Duplicitous | T.N.

XVII • A sneaky bugger

Aurora sat in the great hall at six thirty in the morning. Her face buried in a piece of toast she had unintentionally dipped into her honey porridge. She couldn't tolerate the look of soaked toast and shrugged it back onto her empty plate. She didn't plan to eat much.

She had woken up at four o'clock that day, a nightmare was at fault. She had dreamed of her mothers demise. The moment of her death. The end of her life.

Though, the dream didn't exactly come off like that. It was more of a peculiar vision if anything.

Her mother looked like her mother but instead of the lively, carefree, pure hearted angel Aurora was used to, she looked exhausted and disconnected. Aurora had a perfect view of her mothers flawless face, she expressed beautiful features through beautiful emotions, though in the depths of her orbs she could see both resentment and exhaustion.

All thoughts of any hidden messages amongst her dream extinguished as she thought harder and focused on the little things. In her dream it appeared almost factual, but looking down at it through reality was appalling. As her mother twirled a single daisy in between her fingers and braided it into Auroras hair, stupid things took place in the background. Things such as, dancing rats and singing angels.

Although her dream had been delivered in an odd way, it hit her right at home. Her dream replicated her mother near perfectly, well, almost. She couldn't help but feel familiar with the gaze of distain in her mothers eyes, though never once had she spotted it through her mum but rather herself.

She was miserable that morning. She decided that the mere moment she woke up. That's a lie, she decided right after the moment of cluelessness had passed, and she had come to the realisation that her mother wasn't there. She was gone.

Struggling amongst her own feelings of discomfort she sighed. She was not only unperturbed but angry too, for a multitude of reasons. Some of those reasons being as petty as possible. One being, her soggy bread.

She huffed down at the table, eyes droopy and downturned. She looked how she felt, like a load of shi-

"I can't believe it?" A voice echoed from behind her, drumming on the walls of the almost empty hall. She knew she shouldn't eavesdrop but to think of anything other than her mothers death would do her well.

It was the voice of a girl, she seemed distressed. A single crack in her voice clearly implied that she was upset. That makes two of them. Rory thought.

"He just brushed you off?" A softer voice asked. This voice was calmer, clearly there to comfort the distressed girl she was conversing with.

"Like dirt under the mat." Wait. Where did Aurora recognise that fragile voice?

Then it occurred. Her shoulders stiffened and her eyebrows raised in disbelief. In an attempt to go stealthy and unnoticed she dropped her toast to make it appear subtle as she turned around to get a look at the girl. Unfortunately, her conspicuous attempt went down the drain within a matter of seconds.

The toast, which she had forgotten was wet made an awful sloshy sound as it slapped the ground. The girls sat behind her watched as she picked it up. Rory's face displayed her apology. Although embarrassed, her failed plot didn't go down in vein because she got a look at the afflicted teenager.

It made her blood boil beyond levels she thought even existed. Behind her was the very same Ravenclaw girl who'd she'd seen with Theodore Nott twelve days prior. He'd gotten bored and shrugged her off, how bloody dare he.

Before acting out, she decided to eavesdrop for longer.

"You're kidding me. And he really said 'I just think we have seperate interests'?" Aurora couldn't see the nod from behind her but she guessed it was there because of the lack of a worded response.