Aria Black and the Triwizard Tournament

At Least They're Happy Face Suckers

By the time May arrives, I am only failing one class: Potions. Professor McGonagall is so excited, she brings me to her office for tea! She tells me how proud she is of me, and shows me a complete list of my grades to send home to Remus.

Astronomy - E
Charms - E
Defense Against the Dark Arts - A
Herbology - A
Potions - P
Transfiguration - A

Months ago, I never thought that I'd be only failing one class. I used to be failing five! Now I'm exceeding expectations in Astronomy and Charms! This is insane...

I send the list home to Remus mid-May, along with the two books that I've finished. There's a stack of books that he's sent me sitting on my nightstand. It's nearly taller than the nightstand itself!

Elena and the Durmstrang girls have been meeting me atop the Astronomy Tower. In one of our weekly talks, I told Professor Sinistra about their case, and she was sympathetic. She's like their surrogate mother now.

One day, after their etiquette classes and my school are over, we meet at the top of the Astronomy Tower to talk. All five of them are already present, sprawled out on the beanbag chairs that Professor Sinistra has put up here.

"Hey!" I call. "How'd today go?"

Zara rolls her eyes. She's cuddled up in a beanbag chair, reading an old Astronomy textbook of Professor Sinistra's. "About the same as every other day."

Raina nods, pushing her curly ash blonde hair behind her shoulder. She's staring over the grounds dreamily from her forest green beanbag. That's Raina, always thinking about the world. "Marlo still vill not let me go anywhere alone. I had to sneak away."

Raina's betrothed, Marlo, is very controlling. He won't let her be without him anywhere. One thing that I've learned about these five Durmstrang girls is that they all face different struggles and have different traits. It's strange, because they act so similarly when the men are around. It's a way they are conditioned to act... horrible.

"One day you veel run out of excuses." Mira tells her. She's eating a protein bar, which she can only do here. "This is good."

Elena told me that Mira used to be a lot larger than she is now. Apparently food was her crutch, her way of comfort. Her parents made her lose all the weight so that Marlo would marry her. Her boobs are still huge though.

Mira groans. "I am always so hungry. Vy von't they let us eat!"

"Dimitri got mad at me at the Ball." I tell them. It just hops out of my mouth. I clamp my jaw shut. The other girls are watching me intently, waiting for me to finish. "Well... I thought we were going to talk, and he thought we were going to bang."

Violeta's dark brows furrow in confusion. "Bang? Vat does that mean?"

"Well... you know..." I murmur awkwardly. "Sex?"

She nods, looking enlightened. The Bulgarian girls do not know English slang. I forgot.

I clear my throat. "Well, anyway, he was undressing me and then he saw my body." My cheeks flush and I glance up at the sky. "It was over as soon as it began."

"It is not you." Elena says. "Durmstrang men are taught a strict code by their fathers. Vomen need to fit the men's expectations. They are crazy, Aria."

I sigh. "Yeah. It's just tough being rejected like that."

They nod knowingly. I wonder if they've felt the same feeling before.