𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓| 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲✔️

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄|𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄

MARA WILLIAMS

Everything hurt. The rough edges of agony had dulled and now all that remained was the steady, throbbing ache that pulsed in my bones with every sorrowful beat of my marred heart. Everything hurt.

"Oh my god, Mara..." I flinched as soft hands settled on my shoulder and I heard the thud as she collapse to her knees besides me. "What happened, who did this do you!"

Words could not penetrate the gasping, guttural sobs that racked my body, even as Hermione pulled me into her arms. She held me tightly to her chest, holding the broken pieces of myself together. If she let me go, I would shatter irreparably.

"Mara," She whispered into my hair before gently pushing me away, holding my at arms length as she searched my red rimmed eyes for answers, her words filling the empty spaces that every loss I had ever known had carved in the shallows of my soul. "You have to tell me who did this."

I felt pathetic. I was pathetic. I was so entirely weak, just like he always said I was. She probably thought of me as pitiful now, poor little Mara, how tragic. Tears stained my cheeks as I struggled to articulate between every gasping breath that shook me to the core. "...Pansy."

"Oh Mara..." She pulled me close, and I could feel every steady beat of her strong heart. "They will pay for what they've done to you, I swear it."

I stared up at her unblinkingly, letting my grief turn to anger, turn to malice, turn to rage. "Good."

It let it build inside me, manifest. I let it consume me, I let it swallow me whole. Until every wretched fibre of my being resonated with the hellish fire that pulsed through my veins, thick and black. It tainted me and I became wicked from the inside out.

I not only became hateful, but I became hate itself.

• • •

"You must walk in there tonight with your head held high, let them see they didn't shake you." Hermione said firmly as she wiped the blood from my cheek with a damp cloth but Parvati shook her head, still holding a scarily vacant look. "I-I still just can't believe it... How could they do this to you? Why would they do this to you?"

I opened my mouth but no words came out, for what could I say. I knew exactly why they'd done what they had, but I couldn't exactly tell Parvati that. I was thankful when Hermione answered for me as she poured peroxide onto a fresh cotton pad.
"-Because they're jealous. Why else would they do something like that?"

"...I don't know." Parvati mumbled, "It just doesn't make sense.."

"Does it have to?" She snapped, "I mean it's Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bullstrode we're talking about, I doubt they have half a functioning brain cell between them!"

I shot Hermione and grateful smile. She didn't have to cover for me, but time and time again she did. I'd have to find a way to repay her somehow, I hated owing people, but now I'd be forever in debt to Hermione Granger.

"You two should really go." I muttered, "You're missing class, I'll be fine here alone."

"Nonsense." Hermione replied quickly as she pressed the pad to my split lip and I held back a hiss. It tasted just as bad as it smelled. "Sorry... Besides, we're only missing Defence Against the Dark Arts, not exactly like we'd lean anything useful anyways."

"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger." Parvati smirked as she pulled an aged leather bound book from the shelf and begun flicking through the pages.

She scoffed but then pursed her lips tightly as she grimaced, "Right... Only you're arm left to do..."

"-No." I said instantly, clutching it tighter to my chest so that she couldn't read the horrid words, she'd only seen a flash of them before but not enough to see them properly before I hid them from her. "-No... It's fine, don't worry about it."