Chapter Eleven: Act III, Scene I: Epiphany

A/N: Warnings for some violence here (it's Wilkes) and some minor references to what happened to Beth, it's not just gonna go away so there will be mentions of it here and there.

The shrill whistle of the Hogwarts Express made Beth wince, though she'd heard it dozens of times before. Since Phoenix was now Head Girl, Beth had been made a Prefect, a responsibility she had not asked for and did not want. Of course, it meant that once she'd packed her trunk onto the train, she needed to see Phoenix and the Head Boy, a Ravenclaw called Robbie Daniels, for the first Prefect meeting of the year. Unfortunately, it also meant tolerating the presence of one Alexander Wilkes.

One small mercy was that she wouldn't have to see Mitchell, since he had now graduated.

Outside the compartment, Robbie and Phoenix were talking. Something like horror flashed across Phoenix's face before she walked away. Robbie entered without a care in the world and started distributing schedules, but Beth bit her lip when she noticed Alexander head on out as soon as he'd received his. Unease prickled up her spine, but this time, Beth didn't follow. This time, Beth stayed quiet.

"Hey, Fawley!" It was the male Hufflepuff Prefect from her year, whose name she couldn't remember. "I heard a rumour over the summer. Is it true that your dad had an affair with a Muggle-born secretary? That you were the result?"

"Oh, Kyle, don't be awful," the girl snapped, throwing an apologetic look at Beth.

Once, Beth would have cringed and hidden away from it, but what was the point? She didn't really give a shit who knew the truth about her now. She stepped forward so that she was inches away from the Hufflepuff boy, and noticed that her close proximity unnerved him. She stared him down and he looked at his feet.

"Yeah, actually."

"Come on, Kyle." The girl tugged insistently at his sleeve. "Let's just go and do our rounds."

Kyle stepped away from Beth, muttering something under his breath as he and his fellow Prefect departed the carriage. Beth really didn't give a shit about Kyle, or his mockery of her, or who he might tell. It was like, over one summer, she had gone from feeling too much to nothing at all. She had reached breaking point and completely snapped, and now she had to flick off everything that came her way or she would absolutely lose it.

As she started on her rounds, Beth saw Regulus with a few of his friends, and deliberately avoided him. After what he'd said at the Quidditch World Cup, she didn't really want to talk to him. She didn't know if she was pleased or dismayed that the feeling was mutual, with Regulus taking care not to even look at her as she passed his compartment. Why would he care about her side of the story? She was certain she knew what Mitchell had told people.

"What was the meltdown about?" Beth asked as she approached Phoenix, who was chewing at her nails. It took the dark-haired girl a moment to register that her friend was talking to her.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. It wasn't even a meltdown."

Beth shrugged her shoulders. "You seemed shaken up."

"It doesn't matter, okay?" Impatience coloured Phoenix's voice, and Beth could tell that it wasn't up for discussion. She tried to remind herself that it had been a hard summer for Phoenix as well, that her best friend was now married to a boy she could barely stand. Yet...did Phoenix care about Beth's summer? Would she, if she knew the truth?

"Whatever." Beth might typically have shown more concern, but if Phoenix was going to get shitty with her, she didn't have the heart to put in the effort. Clearly, there was a problem. If Phoenix didn't want to talk about it, Beth wasn't going to push her. "I'm going on my patrol. I'll see you around."

Slowly but surely, the whispers about Beth's parentage spread throughout the school. By the time the Halloween party came around, she had the feeling that it was an unspoken acknowledgement that most of Hufflepuff knew the truth. Part of her dreaded what her fellow Slytherins would say. Of course there were other half-bloods in the house, but Beth had gone through her first six years under the guise of being pure-blood. Would they think she was a liar?

Instead of joining the festivities for the party, Beth headed out to one of the courtyards to smoke a cigarette and be alone. Maybe, once upon a time, Regulus might have sought her out for conversation. Perhaps Mariam might have come to flirt. She'd kept them at arm's length, along with everyone else. Fuck, what was she even focusing on? Her grades were slipping and she'd missed patrol twice, earning a firm chastising from Phoenix.

Crowds and alcohol had never been Beth's scene, but since the Quidditch World Cup, they only gave a heightened sense of anxiety. Her fingers shook as she raised her cigarette to her lips and took a drag. She wanted to put the horrific event behind her, though her nightmares were plagued with a mixture of fiction and reality. The only constant was Mitchell's eyes, dark and glittering, hovering over her.

Silent tears tracked down Beth's cheeks. Did none of her friends notice she was suffering, or did they just not care? She wanted to think it was because they had their own shit going on, and yet Beth had always been perceptive of other people's emotions. Was it too much to ask that they considered hers?

"What, you don't do parties anymore?" Alexander's sardonic drawl made Beth turn. She tossed her cigarette to the ground and put it out under her shoe, though it wasn't like he was about to dock her points just for that.

"Just nice to have some alone time." Beth shrugged her shoulders, despite the fact that her heart hammered like a war drum in her chest.

"So, I heard a rumour that you've been lying to everyone." Alexander walked over with his hands in his pockets. Beth remained rigid as he glowered at her. "What is the truth, Beth? Are you a pure-blood, or not?"

Beth exhaled deeply. "If you're talking about the rumour regarding my mum, unfortunately that's the truth."

"I see." Alexander was silent for a few moments, before he withdrew his wand from his pocket and pointed it at Beth, his pale eyes alight with rage. "Crucio."

Beth screamed, doubling over in pain. She had never experienced an Unforgivable Curse before, and on top of everything else she'd been through lately, it was just another indignity heaped upon her. She fell to the ground, writhing on the grass as Alexander held his wand over her. Fuck, they must be really pissed about this.

"You lying bitch," Alexander snarled, "This whole time you acted like you were one of us, but you were just a filthy half-blood."

Beth cried silently, her breath coming in choked gasps as she stared up at the stars overhead. There was a loathing on Alexander's face that she'd never seen before. They thought she'd been lying the whole time, trying to pretend she was something she wasn't.

"Exsanguis!" The cry made Beth turn her head to see Phoenix, pure rage on her face and wand pointed at Alexander. The boy collapsed to his knees, clawing at something invisible around his neck. He spat out blood, and Beth realised with shock that blood was pouring from his nose as well.

"You will never touch her again." Phoenix stalked over, grey eyes alight as she stared down at the convulsing Alexander. "I don't give a fuck about whether she lied about being a pure-blood. If you mess with Beth, you answer to me."

Alexander roared in rage, trying to surge to his feet. His hand moved to his wand.

"Confringo."

Phoenix ducked, the curse blasting a pillar near her head. Beth wanted to help her, wanted to push herself up and make a stand, but the pain that riddled her body was too great. She had never thought she'd be on the receiving end of the Cruciatus Curse.

"Diffindo." Phoenix waved her wand at him, and though Alexander dodged, he wasn't quite quick enough. A scream tore from his mouth and when he looked back over, Beth realised that Phoenix's curse had sliced across his cheek.

"You'll pay for this," he spat.

"Do I look scared?" Phoenix tilted her chin up. "We both know if you lay a hand on me, my husband will come for you."

Alexander just grinned. "You really think he'll choose you over us?"

"What's going on here?" Professor Slughorn's voice was full of astonishment, and though Alexander and Phoenix were quick to hide their wands, the damage was already done. Beth eased herself up, noticing how badly Alexander's face was bleeding. Whatever Phoenix had done to him, it was bad. Yet Beth remembered Phoenix stumbling into the dorm with a bloodied nose, and she couldn't say he didn't deserve it.

"Merlin's beard. Mrs Rosier...I mean, Ms Black, you're Head Girl. You should know better than to duel with other students. The same goes for you, Mr Wilkes. You're a Prefect."

Slughorn examined Alexander, who was glaring daggers at Phoenix. If looks could kill, the dark-haired girl would be well and truly buried. Beth's knees were trembling violently, but aside from the shock of the curse and the agony that still hadn't faded from her body, she reckoned she was alright.

"You should go to hospital wing, Mr Wilkes." Slughorn glanced at Beth. "Miss Fawley. Were you involved in this too?"

"I guess so," Beth said quietly, knowing that any protests were likely to make her seem even more guilty. She watched as Alexander stumbled back into the castle, clutching at his cheek.

"Ms Black, you know better than to lash out," Slughorn chided, "That was clearly a dark curse you used on Mr Wilkes."

"He deserved it," Phoenix retorted, "He attacked Beth, sir."

"Be that as it may, you and Mr Wilkes will both serve a month's worth of detentions." Slughorn didn't sound like he was in the mood to argue and Beth ducked her head, glad that she hadn't received a similar sentence.

"Can we go back to the dormitory now, sir?" Beth asked, wanting nothing more than to settle in bed under the warm blankets.

"Very well, then."

Beth remained silent as Phoenix linked her arm through hers and they made their way back to the common room. Despite the fact that Phoenix might not have checked in with her lately, her best friend had still stepped up and saved her tonight. She wondered if it was possible that Phoenix might actually believe her. Beth acknowledged that it wasn't fair to pass judgement until she'd at least tried to explain herself and why she'd been so off.

"Thank you." Beth's fingers twisted in the hem of her shirt. "I feel like I owe you an explanation, and an apology."

"We'll talk about this tomorrow." Phoenix rested a hand on her shoulder, and for the first time in a long while, being touched was a comfort rather than something that made her flinch. "For now, you need sleep."

Beth had cried herself to sleep, and she still didn't know whether it was because of dread or relief. She'd been carrying the weight of her secrets around with her for so long, and the idea of telling someone, even her best friend, was utterly terrifying. By the time she got up to meet Phoenix in the library, her eyes were swollen and she felt she'd gotten barely a wink of sleep. Regardless, she snuck in a mug of coffee and sat opposite Phoenix at one of the desks.

"You probably want to talk about the whole half-blood thing," she said softly. The coffee wasn't making Beth feel any better. In fact, today it just tasted bitter.

"Your parents are both pure-bloods." Phoenix looked confused, but not angry. She licked her lips and leaned back. "I just want to understand, that's all."

"My dad had an affair with a Muggle-born secretary at the Ministry." Fuck, she was crying already. She reached up to wipe away tears. "I was the result. After she gave birth to me, my real mum decided she didn't want me, so I was raised by my dad as the full-blood sister of Thomas. I only recently found out the truth."

"I'm sorry, Beth." Phoenix reached forward to clasp Beth's hand in her own. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you."

Beth shook her head, but her heart warmed at Phoenix's acknowledgement she'd been a distant friend. Beth wasn't about to blame her for it, as she knew that life hadn't exactly been a piece of cake for Phoenix either.

"You've had things going on. Marrying Evan...I know that wasn't easy for you."

"It's alright." Phoenix just shrugged. She and Evan seemed to get along for the most part. Not to mention that, considering what he'd said to Beth in the past, Evan probably was under the impression he was in love with Phoenix.

"No, it's not." Beth didn't know anyone else in their year who was married, especially since they were still students. "You're seventeen. We're still at Hogwarts."

"I'm more worried about you right now." Phoenix's stern look told Beth she wasn't going to get away with trying to change the subject. "I've been concerned since the World Cup."

Something must have changed in Beth's expression at the mention of that fateful night, because Phoenix released her hand and examined her with growing dread.

"Beth?" Her voice was quiet. "Did something happen at the World Cup?"

"It doesn't matter." Fuck, she had wanted to talk about this, and now suddenly she couldn't get the words out of her mouth. How was she meant to accuse Mitchell of something so serious? It might just have been a misunderstanding, him reading the wrong signals. After all, Beth couldn't exactly remember how the night had gone.

"Beth…" Phoenix's voice shook with pity, and Beth realised that everything she hadn't said told her best friend everything. Maybe she'd guessed at the time, or maybe Phoenix had only just come to the realisation, but the way her voice broke over the word made Beth certain that somehow, she knew.

"We were both drunk." Tears welled in Beth's eyes as she stared down at her coffee. "I don't think he realised…"

"That doesn't make it okay." Phoenix's voice was firm and she shook her head fervently, and Beth's shoulders slumped with relief. Her best friend hadn't made excuses for Mitchell's behaviour, she'd immediately shut down any idea that he was somehow innocent.

"Please don't say anything," Beth begged, not wanting to cause any more drama, "You're the only person who knows."

Phoenix was silent, and Beth realised with growing apprehension that her best friend was unwilling to swear something she wouldn't stick to. She didn't think Phoenix was about to go and confront Mitchell about it, but who would she tell? The truth was out there now, though. The only real question was if the others would believe it.

When they got to their feet, Phoenix wrapped Beth in her arms and hugged her tightly, and the dam inside Beth broke and she sobbed into her best friend's shoulder. No matter what, she had Phoenix. No matter the amount of people who didn't believe her, Phoenix did. She clung to her best friend tightly, realising just how much trauma she'd pushed down and buried just to be functional. She hadn't said the word, she hadn't put that ugly name to what had happened, but she had to in order to get closure.

Beth had been raped. She had been raped by a friend, and though she pretended it had changed nothing, it had changed everything.