The Art Of Dissimulation

Chapter 7

                                                                                         Chapter Seven

                                                                          "Nobody thinks what I think,

                                                                      Nobody dreams when they blink,

                                                              Think things on the brink of blasphemy,

                                                                                    I am my own shrink"

                                                                         Kitchen Sink- Twenty One Pilots

                                                                                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Christmas holidays rolled to a close and Mia found her self sitting alone in a carriage on the Hogwarts express; brown curls falling in-front of her face. A book of Famous wizards open on her lap. Mia had spent New Years with the Grangers after leaving the Malfoys the day after the ball (Narcissa putting the glamour charms on her moments before she left). Mia couldn't remember a time when she had been so happy- with the Malfoys and the Grangers she was loved unconditionally. Though it was still hard- playing two lives. She wondered if it would ever get easier- if one day Hesperia and Hermione would fade away and all that would be left was Mia.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the train pulling to a stop, Mia exited the carriage and started the walk up to the castle alone. Among the crowd of people milling about the platform, she spotted a head of white hair but it was only for a second. She felt the urge to call for Draco- to run to her brothers side and throw caution to the wind. Deal with the consequences later- but a gripping fear kept her legs moving and her lips sealed shut.

The conversation she and Draco had overheard (what seemed like forever ago now) still kept her awake at night. Before coming to Hogwarts, Mia had grown reliant on Draco. He could sense when she couldn't sleep at night. Something in the back of his mind keeping him awake and telling him that she needed him. At Hogwarts- they were kept apart. Though Harry and Ron had helped without even meaning to; insomnia still kept her a prisoner. Night after night she would find herself waking up in a cold sweat thinking of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Of what it would mean for Harry if he did come back. Of what it would mean for her. What it would mean if Hermione Granger was no longer a mask but the face she wore everyday.

By the time Mia reached the Gryffindor tower she had sufficiently lost her appetite and neglected going down to the great hall for dinner. Instead curling up in a ball near the fire. Time seemed to pass in slow motion. Glassy eyed she watched the flames lick at the logs inside the fireplace. She had yet to find any information on Nicolas Flamel and the stress was building. Not for the first time she wondered if befriending Harry Potter had been a mistake. Her own problems were bad enough without adding his baggage on top. Sighing loudly she let her head fall into her hands. Her eyes stinging painfully from the tears that she refused to let fall.

It was so easy to be strong when she had Harry or Draco by her side. She suddenly thought back to all the times she had seen Harry in the exact same position she was in now and a new wave of guilt and grief washed over her. She never wanted Harry to feel like this.

Suddenly the portrait door flew open and a chorus of laughter and chatter filled the Gryffindor common room. Hastily Mia rubbed her eyes and turned to see her fellow class mates filter in. Almost immediately after entering Ron's eyes caught hers and he grabbed Harry and dragged him to where Mia was sitting in the armchair.