DEVIL'S IN TOWN
✩
Sitting alone in the Great Hall for breakfast, my mind was adrift. Floating. Serene. I felt good. I felt calm. I was buzzed-but it made me feel feathery light and worry-free. The pills made me stable. Numb, but stable.
Enzo Silvius slid into the seat across from me, smiling adorably. "Good morning."
I lifted my gaze from the bowl of cereal I swirled my spoon around in. "New boy."
He quirked an eyebrow. "It's Enzo, actually."
I laughed breathily. "So you say."
He leaned over the table, his hands folded in front of him. "What's your name? You never did introduce yourself."
Godric, he looks kissable. Plump, beautiful lips.
But oh, Draco.
Draco, Draco, Draco.
Oh, how many nights I laid beside that boy and wanted to devour him whole.
He dances silently in my heart. All the time.
I couldn't think about another boy without Draco crossing my mind. I could acknowledge Enzo's attractiveness, anyone with eyes could. But he was a mere speckle in the sky while Draco was the whole galaxy.
"Elysia Ambrose." I held out my hand which Enzo took in his larger, warmer one. He shook my hand for far longer than he needed to, not letting go when he should have.
"Elysia. I like that. Beautiful name for a beautiful girl." He grinned.
I liked the way it sounded rolling off his tongue.
With a mind that was hazy, I laughed awkwardly as I pulled my hand away from his. "You've got quite the lines, Lorenzo."
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Only for those who enrapture my mind."
Soon, Hermione, the Weasleys and Harry joined us. They were quick to get into conversation with Enzo, telling him all he needed to know about Hogwarts-classes, professors, weekends at Hogsmeade.
"He meowed," Ron mused, telling Enzo about my little prank on Snape. "He actually started meowing."
I rolled my eyes, leaning back in my seat. "Yeah and he almost killed me for it."
"A true Gryffindor." Hermione laughed. "Although, I would never be able to muster enough bravery to pull something like that on Snape."
"Fuck-you." I hissed the words out to Samel, my voice croaking. His lips curled in a sinister smirk. "A true Gryffindor you are, I see."
My stomach churned at Hermione's words, that had once been said to me by Samael. It was something so small, so minor, so irrelevant-yet enough to trigger me. I bit on my tongue hard, waiting for the physical-pain to drown out the mental anguish. Once the thought slipped away, the rest of my mind followed and I fell back into an empty abyss.
Enzo looked at me, his eyes glinting. "A risk taker, you are."
I fiddled with my fingers, keeping my gaze on my cereal that was now soggy. "Merely self-destructive, actually." I joked but my words held truth. My friends didn't read into.
Enzo eyed me carefully, as if he were trying to decipher morse code. I didn't like it.
"What do we have here, brother?"
All attention was pulled away from me and turned towards Mara who stood behind her brother. She smirked as she looked between the group of us, while Enzo sunk further down in his seat. "I see you've already found your place in this pathetic school. It's adorable."
Enzo gritted his teeth. "Good morning to you too, Mara."
Mara rolled her eyes at her brother before they flickered onto me. "Elysia Ambrose, is it?"
I blinked. "It is. You are?"
I knew who she was. She could use being humbled.
I think I used to be much kinder before torture traumatized me.
There was something about Mara, the same callous look in her eyes that I had seen before, the same taunting smirk-I did not like her presence. She spoke with a tone so conniving, it shook something inside me, my gut telling me that she was just looking for trouble, looking to stir things up.
She snickered at my retort. "Mara Silvius, though I'm sure you already know that. Pleasure to make your... acquaintance."
My eyes narrowed. "Is it really though?"
She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I guess we'll find out."
"And how-how do you know Elysia here?" Harry asked hesitantly. Mara's mere presence was intimidating enough for anyone to start withering away. I wouldn't be surprised if making eye contact with her would turn one into stone.
She glanced at Harry. "Ah, the Harry Potter. Hero Gryffindors, the families who defeated not only Voldemort-but as I hear, Samael Hadeon too." She looked at me again. "If I'm not wrong, it was at your hands Samael died."
Oh, thank all the Gods in the world for pills. I'm sure I'd be curled up in a ball, shaking hysterically on the floor, were it not for them.
Fred, who sat beside me, squeezed my hand under the table. I could see the cautious and weary looks festering behind the eyes of my friends as they looked at me. They were right to be. If I weren't buzzed, I would surely be having another panic attack right about now.
Mara and I stared each other down evenly. I smiled insincerely. "Being held hostage by a dark wizard takes away some of that Gryffindor chivalry-just so you don't start taking my hostility personally."
Mara quirked an eyebrow, her eyes flashing with amusement. "It seems personal when it appears you have enough chivalry to extend to my dear brother here."
Enzo glanced between me and Mara, as did the others, all of them looking similarly worried but too frightened to cut in.
Abiding his sister's gaze, Enzo sighed deeply. "Don't you have your own table to get to, Mara?"
Mara rolled her eyes at her brother, again. She leaned over his shoulder, plucking the fresh apple from his plate and taking a bite out of it. "Just thought I'd introduce myself." She glanced at me again. "Lovely meeting you all."
I forced a smile. "You as well-and welcome to Hogwarts. I hope you find yourself at home here."
She matched my insincere smile with one of her own. "Oh, I'm sure I will."
The table fell silent as everyone watched Mara walk away and join other Slytherins.
"I'm sorry," Enzo sighed, shaking his head. "She's-"
"A bitch?" I offered.
"Elysia!" Hermione gaped at me. "What's gotten into you? You've never be so-"
"Bitchy?" I offered, looking at her wearily.
My friends stared at me as if I were a mystical creature from the Forbidden Forest. I had changed so much, I couldn't even recognize myself. It didn't surprise me that they couldn't either.
"You're not wrong-about Mara." Enzo offered me a sympathetic smile. I could see the strain behind his eyes. "She's difficultly unpleasant. She's my sister so I don't want to speak bad of her but I'm sure you all can see how vile she can be, when she wants to be." His gaze flickered towards me. "I'm sorry."
I shrugged nonchalantly. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Don't apologize for her-frankly, that was almost entertaining."
"Entertaining?" Hermione narrowed her eyes on me, gawking and sputtering. "Are you-are you okay?"
I nodded as I stood up. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You just-you seem-"
I sighed deeply when Hermione couldn't find the words to tell me what a bitch I had seemingly turned into. I knew that's what she was thinking. "Well, as I said, being held hostage by a dark wizard takes away some of that Gryffindor chivalry."
With a lifeless smile, I turned and left the Great Hall.
-
"Bubba!" I was walking down the hallway when I was pulled into an embrace. Pansy hugged me so tightly, I could hardly breathe. "I've missed you, my love. I didn't catch you at the feast last night."
I smiled as she pulled away from me. "I went to bed early. How are you?"
Pansy linked her arm through mine as we started walking down the hall. "I've been fine. How are you?" She glanced at me cautiously. "Really, how have you been?"
I shrugged lightly. I remained buzzed enough throughout the day to feel light and airy, almost giddy sometimes. I hated that I was getting high all the time-I hated it so much, I would get more high to become numb to that feeling as well. "I've been good, Pans. Really. I'm okay."
I'm not okay. Not really.
Pansy smiled and I knew she believed me. It was easier to believe that I was okay when my mind was so numbed; you could no longer see the pain hiding in my eyes.
Pansy and I sat down on the windowless arched ledge, the courtyard outside bright and filled with sunshine. Pansy nudged me softly, wiggling her eyebrows. "The hot new guy is a Gryff. Do tell the details."
I rolled my eyes, laughing. "Really?"
Her eyes were wide as she nodded. "Yes! He's fucking sexy, Lys. Tell me you've called dibs."
I snorted. "I don't want him."
"Really?"
I shrugged, looking down at my still hands. They would always start trembling again once the pills started to wear off. "I don't know. He is kind of perfect but-I don't know. I'm not really interested."
Pansy narrowed her eyes mischievously. "Your heart already belongs to someone else." She spoke in a sing-song voice, poking my arm.
I swatted her hand away. "Oh, please."
"Come on. I know how cozied up you and Draco were before the summer."
My nose crinkled as I looked out at the courtyard, my eyes squinting because of how brightly the sun was shining. I hadn't seen or talked to Draco since arriving back at Hogwarts yesterday.
I wanted to. I missed everything about him.
I also didn't want to. He could see right through me. He would see the apathy and hollowness I had become-which seemed worse than the traumatized, unraveling mayhem I had been afore the summer.
I found myself trepidatious of what and how Draco and I would now be. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know what our new normal would be.
Pansy changed the subject. "I saw Mara talking to you this morning."
I snickered, still looking outside. "A treat, that one is."
Pansy rolled her eyes. "She's-she's something else, Lys."
I looked at Pansy. "You were with her last night. What's her deal?"
Pansy shook her head at a loss. "I wouldn't know where to begin. She's-she's almost terrifying, Lys. Within five minutes, she practically had all the boys wrapped around her perfectly manicured finger."
I was too high to have any sort of reaction. "You don't like her?"
Pansy shrugged. "She screams Slytherin but-I don't know. It feels like she's here more to play some game."
"What type of game?"
"That I don't know yet." Pansy shrugged, leaning back. "Nothing good. Don't get me wrong, I love my share of trouble but her trouble seems-more heinous, maybe. I wouldn't want to get on her bad side."
I bit back a dull laugh. "It's too late for that."
Pansy snapped her gaze towards me, her eyes going wide. "Elysia... what did you do?"
"Nothing," I scoffed. "She was obviously trying to stir shit up this morning and I-well, I can tango too. I've dealt with too much shit to let her get under my skin-which conspicuously is what she wants to do with everyone."
Pansy winced. "I'd be careful with her, Lys."
I rolled my eyes. "What's the worst she can do?"
Mara Silvius screamed chaos and inciting eradication. It hadn't even been a day yet but her concupiscence for eliciting the otherwise calm atmosphere could be discerned from miles away.
Maybe in a different time, I would be careful. Maybe if I were sober, I'd be more cautious. But it wasn't a different time and I wasn't sober.
Hogwarts didn't ken it yet, but an incipient devil was now living under its roof.