Chapter Ten

I Wish I Came With Closed Captioning

"Oh my goodness!" Erin exclaimed when Kristina finally sat down beside her in the Great Hall. "Kris, are you okay?"

Kris shrugged and shook her hand as if to say "meh". Which is what she was trying to say. Although that was not working as well as she'd like. Erin was staring at her, confused. Frustrated, she puffed out her cheeks and snagged Erin's parchment and scribbled her response on the back of it.

"What are you doing? Is something wrong? Are we in another crisis already? We have a Charms essay due in two days," Erin watched Kristina write. "Seriously, Kris. I need this parch—wait, what?"

Kristina slammed the pen down and gave back the parchment. Now anxious, Erin began reading the chicken-scratch and realized Kris was in another crisis. In disbelief, Erin looked back up at her and blinked right at Kristina.

"No..."

Kristina nodded and mouthed, "yes." Erin gasped and Kristina put her hands over the ink to make it disappear. Then, she wrote more.

"Erin, Uncle Severus is going to help teach me Legilimency and Occlumency so I can continue communicating with people. He's the greatest at both in the whole world so I'll be able to learn without problem. I just hate I have to learn this way, because I'm mute. Stupid demon! I swear when I get my hands on her...!"

"I know, I know..." Erin sighed. "Dang. I'm so sorry this has happened to you, Kris."

Kris shrugged and erased the ink from the page with one swipe.

"So..." Erin pointed at the chicken wings beside her. "There is chicken wings if you're hungry."

Kristina wrote on the parchment, "Severus wants me to eat." After Erin read it, Kristina erased it and smiled, reaching for the chicken wings.

"I mean, he's your uncle," Erin reminded. "He's looking out for you."

Kristina nodded and suddenly a few students came up to her and Erin to see Kris. Two were Slytherin, three Ravenclaws, and three Hufflepuffs approached her.

"Whoa! Kris! You okay?" came Victoria Valerian, the eldest Slytherin in the group.

"Yeah, are you okay?" Valarie Valerian, Victoria's younger sister, asked with worry.

"We heard your cries last night," came a Ravenclaw acquaintance, Jordan Anger, with genuine concern.

"It was freaky," came Sierra Lynn, a fourth year Ravenclaw. "I legit thought Peeves was pulling a prank but then I realized it was you."

"I had...my mind was in the gutter," Lowgan Fall blushed. "I thought you were getting some."

Kristina raised an eyebrow at Lowgan. She did not sound like that when she yelled, right? Maybe Lowgan just had a dirty mind, she mused. And she thought she was bad.

"Mate, you are gross," muttered Valarie.

"I wanted to see that," Emily O'Connor, the other Slytherin in the group, admitted. "But like, when I saw Professor Moses in potions instead of Professor Snape, and not seeing you there had me worried."

"Me too!" Oliver agreed. "Like wow that's unusual!"

Kris gave an awkward thumbs-up at them and tried to smile.

"Her demon cut out her voice box, somehow, not even leaving a scar on her throat," Erin quickly explained. "It's weird!"

"What?!" Everyone all at once exclaimed.

"She can't speak anymore?" Oliver asked. "Oh no! She won't be able to sing anymore!"

"Some of us may appreciate that..." Terra muttered.

"Professor Snape is going to teach her legilimency and occlumency," Erin told them.

"Ooh!" Sierra jumped up. "Can we learn too?"

Offering them an apologetic expression, Kristina shook her head.

"I mean why would Professor Snape teach us anyway?" Oliver asked.

"It'd be cool though," Douglass admitted.

"It's wishful thinking," Terra prodded Sierra.

"I know, I just wish Snape would like me," Sierra grinned.

"That isn't happening, young'un," Terra mused. "You're not his niece."

"Cousin," Erin corrected.

Kristina nodded quickly in agreement, wishing she could speak right now. With a sigh, Kristina began biting into her wings. The others exchanged concerned expressions.

"Hey Kris, if you ever need help or anything, let me know," Oliver told her.

"Yeah," everyone else agreed.

Kristina looked up and mouthed "thank you" to them.

"Oh crap..." Emily looked up. "Guys, it's Alex..."

Alex strutted over to the group and placed her hand on Kristina's shoulder. Kristina turned her head and then angrily slapped at her hand.

"Get away from me!" she snapped, but all that came out was air and no real words.

"Oh what's this?" Alex asked. "You can't speak?"

"Get away from her!" Erin snapped.

"Yeah, Alex," Emily hissed. "You jerk."

"Oh, and you're in my own house," Alex pouted.

"You don't belong in Slytherin," Emily snapped.

"Most of us are supposed to be loyally cunning to our friends. Not assholes," Victoria calmly pointed out to Alex.

"Who said we're friends?" Alex asked.

"You two used to be friends," Valarie pointed out.

"'Used to', being the key phrase there," Erin sighed.

"You have no right to touch Kristina," Victoria growled.

"Oh?" Alex sneered. "No right, you say? You can't tell me what to do."

Alex touched Kristina's arm again and Kristina slapped her hand away again.

"I will end your life with a bang if you don't stop!" Victoria exclaimed. "Is that how you'd like to die, hm?"

"Whoa, Victoria, I don't think that's acceptable to say," Valarie whispered.

"Stop it!" Kristina tried to scream.

Hysterical laughter busted out from Alex. Somehow, this was some kind of funny joke that Kristina was not catching. Fuming, Kristina slapped her hands on the table and stood up.

"Oh, did I make you mad?" Alex sneered.

All Kristina could do was make a growling sound at Alex. Which, again, made Alex laugh even more. Angrily, Kristina snatched Erin's textbook and decked Alex on the head with it. Alex gave a pained screech and Kristina set the textbook back down. The group of students who joined Kristina all snickered and high fived her.

"That was a good hit!" Oliver praised.

"Kristina Astrid-Leigh Magi!" came Professor Snape's voice. When she looked up at Professor Snape, she scowled at him.

"Uncle Severus, I couldn't get her to stop! She can't hear my thoughts!"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you should hit her upside the head with Hartnell's textbook," Professor Snape reminded her.

"What was I supposed to do? She kept touching my shoulder and I couldn't tell her to stop."

"Decking her—" Professor Snape looked at the other students. "Is it true? Northam refused to stop? Did you lot ask her to?"

Everyone nodded, almost in sinc.

"She was laughing at Kris every time she tried to speak," Oliver told him.

"We really tried to stop Alex from touching her, sir," Victoria told Professor Snape. "There are just...you can't control other people's actions. I tried to help to the best of my abilities and so did Emily and my sister and the rest."

"Professor, she kept touching Kristina even though she slapped her hand away," Emily told him. "Krissy had not other choice but to deck her. She couldn't express it verbally so she had to use physical force."

Professor Snape sighed. Well, he was not about to take Kristina to get in trouble anyway. He would not do that to her. Alex, on the other hand...

"Northam, come with me," Professor Snape demanded. "Quit acting like she tried to murder you and get up."

"Why?" Alex asked. "She's the one who hit me!"

"With good reason," Snape snapped.

"Yeah!" Sierra exclaimed, then got side glances from everyone, including Snape. "Er..."

"Forty points to Slytherin, sixty to Hufflepuff, and sixty to Ravenclaw," Professor Snape gave the group points.

"Thank you, Professor," Victoria thanked.

"Yeah, thank you!" chimed in Valarie and Oliver.

"Woo! More points!" exclaimed Sierra.

"Northam, I will not ask you again," Professor Snape returned his glare to Alex. "Get. Up."

"Fine!" Alex snapped, forcing herself to stand up.

"Ooh somebody's getting ballsy," Emily sneered. "You wanna give our Head of House attitude?"

"O'Connor, please...don't..." Professor Snape sighed. "Alright, Northam, come with me. Hartnell, after Kristina eats...would you mind taking her to Ravenclaw tower for me please? So she can properly rest, that is."

"Of course, sir," Erin agreed.

"What about Occlumency and Legilimency?" Kristina asked Professor Snape.

"Those lessons are for tomorrow," Professor Snape told her. "Not today, I'd like you to rest. And next time, please do not hit people with a book. That's not acceptable in normal society."

"Well neither am I," Kristina grinned.

"Eat," he ordered her, blowing off her silly response.

"Yes sir..." Kristina sighed.

Professor Snape turned and began walking away with Alex. Everybody in the group breathed in relief.

"I know Professor Snape loves you, but I was almost certain he'd punish you for hitting another student," Lowgan admitted.

Kristina nodded in agreement.

"Well, I mean...we told Alex to stop, and Kristina had no way of verbally telling her to stop so...I feel like she did what she had to do," Oliver reminded.

"I mean, really," Emily agreed. "How much of an arsehole do you have to be to not get the hint?"

"A thick-skulled piece of crap!" Oliver laughed. "Haha!"

"She's just mean, Kristina," Jordan told her. "Don't worry."

"I bet she's just jealous that Professor Snape hates her guts," Victoria grinned.

"I wish it was just that," Erin sighed.

"That's partially it," Emily agreed. "No, I think she's mad at Krissy because she has a plan for her future and knows what she wants to do, and Alex doesn't because she's a muggle-born and her parents are pressuring her into doing muggle things and she can't decide."

"Well that's most definitely stupid," Victoria muttered.

"It definitely is," Erin agreed.

Kristina nodded.

"Hey, that's what I said," Emily agreed with Victoria. "Alex nearly decked me on that one though..."

"So a violent, jealous, cunt of a Slytherin," Oliver muttered. "When's she gonna get her wand snapped and expelled?"

"Dunno," Emily shrugged. "I've heard Snape saying he wants to expel her SO bad but he can't because it's not his decision."

"I know he'd do it to protect Kristina," Valarie pointed out.

"Kristina's a great person, of course he would," Jordan reminded.

"She's his niece," Erin emphasized. "That's why he protects her."

"That too," Jordan distantly nodded.

"Alright, well, we should allow Kristina to eat," Valarie suggested. "Before Professor Snape comes back and gives us detention for distracting her."

Everyone giggled at the notion, even though they knew it was true.

"See you later!" Oliver and Valarie told her.

"Yeah, later girl!" Lowgan, Sierra, and Emily exclaimed.

"Don't die," Jordan and Victoria grinned.

Kristina rolled her eyes and smiled. She waved them off with both of her hands and went back to eating her lunch.

x x x

Being unable to talk, much to Kristina's surprise, was more difficult than ever. Even with being an introvert, she still needed to communicate with her friends, her teachers, and hell even her enemies. Professor Snape wouldn't always accept her decking another student with a book. He only allowed it because she literally could not do anything else to stop her, considering her wand was still in her dorm. Next time, she knew, he would have to punish her whether he wanted to or not.

However, that has not really put a damper on Kristina's mood. None of it. Sure, it was frustrating to not talk but she found her ways. After her first few legilimency lessons from her Uncle Severus, she was learning how to communicate with everyone else with her mind. To a muggle, it was called "telepathy", however, that word was an insult and wizards dare you to call it that one more time!

After Kristina's rest the day she returned from the hospital, Professor Snape began her on the legilimency and occlumency lessons. Teaching her, as always, was not much of an issue. In fact, she got it down faster than Professor Snape had expected.

"Hm," Professor Snape looked at Kristina. "I know you learn rather quickly, but I was not expecting that fast..."

Kristina nodded, "Genetics, you know?"

He scoffed at her, "I suppose so. I would not be sure about that, but whatever helps you sleep. Alright. I wonder if the occlumency would help keep your demon out of your dreams."

"She has a name," Kristina told him.

"Oh? You finally learned her name?" Snape asked. "Do tell your favorite uncle..."

"Victoria Clyde," Kristina told him.

"Victoria Clyde..." Professor Snape repeated out loud, raising an eyebrow. "Thank you for telling me her name, I did mean to ask if you got it by chance. So do you think you can utilize the occlumency I taught you today to close your mind off to her?"

Kristina nodded, "Of course, Uncle Severus."

"Excellent," Professor Snape nodded. "If it works, it may be just the beginning of defeating the demon."

"You really think so, Uncle Severus?" Kristina asked him.

Professor Snape nodded.

"Indeed I do, my child," he told her. "It has to be the beginning. Perhaps a small step, but it's going to help out in the long-run."

"Right," Kristina nodded.

"You just go do your homework and get ready to go to your classes tomorrow, alright?" Professor Snape told her.

"Yes sir," Kristina forced a smile to her face.

x x x

"How was occlumency with your uncle?" Erin asked when Kristina returned.

"Pretty good," Kristina responded.

"Oooooooh I can hear your voice in my head now," Erin told her.

Kris grinned.

"Yeah? Well, that's good. Uncle Severus said I learned that fairly quickly compared to other wizards," Kristina told her. "Although he gave me a homework assignment for it. Basically, it's to block my thoughts from the demon, Victoria Clyde...No, not Victoria Valerian. Victoria Clyde is the demon's name. I wish it wasn't 'Victoria' because of my friend Victoria."

"Oh I know how you feel," Erin agreed.

"Yeah..."

They fell into silence as Erin stood up and reached for the radio.

"Are you gonna be able to do the interview with Stephen Cromwell on Saturday?" Erin asked.

Kris gasped, "I forgot all about that! Shit. Shit shit shit BLOODY DEMON FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE ABYSS!"

"OW! Crikey, Kris! That hurt!" Erin squeaked.

"Sorry..." Kristina apologized.

"Jeez," Erin shook her head. "Anyway. Let's listen to to our comedy and do our homework. Professor Flitwick gave you an extension on your essay because of what happened the other day. I'll help you with it."

Nodding, Kristina grabbed her writing stuff and charms textbook and sat down on her bed to begin her assignment. Erin sat down beside her and gently talked her through the assignment while they listened to their shows. By the end of the last episode, Kristina had about half of the essay for charms written down and she was ready for bed. She knew she needed to go to bed fairly early so she could rest. Erin agreed with Kristina setting her assignments aside. She got up and crawled over to her bed to sleep as well.

"Goodnight, Kristina," Erin told her.

Kristina grunted a response and crawled under her blankets to sleep. Erin kept a close eye on Kristina until she fell asleep. It was not long before Erin herself fell into a sleep for the night.