unhinged ↠ 𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞

twenty nine

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alright, fess up, who the hecking heck taught g*bby how to shift?
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Memories are tricky things, because they can be deceitful

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Kitioma Hadlee

         "You what?!" Marlene hisses.

"I kissed him!" I mumble for the eighth time.

Marlene looks close to tears. Her face is white, her hands trembling. "Did- oh no, oh my God- did he-" She runs her hand through her tangled hair, her breaths shaky and panicked.

"Are you..." I trail off, examining her with furrowed eyebrows. "Are you jealous?"

Her face turns to mine and she shakes her head. "No, no, nothing like that, it's just...he's going to murder me, he's going to take his anger out because he can't...he can't-"

"Hold up," I raise my hand. "Hold on, you said he's going to murder you? Uh, no, a student would not murder someone, that doesn't happen."

"That's where you're wrong, Kiki!" She almost sobs, her hands shaking. "He killed Kane, he got rid of Sam, and I was supposed to make sure this didn't happen. I don't know what he was thinking last night, I wasn't thinking, I was half-drunk. God, I knew I shouldn't have drunk anything!" She pounds her fist into her head, an abusive way of chiding herself.

I grab her arm, and I realise she's shaking so much she's probably on the verge of a panic attack. "Marlene! Marlene, chill, no one's going to kill you. Are you ok?"

"No!" She sobs into her arms. "No! I'm not ok, he's going to kill me and then you and my brother and everyone! Do you know why you can't remember anything? It's not because you went to Azkaban, it's because he wanted you to forget about Kane and him and everything!"

"W-what?" I murmur, slowly backing away from the sobbing girl. "What are you talking about...?"

"He loved you, Kiki!" She cries.

I freeze. "Marlene...what the...what are you talking out?"

"He loved you and we have to suffer the consequences! He has the entire school under his control, he gave them all fake memories and wiped your own because he can't accept the damn fact that he fell in love with someone. The only people who remember what you were like before are me, Sam, my brother...and- and only a few other people!"

"S-Sam?"

"He's still alive. Being tortured," She sniffs, wiping her nose. "But very much alive. And my brother," She sighs. "And Ally. They all know. They all know about you, about Tom..." She sniffs again. "About everything...well, only the stuff he tells us. We've all been undercover, working for him to get you..."

"You...you stole my memories because he loved me?! That makes no sense!" I start backing away a lot faster, ready to go avada kedavra a certain someone, but Marlene catches her on the arm. Flashbacks from our first fight flash into my head and I shove her off, punching her in the nose as I do so. She stumbles back, clutching her nose with choked sobs coming out of her shaking body.

"Kiki, please! He'll kill me, he'll kill you, he'll kill everyone! Sure, he can kill me, but not my brother! Not Xavier, I can't lose him, not like I lost my dad!"

"Yeah, well," I snarl. "If you're dead, than you can't feel bad for your brother's death, too."

She stares at me, silent tears running down her face. "Ok," She finally says. "Ok. I get it, you're mad. But please, this is my life and his life you're juggling. Think about it, Kiki."

I grab my backpack, accio my belongings, shrink them, and look Marlene over as I sling it over my back. "Sure. I'll think about it. In someplace far away from here. If you took my memories, I'm getting them back."

I storm out of the dorm rooms, people looking at me curiously as I push my way through the hallways.

Each one of them has been brainwashed, according to Marlene. Given fake memories, just like me. Lost memories...just like me.

I arrive at the classroom I am looking for.

"Ay yo McGonagall!" I yell into her class, interrupting a class of first years.

"Yes, Miss...Hadlee, I believe?"

"Yep. I'm going to walk out of Hogwarts and never come back, alright? Alright, you can give my dorm away."

She blinks, and the first years snicker as if this is a joke. "Miss Hadlee, you can't-"

"Watch me," I hoist my backpack on my shoulder and close her door, taking off into a steady run towards the Astronomy Tower.

I hear shouts from behind me, but I don't turn back. I pull out my wand. Do I remember the spells I will need for this?

Hmm...how to jump off of a tower without splattering to my death?

I race up the steps, my wand out, my backpack swung over my shoulder. Eventually, I reach the top and without a moment's hesitation for whoever they sent to catch me, I throw myself over the Astronomy Tower railing.

The falling sensation feels familiar, though I do not know why.

I quickly hold up my wand and yell a levitation spell onto my backpack as I fall. It jerks me to a stop in midair, and I slowly drift, hanging in the air like some sort of weird, twisted bird.

I probably look amazing right now. Like a goddess, hanging onto her backpack-

Fuck it.

I drop down, my backpack's charm floating off with the wind. I land on the rocks bordering Hogwarts, far away from the grounds, far away from anything, really.

Ow.

I stumble on the rocks, twisting my ankle, bursts of pain shooting through my foot. I wince, and pull out my wand.

"Episkey."

It does nothing.

I frown.

"Episkey!"

Still nothing. What the hell? Isn't it supposed to, oh, I dunno, heal my wounds?

I huff in exasperation. So here I am. My memories gone. A traitorous friend. An ex-boyfriend being tortured and a boy who is literally insane after my blood.

He was in love with me?

Huh.

Weirdo.

I drag my leg across the rocks, then realise I'm barely getting five inches in ten minutes. I frown, then wave my wand at the rocks in front of me. They clear off the ground, leaving a space no larger than a compact truck.

So, very large.

I wave my wand again and a tent pops up from the ground.

Seriously? I can make a whole tent from the ground but I can't fix a minor leg injury?

I groan, but make my way into the tent, which is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. It is simple, though, with a bed, table, and tiny, compact kitchen.

Fancy.

I sigh, then fall onto the bed. So now I'm on the run.

Couldn't the professors just, oh, I don't know, teleport into my tent and drag me back there?

I laugh to myself. To be honest, they probably don't even care.

The pillow is cold when I fall asleep.

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