Starling Darling, Harry Potter Love Story

Eighteen

Star and comment.

HER DREAMS CLAWED AT HER MIND, WAKING OR NOT. Dreams were fickle things; nasty and merciless. Not knowing if they were real or not was the dangerous part. Star had thought the dreams would be the only thing weird in her life, she had not expected the agonizing headaches.

Her head pounded throughout the day, and her attitude was taking the brunt of it. It was late at night, Star had been in her bed for three hours and her ears had not stopped ringing, even now. Oh, she was so going to kill--ravage-- whoever or whatever was causing these headaches.

The digital clock next to her bed read 2:57 am, its red numbers hurt her brain even more. Star sighed and closed her eyes, and to her bewilderment, fell asleep.

~~~

"You went to Dumbledore and not me, my child?" A familiar voice rang. Aglaope.

"Uh...yes?"

"May I ask why?" Star was too scared to open her eyes.

"Because it's what my parents suggested. He didn't tell me anything, though!"

"What did he tell you?" Aglaope's voice sounded too close for comfort.

"Just that I'm not human."

"Specify what you mean by not human."

"You know what I mean, Aglaope."

"I want to hear you say it, Star. The more you say it the more you accept it; accept your fate."

"If you know what I mean why do I need to say it?"

"Do it."

Star sighed and cracked an eye open. "That I'm a siren. A flesh-eating monster of the oceans. I'm literally a Disney villain, straight out of Ariel."

"Oh, don't compare us to that trash. They got Ariel totally wrong," Now that Star had an eye open, she could see how close they were.

"It's true, isn't it? I read books about it, too."

"By who? That foolish Scamander boy?" Aglaope chided. "His little entry in his journal on our kind was just scratching the surface. He only covered the bad things. Let me ask you a question. What do you know about the Incas?"

"That they sacrificed kids. Barbarians, I remember hearing someone say."

"Why do you think you only know about their human sacrifice? Do you think that's all they partook in? No. The people who wrote about them only focused on that part of their religion because it was the most jarring; the most foreign. They were like fish out of water when it came to things that were different outside of their religion. When, in reality, their culture was beautiful. Thriving, colorful, and amazing. That stupid Scamander boy barely made a dent in our history, our culture. Yes, we do horrific things to survive, but don't we all? During mating, a praying mantis bites the head off of her mate and then eats his body for nourishment for her young. Yes, it's odd but they do it to survive and to continue living in this cruel world. A parasite is known to replace a fish tongue with its own parasitic body to continue to live. Hell, humans kill people in cold blood, for sport, might I add, not just for defense. You can ask your little scarred friend all about that, I'm sure. What I'm saying here is, don't judge me for what I and my sisters and brothers have done. Don't judge something that you are a part of, Starling, especially when you'll have to do it soon too."

"Don't get me wrong, I processed that entire conversation but what do you mean, I will have to do it soon?"

"When a siren comes of age at 16, they will go on their first hunt."

"Don't tell me I have to become a cannibal for this gig!"

"Well, usually, 16 is when we learn to lure and capture but, I guess, we can make an exception for you. But, trust me, sirens before you have had 16 years of experience reigning in their blood lust before their first hunt. You have had none. So, as soon as you get in that water, your humanity goes bye-bye."

"Are you being harsh and laying this all on me because I went to Dumbledore?"

"No, even though that man is vile for breaking our agreement, you need to know this. If you go in blind, you'll crash and burn."

"Oh, Merlin. I'm totally freaking."

"That's a normal reaction, Starling."

"I'm going to cry."

"I couldn't tell. We're underwater."

Star looked around, startled. "I didn't even notice that we were underwater."

"That means it's starting," Aglaope grinned.

"What, my cannibalism gene is finally being unlocked? Don't tell me afterward my alcoholism one pops up too."

"We are not cannibals, Starling. You will never accept yourself if you think of yourself as a freak who eats their own kind. You know, Starling, there are some keywords you need to take away from that sentence: their own kind. We don't eat our own kind, it's an egregious offense in our culture to do anything that hurts ourselves or our kind."

"I'm glad my kind has some morals!"

"Ah, now you're getting it! Our kind!"

"Shush. I have a question."

"Yes, my child?"

"Do I turn all fishy as soon as the clock strikes 12 on my 16th birthday?"

"No, it's not immediate, but you do start to feel symptoms. I'll have to meet you outside of your dreams to help you, but that's a conversation for another day. Actually, I think our time is up," Aglaope cracked a genuine smile.

"Oh, I know what that means! My vision starts to get all foggy and I start to feel all nauseous- oh gosh." Star's foggy vision had turned completely black, then she woke up.

~~~

The clock now read 8:42 am, it no longer read 3:00 am, a time when no one should be up. She looked over to the other beds in her dorm, where her other friends still rested in their beds, none of them woke up later than 10:00 am on a Saturday morning. Every time she didn't sleep well, her head ached. The intense throb her head had from no longer having dreams was gone, but the new, yet familiar, pulse from her lack of sleep bestowed another, new pain upon her.

Man, her life sucked. All of it simply sucked. She did want to be a gothic heroine, maybe this was the universe telling her there is, "No rest for the wicked." If only her dads were here. Maybe even her biological mom so Star could yell at her for leaving her with more questions than answers. Star wanted to do more than yell. Maybe hit, scream, or kick? Possibly all three?

Her parents had taught her, "Life is unfair, so don't let it get you down." She knew life was unfair, but this was too unfair, all of it was. She was just a bunch of problems wrapped up with a pretty face. Star would rather be ugly and happy than what she was now: gorgeous and in pain. Oh, the tragedy.

Maybe it was an odd outlook on life, but everyone in this damn school had one.