Chapter 7: Passing the Blame
Ever since the champion selection, things in my family have been tense. Ron would not talk to me or Harry. Whenever I tried to talk to Ron, he would ignore me or yell at me. I eventually gave up on talking to him. I do everything I can to keep my distance from him. I would skip meals and even skip my classes just because I didn't want to be by him. I feel like a burden to him and my family.
My family isn't taking this well either. They were worried for me, worried for my safety. The past few days, they have been arguing a lot. One afternoon, when I was returning from class I walked in on Uru and Ahadi fighting again. Ahadi's voice grew louder with each word.
"How could you let them have her compete!?" Ahadi yelled.
"We tried to stop them, Ahadi. I tried my best, believe me. But you know they have rules. She can't get out of this." Uru said.
"Damn it Uru, you are so useless! I bet you helped her to put her name in that cup, didn't you!?" Ahadi yelled.
"What!? No, I didn't! I would never! We didn't allow her to compete you know that!" Uru shouted back.
"You're lying! You are always telling the kids to follow their passions! You're always so supportive, and so lenient! Lana is a cheater! You helped her cheat because you are always so supportive!" Ahadi yelled.
"Look, none of us don't know how it happened. It just did, okay? And I had nothing to do with it! So let's just drop the subject. Lana needs us more now than ever." Uru said, her voice firm. Ahadi just sighed with frustration. My other mother, Gwen noticed the tension as she was walking by.
"What's going on here?" Gwen asked.
"Nothing that concerns you," Ahadi said angrily. It stayed silent for a minute but Ahadi spoke up again as Gwen was about to leave. "Gwen, you know our daughter is a cheat, right?"
"That's ridiculous. There is no way she could have put her name in that cup. I'm done with this conversation." Gwen said firmly. Gwen stormed off. I was startled when I felt some hands on my shoulders. I was afraid they were Miguel's. I turned around expecting to see his angry face but I realized that it was just my wife, Margo.
"Are you okay?" Margo asked me.
"I..." I began.
"Come on, let's get out of here," Margo said, grabbing hold of my hand. I nodded in agreement. I tried to avoid my parents when she was leading me away. Uru stopped me before I could get to my room.
"Sweetie, I am sorry you had to hear that. I just want you to know that we love you." Uru said.
"Are you sure? Because Dad hates me right now." I said angrily.
"This whole thing has been... hard for him to handle but he'll come around. He always does." Uru said, giving me a reassuring smile. Uru left, leaving me and Margo alone.
"Margo? You are not mad at me, right?" I asked.
"Of course not, babe. This just happened. Don't listen to what your dad and Miguel say." Margo said.
"Thanks," I said, smiling. Margo pulls me in for a kiss. "Is it okay if I am alone for a while?" I asked.
"Yeah. I'll give you some space. Come get me if you need anything." Margo said. I nodded, closing the door behind me. I sighed with relief. It was nice to be alone for a while. Miguel was busy with Miles and Scar was doing whatever he was doing with his other wife, Zira. Zira and I never really got along. Whenever Scar gets too close to me, Zira gets jealous. I am jealous of Zira because Scar treats Zira better than he does me. It's not fair that Scar treats me like shit while he treats Zira with love and affection.
One day, I hope to get a divorce from Scar and Miguel so I can live life more happily. I won't have to be in constant fear every day when I divorce them. I also hope that my family can calm down soon before the first task which was in a few weeks. I need my family's support, like Uru said so I can get out of this alive.
To distract myself from my stress, I decided to do some writing on my computer and watch my favorite show, RWBY. I've been obsessed with RWBY ever since my Uncle Peter introduced me to the show. I was almost finished with volume 7 when I realized it was almost time for dinner. Shit, I do not want to go to dinner. My leg was shaking with anxiety as the time ticked by.
I wondered if I should go to dinner or not. I didn't want to go because Ron would be there. I heard a knock on my door, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Come in?" I said. Mufasa, Nala, Simba, and Hermione walked into my room.
"Lana? It's time for dinner. Are you going to join us?" Nala asked.
"No Nala, you guys go ahead. I'm staying here." I said.
"Lana, you haven't been eating for a couple of days. I'm worried about you. Worried about you're health. You need to eat." Hermione said firmly.
"Yeah Aunt Lana, we're not gonna let you starve yourself to death," Simba said.
"No. I said I'm not going." I snapped.
"What's the matter? You love Hogwarts dinner." Mufasa said. I stayed silent, not wanting to speak. Hermione leaned down to my level, taking my hand.
"Is this because of Ron?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah," I said quietly.
"Okay... I will talk with him. For now, just come down to dinner." Hermione said. I refused to move from my spot when they were leaving. They stopped when they saw I wasn't following them.
"Lana, you need to go to dinner," Nala said.
"No," I said.
"Yes, you do," Nala said firmly. "You know, we can make you go."
"How?" I said.
"Like this," Nala said, picking me up by the scruff of my neck.
"No! Put me down!" I yelled, trying to free myself but Nala held me firm.
"Lana, knock it off, or else you're grounded for another week," Mufasa said with a low growl. Not wanting to be grounded for another week, I shut my mouth. I let Nala carry me to dinner.
"It's going to be okay Aunt Lana. I can stay with you if you want." Simba said.
"Thanks," I said. When we got to dinner, made sure to sit as far away from Ron as possible. I was unfortunate to sit next to Miguel but thankfully I was able to sit next to my wife, Nala. Simba sat on the other side of Nala. The whole time during dinner I was being a brat. I did not want to eat my food and I kept talking back to my family. They were already getting impatient with me.
"Lana come on you need to eat," Sarabi said.
"I'm not hungry," I said.
"Seriously, you haven't been eating for a couple of days this is not good for your health," Gwen said. I ignored her, still not wanting to eat my food. I lost my appetite after my name got selected and Ron started ignoring me, which only made my Anxiety worse. My abusive husbands were not helping me either.
Miguel slammed his fist on the table, causing me to jump. "Damn it Lana, just eat your food and quit being a brat! You've been acting like a brat all day and I'm sick of it!" Miguel yelled.
"Miguel, go easy on the kid. She's having a hard enough time already." Uncle Peter said. Even when Miguel was raising his voice at me, I still did not want to eat. How many times do I have to tell my family that I lost my appetite?
"Lana if you do not eat right now I am going to have to force-feed you." Miguel threatened, his voice low.
"Miguel come on you can't be serious right now!" Sarabi shouted.
"I am. If she's not going to eat, then force-feeding is necessary." Miguel said. I still refused to eat, even after the threat. Miguel grew angry. He grabbed a spoonful of food and shoved it down my throat, forcing me to swallow. I gagged at the food wanting to throw it up but I didn't, knowing the consequences. I tried to fight it when Miguel grabbed another spoonful. He grabbed my wrist tightly, pulling me close to him. Miguel shocked me with the remote to my shock collar.
"You're going to eat. You will not leave this table until you have eaten every last bite, do you understand?" Miguel said, his voice low and dangerous.
"Yes, Miguel," I said quietly. Miguel continued to force the food down my throat, making sure I swallowed every bite. Scar sat behind me, standing guard making sure I didn't run away. Once I was done eating, Miguel dismissed me from the table. I quickly ran back to the Gryffindor common room because I have no desire of being there.
When I got to the Gryffindor common room, I saw Ron sitting by the fireplace so I ran straight to my room slamming the door behind me. I began to cry when I lay down on my bed. The past week has been hard on me. Dealing with abusive husbands, a neglecting parent, and getting selected for the Triwizard tournament against my will. Right now, I just wanted the ground to swallow me whole.
After a while of crying my eyes out, I decided to get ready for bed. When I finished, I went to say goodnight to my parents. I stopped when I heard voices from the common room getting louder and louder. I realized it was Miles and his parents, and Gwen having an argument. An argument about me specifically. Ugh, here we go again.
"Miles, how can you let this happen!?" Rio shouted.
"It's not my fault, Mom! I didn't let it happen! Everyone is blaming everyone right now so can we please just drop the subject!?" Miles shouted back.
"No. We need to talk about this." Rio said, her voice firm.
"Miles. If you can't handle the responsibility of having a daughter then maybe you and Gwen should just give her up for adoption and let someone else take care of her. You're just too young to be a parent. Both of you are." Jefferson said. My heart dropped when I heard my grandfather say those words. Put me up for adoption? My parents wouldn't do that, would they? And what did he mean by too young to be a parent? I've always known my parents were young, but too young? I wasn't prepared for what Miles said next.
"It wasn't my fault she was an accident!" Miles yelled.
"Yes, it is. If you weren't so reckless, then this wouldn't be a problem! And you better watch your tone!" Jefferson yelled.
My heart dropped again. I carefully approached my parents and my grandparents. "Accident? I was an accident...?" I said, my voice shaking. My father and grandparents turned their attention to me.
"Oh no sweetie, it's not like that..." Gwen started.
I wasn't in the mood to listen. I already had a bad day. I wasn't ready for more bad news. Without saying another word, I ran out of the Gryffindor common room. I didn't care that it was curfew. I didn't want to be in the room a second longer.