Athena chuckles softly as she stood in the room. The very same room she had stood in, having a break down, five years ago today.
This time, she was calmly petting Delilah, and taking off her sweatshirt, tucking it into her trunk. She took a deep breath, putting her companion away, and stepped outside of the room.
"Frederick Weasley, are you going to escort me to the feast, or am I going to have to go all on my lonesome?" She called, and his head popped out of the ground in front of her. His eyes went wide, and he shot up, circling around her slowly.
"Athena? Is it really you? You look... Nice." He stated. She grinned and nodded, before looking side to side and grinning.
"Come here, quick!" She whispered, and he complied. She lifted her skirt and flashed him. He grinned and started laughing uproariously. She had a small tattoo on her rear, and it was of something he knew well. It was a bright pink Pygmy Puff, beady eyes and all.
"Now hush, you're the only one who knows!" Athena winked at him, and if she wasn't mistaken, his transparent cheeks turned a light pastel pink.
He held out his arm, and she "took" it gratefully, proudly walking with him towards the Great Hall.
She tried to open the doors quietly, and she succeeded. Until she heard a gasp. And then another. And another. Until the entire hall was silent. She felt a breeze upon her cheek, and she blushed terribly as she saw Fred's face pull away, and he floated over to be next to the Gryffindor ghost, Sir Nick.
Suddenly, there was a burst of sound.
"Athena?!" And there was a tall, lanky boy sprinting towards her, lifting her up and spinning her around.
"J-Jethro! Put me down you buffoon!" She laughed, and after a few more moments, he set her down, looking her up and down, before he was blushing profusely.
"I-I'm sorry, I was just so excited and I-"
"Is it really her?"
"No, it can't be..."
"I thought she died?"
These were whispers heard all around the hall, until Headmistress McGonagall stood up, looking at them all.
"Miss Glas, I'm sure this reunion can continue at your table? Now if you'd plase take your seat. Also, I would like to see you after the feast. Meet me in my office, please." McGonagall gave her a warm smile, and Athena nodded. She snuck a glance at Professor Longbottom, and she inwardly sighed. Yup, handsome as ever. He waved to her, and she waved back, being dragged back to the Slytherin table.
"Oh, my, god." Sierra whispered. The raven haired girl too, had changed. Her lips were pouty, and her body seemed to be made with an hourglass in mind. Athena groaned at the sight.
"H-Hi." Athena said, waving.
All in one group, were all of her friends. Justin Higgs and Yolandi were sitting together, holding hands, as were Jennifer and Marcus Pucey. They all got up, and swarmed Athena, hugging her and patting her back. They were all whispering how much they'd missed her, and all of the girls were crying, save for Athena. She was grinning and hugging them all tightly. When they all sat back down, Athena immediately dug in, chewing and asking what had happened while she was gone. She pointedly looked at the two couples.
All four of them looked sheepish.
"We-Well, after... Well, people have been calling it 'The Fall', I guess to distance themselves emotionally from it... Well, the truama of it brought people together... It brought us together..." The couples looked at eachother, then back at Athena, apprehension clear in their eyes.
"You're not mad, are you?" Ventured Jennifer, unshed tears brimming in her eyes.
Athena sat there, thinking.
Was she mad? Was she?
"No, I'm not mad." She answered truthfully, and the couples seemed to have a great weight lifted off of their shoulders.
"I'm really happy for you all. I'm glad that something good, came from this." She added, and they all looked at her in a new light.
Just because her hair was a bit different, and she was more confident, doesn't mean she has changed. Well, she had changed. But I was for the better, they hoped.
"Now, tell us what happened to you!" Exclaimed Jethro, who was sitting across from her. She opened her mouth to reply, when she was stopped.
"Wait, is that a tongue piercing?" Exclaimed Jethro, his eyes wide.
She stuck her tongue out and winked, grinning.
"It's not the only new addition." She said, smirking. Their entire group went silent, before bursting into laughter, getting sevral glares from across the room.
She explained to them about Beauxbatons, but left out the part about the tattoos. Those were things that didn't need to be discussed with certain people around. AKA the boys.
She also left out the stuff about the abuse. They still, thank god, knew nothing about that. She just said her parents switched her out, and that was that. She'd tell them the whole truth on her own time.
When the feast was over, Sierra admitted that they had refused to let anyone sleep in her bed for the past four years. Athena looked at her, and without hesitation, kissed her cheek in thanks. When she pulled away, Sierra was blushing and running off, saying something about grabbing Delilah and her trunks.
Athena slowly walked towards the Headmistresses office, giving Filch a smile, which he returned with only a scowl.
She knocked on the door, and it opened immediately. Athena walked in, and she smiled at McGonagall.
"It's a pleasure to have you back, Miss Glas. Even under the... circumstances at which you were removed from Beauxbatons. I'm sorry to say this, but I will need to see all of your tattoos, for records.
Athena nodded, knowing this was coming. She took off her robe, and pulled her jumper off, baring her back and letting McGonagall look at the ones there. She heard a soft gasp and Athena laughed softly. She knew the pieces were beautiful. They showed her, two sides of the same coin. Easlily able to flip to one side, but always precariously balancing on the edge.
"The right is for who I was. That calm, serene, submissive little girl that put everyone before herself. The left, is who I wanted to be. I wanted to be angry, and burn every bridge I'd ever crossed. I wanted to smash and burn and fight. And I still do sometimes. And the sword represents how I am now. Excalibur belonged to a just, fair king. And that's how I'd like to see myself. I see myself as fair, but determined. Kind, but cunning. I guess it's the Hufflepuff heritage, I guess?" Athena chuckled. She pulled her jumper and button-down shirt off, leaving her in a tank-top. She showed McGonagall her arms, and the woman took a breath. She saw the wand, Athena's wand, tattooed, accentuated by delicate scars.
She saw the words, with ugly scars underneath and peeking out of each letter. She sighed, noticing that none of the scars were new.
"Now, not many people will understand why I got these tattoos where I did, Professor McGonagall. But you do, and I know you do. And I know you know, that I will not flaunt these tattoos during class hours, because that would be disrespectful. But all I'm asking, is that you do not make me get them removed. Because the only thing keeping my skin safe is this artwork."
Athena saw down, and lifted the right side of her skirt, shwoing McGonagall Delilah's artwork. The woman chuckled and Athena lifted her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. She lifted the other side, and McGonagall went silent. She was staring at the piece with a hand to her lips.
Athena smiled shyly at her, and McGonagall nodded. Athena turned and showed her the Pygmy Puff, and she thought she heard a snort of laughter. But when she turned back around, the Headmistresses face was a mask of coolness.
"Miss Glas, welcome back to Hogwarts. I hope this year will be great for you and your friends. You may return to your dorm for the night." The woman smiled at Athena, and the girl grinned, pulling on her robes and bowing to McGonagall.
She ran back to the Common-room, before cursing and realizing she didn't know the password. Suddenly, a tall, seventh year girl walked down the hall, and she tanked Merlin. She was about to ask the password, when the girl shoved her against the wall, her eyes firey.
"You think you can just come back after doing what you did?" The girl snarled, and Athena's eyes widened.
"You think you can come back and disrupt the peace everyone has finally found? You think you can come back and expect everyone to be happy? You traumatized everyone! There were children!" The girl was yelling then, and Athena's eyes flared. She pushed the girl away, and she too, started yelling.
"I was a child too! A child that was so lost, so hurt that death was the only thing she could think of! Maybe before you get mad at me for throwing myself off a god-damn bloody tower, you should try going a week through what I went through! Except I would never ask that of anyone. Ever."
The wall suddenly swung open, and Professor Sharp hurried out, asking what was going on.
"Nothing, Professor. I'm sorry, I was in the wrong." Athena lied, walking back into the common-room, and back to her dorm. She grinned whan she saw Delilah running around the room with Chuck, and she raised her eyebrows when she saw the cage already set up.
Athena was suddenly pulled into the room, and she laughed, sitting on her bed and going through the same story she had on the train. She didn't cry when she told this story anymore. She felt like she was readong it in a book. Like it had happened to someone other than her.
She didn't even leave out stuff about the scars.
Eventually, it was time for everyone to get changed, and the other three girls were expecting Athena to leave to the bathroom. When she didn't, they all looked at eachother.
Athena stripped herself of her robes, folding them neatly, and pulling at her tie, and laughed when they all looked away.
"Come on guys, it's not like it's not something you see every day!" She said, copying the words that had been said to her in her first year. They all laughed and relaxed.
She stripped off her jumper and shirt, and they all gasped.
Oops. Forgot to mention tattoos.
"Oh my GOD ATHENA." Jennifer whispered, walking up to her hand running her hands over Athena's shoulders. The taller girl could feel the scars underneath the painting, and she put her other hand to her lips.
"You guys need to stay quiet about, these, you hear? You guys, Rose, Scorpius, Albus, Lily, and Hugo are the only ones who know, save for Headmistress McGonagall. Please, Please promise you'll keep this secret." She whispered, and they all nodded.
They all finished changing, after the marveled over all eight of Athena's tattoos, all of them falling over in laugher when they saw the Pygmy Puff.
"Why... Why'd you get it?" Wheezed Yolandi, and Athena snorted.
"All of the rest were there for depressing reasons, you know? I figured it was my body, and I saw them at Weasley's Wizards Wheezes, and I figured 'why the hell not?' I even showed it to Fred, and he approved, so it must be good!"
They all continued to laugh, and Athena grinned. She was finally home.
After they were all settled in, Athena's phone gently playing music, all three of her roomates fell into deep sleep.
Athena got up, putting on her slippers, and quietly snuck out of the room, and checking the noiceboard, she got the password. Sneaking out and down the halls, she made her way to the Astronomy tower, the tallest tower in Hogwarts.
When she reached the top, she took a deep breath, surveying everything, and making sure everyone was in bed, no one was around.
She stepped on the ledge, spread her arms, and jumped.