❛ as if one of our long shots paid off ! ❜ act one . . . chapter twenty-four
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𝐓he end of something is one of the hardest things to face in our lives. The end of a party, the end of a school year, but the end of a life will always be the hardest one. It may take days, weeks, months, or even years to move on from someone's death. The mourning will take over us, the pain of losing someone we truly cared about, even if we don't know the person too well. Loss is a loss, it will affect us in many different ways.
Death was inevitable. A mantra that goes on inside her mind. Three words that parents don't tell their kids about. Yet it was something Azumi got used to hear, mainly because the demons had infected her mind and the angels whispering sweet things in her ears were no longer in sight. Those demons try to fight her will to live rather than encourage her to live like the angels used to do.
She never realized how messed up she was until she noticed how easily she became unfazed by the fact that Cedric Diggory was now dead. Buried six deep under, rotting away until he was only brittle bones, moths, and worms eating away whatever was left of him. As cruel and gruesome as that sounds, it was the truth, and once a person is dead, there is simply no coming back from it.
When Azumi entered the Great Hall, she saw that the usual decorations were missing, it almost seemed empty. Instead of banners with each House color, there were black drapes on the wall behind the teacher's table. A mark of respect for Cedric. She assumed. Glancing around the teacher's table, she noticed the real Mad-Eye Moody was now sitting on his chair, although one person was missing. Professor Karkaroff, Durmstrang's headmaster.
From what she'd heard from Harry; the Mad-Eye Moody who had been teaching them from the start wasn't the real one, it was Barty Crouch Jr. under the disguise using a Polyjuice potion. It made her feel better about blowing up on him in that one class. As for Karkaroff, she heard he was one of Voldemort's followers. He fled because he was afraid to face the Dark Lord whom he had once served, but never did anything to bring him back like the coward he was.
Last year, Azumi was just being hated because of what she was back in Mahoutokoro, and now that she was at Hogwarts—it only seemed like everything just got ten times worse. But somehow, she would take it rather than go back to her old home and suffer with the memories she once knew. A lot of things have changed, and they will keep changing until she takes her very last breath.
Azumi rushed towards the Slytherin table, head slightly up but never in an arrogant way, simply receiving every judgmental look she got without care. She refuses to be affected by their puny opinions. A certain sixth-year boy smiled upon seeing her, waving his hand, gesturing her to sit beside him, and without a word, she plopped down on the space between him and some other Durmstrang students. Before they could greet each other 'hello', Dumbledore stood up from his chair, the Great Hall becoming very quiet.
