Due to her height and the fact that she was far away, she couldn’t see over their shoulders, she decided to just ask, wanting to know what exaggerated problem they have now. What else could be worse than the Quarantine? Was the curfew moved to 10pm? Did R&R post something again? “Why are you all staring at that?” she had asked cheerfully, her right hand closing the portrait as she moved in further to the common room, “did someone die or something?” It had happened to fast for her to fully comprehend, at one moment she was watching them look at her horrified, slightly confused as to why they were looking at her like that. The next she saw Auri’s brown eyes glaring coldly at her and her tone harsh as she cursed and ordered her to read. Before she could reply or look hurt at the insults hurled at her, she was pushed by cold hands against the door frame, her back hitting it hard, her head slamming against the wooden object. What did she do this time? When she noticed that Auri was running away, her brown eyes staring at the departing girl’s figure as she ran up the stairs, she closed her eyes in frustration. She couldn’t understand what she did this time, and they really should have a talk about physically abusing her. Sure, Bai didn’t react much to pain but using her vampire strength was a bit too much. Her body was already stiff and broken from training and this was slowly adding up to her permanently aching body. 

“The fuck, Fonte..” she groaned, slowly standing up and wincing at her aching back. At least she didn’t dislocate her shoulder again, nor did she injure her spine.. well she just assumed that. Contemplating on seducing some stranger to massage her back, she followed her girlfriend’s instructions and walked to the paper they were looking at, tearing it from the notice board to fully check on it. Eyes narrowed as she read the letter and a null expression formed on her face, before her hand crumpled it and threw it away. Her fucking captain was gone. The only person she didn’t feel like murdering whenever she played a game. Yet another person gone in her life permanently. As soon as those words echoed throughout her mind, she looked at the open door where her gal left. The small joke she made had been said at the wrong time and Auri was running away from her, probably mad. When the thought crossed her mind, Bai began to ran, her body still aching from the pain the doorframe gave her, and the ache she got from training her body to its limits. Her legs felt like they were burning as she ran out of the dorm and to the stairs she saw Auri run to. She didn’t need this in her life right now. Bai wanted to mourn for her captain, her overly-protective mother hen, the guy who knew how to calm her down whenever she was pissed without resorting to candy, the guy who would punish her by making her play chaser in practice games whenever she pissed him off. She couldn’t mourn for that guy though. Not yet. Not when someone else seemed to be leaving her life yet again due to what she accidentally slipped out.

Bai knew the most about Auri’s ticks, that whenever her eyes narrowed a certain way it meant that she had to duck soon, that a small twitch on her left lip meant that she was amused or fond, that whenever she looked to the left meant that she was restraining to roll her eyes. With all that being said, and the fact that she knew where Auri was most of the time, she should have been able to find her, hit her a few times, and then leave to mourn for her captain. It didn’t happen though.

She had searched every single one of Auri’s favourite places by the first hour, she had searched Auri’s favorite hallways to go through by the second, she searched everywhere other place she knew around Hogwarts by the third hour, even outside. By the fourth hour, she was getting more desperate, by asking other people where she might be and grabbing their collars when they hesitated to reply. Her body ached all the way, and there were times she would fall down and collapse around a hallway, too tired to stand up. She would force her body to stand up though, desperate to finish finding her gal. 

By fifth, she was slamming them against the walls whenever they didn’t reply fast enough, and she was already shouting at the top of her lungs as she walked around the whole school for the second time. When the sixth hour came, Bai was already leaning against the walls, slowly making her way on her third round, her whole body burning from exhaustion, her throat aching from shouting, and her stomach protesting in hunger. She didn’t take a break though, she continued walking around even as she kept collapsing, her eyes slowly forming tears. During those six hours of being alone, she thought of her Captain, and how the last time they talked was fighting over her injuries, about her protesting that he was being too overly caring. She wanted him right now, to see her walking around and call her out on it. To take care of her and say that she had to rest. She wanted to complain once again about him acting like a mother hen. 

The seventh hour had been her silently crying as she walked through empty hallways, people knowing better than to be near her by now, and her body worsening every minute. She was hungry, she was thirsty, she was tired, her back ached and her head throbbed every minute from its harsh beating against the wall. Bai wasn’t known for giving up though, so she continued, slowly making her way through finishing her third round. Her eyes slowly starting to blur as it dried up from too much crying. At the eight hour, her body had fully collapsed, unable to stand up anymore. She had to find Auri though. To know that only one person was leaving her, to know that she still had someone else in her life even when her constant died. “Auri..” she would occasionally try to shout, but with her throat aching and dry, and her body dehydrated, it came out as a whisper. Her mind was making images of the people that left her, her sisters, her step-brothers, her nephews, Charlie and Auri. It kept her going. She ended up slowly crawling through the hallways, her hands aching as she pressed them against the dirtied floor and forced herself to push herself further. 

By the time the eight hour happened, the Grey Lady had seen her collapsed, hungry, thirsty, tired, and using all her focus to keep herself awake, mumbles of Auri’s name leaving her dry lips. She was still moving though, getting an inch further every few minutes. The Grey Lady had gotten a few house elves and transported her to the eight year dorm, food and water in the desk as they placed her in the couch. After an hour of resting, she didn’t bother to eat or drink, using the slightly regained energy she had to turn the couches and see if Auri was hiding there. Every hour, she was getting desperate, and right now, she was on the verge of just hugging herself and crying her heart out. 

The ninth to thirteenth hour passed with her trying to get out of the eight year dorm but the few house elves she knew by name stopping her from leaving. Sadly for her right now, she had befriended more of the rebellious house elves who were willing to transport her to the hospital wing and into the care of the medic witches. So Bai stayed there, her thighs against her chest and her arms circling around her leg as she sobbed against her thighs, finally mourning Charlie and crying out for Auri who in her mind left her due to her fuck up. 

As the thirteenth hour almost finished, the door to the eighth year dorm opened up and Bai peeked up, she had gotten her hopes up way too many times when the others came back the dorm. When she saw Auri though, the energy she regained from staying in the dorm was fully put to use as she threw the nearest pillow beside her, accurately hitting Auri’s face. “HEY!” she shouted, her throat slightly aching still from what happened a few hours earlier. Bai grabbed another pillow and threw it, growling as the vampire dared to catch her accurate throws. “Do you know how worried I’ve been?!” she asked before running towards the older brunette. She cocked her fist and almost punched her in the nose, only stopping an inch away and hugging the woman tight, her face pressed against her shoulder as she restrained herself from crying. “Thirteen. Hours. Thirteen hours, Auri!” Her hands clawed its way against Auri’s shirt as she fought hard to keep the tears in her eyes from spilling. 

“Oh. Is that how long I was gone?” 

Bai resisted in punching the woman or slapping her against the cheek as she said that, only shouting her name in anger and slight hysteria before pulling her closer. She had been so worried, too fearful that another person was leaving her. She had done her crying for Charlie while she was collapsed and inside the eighth year dorm, Bai didn’t regret fighting Charlie since that’s the usual thing they would have done, but she did wish that she had gotten him that Quidditch and House Cup. Plans of stealing it and placing Charlie’s name crossed her mind and she knew that that would be enough for her to be at peace. He died due to being sick, she didn’t need to plan yet another revenge. Bai also knew that he would have asked her to take care of his team, not to miss him much, and to take care of Auri and Peter. Something she would do either way. So now, she focused on the present, which was Auri, who had ran away due to her stupid words, who she had thought did something dangerous since her first crush died.

When she felt a short yet sweet kiss on her cheek, she looked up to see Auri asking about the couches. She quickly nodded and replied in both frustration and relief, “Yes! I did! Five hours ago!” It was funny now that she thought about it, thinking that Auri was hiding under the couch, when they weren’t playing hide and seek, but she had been so desperate, so worried. It would have killed her not to look, not to hope that Auri was just joking around and waiting for her underneath. The moment she asked about how she could make up for what she did, Bai didn’t even bother with her usual thoughts of sex or making out. In fact they didn’t cross her mind at all. She had dragged Auri to her room, forced her to sit in her bed, wrapped her arms around Auri’s waist and leaned her head against the cold shoulder. Bai didn’t bother to talk, only closing her eyes and hugging her tighter as she started reading, too traumatised that if she opened her mouth yet again, she would be left. 

"Let's move in together."

“I’m moving in with you” was the first thing Bai said as soon as Auri opened the door to her room. It had been 2 weeks after her drunken escapade and she had remembered Auri’s password enough to use it the night after and sleep in Auri’s bed. Of course, she got woken up by pillows being thrown to her and a loud scream of ‘Get out!’. Bai didn’t give up though, and did the same thing night after night until the older Ravenclaw got used to it. 

“So I don’t get a say? Figures” Auri complained, before opening the door wider and letting her in. A small smug smirk formed on Bai’s lips as she brought in two luggages and dumped them in one of the corners of the room. Walking up to the older brunette, she wrapped her arms around her waist, ignoring the few complaints leaving Auri’s mouth before quickly kissing her, “And you don’t have a say on that, either.”

"I can't stop thinking about you."

“I can’t stop thinking about you, Bai. That’s the reason.”

The two girls had been arguing for the past few minutes as soon as Bai entered the room. The past two days, she had been stuck sleeping in the 8th year common room due to Auri changing the password and not letting her in, no matter how hard she knocked or how many times she kicked the portrait. With all of Bai’s clothes in Auri’s room, she was stuck sleeping on the couch and waking up next day to find a set of 5 different outfits on the table right beside her. It had been useless to try and fake sleep due to the vampire being able to hear her heartbeat, thus endured the 2 days of fashion hell in her opinion. When she was finally allowed to enter the room, the portrait slightly opened she had asked Auri what her problem was, why she had been forced to sleep in the couch like a lousy husband, and it led to their argument.

“Happy Birthday, sweetheart” the woman, who she assumed as the mother of her imaginative 5 year old, reached forward cupping her cheek before leaning close to kiss her forehead. Bai closed her eyes, or tried to, it’s been so long since she received such a parental kiss that she wanted to savour it, even if it was just a dream. The child didn’t close her eyes though, nor did she feel the warmth of the kiss, something that heavily disappointed Bai. It was a happy memory, even if it wasn’t hers, seeing those loving smiles, that laughter that she kept hearing from the kid she was viewing, the excitement they had for their child. Bai’s heart soared as she enjoyed her dream, for the first time there was no nightmares, there was no images of Jian being shredded to death, of her sisters being eaten slowly. She might finally be able to sleep past 4am after 2 years. 

A large crash outside ruined Bai’s sleep, the child she was looking through turned her head around to watch a few adults step in to the room and before she knew it spells were being cast everywhere with her in the middle of it. Her heart somehow forcefully pumped, acting out the stress that the child was feeling, anger somehow filling her whole body as she was grabbed by the mother and being protected. It was somehow both fast and slow in her eyes, fast that her mind could not keep up with everything, her once dull senses somehow heightened to the extreme once the first spell was cast, her mind was being overloaded with emotions and everything happening around her that it was slowly hurting her brain. Yet somehow she was able to pick up a few important bits, she saw ‘father’ sprouting wings and throwing fireballs at the strangers, she watched as he fell and died, his body getting slashed into a number of pieces, her eyes caught sight of her mother bursting into flames transforming to a full veela and eating or burning most of the men. As everything silenced down, ‘mother’ turned back to face her, a bloody smile on her lips. Bai’s heartbeat fastened even further and dread filled her entire body, she wished that she could look around and find the cause for her panic but the child was only reaching forward for her mother, sobs filling the quiet room, and eyes occasionally glancing at the sliced body near her. 

Before she knew it, her heart sped up and seemed to constrict as if someone was clutching it tightly, unable to move, her eyes focused on what the kid was seeing. As small hands finally reached her mother’s shoulders, the young child suddenly closed her eyes making Bai blind to what was happening. All she could hear was someone choking and then a thud right below her.

“Bellona..” a deep yet quiet voice hissed against her ear, it was still dark but the atmosphere seemed to have changed in between the thud and the whisper. Before the air had been frightening and cold, but now it seemed warm, friendly, calm, the same feeling she got whenever she was in the Quidditch Field or in the Ravenclaw tower. Soon enough, eyes slowly opened and a rough alto voice harshly whispered, “what?” and Bai was faced with someone who looked like a younger version of Professor Slytherin. He had the same hair though longer, the eyes had the same color and attitude, cool and collected, while his jaw structure was perfectly the Professor’s. Black hues narrowed, his long pale fingers drummed against the wooden table right in front of them, and his lips formed a thin line and if someone didn’t have her keen eyesight, they would barely see that it was slightly tilted downward, as if pissed off. “You’re in my chair. Get out,” black eyes kept looking at her as if waiting for her to follow his orders, his tone seemed cold yet there was something in it that had Bai shocked, they seemed slightly less hostile than the usual tone she often heard from the Professor. It was as if ‘Bellona’ and him were acquaintances.

“No...” was the respond of the body Bai was currently in, her eyes tilting up to fully stare at this slytherin-tied teenager and she could feel the body she was in straightening as if to grab order and respect. Her view shifted from him to the chair beside her, and back to him before left arm moved to rest its elbow on the table and place her cheek against her palm. “There are so many seats, my dear.. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if I stay here” a white gloved slender hand entered Bai’s view and reached out to touch the male’s chest only to have the said male’s eyes narrow further as if he was silently ordering her not to touch him. The hand paused mid air and a small sigh rang through Bai’s ears, “so moody.. it makes me wonder what your heart looks like..” Bai felt her lips slowly tilt to a smirk, she couldn’t understand what was happening, and what did ‘she’ mean by heart? Before she could watch further or assess the situation she was in, a loud annoying voice seemed to scream on her ear. 

“HEY!! Pigeon!! What the fuck are you doing?” her eyes blinked and the once Hogwarts classroom changed into a dark corridor filled with puddles and several statues. An annoyed huff came out of her lips before her body looked to the side and saw Sanctus Slytherin himself. He seemed more emotional though, than the Professor she had for a few years, his eyes seemed to shine with enjoyment, knowing that he was annoying ‘Pigeon’. What kind of nickname was that? Her body seemed to stand up and her eyes narrowed as she stared at the annoying male who was a few inches taller than her. “I was busy..” was her quick reply, the tone sounding harsh and sharp, ringing throughout the dark and wet corridor. It seemed so familiar for the young Ravenclaw, yet the tone was completely different, as if she’d never heard the voice act so rough before. Loud clinging rang through the empty area as she walked forward, probably heels hitting the stone floor, her body stopped right in front of a puddle and eyes glanced down, red lips tilting up to smirk again.

Wait, this was the woman who she met in the Quidditch Field, Am I seeing her memories?, Bai watched as the dark-haired woman seemed to stare right at her, her hand moving up to press a finger against her bright red lips as if she was ordering her to keep quiet. “I have a guest...” the woman straightened up and looked at her companion, who was just pressed against the human statue as if too used to this woman not replying. Black eyes looked up in shock before a huge grin occupied his full lips, “that annoying fuck then? the one who’s useless but you’re obsessed with?” he walked forward and acted as if ‘Bellona’’s eyes were like a camera, waving his hand. “Hey fuck puppet.. I’m going to love tearing your arms once you’re here” the male laughed loudly as if he was telling a good joke, he wiped a finger across his eye, still chuckling at his joke. His amusement changed quickly though, once her arm tried to reach forward and grab him, bright eyes narrowed to a small glare and his finger waved right in front of him, “Ah ah, Pigeon. You’re not allowed to touch, remember?” Bellona continued to glare at him, “you’re also not allowed to touch my collection, dear... I might just slip and add you in it” Bai’s lips tilted up in amusement before she turned around to look at the water again. “I’m sorry we must cut this short, my little puppet” Bellona addressed to the water, dark eyes seemingly staring into Bai’s soul, “but soon...” 

The scene in front of her shifted yet again but rather than changing to a different view, it seemed to stay dark. There was a sudden pain in her chest, and Bai harshly hissed in reply, her hands tightly pressing against her body as she tried to stop the pain. It felt as if someone was clawing her heart, its nails pressing against her arteries while her heartbeat sped up as she panicked. Brown eyes suddenly slammed open, fear evident as her fingers scratched against her chest enough to tear open the loose polo shirt she was wearing and scratch her bare skin. Jaws clenched as she tried to keep her mouth shut, trying to keep herself from screaming and disturbing her bedside companion, though it was useless with the amount of shaking and kicking she did. After a few seconds of trying to reign back her emotions, trying to keep herself from fully showing the pain she was in, tears started to form on her eyelids and her mouth opened to let out a loud pained screech. 

“Help!! Help!!” she kept shouting along with random shouts and cries of help in different languages, her nails were digging on her chest trying to force the pain away or at least somehow tear her heart out. Tears streaked down her tanned cheeks as she felt pain that seemed worse than Auri slamming her against the Ravenclaw table or the pain she felt when being hit by Bludgers. In fact it was worse than all her combined pain, it felt as if someone invisible was actually trying to get her heart out of her chest.

“Deep breaths.. I’m here..” Auri? Bai had her mouth parted, her body shaking as she tried to fight the pain and follow her best friend’s instructions. Hands still clutched at her chest as she slowly tilted her head to look at her companion, she had her wand out and was seemingly trying to cast a few spells, spells that weren’t giving her comfort or doing anything. Auri dropped her wand at the empty spot of their bed before grasping her wrists and quickly pushing her hands away from her red and newly scratched chest, blood seeping through the white shirt. Bai tried to keep her lips closed, her head shaking as the pain seemed to worsen now that her hands weren’t there, a new set of tears leaking out of her eyes. Before she could control herself, a loud scream left her lips, along with the words ‘I’m sorry’ as she desperately tried to control herself. She wasn’t sure what she was sorry for, whether for disturbing Auri’s sleep, for shouting, or for still living when the pain was enough to fully torture someone with a less pain tolerance than her.