The Bullies
Miss Hardbroom hadn't slept at all that night. Not because of the nightmares but because of a feeling in the pit of her stomach telling her something wasn't right. Once again she hadn't found anything wrong at all. Her instincts were never wrong. She smelt foul play. She had made some wide awake potion that night but not with fresh ingredients so the effects wouldn't work as well. She took it anyway. It was all she had after all.
She arrived at the staffroom to find Miss Drill back from her morning run. Heaven knows why she would want to do physical exercise considering it caused injuries and sweating, two things Constance did not want to endure. She sat down and tried to ignore the non witch, which is very hard when she won't stop talking to you.
"Good morning Miss Hardbroom, you're up bright and early like normal," Miss Drill chatted.
"Quite," Miss Hardbroom replied trying to keep this conversation short and bitter. Even with her frosty reception, Miss Drill continued to pester her.
"We have flying lessons again today. I can't wait. I do love watching the girls fly around like the witches they are," the blonde blathered on, "No hard feelings about last time?"
"If you say so Miss Drill, I must be going," she couldn't talk to that woman for another minute. It wasn't what she had said it was just her personality that annoyed Constance. Something about the non witch rattled her cage.
Celeste didn't wake up to the sound of the bell that morning; instead she woke up to the sound of a person sneaking into her room. She groggily opened her eyes and looked around. Sitting at her desk, watching her was Darcie.
"Good morning Celeste, how did you sleep?" Darcie asked. The girl was smiling at her warm heartedly. For the second day in a row, Celeste was confused.
"What are you doing in my room?" she questioned the brunette. The girl's smile grew wider.
"Waiting for you to wake up silly," Celeste eyed her doubtfully. Could she trust this girl?
"Darcie, I..." said Celeste before she was interrupted.
"Look, I know you're probably not used to people like me. I can be a bit in your face but it's only because I really want to be friends with you," she explained, "It's just that no one else likes me and you and I could really get along." She was obviously not as used to being alone as Celeste. Maybe she would give having a friend a try. It might be quite nice to have someone to talk to. She did tend to get quite lonely.
"I'll try being your friend but I'm not promising that I'll be very good at it," Darcie's face lit up in delight. She pulled Celeste up by the hand and started dancing with her. They danced until they heard the bell that told them to get up.
They got down to the dining hall promptly but that didn't matter, the porridge was still cold. Celeste was happy though. She needed to get inside that cupboard and find out what was inside. Forget the gatherings; she had plenty of time for them. Now was the time for exploring. She did need to get this Darcy girl to stop following her around everywhere like a lost puppy. It was kind of sweet though. She had never had someone that wanted to be friends with her this badly. Most people just avoided her. They sat down and bean to eat the slop that masqueraded as food. Not one of them said a word yet the silence between them was not awkward. It was quite nice. Celeste hated unneeded talking. If there was nothing of interest to be said, why talk? This rare silence was broken when two large 2nd year girls came over and sat down with Darcy between them.
"Hello Darcy," they both said in high pitched sing-song voices.
"Um h-h-hello," Darcy stuttered in reply. Something was obviously wrong here. Darcy cowered away from the two older girls which was not something she usually did. She was very outgoing and confident and now she seemed nervous and maybe even scared.
"We need to talk to you outside," they announced. Not waiting for a reply, they hauled Darcy up by her arms and out of the great hall. This wasn't right and Celeste knew it. She hurriedly got and followed quietly behind the girls.
They had taken her into the corridor, away from any prying eyes. Well, except for Celeste's. She was hiding behind a door, waiting to intervene if she had to. The girls pushed poor Darcy against the wall and began taunting her. They were attacking every insecurity anyone could ever have. They insulted her hair, her nose, her eyebrows, and her personality, everything about her. Darcy did not react though. She dangled there with a stone cold expression on her face.
"That's my girl!" Celeste muttered.
"Did you hear that?" asked one of the second years.
"Yeah it came from over there," answered the other one pointing in Celeste's direction. They had her surround before she could even react. They didn't even bother taunting her; they just pushed her to the floor and began to beat on her. Punch after punch came. The sharp taste of blood filled her mouth. The world became fuzzy around the edges. She was going to pass out. The hits kept coming and coming. Then it stopped. A bright teal light exploded in front of Celeste. The large girls ran for their chubby little lives. Throbbing and bruised, Celeste sat up. She turned towards Darcy who was looking at her with a shocked expression. What had she done?