She lay on her back, staring up at the night sky, dark blue, expansive….shimmering with hints of some far off galaxy. She loved the night-time. The cool air, the dark shadows, the peace….everything she'd always wanted. Sometimes it was hard to escape the bustle…the crowds…. In a normal family…..but in hers, it was impossible.
The grass was cool and welcoming….she contemplated just staying out here the whole night…. Her last night of freedom.
Tomorrow was her first day of school.
She already had her wand, already knew how to do magic. She'd known since she was young. She'd known she was different. Some might say she was quiet but she knew otherwise. Some would say she was shy but she knew otherwise. Some would say she was a sweet and innocent angel, but she knew otherwise.
Then there was that boy…. The boy from down the road…. He would be coming as well….surely it couldn't be that bad with him there….. No, it didn't matter anyway. She didn't need anyone, now or ever.
It was no surprise to her when the sorting hat called out Slytherin. Her heart didn't even skip a beat. She didn't laugh, she didn't smile, she didn't cry. The elders of the snakes looked down at her approvingly. Across the hall the lions bellowed but she paid them no attention. She was home.
She did well in lessons, attracting a small amount of attention, she was no idiot. She was friends with some older boys, the only people she would talk to apart from teachers anymore, if you could even call them friends. They travelled around the school in a pack around her, almost protective.
In her third year she fell in love. She fell in love with him and he didn't even notice. One night she gave him everything she had to give…. Just to show him just how much she loved him. She let him in, gave him her whole heart.
He held it in his hands…running long spindly fingers over it, almost deciding… before crushing in his hand.
And as the wind swept away the pieces you could almost hear her whimper.