altercations
'''
Athena never thought she would have to put in extra effort to avoid Harry Potter, he had never really paid much attention to the girl, before apparently this year. she was still curious as to why he had taken a sudden interest in her, though she really just wished he'd stop.
in her potions class it was the worst, as she sat next to him and they had been assigned at partners . she'd returned to attending class regularly , as much as she didn't want to. Defense against the dark arts was definitely the hardest for her, of course the basic course was simple, it was just the toad. She got Athena so riled up she constantly had to grip her desk tightly to make sure she didn't lash out.
Athena had been penting up her anger for a while now, after the small lash out at Potter , she only felt slightly relieved, and he still kept talking to her, so it wasn't even worth it.
it happened when she was walking the grounds , she was heading around the black lake when some third year Gryffindors came up behind her and shoved her, hard.
"not much to say now huh Malkin?"
the apparent leader seemed to say, a ugly smirk falling on his ugly face.
"I'm really not in the mood today kids"
she spat , just trying to cool off from the rough day
"well when you come for potter , you come for Gryffindor I'm afraid"
the young boys nasally voice replied
this made the girl snort
"please , half the school hates him right now , that includes your house, real loyal I see"
this made the younger kids face contort into frowns
before he even reached for his wand, she had dug her fist into the side of his face. the two other boys panicked before hurriedly trying to get their wands, but they were too slow for Athena. She just let out all her anger, before realizing the damage she'd done to the young kids. Honestly she might have gone a little overboard, but she'd had a bit of a difficult week.
The kids were without serious injury, they just scrambled to their feet and ran up to the grounds.
Hermione was the first to move
she ran over to Athena , catching her by surprise and making her jump.
"hey! its just me, are you okay?"
the girl settled slightly before responding
"yeah Hermione I'm fine, just a bit shaken up"
the girl responded honestly
"that was one hell of a fight! if you can even call it that, you nearly killed the kids!"
ronald yelled next, pure respect in his eyes
"ron!"
Hermione whispered , shocked at his boldness
but Athena laughed, an actual genuine laugh, because he was right, and she liked it.
harry stood quietly, knowing the girl disliked him, well he tried to , but his mouth got the best of him.
"it was brilliant"
he muttered
Athenas smile fell, but no hatred filled her eyes, she was considering her response in her mind, before settling on just nodding with a small smile resting on her face.
a small silence fell on the quartet before Athena broke out in a large smile. Her two friends were running around the lake, they had also apparently witnessed the fight, as their faces held excitement.
"hOLY SHIT!!"
Wren was screaming at the stop of her lungs
making Athena break out in laughter before pulling her friend into a tight hug, which was interrupted by Lacie jumping on the two and shoving her way into the hug as well.
"you're so badass 'Thena "
Lacie spoke , after the slytherin had finished telling the short story.
"Damn straight"
she responded her lips pulling into a smirk.
somehow the fight , though at first irritating, had released a lot of Athenas built up anger, and she was starting to feel a lot better.
While caught up with her friends she didn't notice the three Gryffindors slowly back away from the conversation. But harry kept turning back as they walked back to the castle, seeing a smile on the moody slytherins face was new to him.
.,.
After word of the fight came out, most people backed off her , mostly in fear. and she liked it. though she knew she'd be called evil if she admitted it. she liked the respect she'd gained, she liked the slight twinge of fear in peoples eyes when they saw her in the halls. it made her feel powerful.
though sadly, her little show hadn't put any fear in the eyes of Harry Potter. If anything he had become more curious about his potions partner, where she'd learned to fight , if he could even call it that. it was now officially the third week of school, and he hadn't gotten anywhere. he had so many questions but when faced with her he never wanted to make her upset.
a few days later the news came out that Umbridge had been appointed as "High Inquisitor". Hermione covered her mouth covering a shocked expression on her face as Athena stormed into the courtyard, seething. Before running into a student.
"whats got you in a twist, aren't you all excited about this?"
the Ravenclaw boy sneered
though she had planned to not respond, her anger yet again got the best of her as she faced him, with a red face.
"what was that?"
she muttered, though she knew what the arrogant boy had said.
"well you know, since all you Slytherins are either working for the ministry or death eaters"
he spoke casually , a calm expression on his face, knowing he was riling her up.
"fuck you"
she responded, trying to shove off the situation , brushing past the irritating boy and headed for the large doors. but he just had to say one more thing.
"wow im so scared, no matter no one likes her ass. freak"
this made the girl laugh and immediately flip around and shove they guy to the ground, shattering his cocky attitude instantly.
"you may be all talk, but I'm not. so do yourself a favor and shut the fuck up"
she responded coldly , looking around at the crowd that had formed
"and we aren't all bad you know, we're people, just like you all. you aren't your parents , neither are we. you all act tall and mighty but turn your back on the first person to speak out, seriously grow the hell up , all of you"
the group of students cast their eyes down in shame , not daring to meet the cold slytherin's burning gaze.
as she stormed in the building , the courtyard remained silent, before Hermione raced after the dark haired girl, as she hadn't seen the girl's two Ravenclaw friends anywhere .
she found Athena sulking in a corner of the school, scowl moulded on her face. Athena was unsure of what this news meant for her, Umbridge hated her, in fact the only person she hated more than her was Harry Potter. Could she kick Athena out of school? Where would she go? would she be shipped off to some other school?
Before she could fall too deep into her thoughts, Hermione snapped her out of her small trance.
"I have an idea, but you can't tell anyone, got it?"
"we have to fight back, and you're going to help me"
...