A Fearridden Lion Cub

Tari shut the door to the empty room behind her and locked it quietly. As silent as she was on her first day, she curls up against a wall, covering her ears to block out any noise of the Easter celebrations going on. As she sits there, her mind retraces the year, remembering the friends she has made and the world she has come to love, and then she remembers that morning, when some fellow students were discussing the holiday and the homes they would be returning to at the end of the semester. Tari cringed as she remembered her own, and the fate she would likely receive upon her return. Thus, she sat, a ball of robes and blond braids, crying almost silently in an abandoned room in the dungeons, determined to stay in that room as long as it took to never return to that vile home again.

Arya had just finished her detention - given by the ever so lovely substitute Potions professor - and was walking through the dungeons. She wanted to get in a bit of extra practice in the ‘Chorus Club’ cellar; she figured she might be able to concentrate more when no one was around. Not that it would help her if she ever had to duel someone; it was unlikely her opponent would give her time to stop and gather her thoughts.

“Evening, baron,” she greeted as the Bloody Baron floated by.

“Mhmmm,” he responded ghoulishly. “Tea tomorrow?”

“You know it,” she answered with a smile.

“Good. Your housemate is crying,” he mentioned nonchalantly, slowly disappearing.

She furrowed her brow and wondered many things at once: which housemate, why were they crying, how does he disappear like that, and why did he always insist upon them having a proper ‘tea’ when he couldn’t drink it anyway? Arya shrugged to herself and followed the stifled sounds of sobbing into an empty cellar.

“Tari? I won‘t bother asking if you‘re alright, you obviously aren‘t,” she said, sitting across from the girl. “What’s going on?”

Tari looked up slightly at Arya, and pulled her braid to the front.
"I can't go back Arya... I- it's I just- Arya I can't leave Hogwarts.. I love it here.."
Tari pulls her knees in closer and sobs into them.
"They won't let me come back if I go... they'll chain me up or burn me again I know it..."
As Tari pulls her knees in, her sleeves are pushed back, revealing the evidence of her burning.

Arya had never been good at comforting people, so she sat there awkwardly. She had no idea what to do. Of course, it wasn’t hard to imagine - she was muggleborn. They’d all been there. ‘Normal’ magic was accepted in the real world, but once you were caught brewing a potion or accidentally destroying someone, you were in danger.

“I know how you feel,” she said, sympathizing. “I was almost caught once. But then we moved a couple villages away, where no one knew us.”

She remembered that day vividly. Arry was helping her father stack the hay as usual, but he had an apprentice this time - a young boy around Arya’s age. Three insults later, she lost control of her emotions and the hay set on fire.

“Couldn’t you and your family just move somewhere else?” she asked, assuming Tari’s family was just as understanding as hers.

Tari wiped her tears on her sleeves, looking at Arya with wide brown eyes devoid of the bravery that marked a gryffindor.
"Arya... if only... can I tell you a secrect?"

Tari's words were muddled, but her expression cleared as she swallowed, deciding then, she was a gryffindor, she would be brave, bold, and loyal. Loyal, not to the world she had come from, but to the world she was now in.

"M-my father's a priest.. They-they tried to burn me at the stake when- when I got the invitation. They-they call magic a thing of Satan... and.. and even before that.. he would beat me.. and I.. I just wasn't wanted.. so.. when they found out I was a witch.. they burned me..."
Pausing, Tari rolled up her sleeves to reveal burn scars up to her elbows from the fire.
"I- I escaped though.. and somehow ended up here.. I thought- I thought I wouldn't like it here, but I do.. and If I go back...

Her voice drifted, words running together as she went to hug her friend, holding on to Arya as if by holding on to her, she could hold on to all of Hogwarts.

Arya blinked rapidly as Tari hugged her, unsure of what to do in this situation. She politely patted the girl on the head, thinking fast.

“Why d’you have to go back?” she asked curiously.

It was a stupid question. Where else could she go? Hogwarts wasn’t open to students in the summer. If only there was someone Tari could trust. Aside from Arya. An adult, preferably.

“Christiare, what about Vici?” she wondered suddenly. Her friend was squeezing the life out of her. “This is nice, but I can’t breathe. If you could just…let…go… Thanks..”

Tari had let go reluctantly, but sat back against the wall, pondering the kind, handsome professor.

"I-I could ask him... but I haven't told anyone about want happened.. "

Sighly softly, she smiled a little at Arya, more than thankful for this friend.

"Thank you. For everything... You have no idea how much your friendship means to me. You are truly a wonderful person, and an even better flyer Arya.

Arya smiled uncomfortably - no one had ever complimented her on anything but her flying. Granted, Christiare threw her skills on the pitch in there, too. But to be told she was good person..

"Thanks, Tari," she said sincerely, patting the girl on the head again. "You're a fantastic person, too. You just need to get out there more and let people see it."

Yawning, she looked around the room. What time is it? she wondered, wishing someone would invent a simpler way to tell time.

"We'd better get out of here," she muttered, suddenly anxious. "That caretaker, Rivers, comes down here rather often. You can't hear him though...y'know, cause he's a mute. Makes it scarier. Let's go!"

She pulled her housemate up off the ground, and took off down the hall.