"Ang, are you alright?" Daisy asked the girl with a frown.
The next few months came and went and Angela was far too distracted and overwhelmed with O.W.L's that she didn't have time to properly deal with what had happened on her birthday.
It was easier that way anyway. If she could numb the feelings, everything was easier. No pain, no heartache, absolutely no hurting. Numbing the pain was always the easier option.
Angela avoided Regulus at all costs, refusing to work with him in Potions despite Slughorn informing her that she didn't have a choice. She would fail the class if it meant she would never have to look at him again.
But eventually she would have to deal with it. Eventually she would have to come out of her no feelings bubble because people would start to notice. People had noticed.
"I'm fine," Angela replied simply.
"Then why aren't you celebrating?" she inquired.
"What do I have to celebrate?"
"We finished our O.W.L's!"
"And now we have N.E.W.T's to worry about," she reminded the girl, "Woohoo!"
"Merlin," America huffed, "What's got you in such a sour mood?"
"I am not in a sour mood," Angela replied with a huff as she stood up, gathering her belongings. "We just finished testing and I'm tired."
"Go sleep then," she suggested. "I don't like you like this."
"You're always like that," Trevor reminded her and America narrowed her eyes. He gulped, "Sorry."
"Hey, Ang?" Daisy spoke up before the girl could walk away.
She let out a sigh, "Yes?"
"Did you want to come to my home for a week or so?" she asked. "Mum wants to meet some of my friends and I'm not sure how she'd handle America."
"Hey!" America exclaimed.
"Yeah, when do you want to do it?"
"Well you can just come with me right away that way we only have to worry about getting you home," she suggested.
"Alright," Angela nodded, "I'll owl home and let my parents know."
"We can meet up in Diagon Alley," America suggested with slightly narrowed eyes, "Unless that's too much for your parents to handle."
Angela's nose wrinkled at this but she said nothing as Daisy tried to explain what she had meant by her earlier comment. "I'm going to go to bed," Angela announced suddenly, cutting Daisy off mid rant, "I'll see you lot on the train tomorrow?"
She got up and walked away before any of them could come up with a response. Just as she disappeared up the stairs, James appeared, "Have you seen my sister?"
"She just went to bed," Trevor informed him. "She's had an off day."
America snorted, "More like a rough couple of months."
"So you've noticed she's been acting off too?" James asked quickly. He had thought he had done something but if she was like this with everyone, then something else was wrong. But what?
"She's been worried about O.W.L's," Daisy explained.
America rolled her eyes, "Daisy's naive. She broke up with her secret boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?" Daisy asked in confusion. "Angela's never had a boyfriend."
"She definitely did," America countered. "Pretty rough break up, too. On her birthday and everything. Whoever the guy is, is an ass."
James's nose wrinkled, "Agreed."
America raised an eyebrow, "You know something, Potter?"
He raised an eyebrow in return, "No more than you do." She narrowed her eyes but said nothing in return.
James walked away after a moment, making his way up to his room. While he knew about Regulus and Angela, he didn't know everything. And he was determined to figure it out.
The next day, everyone flooded Hogsmeade, ready to board the train. Angela had barely finished packing, only just making it in time with Daisy's help.
She made her way through the train in an out of it state. She just needed the summer. After the summer was over, she would be done moping. She would be Angela again.
She hoped she would be Angela again.
As she walked through the corridor, she bumped into someone. She was quick to apologize but froze in place as she looked up at who it was. Barty Crouch Jr.
He sneered at the girl. "Stupid blood traitor," he scoffed and he swiftly pulled his wand out. "I've been waiting for a moment to put you in your place."
Though it was a delayed reaction, Angela managed to pull her wand out just in time to block his spell. "Do you really want to try this again?" she inquired. "We both know that didn't end in your favor."
"Beginner's luck!" he spat as he sent a much stronger offensive spell her way. "Besides, you cheated!"
"You tried to kill me!" she reminded him, sending her own offensive spell his way, causing him to stumble backwards. "I did nothing to you that wasn't warranted!"
"You-" he began, sending a jinx her way. She dodged out of the way and as she turned she saw that a crowd was starting to form, "-are nothing but a filthy blood traitor. You're no better than a mudblood."
She scowled, any form of restraint breaking. She shot a spell his way and his eyes widened slightly as it nearly broke his protective shield. While he was distracted, she sent another spell his way, hitting him directly in the chest.
"Angela!" a familiar voice called out and she couldn't help but relax when she realized that if things were to go south, her brother would step in if necessary.
"I've got this, James," she informed him, not bothering to spare him a glance. "I'll let you know if that changes."
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he requested and she smiled slightly. Whether it be from how done she was or something else, the smile appeared more sadistic than she had intended. She could see the fear in Crouch's expression and she was oddly satisfied by it. Maybe she was crazy.
"You're a coward," she informed the boy, "Nothing but a filthy coward hiding behind some stupid tattoo and a man who believes he's superior because of his blood status and i should kill you for it." She placed her foot on his left forearm which was also conveniently the hand with the dark mark and put her weight on it. He gritted his teeth to prevent himself from screaming but anyone within earshot could hear the snap of his bone as it broke. "But I won't. Not yet, anyway."
He released the wand and she bent down, picking it up before he could stop her. She snapped it in half and there was a spark as the core broke and she dropped it on, "Stay the hell away from me. Tell your friends the same."
She walked off at this, taking care to step on his hand. She pushed her way through, ignoring the state of a certain boy who she had taken care to ignore for months.
This was the last time she ever let Regulus Black mess up her life.