( CHAPTER THIRTEEN: SHATTERED SCREAMS )
MARIELLA HAD GROWN TO enjoy listening to the excitement that dripped the words leaving the lips of Slughorn. His ways of teaching had taken a toll on the way she had mastered the art of learning and understanding certain aspects of the material, without having to put too much effort into it when she came around to studying for it.
It just so happened to be one of the many reasons why she never enjoyed speaking during her potions lessons due to this skill that she tried to perfect. For this academic year, she had been seated beside Severus Snape, just as it had happened to be like as such from the previous year. Neither had talked quite often to consider themselves as acquaintances to the very least rather than friends and both parties seemed quite fine with that fact.
But there had been something about Severus' characteristics and personal traits that intrigued her slightly.
She was aware of the hatred he had towards most of the marauders and the fact that he was never fearful of the opinions he had on any of them. He had a valid reason to do so. So she found watching his reactions to James and Peter conversing discreetly about the said boy just as interesting as scribbling down notes from her textbook assigned to them the summer before September.
The bespectacled boy still held an ounce of hated towards the girl in question and in all honesty, she could not care less of what he said about her. There were far more important things on mind and far more important things that overtook her thoughts that she had to attend to. James just so happened to be collateral damage that could easily be discarded if worst came to worst. She knew she wouldn't enjoy having to put him down if he decided to twist himself into her plans.
When homework had been set ( to her lovely delight ) and class had been dismissed after the silence that followed when Horace had decided to let his students go, Mariella had only made it a few metres past the classroom door before she had seen James and Peter gang up on Severus in the corner of the corridor, both boys narrowing their eyes and curling the corners of their lips into cynical smirks that made her stomach contort with anger. She had hoped that their last year of Hogwarts would become the epiphany that the marauders needed to mature and understand that bullying a boy that just so happened to hold feelings for the same girl he did, would not like him any more if she heard of the current issue.
Regardless, she had stood still and watched the moment unravel with each passing second, folding her arms over her chest as she tried to understand the outcome that the boy was trying to receive. "Hey, Peter?" He asks his fellow friend, his over-confidence ruling out the fact that the large boy was already beside him, trying to hold in a belt of laughter as he watched Severus try to manage a stoic impression. "Did you happen to hear the announcement made a few hours ago during Breakfast?"
Peter nods, regardless of the fact that he knew that he was never the one to try and make someone seem intimidated. "Why yes I did James. I wonder whether Severus here heard of it like we did."
A tired sigh leaves the brink of tongue. Mariella could not help but chuckle lightly at his attitude. "You know very well Potter that I do not listen to the rumours that have poisoned the tongues of the students here. And are you not confident that your ego is already big enough? What is my concern that you were daftly given the role of Head Boy?" His eyes scan over to the girl stood a few metres behind them and gives her a questionable glance before returning his stare to the two boys that currently towered over his own. He wonders whether her presence was there to make him feel even more intimidated than the pair were trying to make him feel.
"So you did listen to it," he says with a hint of amusement coating his words. Severus sees her roll her eyes at the somewhat pathetic line he had tried to carry out. "Did you also happen to hear who was acquainted the job of Head Girl? Because if I remember correctly, I heard that you used to have a little crush on sweet Lily Evans."
"Should I applaud you on your one of the many chances you have received to make her hate you more than she already does?" Severus says burdensomely. "Because I have been doing so for the past seven years I've known you."
And the smile set on his face had dropped quickly before setting into a heavy glare. "I would be careful with that tongue you carry around. I could easily make your life a living hell if you manage to press the right buttons."
It had been at that point that Mariella had stepped into the conversation, the emotions on her face showing no overall effect on the words that were supposed to hurt the boy in question. She would have to reinforce friendships if she was to carry out the plan properly and safely without allowing herself to fall into one of the dungeons built in the depths of Azkaban. She can already hear the voices inside her head, urging her to speak and persistent on her protecting the boy, despite having no connection or relation to him.
Her steps had intimiated the same ones from those of a teacher, but to a look of relief, both boys had let out a subtle breath and re-adjusted their positions in order to deal with any oral onslaught that she was determined to persue.
"Do you not have anything better to do than to taunt other students Potter?" She asks with a raised brow. "The job you were acquainted requires you to set a good example for others and earn their trust, not push them away with fear and dumbfounded wit."
Potter scoffs. "Keep your mouth shut Keres. This does not concern you."
"Oh but it does concern me just as much as it concerns you, do you not see?" The corners of her lips twist into a smile that happened to be just as cynical as theirs. "This job was meant for someone who could obviously see the wrong in this school and try to ensure comfort, safety and happiness that parents expect from a school. It is obviously my business that you are bullying Severus and I could easily revoke this job from you if you continue to do this to him."
"Why should he care? You would need more than one person to revoke his position," Peter intrudes but an expression of question suddenly floods his face. "You do need more than one person to revoke your position do you not?"
"Of course I do. But I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't do it if she knows it'll hurt Sirius."
She thinks of the possibility that Melanie may be watching, calculating precise moments to invade Potter's mind and find any evidence that she still holds feelings towards Sirius. She glances both ways and lets out a scoff, the single action only causing her to grow angrier with the amount of fear that she had already managed to manifest inside her with just a matter of weeks of living inside her home.
"You two both know as well as I do that Sirius wouldn't do anything but laugh at the short period of time it took for you to get kicked off your pedestal. But I'm almost certain that you wouldn't want your precious Lily flower to be taken away from you now do you?"
Peter realises that they had already lost this battle. "James just leave it." He knows that embarrassment and humiliation was an emotion that never looked good on someone such as himself. And he did not wish to see him wear it each time he passed both herself and Severus.
James eventually gave in to his warnings and stepped away. "You won this time. But just to let you know, you do not have a chance with Evans. If there's any part of you that still believes she holds feelings for you after what you said to her two years ago, I suggest you to get rid of it." His shoulder bounces off Mariella's before the pair disappeared the corner, keeping their murmurs hushed.
The unwanted silence seizes her mind to become uneased. She takes a glance at Severus, the boy still remaining in the awkward silence that had thickened over the last few moments she had spent still, wondering what to say. After what seemed to be at least two minutes, a heaved sigh tumbled out of her mouth, accompanying the following words —— "Perhaps a small thanks or sign of gratitude is not such a big task to ask from someone as spiteful as yourself." She had to agree with herself that the tone had suggested a snarky tone and it didn't do anything but represent just how alike she was to the people in the small circle of friends that James and Peter happened to be in.
He didn't seem to take it to offence but rather scoffed, an action that she felt quite neutral about once she took a good look at his expression. "Highly unlikely. I would be a fool to trust the leader's girlfriend of the little gang they have dedicated to be somewhat remembered in future time."
Mariella was quick to object. "I was never in love with Sirius Black." The thought of it makes her chest burn and her lungs tighten. She wouldn't call the relationship they had ( if she would even call it that ) something as strong as love.
From the tone that she had taken, it was clear that he had managed to pluck old and underused strings and didn't find any problems with playing around them once more. "I never implied it." But from the way his pale lips curled up in amusement, she thought otherwise. "But if that is how you would like to refer to your intimate relationship status, then you are more than happy to address it as such. All I'm saying is ——."
"Please continue what you speaking so fondly about previously," she interjects immediately, brushing the strands of stray hair away from her eyes to hide the red tint in her cheeks."
Nonchalantly, he says, "If you wish. As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted ..."
"You were the one to ——"
"—— You do not have to take pity on me, Keres. I have learnt how to fight my own battles for the past six years. I am certain that I can handle another year."
Mariella, shrugs, unsure as to whether his statement was in one way or another, a way for him to show his gratitude towards the situation. "I just know how pathetic James can be with his diabolical bullshit he has planned to make Lily fall in love with him. Bullying others with the contributing factor that he was acquainted Head Boy does not seem quite right in my morals."
Severus shrugs, regardless of the fact that Mariella smiles at the same thing that had slightly reciprocated on the brink of his lips. Without so much as an utter from his lips, he turns around briskly with his hands in either side of his robes, allowing his slick hair to flop to the front of his eyes. "Perhaps there was some good inside you, Keres." And he walks away without another word.
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The walk back to the Gryffindor corridors was hectic. With the excitement of their last year at Hogwarts, many of the seventh year students had been ecstatic to reveal their plans for the upcoming holidays and possibly the plans they had for their life after school. For most, the conversations were steered mostly from the positive defects that came from adulthood. The independence that they starved for since they entered their second year had finally been able to seep out without any second thoughts and it made their hearts burn in glee.
But for people such as Sirius Black, the idea of work coming before pleasure made his mind spin.
He thinks about how he would have to one day find a way to live on his own without the support that the Potters were giving him and try to find a way to fend off the little money his parents had given to him from the birthdays that had passed up to this point. He was unsure as to whether he would be sent any mail containing glistening galleons of silver-coloured sickles but he still had his hopes up.
Apart from the fact that his loyalties laid to the wizarding world, he could hardly find himself engulfed in the muggle culture, spending more than two thirds of his daily life behind a counter serving whatever beverage they required. It was too time consuming and it would often lead him to question people such as Lily or Miaomoryi ( who had lowered the bubble of silence to remain encased around James and Remus and Mariella ).
So he would often spend his time in the library, educating himself about the muggle world and how to go about the struggles of earning an occupation that could last him a month's worth of rent for when he would begin to live on his own. Like he had said previously, James had already gained enough on his own side and as the friend he was, couldn't bare to cause his family any more stress than he needed to.
For most of the time, he would often ponder on whether or not Mariella had uttered an array of single syllables to the members of his party, believing that if he was to wait long enough, then they would be able to discuss her whereabouts for the past nine months —— even if he had a distinct idea about her intentions after the school life. But then he thinks about whether she had done the same with Miaomoryi, hoping to rekindle the friendship that had formed at an unexpected time. Yet the results of that had proven to be invalid as he had yet seen one genuine smile spread across the Korean girl's face once in the time that they had returned to Hogwarts.
The ivory haired girl had even sat herself down on the same desk ( and somehow in the same region of air intake ) without arguing or sharing a single dispute on how she wouldn't take it lightly if you were sat in a particular desk that she would prefer to sit at —— for she had been doing that frequently as it seems.
The question stung his mind but he never held the confidence to make it into a question of some sort ( what an odd occurrence! The Sirius Black didn't hold the said confidence that so many of the girls found attractive? ) . Her posture even gave off that similar feeling of not wanting to be disturbed. The very bubble that she had trapped herself in made it almost impossible for any sane and knowledgeable person to burst.
But Sirius was neither of those things. So it made perfect sense for him to do so despite that.
It was clear from the strongly negative expression she was displaying that she did not wish for anyone to disturb her from her solitude of silence but he came to questioning her whether or not she wished to sit on a table with another individual if she was to wish for that said silence. And the scowl he received was nothing more than a contortion of anger, resentment, surprise and yet nonchalance. He had believed that over the time she had spent in Korea, the facial expressions that she had tried to stop herself from wearing had obviously became natural and more fitting to the situations she found herself in ——this one being a clear example.
"What exactly are you doing here?" He questions Miaomoryi, his eyes slanting down into fine lines of curiosity and somewhat tease. Perhaps the idea of the girl hanging out with the boy who she hardly spoke with in the previous years seemed humorous at first thought.
She puts up with his presence for the sake of not earning another detention by the librarian. Regardless of her angered behaviour, she disliked the sound of staying after school and doing things that were meant for people such as Professor Filch. And considering her close relation to James, he would not make things at ease for her if she was to be found at detention.
With a raised brow that had obviously been arched to the tip, she glances up at the boy with a watered-down scowl. "Is it not obvious? I'm studying. Something you ought to be doing if you want to leave Hogwarts at the same time everyone else will."
And yet, there she was still showing the burns of anger she had hoped to unleash upon Sirius.
"Right." His eyes wonder off to the book labelled Why the Muggle World is better than the Wizarding World and begins to scan through the masses of text before him, right until he had come to release that the scratch of a quill against paper had not been heard correctly. And then he wonders to the girl sat opposite him, pondering on why she had yet to write any words, phrases or forms of punctuation down on the slip of parchment. His strike of bravery came again and he opened his mouth again, hoping to respond to the level of snide and snark that dripped her words.
"Is there any reason why you're not writing something?" He asks her again. She had ignored him. "Because I'm certain that letters can't be read if there is nothing to be seen inside them."
Miaomoryi glares at the mischievous grin that had stretched upon his face. She weighs down all her options almost as if conversing with the boy would cause a disruption in the events soon to come. But what use was it to continue to ignore him? What was the point of leaving him to pester her and cause them to both land themselves into the landfill that was detention? She would still end up being punished by the wrath of Argus Flinch and his violent cat.
Her muted sigh left her lips before she places a fist under her chin, supporting het tired state. "If you must know, I'm thinking of a reply to this letter. According to Professor McGonagell, my owl post was held back due to some issues at home so it was all delivered today. And considering how disorganised this bloody school can get at delivering mail, I've spent an entire morning replying to things that I didn't have the time for throughout last year and the past summer."
"That sounds like fun," he says in a sardonic tone.
"It truly is, Sirius. I suggest you try it. Might help you forget about Mariella quicker." And then she watches as his attitude fades away at such an alarming rate, it was amusing to watch. Perhaps it wasn't right to mention her name in his presence. She was still aware of the way that she made his chest burn with adoration and admiration. And she was not new to the intimate moment they had both shared after the Christmas Ball that she had fretted about in the times they they considered themselves as close friends.
"Oh do not look so shell-shocked about my words. I've been looking at the way you watch her pass you on the corridors; the way your lip twitches shut when you are speaking to James or Sirius or Peter or the latter. It truly is quite endearing to watch your heart swell up in adoration for her." Despite the mocking tone behind the words she spoke, she felt a pang of sympathy for the boy who had managed to fall in love with a girl who runs away from her past. It made sense to her that it became more difficult to speak to her or mutter anything as little as a syllable before she was dragged away by the pretentious brunette that followed her with the smirk tied on her rose-like lips.
"And you make it sound like such a sin to be in love."
"I have no idea what you speak of, Sirius." She responds with no idea of the context behind his words. The moment had soon enough hit her like a stack of bricks before she scoffed. "And if you suggest that I speak with him, I promise you that I will rip out every fine hair that covers the upper portion of your lip slowly and surely."
"You should speak to him regardless of the way he may have hurt you. I am aware of the way that all of us treated you and if it wasn't for his odd shyness I would have urged him to do so sooner —— but he does miss speaking with you. They both do." He emphasises on the pronoun, hoping that she would realise that they had decided upon the decision to protect her, although it had resulted in consequences that were beyond unrepairable. The sound of that had made Mariella's chest hurt and she had tried to find ways to reverse the effects without causing any damage to their brains.
She had remained silent for those few moments before her eyes flickered up to the entrance of the library, watching as the girl that may have come to question walk briskly into the room with a scroll of parchment and a heavy book that had been torn at the turns, creases and spine. The abundance of curls that dropped from her scalp had been tied back in order to allow her to focus on what she had intended to focus on, rather than her fingers to sub-consciously twist and curl at them. He found such a small action interesting to watch along with the humming that could be heard from the back of the room.
When she could be seen walking towards the librarian, Miaomoryi took that moment to pack up her own belongings and leave Sirius to somewhat "practice what you preach". Perhaps the idea did not sound as bizard as he intended it to be. "I'm going to head up to the common room. Maybe I'll speak with Remus only if I feel like I want to." And the smile that followed may have been somewhat genuine, somewhat faux. "James may wait for another three weeks before he can start pestering me with his pathetic questions and findings about his previous Lily Evans."
And then she left, casting a small smile at the girl when they had made eye contact for what had been the third time in the period of time that they had been at Hogwarts, no exchange of words being made.
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authors note.
This might be a mess of a chapter but I haven't updated in such a long time and I miss writing for Mariella and Miaomoryi.