Disclaimer: I do not own "Harry Potter" and "The Vampire Diaries".
Trigger warnings: bullying and self-harm.
Until now, her magical life could be divided into two very different phases: before Azure and after Azure. Before Azure, Myrtle was just another girl in the crowd of students wearing the same robes but different ties and crests on their gymslip or vest-coat. At night, she found herself looking at her hands orother parts of her body and the tingling or the itching sensation in her skin madeher recall her torment at the hands of Hornby's posse...
Madam Burnett's healing treatments could only take away the pain but the memory of it was indelible. She would find the nearest sharp object and plunge it in her skin while whispering to the Lord to wake her up because if this was a dream, she wanted no part of it. She wanted her brother to tuck her in bed, her parents to hold her and encourage her talents and her younger sister to genuinely call her "Sis" instead of a flat "Myrtle". Wishes were all she had.
She had been brought to a world that didn't make her feel welcomed and her number of friends amounted to just one and one or two acquaintances inside of her House like Maura Bones. She hated the archaic society she had been forced to enter, a society where blood and a family's legacy was what mattered.
"A society that you do not fit in, Moaning Myrtle," Hornby had cruelly whispered before hitting her with a hex.
But, one day, she met a strange girl from her school's most hated House and instead of isolation, she began to seek out the Slytherin's companionship. Soon she realized Azure was a bit like Minnie but had a violent streak that the older Gryffindor would immediately disapprove. Minnie was a stickler for rules and Azure more than often bent them because she fought for "what is right" and because she wanted to make a "change".
And now, she had befriended beings who, once upon a time, would make her cower in fear because of the stories she had heard and read about!
How things can change in just a few months' time, Myrtle thought with a smile while looking at the two vampires who were reminiscing embarrassing moments – mostly Stefan's –, to which Stefan would immediately protest before laughing, soon followed by the three females. Right, Grandpa?
"Pure, half, dirty blood," Stefan counted with his fingers idly before letting out a snort. "That does not make any sense. Blood is blood."
"Tell that to the Pure-blood twits in charge of our very much esteemed archaic society," Azure replied sarcastically. "Magical society thinks of itself as superior, but we are nothing if not puny, weak creatures who cannot accept difference until it hits us in the face."
Lexi made an agreeing sound before sipping her beverage. "It's one of the reasons I don't like visiting my home country; the Ministry is not very fond of 'bloodsuckers'. With the increase of the vampire population because of bored Purebloods and rogue vampires, people will grow scared. And as my friend once told me, when No-Majs are scared, they attack. Wizards and witches will react the same way."
"Those Pure-bloods sound like a bunch of douchebags," Stefan added, utter dislike seeping from his words. "Casting away their children because they lack magic?"
Azure sighed sadly. "For some families, the shame of having a 'Squib', the derogatory term for Wizard-born, is as bad as having a child out of wedlock. Traditional clans have long supported inbreeding – marrying cousins with cousins – to keep the blood pure, which leads to the appearance of many Wizard-borns, the counterpart to wizards and witches born in ordinary families."
"The Muggle-borns, correct?" Stefan asked.
Lexi nodded. "Slytherin is the most selective of the Houses; usually, Pure-bloods are placed there."
"Guilty," Azure deadpanned, raising her hand. "Although that as long as I am concerned, my Housemates hate me because I am a 'Blood-traitor spawn'. The funny thing is that Blood-traitors – wizards and witches who interact with and marry Muggles or people of lesser blood status – always end up in other Houses but not me. I am a snake born in a family of badgers. On my father's side, to be more precise. My Mother and her family attended Beauxbatons."
Myrtle saw him mouth "badgers?" to his friend who smiled innocently before supplying, "She's talking about Hufflepuff; their emblem is a badger and the colours are yellow and black. As for Beauxbatons, they have three levels of learning: primary level, middle level and upper level. Interestingly, they had Houses before the Headmaster abolished them during the French Revolution. Each House was also associated with a colour instead of Hogwarts who has two: purple for Papillonlisse, blue for Ombrelune and green for Bellefeuille. Céleste once told me that her granduncles were not pleased with this change and made a petition to bring back the Houses. Both were French nobles and escaped the Terror." A small conspiratorial smile appeared on her face and she leaned her head forward as she whispered, "Her Grandfather's brother Marc was Ombrelune and his wife Mauviette was Papillonlisse."
Myrtle blinked at the revelation. Wizards and witches' lifespan was superior to a regular human but she ignored exactly how much old they could be; in her world, people died before the seventy years – Grandpa Morgan had passed away at 75, which was something of a record among his family and friends who had died after reaching 60 – but from what Lexi was saying, Céleste's granduncles would have to be 300 years old!
Stefan's eyebrows shot up to his forehead as he echoed her non-verbal disbelief, "Her Granduncles?"
"Not only Vampires can live beyond a regular human's age, Mr Salvatore," Azure told him smugly. "In our world, magic retards ageing. That's why many of these guests look middle-aged despite the fact they are already hundreds of years old. Perhaps the young-looking witches you are acquainted with are, in fact, old enough to be Myrtle's grandmothers." She paused before a mischievous smile appeared on her face. "Does your eternally twenty-four-year-old brother knows he has been sleeping with old hags?"
Myrtle chortled at the last part and, bemused, watched Stefan splutter on his drink.
"You're joking!"
"O ye of little faith..." Lexi smirked at him. "It's a whole new world that we live in, Stef. Make an effort in not acting surprised at all times, would you?"
"Duly noted," the vampire said sarcastically to her. "What about the other Houses? Gryffindors are..."
"...Where dwell the brave at heart," Lexi recited before rolling her eyes. "Their traits – bravery, daring and chivalry - are those of a stereotypical knight. The colours are scarlet and gold and their emblem is a lion."
Azure chuckled and quickly drew her wand. A floating tetrahedron appeared. "Very fitting for a House connected to the element Fire."
Myrtle's lips twitched upwards as she recalled her geometry lessons taught by Mrs Finley: platonic solids could be associated with one of the four elements and the aether/cosmos. The tetrahedron symbolized fire.
Lexi nodded and said, "If Gryffindor is Fire, Slytherin would be connected with Water."
"That may explain why they are always at odds; fire and water cancel each other," Myrtle added musingly, her index finger under her chin. "There was a heated divergence of opinions between Slytherin and Gryffindor; the former seriously disapproved of Muggle-borns learning magic, while Godric Gryffindor, his once upon a time best friend, thought otherwise."
The floating solid morphed into the shape of an icosahedron, the representation of water. Stefan curiously poked the glowing object, the contours becoming squishy for a moment. "Opposites indeed."
"Which is why Gryffindor is known as the second most inclusive House. Hufflepuff is the House of the just, the loyal and the patient," Lexi interjected. "Their Founder was Helga Hufflepuff and their aptitude for Herbology enhances the connection to the element Earth." The floating shape became a cube. "Western magic was heavily inspired by Elemental Magic before it was divided in Light and Dark. The Houses are connected to each one of the four elements..."
"And these four elements are in turn symbolized by the 'platonic solids', which are a way of explaining the several phases of matter," Azure completed with a grin.
"Geometry: my least favourite subject until Damon lectured me day and night. The next week, it was exam day; I got the second-best grade of the class. That Daniel Forbes was simply impossible to beat..." Stefan recalled with a chuckle. "So, that leaves Ravenclaw with the last of the 'classical' four elements, as the fifth element – aether – is connected to all four."
"Well deduced!" With a flick of Azure's wand, the cube turned into an octahedron. "Ravenclaw, the House that prizes wit, wisdom and learning. Its colours are blue and bronze. Founded by the brilliant Helena Ravenclaw, who chose an eagle as the emblem because of their connection to the element Air. Perfect for intellectuals." Mismatched thoughtful-looking eyes locked with Stefan's amused forest-green ones. "Interested?"
"No!" He laughed. "I like books, but we Salvatores were born in Virginia, a state of the North; daring is our second name. Also, we have Italian ancestry; chivalry is part of our education. So was Latin...but hypothetically speaking, I would like to go to Gryffindor. My brother would fit in Slytherin; he has the right attitude."
Lexi instantly gave him a mock-glare. "Hey, what about Hufflepuff, where loyalty, hard work and fairness abound? You could belong there as well!"
"Oh, I believe that would be perfect for you, Miss Branson," he told her smoothly, slightly bowing before her and gently kissing her knuckles. "You're better at doing hard work than me."
"Stefan..." Lexi started to say in a threatening tone despite she could not help the bemused smile at his antics. "Fine, there's no need to put on your Salvatore charm that won you many broken hearts."
"And how many were they again?" Azure asked before folding her arms across her chest.
Stefan gave them a sheepish grin before saying, "A lot? I lost count when I reached the fourties."
Myrtle did not doubt the truthfulness of that statement; Stefan Daniel Salvatore was gorgeous.
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