Bangs. Lightly tanned skin. Blue eyes. Chubby, childish, baby cheeks.
That's what she saw when she looked back from the mirror and when she did she just knew that, that was her face. That is what she was meant to look like, not this thing she barely recognized. It was all there, but in a few blinks it was gone. Replaces instead by a ghost with long pig tails and round glasses.
She swallowed the building saliva in her throat, an apparent gulp forming from her actions. "Who- Who are you?" She had to put hallucinations on her newly developed downwards spiral because as she continued to stare at the ghost girl she noticed she looked nothing like what she previously saw.
"Who am I?" The ghost speaks and by the tone of her voice it sounds like she's been offended by this question. "You come into MY bathroom, destroy MY mirror, completely disturbing my nap and then you ask, 'Who am i!' "
The more she speaks the more Kagome just wants to shut her up, "I'm sorry," she responded grinding her teeth just slightly, be polite, she reminded herself but that didn't mean she couldn't show how annoyed she was. "If I recall everything belongs to the school, for the students. Not to you."
As fast as you could say Hogwarts, the ghost was towering over her. She looked as if she was going to blow into an outrageous tantrum but it was just minutes later when her lip quivered and her eyes closed in anguish. "Oh, but no one ever comes up here," she cried, turning to get out of most of Kagome's personal space. "I'm always here alone and here you are yelling at me!" She's still trying as she rages and her voice even changes to something deep and Kagomes not sure if she's still talking to her or herself.
Kagome just rolls her eyes as the extraterrestrial being weeps, thus is ridiculous. "Who are you?" She demands. The girl turns with her bottom lip tightly pressed to the top and her face in a scrunch of anger, "again with the questions," she mocks, "haven't you figured it out yet, I'm Moaning Myrtle!" Her voice gets louder as she seethe at the name.
Kagome sighs and sits on the ground her abused hand stinging as she set it on top of her pebbles of fallen blood. Moaning Myrtle, this should be interesting. The other girl wept as she floated up to stare at the window above. Kagome tried to close her eyes and relax. She wasn't going to classes anytime soon, her bloodied hand would bring up questions. She couldn't go to the medic room because then the nurse just may see something that would bring up even more questions. You know it was really hard to decide on what she should do when all she heard was unashamed cries and whimpers.
Kagome clenched her uninjured hand and stared at the mournful ghost starting at the window, what should she do? Her mind brought her to that of a similar state. A boy identical to herself, whimpering, crying, tears glistening with its escape from his watery eyes. She's made a decision.
"Hey, " she called. She tried to keep her voice soft, fragile. The voice she'd use to comfort her brother as if he was but a weeping babe. "Why are you up there? Why don't you come down here with me. I won't go to class today so if I'm staying how about we keep each other company. " Myrtle had than looked up from her self pity and have the witch a skeptic glare, "why? So you could make fun of me? " Kagome simply shook her head, "no, " she held her assulted hand, waving in a joking manner and trying to keep from wincing. "I am the girl who punched a mirror for no apparent reason- trust me- I'm not going to make fun of you."
Slowly, but surely, Myrtle had settled herself on the ground beside Kagome, "What do you want? " She had asked in a simple manner with her eyes on the floor underneath. This was obviously something she wasn't used to, but that was okay because Kagome had no idea what she was doing either. Trying to give comfort to a human was one uncomfortable experience for her but to give comfort to a ghost was something of an entirely different level. Maybe she should try something simple.
"So how was you life- when you were alive I mean," Myrtle gave her a bitter look, lips curled up into a snarl, "well wouldn't you like to know! " So obviously that wasn't the right approach. Myrtle stopped snarling after a while though. Instead she had breathed in so much unneeded air that it puffed her chest out and then exaggerated a huffy exhale through her nose. "I was the only child- a muggleborn. When I came to Hogwarts I was placed in Ravenclaw." More simple stuff, okay Kagome that's a good start. "I have a twin. I'm a half blood in Gryffindor, my twin brother, Severus, he's in Slytherin."
Then Kagome closed her eyes, then reopened them, "I'm Kagome by the way," how could she forget to introduce herself. Myrtle only nodded, a silence briefly enveloping the two, "a twin brother," she spoke softly, "it must be nice to have someone you could be close to." Kagome responded, "it is, " or at least it was until they drifted apart.
Kagome stared at the other girl for a while, no, she was a ghost. How could no one point this out? However long ago, there was a girl, a Hogwarts student, that had died, a student that could only be just physically a few years older than herself. Did anyone ever question this? Does anyone outside the people there even know or was it all covered and silence. She wanted to know. She was observant by nature and the more she observed the greater her curiosity would grow. Tobias had always hated it when she got too curious.
"Did you have any friends?" Obviously not. Kagome could tell, it was the way Myrtle had carried herself that had tipped her off. She had seen that before. For many years until she was nine and Severus met Lily Evans.
Myrtle face grew red (if that was even possible) and toilets began to flood. "No! Who would want to be friends with any of them anyways! They're bullies, not wanting to be friends with someone just because how they look and then tormenting them for it!" Just thinking about it made Myrtle's graveyard bones shake.
Kagome sighed, leaning to the cold wall where her head was next to the sink and she began to play with the fallen fragments, not caring whether she would get her any further than she already was. Case solved. "You ask me something so painful yet you don't even pay attention! " Myrtle's voice grew deeper, sounding deadly when she was in her rage, like she wanted to kill.
Kagome looked at her dully and then turned to face her reflection in the shattered piece. 'That's not your reflection, ' that 'thing' whispered in her mind. It's okay Kagome, she wanted to tell herself, just ignore it. That wouldn't work though and she knew it. To think she was trying to comfort a ghost with bully issues when she couldn't even comfort her abused, ignored, insane self. "It's not that, " she said, "it's just- you committed suicide didn't you. " Its not like she was judging her or anything, some people just can't handle it when they're bullied and some bullies are extreme and do awful things. Many muggles take bullying very far, just imagine what bullying must be like in a school full of magic. Kagome was only disappointed that the death wasn't from something magical. Not like she didn't feel bad that Myrtle had died because that was something awful.
"No!" Myrtle went on defending herself, though she did try killing herself before. It was kind of a stupid attempt, especially when she remembered that she was already dead. "If you must know, I don't know how I died." Kagome looked up at her, ears perked like a cats, a very curious cat. She knew that this just might kill her but cats have nine lives so it was okay.
The fragment was being placed down now, Kagome used her hands to set her in a better position to sit, giving out a sharp yelp to the floors harsh, cold contact with her wound. "Wha - What do you mean you don't know how you died?"
Another huff, much smaller than the one from earlier. "I meant exactly how I said it, I don't know how I died. One moment I was crying over the toilet, the next I'm on the floor," she grimaced, the frown imprinted deep on her face, "dead."
Kagome finally looked away from the glass reflection. People don't just die out of nowhere. She used her hands to pull her up do she could straighten her posture, yelping when she made a hard contact with the cold floor with her hand, leaving a bloody print on the ground. "What do you mean, what happened next? "
The tears were now beginning to form in her eyes once again. "They didn't even notice, " she answered bitterly. "I was dead for hours and no one even noticed, no one cared. When they found me- the one who found me was a girl named Olive, who would torment me everyday. When she was yelling for me, the first thing she called was for an insult and that she was only there because of the teacher. No one really cared." Myrtle was full out sobbing by now. Kagome's heart bled for the older girl. So this was how she became Moaning Myrtle.
Kagome wondered if she would be the same way. If one day Tobias would beat her to her death, would anyone care? Would anyone notice? Would anyone miss her? Yes. Someone would. Even the girl from the mirror had someone. She remembered, being her for a brief second, Kagome recalled her tears. Tears not for herself, but for the ones she loved, the ones who would suffer from her decease. So of course that meant that even she had someone. Myrtle, however, had no one. She was alone. And if all of this was covered up, which she suspected it was, then it could be possible that Myrtle's parent don't even recall ever having a daughter.
"My father beats me, " she found herself saying. She didn't know why, she never even told Sango, maybe because Myrtle was somewhat like her. "He beats my mother too. I'm not sure why, but I think he does it because of what we are. He doesn't like us. " She added and to give more effect she showed the ghost a scar, more particularly the one on her stomach. It was low and light from the lack of sun and it crossed from her naval up to its disappearance up her shirt near the breast area. Some bruises seem on other areas of the region. "This is his favorite spot."
Myrtle's eyes narrowed questioningly but she never took her eyes from that spot, even when Kagome had covered it again. "Why are you telling me this? " she asked softly. Kagome shrugged, "you told me first. "
They were now, once again, back in the same silence they were in the beginning, though this time there was a new kind of understanding in the air. Kagome placed a hand over Myrtle's hand and squeezed gently, hoping to give her these silent messages . Myrtle turned her hand to return the squeeze Kagome gave her, giving a shy smile of her own. Message received.
"Oh dear! However did you get that?" Kagome really didn't want to go to the nurse. She's spent most of her life without one so why would she need one for just some small- big cut. Yet, here she was.
With her rotten luck, of course it was both Molly and dumb and dumber that found her cause apparently after not showing up for any of classes Molly got worried. This wouldn't be a problem though if she hasn't recruited both Sirius and James to go look for her. This also led to them finding her outside of Myrtle's bathroom which led to more worrying and screaming once they saw her hand.
"Hello~ Hello~ I asked you how you got injured dear. " Madam Pomfrey was waving her hand in Kagome's face, snapping fingers, trying to get her attention. Kagome blinked a few times, giving her best bashful smile. Kagome was glad that she talked everyone into waiting outside, other wise she couldn't play pretend. "Well, you see, I'm awfully clumsy and at times I'm afraid I can't think straight. I was in the hallway, running and I tripped, " she quickly added, "though it would have been best if I hadn't run with glass in my hands. "
Madam Pomfrey said nothing for a few short moments as she gathered materials to take out glass and bandage the wound. The silence was enough to make Kagome think that maybe she knew that she was lying. "Well, " Madam Pomfrey started, "now you know not to do that again." She made her work fast and when Kagome was done she made quick to leave, in case of any questions turning up.
"What happened?" Molly questioned as soon as she got out. Kagome shrugged, didn't look at her, decided it was best to kind of play dumb, "disinfect, bandage and all that other rubbish nurses do." Sirius didn't seem to be having it either cause he stood directly in front of her, blocking her path. "Come on Kagome seriously, what happened with your literally bloody hand!" James yelled for then. Kagome rolled her eyes, "it's nothing, it was just an accident, a simple mistake. " She went under Sirius and kept walking.
"Kagome!" Molly started chasing after her, "this is serious! If you got in any tro-" Her sentence was then interrupted by a one Nearly Headless Nick, coming by. "Hello m'lady," he greeted. Kagome had to mentally thank the older man/ghost for this interruption. Kagome politely smiled, " why hello Sir Nicholas," she returned his greeting. "Nearly Headless Nick," Molly questioned, her eyes narrowed as she mentally examined the extraterrestrial being. "Why do they call you nearly Headless?" Sirius asked coming from behind Kagome to put an arm around her shoulder and slightly over her breast. That was probably his way of saying that they were going to reschedule her arse kicking.
"Well," the one in question began, "maybe it's because I an nearly headless." He answered. Kagome could feel James nudge Sirius as he whispered to the nobel, "Is it me or is it that this fellow here is completely bonkers."
The boy had "whispered" just a little too loudly though because as soon as he finished the words flowing from his mouth the 'completely bonkers' ghost frowned none too happy. So he grabbed a piece of his own hair as if to pull it all out by the handful and ripped his head off! Well technically he didn't rip his head completely off. It was still connected to the flesh by a thin strip of stretched skin.
Molly gasped loudly at the sight of the inner part of his neck, startled at the sight, "oh my!" As for the boys, well, boys will be boys. Both James and Sirius had mouths gapped open and the hold Sirius had on Kagome loosened. "That was bloody fantastic!" James exclaimed with his sun bright grin, Sirius nodded enthusiastically, his hair leaving tickles on Kagome's neck. "Couldn't agree more mate." Kagome blinked away her surprise, that was something new that she may never want to see again.
Sir Nicholas then popped his head back in place a proud stance forming at being able to cause so much amazement. "As happy as I would be to show you a bit more parlor tricks I'm afraid it is time for you all to retire for the night, so I bid you all farewell, " he bowed and left moving right through James.
James blinked once, twice. Surprised by the rather... intimate interaction. "And lady Kagome," the ghost called, twisting his head to look at her. "I do so hope you won't get lost again. "
"You got lost again, " snickered Sirius, twirling a strand of her midnight hair playfully. Kagome felt her face grow red, "It's those damn stairs!"