The Farland Files

Exhibit C: Petrified Students Of Equal Standing

A/N: I think of Dumbledore in this story as like that one grandparent you really like, but who is totally unaware of modern social ques and slightly delusional :) He's okay in my book, plus, I think it's funny to imagine him ice skating like a pro ^-^

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Lena disregarded the stares and whispers behind her back, but she drew the line at stepping in her path when all she wanted was to get breakfast. Staring blankly at the older Hufflepuff boy in her way, she licked her lips slightly. "Please move."

"You're not going to sink this school to madness and terror, Farland! If you dare to touch any of the students-"

"If you are already blaming me for this based on absolutely no proof then this school has already sunk to madness. Now, if you would step out of my way, I would like to get my breakfast without a fight."

The boy sneered, getting closer to her, his taller figure looming over her. "Where do you get off on this Farland? Seeing everyone else so distraught while you don't even have a hair out of place?"

She gave him a thin smile. "Glad you like my hair this morning. Daphne Greengrass did it for me." Then with a small put-out sigh when the boy just glowered, she slipped around him. "Guess I'll go around you then, as I'm about out of patience."

A hand grabbed her wrist, the place where his skin touched her feeling like itchy wool being wrapped too tight around her, and she had her wand to his throat in an instant.

His frame stilled.

"Do not. Touch me. Ever again." As soon as the boy released her she was stalking away from him into the Great Hall, using every step to the Slytherin table to reforge her ice-cold demeanor and iron grip on her emotions.

Thankfully, a mug of hot chocolate was waiting for her when she sat down.

God bless house-elves.

"Woke up on the wrong side of the armchair? Or is it the headache?" Theo, Blaise, Marcus, and Daphne sat down around her, eyes all watching her closely. Marcus smiled thinly. "Though you did put that fool in his place, I think the school might be even more terrified of you."

"I should just skip this year." Her voice was a low mutter.

Theo made a noise as if personally offended. "No! You can't let this- this nonsense drive you from Hogwarts!"

"And you did promise to help us with exams." Daphne sniffed. "You can't leave now or Theo would fail Defence." Theo and the girl glared at each other.

Blaise nodded. "Though if you do... Mother has already proposed the idea of just adopting you."

Lena snorted, giving into the idea of staying at the school and just riding this wave of mayhem out, as it was still a hundred times better than St. Judes.

Though she found herself regretting it when during Transfiguration, one of the Gryffindors purposefully asked about the Chamber of Secrets while the others glared at where she was trying to read.

McGonagall seemed to realize what was going on but just cleared her throat. "You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and... Salazar Slytherin." The woman's distaste for the founder of the house of snakes was obvious and it made Lena's hands clench on the table. "Now, three of the founders coexisted quite harmoniously. One did not."

"Three guesses who." The youngest male Weasley muttered sarcastically, glancing at her with narrowed eyes.

She put down her book, her concentration well and ruined, and just resigned herself to listening to the Professor speak.