Amadea was her friend, yes but the whole situation had an awkwardness fallen over it. She did not know where to begin anymore... Pretend she disagreed with her brother and was fine or just admit the truth. 

Fortunately for her - or perhaps rather unfortunately - the pair were disturbed by someone else. A girl that the Prefect did not recognise. She blinked a little. There was something familiar about her but she could not quite place her face with a name. Perhaps they had passed in the corridors or shared classes together. The stranger looked like she was around the same age so was most likely a first year too. The Slytherin, judging by the colour on her uniform, made no attempt to introduce herself. She launched into conversation, as though Serena was meant to know who she was.

Within seconds, however, Serena quickly realised that the girl was not here to be polite. She was here to stir up some more trouble. She was here to make the stereotype that Slytherins held appear true. "Sure I should. It didn't hurt me before, why would I hide away from it now?" She asked the girl in a matter of fact tone, trying to remain polite. It was true, the fire did not hurt her. Mostly because she was blessed enough to have friends and housemates that protected her from it. But the stranger was not there. She was not to know exactly what happened. Yes, Hufflepuffs got burnt in the Camp Out. Everyone knew that. But not all of them did... She hated fire. It hurt. But it provided light into the otherwise dark room. Serena had spent a lot of time with a candle near her in recent weeks. It knocked back the darkness...

Of course, other Hufflepuffs might disagree - and quite rightly so. But Serena had never once seen the flames that took over that night. She had not witnessed what everyone else. She did not hear their screams or have to fight for her life in that fire. She experienced the whole thing in a deep slumber. There was no real reason for her to be afraid of the fire - just perhaps of using it, because she had seen the results of what happens when it goes wrong.

The badger stared at the snake, as she attacked her with venomous words. Words were more powerful than fists here. Every single word that came out of the girl's mouth was like an arrow into Serena's heart. She could not describe how much she hated it. 

But she did not hate the girl. No. She agreed with her and for Serena, that was a lot worse. She agreed with every single sentence that the girl said - and she hated that she did. It was a lot harder to argue with someone, hate on them and attack them when you agreed with everything they said. It was as though she was staring into a mirror and hearing her own words. She stared intensely at the girl in front of her, clenching her teeth a little to prevent from snapping back at her and clutching one of her fists into a small ball underneath the table.

"Did you? Well that's nice of you." Serena retorted sarcastically, trying very hard to not break down, "I have no idea who you are and yet you've been busy thinking about me. Aren't you sweet?" She continued, shrugging lightly. Was it acceptable for a Prefect to slap a student who was just being a bit mean? Because right now, she really wanted to. She wanted nothing more than to smack that sweet smile off the stupid girl's face. Yes, Serena agreed with her but that did not give her the right to judge her. Who was she to judge her? She did not even know her. The Slytherin knew nothing of what happened that night. The opinion of someone who was not there was something Serena cared little for. She had heard it so much. 

This was not the first letter she had received from her family. Her mother had pointed out just how disappointed she was in her. Nothing this girl said was new. Serena had heard it all before. Her own family had said it all before. Strangers like this girl had dared to say it before. She had thought it all already. 

Her eyes fell down to her lap for a moment, flickering away from the Slytherin. The girl was so right. She knew it was her fault. It was most definitely her fault. She was the Prefect who failed to protect her house. The stranger was completely right and she knew it, she had accepted it. Nonetheless, it still broke her heart. The sadness was evident in her eyes.

Serena sighed, rolling her eyes at the Slytherin who mastered in sarcasm. "No, I fully accept that what happened was my fault." She replied slowly, with a hint of sadness in her voice. Shrugging as the girl questioned her unconsciousness, Serena rolled her eyes again. She hated herself for falling unconscious and becoming a burden to people. If she was stronger, perhaps that would not have happened. However, she had learnt a valuable lesson from it. That somehow, she had people to rely on. The Slytherin's words suddenly reminded her of that. At least she had friends, housemates and Professors that she could trust and rely on. "Oh, I don't know, I guess, I could rely on my friends." Serena replied before quirking an eyebrow at her, "Can you say the same?" 

For the Towers family, relying on others was a sign of weakness. Her mother would be severely mortified that she was admitting to such a thing but Serena was still proud to be a Hufflepuff. She was grateful to being in a house where people worked together. They could rely on each other, they supported each other and they would risk their lives for each other. She was not sure the same could be said about the other houses. But that day, Hufflepuffs helped each other survive. At least she knew she had friends to rely on, people that she cared about and that cared about her - regardless of her family situation. Could the same be said for the lone girl who made a point of coming over to strangers just to insult them? Did the girl even have any friends of her own that she could trust with her life?

The Howler was impossible to ignore, echoing throughout the Great Hall. The blonde turned to see who the unfortunate recipient was and oh no, it was Serena! Not just any Serena, her friend Serena and that just wouldn't do. Hanging out with Mudbloods has ruined you. Wow! She glared at that blasted red envelope, wishing that it would just burst into flames already. It was one thing to be told about blood prejudice and the history of it but it was another to hear it. During her time at Hogwarts, she heard surprisingly little except for a few whispers in the corridors. She was suddenly thankful for her little bubble, her friend group that didn't seem to care about blood status and her family that raised her to believe that everyone was equal.

The letter from her own parents forgotten, Dymphna ran from the Great Hall up the stairs towards the Ravenclaw dorms. It wouldn't do to let Serena down and all she could think about was the purple flower pressed in between the latest letter to the Hufflepuff. They had become closer due to being owl pals, sending off quite lengthy letters to one another when they had the chance. It was the easiest way to keep track of her friends, she realized, and extra fun to receive a letter after a long study session. She wrote the letters as a way to wind down in the evenings. Did Serena do the same, she wondered.

By the time the Ravenclaw had tracked down her reply and made it back down to the Great Hall, two others had gone to Serena's aid. The other Hufflepuff she didn't know but Erin she recognized immediately. The Slytherin was someone who she actively avoided, sitting far from her during classes and trying to tune her out whenever she spoke to the Professors. It was only after she had been rude to a Professor during a lesson that she began to feel annoyed, if a little angry at her. With a huff, she still made her way over to the table, coming into the conversation as Erin was taunting her friend. "Do shut up, Erin." Though she doubted that the girl would, it was worth a try.

Dymphna didn't know much about the night of the fire. There were a lot of dangerous things around Hogwarts already, The Whomping Willow for example. It was hard to keep track of what was real and what was a rumor, what magical creatures or items would attack next. Merlin, she hadn't even known that Reid had been in hospital until someone had told her. She didn't have the best track record for keeping friends, it seemed. Serena could hold her own, telling the Slytherin off herself as Dymphna shoved passed her to take a seat. 

It wouldn't matter what she thought. Her friend believed that it was her fault and she would have to realize on her own that it wasn't (though the blonde couldn't say for certain, really). Still, she believed that Serena wouldn't have started a fire and it especially didn't matter what Erin thought. Turning her nose up at her, she decided to ignore her in favor of holding out the letter, all wrapped in twine and stamped with the leaf wax seal. It wasn't the best birthday present but it would have to do, perhaps she could use the plant in one of their classes sometime. "Happy Birthday!" Well, no one could fault her for trying to turn the day around for her. Birthdays were meant to be special!

It was a nice, bright day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping-

That was the biggest lie Rhea had ever heard, and she refused to believe that people actually started stories with that. Especially today, on a day as blasted as this. She'd been having a good week, no, a good month, and this bloody letter just had to arrive and ruin it. Was she to be surprised? No, of course not; her parents had a knack for ruining everything.

Grabbing a piece of toast and spreading a crap ton of butter over it--the redhead loved her butter--Rhea smothered some strawberry jam over her piece and angrily bit into it. She almost bit her tongue and was about to start screaming of frustration, but luckily for her, she avoided it. Her eyes were narrowed and if anyone was to approach her, she would most likely snap. It was rare for the young Bishop to get into such a mood, but when she did, anyone who was mean to her or anyone she liked would be killed, demolished, destroyed.

Looking around, Rhea tried to see if any of her friends were down there this early. Perhaps they could calm her down before she did something she would regret later. She spotted a few familiars at the Hufflepuff table; Serena and Amadea, two of her... friends? Yes, friends. Seeing the expressions of distraught on Serena's face, Rhea pushed her own thoughts away and decided to go find out what was wrong.

Taking a last, less angry bite of her toast before cramming the rest in her mouth, Rhea brushed off her hands on the tablecloth and got up. She saw that the Hufflepuff table was mostly empty, but didn't want to think why. It was because most of them were in the hospital because they were burned. 

Feeling the need to comfort her Hufflepuff friend, Rhea walked briskly over there and found an open seat nearby. She cast a look at everyone around her: there was Serena and Amadea, who recognized; and two others that she didn't. A Slytherin and a Ravenclaw. Deciding to wait to make her presence known, Rhea listened in on the conversation that they were having. The Slytherin girl was being cruel, clearly, from the tone she got from the Ravenclaw girl. Her eyes narrowed, Rhea was about to retort back but was stopped when the Ravenclaw wished Serena a happy birthday. It was her birthday, and this Slytherin girl dared to insult her on her birthday?

Oh heck no, not in Rhea's book.

Clearing her throat to make her presence known, she turned to the Slytherin, her eyes narrowed. Although she usually wouldn't be as mean and rude as she was now, her mood was already sour from this morning. She needed something, someone, to unleash her frustrations on - and this Slytherin was the perfect one.

"Look, I have literally no idea who you are," Rhea turned to the Slytherin and gave her a pointed look, "But you're being unnecessarily rude. So shut up and go away, like, erm, she said," at the word 'she,' Rhea cast a glance at the Ravenclaw girl. Maybe she should've found out their names before she began. "You're just a stinky poopy butt with nothing better to do in her time." Apparently, hanging out with Rosie had started to rub off on her, and she began to call everyone stinkies. Glaring at the stupid Slytherin and making a 'hmph' sound Rhea considered her work done and turned to Serena.

"Is it really your birthday? Happy birthday! I'll be sure to get you the greatest gift!" Feeling herself a bad friend for not remembering, Rhea vowed to herself that she would find the best present ever and give it to Serena next time she saw her. "Why are you feeling so down?" In her heart, Rhea knew the answer, but she didn't want to admit the fact that she did. All she wanted was for her friends to feel... happy. No sort of troubles plaguing them; just enjoy their lives as eleven year olds.

Serena still looked quite sad and depressed, despite anything Amadea had said. Thankfully, the Howler exploded on the table, combusting into a pile of ash. There was a prolonged silence after, one in which Amadea didn't know what to say. Serena looked up at her, as if not noticing she had been there before and responded with a greeting and an explanation of who the Howler had come from. Amadea shook her head in disgust. She couldn't imagine any one of her family members sending her a Howler like that. Then again, they wouldn't send her anything...she forced herself to stop being bitter about her own problems and focus on Serena. After all, Serena was the one who had just received that horrible Howler from her own brother. 

As if the day couldn't get any worse for the poor Hufflepuff prefect, a Slytherin girl came over to the table. Why she was sitting at a table full of Hufflepuffs when her own table had plenty of seats Amadea didn't know, but she wasn't rude enough to tell the girl to go away. Or at least, not until the girl opened her mouth and began speaking. 

Amadea's jaw dropped open. If it hadn't been attached to her mouth, it would surely have reached the floor by now. The audacity of that girl to say those horrible things when she didn't even know Serena! Serena was the kindest, most loyal, and most humble Hufflepuff Amadea had met. Amadea wanted to strangle the Slytherin and make her shut up. Before Amadea could open her mouth, however, yet another student approached, a Ravenclaw this time. She quickly dealt with the Slytherin, telling her to shut up and then distracting Serena. Not long after, Rhea Bishop came to see what the fuss was about and told the girl to go away. Good, Amadea thought. She didn't like when other people were mean, but this girl clearly deserved it after what she had said. 

Despite the rage heating up inside of her, she tried to keep a cool exterior. After years of facing torment from the upperclass London girls, Amadea had learned that the best way to deal with bullies was to not let them see how much they were hurting you. If they weren't making any visible damage, they would get bored and move on. Hopefully, the same would happen here. If the girls just ignored the Slytherin and continued talking about Serena's birthday, hopefully the girl would go away. They would also be able to distract Serena with talks about her birthday, so they'd essentially be killing two birds with one stone. Amadea made a mental note to get something for Serena, something meaningful. Her birthday hadn't started out on a good note, but Amadea wanted to make sure it ended on one. 

She felt no need to say anything to the Slytherin girl who had just been put back in her place, so she turned to Serena and the other girls. "I don't know about you," she began, "But I think today deserves a celebration." She tried to make eye contact with the other girls, mentally trying to tell them that Serena needed some cheering up, as if it wasn't already completely obvious. "I think we should go do something exciting!" Not only would it be celebrating Serena's birthday, but it would hopefully get Serena's mind off the Howler and the mean Slytherin. Amadea hoped it would work. She would hate for Serena to have a bad birthday. 

She combed back her indigo tresses with her fingers as she spoke, her stormy eyes watching the girl for those tell-tale micro-expressions. The fire was traumatic indeed, the talk of the school really. It could be true, Hufflepuff was really the deviant House of Hogwarts but she knew that was not true. They lacked the aspiration to be much of anything, to do much more than laze about that is. Not particularly clever or brave either, Hufflepuff was a house for whatever was left over. For whatever and whoever did not stand out in any particular way. This was likely going to be her best chance, one she would not hesitate to take. 

Serena claimed that she had no fear of fire. No pyrophobia. Shame. Time to dig deeper then. She did not know that Serena feared the darkness, only rumors that there were shadowy figures that stretched and gripped and clawed... It sounded more like a childish nightmare than an actual fearsome foe. Sadly, she did not know everything, if she had already she would not be here asking.

She was getting something out of the Puff. She could feel it in the Prefect's tone. She could feel it in her bones. That wonderful tone. It brought a smile to her thin, pink lips. It was that seething anger beneath a placid surface, that wasted arcane talent bottled up with nowhere to expend it. She breathed it.

She knew sarcasm when she heard it. There was something in the cadence and tone that was vexing, taunting even. She could feel her pulse hasten. "I am not nearly as famous as you are, but enough about me," she deflected. "Let's talk more about you." The events that transpired in the Campout was by far more fascinating than her musing now wasn't it? The Hufflepuffs were ripe sources to draw inspiration from for awhile at least. This sort of interaction often ends in an altercation. A Ravenclaw flew in and a Gryff meandered over. 

She was used to the glares. The angry stares. She needed them in a desperate manner.

"No, I fully accept that what happened was my fault."

Serena relented quicker than Erin wanted her to. Erin was looking for a debate, a fight. This was not how this was supposed to go. Serena was supposed to debate her, try to hold back that roiling anger. She was supposed to have a sense of pride, not just take it like a beaten stray. She could feel the anger recede, a sense of panic in the back of Erin's head. She had no use for this, it was rain. She had no use for the rain.

Erin grit her teeth, the only rage she felt was her own but it was merely an echo... a shade of what others felt. She was about to shout at the dumb girl. To tell her to get her act together. To defend herself. To have a dam iota of pride! But she didn't, the rain had gripped the sinews of her heart. She swallowed, she needed to get up. To get away from dejected sow but her body was like lead, welded to the bench.

"Oh, I don't know, I guess, I could rely on my friends." 

Serena concluded, making the broad assumption that they would be there. She truly overestimated them, their value of her and their worth to her. However, they were of value to Erin. Delectable really. Thank goodness one of the two of them was  able to make friends. "What a burden," she was going to say you must be but she never got that far.

"Can you say the same?"

She actually could not. Erin had no friends to speak of, but her list of enemies did not seem to grow either. Strangely enough every person she had crossed as of late in Hogwarts has disappeared. She had not seen Marcus in some time. York also seemed to meander into the shadows. It was like some sort of superpower... or curse. But curses are things you would wish would stop. So did that make this a blessing? Perhaps. "Friends?" She scoffed, even if the response was a bit hollow. 

Friends were her problem, even if she could not see it. Erin was a strange girl, from her hair to her behaviors. She was not 'quirky' or particularly interesting, something even her cellmates could attest to. She lacked a distinctive personality, interests. She just existed, when she interfaced with others it was always aggressive yet her words betrayed her age and reflected her sentiments. She apparently had an opinion, most commonly the least popular opinion in the room, something she would often identify and then cling to. It was a wonder if she was capable of thinking at all.

She never got letters from her parents. She had no siblings. One would think that same came from nothing, but any pureblood with access to basic records would know she came from a pureblood line. The only in her generation.

"Do shut up, Erin."

The prissy Ravenclaw interceded. Goodie. She would turn her head towards the indignant youth and say with a cocked head. "Your valiant savior--" The girl was peeved.

"Look, I have literally no idea who you are. But you're being unnecessarily rude. So shut up and go away, like, erm, she said. You're just a stinky poopy butt with nothing better to do in her time." 

But the other was irate. The Slytherin let out a cackling laugh, she could not help it. What could she say against such witty commentary! "I mean... saviors..." She corrected herself with a chuckle. She would turn back to Serena after eyeing the ginger that had nothing else to directly add. "But here is the problem with having proxies dear Prefect. They care about you... they will try to defend you, even at the expense of themselves. Have they just placed themselves in harm's way now interceding on your behalf? That is going to be hard to live with if someone got hurt for you. Or I am harmless, someone with a disagreeable opinion and personality. An obvious minority, and here you are bullying people on your birthday through your popularity. Tsk... Tsk..."

Serena was a terrible little girl, at least that was the line.

They would try to ignore her, after all it was the prefects birthday. An allegedly 'happy' one at that. She knew the truth of course, they did not feel. Not really, they would try but she knew. Today is just the anniversary of a day, not a particularly happy or sad one, just a day. Yet the ascribed an emotion to the day, 'happiness' to what the approach of one's mortality? The passage of time poorly spent? It was foolish, it was also why she-- why she was.

She had taken everything that she needed from them, it was doubtful they would or could go further. The letter was the source of interest when she sauntered over. She had to lean over and see what was on the paper. She was expecting a doodle considering she was a Huffle so there was not much going on between the ears except thoughts of lunch and hugs. But no, it was a letter. Her eyes skimmed the neat handwriting. Who were they? She liked how they thought. "Oh..." She could feel her heart flutter on its own. "Who is this?" This was a rare sensation. She understood what it was supposed to mean. She wanted to know this person. If it had his name somewhere on the parchment she would spy the name and say it out loud, if not she would expect or one would suppose she would extract an answer.

OC: I am going to assume that this thread died? Assume I walked away I suppose. If this thread died because my roleplays were less than satisfactory, I apologize. It was a pleasure interacting with you all.

IC:
This was boring, THEY were boring. She was getting the reaction she wanted out of them but students were starting to file in. No need to make a bigger scene than she had to, Serena was too popular to defame so readily. With a sigh and a grunt of annoyance she would back away. The toast was pedestrian anyways, she was more a bacon and eggs type of girl. 

"Whatever..."

Her back to the group, she had no reason to fear reprisal. She had every confidence that she could turn even a gank in her favor. Her left hand raised, she made a dismissive waving motion. 

"Later losers. And yeah, happy birthday yadda yadda--"

She would make her way over to her House's table. Find an empty seat. She had no friends and as far as she was concerned she did not need them either. It was better this way for more reasons than one. Some would consider her existence a sad and lonesome one, they would not be wrong but there was nothing that could be done. She was what she was and yes she was a terrible and cruel child but moreover she was hollow and numb. 

It gave her no power in particular, this was simply something she lacked and if anything is disempowered her. Magic was more than simple genetics or the use of the right movements in conjunction with the right words, there is a passion that magic requires and it is something that Erin lacked. It was ironic because if anything she seemed the most short-tempered, but if one truly thought about it, she initiated those moments in some manner. She perpetuated others. And she set combustible situations ablaze.

She had to force the emotions, amplify the echoes and shades she felt from others and emulate what they might be in herself. The most reliable of sentiments seething anger, sadness and fear -- they were so full of fear and self-loathing. People are also liars, they pretend to be happy, they say the word 'love' loosely. They seemed to feel with greater ease than her, something she coveted. It was not that she could not, but it was as if her sense of touch was no more than what she could feel through a woolen coat. The pressure was there. The presence. The knowledge of its existence, but the true, most intimate and honest sense was lost to her.  

So, this was something she relied upon, because nothing would be given onto her. She breathed their hate like some would partake in the smell of baking pie. It was intoxicating and filling to such a starved soul. Nothing worthy of mercy, in fact the opposite - revulsion. Erin was a selfish young girl, more concerned with her needs and wants than those of others. She 'needed' their pain like she needed another piece of cake, it was excessive and therefore needless but it did not deter her.

She would leave them to their devices for now. Surely they would cross paths again.