Aletheia

Saturday came quickly, with few things to distract Aletheia. Atalanta didn't talk about her detention and Aletheia didn't want to push her. Sirius got an E on his exam, which he was very excited about. Remus got an O, naturally. He said that he and Lily Evans were also invited to join the Slug Club on Saturday. Aletheia wasn't sure she really wanted to third wheel with Remus and Atalanta, but then she remembered that Atalanta wasn't interested in Remus, at least that she had told Aletheia. 

It was a formal event, so Alethia picked something nice to wear. As she was putting it on, she couldn't help but think that, or hope that, Sirius might see her on the way and compliment her. She shook the thoughts away and continued getting ready. She did her makeup as a magical curling iron curled her hair. It was a nifty invention her dormmate managed to come up with. All the girls in her dorm room were going to the slug club meeting, which wasn't unheard of for Ravenclaws. A few of the boys were going as well. It seemed the entirety of Ravenclaw house was going to be there. 

"You look great, Ale!" Sofia Cornwell squealed with glee. 

"Are you dressing up for someone special?" Zenna Quill asked with a wink. 

"Stop, you guys." Aletheia blushed. 

"I know that Lupin will be there," Cleo Senatra said, waving wrinkles out of her dress with her wand. 

"Yeah, he will be," Aletheia said. "What about it?"

"You'd be a cute couple!" Danyelle Valentine said with a smile, stabbing her wand into her hair to keep her bun up. 

"Oh no, Remus is just a friend," Aletheia said, returning to her makeup. 

"A very good friend," Sofia giggled. Aletheia rolled her eyes and flicked her wand. The pillow on Sofia's bed flew up and smacked her in the back of the head. "Ow!" 

"Suck it up, Sof," Zenna said with a laugh. "Anyway, I just can't wait to see what your grungy sister scrounged up for tonight." 

Aletheia laughed. 

"You'd be surprised, Zen. When Ata wants to, she dresses up like an angel." 

"Atalanta, an angel? Please." 

"Don't make fun of my sister," Aletheia said. The iron in her hair dropped a curling iron and pointed itself menacingly at Zenna. 

"Ale, what have I said about threatening people with Danyelle's inventions?" Cleo asked, hands on her hips. Aletheia sighed. 

"Not to do it." 

"And Zen, what have I said about making fun of Atalanta?"

"Don't do it unless you want to be threatened by Aletheia."

"Right. Why don't you two listen to me more often?" 

"Guys!" Sofia jumped off the bed, checking the watch on her wrist. "We need to go!" 

"Alright. I'm done. We can leave." 

Aletheia didn't run into Sirius on the way to the Slug Club meeting. She was only slightly disappointed. She and her three friends stepped into the meeting. Everyone was already there except them and, of course, Atalanta. Aletheia set her jaw as she sat down beside Remus. 

"Where is my sister?" She muttered to him. 

"I was just going to ask you the same question," he murmured back. Aletheia tried to force a smile. 

"Where is Atalanta?" Sofia whispered. 

"I don't know," Aletheia replied. It was never good news when Atalanta was late to something. She was usually always on time. 

"I should go find her," Aletheia said after waiting a few minutes to see if she would come. She started to stand, but Remus grabbed her wrist. 

"Wait. I think you should stay."

"But my sister-"

"She can take care of herself, Al." 

Aletheia slowly sat back down. She began to eat the salad that was in front of her, but worry for her sister turned it to lead in her stomach. When the door finally opened a few minutes later, Aletheia finally felt herself relax. 

Atalanta sat in the empty chair on the other side of Remus. 

"Where were you?" Remus whispered to her quietly. Aletheia strained to hear Atalanta's answer. 

"Don't worry about it." Atalanta's voice was not like her usual voice. There was something going on, but Aletheia didn't want to force her to talk in front of all these people. Aletheia knew it would just make her panic and when Atalanta panics, it doesn't end well for anyone. 

The night went relatively well after that. Slughorn kept them engaged in conversation. They ate good food and had an overall good time. Aletheia never stopped worrying about Atalanta, but there were times where she could think about something else. 

It wasn't until the end of the meeting that Aletheia realized that Atalanta was staring at Alexis Flint, who was sitting beside Sirius' younger brother, Regulus. Atalanta wasn't just staring at her. She was continually killing her with her eyes. As soon as they were released, Aletheia went up to grab hold of Atalanta, but the girl was already gone, going after Alexis. 

"Where is she going?" Remus asked Aletheia. 

"Alexis," was all Aletheia had to say and Remus was sprinting after Atalanta. Aletheia went after them. 

"Ata! Ata, stop!" Remus called after Aletheia's sister. She was just a few yards ahead of them, but Aletheia knew there was no stopping Atalanta. Not when she was this angry. She wondered how the girl had sat through the entirety of Slug Club without flipping the table and decking Alexis right there. Aletheia just wondered what it was that Alexis had done now. 

Alexis and Regulus were just ahead of them, talking quietly to each other. Aletheia couldn't remember seeing them talking before this night. Atalanta was definitely going after them. Remus and Aletheia weren't fast enough to get to Atalanta before she tackled Alexis to the ground. Alexis screamed and wailed before Atalanta even started hitting her. 

Remus grabbed Atalanta by the waist and pulled her off of Alexis, though she was still flailing her arms and Alexis was still screaming. Regulus stood with his back against the stone wall. 

"Ata, calm down!" Remus growled in her ear. 

"He's a kid, you bitch! He's just a kid!" Atalanta screamed at Alexis, face contorted into a look of fury. Alexis pulled out her wand and pointed it at Atalanta and Remus. Aletheia pulled out her own wand and pointed it right back. 

"Don't, Flint," Aletheia warned. "You know I beat your arse in dueling club. Don't make me do it again in front of everyone." 

Alexis sneered at her. 

"Are you going to take points away from her? She attacked me!" 

"Technically, I wasn't dueling," Atalanta seethed, not taking her eyes off of Alexis. 

"She has a point," Remus added. 

"I don't care!" Alexis shrieked. "I want her punished!" 

"How about you don't tell anyone about this and I won't tell anyone that my sister decked you and beat you up muggle style? How's that?" Aletheia asked, her hand shaking just slightly. She prayed that Alexis would fall for her bluff. Alexis huffed and stalked away. Regulus stayed pressed against the wall. 

Atalanta pulled herself out of Remus' grip and stepped toward Regulus. 

"You're Sirius' friend," he said, breathing heavily. Atalanta nodded. 

"You don't have to do anything with her just because she asks you to, you know," Atalanta said, her voice now quiet. 

"I know. She said we were just going to talk."

"Alexis Flint says a lot of things." 

"Go to bed, kid," Remus said, nodding his head down the hall. Regulus dipped his head and veered away from them. As soon as Regulus was gone, Atalanta's anger seemed to return. She turned away from Remus and Aletheia, a hand on her hip.

"Ata-"

Atalanta's hand shot up, stopping Remus from speaking any further. Her hand shook with adrenaline. Aletheia pocketed her wand and stepped toward her sister. She swatted her hand away and grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing Atalanta to face her. 

"What the bloody hell was that?" Aletheia asked. Atalanta avoided her eyes, so Aletheia snapped in front of her face. "Hey! What was that?" 

Atalanta huffed angrily. 

"I heard the girls in my dorm talking about Flint while I was getting ready. They said she was going to try to take Regulus tonight after Slug Club," Atalanta said, her fingers curling and whitening. Remus groaned and dropped his head into his hands. 

"Take him? Take him where? Like, kidnap him?" Aletheia asked. Atalanta shook her head and almost smiled at her innocence. 

"No, Al. Take him, as in sleep with him."

Realization dawned on Aletheia. 

"I understand. That's why you were saying that he was just a kid." 

"He's too young for that. Hell, Flint is too young for that," Remus added. 

"Exactly. I didn't know what else to do. I thought I should just scare her away from him and that might work out."

"Well, it did. Now, let's get you to bed. No more brawling."

"I'm not so sure they'll let me sleep peacefully in my bed tonight."

"You're right," Remus stepped in. "You can sleep in the Gryffindor Dorm."

"You don't think a bunch of Gryffindors will care if they wake up and find a Slytherin in their Common Room?" Atalanta asked sarcastically. 

"No, you're coming with me. The girls won't care if you bunk over tonight." 

Atalanta smiled and hugged her sister. 

"I love you, Al." 

"I love you, too, Ata."

The two separated from Remus as they headed toward the Ravenclaw Common Room. Atalanta stood partially behind Aletheia as she answered the question the portrait asked. Aletheia lead Atalanta through the beautiful Common Room. It wasn't the first time that Atalanta had spent the night with her, but Aletheia still felt a burst of pride as her sister admired her Common Room. 

Aletheia stepped into her room, Atalanta trailing behind her. The other three girls were still awake, waiting for Aletheia. 

"Ale!" Sofia yelled when Aletheia entered. 

"Where did you run off to after the party?" Zenna asked, crossing her arms. 

"I had to find my sister," Aletheia, glancing back at Atalanta. Atalanta stood, stiff as a board, staring straight ahead at a wall. Aletheia looked to Cleo, who was not looking at either of them. She pleaded with her friend with her eyes. 

"She can stay with us for the night. But remember, Ale, your sister cannot sleep over here every time she has a problem with her Slytherin friends," Cleo said. Aletheia dipped her head. 

"I know, Cleo. Thank you." 

"I thought you were supposed to be the Prefect," Atalanta whispered almost mockingly. 

"I am," Aletheia whispered back. 

"Then why are you taking orders from her?"

Aletheia didn't reply. 

Cleo had always been the leader of the five of them. She had watched out for Danyelle, Sofia, Zenna, and Aletheia since the beginning. She made sure they were eating three meal. She made sure they were doing their homework. She would check their homework and help them if they needed. She made sure they were in bed at a reasonable time and woke them up at the same time every morning so now they couldn't not wake up at 6:45 am. The other four always looked to her for approval because of it. 

But Cleo was quiet. She didn't talk much in class. She had all O's, but she didn't make a big deal about it. Flitwick barely knew her name. He didn't know enough about her to make her 5th year Prefect, which is why Aletheia was. 

She slipped into bed and Atalanta followed after her. There was not much room in the bed for one person, let alone two, but the two had been doing this since 1st year. It didn't bother them anymore. 

"Goodnight," Aletheia called out to the other girls. They all replied with goodnights. Danyelle clapped her hands and the lights went out. 

It'll be okay. Aletheia smiled at her sister. 

"I know," Atalanta whispered back. "I just want to sleep." 

Goodnight. 

"Goodnight." 

Atalanta

There was always the fear that when Atalanta woke up, everybody would have heard about what happened the night before and decided to hate her. The fear came around every time she did something 'against the rules'. Even if she had forgotten to turn in an essay, she would wake up and expect the entire school to be against her.

If Flint told everyone about what happened last night, it would be like first year all over again. Atalanta wasn't sure she could handle that. Aside from Aletheia, only one of Atalanta's friends stuck with her after what happened, and even now, that friend was drifting.

Atalanta didn't want to open her eyes. She didn't want to face the possibility that everyone hated her.

"Hey, Ata," Aletheia whispered. "I'm getting up. I'm going to meet Remus so we can review."

Atalanta slowly opened her eyes.

"I guess that means that I have to get up, too." Atalanta sat up. "What time is it?"

"7:00. You should go to your Common Room and change. Your dress is wrinkled," Aletheia said. Atalanta sighed and stood, trying to flatten out the wrinkles in her dress with her hands.

"I'll see you later?" Atalanta asked. Aletheia nodded. She grabbed her bag, already dressed and ready for her day. Atalanta smiled at her sister, silently wishing she could be more like her. Atalanta and Aletheia left the room and then walked silently through the Common Room.

They parted ways. Aletheia turned the corridor to the library and Atalanta started a slow walk toward the Slytherin Common Room. She took a deep breath as she walked up to the statue. The snake gazed down at her and it's emerald eyes glowed. The door behind it slowly slid open and Atalanta stepped inside.

Some might think that the Slytherin Common Room, placed so close to the dungeons, would be cold. However, a constantly roaring fire kept the room warm. Where the Ravenclaw Common Room had a low ceiling with a beautiful, moving painting of the night sky, the Slytherin Common Room had high ceilings. Vast windows covered the entire eastern and southern wall. The water of the Black Lake was murky, but the sheer number of creatures and plants were still clear to see.

Chairs sat before the windows with tables beside them good for books and homework. Atalanta spent a lot of time in front of the windows, watching the creatures float by. She liked to listen to the sound of the water against the castle high above them. Something magical made it so they could hear the animals as they spoke to each other. The waves and the distant calls helped Atalanta sleep when all she could hear was the emptiness of Flint's thoughts.

On her way to her dorm, Atalanta paused before the windows. She watched a grindylow swim by. She smiled and carried on. She knocked on the door of her dorm before entering. When no one replied, she pushed her mind out into the room, looking for the sound of sleeping people. She didn't hear the gap where Flint would be sleeping, so she at least wasn't there to mock her.

Atalanta felt Poppy and Cordelia, still asleep. Stephanie was also gone. Atalanta pushed the door open and stepped inside. She tiptoed across the ground to grab her things. She changed into a more casual outfit quickly and slipped back out before either girl woke up. 

***

Hey y'all! So I know I said I would be giving you more of Aletheia and I tried, yet it still somehow became about Atalanta. The end part was mostly filler. I do want to delve a little bit deeper into Aletheia and focus less on Ata, but I'm way too attached to Ata already. 

Anyway, I love you all very very much! Thank you for sticking around with me. 

also, I loved Fantastic Beasts it was so good!

lumos