»𝕰𝖈𝖍𝖔« [ᴮᵉˡˡᵃᵗʳⁱˣ ᴮˡᵃᶜᵏ]

§ Chapter Two

Upon arriving at the great hall, Kimberly immediately walked towards the deep blue bannered table, the colours matching those residing on her tie and robes.

Her eyes darted around, trying to find her dorm mates. She spotted them halfway down the table and moved down to sit beside them, hoping they had gotten over whatever mood they were in at the train station. Unfortunately, luck was not on Kimberly's side.

They gave her short side glances but mostly pretended she wasn't there, even going as far as to shuffle slightly down the table in an attempt to be rid of her.

Kimberly wasn't stupid. It clicked in her head that they must also know, explaining their current actions.

She stopped trying.

Pushing her food around her plate, Kimberly found her appetite was once again lacking. Allowing her eyes to wander around the room, they met another pair looking at her concerningly.

Bellatrix Black was staring at her. She seemed to be mouthing something to Kimberly, asking her "are you okay?", much to the girl's confusion. Why was Black talking to her of all people, and why did she care?

In response to her question, Kimberly slowly shook her head. She began to return the question before Bellatrix looked away, likely due to the constant poking from her younger cousin. Regulus followed Bellatrix's line of vision and looked at Kimberly confused but dismissed any thoughts he had and returned back to his conversation.

The uncomfortable loneliness seemed to resurge and Kimberly resumed picking at her food. Minutes stretched into what felt like hours and it seemed as though an infinity had passed as Kimberly waited for the feast to end.

Being shoved around by the other students made Kimberly regret wishing for it to end. Everyone was eager to get to their dorms, which accumulated into shoulders knocking and limbs flying haphazardly. This stopped when the prefects started forcing everyone into lines. One after another, they made their way back to the common room and to their dorms. Kimberly couldn't wait to get to her bed and try to sleep this nightmare away. Her tiredness caused her to stray behind and by the time she had reached the common room, it was practically empty.

Upon reaching the stairs to her dorm, Kimberly was confused to see her packed belongings lying on the bottom step. A crumpled piece of parchment caught her eye. Grasping it between her fingers, she raised it close to her face.

Good luck finding dorm mates that will put up with you, you fucking lesbo.

Tears built up and she choked back a sob. The teachers had all gone to their respective quarters and, besides, she wouldn't want to be a bother - or a snitch for that matter. That would just make the situation worse. What was she supposed to do? Panic was starting to rise along with bile up the back of her throat as her foot began to bounce on the floor. She couldn't just go up into the dorm anyways, she wasn't welcome and Kimberly didn't think she could handle much more tonight.

She sniffled before taking in a deep breath. She crumpled the note in her hand, shoved it into her pocket and grabbed her stuff.

Trying to be quiet, Kimberly weaved around the dimly lit corridors. She didn't know what she was doing or where she was going. Although she regretted her irrational behaviour, there was no turning back now.

So here Kimberly was, wandering aimlessly as she pulled her belongings along with her. God, Kimberly thought, I must look like such an idiot.

Eventually, she decided to give up on her search. She knew it was a dumb idea but she couldn't think of anything better. And so Kimberly started hauling her stuff up the stairs to the astronomy tower. It was the only place she could think of where she would be completely alone - astronomy lessons didn't start until the second week of term and everyone was always far too tired to come up here after the feast.