Alethea Beowulf is just starting to get used to the fact that she is the only Slytherin in her Gryffindor dominate family when it's revealed that she might have a stronger connection to the dark side of Slytherin than she previously thought. Not to...
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Gryffindor awoke to the Beowulf pack still huddled in the same position as many had left them. Thea and Simon were using each other as pillows as Kaleb slept against her legs, Wyatt dozing off in the chair facing them. No one wanted to wake them, but it eventually became impossible and the family woke up to several first-years running down the stairs before they realized the Beowulfs were there.
Thea cracked her eyes open. For a moment she thought she was home again when all she could see were blurry red and gold swatches. Her mind continued to tiredly work when she realized she was lying against someone. Was she with Draco? Did they fall asleep reading again? Why would Draco be at her house though?
Something happened with Draco, her mind foggily told her. Did they get into a fight?
She blinked several times only to find that her eyelids were sticking together ever so slightly. She took inventory of herself to find that her cheeks were tight and her throat was sore. The salty scent of tears still lingered on her upper lip.
Confusion filled her instantly. Had she been crying?
Suddenly, like someone smacked her across the face and punched her in the stomach at the same time, everything came flooding back. She remembered all of the events and all of the emotions that followed them. The abrupt urge to hit her head against the wall and force herself to forget again came over her.
A hand latched onto her shoulder, keeping her pinned down before she could do anything stupid. Her head snapped up to Simon. He was already awake and watching her. He had seen the kaleidoscope of emotions which flashed across her face before her body tensed to move. Kaleb, too, was awake and leaning into her feet to keep her still.
"Calm," Simon whispered in her ear.
It took a few seconds but she eventually released the breath she'd been holding and let her body loosen with it. Both of her brothers slowly eased up but neither moved away completely.
She swallowed hard, her sore throat protesting. "How am I going to leave this room?" she asked. Her voice was barely able to be considered a whisper.
"Just put one foot in front of the other," he cooed. "We'll be there to take care of the rest."
She nodded slowly. Simon began to shift out of his spot, Kaleb not moving until Simon was able to turn back and take her by the hands again. Thea wobbled to her feet but Simon quickly steadied her while their other brothers also got up.
The boys had to watch their sister carefully, from climbing through the portrait to getting down the stairs. It was like she was a young fawn learning how to walk for the first time. She had spent so much energy the night before crying that there wasn't anything left to keep her stable.
