Athena never thought much about birthdays, except that they just meant a certain amount of pain. But she could tell her friends thought a lot about them. It was three weeks into the school year, and her friends were freaking out.
"What are we going to wear?" Said Yolandi, digging through her own trunk.
"I don't know!" Jennifer called, dragging her own trunk out.
One of the most popular boys in their year was turning eighteen and McGonagall were letting him use the Great Hall to have a small party, and Athena's roomates were freaking out.
"You guys have boyfriends, you know." Athena said, reclining on her bed and doodling the dissaray around her.
"Yeah, but we need to look good for them!" Yolandi moaned, and Athena laughed.
"Why aren't you freaking out?" Sierra asked, walking in.
"I wasn't invited?" Athena said, like it was the most obvious answer.
Her room-mates looked at her like she was crazy, and she blinked at them, dare she say, owlishly.
Sierra grabbed her hand, and dragged her over to the trunk at the end of Athena's bed. Athena sighed and opened the trunk, and the girls all gasped.
Inside was packed, and there was a lot of leather.
"Athena you little minx!" Jennifer gasped, pulling out a pair of leather leggings, and a lacy plack pair of underwear. Athena blushed and snatched the underwear, shoving it to the bottom.
They all went through Athena's trunk, and Athena told them she'd like to keep her tattoos hidden. They nodded, and helped her pick out her outfit, and she helped them pick theirs.
Yolandi was going to be wearing skin-tight black skinny jeans, and a loose, flowing flowery top that complimented her mocha coloured skin.
Jennifer was wearing a plain black t-shirt, and some simple white, loose skinny jeans, and a long. green and silver necklace maid out of braided hemp.
Sierra was wearing a casual dress, that reached the floor and had mythical-looking designs hidden in the dark fabric. It cinched underneath her breasts, and the sleeves hugged her arms gracefully.
Athena was a bit nervous, so she went the safe route. She wore a black long-sleeved shirt, and she kept her hair down, hiding her neck from view. Her pants were the leather leggings she had worn at King's Cross. They were tight, and the other girl's whistled as she turned for them.
"I swear those are so tight, I can see the Pygmy Puff winking at me!" Sierra joked, and Athena had to sit down she was laughing so hard.
They all walked upstairs, arm-in-arm, and when they walked in, the party was in full swing. Not too rowdy, though. No one wanted to face McGonagalls wrath.
Athena saw Jethro, and to her delight, when he saw her, his jaw dropped.
"W-Wow, Athena. You look... Great. Really." He said, his cheeks darkening.
"Why thank you, dear Captain. You clean up pretty good yourself." She remarked. He was in a pair of dark jeans, and a black T-shirt that hugged his chest. Apparently that boy was hiding a pretty good figure, despite his lanky limbs.
They talked for a bit, and when music started from an unknown source, Athena pulled him to dance, after mild worry about what people would say. She was now "officially" dating Liam Jordan. But she knew that she and Jeth were just friends.
After awhile, Athena excused herself to go to the bathroom. She was walking down the halls, when she heard a giggle, and then a deep voice.
"Liam!" Said a girl, her voice almost a breathy moan.
"Hm?" Was the reply.
"The Slytherins are all down the hall! We could get caught!" The girl said, her voice filled with lust and she actually didn't seem concerned in the least.
"Oh, come on. They're all too busy partying to notice us." His voice was muffled, and Athena's head peeked around the corner. What she saw made her heart stop.
Liam Jordan was standing there, a girl pressed against the wall, and his face against her neck, kissing and licking it. And his hands.
Oh god.
One was on the girl's breast, while the other... Was up her skirt, and it wasn't hard to guess what he was doing.
Tears pricked Athena's eyes, and she resisted the urge to yell. No. Oh, no. This needed to be planned out thoughtfully.
She walked back to the Great Hall, telling everyone she had had a great time, but she was tired.
Athena walked up to the Astronomy tower again, standing on the ledge and jumping, soaring the skies for hours, before she felt calmed down enough to return to the dorms.
No one was back yet, thankfully, so she quietly brushed her teeth and changed, before scrolling through her phones music, searching for the perfect song. She grinned as she found it.
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Athena told her roommates what she had seen, and they all wanted to immediately kill the boy, but Athena was surprisingly calm. She admitted that she knew she didn't love the boy, but she promised to play the part. Their first Hogsmead trip was in two weeks, which was enough time for them to devise a plan.
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The first week passed by quickly, with the girls practicing in their room on their free periods, putting a muffling charm in the room so no one could hear. But the end of the second week nearly put Athena out of comission.
She was in DADA, a class she shared with Rose and Albus. It was Friday, and the Hogsmead trip was tomorrow.
They were learning about boggarts, and Professor Liken had apparently had one brought in. Athena thought nothing of it, until he started calling people up to face it. She saw it turn into reasonable things for others, like giant spiders, dementors, a few clowns. A wolf, even a horde of bees. All normal things. She still thought nothing of it. She'd like to think that she wasn't afraid of much.
"Athena, could you step up please?" The handsome Professor asked. She nodded, and he was a little perplexed at the confident smile that was upon her lips.
"Open 'em up, Professor!" She stated cheerily, and he hesitated. This girl had thrown herself off a tower. Was she ready for this? He looked at her, and she nodded encouragingly.
He opened the cabinet door, and her smile was wiped off her face.
There stood a tall, lanky man who looked like he hadn't showered in days. He was wearing a sweat-soaked, yellowing tanktop, and he had a black, scraggly beard. He had a beer gut, and a dirty, fraying truckers cap on his greasy black hair.
He had his belt in his hands, and he slapped it against his hand, the leather stained and dripping blood.
"It hurts Daddy, stop!" The man said, his voice high and whiny, like he was mimicking her.
"Daddy, no. Daddy please, please pleasepleaseplease." Athena whispered. Her eyes were wide, and she was backing away. Her breath was coming in shaky, quick gasps.
The Boggart changed, into a short, headyset woman with bright orange hair, brighter than Athena's.
"You think you're so good, being born with magic, don't you, you little cunt? Well you're nothing! You're a pitful little girl who is, never will be, and never was anything! You're a dirty little whore who is only alive because we let you be! You dirty little mother fucking piece of sh-" The boggart suddenly changed again, this time to another person they'd never met, lying broken and bloody on the ground. The girl was tall, and her hair was a shocking shade of violet. The girl's eyes were open, and the chocolate depths were dull and lifeless. But the girl's lips moved, a monotone voice coming from them.
"You couldn't save me, Athena. What makes you think you can save yourself? Or them?"
And suddenly the body was Roses.
Then Albus. Then Scorpius. James, even. Then Yolandi. Jennifer. Sierra. Jethro.
Athena was on the ground, her body heaving violently as she sobbed, her knees drawn up against her chest, and her hands over her face, her eyes peeking between them, like she couldn't tear them away. Professor Liken quickly dealt with the Boggart, shoving it into the closet and practically picking Athena up, pulling her out of the classroom.
She slid to the ground, her face in her hands, and her body shaking. Professor Liken raised his eyebrows when he saw her skirt had ridden up, showing a bit of her tattoos.
After a few moments, Athena lifted her eyes, looking at the man. She stood up, embarrassed and walked back into the classroom, ignoring all of the eyes on her. She sat beside Rose, and the girl put a hand on hers, squeezing it while staring straight ahead, questions burning in her mind.