Chapter 37: The Mysterious Case of Bridgit

Perfection is key.

It is everything.

It is what we have.

It is what we must obtain.

It is us.

The night was young and the stars in the sky sparkled brightly against its velvet color. The night air was cold and everyone who lived in the Emeraude suburb wore thick dress robes. Yes, dress robes for this night was no ordinary night. It was the birthday of Damiana Alanis Emeraude.

Damiana the most loved and beautiful amongst all the Emeraudes.

She was special.

Her birthday was held in the Emeraude mansion and everyone stood in the ballroom where the party was held. In the middle of the ballroom was a large staircase. Damiana stood on the highest step and smiled at everyone in the room. Emeraudes of different shapes and sized mingled with each other often saying things like:

"Damiana sure is a beautiful woman"

Or

"She's the pride and joy of the Emeraude family"

And also

"She's absolutely perfect"

Perfect.

Damiana was perfect.

The Emeraudes were perfect.

Damiana was a pure-blooded Emeraude.

On the step below Damiana was a cake with five layers. It was white and had flowers decorating it. On the top of the cake was a candle. The candle read her age. It wasn't her real age but it was a believable age. Witches and wizards do not age the same as muggles so no one complained. She was beautiful and she looked young. Why would they complain if the candle was lying? Everything else was a lie.

"The cake looks absolutely scrumptious"

"It's perfect"

People said as they admired the cake the Emeraude house elf chef made special for the night. It wasn't an ordinary birthday cake. It was Damiana's birthday cake.

"Thank you all for coming today," Damiana spoke in a loud and sweet voice. She seemed to glow with her beauty.

"Thank you for inviting us," the Emeraudes chorused

Damiana laughed with glee. It seemed like something a five-year-old would do but she was able to pull it off perfectly

She was perfect

"Now, before we eat this wonderful cake let's have some fun shall we?" Damiana spoke.

It wasn't the most formal thing to do.

Emeraudes were formal.

They were classy.

They were pure-bloods.

But of course, this was Damiana who was speaking. Damiana could do no wrong. She was perfect.

She got everything that she wanted.

She got her way.

The Emeraudes agreed and went back to mingling. They would walk around the ballroom and have an occasional dance for music had already begun to play. Damiana clapped her hands as she swayed a bit to the music. Everything was going her way.

It was her night.

But then again, everything always went her way. Every night was her night and every day was her day.

It just went that way.

It was law.

As the night grew later it was time for dinner. All the Emeraudes sat in their assigned tables as Damiana sat on her own amongst the Emeraude elders.

She was just that important.

The first course was the soup and bowls appeared in front of everyone.

The clinking of utensils echoed through the room along with the chattering of small talk.

Perfection.

Zoey, who was quietly standing in the dark corner of the ball room, watched. She was not allowed to eat nor was she allowed to mingle. She was just allowed to come. Zoey did not know why she was even invited. No one knew of her existence besides the Emeraude elders and of course her darling Aunt Damiana. Zoey was clueless. She stood in the corner and watched as the soup bowls disappeared and where replaced with the next course.

Her stomach growled.

Zoey placed a hand on her empty stomach as she looked away from the scene. She was sure no one heard her and she was positive that they won't miss her if she left. She looked at her aunt. She was stunning to say the least. Her long blonde hair was wrapped up in an elegant bun and her makeup made her skin glow with all the glitter. Her robes were of a silky blue and she was decorated with expensive jewelry.

Her aunt laughed.

Zoey fully turned around and walked out of the ballroom. Surely, no one would mind. After all, she was an Emeraude to an extent. She left the ballroom and walked into another room. This room was just like any other it was huge. The ceiling had a dazzling chandelier and the walls were of a light cream color. It also gave of a very floral scent. It was also clean.

It was perfect,

Zoey felt sick. A sweat formed on her brow and her stomach churned. Her eyes began to dart from left to right. Everything was so orderly. So clean. Untainted. Perfect. Her breath quickened. She could not handle it. She dashed out of the room only to enter another one exactly like it. A perfect copy. A clone. Zoey brought her hands to her hair and grabbed it as she squeezed her eyes shut. She tried to steady her breathing.

It's not perfect. There has to be a flaw. Nothing's perfect. Nothing.

She tried telling herself but it was no use. When she reopened her eyes all she could see was its perfection. Whoever said nothing was perfect was lying for this was it. This was perfect.

Suddenly, she heard voices.

The voices she heard were not in her head. No it was heard from outside the room. It wasn't the same voice as the adults in the ballroom eating. This was younger. It belonged to children. Zoey looked behind her and saw three small kids below the age of ten dashing into the room. They, too, wore dress robes and belonged to the Emeraude family. The children slowed down their pace when they caught sight of Zoey. The smiled on their faces disappeared as they looked at her curiously. They did not see her in the ballroom. Heck, they never saw her. They didn't know her.

She was a stranger.

"Who are you?" one of the kids asked, she was plump and had pigtails.

Zoey did not answer, she took a step back.

"Why are you here?" another kid asked, he was skinny and had big brown eyes.

Zoey took another step back. The kids took a step forward.

"Are you and Emeraude," asked a black haired girl.

They took a step forward. Zoey took a step back.

When Zoey took a step back she did not know what was behind her. It startled her when she felt something make contact with her back. She knew she pushed it for she felt it move backwards. She turned around and with wide eyes saw that she bumped into a table that was not very steady. On top of the table was a vase with a bouquet of roses. Zoey watched with horror as the table toppled over and the vase smash to the ground with an ear piercing sound.

Zoey felt her heart stop.

The kids made and chorus of "Ooooh! You're in trouble!"

Zoey turned back with a pale face. They were Emeraudes. Emeraudes would to anything to get someone into trouble, especially if that someone was of no use to them.

"You broke a vase!" the black haired girl said.

"You'll be in trouble," the boy with the big brown eyes continued.

"AUNTY DAMIANA!" the plump girl squealed.

Zoey felt like she had just died. There was the horrid clacking of shoes again. All too soon the clacking stopped and then there was a loud Crack. Her aunt decided to apparate to the scene. Damiana looked to the children then to the vase and lastly at Zoey.

"What happened?" Damiana asked.

"The stranger broke the vase!" the black haired girl said.

"Your favorite one too!" the plump one continued.

Zoey knew her aunt was angry. To any normal adult a broken vase would not matter. It was just one vase. They were rich. They could replace it. There was also the fact that they could do magic and fix it with a wave of a wand. Damiana; however, was no normal adult. She always wanted an excuse to destroy Zoey. Her most hated, and at the same time only, niece.

Zoey watched in fright as Damiana turned to the kids and told them to leave. When the kids left she turned to Zoey with anger in her face. If you would look closely you could see the steam coming out of her ears.

Damian threw a five-year-old's tantrum.

"You ruined my night!" she squealed, "And you shall pay"

Damiana took hold of Zoey's wrist and apparated away.

Zoey screamed in agony as she was once again splinched. Her aunt made sure that she would feel all kind of pain that night. Zoey was scratched and bruised with both physical and magical abuse. She felt the white hot knives piercing her skull as her skin was being ripped.

The pain she was enduring was for "ruining" her aunt's birthday and for not giving her aunt what she wanted.

Yes, the box was still not given.

Zoey withered in pain as the curse was lifted and the bullying stopped. She felt herself become lightheaded with the blood lose. It seemed that her aunt remembered that people would become curious as to where she had gone. With another crack her aunt left and Zoey was once again alone.


Zoey woke up with a start. She was sweating. She had another nightmare. A memory. She hasn't had one in a long time. It was triggered by Bridgit. Zoey was in a shock when she saw Bridgit with bruises and wounds with dry blood. It reminded her of how she looked like all those years ago. It scared her. She was curious as to how Bridgit had been hurt but she heard no answers. Bridgit would not tell her. She was hiding something and Zoey wanted to know what. Zoey looked around her room. It was empty. Her roommates had once again left without her. Nothing new. Zoey got ready for the day.

Zoey held her books to her chest as she walked out of her dorm. She walked down the steps and into the common room with her head hung low. Her dream was troubling her. She knew somewhere in the world her aunty was thinking of her, and not in a loving way. Zoey quickened her pace in hopes to be able to catch breakfast but there was a slight problem. She had run into someone. Zoey stumbled back from the surprise force and her things went flying. She closed her eyes as she waited for a book to fall on her.

Nothing happened.

She re-opened her eyes and came face to face with gray eyes much like her own but not quite. Zoey felt herself blush. Zoey had bumped into a quite good looking boy. The boy in front of her had chiseled features with brown hair and gray eyes. Zoey could not believe that she had never seen him even though he was in the same house as her.

Zoey blushed grew darker as the boy held out his hand. She accepted it and he brought her up. He was quite tall.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Err – yeah… sorry about that," Zoey apologized as she bent down a bit to get her fallen books. The boy helped her.

"I didn't know anyone would be in the common room right now," the boy said as he handed Zoey her books, "With breakfast nearing its end I would think that everyone would be heading to classes"

"Err – I woke up late," Zoey said with her head down. She brought the books closer to her chest. The boy nodded and led her out of the common room

"So, Zoey," the boy began to make small talk, "What class do you have first?"

"Defe – wait – how do you know my name?" Zoey stopped dead in her tracks and looked at the boy curiously.

The boy looked back at her, "About two years ago. I gave you your missed assignments, remember?"

Zoey bit her lip. Two years ago she almost fell to her doom. She had been asleep for days and missed school. A boy who was a year or so older than her gave her the missed homework. The gears in her head began to move. Her eyes widened when she made her realization.

"You remember now?" the boy asked with a chuckle

"You're Edward then!"

The boy laughed, "Cedric actually," he corrected, "Cedric Diggory"

Zoey blushed in embarrassment and stammered out apologies. "I – I'm so so sorry! I'm not so good with names and –err – I'm so sorry, Cedric!"

"It's alright," Cedric said as he continued his walking, "Let's get you to class now, huh? What sort of prefect will I be if I let you be late for class?"

"The sort of prefect Fred and George would adore," Zoey laughed.


Fred sat on the Gryffindor table as the people around him began eating their lunch. He was seated in between his brother and Bridgit while Echo and Zoey were seated in front of him. It was a chilly day and he took note that Zoey had added on the layers. She wore her normal school robes but wore her Hufflepuff scarf and gloves as well. Her hair was down and had a braid with a yellow ribbon at the end.

He wondered when she had begun to wear her hair down.

Fred had liked Zoey's cute nerd look with the big round glasses and the messy ponytails but now she simply looked cute. She was still small in size and rather skinny but her cheeks were still rosy and her skin still pale. Her eyes were still a sparkly gray and even with her hair down it still had a messy look to it. She was simply Zoey.

He felt his stomach do flips when he looked his way and smiled. He made a smile back but then felt foolish when he found out that she wasn't even looking at him. Fred turned around and saw the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin, pass by. He felt himself glare. He had to admit that Lupin was the best teacher he's had so far but the mere thought that Zoey fancying him had turned his feelings to a small hatred.

What the bloody hell is wrong with the world? Fred thought to himself as he turned back to Zoey and watched as her eyes trailed after the shabby-looking teacher. He felt sick at the sight and turned his attention to the girl seated next to Zoey, Echo. Echo was having a conversation with his twin, a conversation he did not bother hearing.

Echo 'likes' George… when in Merlin's pants did that happen? I never saw it coming. George of all people! This must be an apocalypse, Fred scrunched up his face, But when you think about it… gah! No! This simply cannot be right!

Fred turned his attention back to Zoey. She now had a small smile plastered on her face as she watched Lupin eating. She giggled a bit when Lupin dropped the meat on his fork and ended up biting the metal instead. And now there's Zoey. Since when did she begin fancying teachers? Is she the type to like older men? Is she turning into Hermione? Sure, Lockhart was sort of attractive but she found him hideous. Does she like men who are old enough to be her dad?

Fred sighed, Maybe she's just into mature guys? Her then shook his head, Can't be, then she would have fallen for Percy! Fred looked at his older brother who sat on the seat nearest to the teachers. Nope, Percy's not mature, he's just a prat.

Maybe she's into scars. Guys who look like they've been to dozens of fights against dark wizards and creatures… No. Can't be. If that's the case she would have fallen for Bridgit! Fred looked to his other side and saw Bridgit peacefully eating her lunch. Her bruises were fading and her wounds were clean and slowly becoming small scars. Wait, that's can't be right. Zoey's a girl… but then again is Bridgit a girl too? I mean – she has been hanging out with Echo more… ugh!

Fred groaned and banged his head on the table with confusion. His friends looked at him oddly as their plates shook from the vibrations.

"Sickle for your thoughts, Fred?" Bridgit asked.

Fred groaned in pain.


Month's passed and Fred was still feeling confused about everything. He had to admit that during the past weeks even he had to admit that Defense Against the Dark Arts was his favorite subject. Lupin had all the teachers beat with the interesting creatures he brought to every class. Dementors still patrolling Hogwarts but it didn't bother him as much as before since the Dementors weren't allowed inside the school anyway, meaning all his happy feelings stayed intact.

Well, most of them anyway. To Fred's displeasure Zoey had been hanging out with people other than him, his brother and the Ravenclaws. To add to the his dislike to this fact, the people Zoey hung out with were boys. Older boys. Particularly Professor Lupin and Cedric Diggory.

Fred was not happy, not happy at all.

Fred sighed; maybe Hogsmeade would distract him from his thoughts.


"So how was your day with Harry?" Zoey asked as she drank tea from her cup. She was seated in Lupin's office and on his chair as the shabby-looking man, also known as her uncle, draped his coat on the coat hanger.

"It was fine, thanks," Lupin said as he took a seat in front of Zoey and drank his own cup of tea. Zoey grinned; it must have felt refreshing for Lupin to be able to talk to Harry. After all, Harry was the son of one of his best friends… that and Harry was a boy… man to man talk…. The kind of talk Zoey could never understand.

Zoey looked around the office and noted that it screamed Professor Lupin. She noted the several creatures in cages that Lupin brought to his classes. She them spotted a cauldron on his table. She placed her cup back on its saucer and walked towards the cauldron. She looked in and noted that it was empty.

"Uncle Moony," she began

"Professor Lupin," Lupin corrected teasingly.

"Uncle Moony," Zoey repeated, "What's this?"

"A cauldron"

"I know that, thanks. I meant what was in it?"

"A potion," Lupin then continued when Zoey sent him a look, "Professor Snape made me a potion."

"And you drank it?"

"Of course"

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Zoey raised her eyebrows at her Uncle. He was being difficult. He was avoiding something. She opened her mouth to speak but then there was a bang on the door.

"Remus!" came a voice, "You've got to hurry! Something's happened at Gryffindor Tower!"

Lupin quickly got to his feat and pushed the table away with the force he made. Zoey watched as he scampered towards the door and stopped only to look back at her.

"Go to the Great Hall," he said

"But why?"

"Please, Zoey, just go"

Zoey nodded her head and watched as her uncle disappeared behind the door. She listened to his fast footsteps and only began moving herself when the footsteps died away. She walked over to the table and finished of her tea. She needed to get her priorities straight but she was also rather thirsty. She placed down the cup when she had finished and walked over to the door. She opened it and walked out. As she walked down the hall she heard the chattering of students. Most curious and other's panicky. It was obvious that something happened. She picked up her pace and headed towards the Great Hall. When she got closer she caught sight of brown hair.

She followed it.

The owner of the brown hair was no mystery to her. She had guessed it was Bridgit for the color of the hair and its length. She followed Bridgit to a deserted classroom. Bridgit had obviously tried to avoid her but she underestimated Zoey's curious determination.

Zoey still wanted to know what had happened to her friend.

Bridgit sighed. She sat on the teacher's desk and faced Zoey. She opened her mouth to speak but Zoey cut her off.

"What happened to you?"


AND CHAPTER END!

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