Beneath Her Skin

Chapter Five

Darcy followed Alastriona into the Great Hall, mildly concerned and borderline extremely annoyed.
Alastriona had reassured the girls that she was fine, she'd just been chased by a giant chicken but Darcy wasn't so easily convinced.
The two Hufflepuff's sat at the Slytherin table and Theo snorted at them. Their hair a mess and they both had bags under their eyes.

"Every year," Theo teased, "every year you do this to yourselves."

Alastriona slumped against the table and groaned out, "Tea, please."
She could hear Theo laughing at her but she could also hear tea being poured.
She lifted her head off the table to see Theo sliding a cup towards her. "Thank you." She said gratefully. "You're an angel."

Blaise took the seat next to Theo and grimaced. "He's no angel, all last night all he was doing--"
Blaise was cut off as Theo smacked his hand over his mates mouth.

"Don't listen to him," Theo said through gritted teeth, "he's delirious from sleep deprivation."
Theo gave Blaise a harsh glare and Blaise rolled his eyes before pushing Theo off the bench.

Draco sat by Alastriona, kissing the top of her head and smiling as Theo picked himself up off the ground.

Darcy cleared her throat. "Speaking of sleep deprivation..." She waited until she had her friends attention, "Alastriona had a nightmare last night and insists that it was about her being chased by a giant chicken."

Alastriona felt the betrayal cut into her skin like a hot blade. "It was about a giant chicken!" She exclaimed, trying to convince everyone around her.

Darcy's hands clenched into fists. "People don't wake up screaming like you did from chickens!" She hissed.

The boys didn't know what to do. They'd never heard Darcy and Alastriona talk to each other like this.
Theo cleared his throat, "I don't know, I've eaten a lot of chicken in my lifetime, I'd be kind of worried." He joked and Draco chuckled while Blaise once again rolled his eyes.

Darcy ignored Theo's comment, blue eyes fixed on Alastriona. "You're obviously lying and I don't know why, we're your friends, your family."

"It's just easier this way, okay?" Alastriona snapped, trying to end the conversation.

Darcy let out a fake laugh. "Of course you think it's easier to lie!" She said hotly, instantly regretting it as Alastriona fixed her friend with a glare.

Alastriona spoke through clenched teeth. "It's easier because I get less of your pitiful glances if I say I was being chased by a giant chicken rather than saying that Cedric is haunting me in my dreams, coming to me as a rotting corpse!" She breathed in, "Got it?" She stood up and brushed her hands over her robes.
"Please, begin the psychic evaluation once I'm out of earshot." She hissed before turning and going to the Hufflepuff table where Professor Sprout was waiting.

Professor Sprout handed Alastriona her timetable and smiled down at her, eyes lingering on the Prefects badge pinned to her robes.
"How're you going with the Prefect responsibilities, Miss Breen?" Professor Sprout asked kindly.
She wasn't expecting Alastriona to glare at her.

Alastriona felt her blood boil and she didn't know what to do with her hands, they just kept twitching as she fought the urge to grab her wand.

"Why?" Alastriona asked quietly, trying hard not to draw anymore attention to herself. "Why me? Did you chose me out of pity? Because of Cedric?" Alastriona shook her head and blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay.
"I don't deserve this," she tapped her badge, "I'm not like Cedric, he was perfect and good--" Alastriona stopped herself from saying anything more.

Professor Sprout stared down at the troubled student. "Miss Breen," she began, "I'll have you know that before Cedric passed away I asked him who he thought should be one of the next Hufflepuff Prefects and he didn't even hesitate before saying your name." Alastriona clenched her jaw tight to distract herself from the pain creeping under her skin. "And I agreed with him that you would make an excellent role model for the younger students." Professor Sprout's stern tone left no room for argument.
"You're a dedicated student. You're compassionate and you're unaffected by House rivalries, they mean next to nothing to you," she waited until Alastriona met her stern gaze, "the Sorting Hat is right-- we need to be united and I believe you can help with that more than anyone else will be able to." Alastriona was left speechless, the anger had dissipated.
"Now," Professor Sprout cleared her throat, "would you like to question any more of my decisions?" The woman asked sarcastically with a raised bow.