Firefly
Myths were typical story past times in the Kalama household. Whether they came from Greece, Israel, or China, all myths and legends were welcomed by the Kalama children. Every night, since before the twins, Adeen and Jack, could even walk, they were read a story. And their love for culture and legends sparked.
Adeen's favorite ones were those with monsters, ones she constantly used to frighten her twin before bedtime.
"Addy, if you jump out and scare me, I'm telling mother!" Five-year-old Jack threatened as he crept into their shared room. He flicked the light on quickly before pressing himself to the wall. His eyes did a rapid take-in of the room before throwing himself onto his bed, yanking the covers over his head to protect himself from the monsters.
"I'm safe, Adeen! You can't get me now," Jack announced and a loud giggle was heard from under his bed. The child peeked out and frowned when he saw the familiar brunette smirking up at him.
"Get out from under there, the monsters will get you!"
"But me and the monsters are friends... Boo!"
"MOTHER!" Jack screamed and Adeen ducked back under the bed. She heard the threatening footsteps of her mom and hid her face in her arms.
"Adeen..."
"No."
"Firefly, get out from under the bed. It's time for sleep. Tomorrow we're going to grandma's house and I do not want you to be cranky," Mrs. Kalama said as she yanked on Adeen's legs. The young child slid out with a squeal before her mum picked her up and threw her onto the bed.
"No more playing with monsters, Adeen," her mother cooed. Adeen frowned but quickly kissed her mother's cheek before snuggling into her blanket. After doing the same to the other twin, the mother said one last goodnight before shutting the door.
Only a mere hour had passed when Adeen grunted as shrugged to get comfortable on her small bed. She had woken up to a sweaty face and damp sheets. She didn't remember experiencing a nightmare as those didn't occur to her often. So after calling out to her mother and father once, she decided to hop out of bed on her own in search of a glass of water.
She flinched with every step she took, the cold radiating off the marble floors seemed to burn her bare feet. She hurried to the kitchen where she took a moment to rub her hot feet. She was surprised as to why her feet were warm even though the floor was freezing.
Adeen served herself a cold cup of water and greedily chugged it down. She whimpered and drank more. But the more she drank, the more her stomach continued to burn. A sudden shot of pain eradicated from her belly up to her neck. She dropped the glass and it shattered on contact. Adeen would normally panic that she would be scolded by her mother for breaking a glass but the pain that she was experiencing was too much. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, whimpering at the pain that spread through her small body.
"Mother! MOTHER, help!"
In a flash, Adeen felt as if her entire body was consumed by fire. And though she thought it was her imagination, flames erupted from her body unwillingly. She screamed as the pain continued to increase, the fire surrounding her burned everything in its path.
"Adeen! Firefly, get out from there!" She heard her father's voice plead from somewhere. Little Adeen couldn't tell where his panicked voice was coming from, but she wanted to desperately be in her father's arms.
"Dada, help! I can't move!"
More shouts were heard but Adeen's body was paralyzed, and in seconds she blacked out from the pain.
And when she awoke again, nothing in her life was ever the same.
...
"Missy? Dear, can you hear me?"
Adeen scrunched her nose. When her eyes managed to open, a healer stared down at her. The toddler, afraid and confused, began to cry. The inexperienced healer tried to soothe the child but to no avail.
As the child cried, the healer also tried to block her view from the burned down home behind her, where the rest of the Kalama family, unfortunately, didn't make it out alive.
The only survivor was the small 5-year-old, who had been found by Aurors unconscious in the middle of the burnt kitchen, drenched in ashes yet not a single scratch on her. It was clear to some that the child was capable of incredible magic. Others struggled to find sense in her powers. In the end, Adeen was placed in the same classification as a dragon by the Ministry of Magic.
Adeen Kalama was the youngest witch to ever be classified as an XXXXX.
~
The young Slytherin sat silently at her appointed table. She picked at her plate, moving her unappealing green beans around with a fork. Everyone around her gawked at the stunning, graceful foreigners from Beauxbatons, the wizarding academy in France. As the girl's pranced around making a solid entrance, the boy population of Hogwarts drooled over them. Adeen scoffed at them.
Pathetic, she thought.
Next, the headmaster introduced the son's of Durmstrang Institute, another wizarding school hidden somewhere in the cold regions of Northern Europe. The boys presented a show just like the ladies and once they finished, they took a seat at the Slytherin table, while the Beauxbatons girls joined the Ravenclaw's at theirs.
While everyone else's excitement grew over the arrival of the foreigners, all Adeen could think of was all the essays she would have to write for class. The pain and breakdowns were already clouding her mind.
"Adeen, their faces look like they were carved from the finest marble out there," Wendy Gilmera gushed as she admired the Durmstrang boys. Adeen rolled her eyes as she watched her best friend drool.
"Need a napkin?" Adeen sassed as she handed her friend one. Wendy glared at her before defending herself.
"I drooled only because I have excessive water in my mouth, not because the boys are so pretty," Wendy informed before she rolled up the napkin and threw it at a first year's head.
~
It was Halloween the next day, and Adeen knew her day was off to a rough start when she woke up with a massive headache. She groaned and clutched her head. The familiar paralyzing pains shot up from her neck to her head. She quickly reached for the small vile filled with little purple pills before eating two.
"Your head hurts again?" Wendy asked from her bed. Adeen nodded.
"I thought you only have to take one."
"It's just precautions measures. I don't want a repeat of what happened," Adeen mumbled as she remembered the last time her unusual powers went out of hand. It had earned her a very rare classification from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. They had Adeen on file and everything. In the Ministry's eyes, she wasn't even considered human.
She figured a shower would do her some good. So before Wendy could question her more, she disappeared into the bathroom.
Once dressed, she went straight for the Great Hall where she could already taste the delicious hot chocolate going down her throat. She hoped food would help ease her headache as well. She sat alone at the table with her mug and a plate of cookies. She nibbled on a chocolate cookie when she heard a gruff voice.
"You look like shit."
Adeen looked up and gave a slanted smirk. The boy with soft grey eyes smiled down at her before taking a seat across from her.
"Cedric Diggory. Done messing with that poor Hufflepuff?" She questioned with no real interest. Cedric frowned.
"I wasn't messing with her-"
"Sure and who's going to believe you? Her loyal boyfriend or the girl in a committed relationship?" Wendy suddenly butted in. She took a seat next to Adeen and grabbed a croissant sandwich. Cedric growled at Wendy.
"Bugger off, Winnipeg, I'm not bothering her. She's my friend."
Wendy's eye twitched.
"Do not call me Winnipeg! I hate that name," she snapped. Adeen casually sipped on her drink.
"Fine. Whatever, I'll drop the topic," Wendy huffed. Cedric hummed as he watched Adeen take another of her pills. He cleared his throat.
"Anyways, how was your summer vacation, ladies?" He asked, grabbing a cookie off Adeen's plate.
"I thought I was heading to a golden land of opportunity... but somehow, we ended up in America instead," Wendy snarked and Cedric chuckled.
"Was it really that bad?"
"The people in New York are strange and I will never understand anything Americans do," Wendy said with a full mouth, "I will never return there."
Cedric blinked at Wendy with no comment before turning to Adeen.
"And you, Dee, how did you enjoy your time in the States?" He questioned. Adeen shrugged.
"Quite alright. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I did grow a hatred for seagulls though," she muttered thoughtfully.
"Anyways, back to that Hufflepuff."
"Don't call her a that, Gilmera! Her name is April, April Ambrose."
"Why would I bother to learn the name of the girl with the green thumb?" She mocked and Cedric glared at her.
"If I didn't know any better Gilmera, I would say you were jealous of April," Cedric teased. Adeen smirked at Wendy as her friend crossed her arms and scoffed while looking away her head swollen with pride.
"Don't make me laugh, Diggory. Why would I be jealous of the princess of the trees?" She retorted, referring to a girl from her and Cedric's Herbology class that Cedric had taken a sudden interest in.
"But really, Diggory, why do you even bother? She's taken, she has a boyfriend. You know that. She only sees you as her best friend or even just a friend," Adeen concluded. Wendy snickered and grabbed another cookie off Adeen's plate.
"She's right, ya know. You don't even have a best to go with that friend."
~
Halloween landed on a Saturday, and the day was so beautiful, Adeen refused to stay inside the castle. Being inside Hogwarts made her feel suffocated at times and she constantly felt as if she was stuck inside a box with a herd of people she'd rather set on fire.
They found themselves at the edge of the Black Lake. Adeen, with no slight interest in Cedric and Wendy's background bickering, sat on a rock as she stared at her reflection in the water, simply admiring her face.
"April's so out of your league! Sure, she's more of an outcast and doesn't talk to many people, but you can't deny she's pretty! And then there's you."
"Hey! I'm pretty," Cedric protested and Wendy rolled her eyes.
"Pretty ugly," she scoffed back.
Adeen snickered under her breath. The constant fighting between her friend's always humored her.
"...and if I looked anything like Adeen-"
"'Excuse me?"
"I would have men tripping over their balls just to get a glimpse of me!" Wendy exclaimed while flipping her dark hair.
Adeen rolled her eyes. Wendy wasn't ugly, she just claimed her mirror told her differently. Adeen tried telling her many times that she wasn't bad looking, but Wendy would never listen.
"Would you two dung beetles stop yelling, I could hear you all the way from the Quidditch field!" A new voice rang. Adeen turned to see the fourth member of their small group near them.
Hannah Abbott, a girl with blonde hair and a friendly smile, was the youngest of the group, and everyone treated her as a little sister. The Hufflepuff had joined the group her first year at Hogwarts and hasn't left the older students sides since. Cedric crossed his arms with a frown. He knew he wouldn't be able to win against both girls. When Wendy and Hannah joined forces, they were lethal.
"I don't even know why you aren't in Slytherin, Hannah. You're just as mean as Wendy," Cedric pouted and Wendy smacked his head, causing him to yelp.
"Just because someone's rude doesn't mean they belong in Slytherin, you uncultured git," she snapped and Adeen nodded in agreement.
"Slytherin is for those who are cunning, my dear Cedric. And last time I checked, Wendy is the type of woman who would do anything, or anyone, to get what she wants."
"You make me sound evil."
"You're not evil. You may look it, but you aren't," Cedric said and Hannah let out a dramatic gasp.
"I look it?" Wendy quoted as she crossed her arms.
"You don't say that about a girl, Cedric! Don't you know anything about ladies?" Hannah snapped and Cedric scoffed.
"I'm gonna be straight with you two; neither of you are ladies. Feel free to be offended."
*unedited*