All of the girls in their room were awakened by Athena's now-silent phone chirping at them like a sweet jay at five-thirty in the morning.
Athena opened her groggy eyes and cuddled Delilah closer, before realizing she wasn't on her mattress on the bare floor. She was in a large room with the beginnings of the sunrise peeking over their large window, and the bed she was in was decadently soft, as was the blanket she was wrapped in.
Gone was the child-like sleepiness, and here was the wide eyed excitement. She sat up, picking the still sleepy Delilah up and grabbing the plush, hand-made pet bed from the trunk, she placed it beside the cage, the rabbit immediately hopping to it and seeming to fall asleep again. Athena made her bed, and the rest of the girls seemed to have fallen back asleep.
Athena set another alarm, this time for six, so the rest of the girls could sleep. By the silence, she could tell that she was the only one awake at that moment. She grabbed a clean set of robes, and her toiletry bag, heading to the bathroom to shower.
When she entered the bathroom, she started to undress, taking off her shirts and wincing as the tight shirt peeled away from her shoulders.
Her shoulders were decorated with scars and scratches. Some were thin, as if from a whip or some other thin piece of material, and others, some that were fresh, were wide and blistered, like from a leather belt. Her father had decided to remind her why she was alive. She was alive because they allowed her to be. They were why she was alive, physically at least.
She looked at the white, long sleeved shirt she held in her hand. The inside was covered in faint blood marks, and scabs that were attached to it. She picked off the scabs, and tossed them into the trash bin, that seemed charmed to dispose of immediately anything that was thrown in.
She made a mental note to never take her phone near one.
Taking the rest of her clothes off, absentmindedly scratching at the cuts across her thighs. These were self-inflicted, and she purposefully put them in a place people would never see.
Athena stepped into a shower stall, her dirty clothes tossed into a hamper, and her new ones hanging outside the stall.
Once the water was turned to her preffered temperature, (Almost scalding) and got to work, gebtly scrubbing the dirt from her skin, and washing her hair with almost reverent touches. She couldn't remember the last time she had taken such a nice shower.
She winced as the spray hit her back, but then grew comfortable as it turned into a gentle ache instead of a sharp sting.
When she was thoroughly clean, she reached around to the towel she had hung up, and wrapped it around herself, the back of it reaching just under her shoulderblades. She wrapped a soft t-shirt around her hair. She found if she used a towel, her hair would be frizzy beyond belief, and she did not want that for her first day of class. When she stepped out of the shower, Sierra was brushing her teeth. Athena hadn't even noticed the door open. The younger girl smiled, before picking up her robe from the hook outside the stall, and walking to a room secluded to the side, obviously for the shy girls who didn't want to change in front of others due to modesty, but she just didn't want people to see the red, angry scars marring her ivory skin.
Too late.
Sierra saw Athena's back whens she turned to get her robes, and she stayed silent, even though she wanted to scream.
Who had hurt this gentle, kind girl? Who dared lay a finger on that young woman? And where were they so Sierra could beat them to a bloody pulp.
Sierra stayed silent about seeing the scars, but she hurt for Athena. She knew that the girl wouldn't speak to any of them about what they were, for she and the rest of the girls were really just acquaintances.
When Athena stepped out, Sierra was already in her uniform, and the raven-haired girl let out a cat call, causing Athena to giggle and blush terribly.
Athena had on shiny black shoes, and stockings that reached just below her knees. The skirt was black and pleated, hitting her knees, and her shirt was plain and white, buttoned to her throat. Her house tie accentuated her delicate features nicely, the emerald colour with the thin silver stripes making the green of her eyes pop. The charcoal grey knitted v-neck jumper she wore over her shirt was a bit big, making her look her age. Sierra would make it her job to remind everyone that this girl was indeed, eleven years old. The robe on the other hand fit Athena perfectly, it hit her ankles, and it was a plain dark black.
When Athena left to get her schedule and books, Sierra let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Why did she feel the need to protect this silly girl?
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Athena walked into the room to find the other two girls on their beds, looking at their schedules. She took her hair out of the t-shirt, and shook her head slightly, silently laughing as she saw in a mirror across the room how childish she looked. Her bright orange tresses reached her shoulder blades in ringlet curls, and she loved it. When she had her hair straight, it easily reached the small of her back, though.
She walked over to her bed, and tore open the envelope that held her schedule. Her eyes ravished it like a lover, and she held back a squeal of glee.
Mondays
Breakfast, 7:00 - 7:50
Charms, Professor Flitwick - 8:00-09:30
Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Liken, 9:40- 11:10
Free Period- 11:10 - 12:40
Lunch 12:40 - 1:20
Flying, Madam Hooch, 1:20 - 2:50
Herbology, Professor Longbottom, 3:00 - 4:30
Tuesdays
Breakfast
History of Magic, Professor Binns - 8:00-09:30
Potions with Professor Sharp 9:40- 11:10
Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall-11:10 - 12:40
Lunch 12:40 - 1:20
Flying, Madam Hooch, 1:30 - 3:00
Astronomy, Professor Sinstra - 12:00 am - 1:30 am.
'They had classes at Midnight?' Thought Athena, before her schedule was snatched by a greedy Sierra.
"Yes! We all have the same free period!" Sierra said gleefully, and Athena grinned, happy that Slytherin house wasn't what the rumours said to be true.
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When she entered the Great Hall, her arms linked with Yolandi and Sierra, she heard a soft shout, and suddenly a blur of red hair was launched at her.
"R-Rose!" She said, laughing breathlessly and hugging the other girl. Rose grinned up at her, then pulled away, finally realizing the girls standing around them in green ties, their eyebrows raised humourously.
"O-Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt!" Just as Rose started to walk away, Athena grabbed the back of her robes, chuckling and hugging her.
"Rose, these are my dorm-mates, and hopefully new friends, Yolandi, Jennifer, and Sierra." Athena pointed to each girl, and they waved, cool, unemotional masks on their faces. It worried Athena to no end.
Rose gave them all a hesitant smile.
"Hello, I'm Rose Weasley. I hope that the colours of our ties won't stop us from being friends." Rose sounded earnest, and Athena saw her dorm-mates lips twitch a bit. They all nodded, and they all went to their own tables, after Athena gave Rose another hug, and a kiss upon her cheek.
She was sitting down, munching happily on a bit of toast, when it was snatched from her hand, then given back, a bite missing from it. She looked up, and saw a smug looking James Sirius Potter, grinning and looking mischievious. She rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to moan in fake-agony. She looked at the three girls she was sitting with, and they looked a little too interested in James. She cleared her throat, and they looked at her guiltily.
"James, are you just going to eat the food already in my hand, or are you gonna say something?" She said, mock-exasperated.
"Well, my dear little cousin's friend, I came to see how your first night in the Slytherin dorms went." She gasped at the way he said Slytherin. It was as if he were saying "Disgusting"
She stood up, staring at him, her eyes flashing in frustration.
"It went better than people not in Slytherin would have guessed, actually. James, I like you. You're Roses cousin, and Albuses brother, but if you think that will stop me from slapping you across the face because of your disrespect, you have got another thing coming to you. I am still the girl you met at the station, except this time I refuse to be walked all over. Now I suggest you turn around and go back to your table before you're crawling back. Now." Her chest was heaving, and everyone around them was either slack-jawed, or staring in shock. James looked sheepish, and he sulked back to the table across the room, his head hanging a bit low, and his shoulders hunched slightly.
Yolandi slapped her on the back proudly, causing her to yelp in pain. They looked at her in confusion, and she waved her hands, brushing it off. The rest of breakfast smoothly, and soon Athena was off to Charms, her first Wizarding class, ever.