The Girl Who Never Lived¹ | h. potter

💎Chapter 7💎

Once Ciara woke up, worry and dread began to work it's way into her system again. As she got ready for the day, as she walked down into the common room with Hermione, as she, Hermione, Ron and Harry made their way down to the Great Hall. By the time they got there, Ciara was practically shaking from head to toe.

Hermione placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Ciara jumped at the contact, alarming the trio even more. Harry looked at her in concern, "Are you okay? You don't look like you slept well. The same goes to you Hermione." The girls glanced at each other before looking down, thinking about what happened the night previous.

Ciara was not sleeping like her other bunk mates. Now that the initial shock of being sorted had worn off, dread began to eat away at her stomach. A Gryffindor, she thought bitterly, Gryffindor! Of all houses!

Her mother wanted her to be in Slytherin, just like her and her father had been. She might have tolerated her being a Ravenclaw or be mad that she was a Hufflepuff. But a Gryffindor? She might as well as signed her death sentence.

An idea slowly began to form in her head. After a few minutes of contemplating over it, she began to work; pulling out her robes, wand and text books, trying to find any spell that would change her robs from Red and Gold to Green and Silver. After about an hour of trying, she felt herself beginning to lose hope in her plan.

As desperation began to make her hands shake, she pointed her wand at her robs, trying one last time, "Argentum mutant." An aqua green spark came from the tip of the wand and she waited a few minutes for it to take effect. Nothing happened.

Panic took control of her system as she pulled her knees to her chest, trying to control her whirlwind of emotions. Her eyes glistened with tears that she refused to let leave her eyes. She began rocking herself back and forth, trying to loosen the knot of panic, despair and anxiety that had built up in her chest.

A hand was placed on her shoulder and she scrambled backwards, finding herself face-to-face with Hermione. Hermione looked at her in concern, "Are you alright?" Ciara froze. Was she alright? She had broken the family stereotype by getting into Gryffindor but her mother wanted her to be a Slytherin and was going to being extremely upset that she didn't. Was she truly aright?

Ciara shook her head, a single tear sliding down her cheek, "I don't know anymore." Hermione hesitantly got down next to her and pulled her into a gentle, yet firm, hug. Ciara didn't was a moment to return it, her body shaking with the sobs that she had tried so hard to keep inside of her.

Ciara began mumbling, "I'm scared. I'm really scared. But I'm really happy too. I got into the house you, Harry and Ron are in-" (Hermione blush at her statement) "-but mother wanted me to be in Slytherin, just like how her and father were. She wants me to be like the rest of the family, but I'm not like everyone else. I don't want to be like everyone else, but if I'm not, then she'll torture me! It hurts so much when she does it. It's like every part of me is getting stabbed, burned, stretched, and pushed together all at once. It really hurts Hermione and I hate it, but I can't get away from her."

Hermione began rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her down, "I don't know if I can help you with your problems, but I promise you that I will be with you when I you deal with them. Every step of the way." Hermione's words made Ciara want to cry harder. Not a lot of people had shown her a lot of kindness (Harry being the main person) but Hermione (who barely even knew her) gave her a shoulder to cry on and promised to be with her when she needed it.

And, until that moment, Ciara hadn't even realized that's what she needed more than anything.

Hermione was still rubbing her back, which Ciara found oddly, kind of soothing. She laid her head on her shoulder, suddenly feeling extremely drained. Hermione tapped her shoulder, "You want to put your books and uniforms away so you can sleep?" Ciara nodded sleepily and Hermione pulled her to her feet, both of them looking exhausted.