Aelin Galathynius / Hogwarts - Mischief & Magic 🤍

Chapter Fifteen - Unhelpful Memories

Trigger Warnings ⚠️:

-Anxiety attacks (not too graphic and kept to a minimum)
-Death
-Hatred

It shouldn't be too bad, but I just wanted to warn any readers. Most of it is reflection on a few bad times in the protagonist's life. All purely fictional.

For the sake of the story, try to imagine that they start Hogwarts at 16. It just doesn't make sense for character to be aged 11, and would make the story weird. I hope you enjoy!

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Aelin's POV -

His bright, green eyes.

It took Aelin a second to process the fact that Rowan Whitethorn was staring at her, with more fury than she had ever seen in anyone. She knew she had a talent for annoying people, but she genuinely could think of anything that she had done wrong. She actually hadn't done anything to him!

Lost in her own train of thought, Aelin began to absentmindedly leave the hall, muttering 'I'll see you later' to her friends and making to leave, only to find the same angry silver-haired boy in front of her, still glaring. Slowly she took a seat, him doing the same. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, her blankly watching, him scowling, the Hufflepuff's sat at the end of the table they were at watching on with a mixture of awe and nerves displayed on their faces.

Eventually, Aelin broke the silence.

"Hey....... how're you doing?" She grinned. If he was already this mad, surely he'd reached his limit and making him more angry would have no add-on effect. Besides, it was what Aelin did.

"God, do you ever stop?" He growled. "That's not how this conversation is going to go. Get over yourself." Clearly, he had not reached his limit.

"Well how is this conversation going to go then?"

"You're going to sit here and listen whilst I explain a few things to you."

Aelin simply gestures for him to continue, a mocking smile on her face which only made his glare deepen.

"This isn't funny. You're not meant to be here. We've already got one Ashryver and we don't need another. Much less a Galathynius. You shouldn't be in Slytherin let alone on the quidditch team, so I'd advise you to go talk and shifted into Gryffindor so your cousin can protect you or better yet leave. You're not wanted."

That would hurt any normal person severely but, as discovered, Aelin was not a normal person. So she sat back and grinned.

"I'm sorry that being an Ashryver and a Galathynius upsets you so much but I'm not leaving or changing houses. Any more requests??"

Rowan snarled, almost animal-like. "Look I don't care what you say. I hate you. Nobody wants you. You'd be better off dead with your parents; it's a shame nobody finished the job earlier. You're not going to last in the wizard world; look at your mum and dad, they didn't. Why do you think you'll make it? I'd give up now, everyone can see that Hogwarts is as far as you'll ever go. Your friends can see this is as far as you'll ever go."

No words. Aelin had no words to sum up the hatred running through her veins as she slapped Rowan across the face before walking out of the room. She couldn't face what he'd said.

'You're better off dead'

'It's a shame nobody finished you off earlier'

'Nobody wants you'

'I'd give up now'

'You're better off dead'

'You're better off dead'

'Better dead'

'Dead'

She couldn't breathe properly, her heart rate had soared. It was all coming back to her, memories of walking into her parents bedroom, their bodies lying there cold. Together and yet apart. Seeing her dad's ring gone, her mother's necklace as well. Pieces they swore never to take off.

She turned the corner and sprinted to the owlery, grabbing a piece of parchment and ink and beginning to write.

Mum and Dad,

Or should I call you Evalin and Rhoe. I feel distant from you now. I know that time will distance us naturally although I wish it wouldn't, but I feel as if I've been pulled hundreds of metres away from you. I can't do this, it's not the same. It's been ten years and I still can't process everything that's happened. You made a mistake. A failure. I shouldn't be here when I could have been lying in that bed alongside you instead of out with my friends. I should have died with you. Or,I should have been fighting to keep you in this world, because you're lives made more of an impact to wizards and muggles alike than mine ever will. The people here are right, I shouldn't be here. I keep on waking up even now, waiting to hear you but you're never there. You can't leave me here. I lost you and I lost Sam and there is nobody left on this Earth that still cares enough about my existence for it to even be worth it. If I hadn't been born then maybe you wouldn't have moved houses, maybe you wouldn't have become so popular, maybe you wouldn't have fought such controversial cases so that I could be free and respected as the daughter of two parents from muggle families. Maybe if someone else was here instead of me they could have caught your killer, not broke down and surrendered instead of finding them like I did.

I'm lost mum and dad, and I don't know the way back home.

Your daughter,

Aelin.

—

Aelin tied her letter to her owl Merlin's foot and sent him off. It made no difference. Her parents had been dead for years and the letter had no address, dropped somewhere around the country for someone to pick up and throw in a bin. But it felt better getting her thoughts out.

Aelin's anxiety had always been hard to deal with, but her losing Sam had made it ten times harder. She didn't know how Rowan knew her. How he knew her story so well. If she had disliked him before, she hated him now. But the majority of her hate stemmed from true fear. How much did he know? And why was he able to trigger her anxiety once again? Why was he the person that could make time stop, and her hands shake and her head fill with terrible thoughts and memories.

And why did the words "I hate you" hurt more when they came from his mouth??

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I'm so sorry for not updating in a while, and for making this update so sad!!