Budding Blooms PV Luna Choi Finished

She was crying.

Or, at least, it looked like it. Lavender hair covering her face, Choi appeared to think that the childish insult had struck a nerve. A rush of victory ran through Mari's bones; she hadn't expected the jab to work, yet she was quite pleased it had. The girl could cry, Mari would then prove that she was not to be messed with, and both could be on their ways. Choi would certainly avoid her from then on. Good riddance.

She felt as though she had been hit by a hippogriff when Choi instead retorted. It would be evident that Mari was unprepared for the comeback, as she would anxiously toy with her hair while her jaw loosened until it stuck in a half-open position. Even if Choi wasn't crying, her tears were still flowing, ever so slightly faster while Choi talked.

You're a fool, Mari she thought. A fool, a fool, a fool. This is what she got for insulting someone, never mind the fact that the insult was quite uncreative. It never paid to fight. She'd always lose. Especially, it seemed, to Choi. Choi undoubtedly smelled horrendous, inside and out, but Mari couldn't doubt that she was cunning enough to win a verbal battle. She didn't dare wonder how a physical battle would turn out.

She stayed silent. Yes, Choi was in fact cunning enough to win a battle, maybe even an impromptu rap battle if she so chose. "I-I'm a first year," Mari stammered as she looked downward once more. She didn't dare ask questions; this girl seemed impossible to reason with. She instead just cried and through these tears, added, "I'm...you just, you're being cruel, okay? I did nothing to you!"

Luckily, the conversation had transitioned quite quickly to the other topic, which Mari felt slightly more comfortable in. She could choke back a few tears for these comebacks; as long as the insults kept coming, Mari didn't care how juvenile they were. This prefect sure needed a reality check, and despite the tears, Mari sensed it was her duty to give her one.

She just needed a few second to compose herself after the "fuzzy and too painful to remember" comment.

That comment was Mari's worst nightmare. Her whole life she had been in Lucy's shadow, which was fine, (at least, she told herself that) but at Hogwarts, she had hoped it would be different. For the first time since she was a baby, she had been forced to make friends on her own. Had she done it? Not well. There were a few acquaintances, but thus far, no one she could confide in like her sisters and parents. The fact was, Mari's confidants did not need her in return - the change had jolted her awake during the winter holidays, but it was growing more and more apparent as the term went on and the letters got shorter. Isa and Ewan ultimately had each other, Lucy had her boyfriend and friends, and Grace was a kindergarten socialite. Mari still depended on her family, but because they did not need her, they rarely asked anything beyond the surface-level questions.

And now, Choi was highlighting a trait that Mari had hoped she had hidden well enough. Luckily, though Mari couldn't quite think clearly, as she still felt shock throughout her system, lying about her friends was second-nature. Still crying but with a smile on her face, she confidently said, "Ah, but my friends don't seem to think that way. Do you know Dan Palmer? River Dewlight? Vince Stallings?" - never mind that, as a whole, they were acquaintances, three names was enough to convince her, right? - "They're all my friends and they didn't have any issue remembering me. Perhaps," she snarled, eyeing the prefect's badge on the girl's clothes as she said her next sentence, "You are just trying to conceal the fact that your memory's fuzzy for another reason...I wouldn't be surprised if that host had smuggled in a case of firewhiskey, after all."

She smirked, then clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Tut, tut, I bet Headmaster Lear wouldn't appreciate his staff drinking on the job, especially when they're only little babies like you."

Never mind the fact that Mari had no idea if there was even Butterbeer at that party, nor the fact that Choi seemed like the last person to drink underage. Never mind the fact that Choi could just be a very small fifth year. Mari hardly even knew what Firewhiskey was, just that it had more alcohol than Butterbeer. All she really wanted to do was catch the girl off guard, put the Quaffle back on Mari's side of the pitch. She mimicked the step forward that the girl had taken as she eyed her suspiciously, feigning concentrated curiosity about the girl's drinking habits.

So quiet. Very, very quiet. What was Mari thinking? She wondered. Did Mari want Luna to feel regret because of continuing this argument? If that was so, she failed. Totally failed, as long as those eyes of hers kept dripping tears. Nico helped Luna felt okay with people who could easily cry, but Mari ruined everything.

Finally, this crying baby opened her mouth and talked. And the Prefect didn't know if she should laugh, or cry. The solution was always the same though, no emotions. Anyway, How did this family even raise this girl? So innocent, that made her wonder if she should continue this argument. No, it wasn't because she was suddenly nice, or because she felt guilty. It's basically because she didn't think it was worth it. Why did she have to argue with a kid? Even if they were the same age, even if that kid could be older than her, she still felt her time shouldn't be wasted by this kid.

But yes, Mari managed to change her mind by asking her that question. She didn't do anything to her? Seriously? That was what children usually said, wasn't it? Although her brother wasn't that type, the Slytherin had met a lot of other children from her parents' friends, which was why she knew this. "Ah, so I am cruel, am I not?" Luna stopped, and then she showed the Hufflepuff a smile. It was a beautiful smile, but it was also a scary one. A smile that she only showed up, when she mocked people. Who said Luna was emotionless? She still showed her emotion, just not a lot. But we can easily see, she was pretty pissed off with the Hufflepuff.

"Let's see... Well then, have you ever thought that if you didn't call me with that filthy word," What she meant was the word "Fartface". It was not her fault that she didn't want to say it, was it? "Do you think these would happen to you? Or let's think about what happened before. Would you talk about your future career with a person that you had just met twice? If you were, then I guess your parents did a really good job with raising you then."

Dan Palmer? River Dewlight? Vince Stallings? All of those are the unfamiliar names that she didn't know. She was not sure if these people even existed in the first place or this kid had just created them or they were her imaginary friends, but whatever. To be honest, the Slytherin had met a lot of people, interacted with a lot of them, but she had never considered any of them with that word, "friend". Even Nico Shymane, the Slytherin Prefect and probably the person who was the closest to Luna right now, she didn't consider her as a friend, only colleague. But if she had a friend, that might be Ray, her little cat. Not a person, but should still be considered as a "friend". Ray had always been a sweetie to her...

"Are they really your friends? Or are you, by any chance, faking it?" Luna didn't say this without thinking. If these people were actually this kid's friend, then why didn't them let her borrowed their cameras? There was no way three of them didn't have one, unless... their relationships weren't that good. It would totally make sense then. "Koko Riddle, Veronica Turner, Alex Cheong, Andrew Vance, Jade Murphy, Geoffrey Ryan. Do you want more names? Do you want me to prove more to accept the fact that my memory is totally normal?" These were actually not all the people she knew, only most of them. She had never considered them as her "friend", but now she had somewhere to use them. Maybe she should say thank them later when she had the chance to talk with them. After all, they helped her deal with this kid, didn't they?

Firewhiskey? Why did she suddenly mention this? By any chance, there was firewhiskey in that party? She wasn't sure. When Luna came there, she just focused on observing people, totally ignored the food and drink there. Which was also why she had no idea that there was this drink there. "Miss, if you were a prefect, you would be a horrible one." Luna wouldn't suddenly talk about something out of detail, she started to explain it to this kid, "If it was just because someone couldn't remember another person, you couldn't assume that they were drunk. You only showed up for two or three minutes, didn't do anything special other than running away, and you expected another person to remember about you when you just talked with them for a bit? Ridiculous." Luna paused, just to "help" this kid understood what was happening. No one liked the person they disliked use the teacher voice to them, that was why Luna chose this way to make her felt uncomfortable.

"And you know what? I am really curious about how you know that there were some firewhiskeys there. Not to mention, you are a first year. Who do you think you are calling a baby? Not to mention, if I was really a baby, then what were you? Crying like this, blaming everything on me, why don't you look at yourself first?" Luna sniggered, while still looking at Mari.

The smile sent a chill to her bones. Even though Choi was a prefect, she had a mean streak to her. Before entering Hogwarts, Isa had told Mari that prefects were meant to protect her and that she should go to them in case of any emergency. But when Isa had gone to Hogwarts, only fifth, sixth, and seventh years were prefects; there was not such nonsense like it was now, where first and second years were given the responsibility. Whoever trusted 11- and 12-year-olds with such tasks were out of their minds, clearly. Choi proved perfect evidence. She likely knew she had the power of position over Mari that the 12-year-old Hufflepuff did not have. Nevertheless, she certainly was not going to protect Mari; instead, she seemed to take...was it joy, perhaps?...in the situation at hand.

"Yes," Mari sighed, yet another tear trickling down her face. The Department of Mysteries question once again shifted to the forefront of her brain. It was weird, very peculiar, how the Slytherin spoke in adages. She wanted to ask the question again, but given how this conversation was going, it seemed to be of no use. In the off-chance they became friends, perhaps the subject could be discussed once more, but now was not the time.

Definitely wasn't a good time. It seemed that Choi was still stuck on the fact that Mari had even brought it up in the first place. The tears flowed down even further as Choi criticized her, once again, for even bringing up the fact that Mari had asked if she had considered a career in the Department of Mysteries. Mari looked at her, eyes wide, as she spoke her words. She had thought that it was kind to discuss things like that, to show an interest in other people. She was unaware that she was...a freak, she supposed, for even wondering.

She had wanted to defend herself, even opened her mouth to speak when Choi insulted her parents, but she looked at her dumbly instead and closed her mouth. Did Isa and Ewan really fail in their upbringing of Mari? Yes, their separation had affected her deeply, even though she had been young, but ever since they had reunited, everything seemed fine. Mari had had a fairly normal childhood, all in all, and loved her family deeply. Yes, she had always been the quiet and shy one, but she had her place as the eldest and protector of her two sisters. She supposed her mum had been disappointed that her grades were not better, but that did not make her parents failures in raising her, did it? She bit her lip. Mari wanted to say all these things but the fear and anxiety that she was a disappointment crippled her.

To make matters worse, Choi kept going. "N-No..." Mari stammered. "They're...not made up." Why was she suddenly unable to defend herself? Why did it feel like Choi was winning? Why did it feel like Mari just wanted to curl into a ball and cry? She looked at the girl and just continued crying while she listed more and more names, more than she could even imagine knowing. Why was it that this evil little girl got to know so many people and Mari just felt so alone? All she had to show for this year, really, was the spot where she got stabbed. What a prize.

Though she felt a metaphorical stab when Choi mentioned she would be a horrible prefect, Mari couldn't linger on the thought for long. She did want to be a prefect, yes; she had even tried to submit an application, but there was something terrifying about the position. Choi addressed her deepest, darkest fear: that she would be terrible. Mari always felt a sense of inadequacy, and it was why she had withdrawn her application at the last minute. She didn't feel as though she deserved the position. However, she did find it irritating that Choi found their conversation unremarkable, for Mari did pride herself on remembering those she spoke to. Finally, with more confidence than she had spoken in the last few turns, she rebutted, "Yes, I do think it is cruel and unusual that you did not remember me. A conversation's a conversation, and it is only kind to remember those you've talked to. I may be unremarkable, but I am worthy."

A small sense of peace rested in her stomach as she said these words. Maybe she was a disappointment to her family and friends, but there was some worth inside of her - maybe, she just still had to find it. That was okay. It would be okay. She was safe and loved and even though this year had been hard, she had a wonderful ball to look forward to and perhaps, she would make new friends there. The end of year was coming to a close, and even if that ball led to no more friends, she would be with her family soon. And next year...Lucy would be there, and at least she'd have Lucy's friends, like before. Mari was okay with that. Her sisters were her best friends; ultimately, she didn't need any more. As long as they, Isa, and Ewan loved her, she would always know that she was worthy.

It was this newfound peace that allowed her to confidently say, "I have eyes, Choi. Maybe you aren't a good prefect, after all. Shouldn't you know people's names; shouldn't you be aware if there were illegal substances at parties, especially when they were so close to curfew? I may be a baby, but at least I can see." She crossed her arms and glared at the girl. Maybe, just maybe, she would be able to fight back. And maybe, just maybe, she could win.

Luna didn't know what to say. When Haynes said that she was mean, she felt kind of funny that the Hufflepuff was so honest. It felt like she was bullying her? Well... that sounded pretty believable. The lavender hair decided to keep quiet, also started to think about leaving this place again. Not because she was sad to hear Haynes saying that she was mean, it was just having a new enemy was pretty troublesome. Who knew how they planned to make you mad? She didn't want the relationship with the name "friend" with Haynes, but she didn't want to bring more trouble to herself. Which was why she should stop herself from talking to this girl before things went worse.

"Well, not that I care if they are real or not anyway." Maybe other people would be jealous to know that the person they didn't like had a bunch of friends, but that didn't include someone like Luna Choi. She could be jealous, but that would never be because of the friendship thing, never. She used to want to be friends with people, but that was long ago. "If you do remember, you ignored me back then. And now you want me to remember you? Funny."

"I am glad that you do know that you have eyes, Miss Haynes." Although she just wanted to leave peacefully, it wouldn't be like what she wanted. Well then, this was Haynes' fault that she made Luna like this, not her fault. "I am not a good prefect? Look at who is talking right now." She did the patrolling stuff every day, that was what a bad prefect did? She might not be the best prefect, but she knew she was not a bad prefect.

"Also, if you think I'm not a good prefect, does this mean you doubt the Head Master's decision? The Head of the Slytherin House's decision? The Slytherin prefects' decisions? Do not forget that they are people who decided if the person who applied for the role is worthy or not. And me standing here, with the prefect badge, proved that I am worthy."

Nevermind, leaving now was impossible. It seemed like she accidentally made Haynes more confident. What was going on in that kid's mind? Not like she cared anyway. "Shouldn't I know people names? Oh, so you mean in order to be a prefect, you need to know EVERYONE's name in this school? I guess you are even dumber than a baby, at least they know this is impossible."

"And well, I do know that. If I didn't, I wouldn't show up in the first place at that noisy place. Do I look like the type of people who likes party?" Luna sighed, turned back and started walking away. Leaving this place was possible, she just wanted to piss Haynes off... "Whatever, I do not know why I have to waste my precious time on you anymore. You are just a kid who didn't know anything, I could have done much more things instead of being here, trying to make you realize how dumb you are. Farewell." For some reasons she also didn't know, she didn't want to talk with this girl anymore. What was the point of this conversation anyway?

There was no use arguing with the idiotic, and Mari could sense that Choi was a lost cause. Mari had not ignored Choi back at their first meeting; she had just been too overwhelmed with everything that was going on, the detention, making Lucy proud, and the punishment that was on the line...That day had been a lot. But based on the conversation's trajectory, Mari could tell that Choi was not going to understand her point of view. Not now, not ever. She was a snake through and through.

As for the prefect comment, though - Mari knew she could address that easily, even if the reality brought her quite a bit of shame. "I'm not a prefect, Choi..." she murmured tentatively as she eyed the purple-haired girl.

The reality was that she had applied for the job, but withdrew her application because of fear. She was scared she would not get the job, scared she would let her family down when they heard that she had been rejected. It was easier to just not know if she was worthy of the role while she tried to prove herself further. Mari was trying; she had tried to be helpful, had tried to smile at BonBon when she passed him, had tried to do her homework even though she didn't really like school...time would tell if it would be enough. She certainly hoped it would be, so that she could be a prefect like Choi already seemed to think she was...but she'd be a far better prefect than the evil Choi.

It was as if Choi could read her thoughts, as the girl ran down the list of every single possible person who could have had an influence in her appointment. Mari didn't know if the people she listed were actually true, because she had never made it to the interview process...for all she knew, prefects appointed other prefects. It made sense; they knew the job best, after all. All she could respond to the aggressive debate, however, was a brief: "Well I hope one day I will be able to prove my worthiness as well. Because I might not be a prefect now, Choi, but I will be one someday. And I will prove you wrong that day."

Mari knew a fair amount of people's names - it paid to be a fly on the wall, sometimes - but again, this was not an argument she felt was worth fighting. Choi would never understand logic and how important it was for staff members to know the "normal" people's names. Gosh, what Mari would do if she could somehow get Choi fired one day...

For once, though, it seemed she and Choi were on the same wavelength, as the snake seemed to also realize that this conversation was a waste of time. She was wrong, of course, but it was no use any more. With a curt nod of the head, Mari bade this evil girl farewell, finished her flower picking, and headed back up to the comforts of the Hufflepuff Common Room.

The Common Room was a place free from Slytherins. It was just how Mari liked it.

Mari Haynes has left the thread.