Inner Castle Walls Finished

Dee had watched the rest of the exchange in silence, a flicker of something she couldn't quite place stirring low in her stomach. She didn't like it much.
The swing had come to a stop by the time that Ersa turned to leave, but Dealla was still clinging to the ropes with a tight grip, chewing on her lower lip in worry. There was a slight crease between her eyebrows, betraying her discomfort.
Only when Ersa was already out of earshot, Dee's face finally relaxed as she seemed to realize something. "Hey, she never responded to my invitation!" she complained, slight indignation in her voice. "I mean, she doesn't have to come if she doesn't want to, but she could at least have said that." How rude.

As soon as Ersa was gone, however, Aida shifted back to the bright, warm expression she had emanated before, in a way that felt completely foreign to Dee. But rather than put her off, she felt herself become slightly more intrigued. There was something strange about the albino girl, that was for sure, but Dee didn't mind strange. Strange could be very fascinating.
With the offer of getting a boost to start swinging again, the smile on her face returned as well. "Oh, yes please!" she replied enthusiastically, already starting to rock back and forth again. As she felt Aida's push, propelling her faster and higher, a delighted giggle escaped her, and she closed her eyes for just a second, when the swing had reached its highest point, to enjoy the warmth of the rising sun on her face in that moment of weightlessness, before gravity caught her and pulled her back down.

"I'll send a letter to my parents about the summer," she picked the thread of the conversation back up that they had had before the strange, dark interruption, which already seemed like a distant memory in face of the spring sun. "I'm sure they won't mind - I heard there is a summer camp here, which sounds exciting, and I definitely want to go to that, but I also want to go see my parents for a few weeks at least, so I'm sure we will figure it out."

Turning her head towards Aida as she swung back and forth past her, she gifted the girl with a cheeky grin. "Research trips are trips where you gather new information," she declared seriously. "Because you never know what information could be useful in the future, right? They can be anything, as long as you see things that you didn't know before! Back at home, we used to look for caves, for example. There is a tiny island not far from our harbour that I've always wanted to go to, but the adults working there knew us, so they stopped the boat we took before we got very far." She made her face that vividly expressed her irritation with that fact.
"Here, so far I've mostly gone to explore parts of the castle that I haven't seen before - it's incredible, you'd think that after a few months you would have seen everything, but somehow there is always something new! - or around the Grounds. I'd really like to explore the lake more, but until it's been too cold and also someone told me that we will learn a Charm in sixth grade that lets us breathe underwater!"

Dee's excitement had grown palpable with her descriptions, and the sparkle never left her eyes, even as she glanced over to the Forbidden forest. At the highest point of the swing, she had an incredible view over the Grounds and part of the forest. "I also want to go there at some point," she announced quite gravely. "But probably only when I have learned a few more useful spells in class."

Then, suddenly remembering the question Aida had asked her at the beginning of their conversation, Dealla's attention shifted back towards the present, and the girl she was talking to. "So, what do you love in life, Aida?" she asked.

@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood

Aida pushed Dee on the swing as promised, gently setting her off soaring. At the top of her arc, Dee’s hair caught some glimmers of direct sunlight as she closed her eyes briefly. There was enough momentum that Aida could stand back and watch for a while, so she put up her arms up and made them tremble while gripping her open hands on an invisible, imaginary magical force. The child pretended she was moving the swing back and forth with telekinesis as she growled.

“Rrrrrr, I will master the forces of anti-gravitational waves and shoot you out into your most daring research trip yet!” laughed Aida, continuing to pretend that she was moving Dee on the swing with mind powers. Of course, to this day Aida believed herself to not be magical since she had never knowingly executed a spell. Yet, she was not saddened by the fantasy. She was revelling in this moment. “Are you ready to be an astronaut?!” she joked. “Rrrraaaaaahhhhh!” Aida caught Dee at the low point of her swing and powered her back up to her previous max height and speed. For a moment she imagined Dee could go so fast and high that she would time travel. Yet, the catch and release was smooth and simple. Aida stood back again and watched as Dee began to gradually slow down, listening as the brunette spoke.

“Thanks,” she replied in response to Dee’s decision to write her parents for Aida’s visit. From the sound of it, “research trips” was a term for what Aida had been living for her whole life. Then Dee mentioned caves and Aida’s eyes grew wide. Their pale violet was iridescent in a blue shift, morphing with the increasingly dappled light of the morning’s “golden hour.” Aida bit her lip softly. She was instantly in love with the concept – caves carved out by the mysterious sea. An island, probably isolated, and possibly also hiding a secret cave. Aida clasped her hands with an audible thump and looked up at Dee on the swing. The damned adults had stopped her. The whole concept of a boat surrounded by deep water sounded terribly dangerous to Aida, who was only acquainted with bathing in rivers and had never actually swum in frigid Loch Shiel. Yet, the risk of drowning was nothing compared to the annoyance of being stopped by grown-ups. Ugh!

“I wonder what’s on that island? Maybe a magical pirate artifact? An ancient cursed whale skull? Actual challenge and learning?” remarked Aida with eyes rolling and a silly grin. For some reason Aida was filled with more bravado than was usual for her. She even thought it strange herself. “I would love to see the lake with you,” said Aida, dismissing it. While they were at it, nevermind that students were not permitted to enter the lake at Hogwarts without permission. Aida chuckled low to herself. She kind of felt like she was losing it. At this rate she would soon do something dangerous just for the thrill and catharsis of it. She felt like she was born to fly all around the globe but had been stuck in a cage for far too long. Trying to stay positive, Aida’s eyes glistened with excitement.

“Dee, I want to show you, too. My secret base. It’s the most incredible cavern, with this wiiiiiiide intricate ballroom and a little pool nearby, and it even has some crystals!! And the GORGE! And the old-growth forests! And all the animals!!...” Aida looked like she would spin from excitement, but then when mentioning the animals she grew somewhat deflated. “Ah, well… there are so many wild animals to be seen out in the Highlands. Oh, won’t you come on my research trips too? It will be an equitable exchange,” she continued, sounding just a tad too serious and therefore a bit silly. “Do you know how to ride a horse?” she wondered aloud. As Dealla mentioned her desire to go into the Forbidden Forest, though, Aida grew quiet and overcome by a slight, almost knowing grin. Our day will come, she thought.

“What do I love?” repeated Aida. “I love my secret base and feeling the contours of its cave. I love the smell of forest earth in the spring, right when the soil is just beginning to get warm in the sun. I love rain, and the black and white geometry of the mountains when they’re veiled in snow. I love animals… all the beasties… all of them. I love monsters. I love flowers. I love the whistling of wind in a chasm. I love science and dreaming about the twisted secrets of deep, dark outer space. I love the stars and the consistency with which the sun rises. I love books, and looking at all the pictures of Antarctica’s glaciers and the creatures of the very bottom of the deep, dark sea… Oh I could go on and on about all of these things. Imagine being in a submarine at the bottom of the ocean. Aggghh, how can anyone stand it?! There are so many things to be doing, places to go, things to see. I wish I were a ray of light and I could go so fast… and see them all before I die.” Aida knew she had been ranting, but she wanted Dee to know. It was her heart’s way of trying to give her all of these beautiful things she was seeing in her mind’s eye. “I love waking up and knowing that I’m not dead yet. I love pulling out the oldest books in the library and smelling them long and deep, feeling their bevels and moving their gilded binding under the sunlight. I love to sing. I love to learn. I love to craft.” Aida made a sympathetic smile at Dee, knowing her list was long. It was probably unusual for someone her age to mention death in this context, and twice within such a short time, but Aida's voice was filled with affection and, if anything, her pearlescent tone was soothing. “I love peace of mind, and I love this feeling of making a new friend,” concluded Aida, not at all finished but stopping herself anyway. She looked Dee in the eye now with a sudden gleam of mischief. "I bet we could learn all kinds of things together. A single person can only handle so much adventure by themselves."

@Dealla Prince

Dealla burst out laughing at Aida's antics, infectious and unrestrained, the carefree sound ringing out across the quiet Grounds. She swung higher, and higher, and for a moment imagined letting go at the highest point of the arc, just to see how it would feel to fly, to see how far she would go.
But while she had jumped off swings before - which kid hadn't? - those had been the small ones on Muggle playgrounds, not long oversized ones hanging from an ancient tree on the Hogwarts Grounds, and her self-preservation instincts worked well enough for her to not want to break her neck. So instead, she slowed down a bit on the swing, enough to be able to pick the conversation back up.

She shrugged in response to Aida's musings, letting her legs swing idly as she lost momentum. "I don't know, we never found out. Maybe there is something magical, maybe there's nothing, I would just like to know!" Dee sighed deeply, the morning air sweet in her lungs, and closed her eyes. The island was one of the many unsolved mysteries of her childhood, and probably one that would not let go of her until she had finally solved it. Thankfully, with the years, it would get easier for her to actually do something about it. She'd get there, one day.

Opening her eyes again, Dee finally let go of the rope, flinging herself off the swing in a graceful arc. She was still going high and fast enough for her to sail through the air for a few meters before landing square on both of her feet, bending her knees to absorb the impact. She turned around to Aida, her eyes glittering bright with excitement that chased away her short bout of melancholia. "You have a secret base?" she repeated. "With a ballroom? Aida, you have to take me there, that sounds unbelievably beautiful! I'd love to see it. I have never ridden a horse, though." Dee looked a bit uncertain. "They're so big? They could probably just trample me if they wanted to. Do you like horses?"

At Aida's descriptions of her passions, of nature and knowledge and life, Dealla grew a bit more subdued. The other girl was unusual, that was for sure, and Dee would have bet that it hadn't made her life easy so far. It was all the more impressive that she was still so clearly, unabashedly herself, that she did not hide any of her thoughts at all. There was a lot to be learned from the girl that looked like snow come to life.
She smiled when Aida's flow of words finally came to a stop, and tilted her head slightly. "I love making new friends, too," she said softly. "And I bet there are innumerable adventures waiting for us."

@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood

After Dee flew off the swing and landed on her feet, Aida clapped her hands in admiration. “It’s a ten!” announced the white spectre of a girl. That kind of dynamism and flair was sure to score points with Aida, and her expression made no secret of it. Dee had questions, however, and Aida always felt that questions deserved one's best efforts at answering them.

“That’s right, a 100% mysterious secret base. And yes, a ballroom complete with white crystal chandeliers and draperies. Hahahaha...” Aida laughed secretively for a bit but soon could no longer hold it in. “Okay, that’s all just caving jargon. A ballroom is a large room-like opening in a cave with high ceilings. ‘Chandelier’ is another caving word that describes elaborate growths from the ceiling. There are all kinds of weird formations that end up having funny names, like ‘cave popcorn,’ ‘soda straws,’ 'drapery,' ‘frostwork,’ and even ‘cave bacon.’ I didn’t make those names up, either. Caves can be so diverse. I can’t wait for you to see mine! And its pool can be utterly surreal.”

Aida crossed her arms and smiled, arching backwards to look up at the sky and balancing precariously. “Horses are big and could trample you, if you let them. It’s a delicate balance of trust that keeps that from happening. They are powerful, but so are you (in a different way), and they know that. In some ways it’s not that different from interacting with people. Horses all have different personalities, and just like with people, sometimes the best you two can do is not blow each other up, but with others you can create friendships based on mutual gain. A good rider knows how to get along with a variety of different personalities as well as how to offer something worthwhile to each mount. Sometimes it takes time to learn what one wants, though, and sometimes the best you can offer is leadership. Don’t worry though, we can find you one that is really friendly and is eager to please, needing only to be treated with respect in order to be happy. You’ll need to learn to ride in order to make it out to several places I want to show you – I hope you’re up for that adventure!” Aida smiled reassuringly and then, scratching the back of her head, she moved on to Dee’s next question. “I’m not sure that it’s really that I like horses in particular. I do like horses, and because I’ve been riding since I was three I am pretty good with them. However, it’s kind of strange to say that I like horses since I don’t really think of them as horses. I think of each one as a kind of person with its own personality. Some of them have personalities I like better than others. It’s kind of like asking if I like humans. I suppose I do like humans, and I suppose I like horses, but I feel like the more salient question is which ones I particularly like and why.” Aida eyed Dee and gave her a crooked grin. “Which humans do you like, or dislike, and why?” Perhaps it was a disturbingly straightforward or even invasive question, but Aida had considerable social awkwardness and a certain reluctance to not ask blunt questions. The more comfortable she felt around someone, the less she would sugar-coat her thoughts, and in general she had very little patience for beating around the bush. Was it any wonder that she alienated people left and right? Still, she was a a bit afraid of risking a friendship with Dee after having just alienated Ersa, so Aida mumbled softly, "though you don't have to name names or anything."

@Dealla Prince

Dealla bent into a dramatic, sweeping bow, before she straightened back up and grinned impishly. This was fun. Walking back over to where Aida was standing, she listened to the girl's explanations and her eyes lit up with understanding.
"Ah, that makes sense," she admitted. "It still sounds incredible. I would love it if you ever took me there! Exploring your secret base... your ballroom!" Her eyes twinkled at the words. "We'd have so much fun together!"

Dee sat back down on the ground, watching Aida while she talked about horses and their personalities, her white hair shining in the morning sun. Aida was completely different than anyone she'd met before, but it challenged Dealla in a way she could appreciate, a lot.
"I suppose I understand what you mean," she said slowly, turning Aida's words over in her head carefully. "I love Theophilius, but I wouldn't say that I love cats in general just because I love him. It's because it's him that I love him, not because he's a cat. I guess horses are the same that way." She nodded, satisfied with the explanation. It made sense. She was still doubtful about the riding part - but if that was what it took for her to see Aida's secret base, and whatever other wonderful secrets lay around where she grew up, she supposed she would have to risk it. Also, she couldn't deny that the mental image of herself on a horse, brown locks streaming behind her dramatically in the wind while they galloped through the high grass of a vast plain, was a little intriguing.

As was turning out to be the norm, Aida's question gave her a little pause, forcing her to think about her answers instead of just blurting something out. Which humans - which people - she liked, that was easy, and the list would turn out rather long, she suspected. But why? That was a lot harder, if it wasn't for vague, broad reasons like "they are my parents" or "she's my friend". When she finally started speaking, she was looking down at her hands, fingers threaded together where they lay on her crossed legs.
"I like my parents," she said, slowly, like she was carefully picking out the perfect words to string together to turn her thoughts into sounds. "Because they love me, and my dad has a wonderful laugh, and my mum tells the best Muggle stories. I like my friends at home, because I have known them forever, and they are in all my best memories. I like Ileen, because she believes in me in a way that I don't even believe in myself, and that makes me feel like I can reach for the stars, and she makes me laugh. I like Blake, because I feel like I can always rely on him, like he's an anchor that will keep me from drifting off."
It was the opposite for people she disliked. She could immediately come up with a list of qualities that would make her dislike someone, but to put names to those qualities - to say, "I don't like them", with a logical, thought-out reason, not to their face, but somehow behind their back, felt wrong. There had been kids at home, certainly, who she hadn't gotten along well with, and she had never hesitated to tell them. But somehow, in this atmosphere, to a virtual stranger, such a statement felt much more profound, more final, like something that was hard to take back. "I don't like my grandparents," she said, voice quiet and subdued. "On my dad's side, I mean. I don't like them because they hurt my mum, and my dad, too, by hurting my mum." Then, even more quiet: "I hate everyone who hurts my mum."

Dealla looked up at Aida again, her eyes clear and unwavering. She knew that if she asked Aida the same question, the answer would be unfiltered, and brutally direct, and with more detail than Dee herself would feel comfortable sharing, but that was a quality that she was coming to appreciate in the other girl's words.
Dee smiled, warm and friendly and open. "How about you, Aida?"

@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood
Mentions: Ileen Knight, Blake Bayne

Aida listened closely as Dealla talked, appreciating the thoughtfulness she seemed to always give her responses. Then when Dee began to talk about her parents, Aida sat down on the ground and looked out over the grass as if she were searching for something. Perhaps she seemed a bit drained all of a sudden, or maybe it was a trick of the light. As Dee continued on talking about her friends, Aida laid down in the grass and stared up through the oak leaves overhead. Yet, as the pale girl did these things she was very smooth in her motions and not fidgeting, so she did not seem at all inattentive. Was she anxious? Aida did not try to interject in the conversation, and her reply came only at the end after some moments of silence.

“Thank you for sharing such important information with me,” she replied solemnly. “I won’t ask now how your grandparents hurt your mum, but if you ever want to share it I would be honored to listen.” Usually Aida was pretty ruthless with asking questions of people, even awkward ones, but the majority of her relationships with people were as shallow as a street puddle. Most people rarely gave important or vulnerable information, so for Aida these hollow interactions made humans in general a convenient source of basic information and little else. Not asking for more was proof of when Aida really cared about someone, especially when that person had cared enough to have given the young albino even a little bit of their sacred treasure. Yet, there was a murky line somewhere that Aida had to cross in order to ever develop real relationships with people, and that was asking questions that were important but not so dangerous as to frighten. It was like taming a wild horse. At some point you have to try to get closer to it if a bond is ever to form – just not too fast, and certainly not all at once.

“Do you love Blake?” she asked bluntly. Ostensibly it was just another bout of girlish banter, yet it was a very personal question. One could even say it was an important one. After Aida listened to Dee’s response (or lack of a response, or some other reaction), she returned to Dee’s important question.

“I suppose what you say means that I like my parents, because they love me. Or at least, I have to believe they love me. I have to believe in them. I have no memories of them, but one day, when I’m strong… so strong… I will go save them. Maybe that day I will finally learn the truth about what they think of me, but until then I just have to believe.” Aida sat up, having found an acorn resting under her hand. She lifted up its cute and shiny brown form, inspecting it, and then threw it as far as she could in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

“To an extent I love creatures and people unconditionally. However, when their bad traits start to overwhelm my basic love of their existence, then I have to defend myself. I learn to dislike them when they hurt me, or when they make me afraid. Sometimes the fear of pain is more crippling than the pain itself. In this way I hate people who use fear to control others. I hate manipulators. Liars. I mean, everyone does bad things sometimes… but then there are people out there that… no amount of kindness will prevent their cruelty. Such people only understand when something is taken away from them. They only understand punishment and manipulation.” Aida picked up another acorn – this one from last year’s windfall and quite a bit uglier than the last one. She crushed it in her hand hard and pieces of its edges crumbled into dust, but the core remained solid; soon this one also went flying, but this time in no particular direction.

“But I digress. And I’m being too mysterious. I like people who like me for who I am – I believe you may be such a person. I hate people who try to change me, punish me, or manipulate me – I hate my foster parent, I hate the Ministry, I hate Azkaban.” Aida suddenly rose to her feet and dusted herself off. “I believe I have alienated, or killed, anyone I could have had a decent relationship with, except you. The teachers here all see right through me; I’m just some kid after all. And a weird one at that. One that asks too many questions. One that speaks her mind far too much. The only teacher who ever appeared to see me for what I am was Griffith, and I can’t seem to find him anymore. I thought that I could have a home at CoMC, but then everyone started leaving… it was so disorienting. Why are so many professors leaving before the year is even over?” Aida’s face was beginning to flush with agitation, and she waved her hand as if to dismiss an overly hot topic. Yet, Aida had far too much momentum now. The flames behind her eyes began to funnel into a feedback loop.

“There was one boy that I thought could be real friends with me, but it seems I alienated him, too. He won’t reply to me. I guess I’m just too weird...” trailed off the young white witch. “I try to be honest with people, I try to answer anything, everything, to the fullest. I try to give them what I ultimately want. It has hurt, too, so many times. It hurts so much. I have taken down my inner castle walls: I try to be my real self with people no matter how much they hurt me, but then they all skulk away in the end…” Aida realized she had been ranting and probably inconsiderate for not giving Dee more of a chance to reply. “Sorry, I’ve been going kind of nuts lately, and this is why.” The white specter of a girl started to look across the grass as if looking for something again. “I just wish I were strong and I would have things to give people so that they’d be happy and...” continued Aida, not finding whatever she was looking for in the field. “...And stay.” Aida shook her head. “It would be much safer if I would only like people who like me. Then I wouldn't be letting in anyone who would hurt me... but I can't lie to myself. There are people I like that just don't want me. Maybe that's my parents, I don't know anymore..." she wavered. Aida looked back over at Dee to see how she was reacting to the rant. Aida looked quite sad and concerned.

When Aida lay down on the grass next to her, Dee mirrored her movement, letting her eyes search for patterns in the canopy of leaves overhead, and the glimpses of blue sky in between.
"Oh... Um, I don't mind?" Dealla replied, not quite sure how to react to Aida's thanks. She had never been shy with volunteering information - in fact, she tended to tell her family history to anyone within the first five minutes of their meeting, whether they asked about it or not. She had always told it as a great love story, like something from a book, but somehow, the atmosphere that surrounded the two girls seemed to make everything more profound.

"It's just this... My dad's family is from a pure-blood family, you know? And they're all very proud of it, like they're something better than others because of it. My mother... she's Muggle-born." She paused for a second. "When my parents came to Hogwarts, my dad's parents had already picked a girl for him to marry, someone of 'suitable' status." Dealla drew the quotation marks in the air with her hands mockingly, then let them drop back to the grass. "But then my parents met, and fell in love and... My dad thought his parents would understand, if they explained it to them. But they didn't." Dealla's gaze trailed beyond the leaves, toward the vast infinity of the sky.
"They tried to force them to break up, then. Told my dad they would disown him, and made it impossible for them to find jobs in or anywhere near London, anywhere within their reach with a big enough magical community that their name holds some weight." Dealla's nose scrunched up in disgust. "Can you believe that? Why would anyone do that, just because my mum's parents are Muggles?"
There was another short pause, just for the length of a breath. When Dealla continued the story, her voice was more quiet, but no less intense. "My mum wanted to do as they said. She didn't want my dad to lose his family. But my dad... he refused. He said he would rather lose everything else than her. So instead, they moved away, into a Muggle town in which there is almost no Wizarding population. And they had me."
Dealla had started to play with the grass between her fingers absentmindedly while telling the story, but her next sentence made them ball into fists so abruptly that she ripped a bunch out of the ground. "I won't let them treat her like that again. Or anyone. I won't." The words were fierce. "And I'll make them regret treating her like that." There was no way Dealla could ever forgive someone for treating her mother like she was worthless. Alexandra was the best person she knew, and she loved her fiercely, with all of her tiny, eleven year old heart.

There was a short silence that settled over them, where Dee was too caught up in her thoughts to pay attention to her surroundings, but Aida's next question brought her back to the present. Dee blinked. It was such an odd question, too. "Of course I love him, he's one of my best friends," she stated matter-of-factly. The question made no sense to her - hadn't she just listed him as one of the people she liked best in the world? She did not have a real concept yet about the differences of love, of the difference between what she felt for her friends and what her parents felt for each other, beyond the vague knowledge that her parents' love was the most powerful thing she knew. All of it was just love to her.

Dealla turned her head to watch Aida, listening to her speak without interruption. She didn't know her parents? That was absolutely inconceivable to Dealla, whose parents were a central anchor in her life, and she could feel pity weighing on her chest. What a sad life that must be? Dee didn't fully understand the part about the fear of pain - she hadn't been hurt much, yet, and her heart was young and strong and fearless.
However, with Aida's next words, the ones about hate, the sense of darkness that had been there earlier when Ersa had stopped by, seemed to return, and with it the growing sensation of dread in the pit of her stomach. She sat up, pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around them to keep from shivering.
"Aida," she said quietly, after the pale girl's words seemed to have run out, and looked up at the other girl from wide, sad eyes. "There will be people who like you for who you are. I like you, and you don't have to give me anything. I don't expect my friends to give me things. You won't... You won't be alone forever."
Dee climbed to her feet and moved to hug Aida, not thinking about whether or not the contact would be welcome. Her hug, if accepted, would be firm and try to convey the reassurance that Dee didn't seem to be able to put into words properly.

"I don't know why Professor Griffith left, but I'm sure it had nothing to do with you. I'll help you look for him, if you want. And for your parents, too."

"Can you believe that? Why would anyone do that, just because my mum's parents are Muggles?" said Dealla, scrunching her nose with disgust. Aida shook her head. "I won't let them treat her like that again. Or anyone. I won't. And I'll make them regret treating her like that," continued Dealla, tearing some grass from the ground. Aida could feel the rage billowing like an intense fire next to her. This feeling resonated with her undying rage for Sean and the incident with Manticore which forever haunted her every day of her life.

“There is no excuse for how they treated your parents, no matter how exceptional they think they are. You know, I used to think that it’s just racists like that who would treat animals poorly, but even people who say they believe in muggleborn equality still think humans are superior to other creatures… treading them beneath their heels with little thought… killing non-humans that are so clearly ‘inferior.’ As an albino I have also been treated as a non-human throughout my life, by muggles and wizardkind alike. I have been spat on for being pale. I have endured even worse for having been my mother’s child. This has all made it very difficult for me to respect humans and their ilk. No creature has ever treated me as inherently tainted. No creature has ever tried to destroy my sense of self worth. I have learned that humans can say all they want about believing in equality, but then if they are given a sufficiently different enough group, they can easily turn on them, too. Every once in a while some people give me hope… but all these shades of exceptionalism just makes me respect humans less. It is a rare person that earns my respect for showing no signs of this poison no matter their situation.” Aida stood up to try to deal with her painful feelings of agitation.

"Aida, there will be people who like you for who you are. I like you, and you don't have to give me anything. I don't expect my friends to give me things. You won't... You won't be alone forever," said Dee climbing to her feet and giving Aida a hug. The white-haired girl was shocked. She didn’t understand, even though she understood. It took a moment for Aida to return the hug as she wondered if she had ever received one before. Yes, she'd had one, once. Still, the albino actually didn’t know what she was supposed to be doing, though she had seen other people hug before and read about it in books. She had been nuzzled by horses and licked by dogs and even kneaded by cats, but a human hug? There had only been one precedent. Dealla was so... warm. In response, Aida tried to mimic what Dealla was doing.

"I don't know why Professor Griffith left, but I'm sure it had nothing to do with you. I'll help you look for him, if you want. And for your parents, too," continued Dee. This was also a surprise. The last time she confessed about her parents, back in the Hogwarts hospital, the people she was trying to talk to disappeared without warning. Was this not a guaranteed way to alienate someone? If it wasn’t, Aida knew an even better way. Aida pulled back in order to make eye contact with Dealla.

“Dee… I… I don’t know where my mother is, but I do know my father is in Azkaban. Prison. They were both sentenced there, but I found a record that said that my mother has not yet been ‘apprehended.’ It’s okay, you don’t have to help me… Actually, I’m probably just going to turn out just like them, so it’s probably better if you stay away from me...” Aida gave a warped half-smile and shuddered. Her white wispy hair got caught in a cold breeze as it blew in, causing the leaves of the trees to rustle. Those pale violet eyes held a steady gaze and it was clear that Aida was being honest, but she did not really want to lose Dealla's friendship. Her next words further illuminated this conflicting emotion. “If anyone crosses your parents again, let me know so I can be there to help."

@Dealla Prince

Dee couldn't really understand the pain, the sadness, the loss Aida must have lived through in her time before Hogwarts, and neither could she understand the girl's apparent conviction that she was destined to be alone, destined to be cast aside, to be treated by other humans as less, as inferior, just because she was a little different. Dee wouldn't do that, and neither would her friends, she was sure of that.
But as she listened to Aida's agitated rant, something within her changed, turned malleable and then hardened again in a slightly different shape, and a bit, just a tiny bit of the protectiveness Dealla felt for her mother extended towards the pale girl in front of her.
It was obvious that Aida hadn't had many people to care for her, to take care of her, so far, but that didn't mean it had to stay that way.

As Aida pulled back from the hug, Dealla met her strange, lilac gaze with no hesitation, nothing less than full conviction. "Even if your parents aren't good people, that has no hold on you or your future," she replied firmly. "Look at my grandparents and my father. They're terrible people. My dad is amazing. And it's still okay to want to find out more about them. I know I would."
She smiled again, sincere and blinding and brilliant. "I'll count on you, then. You can count on me, too."

"Even if your parents aren't good people, that has no hold on you or your future… I'll count on you, then. You can count on me, too," said Dealla. Aida’s heart was full from the way Dee had been so open and caring with her. She wanted to be there for Dee, too, but her throat was so tight with emotion that all she could do was nod. The young white witch hoped Dee understood she felt the same way anyway.

Since the beginning of their encounter, Aida had approached Dealla with complete openness, all castle walls taken down, and she had been met with the same. Yet, neither of them had been hurt. If anything it felt that they were stronger together. Dealla had not even turned away when Aida revealed some potentially unnerving information about her family. Aida was not sure how she had managed to not alienate Dealla when the albino’s openness had done nothing in the past other than turn people away or lead to punishment.

It would turn out that this meeting with Dealla would be a defining moment for Aida in the future– one that she would think back to often when deciding what her future should hold [ex., ex.]. Indeed, the power of Dealla’s gesture would echo beyond what Aida could possibly predict at this point in time… though what it would mean for Aida’s life, and those lives touched by Aida in turn, was yet to come.

In the distance, the castle bells were chiming. It was time to get to class.

@Dealla Prince
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