Broken books Finished

“Never took you as a fan or practitioner of religious mythology. By Aphrodite’s loins and Yahweh’s beard...”

Howard gritted his teeth as Erin dug in further. He should have known to just ignore the girl, conversing with her was pointless. She had a one track mind. Ask a question, tell her off, nothing mattered. All she could do was feed. Fortunately for him, Thomas, and his anger would divert her attention. 

“Quiet. I’m done playing your games. I don’t buy it. Any of it. What do you want?”

Howard’s eyes would shift towards Thomas’, a look of bewilderment flashed through them. The boy was learning, much as he had before him, however he was not quite there yet. This was no game, not even close. Yes, Erin was a manipulator when she needed to be, but mind games just for the sake of it would serve her no purpose. Erin was a predator, and she had marked Thomas much as she had marked him. She would dig in like a virus, aiding in the corruption of what the boys could have been, feeding off her hosts until they were depleted. Only time would tell if the boys had the strength to survive her.

“You...and my darling Howard.”

Another flash of heat rose from his belly as she confirmed his thoughts. He hated how well she could read him. Howard’s eyebrows would raise slightly as he saw that same hatred flash through Thomas’ eyes, his wand raising from his side, aimed point blank at Erin. A confusing mixture of emotions would course through Howard’s body. Excitement would come first, as he would almost want to shout out to encourage Thomas. To watch as he unleashed his anger and his power. He himself knew the ecstasy that would follow. However, something strange would come next. His hand reached for his own wand, with a strong urge to protect Erin. No, this was not a grand romantic gesture, or some misplaced sense of chivalry. If Howard had become the addict, Erin had become the pusher. Disgust would come last. A bond had grown between her and himself. It was sick and twisted, but a bond nonetheless. 

Areilla’s entrance would bring a stop to the potential mayhem, and true to her nature Erin would lash out at her as well. Howard would engage with the blonde when questioned, offering her a weak apology for the incident in the library.

“Are you?”

Erin was right to question Howard. Sure, there was part of him that felt some remorse for what he had done to the library, but that part of him was quickly dying. The truth was, as he had told Thomas earlier, that he would have changed nothing about his actions. He had the power and it was his right to use it. 

Erin would rise from her bed as she spoke, wincing in pain as she attempted to walk. Her eyes connected with Howard’s as she hopped his way. Never before had she spoken so openly about her nature. The usual long speeches and tricky words nowhere to be found. Thomas and Howard had something she could never have, and she would attempt to eat away at them for the smallest taste.    Erin would name the others that had come before them, each one fueling the fire within Howard. The fury would burn white hot, however this time it would not explode, like a furnace it would rage in containment, Howard the master of its release. He rose from his bed to face her. 

“Learn your damn potential.”

Howard lashed out. Not with his magic, but with his physical strength. His hands shot forward, palms out as they connected with Erin’s chest, sending her down to the ground. He stepped forward, towering over her as she struggled to stand again. It was in this moment that Howard began to learn control. That he could let the hatred brew in his guts, let it grow and become stronger, ready at any moment for his using. Again, the power came with it, radiating throughout him, yet it would not burst forth uncontrollably. Looking down upon Erin, he would see her in a slightly different light. Yes, she was a monster, she was very much his enemy. She did not deserve love or compassion, but who could blame her for wanting to feel what he felt now. It was something worth taking.

“Fine. Have it your way Erin.” Howard would reach out a ‘helping’ hand.

Ariella curled up so that her knees were at her chin. She looked over at Erin, who had apparently joined in with the conversation. After hearing her responses, Ariella sensibly decided to follow Thomas's advice. She rolled her eyes and looked around. The hospital wing was seemingly empty, other than one little squirt of a Gryffindor that just happened to be lying around.

She turned her focus back to the others. She reached into her bag (yeah she brought a bag with her) and pulled out a book. It was the exact book Erin had tried to break Ariella's nose with. She tossed it over to Erin.

"Have it back."

It was sort of random, but she was bored, so she threw it back at her. Maybe it even would hit her face. She stared at the girl, the empty husk of nothing other than hate.

But apparently the two boys had 'Value,' even after they insulted her time and time again and visibly hated her, but they still had 'Value.' Ariella, on the other hand, had tried to build at least a tolerance between the two, and yet was perceived as a meaningless, unworthy, and substanceless.

Sure, that's fair.

But before she knew it, the Howie launched himself at Erin and tackled her to the ground, Ariella let out a tiny gasp. Just a teeny weeny one, but it was probably noticed all the same. She uncurled herself and looked over at Thomas, trying to figure out what he was feeling about this. Then all of a sudden, Howie grabbed Erin's hand and helped her up.

"Howie, you contradict yourself way too often," she sighed, slightly confused.

Then she smiled to herself, for a completely unknown reason.

"Oh, how cruel you are Lestrange, A few mean words, an intrusive book. It seems only logical that being crushed would be a fitting consequence."

Was it true, had his nature evolved into that of cruelty? A notion that hardly provoked anger within Thomas, why was this so? His emotions well within the grasp of his opposition from the beginning, she would generate feelings of anger, fear, and sorrow. From the moment he took a seat beside the girl in the library, she dictated where he would travel to in his mind. Now this need for wrath engulfed him. To see her suffer, but not in the way she may have wanted.

She has made it clear, she wants to use him for her benefit. Erin would spin it the way to achieve her goals, that he was valuable. That this purpose he must fulfill, his potential, was only to be reached with her. After requesting Thomas to do it and express his rage through the end of his wand, it was clear that would not lead to victory. After all, Howie had done it less than 24 hours ago, and here she was, hopping to his bed, unphased.

This is when the revelation arrived. A revelation in the sense of having an enlightening moment that reveals the secret truth of someone’s actions or intentions. Having thought he already uncovered the puzzle of Erin Ryan, the mystery embedded within, Thomas could not have been more wrong. She had worn a patient gown unlike him, presumably due to the fact her injuries were that much more severe. That was not the significant part. A portion of her back was exposed, revealing several scars. Some faded, some fresh, littered along every exposed part of her flesh. Thomas looked away in revulsion. The revelation arrived. She was unaffected by physical consequences, she welcomed the pain like a black bear discovering campers’ unsealed food containers.

Thomas looked to Ariella with his eyebrows rising, a confounded expression on his face. As if to say do you see what I am seeing. This girl is batshit crazy. And here she goes again, rambling on with her manipulative terror.

"You know what I want Lestrange? To devour the remnants you never even notice like a carrion vulture, but I can't because you keep on going away... dying... I don't know what the fuck really."

Still shaken by the exposure of her injuries, and possibly more so by her hobbling over to Howard on a broken leg, Thomas finally realized he had not moved in inch. Standing there with his wand to his side, he walked back towards his bed that was directly across from Howard’s. He sat towards the end, contemplating an approach to the situation. His desire for wrath may had faded but only some, he still wanted to see her suffer. In a way she never has before.

"Marcus DeWynter, Siege Bal, Sebastian Leeds, Anaïs Jones, Destrian Dayne, Reed Wesley, Anatole Evans... Prefects that just disappeared. All we got are first and second years in 'power' and they don't seem to last. Didn't know all of them, but the ones that I did made for a great meal and they aren't gone because of me. Learn your damn potential."

Much like past moments, Thomas had been speechless. It was all so new to him, such an animal. What drove her to this existence, or was she simply born this way? It was obvious to him her upbringing was without love. Perhaps she was raised by a gang of goblins. Was it a coincidence, the suffering that has befallen these prefects?

Howard shoved Erin to the cold floor, what difference did it make. Still, Thomas felt satisfaction from witnessing it. Part of him wanted to stand to kick her mouth while she lay there. Howard stood over the girl and offered his hand.

“Fine. Have it your way Erin.”

Initially confused, Thomas determined it may have only been part two of the boy’s attack. “Look at her, Howard… what good will it do?” He spoke gently, almost lifeless. His expression was withdrawn, he did not even look in the vicinity of Erin and Howard when he spoke. “Why only prefects,” His eyes steadily drifted over to the girl that lay on her back. “you are drawn to them.” He was no longer asking questions but making accusations. Much like before the moment she gave him her knee in the library.

Thomas stood up from his bed on the opposite side Howard, his feet close to her head. “You’re weak. We could break you.” He gave a momentary glance at Howie, and then back to Erin. He felt the anger they shared was enough to trust him for the moment, but they were no more than strangers linked by the girl. “No one would give a damn, but you’re used to that.” He tied his conclusion to his earlier mention in the library that her parents did not love her. They were fighting words, but Thomas wasn’t looking for a fight. Just a way into her head, if even just for a moment. “Do what you will, Howard.”

She could basically read the message Thomas spoke in his eyes, which was confusing since she never actually paid attention to little details like this. Her eyes spoke it all - I'm not that stupid, smartstuff.

She looked back and reflected on all the names Erin had stated. That was a lot of prefects she had made claim to. It was almost as if she was proud of it. What a bitch. Ariella reached into her bag again and suddenly what had happened in the library came back to her, sort of like enlightenment. And then all of a sudden, she didn't really feel like helping Howie out with his acts of violence against Erin. And, especially because she did not know Howie's reason for disliking Erin, could possibly be on Erin's side.

All of a sudden, Thomas stood up and sent Ariella tumbling down from the bed, bumping her head on the other bed.

"Ow... thanks a lot," she grumbled sarcastically and stood up, rubbing the bit of her head that got bumped. It actually hurt quite a bit - guess she hadn't completely recovered from her injuries.

"You're weak. We could break you," Thomas was saying - well it was more like he was growling from where Ariella was hearing it - the boy was quite angry. Ariella had somewhat a moral conflict - as if she wanted to egg Thomas and Howie on, but also spare Erin. She decided to go with both.

"Guys! Calm down. If you're still here, you're hurt okay? So just... tone it down," she started, motioning her hands downwards. "And as for you Erin, you seem too proud of making all of those prefects disappear. And honestly, I'm in more of a position to murder you than to help clean up that damn library."

Was that the right thing to say? She asked herself.

Ariella was jealous. It was an interesting choice, but it was true and it was real. The fact that the boys were getting all the attention while the Ravenclaw was being discarded. Everything that Ariella had learned in her youth was ineffective against one such as Erin. Erin was a creature that seemed to bring forth the worst in people's natures. Their sin and vice. For one such as Ariella it was her envy, something that Erin had stoked from the beginning if the girl looked back at it and realized. It was how Ariella carried herself. It was how the young girl interfaced. How the Ravenclaw sought to place herself in the middle of things. Her want to be loved. Her want to be seen. Erin saw all of that, it only took her a moment to realize it of course and then systematically take it away from her. Ariella was starting to realize her true nature. 

"Have it back." 

It was a petty action to take against the barely standing Slytherin as she hobbled towards Howard, but that was what this was all about. Demonstrating to them who the real monster was here. Releasing their dangerous potential so that she might not only feed but also harness it. She was slowly taking control of the two young men even if they had not yet realized this. The careless toss of the hefty book with the secret desire to see it hit the offensive second year in the face would be granted. Erin never saw the book coming, her vision still foggy from the state of unconsciousness she had only been roused from a short time ago. The corner of the book would hit her in the side of the head and the girl would stagger to the side, nearly falling onto the footboard of her own bed. She would not realize it but she was bleeding now from where the book had struck. The cut was small, only three centimeters or so, but she was bleeding heavily. She would simply feel something hot and wet run down the side of her face that she would not physically address, she was too dizzy and disoriented to release her grip on the metal footboard. Erin let out a grunt of pain that seemed delayed, as if it took her a moment to realize that she was even hit. Another dig was called for. "You hit like a girl..." A splotch of blood would hit the bedlinens as Erin rose again to her full height and continued her previous approach. 

Slowed but not prevented, the juggernaut would move through Howard or not at all. She wanted them. Not the academic or the athlete. Not the friendly and kind Hufflepuff. Nor the cunning and successful Slytherin. She did not want or care for the face that they had shown the rest of the world. The lie that they perpetuated. The lies that stifled their existence and weakened them. That weakened her. Yes, there was a symbiosis at work. She was feeding off of them, becoming stronger with each passing moment. The broken leg and rib, an investment in her own future as she slowly took control from them. She could feel it in Howard, that storm of emotions and that hunger that was slowly growing. That loss of control. That dangerous potential he was just realizing. 

Howard pushed back. He was stronger than anticipated, not that it would have taken much to knock over the injured youth. His palms made contact with her chest, pushing the air out of her in a single gush. Did Howard cop a feel? There were washboards more endowed than Erin, so even if he did he would not know. With all of the grace of well, an overturned cripple Erin was knocked to the floor. The hard, marble floor came quickly. She tried to catch herself but she couldn't. She could not let out a yell because she had no air as her back and then her head hit the ground with a sharp snap. She saw lights and dark splotches, her head was like a siren in response to the near blinding pain. She was wheezing, looking straight up at the ceiling. The lights had gotten her attention, it was always something bright that caught ones gaze just before the shadows claimed them. She was either too stubborn or not hurt enough, that curtain did not fall but her head pounded as she struggled to refill her emptied lungs. The air hunger being more notable than even the pain as she temporarily forgotten about her broken leg. 

It was a cruelty of the body to slow time in moments such as this, but it was also the only way she was even certain she was alive. Her breaths would slow, the room would spin. Physically she had lost. Her body was at its limit. However, in a way she was winning a longer game. 

"Fine. Have it your way Erin." 

Howard announced as he extended a hand. She trusted him, but not to help her. No, this was the killing blow and she knew it. Did Howard realize that this was also the end of Howie? A part of her believed that he realized. That a part of him was also trying to kill Howie so that Howard might live. Birth, like death was painful and this might hurt...

"Howie, you contradict yourself way too often." 

Ariella commented but to Erin it felt as if the words were being said underwater. She could barely make them out.

“Look at her, Howard… what good will it do?”

Thomas was trying to place some reason here or perhaps he saw it as well. That this was not going to end well. Since the moment they met her nothing had gone right. They were in the midst of some macabre game that they never wanted to attend. Erin extended her arm in Howard's direction. Her knuckles were scraped, her forearm was bruised. Her thin arm felt heavy to her shoulder, it ached but it did not matter. "I... always get my way," Erin announced as she finally caught her wind. Whatever followed. Whatever 'help' Howard provided would come to pass. [Permission for success]

“Why only prefects?” 

Thomas was moving towards her, she could feel him. She gave no answer, words were hard to form. She actually thought she said something, but obviously she didn't. 

“You are drawn to them.” 

He concluded. His judgement was made but in this she was in fact innocent. She had nothing to do with their disappearances, just like she had nothing to do with Howard. At least directly. Perhaps it was her influence that compelled him to leave the school those months ago and to return ...like this. Some of those Prefects, however, she had never met and she only knew of them. Even if her influence was great, her blame had its limitations. Thomas was close. His feet rested next to her head and she could hear his voice above her.

“You’re weak. We could break you.”

He was not wrong, she could not fight back even if she wanted to. Her leg was broken, her ribs were fractured, her body was bruised and abraded, her head was actively bleeding leaving a small puddle beneath her and she was feeling a bit dizzy. She could hear it and she agreed. She needed to reach the bottom, to feel the cold hard ground so that she could climb back up. She needed to reach the bottom so she could find Howard and Thomas and break them. She was there now and she knew it, barely conscious. This was the moment of sin that she needed to break at least one of them. To let them commit this final act and be free. She wanted to egg him on, to tell him to do it. However the pain was exquisitely intense. She had reached her limit of endurance. She did not want another, deeper wave to come crashing down. It was too much. So for a second time she felt it, in this vulnerable state. It was this creeping sense of trepidation she would not admit although perhaps it could be seen in her eyes as they were glassing over or in her hand that shook ever so slightly. No, she was not going to try and stop this. She had already gone this far. Fear is something that is meant to be overcome, a necessary precursor to courage. Although nobody would see Erin's act on the floor as an act of courage but rather one of foolish defiance she said the only thing she could -- the truth. "We are breaking each other on this fine day." [Too weak to actually avoid a kick to the head so if that happens she would not avoid it but she would also not remain conscious.

]“No one would give a damn, but you’re used to that.”

So true.

“Do what you will, Howard.” 

The jury has spoken. Who will be the executioner?

"Guys! Calm down. If you're still here, you're hurt okay? So just... tone it down."

Ariella interceded. It was going to be a slaughter if the boys kept at it, Erin was making no effort to stop them. 

"And as for you Erin, you seem too proud of making all of those prefects disappear. And honestly, I'm in more of a position to murder you than to help clean up that damn library." 

She threatened. 

"Then do it." Erin replied. Of all of them it was unlikely to be Ariella unless she felt that it was what would make her belong. What would make her outstanding. Perhaps raise her in the esteem of the boys before her. Perhaps it was more a jealousy that the boys were giving Erin all of the attention rather than Ariella, even if all of the attention was exclusively negative. Some attention was better than no attention as Erin well knew.

“Howie, you contradict yourself way too often...”

Howard cast a quick glance over to the girl, a flare of anger in his eyes. Who was she to interrupt his moment of reckoning. The image of her face was burned into his mental list. He would deal with her, but not this day. For now, he had Erin. This moment had been brewing since they first met. No time for the blonde now. “Shut up girl.” Howard did not yell, but he spoke with a venom in his voice, spitting his words at her like a cobra.

He cast his eyes back down upon Erin. There she lay, broken and vulnerable, a victim of his anger and power. The elation that came with that power coursed through him now, mixing and swirling with the cold hatred. The perfect cocktail. Thomas would stand from his bed.

“Look at her, Howard...what good will it do?”

Howard’s eyes shot up to meet his. “What good?” He gave Thomas a look of disbelief. “Don’t you see it Thomas? I feared it too before, but now I see its true meaning. Look at her.” His arms spread out to either side as to showcase the scene before him. “Look what I have done!” Howard’s voice was raising in intensity, the slightest craze may be detectable. The last statement carried no remorse, he was showing him as if it was a prize or treasured possession. “She is my enemy, and I have the power to stop her! The consequences are irrelevant, Thomas!”

“You’re weak. We could break you.” 

“Yes...” It was possible that Thomas was beginning to understand. It was their power and they had the right to use it as they see fit. It was all coming together now.

“Do what you will, Howard.” 

The angry beast roared. “I don’t need your fucking permission!” He hissed through clenched teeth. Howard reached down to Erin, her arm would raise to meet his. As their hands touched each other, he could feel the slightest of trembles. Pulling her up, he used his free hand to grab at her collar, drawing her face close to his. Her eyes were glossy, there was no fight left in them. Erin was like a wounded doe, accepting its fate as the wolf bit down for the killing blow.

“I...always get my way.”

Erin whispered in his ear. His blue eyes stared into her black. Howie would fall to the floor, no color left in his face, the death rattle ringing through his lungs. Howard stood before her now, freed at last. “Not today, Erin.” His voice was cool and calm. The fury was controlled and focused. Their hands would separate as he reached for his wand. The power was right there at his fingertips, ready for his use, no longer the uncontrollable outbursts that his old self tried to contain. The boy hadn’t the knowledge to kill her, but he would damn sure try. To him, this was his reckoning, little did he know that he had fallen right into Erin’s trap. Even if she perished this day, she would be the victor.

“Guys! Calm down. If you’re still here, you’re hurt okay? So just...tone it down.”

Howard would stay his hand. Once again, he shot the blonde a vicious look. With his newfound control, also came reason, witnesses like her were no good. His eyes moved back to his target. “Not today then...darling.” He whispered in Erin’s ear. With a quick pivot, he would attempt to turn Erin and push her back into the bed he was once in. Straightening his robes he turned to leave the hospital wing, casting one last glance back at the three of them. He would hear any last response, but he would not stay to answer.

Ariella snorted at Erin's comment.

"You hit like a girl," she had said. Ariella nearly burst out laughing, but she stopped herself, as it was probably considered improper in this environment. She shook her head as she watched the event take place.

After Ariella's little comment, Howie had gone quite sour.
"Shut up, girl," he told Ariella. Ariella shook her head casually.

"No."

It seemed like a throwaway comment, but on the inside, Ariella was trying not to laugh. Howie's unnecessary 'insult' just added to the tension that was already in the hospital wing. Ariella was surprised that the one other patient was oblivious to this. She stared closely at the scene, heading closer towards Erin and Howie.

Yeah, Howie was in a bad mood.

"What good? Don’t you see it, Thomas? I feared it too before, but now I see its true meaning. Look at her. Look what I have done! She is my enemy, and I have the power to stop her! The consequences are irrelevant, Thomas!"

Ariella was certain this boy was crazy now. She shook her head.

"Stop. Howie, stop. Just stop it! All of you! Why the fuck are we here? Why does this need to happen?" Ariella was yelling as well now. "I hate this! I hate you. I hate you all. I even hate myself, now!" She shook her head madly. This was pointless, this was sad, but she just needed this to stop. "We're crazy, aren't we? We're so damn broken it's sad. I doubt that you could deny it, and even if you did, I don't care. I've stopped caring now." She laughed angrily and collapsed to the floor as Howie did only a few moments later.

After Ariella's comment, Erin replied simply.

"Do it."

Howie left soon after, and Ariella smiled. She looked back over to Erin's bed. The book. Ariella smiled and walked over carefully, picking up the book.

"Gladly," She said, bringing the book down on Erin's head, attempting to inflict serious injury.

“Don’t you see it Thomas? I feared it too before, but now I see its true meaning. Look at her. Look at what I have done!”

Erin lie there, helpless to defend herself. Howard basked in his achievement, to be responsible for having her in this state. The angle Thomas would be forced to take was beginning to become clear if he wanted to truly achieve victory. The art of deception. Flashes of darkness Thomas displayed would meld together to form the tornado that resembled Howard in time. How long before it is he without hesitation, bringing pain and destruction to all of those around him as Howard did in the library. Undoubtedly the result of pain, Thomas could only speculate at the harbinger of Howard’s monstrosity.

“She is my enemy, and I have the power to stop her! The consequences are irrelevant, Thomas!”

Thomas could not believe these actions would stop her. If he was to end her life, she would live on through Howard. Perhaps she already was.

“I don’t need your fucking permission!”

Thomas looked down, avoiding Howard’s eyes when he grasped his wand. His fear subdued the angry feelings. He did not care of the pain inflicted upon Erin as he knew she did not. The scars symbolized her indifference to pain. He feared for what Howard would become if he was to successfully end her life.

"Stop. Howie, stop. Just stop it! All of you! Why the fuck are we here? Why does this need to happen? I hate this! I hate you. I hate you all. I even hate myself, now!"

The latest storm came from the unlikeliest of places, Ariella. Perhaps she had grown the most of the four over the duration they knew each other. Thomas was grateful it inspired Howard to stop, repositioning Erin atop his bedding. After he whispered into Erin’s ear and approached the door, Thomas was still at a loss for words. All he could do was offer a calculating nod in respect of the 2nd year Hufflepuff. He would not dare speak to reveal the path he would attempt to travel. He only wanted the nod to symbolize to Howard that he was still on his side, regardless of the following moments.

After Ariella’s momentary collapse she grabbed a book with clear intention to harm Erin. Thomas viewed it as his first opportunity. The art of deception.

"Gladly,"

Thomas was becoming the book savior. He took quick steps to meet Ariella over Erin, attempting to catch the book from striking the Slytherin. If he was successful, he would rip the book from her hands and toss it harmlessly to the side. He met the eyes of the Ravenclaw, urgent tone. “There is no fairness to this fight.” His eyebrows drawn together as they descended in an intense stare. “I’ve had a change of heart.” He kneeled beside Erin. “I will join you.” Unknowing of what the declaration would mean to the girl, he remained anxiously unmoved, ready to begin the long con.

Thomas was stupid. Stupid as fuck. Knocking the book out of Ariella's hand was a huge mistake, as hard as he tried to knock it out of Ariella's hand, Ariella tried to cling to the book, but eventually, the boy managed to shove to book away from Ariella in an attempt to help Erin. Ariella looked at Thomas like he was crazy.

"What? What the hell? Are you trying to protect her or something? Look at her. You're just going to help her? After all the damn threats? After what she has done? I see that now, and here you are, protecting her?"

Thomas stared at Ariella intensely.

"There is no fairness to this fight."

Ariella laughed at him and took a step closer.

"Hah, sure. You're some sort of book saviour or something. It's stupid. So stupid," She took another step closer. Ariella's heart was pounding. She had never been this close to a boy, but she was so angry it didn't really matter to her. "Don't join her. Please."

But as she stepped away and set herself down on the bed, shaking her head as Thomas approached Erin.

"I've had a change of heart. I will join you."

Ariella yelled and launched herself at Thomas.