She's hated by every house but her own.
She's a Slytherin that embodies the house, yet nobody thinks she belongs.
She defies social constructs quietly, and they hate her for it.
The marauders never cared about who she was; they saw her as a girl...
I walked through the hallway, ignoring the shoves and hateful glares of other students. The problem with walking alone was that no one was protecting me. Usually, the other Slytherins would guard me or defend me, but today I was walking alone.
It was miserable. Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws alike, they all seemed to hate me. I was learning the downside to being the protected teddy bear of the Slytherin house: It gets everyone else against you.
I don't know exactly how it started. One day, I was alone, sitting by myself with no company other than the characters in my books. The next day, it was like the entire Slytherin house was on my side. Not that they were really interested in me.
No one is ever interested in me. Not really.
Hearing the bell ring, the hallway cleared out and I was left alone. Looking around, I saw that I was nowhere near my Ancient Runes class. Sighing, I decided to just head back to the common room and take a nap. No point in going, it's not like we'd be doing anything anyway. I turned to go back towards the dungeons, but was stopped by the sound of footsteps and cruel laughter.
"Hey guys, look! It's the Slytherbitch." The familiar voice of Peter Pettigrew rang out. His friends laughed.
"Nice nickname, Peter. So, is the little Slytherin princess cutting class today?" Sirius Black remarked, causing his friend James to laugh.
"Their little plaything is finally breaking the rules," He drawled. I cowered into the wall, clutching my book to my chest.
"I'm not-"
"What? Sorry, I can't understand you when you mumble. Say it again," Black demanded, getting in my face. I could feel myself beginning to tear up, ducking my head. Peter laughed.
"Look, she's gonna cry. We should-"
"Guys, get away from her." The boys turned upon hearing the voice of Remus Lupin, who was catching his breath. Potter rolled his eyes.
"Why? It's not like she doesn't deserve-"
"She doesn't deserve it. No one deserves you guys bullying them. Now get away from her." Lupin demanded, and I raised my eyes slightly. The three boys glared, but backed away.
"Whatever. She's not worth our time anyway," Potter declared, beginning to walk away. Black and Pettigrew followed.
"Coming, Moony?" Black called back. Remus didn't move, his gaze fixed on me.
"Go ahead, I'll catch up," He responded. The three boys left, leaving me alone with Lupin, who was glaring at the wall next to me now.
"Thanks," I whispered, and his eyes softened.
"Don't mention-"
"Hey! Get away from her!" I suddenly heard someone shout, and then the pounding of multiple people coming towards us. We both turned, seeing some of my Slytherin friends coming our way.
Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape, Regulus Black, and Narcissa Black all came to a stop, glaring at Remus.
"Leave her alone. And keep your little gang away too," Narcissa demanded. Remus rolled his eyes, but nodded.
"Take care, Ashlynn," He muttered, before walking away. My friends immediately turned to me.
"Are you okay?"
"He wasn't bothering you, was he?"
"I swear, if he touched you, I'll-"
"Guys. GUYS." They stopped to look at me.
"I'm fine, you don't need to do anything," I stated, and rolled my eyes. Regulus scoffed.
"We have to protect you. You're just so..." I raised my eyebrow, and he trailed off. Severus turned to me.
"What he means to say is that you are vulnerable." Narcissa nodded.
"Just because everyone thinks that we're horrible people doesn't mean we don't care about you," She said, and I nodded. They were actually really good friends. Lucius crossed his arms.
"They shouldn't be pushing you around like that either. Anyway, where are you headed? We'll go with you," He offered.
"I'm just headed back to the common room. I don't really feel like sitting through Ancient Runes today," I responded. They all nodded and chuckled, agreeing with my statement that the class was torture.
"We were headed that way too, let's go," Severus remarked, walking off with the rest of us heading behind him.
I didn't stop thinking of Remus Lupin for the rest of the day. He was...intriguing. I decided that he was different, and that I'd learn more about him.
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