Core Finished

@Dealla Prince

The boy was blissfully unaware of the scar he was prying open. Even as Dealla's composure took a turn, he remained clueless, initially assuming she was on edge due to the conversation keeping them from dinner. "Hangry", muggleborns called it. He tried to dispel her distress in saying he'd sleuth for answers in the morning, but that only made matters worse. Far worse. Peri's own cool and casual mien faltered as her body became rigid, assuming the vibe of a feral animal weighing whether to lash out or flee into the wild. Then that bomb was dropped, that scathing line which struck him like an arrow: It's none of your business.

Dee's words and scowl hit harder than her spells had during practice, and that was saying something. Without the context of how conniving, critical, and cruel her grandparents were, Pericles was left to assume he had made some grievous social error. His actual age shone through in that moment. The then-twelve-year-old had a knack for seeming more mature than he really was, given his pureblood properness, his learned eloquence, and his quiet composure. But as Dee's terror manifested as anger, the facade crumbled. His eyes were wide, jaw slack, physically leaning away. He was even driven a step back by the sting. When he spoke, his voice was unfamiliar to himself: "Dee?" It sounded small and far away. Maybe she hadn't heard him. Maybe that was why she stormed off without so much as glancing back.

Pericles was left dumbfounded and alone. The young pureblood had always been a bit strange, what with how sheltered his upbringing was, resulting in someone quiet, solitary, and frankly on the socially inept side. He had made blunders before with other students. He must have said something wrong. It was rare that he got on with others, so his friendship with Dee was particularly precious. Seeing her so angry at him (he thought) was like a knife to the gut, one that twisted on the lonely trek towards the Great Hall. He let the exchange play over in his head as, mute and glum, the little wizard squashed his food with the tines of his fork, lacking his earlier appetite.

By the time he crawled into bed, Pericles believed he had somehow sundered their friendship altogether. At first he was sad. Sorrow led to tossing and turning, and restlessness eventually erupted into frustration. No, he wasn't going to take this lying down, literally or figuratively.
He wouldn't owl his father tomorrow morning. He would owl him tonight.

Fin.