The Outcasts Of Hogwarts

Chapter 6 Foreign Arrivals

Kim watched Amaris drool onto her half finished homework and sighed. Despite the ink starting to run and stain her face, Kim didn't have the heart to wake her up. And she wasn't entirely sure she would be able to, Amaris had somehow lasted through her morning lessons but she had passed out almost instantly now that it was lunch time. Kim was amazed she'd been able to stay awake this long considering she hadn't slept at all the night before. But then maybe Gryffindore's needed less sleep so they could have more parties in their Common Room.

Kim studied Amaris's face, noticing another cut just below the ear to go with the ones on her hands. They were barely more than grazes, due to brambles or branches during the night, nothing like how they had found her only two months ago. Kim eased the essay from under Amaris's cheek, replacing it with her robe that had been hanging on the back of her chair. No need to wake her up yet, Kim just hoped that sleeping this way wouldn't make her any more stiff.

Amaris continued to be sore and exhausted for several more days but she spent every moment she was awake trying  to explain her full moon experience. Most of it made very little sense to Kim but the grin on Amaris's face told you everything you needed to know. Amaris was once again her complete self and that, at least, was a feeling Kim could relate to.

Amaris recovered and life at Hogwarts continued as it always had. Kim went to lessons and she sat with her friends at their table in the Library, they would do their homework together and read. Of course, it wasn't exactly the same as it had always been, now that Amaris was part of the group. Now, they would sometimes sit outside during lunch or play cards instead of doing work. 

But the main thing Kim noticed was that they all talked more, Amaris would sit and talk about creatures she'd seen and she brought that out in the boys too. Matt had always made references to muggle pop culture but now he would rant on about the film making of some specific franchise and Amaris would sit and listen, eagerly. And she'd somehow gotten Steffan to talk about his homelife, though only in vague off hand comments, which had never happened before. But then Kim couldn't be surprised by that, as she had also told Amaris many personal things after only knowing her a short time.

Amaris just had that effect on people and Kim could hardly complain, their friend group had certainly had a Gryffindor shaped hole in it. The only problem was that it made Kim aware of how little she usually spoke. 

This was specifically noticeable when Professor Moody began his Imperius Curse lessons. Matt was too shocked to speak or at least he claimed to be before beginning a rant about how he knew Muggle schools were bad sometimes but that Hogwarts was just ridiculous. Amaris expressed her anger with less eloquence but no quieter, Kim sensed that she was covering up her fear. It seemed she had had this happen before. Steffan ended the conversation when he was asked if he'd been able to resist the spell.

“Yes, like Amaris, this wasn't my first lesson in this but I chose not to," he said casually.

“You- you chose not to resist?” Matt said, bewildered, “Why on earth would you do that?”

“Unwanted attention,” he said simply.

“Is it difficult to not resist once you know how?” Amaris asked.

“Not really,” Steffan said, “it's a trick I learnt a long time ago, for you see, there are three Unforgivable Curses. Once I was seen to master resisting the first one, they would have moved onto the next one.”

Definitely a conversation ender. So Kim contributed nothing to it, just sat there chewing on her sleeve. She hadn't had anything she'd wanted to add but she still felt as though she ought to have done. It was pointless paranoia to think that the others would stop liking her if she didn't talk more but it was difficult to dismiss.