purge the air of pestilence (open)

After lessons were over for the day, Lien remained behind in the classroom. Professor Riddle had left, the other students had left, and he was left alone to brood. He put his elbows on the desk and his fingers through his hair, then removed his glasses to massage his eyes irritably.

What had happened in the greenhouse with the Veela girl was still very fresh in his mind. What was intended to be a confirmation of manhood had the exact opposite effect, and if anyone found out about it, the jeers of his classmates would only grow louder. He felt sick, desperate, wanting to prove to himself and others that he wasn't pathetic, that he didn't like men and he was at least half decent in bed.

These were exactly the sorts of things he should never have got caught up in. He should have kept his head down, kept to his studies and not involve himself with others...

Lilith was gathering her stuff in her bag as the other students left. When she was finished, she noticed someone still lingered behind. She realized it was Chang and sighed softly. The poor guy. He had so much drama going on simply because he fucked Nott. She walked over to him, "Hey. You good?" He looked far from good.

@Lien Chang

He heard a girl's voice, and inwardly cringed. He thought everyone had already left! Hurriedly, he replaced his glasses onto the bridge of his nose.

"I'm fine," he lied flatly, not looking at her.

She was in the year below him and he believed she was Discordia's sister. Or half sister. Or something like that. He'd never bothered to find out. He just knew that family were very strange.

@Lilith Lestrange

"You don't look fine. Oh, also I want to apologize for my older sister. I heard she tried to... Well she thought she was fixing you.... But yeah." She rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled nervously, "You know classes are over right? Should probably get to the common room." She looked at him and gave him a weak smile.

@Lien Chang

"That sounds like an apology you've given before," he commented, thinking that there was very little sincerity behind it. It wasn't like it mattered anyway. It wasn't her fault that her sister had a peculiar fetish.

"I'm fine staying here," he said, sighing, "Being alone suits me just fine. It always has."

He looked through his notes of the class.

@Lilith Lestrange

"I wish I could say it was my first time giving it. But it's really not. She did it to me once. That's why I have this scar." She said, lifting her bangs and shoving the scar above her left eyebrow. When he said he liked being alone, she frowned a bit, "No one enjoys being alone. They just settle for it because it's easier than interacting with people."

@Lien Chang

Lien looked at her as she indicated showing him a scar. It was rather ugly. He almost felt bad for her that it was on her face, otherwise she would be very pretty.

"Is there a difference?" he asked, "I'm just fed up with people poking their noses into my business. Before I started dating Alayna Nott and talking to James Potter, I could keep relatively under the radar." He gave her a stern look. "And yes it was just talking."

He hated the assumptions surrounding that the most.

@Lilith Lestrange

"Yes there is a difference. You're a smart boy. You'll figure that out one day." She could understand being tired of being stared at like some zoo animal. She raised an eyebrow when he said he and James had only been talking, "I didn't think otherwise. You don't really seem... Well, you know, gay? Not that James did either." She had a thought in her head and she just had to know, "Do you miss her?"

@Lien Chang

Lien narrowed his eyes. He didn't like being mocked like that.

"Miss who?"

His thoughts were still on James, and he was caught off guard. Of course she was talking about Alayna, who else was she talking about?

"Oh. Not really," he said, "It's not like we were going out for very long." It was none of her bloody business if he missed Alayna or not. He'd thought about the times they had spent together, but it had mainly been a physical attraction he'd had to her. He still thought she was a bitch.

@Lilith Lestrange

She gave him a look that said it should be obvious. Ah, he got there. "Oh that's a shame. I heard she misses you. Then again, you're a sweet guy. It'd be hard not to miss you." She said, her tone very straight forward. "It may have not been long. But it had to be serious for you guys to lose your virginity to each other. Well, maybe not for you. It usually isn't that serious for guys. But for girls, it's pretty serious."

@Lien Chang

What was with all these girls flirting with him all of a sudden? Perhaps it was the nurturing of the victim thing he'd heard about. Girls feeling sympathetic to the under dog, and wanting to pity snog them. Lien frowned a little bit.

"That's really none of your business," he said sharply, annoyed by her audacity. "I don't need your pity, or your opinions. Who do you think you are, making assumptions on things that you have had no insight to, nothing to base off of other than petty gossip? It's always you girls as well. You're all just a bunch of- of..."

He couldn't quite continue with his outburst, but his hands were shaking as he clutched at his quill. When he released it, it was broken.

@Lilith Lestrange

Lilith looked at him, unphased by his anger and sharp tongue. "Trust me. I don't pity anyone." She said, and it was true. She very rarely did show others any form of pity or kindness. But she was trying to be a better person lately. She raised an eyebrow as he began stuttering over his sentence, "Were all a bunch of what. Go on. Finish the damn sentence."

@Lien Chang

"You're all bitches." He said it resolutely, firmly, as though this knowledge was something of a revelation to him. That's right. They were all just bitches. It made him feel better to say it out loud.

@Lilith Lestrange

Lilith couldn't help but laugh. That was hilarious to her, for some unknown reason but she did know that she couldn't stop laughing, "Oh honey. Welcome to Hogwarts. We're all a little bitchy here. Even you are with your wallowing in self pity because people are actually paying attention to you now."

@Lien Chang

Lien watched her laugh. It was a little unsettling to say the least, but he believed he had just confirmed his theory.

"Oh, so I'm wallowing now? I thought I was sweet."

He laughed bitterly.

"Just shut up."

@Lilith Lestrange

"You are sweet. Normally. But right night you're wallowing like a toddler who lost his favorite toy. And it's not an attractive look on you." She said, crossing her arms over her chest, "You know, I don't think I will. I'm not normal one to keep quiet just because a man tells me to."

@Lien Chang

"Then perhaps I can make you."

He stood up, grabbed his wand out from his pocket, and pointed it at her.

"Silencio."

@Lilith Lestrange

Lilith raised an eyebrow. Make her? How could he make her. Then he was standing and reaching for his wand. She quickly removed hers from her sleeve casting a quick blocking charm. Thankfully, she was just the slightest bit quicker than him. "Are you out of your fucking mind?" He was really going to use magic on her like that? "Wow. Nott and Potter really messed you up."

@Lien Chang

Lien narrowed his eyes. He felt his hand shaking slightly. All the frustration he had felt over the last few days had boiled over the surface, and he couldn't control it. The rage towards this girl - a relatively unknown stranger - was white hot and piercing through his skin. He just wanted to rip her stupid head off!

"Flippendo!"

Apparently her words weren't having much of an effect on him.

@Lilith Lestrange

Lilith was starting to worry. He really wanted to hurt her? She tightened the grip she had on her wand as she was knocked backwards. She felt her back hit the wall and felt a pain in her head. She groaned a bit before raising her wand, "expelliarmus." She didn't want to hurt him. Just disarm him.

@Lien Chang

It was strange how seeing someone being flung against the wall was satisfying.

Lien's wand went flying out of his hand, but he managed to catch it back. The stumble probably lost him a bit of time, but he was walking to the girl with his wand raised: a look of determination creasing through his brow.

"Confringo!" he directed his spell at the wall behind her.

@Lilith Lestrange

Lilith had a moment of hope when he lost his wand but it was gone quickly as he caught it. Damn it. He was walking towards her, like a pissed off hippogriff. She raised her wand, "Stupefy." But he had sent a spell at the wall. She tried to jump out of the way but a huge piece of stone fell on her leg and took her out. She cried out in pain as she hit the floor, her leg pinned down, "Ow! Fuck!" She cried as she tried to tug her leg out from under the huge boulder.

@Lien Chang

While he'd seen part of the wall split apart and tumble down upon her, he barely flinched when he heard a crack of her leg. Blood gushed out from somewhere. The corner of his mouth flickered.

Serves her right... said a nasty voice in his head. A smile curled on his mouth...

But then reality came back down as a shock wave: what was he doing, just standing there? He had hurt someone, he had done that! Lien turned paler as he swallowed, sweat beads forming at his temples. This wasn't good. If someone found out about it...

"You're fine," he said breathlessly, levitating the stone off from her leg and kneeling at her side. "It's fine. It's nothing," he went on desperately, feeling short of breath.

@Lilith Lestrange

Lilith had tears flowing down her face as the pain worsened. She couldn't reach her own wand to get it off of her. Then he was beside her and the stone was off her leg. She tried to move away from him. But when she tried to move her leg she screamed. She looked down at it and immediately felt nauseous. Was that bone? "please...." She wanted to ask him not to hurt her again, but she was scared. She needed to get to healer Ashton.

@Lien Chang

Lien stood up, swallowing, stepping back from her. That fear in her eyes: he'd never seen that before.

But why is it so good?

Urgh. He turned away.

"Just... don't move. I'll get someone."

But did he really want to confess to what he did? His heart was hammering against his chest. He didn't want to get in trouble for this. That was all he needed. Perhaps if he just... tipped someone off about it. Someone who would be too thick to put two and two together...

Louis.

"Stay there," he repeated, heading for the Head Boy's dormitory.

@Lilith Lestrange