Disfigured

4

After dinner, Hermione, Harry, and Ron led Corin up to the common room. She was in awe. Comfy chairs, a warm fire blazing in the hearth, it was nothing like her own home, where the furniture was scarce and her mother soaked her bed with tears every time she tried to close her eyes. Maybe, just maybe, Corin could get the new start that she needed.

"Come on, Corin, I'll show you to your bed," Hermione said, drawing Corin away from her thoughts. Corin followed the witch like a puppy- too much energy too keep her still. "The boys can't come up this staircase," Hermione explained. "But we can go into their dorms. The founders thought that girls were more trustworthy than boys. Here we are." They reached a door with a simple gold plaque reading Fourth Years. Hermione tapped her wand against it, and it swung open. "Even still, we keep it locked. Its not impossible to find away around the stairs."

The room was circular, the furniture arranged to fit the tower's shape. Two of the four beds there were decorated with posters of guys from wizarding bands, and the third had a simple photo of Hermione and who Corin assumed to be her parents. The fourth bed was bare except for the trunk at the end and the red and gold bedding. Two girls were already in there. One with pale, delicate skin and curly, pretty blonde hair. The other had dark skin and long brown hair. Both girls were talking quietly to each other, the blonde one giggling every so often. 

"Parvati, Lavender," Hermione said, "This is Corin. She's the new girl in our year."

"Hi," the one with brown hair clasped Corin's hand affectionately. "I'm Parvati Patil. Welcome to Gryffindor, Corin."

"Thank you," Corin smiled warmly at the girl.

"What happened to your face?" Lavender asked, clearly disgusted. Hermione opened her mouth, ready to say something, but Corin shook her head. 

"A tragic accident that I would prefer not to speak of," Corin said monotonously. 

"Well, it is not a good look for you," Lavender said, almost as a matter of fact. Then, against her better judgement, Corin spoke again.

"The other guy looks worse," she said pleasantly, a smile on her face. It was true. The "other guy" was just a speck of dust in a pile of ash. She sighed, her eyes clouding over as she climbed into bed, thinking about the days she had escaped. 

"What do you think you're doing, Kara?" His eyes narrowed. There was Corin's mother, baby brother in her arms and Corin clutching onto her other hand. 

"I was just taking Aiden and Corin to see the sunrise," Corin's mother spoke, calm. 

"No. Don't take her. I don't want that thing of  her's to taint my boy," Edwin, her father spoke. he smelled like firewhiskey again- he had clearly been drinking.

"Edwin, she's your child too, for goodness sakes can't you just let her be a child!" Kara scolded him, but immediately regretted it. He was up in a flash, his half empty bottle clutched in his hand. 

"You stupid mudblood! If she doesn't have that ailment beaten out of her, one day, they're going to show up at our door and destroy our life!" he snarled. Corin started crying silently, just like she did every time he said that word. She was seven, she wasn't stupid, and she knew a bad word when she heard one. 

"Edwin!" Kara yelled back.

"Take Aiden to see the sunrise, and he can see the sunset here. Leave her, she's the cause of this problem. I'll deal with you when you get back." Edwin said.

"P- please don't cut me again," Corin said shakily, in a quiet tone as to not upset her father. The tiny pink scars from last month on her legs still served as a reminder that she was not to play with magic. he said nothing, but simply grabbed her arm, twisting it back until she screamed.

He only let her go that night when she had screamed her throat hoarse promising that she wouldn't be a demon child. But as Corin lay in her bed, she knew she wouldn't sleep that night. Not when she couldn't drown ot her mother's cries and the shouts of that awful word from downstairs. Not when she couldn't get out of her room to comfort Aiden, not when she had to hear her mother scream her name.

"Corin!"

"Corin!" Her eyes shot open to see Hermione above her, relieved that she had woken up at last. "Thank goodness, I thought you were going to miss breakfast."Corin laughed nervously, still shaken by her nightmare. Her body was still littered with reminders of her father's rage- tiny white scars covering masses of her blank canvas. She blinked a few times before dressing quickly and joining the trio at the bottom of the stairs.

"So what do you think of Moody coming out of retirement to teach?" Ron asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Well, I suppose that he's had plenty of hands on experience," Hermione said. "We'll really just have to wait and see."

Corin nodded, not really paying attention to he conversation. Moody... she was sure she had heard that name before. and she was sure it had come straight out of her father's mouth. But what connection did Edwin have to Mad-Eye Moody?