Liar. PV Eris Fawley Finished

Feet glided across the stone halls of Hogwarts, hands tucked into the pockets of oversized robes. Even after a year at school, the girl wearing the robes had not gotten any bigger. It would be kind to say she had grown half and inch, but even that was a vast overstatement. Eris Fawley was not getting any taller, and the heavy slouching of her shoulders certainly didn't make the short girl seem any taller, even though she really needed the extra height.

Her fingers brushed the cool stone of the castle, long ivory pianists fingers tracing patterns as Eris walked. Footsteps idle, Eris swaggered through the almost empty halls, book bag strapped to her back. The heavy presence on her back was enough to make Eris's shoulders strain, as she entered the study room, aimless wandering finally completed and destination achieved.

Breakfast had been short and sweet, and now that it was over, the girl had decided to study, which was strangely out of character for Eris. If one mentioned that it was strange to see the aggressive girl studying, they would get a fist in the face, but nobody seemed to be around. Truthfully, Eris just wanted to get the day over with, and the year over to boot. Her grades were slacking, and although it wasn't common knowledge, Eris Fawley prided herself on learning as much as possible about the wizarding world, and the magical spells that were so important to learn and practice.

One couldn't live their whole life only fighting with their fists. Wits, magic, and other options offered were useful as well, and Eris Fawley knew that all too well. Slowly opening the door, Eris slipped into one of the chairs of the study room, yanking down her book bag and pulling out the books and loose parchment paper out onto the desk in front of her.

The page turned, and flipped to werwolves, which caused Eris to let out a hearty sigh.The last time she read about werewolves, she had been in a fight with Adam Harringtom, and none of the knowledge had sunk into her brain. Now she would have to pay attention, and attempt to learn about werewolves, just to make sure that the Defense Against the Dark Arts mentoring sessions didn't take her completely off guard. But try as she must, Eris couldn't focus, not in the slightest.

To an outsider, Eris would look deep in focus, hunched over the book in front of her. But if one got close enough to stare at her, the situation was entirely different. Numb, expressionless, devoid of most emotions. She wasn't in the particular mood to talk to anyone, to face students, whether they were friends or not. The lock in, the battle with the masked figure, everything went wrong. There wasn't much left that didn't bother Eris, everything just seemed to go... so wrong. Try as she might, things went wrong.

Evidently, that was why Eris found herself studying alone, in the study room. The words of the textbook blended together, fuzzy and impossible to pay attention to, not when Eris was miserable and too tired to pay attention. She hadn't slept last night, staying up and recounting the sticky scent of blood and bird carcass. Why had it gone wrong? Had it been punishment for leaving Rosie Parker to the mercy of a snake, trusting the other girl to her smarts. She couldn't help feeling guilty about leaving the girl, but Eris didn't understand why she would feel so horribly about leaving the hufflepuff girl.

It wasn't like they were close friends, but there was something so nice about the hufflepuff girl. Something pure and innocent, that made Eris happy around her. She had defended Eris and been friends with Eris, even when she had no reason to stay around, or be her friend. And how had Eris repaid that? By leaving her to die, just to meet up with Max and Dorian. Guilt reared it's ugly head, but Eris shoved it down.

There was no time to feel bad about random girls, but why did she feel so horribly? Brushing a hand down the fabric of her robes, Eris finally turned to the door, shocked to see Rosie Parker standing there, as if she had been summoned by Eris's thoughts.

Maybe Eris had gone crazy, and maybe nobody was standing there. Either way, Eris's eyebrows raised and a flush brought forth to her face. "Rosie?"

"don't be afraid of losing someone who doesn't feel lucky to have you."

"Rosie?"

The Hufflepuff stopped in her tracks, a chill going up her spine. She saw her. It was too late to escape, with Eris' eyes on her. Why. W h y. Rosie sighed and turned around slowly, her eyes on Eris. She could start the conversation with anything. Maybe a friendly hello! Or maybe Rosie could turn around and bolt out of the room. To say Rosie wasn't still upset was a lie, because she was. She could've died. And Eris just went to her boyfriends instead! Her cootie infested boyfriends. Rosie wasn't sure if she actually meant that, but she was going to go with it for the sake of being upset.

She gritted her teeth and held her books closer to her chest. "You sound so shocked to hear me, I'm guessing you thought I actually did die when you left me down there?" Rosie seemed shocked to see even that come out of her mouth. She looked like she felt bad for saying it, but overcast it with the facade of her bitter, and hurt expression. She clenched her fists and sighed, looking down at the floor. "I don't mean to be so rude, Eris. You know being mean isn't my thing, but that hurt. I haven't felt that low since Ma-" She shut her eyes and sighed. "I forgive you, but it hurts to talk to you knowing that you think of me so low that you would leave me like that." Rosie looked at her hands, avoiding any sort of eye contact with the Gryffindor. The last thing she wanted was to be punched.

Comparing Eris to Max was a stretch, but certainly not a surprise to Rosie. Max had made her first few months at Hogwarts a living hell with his teasing and insults. Not to say that Eris was like that, not at all. But the two had something in common. They made Rosie feel unimportant and small. Maybe she was only thinking like that because of what Eris had done, because other than that, she was an amazing friend. She was a soft soul hidden by a strong and intimidating resting female dog face.

But no matter what Rosie thought about Eris, she had done what she had done, and that was that. Rosie hadn't been upset about it until the very moment they faced each other in practically silence. Maybe they would make up. Maybe Eris would punch her and send Dorian and Max to throw her off the astronomy tower.

Whatever would happen, Rosie would just have to deal with it. Like she dealt with every other hardship that came her way.

Eris was always expected to be angry. The school wanted a bully, and Eris's nativity about the social lives of children had served her well in becoming one of the most fearsome first years in the school. Had she wanted that reputation for herself? Eris didn't know anymore, and it didn't matter what she wanted. Her friends were all that mattered, not the people that she hurt, or even Eris herself. So she let herself burn and rage, just like a wildfire. Hot and furious in nature, yet the truth was, wildfires died out, leaving destruction in their wake. They didn't last forever, and Eris was tired. She was tired of the yelling, the fighting, the punching, the fact that everything went wrong.

The lock in had been one of the most traumatic experiences of her young life, and Eris felt her friendships with Dorian and Max weren't as close anymore. She had left Rosie for her two best friends, and they didn't even care about her. They bossed her around and snapped at her for wanting to go back to Rosie, when Eris was trying to do the right thing! She had channeled her anger then, digging up the dregs of her anger. Anger always lingered under Eris's skin, because anger was easy. Tears were hard, sadness was hard, it made you weak. Happiness was scary, because people never stayed, and someday, they would throw her out just like Eris's mother did.

Adam threw Eris out, and they still hadn't talked since the horrible Defense Against the Dark Arts Lesson. Max and Dorian were mad, and she had left Rosie to die. Eris was stuck. She was supposed to be angry. She should run away, do something, anything at all, but Eris was rooted to the spot. Her fingernails dug into her palms, as Eris opened her mouth to speak, but shut it again.

A sharp intake of breath was all Eris Fawley could muster before the anger poured out..in the form of tears? Was she crying? That wasn't very brave at all. She should yell at Rosie, she should scream at her, but no words left Eris's mouth, just tears. Every word Rosie said was true. Eris had left her, that dreadful night. Typical Eris, typical stupidity, typical. Typical, typical, typical.

Eris had thought she was doing the right thing in the lock in. She had tried to protect everyone, but she had failed. Of course she had failed. Eris failed at everything, try as she did. She tried being Rosie's friend, even though she didn't know the other girl. She tried being Eri's friend at the start of the year, but that had gone wrong. She had tried being Amelia's friend, but Amelia had left her. Everyone left her. Eris really was horrible at making friends that were girls.

Eris was not brave. She was weak, so weak. Rosie was the real brave one, but that didn't matter. How could Eris say that? Rosie hated her now, and rightly so. The situation was too much for the eleven year old girl to process, and Eris felt herself shutting down, fingernails digging deep enough into her palms to make faint red pinpricks in her skin.

Eris did not notice, as her silent tears kept falling to the desk with large splatters. She was brave. She was a Gryffindor, Eris could do this. It took all her courage to push herself up, but Eris did so. Watery eyes pushed themselves up, instead of staring at the desk, Eris leveled a watery stare at Rosie, as a laugh pulled it's self from Eris's quivering lips.

It was not a bitter laugh, rather a shaky attempt at speaking and freeing Eris's lips for what she was about to say. What was she about to say, anyways? Eris had no idea, but sometimes, the best sentences were the ones that were unplanned.

"I-" Her mouth closed again, then opened as Eris let out a large sigh, finally letting her nails fall away from the inside of her palms, as the girl's arms reached around her shoulders, as if Eris was giving herself a hug.

It was pathetic, but Eris and emotions weren't friends. She didn't not know how to handle feeling sad, did not know how to handle confrontation, friendship, or anything of that caliber. "I didn't mean to leave you behind, oh god. I know, I'm a horrible friend, I, just, I wanted to save everyone. I wanted to make sure Max, Dorian, and Dorothy were okay, and I forgot there was a snake- and, and,"

Another choked sob stopped the pathetic speech in it's tracks, as the fiery girl broke down even more, struggling to get through her monologue. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I know that means nothing, I just, didn't-" she didn't finish her sentence, breaking eye contact with Rosie. Eris let out another sigh, still curled up in a ball.

"I don't deserve your forgiveness." She finally muttered, the words falling flat, as Eris whispered them.

Sometimes, relationships were built from shared experiences that two friends had together. Sometimes friendships just happened, when you couldn't name exactly when you had become friends. Those were the best friendships, the kind of relationships that you could always cling onto like a life house in a raging storm. Sometimes, other friendships just weaseled their way into your heart, just as Rosie had weaseled her way into Eris's life.

She hadn't expected to run across a girl crying in the hallways, when Eris had been stalking the halls of her own accord, hunting for a place to hide from wandering eyes. At that point of her life, all Eris had known were wandering eyes, and a prying fear of Adam Harringtom. When she had found a girl crying in the hallway, Eris had put aside her vanity, for a split second, to help the child. Eris told herself it was because she was a prefect, but there were small parts of Eris that weren't perfectly brave and daring.

Some part of her wanted to help everyone, and wanted to save those who suffered. Eris had seen enough of sadness, living with her mother, and all the young girl wanted was her friends to be happy. Rosie hadn't been a friend when Anatole and Eris had found her, but Rosie had put too much trust in Eris. They hadn't talked since that day, not until the lock-in, when Eris had smashed Rosie's expectations of friendship into the ground and locked them away with snake scales and a load of post traumatic stress disorder, that would haunt most of the hufflepuff and gryffindor students for the rest of their lives.

Eris hadn't felt herself cry this hard since Adam and her had gotten in their fight. That day had been a wreck, which had lead to Eris screaming at Adam and at Kaegen, before collasping into hysterics. Again and again, the cycle of screaming and crying had repeated itself that day, but today, Eris was not screaming. Her face was remarkably red, eyes bloodshot.

Like most pale children, Eris's whole face had turned red from the tears, ugly splotches of color heating up her skin and her eyes, with a vibrant hue. Eris's hair was even more unkempt than usual, as the affects of bawling her eyes out seemed to make the girl's appearance even more messy than usual. Which was really saying something, considering the little care Eris put into throwing on her robes and brushing her hair for the day.

Rosie's words felt far away, as Eris's fists clung to the sides of the table, her teeth gritted together in an attempt to keep from screaming. She wanted to run away, to cry, to scream, to do anything, but before Eris could mutter another sorry and escape the torrent of strange emotions that was flooding through her small body, Rosie's arms were around her, and the dull muffled words that Rosie was whispering finally burst through Eris's clogged eardrums, and her eyes widened. The words were enough to dry Eris's tears, if only for a moment, and cause Eris to stare at Rosie, with a mix of concern and awe on her face.

How was she so nice? It was impossible to meet someone so nice, but there Rosie was. Eris didn't deserve her kindness, and even after all they had been through, the fact that Rosie was still nice was a shock. Maybe being brave wasn't the most important thing, because people like Rosie made the room lighter, and always knew what to say. Eris didn't want to be brave, she wanted to be like Rosie. Pure blood, muggle born, or whatever, Rosie was too kind for this world, and that made Eris feel even more miserable.

Yet, Rosie had forgiven her, so Eris shouldn't be sad anymore. Even if she didn't deserve Rosie's forgiveness, she had gotten it. When Rosie finally pulled away, Eris wiped her hands down the sides of her face, scraping away the tears that had threatened to destroy her moments before.

She felt lighter, different somehow, but still hurt and confused. Tears always took a lot out of Eris, but she forced herself to give Rosie a watery half smile. She could say so many things, but instead, a strangled laugh played its way out of Eris's lips, as she sighed.

"How are you so nice?"

"don't be afraid of losing someone who doesn't feel lucky to have you."

"How are you so nice?" The weak, broken Gryffindor asked.

It should've been an easy question. How? Well, that's just how Rosie was raised, her moral code. That's what she lived by. Kindness. It was even a Hufflepuff thing! Being nice and whatever. But Rosie couldn't answer her. How... Was she so nice? Even to the people who had been the worst to her. To Anatole, who embarrassed her. To Max, who bullied her. To Dorian, who she had no reason to be nice to. And to Eris, who left her to die. So why was Rosie here, hugging her? Telling her she was wonderful?

Because it was the truth.

Rosie rubbed Eris' shoulders gently since her hands were already on her arms. It was a trick she learned from her father. Sometimes, people just needed some physical comfort. She hoped Eris didn't mind. She wiped her eyes, since Rosie had started to cry. She couldn't help it. Eris was crying too. But it was also because the situation made Rosie fall into sadness. The Lock-In was an event that would haunt their days until the end of their time.

"How am I so nice..?" She whispered to herself, repeating the question. "Well.. That's not a very hard question." Rosie managed a cute, small smile. It hid back a trace of sadness from her tears. Her pale face was red from their duo crying session, and her curly hair stuck out more than usual. "I'm nice because sometimes nobody else is, you know? Everyone has to have someone who's kind to them, you do too, Eris. I want to provide kindness for you, even if you think you don't deserve it. Just know that I want to, and if I get hurt again.." She paused. "Well, then that's my fault, isn't it?" She smiled despite the harsh remark to herself.

Sometimes, Rosie thought she was too hard on herself. But at the same time, didn't she deserve it? At this point, she was convinced if she had anything negative to say about herself: It was true. If Rosie was wrong, it was her fault. If she messed up, it was her fault, it was a constant cycle.

And it took way too long for Rosie to realize that was very unhealthy.

Rosie Parker was too nice for the world, and in that moment, Eris felt the tears start up again. Without a noise, Eris pushed Rosie's arms off her, and wrapped the taller girl in a hug, that she had started, wanting to give Rosie some comfort, and to change the focus of the moment to Rosie, instead of Eris. Although Rosie wasn't that much taller, Eris still had a slight struggle, wrapping her arms around the girl. The hug said what Eris couldn't speak, proving just how sorry she was. Eris didn't deserve Rosie as a friend, but Rosie had offered to be her friend, and Eris refused to let her down.

Eris was far from perfect. Her whole childhood had been there to remind her of that fact, as her mother and sister had yelled and screamed at her, just for being different. Her father had left, only to come back as a rich pure blood with a whole different family. Eris's first day of university wouldn't be with her sister, like the two of them had planned. Eris would be in a magical world, and Bella would not.

Eris had came to Hogwarts, and had let other children change her as a person. Eris didn't know who was she was anymore, but she knew that she liked who she was. She was no longer a frightened little girl, who sat on a couch and read comic books to ignore the ranting and ravings of her mother. She was an 11 year old girl, and all her actions were of her own accord. As much as Eris wanted to deny that she had messed up, she had. There was no spell, that Eris knew of, that could rewind time, and she would just have to live with the messed up facts. She had hurt Rosie, and Eris could take credit for that, as much as it hurt to admit to herself. Eris was in pain, and she hadn't even been hurt. She could hardly imagine what Rosie Parker was going through, in the moment, and right now.

While most of her words were happy, there was a sad undertone to what Rosie was saying, and it hurt Eris beyond words. Eris should be the one that was sad, not Rosie. It was unfair, and it was Eris's fault, but she couldn't take it back. She would just live with the consequences, and vow not to hurt Rosie Parker again.

"I promise I won't hurt you again, Rosie. Or at least, I'll try not to. I make mistakes sometimes, and I'm learning. You can just...tell me when I mess up?" Eris pulled out of the hug, staring up at Rosie with watery eyes, trying to look hopeful, but the expression on her face was far from happy. Unlike Rosie, Eris wasn't good at acting happy when she was sad. Not in the slightest.

love is the answer.

Rosie Parker. A sweet Hufflepuff with a happy overcast that hid her unhealthy habits when it came to her friends. Who could've known that such an optimistic little girl hid so many tears and sad thoughts in her brain that was full of imagination? Hell, Rosie didn't even know about how she felt. But the next thing she knew, Eris pushed her arms of. "Wh-" And hugged her instead. Rosie was so confused. Why was Eris hugging her? Rosie didn't-She didn't-

She felt Eris' arms around her and felt tears run down her face. It felt just about the same if Eris had apologized over and over instead. Rosie slowly hugged her back, and it was silent until Eris spoke again. And what she said was the tear-jerker.

Eris promised her.

Promises meant so much to Rosie. They held so much power in just their words and their actions. Promises were never meant to be broken, ever. People were always careful on making them, because breaking a promise, well, is unforgivable. But Eris promised, to try to never hurt Rosie again. She made mistakes, Rosie knew that. But Eris promised never to purposely hurt her again, and it made Rosie break down into tears again. Maybe it was from Eris crying, maybe it was from the entire conversation, but it triggered the Hufflepuff's tear ducts. She hugged Eris back, sniffling. "Yes. I-I promise to tell you if anything's wrong. And-And I promise never to hurt you on purpose either." She backed up, and wiped her eyes.

Rosie took a second to wipe her face and take a deep breath, before sticking out her pinky. "A pinky promise, to make sure we don't have to go through this again. A pinky promise to end all of the tears from each other in the future. A pinky promise to only make each other cry out of happiness." Rosie sniffled, holding her hand with her pinky stuck out. This was serious. Like, serious kid business. It was bad enough to break a promise, but a PINKY promise? That was horrible. But Rosie was serious, and she hoped Eris was too.

The fresh onslaught of tears from Rosie was alarming to Eris, who had no idea what to do, or how to handle the new emotions running rampant through the two girls. Rosie had supported her by rubbing her shoulder, so maybe all Eris had to do was hold Rosie and let her cry? Eris tried just that, holding Rosie tighter, trying to show how much she cared, again. She wasn't going anywhere, not this time.

Eris had messed up, but she wasn't going to mess up again. Realistically, she would. They had six years left at Hogwarts, years that would be filled with drama, boyfriends, friendgroups, and betrayals. It was impossible that nothing would go wrong, but a promise was sacred in the mind of an 11 year old, and the infinite stretch of school in front of them seemed so far away. Time would tell if Eris would hurt Rosie again, and time would tell if Rosie hurt Eris, but in the moment it didn't matter.

It mattered little, because both girls were willing to promise friendship, and while it was impossible to predict the future, the future did not matter. The presence, and the willingness to try was the only thing that mattered, and the only promise that someone could fully give. Eris had promised, and like every other child, she did not take promises lightly.

Eris might not have been around a lot of other children, but she knew what promises were from her books, and how they carried people forward for years to come. To make a promise was to give a part of yourself to someone, in Eris's mind, which was filled of fantasy stories and important pacts. Her resolve not to leave Rosie thickened with every moment, as Eris untangled herself from Rosie, nearly choking on the hufflepuff girl's curly hair that was suddenly all up in Eris's face.

Eris hadn't realized how closely pressed together they were, but it wasn't bad. Girls couldn't cause cooties, right? Right. Rosie had been scared of cooties, and had gotten cooties from Anatole, but they had been cured, when people told Eris cooties weren't real. She proved them wrong, though, because Eris's actual friends thought cooties were real. Serena knew it was real, that was why she had been in hiding after kissing Siege. (eww, Siege cooties, those must be worse than normal cooties.) Logical, obviously, in the mind of an 11 year old doctor, who's whole life had been spent in front of books, with no real facts or logic to clarify the strange ideas that raced through her head due to days of isolation.

Eris was quiet when Rosie promised to not to hurt her, but when Rosie had stopped talking, Eris let out a watery chuckle. "I know you'd never hurt me, Rosie." She said it simply, like it was obvious, and it was. Rosie Parker was not the type of person who would hurt anyone, ever.

She was the kind of person who brought people up, and made them feel better. She was the kind of person that everyone wanted to be around, and the kind of person who was overlooked, because she was so stable and calm, and would always be a force in people's lives. Why? Because Rosie Parker cared, and Eris loved her for that, and she loved that Rosie was willing to forgive her, when Eris knew deep down that Rosie had no reason to stay with Eris, when she could of walked away to the arms of a kinder person, a less unstable person, who would be able to care for her, and be a better friend then Eris would ever be.

What was Rosie doing with her pinky? Eris had not been around other children, and didn't know what a pinky promise was, but she felt the seriousness of the gesture, mimicking Rosie, and holding her pinky out. Carefully, not sure if she was doing the right thing, Eris twined their pinky fingers together, serious expression on her face.

"And to punch people who make us cry." Eris added, grin finally on her face.