NOTHING GIRL || Remus Lupin

-Forty Two: Teenage Angst-

"This is all some big joke to you, isn't it?" Martin snarled.

"I certainly hope so." Helia declared. "I have a reputation to keep up. I can't just go around taking things seriously."

Anger flared in Martin's eyes, reminding Helia of that haunting, dancing memory.

"It's interesting, don't you think, what someone can accomplish under the Imperious curse, Flint?"

'Flint' didn't say anything, but I could imagine him nodding in agreement.

A wand was forced into my hand and someone muttered "Imperio!" in my ear.

She felt her expression go hard and impenetrable.

"You killed him." Martin's voice was low, like a snarl waiting to grow, "You killed my father."

"He killed my brother." Helia shrugged, "Seems fair."

"A muggle." Martin sounded confused, and bewildered, and angry, "My father died because of a muggle."

Some part of Helia felt for Martin. Some part of her understood what it was to lose someone. Some part of her ached for what she had done. Some part of her knew the values that Martin had grown up with, knew how impossible it was to him that a non-magic user could every be worth the same as a wizard. Some part of her wanted to take the time to get him to understand.

But that part of her had been locked away years ago, and the one person who was close to finding the key was up in Gryffindor Tower, probably telling his friends the entire life story that she had spent six years trying to hide.

Helia leaned her face up so that it was close to Martin's, whisper harsh in the air. "Yeah. He screamed, just so you know. He screamed like hell. They say being burned to death is the most painful way to die. And you know what? He deserved every last bit of it."

Martin's face darkened, but he didn't dare try anything.

"I imagine you know what it's like for someone you care about to die." He said. "I do too. I guess the one thing I don't know that you do is what happens to werewolves in the woods. How do they sound when they scream, mudblood?" He paused, savouring the look on Helia's face. "I guess I'll find out." 

.......................

The door of the sixth year Ravenclaw girls dormitory creaked open ominously. A girl sat up in bed, adrenaline sending sudden shots through her veins. The girl's name was Sophia, and she had been previously unnamed in the story, almost as if the author was too lazy to think something up for a character that would inevitably be just an aside from the tale of Helia Blacksmith. This, Sophia felt, was especially cruel since she had been forced to share a dormitory with the girl for six years now. Helia Blacksmith, though misunderstood and with a dark past, was an asshole. An overdramatic, selfish asshole.

Sophia knew it, the whole school knew it. Everything was life and death with that girl. If you wanted her attention at all then it had to be something serious. And, surprise surprise, Helia Blacksmith's friends were always dealing with 'serious' problems.

All Sophia wanted was to grow up and be a healer, maybe get herself a girlfriend or boyfriend or whatever. Settle down. Raise a family. Normal stuff. She didn't have time for drama or big dreams. And did that make her the dick? Maybe. She'd been so excited to meet her room mates at Hogwarts. She'd tried so hard to be nice to Helia, but the girl wasn't having any of it. It was her own fault when people turned from her in the corridors.

Anyway, Sophia had more immediate problems. As the door slipped open, she glanced around the dormitory. All the beds were empty except hers. She bit her lip, reaching for the wand on her bedside table.