On The Rocks [FINISHED]

[Lorena Angela Scott]

love is a dangerous game

Lorena needed to be as far away from the Slytherin Common Room as possible. She couldn't be around people who reminded her of her parents, for they sent her a letter to update her and it wasn't a happy one. The letter discussed how Lorena wouldn't be able to hear much from parents as of late do to handling very important duties. Lorena knew what that meant perfectly, especially since her parents were on the other side of things. The side that supported the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Lorena wanted to puke at just the thought of his name. She didn't stand by what he believed was correct, but her parents did which hurt her greatly. She didn't like "hating" other students based on their blood status; it was ridiculous! She knew there of many great wizards and witches before her who probably weren't pure-blood but were still amazing. However, no matter how hard she'd try to convince her parents, she knew it wouldn't work, for they were stuck in their ideology.

Lorena sighed heavily as she walked down to the Black Lake, trying to escape everything that reminded her of her family. It was pretty cold out, considering it was fall, but Lorena really felt like she needed some fresh air or she'd suffocate. She usually was very good at being able to hide her true self, but lately, she felt like it was getting harder and harder for her, especially with how divided the school was. She desperately wanted to be on the other side and fight for the good of the wizarding world, but she could not, no matter how much she wanted to. This caused her to be on edge. When she wasn't with her Slytherin counterparts, she felt like she had to be on guard all the time to make sure no one knew that she really wasn't on the side she was supposed to be on. And when she was with her fellow house mates and "friends", she just felt wrong with what they discussed, especially with Umbridge influencing them. Lorena just didn't understand why her parents couldn't accept her for what she was, a person who just cared about the person you were instead of the status of blood you had. She didn't care if she had friends that were half-blood or muggle-born. Hell, she didn't even care if she ended up falling in love with someone who wasn't a pure-blood, but to her parents that was a horrible sin; one of the biggest ones she could commit. They wanted their line to stay pure and she knew that meant not being around anyone that wasn't pure-blood.

When Lorena finally reached the Back Lake, she took in a deep breath, trying to release some tension from herself. She finally felt like she was able to breathe and relax a bit, so she did. It was cold, but the lake wasn't frozen yet since that usually happened during the winter, so Lorena grabbed a few small rocks from the ground and started to toss them to the lake, trying to get them to skip, but failing miserably, which caused her to pout slightly.

I wonder if my parents will hold it against me if they found out I wasn't good at skipping rocks? Lorena mentally joked, causing her to smile a bit. However, her thought caused her to exhale deeply shortly after, for her statement wasn't much of an exaggeration. Lorena had perfect grades, she was a prefect, a talented witch, ambitious, and well-mannered, but that wasn't enough for her parents. She was constantly told what she did wrong and what she didn't excel at; never praised for what she was great at. Still, Lorena knew even if she excelled at in areas her parents applauded, she still wouldn't receiving praise. Nothing she did was good enough for her parents, which is why she got so caught up in trying to please them. Lorena just desperately wanted for them to say that they were proud of what she had done so far and that they were proud of the person she was, but she knew that was just a dream that she could only experience when she was asleep.

With the familiar anger boiling inside her at the thought of never being good enough for her parents, Lorena threw a rock roughly into the lake, making the rock sink immediately into the water from the heavy force. "Why do I care so much?" Lorena mumbled under her breath before taking a deep breath again to calm her nerves and continuing to skip her rocks.

AnthonyxLorena

Anthony Culver Goldstein

ψ

[Anthony Culver Goldstein]

Anthony was glad to be back at school. There had been some drama at home, with his brother leaving to start a band and a relationship with a girl that his parents didn't even know. There was just a bubble of tension surrounding the Goldstein home. Of course, they weren't angry with Anthony for anything, seeing as he was definitely a goodie two shoes who hardly left the house during the summer months. But it was frustrating in its own way, because they weren't there to see the way that he had seemed to age several years since the summer before.

There were a few reasons for that. One, he had recurring anxieties about the Dark Lord ever since the Triwizard tournament. His parents had worried at the end of the year, of course, but had never sat down to talk to him about it. The other reason was one that should have been positive... He had been made a prefect. His parents were too busy not talking to each other to talk to him at the same time, and... well... It just never really came up again. It felt kind of pathetic to bring it up after the initial letter, so he just didn't. Of course, no one at school really cared either, but that didn't matter as much. His parents had pushed him to excellence his whole life, and didn't even care when he'd gotten results. Typical.

He made his way to the lake. Normally it was peaceful, unless a group of students were being rowdy there. From a distance, he could see one person there. He figured he would get close enough to gauge their comfort level with him before he gave up. His intentions were just to read and maybe scrawl a few notes down. Hardly obtrusive. Once he was close enough, he realized that he recognized the girl. They'd never spoken one on one, but...

Recently, he had come across a scene that suggested that Lorena wasn't the hard, tough Slytherin that he'd assumed she was. It intrigued him. And if he was to be honest, his interest had just grown with time, and he'd asked the gossipy girls in his own house about her. He wasn't sure what to think... Some of them said that she was a nasty pretender, and others seemed to think that she wasn't as bad as the other Slytherins.

“Maybe you should talk it out,” Anthony suggested playfully, half-hoping that he would startle her. “I have the time if you do.”

They'd shared four years of classes together, as Slytherin and Ravenclaw were typically paired together. And he realized that he knew basically nothing about her.

[Lorena Angela Scott]

love is a dangerous game

Originally, Lorena came out to the Black Lake to be able to relax and let go of some stress, but as she continued to fail to skip rocks, she grew more irritated. Her wand work was impeccable, so why was it that she couldn’t even skip a few stinking rocks? Well, at least her anger was targeted on something other than her parents.

Lorena puffed out her cheeks slightly in frustration before deciding to try again, where once again, she failed miserably. “Rocks are stupid.” She mumbled bitterly as she somewhat glared at the few small rocks in her hand, but she was determined to get at least one to skip, so she decided to keep going. To make it a bit more enjoyable for her, she decided she was going to picture people she disliked as the rocks that sunk down. Lorena threw her next rock and, not surprisingly, it sunk almost immediately.

That rock was Professor Umbridge. Lorena thought, a small smirk coming across her lips. Being part of the inquisitorial squad really made the Slytherin hate Professor Umbridge a lot more. Lorena hated being in the professor’s office and she hated being surrounded by all the tacky decorations placed in there. It just constantly reminded Lorena that if she were to never find happiness, she would end up exactly like Professor Umbridge, which scared her to no end. My life sucks, but I hope it’s never as bad as hers. Lorena thought before deciding to throw another rock. However, before she could, she heard a voice, causing her to jump and instantly stiffen. The voice was somewhat familiar, but she couldn’t place a face or a name on it, so slowly, she turned around to see who the voice belonged to. As she turned around, she prayed that it wasn’t anyone that would cause her trouble, for she really didn’t feel like being cruel right now.

When Lorena completely turned around, she noticed that it was Anthony Goldstein, a fellow prefect and a fifth year, half-blood Ravenclaw. They had a few classes together over the years, and now they basically worked together as prefects, but she never really spoke to him. She heard that he was an overall nice guy, but other than that and the fact that he was extremely attractive and smart, she didn’t know much about him. Even if she wanted to know more about him, she knew she couldn’t. Not only was he a half-blood that her parents would never approve of having any sort of friendship or relationship with, but she also didn’t know of his intentions. She knew there were lots of people at this school that would take advantage of knowing that Lorena was not the stereotypical Slytherin, especially some people in her own house. And since a lot of Slytherins and their families were closely associated, she knew if any of them found out about her true nature, her parents would find out too and she didn’t want that. She knew they wouldn’t accept her and they would try to convert her into something she wasn’t, so she’d rather pretend to be what they wanted without actually having to suffer through being forced to think the way her parents thought.

“What are you doing here, Goldstein?” She asked, trying to hide her nervousness. “How long have you been there for?” After she asked, she realized it was stupid of her to do so. He said that she could talk about what was bothering her, so it was clear that he heard her talking to herself. Now figuring that out, Lorena cleared her throat and fixed her posture. “Look, just pretend you didn’t hear anything, okay? And that’s not a request or a suggestion, that’s a demand.” She stated, glaring at Anthony and praying that he would be intimidated enough to leave and pretend he didn’t see or hear her do anything.

AnthonyxLorena

Anthony Culver Goldstein

ψ

[Anthony Culver Goldstein]

His amusement didn't disappear entirely, but his eyebrows did come together in confusion. “Is there a reason why I shouldn't be here? I could have asked you the same thing.... But I didn't. This place isn't just for Inquisitorial Squad members, you know.” He couldn't help but sound just a little bit bitter. Maybe he was wrong about her. Wrong about being wrong about her, really, since before the other day he'd assumed that she was just another bullying and entitled Slytherin.

It was really disappointing. No one really seemed willing to break the mold in that house, even though he saw how they interacted with each other and some of them really didn't seem to be that bad. Being Ravenclaw, he supposed that he had an advantage too in seeing their other side, since Slytherin and Ravenclaw had much less animosity than Slytherin did with Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. It was all school politics anyway, and wouldn't matter much once they were all graduated.

“You can't demand me to do anything. I'm not doing anything wrong.” Sure, the Slytherins were playing the inquisitorial squad whenever they wanted to get someone else in trouble, but he was sure that it wouldn't stick. What would he be punished for? Going out to the lake? Everyone did that. He felt like he had to stand up for himself so that she wouldn't try this with other students as well. He sat down, looking out into the lake. “I won't tell anyone. I haven't told anyone what I saw the other night, either.” He kept it vague, glancing at her from the side. “Why do you want people to see you as one of them? I just don't... I can't understand it. You know that you're better than that.” He was really hoping that was the case. The truth was, he'd had a little crush on her for a few years, and the older that they got, the more she appeared to subscribe to that nonsense.

[Lorena Angela Scott]

love is a dangerous game

Usually, Lorena would be able to defend herself and quickly come up with something witty as a comeback, but in this case, she couldn’t come up with anything. For the first time in her life, and against Anthony Goldstein, she couldn’t come up with a comeback, which caused her to grow flustered. It was no secret that Ravenclaws were witty, but she could usually handle it, but not with Anthony. Her mind went blank and she couldn’t come up with a single intelligent thing to say in response.

“I didn’t say it was just for the Inquisitorial Squad...” Lorena mumbled stupidly, unsure of how respond as she turned her head to the side to not look directly at him. She couldn’t help but pout when doing so, for she really felt stupid for what her response was. She also couldn’t help but cringe a bit when she was referred to as a member of the Inquisitorial Squad. She knew that was her label, since she did participate under Umbridge, but it wasn’t like she willing wanted to be apart of that club. On the contrary, she hated being under Umbridge’s care. The professor was one of the most annoying people to work for, but Lorena had to keep doing it. She had to keep showing that side of her to get by and survive.

When Anthony, once again, back talked her and just sat down to look at the lake, Lorena grew quiet. Why couldn’t she come up with a response for him? Why couldn’t she defend herself the way she usually did with the other students? It was like he was one step ahead of her with comebacks. What was she even supposed to say to that? “Yeah, well, I say you can’t be here, and what I say goes”. Even Lorena couldn’t bring herself to say that, since it not only sounded super bratty and stupid, but it was also illogical. She couldn’t get Anthony in trouble for just spending time at the lake and both of them knew that.

Anthony spoke again, bringing up the night when her and Lexie were doing rounds, causing Lorena to freeze. She wasn’t aware that Anthony was able to hear and see everything that happened between her and those other students. “You... you saw what happened?” She asked quietly, shock written all over her face. Lorena tried to think of ways to convince Anthony that what he saw wasn’t what he actually saw, but before she could say anything, Anthony continue and her heart felt like it completely stopped for a brief second.

“W-What did you say?” She asked, her tone soft yet surprised. Never in her life was Lorena told that she was better than what she was taught. She knew deep in her heart that not thinking like her parents and the people around her was a good thing, but because she was constantly around people who thought differently than her, she always felt like the odd man out; the black sheep. So, when Anthony said she, as a person, was better than what she was doing, she couldn’t help but get a little emotional. Did someone actually approve of her natural self? Did someone actually think that she was the normal one for once? Did someone think that she was finally... enough?

AnthonyxLorena

Anthony Culver Goldstein

ψ

[Anthony Culver Goldstein]

Anthony wasn't sure whether or not Lorena was going to throw another demand in his face after he admitted witnessing her other side. “I have to patrol too. I would have jumped in if I thought that you needed my help, but it seemed like you had it under control,” he added in this part so that she wouldn't think that he was just wandering around and listening into peoples' conversations. But the truth was, it wasn't just the altercation that he had overheard. It was Lorena's apology to Raine as well. “It was an act, wasn't it? So that people won't believe that you could be friends with someone that isn't in your own house? What would you have done if it were Slytherins instead?”

He glanced around them to make sure that there was no one else listening in. He didn't agree with the fact that she was pretending to be something that she wasn't, but he didn't want to be the one to blow her cover. If she was ever going to live her life out in the open it was going to have to be her choice. He didn't want to take away that opportunity from her. And if that day never came, what business was it of his anyway? He couldn't help but care... That didn't make it his place.

“I know that we aren't close. We barely even know each other. But we have been in the same classes for more than four years now. I never thought that you were like the rest of the people in your house. I thought that you were... better than they were.” It seemed kind of hypocritical to say that because the problem with Slytherins was that they tended to have superiority complexes, and here he was telling her she was better than that, too. “I mean... You're your own person. It must be hard to pretend that you don't care about people when you do. She's your friend, isn't she?” He was referring to to Lexie, the Hufflepuff. It must have been exhausting to change one's self depending on the company.

[Lorena Angela Scott]

love is a dangerous game

Lorena desperately tried to think of anything that could somehow change what he thought he saw and overheard, but she couldn't. She couldn't come up with a single thing that could trick Anthony. He was just too smart and too observant, which was something that she always liked about him, well, until now since she was on the other end of that stick. They shared multiple classes over the years and Lorena always admired how he always seemed to be a level ahead of everyone. Sure, Lorena was smart--she had perfect grades--but she wasn't like Anthony and whenever he was asked to answer a question in class, she couldn't help but feel interested in what he was talking about. She wasn't sure why, but whenever he talked in class, she just couldn't turn her attention away from him. She just liked the way he carried himself and it didn't hurt that he was extremely attractive too, but she always just had to observe from afar, until today, where he was basically confronting and figuring out something she didn't want many people to know.

Lorena didn't know what to do to convince Anthony otherwise, which frustrated her, since she was always so good at being able to lie, but with Anthony, she just came up with absolutely nothing, especially since he basically saw and heard everything. She thought about just denying it, but even she knew that would not do any good, since the facts showed otherwise. So, accepting defeat, Lorena turned her head away from him, shutting her eyes closed as if his words were painful to hear. What would she have done if the students were Slytherin? If she was being honest, Lorena knew the outcome would have been the same, because she couldn't stop herself from protecting Lexie. Lorena tried to stay hidden, but when she heard things start to turn for the worse, she couldn't stop herself from protecting her best friend. She didn't want anything bad to happen to Lexie, especially on her watch. Lorena just felt like she had to protect her Hufflepuff friend, because she cared so much about her.

"It's not just because she's a Hufflepuff, Anthony... It's the fact that she's a muggle-born..." Lorena corrected, folding her arms over her chest and gripping her sleeves in frustration and shame. She never liked that she had to pretend to hate the people she cared about just because their blood status differed from hers, but she had to, which is why she tried to not make many friends on the other side, but Lexie was persistent. She wouldn't stop trying to talk to Lorena and actually showed signs of warmth and kindness towards her. So, she slowly opened herself up to the Hufflepuff girl. It took a long time, but Lorena grew to trust her completely and that is why she couldn't stand to see Lexie get hurt that night, because it would have hurt Lorena more to know that her best friend got hurt and she chose not to stop it when she had every power to.

Better than them? Lorena repeated to herself. She had no idea that Anthony was able to pick up on her. Was she really making it that obvious and not being as slick as she thought she was? She knew he was smart, but she was too, and she was extremely observant, so how did she fail with Anthony? This caused her to grow even more frustrated. She was already frustrated at the fact that he was already figuring her out in such a short period of time, but she was even more frustrated that she couldn't even cover her own lies up. All the pent up emotions she had locked inside her were starting to try to escape and Lorena couldn't control it. She felt like a failure and that triggered her deepest insecurities.

Lorena turned around to fully face Anthony and glared. "What do you want from me, Goldstein?" She growled, trying to blink away all the raw tears that were forming in her eyes from the frustration. "You want to interrogate me so you can figure me out like some sort of puzzle and use that information to blackmail me or something? Well, guess what? You caught me, I can't do or say anything that could even try to make you think something else happened that night! So, yes, she is my friend! In fact, she's my best friend and I didn't want anything to happen to her, okay!? I couldn't stop myself and I did what I did! I don't want to be like this, but I have to! I have to be everything that I'm not and it literally kills me every single second of the day that I have to be the monster that I despise!" As she yelled her last sentence, she roughly threw the rest of the rocks she had in her hand into the lake before looking down and wrapping her arms around herself, trying to stop the sobs.

AnthonyxLorena

Anthony Culver Goldstein

ψ

[Anthony Culver Goldstein]

He didn't know what to say when she admitted it was because of the blood status. Of course that made sense, seeing as she was a Slytherin. Perhaps she was one of those people that seemed decent when she was talking to her own kind but wouldn't spare the time to get to know someone who was different. Maybe he had fooled himself into thinking that she was some deeper person, with emotions that weren't that different from him. But the truth was, many Slytherins had basically been brainwashed at a young age to hate anyone that was not like them. It was the sort of hate passed down generations, and instead of being personal, was just a way of life. In his heart, he still felt that it wasn't really her fault. But he was losing this battle. It was probably best if he just left her there to skip her rocks. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Her outburst started him because he'd been trying to help her, and it was obviously not working. If anything she was more angry and frustrated than ever. “So your parents expect you to be a certain way, right? And there are a lot of people here that know your parents... Or whose parents know yours. You're trapped because you don't want to disappoint them, or you're afraid of them?” Maybe they resorted to violence when Lorena disobeyed or disappointed them. Anthony was quite fortunate that his family was pretty normal. Now all that drama with his brother seemed silly to think on when there were much bigger things on the mind of someone like Lorena.

“No... I'm sorry. I don't want to use what I know against you. I just wish that I could help you.” He stared out into the water, afraid to look over at her and see her upset face. To be fair, it was probably inner turmoil brewing inside her, but he brought it to the surface, and he didn't feel great about that. “The truth is... I've always wanted to get to know you and I could never figure out how to start. So I noticed things about you, and when I saw you helping Raine that night, I knew that I was right to wonder. If you want me to leave and not speak with you again I'll go. But if you need someone to talk to , I'm here.” He wasn't as dangerous for her to talk to. He was a half-blood, and a Ravenclaw, which made him less than ideal as a Slytherin friend, but not someone that she could never be seen with. “Just... think about it, okay?” He got to his feet, and finally looked back over to her.

[Lorena Angela Scott]

love is a dangerous game

Lorena felt so vulnerable. She never lost control of her emotions like she just did. She was disappointed in herself and she felt like she let herself down by letting Anthony see her weakest side, the side she tried so desperately to conceal. It was like she was a volcano ready to erupt, and she did, but to someone she knew didn't deserve it. So, now, she felt like an even bigger jerk than she already was. She knew Anthony was just trying to help her, but her first instinct was to believe that people had this hidden agenda. She didn't want to believe that people were just nice to her just because; it sounded too good to be true. However, here the Ravenclaw was, trying to assist her in the most difficult thing in her life.

When he got up and started to talk as if he was going, Lorena immediately started to panic internally. She didn't know if it was because she was so vulnerable, but she didn't want Anthony to leave. It was like when her Hufflepuff best friend showed any signs of affection like a hug or a pat on the back, Lorena didn't know how to react, but she liked it. She liked that Anthony was trying to care about her and she was just currently making everything worse. So before he could leave, Lorena spoke up.

"I'm afraid of them..." She whispered, before looking up at him, for once staring at him directly with fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm afraid of my parents, Anthony... They never laid a hand on me... but.. but they..." Immediately, the face of her former childhood friend popped into her head and Lorena instantly sank to the ground, her sobs now forcing their way out. She felt so weak, but she couldn't stop herself anymore. It was as if all her emotions just decided to burst through at once. However, after a few minutes of sobbing, Lorena slowly regained herself, sniffling in the process. "Anthony, I will tell you everything, but promise me this will stay between us... please." She begged. "Even Lexie doesn't know about what I'm about to tell you, so please keep this between us."

Lorena almost retracted her sentence when an image of her parents scoffing and commenting how pathetic she looked begging to a half-blood rushed into her head, but she decided to fight it. She didn't want to be holding this burden anymore. She wanted to let it all out and she decided to put her trust in Anthony. She just hoped she wasn't wrong in doing so.

AnthonyxLorena

Anthony Culver Goldstein

ψ

[Anthony Culver Goldstein]

Of course Anthony's first thought was that they may be full-on Death Eaters. Or, rather, had been during the war. It would be hard not to fear someone that could easily kill a person that they didn't think deserved to live in the same community. If they were capable of that, they would be capable of anything. But he knew he shouldn't jump to conclusions. This time, he would keep his thoughts to himself and let her tell him in her own time. There had been a shift in the dynamic between them. She'd wanted him to leave her alone, and now she seemed almost desperate for him to stay. He would keep his word and be the ear that she needed.

He settled back down, then hesitantly placed his hand on her shoulder. He didn't know what she would feel about the physical contact so he kept it as impersonal as he could while also providing her comfort. “Of course I won't tell anyone,” he said softly. Who would he tell anyway? He couldn't imagine blabbing someone else's secrets to another soul. But she was right to ask, seeing as most of the school gossiped about each other regularly. “What is it?”

[Lorena Angela Scott]

love is a dangerous game

When Anthony placed a hand on her shoulder, she jumped slightly, still not used to physical contact being a sign of support, but she didn't remove his hand. Instead, she hesitantly placed her hand on his, trying to find enough comfort to continue her story. She took a deep breath and started.

"When I was younger, I was taught to hate everything that wasn't pure-blood. My parents told me that we as wizards should keep our bloodline pure. But, for some reason, no matter how much they tried teach me, I couldn't seem to believe that was true. They tried to tell me how horrible muggles were and how they ruined everything that was good for wizards, but I couldn't believe it... especially after I met... Melanie."Lorena squeezed Anthony's hand when Melanie was mentioned. It was one of the hardest things for her to talk about, especially because she felt like she was at fault for what happened, but she decided to be strong and continue to talk.

"Melanie was this muggle girl that I ended up meeting one day while I was out with my mom... She was so nice to me and she wanted to play with me, but I kept trying to push her away, telling her that I wasn't supposed to talk to her and that she was supposedly the scum of the Earth, but she just laughed and said that I was a little weird, but she liked me. So, she invited me to play with her and... I said yes. She ended up teaching me how to play some muggles games and I had so much fun, more fun than I ever had in my life. She made me so happy and she welcomed me with open arms...

"We continued to meet after that and she became my first real friend, ever... Until my parents found out about her..." By this point, Lorena couldn't stop the tears from falling once again. "They were so upset with me that I was interacting and befriending a muggle. The told me 'why can't you just be a normal little witch? You are bringing shame to our family name'. They said so many things to me to make me feel like I was such a huge disappointment... but that wasn't the end of it.

"One day, they called me downstairs into the living room and when I got there, I saw Melanie. I was so confused and wondering what was going on, but before I could even ask what happened, my father... he... he... he killed her... right in front of me... and at the end of it, after her body hit the floor... he told me that it was my fault that it happened..." At this point, Lorena couldn't stop her uncontrollable sobs. "I don't want anyone to get hurt again because of me! I don't want anyone else to die because of me! That is why I can't let myself get close to others, no matter how much it hurts, because I know my parents are capable of anything!"

Lorena let go of Anthony's hand and buried her face into her hands, crying roughly. This was the first time she talked about Melanie ever since she was murdered and for once, Lorena felt relieved to actually talk about what happened. She was holding it in for so long that she forgot how much the story actually pained her.

AnthonyxLorena

Anthony Culver Goldstein

ψ

[Anthony Culver Goldstein]

Anthony was actually stunned into silence by her story. He'd heard bad things about Pureblood families that believed in superiority, but this was so much worse than that. Her father had actually killed someone because his daughter had different ideals than he did. He could see that happening in a time when the Dark Lord's power was at its strongest but it was pretty damn brazen to do otherwise.

“Nothing happened to him? They never came after him for it? Doesn't the Ministry pay attention when someone uses a spell like that?” There had to be a way for them to know it happened, because they were sure on top of it when a young witch or wizard used underage magic. It was shocking that he could get away with something like that, but at the same time, not really. Every society was somewhat corrupt, and if her father was important enough, it would be simple for them to cover up. It wasn't as though he'd gone off and killed a witch or wizard... Realizing that he was analyzing the situation from the outside (because, well, he was an outsider), and that this was something very personal to her, he felt bad for his questions.

He was not sure how she would react but he pulled her into a hug. He couldn't help himself, seeing her as upset as she was. Knowing he was the one to make her tell this story, he also felt some guilt. “I'm sorry... I would never have asked if I'd known it was something like this. You must have lived so long alone... I mean, not alone, but... I wish you didn't have to live with that inside of you.” He felt like his heart dropped down to his knees.

[Lorena Angela Scott]

love is a dangerous game

When Anthony asked if anything happened to her father, consequence wise, Lorena couldn't help but chuckle humorlessly. Of course nothing happened to her father. He was extremely powerful and he had so many connections that could easily assist him in something like that. He was basically untouchable and it completely scared Lorena. She could barely look at him in the eye and she assumed he knew it as well. Her father knew she was scared around him and he didn't care.

"Nothing happened to him." Lorena replied. "My father works for the Ministry and he has many connections that can clear his name from basically anything... He is untouchable." She added in a somber tone. It hurt to talk about her father in such a fearful tone, but she couldn't help it. She feared her father and her mother for as long as she could remember and she didn't have any good memories of them to help ease the pain in the slightest. It was just constant living in fear for the young Slytherin girl.

Lorena was in the process of trying to calm herself down when she was suddenly pulled into a hug by Anthony. Her eyes widened and her body stiffened. She was not used to being hugged by anyone, not even her own parents, let alone her classmate. Still, she didn't hate the feeling; she actually quite liked it. His body was warm and feeling his body so close to hers was causing her to grow warm as well, extinguishing all the coldness in her body from the Fall weather. She felt the heat slowly rise up from her toes to her face. Specifically, to her cheeks. However, even though she was embarrassed for being so inexperienced with handling physical contact, she slowly wrapped her arms around Anthony and placed her head on his shoulder, accepting his comfort.

Anthony apologize and Lorena shook her head against his shoulder, sniffling. "Don't apologize." She mumbled. "I was holding it in for so long that I didn't realize how much it was actually eating me alive. Plus, it actually feels good to talk about it... But still, I can't help but think it was my fault... If only I just stayed away from her or just found a better way to hide it... she could have still been alive, but now... she can never come back and it's all because I wasn't strong enough to protect her..."

Though her sobbing had calmed down, Lorena couldn't help but clutch onto Anthony's clothing for more support. The feeling of being held and comforted was really starting to make her feel more emotional. She couldn't understand how someone like Anthony, who she only spoke briefly to throughout the years (mostly during class when she absolutely needed to), was able to show her so much more affection than her own parents. Why did he care enough to support her during her time of need? Why was he here listening to her when he could be with anyone else and not have to deal with this emotional burden? Lorena couldn't find an answer, so she decided to ask him.

"Anthony... I have to be honest... I don't really trust people easily, but... something in my gut is telling me that you're not doing this to expose me or to use this against me... So, I have to ask, why do you care about what is happening with me? I mean, I probably haven't been the nicest person to you over the years..." Lorena said probably, but she knew she wasn't that warm and nice to the Ravenclaw. In fact, she acted mean to almost everyone who wasn't a Slytherin or pure-blood, so she really didn't understand his intentions. "So, why are being so nice to me?" She asked as she pulled away from his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. Lorena was usually able to tell if people were lying based on what their eyes said, so she wanted to make sure she was looking directly in his eyes to see if Anthony was not lying when he answered her question.

AnthonyxLorena

Anthony Culver Goldstein

ψ

[Anthony Culver Goldstein]

Anthony felt himself getting a bit more annoyed as the conversation went on. Not at her, of course, but at the rampant corruption that ran in the Ministry. There was a reason why they had someone like Umbridge here this year, preventing them from getting any better with defensive or offensive spells, he was completely sure of that. Someone wanted the next generation of witches and wizards to be defenseless when the dark witches and wizards took over. He wasn't sure that he believed it would be Voldemort himself, but surely people with the same ideology.

“I don't think that he's untouchable,” Anthony said softly. “As long as there are people who are willing to fight against those kinds of people, they're on borrowed time. Eventually, what he's done will catch up with him.” Even if it meant Anthony himself becoming an auror and taking down the corruption from the inside. He only had two years until graduation, and there was no way that he was going to stay on the sidelines. Of course, he would probably just end up in Azkaban if he went after her father specifically for something that already happened years ago. “And your mother, she was alright with all of this?”

He hadn't been sure what her reaction would be to his physical comfort, and when she returned the embrace he relaxed. He seemed to have broken through more walls than he'd thought possible in such a short amount of time. But it was so good to know that she really was a decent person hiding behind a lie. Even though he knew she could be pretending now instead, there was something that told him that for the first time he was seeing the real Lorena. Unguarded, trusting... She was even more beautiful when she let herself be her.

He shook his head as she continued to blame herself. “It isn't your fault. Somewhere along the way, you were going to meet someone that your father didn't approve of. And from the sounds of it, that probably wasn't the first person that he'd killed. It means that he would have done it even without you being involved. You were... You were too young to protect her. But... You can get stronger now, Lorena. You can be powerful enough to protect the people that you care about. And to protect yourself. That's important now more than ever.” He found himself blushing slightly because he sounded so cheesy and dramatic, like something out of a muggle soap opera.

He was surprised that she would ask him why he was being nice to her. He laughed softly, remembering a few occasions in which they'd been forced into short interaction and she had brushed him off. “I guess... There was no reason to think that you were anything but the typical Slytherin you pretended to be... And I still saw something else there. Or maybe I hoped that I did...” He looked out to the lake as he thought about how to word it. “Now I know for sure. You don't deserve anything other than my kindness.” He turned back and smiled at her, meeting her eyes. “I want to get to know you. The real you.”

[Lorena Angela Scott]

love is a dangerous game

Lorena didn't know why, but she felt relieved letting this all off her chest. Usually, she was very reluctant to even talk about her parents at all, but after spilling her guts to Anthony, she felt a bit more relaxed, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She just hoped that she wasn't passing her burden onto him, for all she wanted to do was take him up on his offer on having him listen to her story. She didn't want him to feel guilty or take ownership of anything that she told him. She just wanted to vent and let out all her emotions and she was grateful that Anthony allowed her to do so.

Lorena wanted to believe Anthony, she really did, but she couldn't help but disagree. She was almost sure that her father was untouchable. She knew both her mother and her father were followers of the Dark Lord when he was in power and she knew they both probably committed worse crimes than killing Melanie and, sadly, those crimes never came back to haunt them. The only person those crimes haunted was Lorena, for she was afraid of them and afraid of what they would do to her or the people she cared about.

"You don't know my father, Anthony... He isn't afraid of getting what he wants by any means necessary." Lorena responded, the thought of her father striking fear into her, causing her to shiver a bit. "My mother... she is fine with it completely. I later found out that she was the one that brought Melanie over. My mother was the one who went to seek her out and bring her to the house... She's just as bad as Father."

As Lorena and Anthony hugged, she couldn't help but notice that he smelled... good. Great, actually. She didn't know if it was his natural scent or something he was wearing, but whatever it was, it was making her feel more relaxed. She felt some of the tension in her body slowly slip away from her as she melted into his arms. She had never been held like this before and it was making her feel tingles all over her body. It was a foreign feeling, but she didn't want to stop it. She liked being held by Anthony, so she decided to relax in his arms, allowing him to take her pain away for a brief moment.

As Anthony said his speech, Lorena couldn't help but grow a bit embarrassed. Her grades were high and she was extremely talented on picking up on things quickly, but she couldn't help but feel like a failure. She was too scared to face her parents; to go against them. She already knew that when she was out of Hogwarts she wanted to leave her parents' side as well, but she was too fearful. She was afraid of not being able to protect herself and people she loved from her parents. She was so submissive to them and she was afraid she would always be.

"I can't protect anyone, Anthony." She replied, frowning. "I'm too afraid. I've learned all these spells and all these attacks but I know if I try to stand up to them, I'll just submit to them again because I'm too scared. I don't want anyone to suffer because of me. I don't want people to die because of me." When she was done, she could feel fresh tears rolling down her cheeks as she hugged Anthony tighter. If her and Anthony were to grow closer, she definitely didn't want anything to happen to him just because he was associated with her. She would feel horrible and she wouldn't be able to live with herself if something happened to him.

When he looked into her eyes, Lorena couldn't find anything but kindness and empathy in them. She couldn't see anything that hinted at him lying or having some sort of hidden agenda, so she decided to believe him. However, when he mentioned wanting to get to know the real her, she couldn't help but blush and bring her head down in shyness. "I don't know why you want to get to know me." She mumbled honestly. "I'm not really anything special. You on the other hand, you're a very interesting person. Not only are you very smart, but from what you have shown me, your heart is really big, and to be honest, I've always liked the way you've carried yourself..." Lorena couldn't believe she was admitting this to him, but she couldn't stop herself. It was like after she told him everything about her family, she couldn't stop the honesty from flowing out of her mouth.

AnthonyxLorena

Anthony Culver Goldstein

ψ