Dead People Society (Open)

When Lyra had received an awkward OWL from Elddirs informing her she'd been put in DADA Group A, she groaned and went to bed. The next morning, she considered considering showing up to the class meeting they were meant to have this afternoon. Eventually she decided it was just another class, so when the time came she headed towards the DADA classroom. Why did she have to be so academically gifted? It was a blessing and a curse.

It smelled weird when she got to the corridor. She wrinkled her nose and hurried towards the classroom. Luckily it didn't smell there. But it was cold. She pulled her robes on as she walked into the classroom.

The professor was the only one there. She went straight to take a seat, but then remembered that this professor was meant to be evil, so forced herself to smile weakly in order to get on his good side and avoid the evilness. "Hi professor," she acknowledged as she took a seat near the front, away from where the cool kids like Hunter would most likely sit. She hated Hunter sometimes. She hated everyone most of the time.

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ALRIGHT THIS SAYS OPEN BUT REALLY IT IS ONLY OPEN TO STUDENTS WHO HAVE LOST SOMEONE CLOSE TO THEM OR ANY PROFESSORS WHO WANT TO COME. ANY STUDENTS WITH DEAD PEOPLE WILL HAVE BEEN SENT AN OWL FROM THAOR TELLING THEM THEY HAVE MADE GROUP A AND THIS IS CLASS.

Group A? Was this teacher fucking serious? She barley payed attention in class. In fact, she mainly slept in this class. So why was she with the smart kids? Well, she assumed Group A was the smart kids. She still refused to wear the uniform because it was stupid. So she still had on her sweats and purple cloak. She was glad too, because it was freezing in the room when she got down there.

When she looked in the classroom, there was another person in there. She noticed that the person was wearing red. Great. From the Gryffindor house. She was working on getting the houses right, not that she cared or anything. She sat down in the middle of the class and glanced at the other girl. Wasn't she in Hufflepuff? The house with the yellow? Miranda was so fucking confused. So she asked, "Hey, aren't you in that house with the badger? I forgot the name..."

She looked down a little embarrassed. She was going to figure this out! She decided to be nice to this chick, because she seemed decent, unlike that little red headed freak she had met at the lake. Miranda asked, "Do you know why he separated us into groups?" Miranda was really trying here. She had thought that since she was here, she would try and be a decent person. But that was really hard considering she was surrounded by fucking idiots. She decided to keep that comment to herself. After all, if this person was a fucking idiot, she had lost all hope.

Fuck DADA. And Fuck Group A. Something was up. Definitely. Because there was no way in hell that Hunter, a muggleborn, got into group A of DADA when his girlfriend, an obnoxiously smart, pureblood Ravenclaw, didn't make it. He remembered Elddirs from before - he'd asked loads of questions about blood purity and shit. And DADA was definitely not one of Hunter's better subjects - though he had taken a slight interest in it since everything had happened. But pretty much, there was something strange going on. And Hunter was too curious about what to skip the class.

When he got there, the idiot professor was already there. So was that annoying American transfer and his sister. Ignoring the Slytherin, Hunter crossed the room and took a seat beside Lyra. He might not have - they'd hardly talked since term started - but he wanted to ask her about the class. "Hey," he said, sitting down in the chair beside her and leaning it back on two legs. "What's going on? This can't be right, you know. I'm rubbish at defense. Seren didn't even make it in Group A - she didn't even know what I was talking about." Maybe everyone else was in on something that he didn't know about? Well, at least on the bright side, he wouldn't have to wait much longer to find out.

Thaor sat quietly behind his desk as the students slowly made their way into his classroom. His face sat expressionless, if there was one thing he hated more than children, it was showing emotions. However when it was suggested to him that he lead a support group for students whom have lost loved ones, he couldn't say no. He'd like to think that he wouldn't be such a foul git had he not lost his entire family in his 6th year at Hogwarts. If anyone could help these students get through this tough time, it'd be him.

The thing he dreaded most was that he'd have to show compassion, and empathy to the students, which would be a struggle. He builds emotional walls for a reason, to avoid being hurt, and to avoid thinking of his past. He never really got over the hurt of losing his family, he never talked about it, to anyone, certainly not students. This all would change however, if he did one good thing in his life, it'd be trying to help the students he has sworn to protect.

Thank you all for coming. I think I should start us off with a confession. he said, looking from one student to the next.

You have been asked to come here today, not because it is required for class, as I lead you to believe. But because we all have something in common..The loss of a loved one. He said, letting out a sigh.

I ask you all to keep an open mind, and leave any pre-conceived notion of who I am, and what I believe in, at the door. I am going to attempt to help you all deal with the loss you have had. I myself, lost my entire family during my 6th year. I know the pain you are all feeling. I also know how important it is to try and deal with these feelings in a healthy way. I unfortunately did not deal with my loss in a healthy way, I let my pain manifest into anger, and made many, many decisions that I now regret.

Thaorson took out his wand, and locked the door so only he could open it. You are all here for the next hour, the door is locked so only I can open it. Nothing said here is to leave this room, under any circumstances. Is that understood? He asked.

When Lyra saw another girl walk into the classroom, she looked away in the hope that she wouldn't try and interact. It was an older Slytherin, though, so quite unlikely. At least, that was what she thought until the girl came and sat next to her. She rolled her eyes, but looked at her to listen to whatever she was saying. "No, I'm in the house with the lion." How could the girl not know the names of the houses by the time she was that old? Was she new? Only then did the Gryffindor notice her accent, and realise that she must be an exchange student. She should have stayed wherever she'd come from. Her stupid questions were unnecessary. "Probably because he didn't want the smart ones with the dumb ones," she added, slightly less curt now.

Speaking of dumb ones, there was Hunter. At this point she realised that this was bullshit. Her brother wasn't smart enough to be in Group A, which meant either there had been a mix up or the professor had straight out lied to them. "You aren't in Group A," she said out loud, slightly bewildered and more to herself than anyone. "You're too thick. And Seren is way too smart not to be. So why am I here?" Then she remembered the Slytherin girl next to her. "Hunter, this is... I dunno. Ask her." Names didn't matter. She was going to find out what was going on and then leave.

Just on time, the professor started talking and she shot him a glare. He confessed that this wasn't class, and she grabbed her bag to make a quick exit, but then she heard what he had to say. The loss of a loved one. How did he even KNOW that? So maybe everyone knew, what with that article in the newspaper, but that he had the NERVE to even bring it up, let alone invite her here, was disgusting. Lyra felt her throat start to swell up as though she would cry, and pressed her lips tightly together. There was nothing Elddirs could do to make this situation any better, and she wasn't going to participate in his little game.

Miranda blocked everything out. This wasn't fair. This wasn't right. How the fuck did this teacher know what happened? She stood up after his little fucking confession. She felt sympathy for the teacher, but it still wasn't right for him to lock the door. She had the right to fucking leave if she wanted to.

And then there was that annoying child from the lake. And the other girl she tried to make friends with, but failed. The car ACCIDNET happened this summer in a different fucking country. She asked, "how did you know what happened? They died in a different fucking country." She was open about it if somebody asked, or if she was forced to talk about it like in this situation right now.

She continued, " I have the right to fucking leave if I fucking want to you fucker, now open the door."

She needed to hit something at that moment. Maybe knock over a chair, or some papers off the desk. Sure she was acting childish, but this wasn't fair. This was unnecessary. She could deal with the deaths in her own way. Not with these people. They had no fucking clue how she felt. No fucking clue.

When Ariel had received the message from professor Elddirs, she had been puzzled. She had gone to talk to her sister about it, and she'd gotten the same one. Ariel remembered looking emptily into the air. "I thought I was too dumb to be in an A class," she'd said. Darcy had merely stated that, clearly, she wasn't. But Ariel had just given Darcy the Eye and said: "No, I am too dumb for an A class. But I guess everyone else happens to be so too then. So I'm just smarter than the dumbest people." Darcy had laughed at that.

And now Ariel was on her way to the classroom. Darcy was walking by her side. They were pretty early, so they walked slowly through some of the new passageways Darcy had been told about, so she could get around the castle quicker during her patrols and stuff. Ariel looked straight forward and suddenly had the impulse of doing something wicked. So, suddenly turning around and putting her foot forward was her quick idea. Darcy tripped in Ariel's foot and fell down onto the floor. Ariel smirked wickedly down at her and then sprinted away as Darcy got up, hot on her heels.

After a ten minutes, they realized they only had so much time left, so they turned in the direction of the classroom. But not before Darcy said: "Detention, miss Wilde, for disrespecting your elders." Ariel's eyes widened and was about to say something, but then they reached the open door and Ariel saw -to her utter astonishment- that Hunter was there. Her fun moment vanished instantly and her face fell. Darcy noticed this and grabbed her hand, giving her a squeeze, before dragging her into the room. They silently walked over to a spot a bit away from the others, and sat down. Darcy smiled at her sister and whispered: "Let's call this your detention."

Ariel had to smile at that, and she squeezed her sister's hand back. Neither of them let go though, and Ariel was glad that she had someone to hang onto. And then professor Elddirs begun to talk. Ariel's eyes widened and her heartbeat raced. Whenever people talked about death in a professional matter, it seemed so much more real, and Ariel's heartbeat always started racing. Talking about it in general was more and more bearable, but whenever a professor was involved, it always got too serious, and she usually started crying. Her hand was covered by Darcy's other hand, and Ariel had to smile up at her, leaning her head on her sister's shoulder as a girl got supermad. Ariel was so happy that, in the least, anger wasn't a feeling she felt. She only felt sadness. And she accepted it. She hoped Darcy did too.

Spoiler:

Hunter didn't even bother to give the annoying Slytherin a glance when his sister introduced her. Well, sort of introduced her. "We've met," was all he said, still trying to figure out what the hell was going on. "But yeah, there's some bullshit going on here - " Hunter's attention was grabbed by the sound of the door opening behind him, and out of habit he turned around to see who had entered. And the moment that he did, he wished that he hadn't. Because it was Ariel. Ariel and her sister. but he hardly registered Darcy's presence, his eyes glued momentarily to Ariel's small frame.

Elddirs started talking then, and Hunter reluctantly pulled his attention away from Ariel, though his thoughts were still on her as whatever Elddirs was saying didn't fully register in his head. Until, all at once, they did. And it only took a second then for Ariel to leave his mind. Losing her had been the most miserable aspect of this term, and nothing could take his mind off of it once he it started - except for one thing. Jack. And as he listened to Elddirs explain the reason that they were really there, his brow furrowed in confusion. Maybe he wasn't angry yet because he found it so completely unbelievable. It was more a sense of shock that had washed over him.

Hunter glanced over at his sister to see her reaction, and it was the distraught look on Lyra's face that finally brought him to his senses. And then came the anger. The slytherin bitch was already freaking out, and for once, Hunter couldn't blame her. Because there weren't enough swear words in the english language for Hunter to adequately describe the git of a professor standing in front of him. And without really realizing it, he was on his feet, his chair nearly toppling over behind him before falling back onto all fours with a clatter.

"Are you kidding?" he said angrily, an incredulous look on his face. "We were tricked into coming here, and now you expect us to sit here and share our feelings and listen to some fucking prick whose fucked up enough on his own that he has to go around looking like some fifteen year old kid? That's supposed to help?" Hunter was so sick of people bothering him - of people treating him the way they did. "Well fuck that. You know what would help? If everyone else would just leave me and my sisters the fuck alone." He was done with people acting like they knew them - acting like they understood. And he knew that Lyra felt similarly - he could see how she acted. "Now let us out of here."

Darcy was surprised at the outburst from the Slytherin girl, but she supposed it was a normal reaction. Professor Elddirs had just cornered them and asked them to be as open about something that hurt them all beyond repair. But she also realized that she had been expecting more from hurting people. Ariel was quiet, and Darcy covered her small hand with both of hers. Hunter was the next with an outburst, and at his words, anger sparkled a bit. She met Jack once. He'd been great. And she remembered feeling sad when he'd left the field to return to his family, because she honestly thought he could be a brilliant friend.

She hadn't known he was Hunter's brother before his death. And she hadn't said anything about it to Ariel or Hunter. But this was cruel. Hunter was so wrapped up in his own pain, and probably his sister's, that he completely overlooked everyone elses. And insulting Elddirs was not going to help. Darcy gave Ariel's hand another squeeze with both of hers before she let go and got up on her feet. She walked a bit forward and stopped somewhere on the side of Hunter and Miranda. "I'll start," she said, her voice firm, and she threw a look at Hunter and Miranda, hoping they'd actually respect her enough to let her speak of her own sorrow if she wanted to.

"It started in November in my fifth year. Ariel's second," Darcy said, throwing a glance at her sister. Using Ariel's name might have been both to acknowledge that this was her pain too, but also in the hope that her name might give Hunter another reason to be silent. Miranda was another thing entirely. "We got a letter from mother, saying that dad was sick. At first we figured it was just another update from home. But then another letter arrived, in December, asking us to come home for Christmas. And we knew it wasn't just the regular flu." Darcy stopped for a moment and decided to sit down. Her hands were shaking, so she balled them into fists. She didn't look at anyone. Just the floor in front of her.

"We went home, where we learned that the doctors and healers were trying to figure out of what the sickness was, but none of the tests came back with a result. All they could do, was establish that this was going to get worse. And that there was nothing they could do about it," Darcy said, the memory playing lividly on repeat inside her head. She was shaking. Invisibly so, but she felt it. She felt cold. And then she felt hands on her shoulders. Ariel was standing behind her. Darcy looked up at the professor. "We didn't want to return to Hogwarts after the break. But pa insisted. He wrote us letters every week, and we went home for Easter. It was easy to see that he was getting worse. The healers said he only had a few months left. Max half a year. So we prepared ourselves for the inevitable. Leaving home that time around was even worse."

Darcy's voice was quieter now. She didn't want to start crying. But she'd rather be crying than be angry. Anger was denying her father's passing. She would never deny it. In her mind, denying it was disrespectful to her father. "But once again, he insisted. And in the beginning of May, we received a letter from mother, saying that dad was at the hospital. He would have to stay there, so they could try to heal him, give him more time." Darcy put one of her hands on one of Ariel's. "We got home and we visited him all the time. He only got worse. And we all knew there was a restricted amount of time left," Darcy said. She took a deep breath, because nothing was worse than what she was about to say.

"And we weren't there," she said, feeling the all-too-familiar lump in her throat. "We spent so much time there. We were there throughout all the days, but the healers only allowed for one person to stay overnight. That was mum, of course," Darcy said. The word 'mum' felt foreign on her lips. "But we weren't there," Darcy said, her eyes watering, but she held back the tears. Ariel's small hands squeezed her shoulders. Darcy looked back to the floor, just keeping her focus on breathing. She was done. And she hoped the silence after her story would last a little while. She was sure they were all equally as enraged as before. But perhaps they might've realized that they weren't the only people in the room, and that there were people who might want to talk about it.

Jennifer was going to sit in on this club, more than anything, to prove to herself that she wasn't a terrible person. That she did have an ounce of compassion and selflessness among her terrible personality. Because even though she had lost her parents when she was a tiny baby, she liked to think that she was intelligent and had worked in the love chamber long enough to understand what these children were going through, even to help slightly. Also, even though she was a bad person, Professor Elddirs was worse, so she would always be good cop in the situation. She followed the man to the DADA classroom where it was being held, and took a seat near the front, where she sat and watched as the students came in. The VanDerberg girl. An unfamiliar Slytherin girl, a transfer most likely. The VanDerberg boy, who Jen disliked very much. He was friends with Aoife. The Wilde sisters. So they'd all lost someone. That was sad. Well, she didn't really feel sad about their losses herself, since they were all random strangers to her, but she was close to feeling sympathy for the students left alive.

The way Elddirs handled it was stupid and careless. Locking them in a room wasn't going to make them like him, or want to open up about their experiences. Right on cue, the Slytherin started swearing and throwing a tantrum. Jen didn't blame her really. Then Hunter. It was all far too predictable. But what was surprising was when Darcy calmly went into one of those emotional, long speeches. It was brave and sad and she felt almost like clapping at the end. But she just smiled and looked down. Jennifer felt like doing the same and talking openly about it but after that, her story didn't seem nearly as sad and worth sharing.

Thaor sat quietly as the students began to argue about being locked in, and why they were here. He was about to speak up, when surprisingly Darcy began to tell about her loss. As she told her story, he couldn't help but tear up. The loss of a parent was never an easy thing to deal with, let alone talk about. He had anticipated the anger, and outbursts, he however didn't anticipate a student opening up so quickly.

Thank you for sharing. he said softly. Thaor took a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking. When he began speaking again, his voice was uncharacteristically shaky. In my seventh year, shortly before Christmas vacation, my mother gave birth to my half sister Bethany. he said, pausing to think if this was something he really wanted to share. His brain told him no, but deep down, in his shrunken little heart, he knew, he had to. He had to share what happened to his family, what it did to him, how he dealt with it, and he had to make sure none of these students did it the same way. He couldn't allow them to make the mistakes he had, to go down the roads he traveled. He couldn't allow them to become monsters, as he had.

You see, my mother left my father shortly before my 6th birthday. My two half siblings were given my fathers surname because my mother did not know the muggle father's name. When my father found out she had given the Elddirs name to two half-blood children, he was furious. In a drunken rage, he stormed into her house, and murdered my mother, and two half-siblings in cold blood. he said, in a near whisper, tears steadily rolling down his cheeks. After my father was sent to Azkaban, I returned to Hogwarts to finish my last year. I still feel the hurt, anger, and sorrow, that I felt then, to this day. I'm not here to tell you it will go away. Because it wont. But I am here to tell you, you are not alone, and you will learn to deal with the pain. How did I deal with it? I blocked myself off from everyone, even those trying to help. I sat in solitude, hardly talking to anyone, I allowed my pain of loss, to manifest into anger, and hatred. I hated, not my father, for killing my family, but my mother, for creating the situation, I hated my mud-blood siblings for getting my father thrown in Azkaban. Thaor said, his expression serious as he recalled the feelings he felt all those years ago.

Looking back now, I realize how misplaced those feelings were, and they lead me down a dark path. One that I can not take back, I've done things that I regret with all of my soul, and I now have to live with that, everyday. The pain I feel now, is so much worse than the pain of losing my family, my loved ones. Because the pain I feel now, is knowing how much I have disappointed them, and disgraced them. Please don't make the same mistakes I did, each and every one of you have so much potential to do great things. If you only take one thing away from this bitter old man desperately clinging to his past, please let it be this. Do not throw away your future, work past this pain, this hurt, and make your loved ones proud. he pleaded, wiping the tears from his face.

Once he stopped speaking, he realized how dumb he was being, using polyjuice potion to look young again. He realized he will never be able to go back and change the decisions he made. Thaor walked over to his bookshelf where he kept his polyjuice and dumped it all out. Embrace, and live your truth, whatever it may be.

Miranda was still pissed off. But the sweet innocent blond looking girl began to share her feelings and what happened to her. Boo-who she lost her dad. That didn't compare to the feelings she felt after loosing both parents. Miranda then realized she was a terrible person. She was trying to make others feel sorry for herself without even thinking about what they where feeling.

She suddenly felt bad about the lake incident with the VanDerberg child, and her little outburst. She was still standing with her fists clenched, when Professor Elddiris began to speak and share his story. She didn't even realize that she had sat down and that tears had formed in her eyes and she was balling. She hadn't had a good cry since it happened.

She never wanted people to feel empathy for her. She hated that at the funeral, people where always saying they where sorry for her loss, or gave her that pathetic look of helplessness. So it was then she decided to block everything out and pretend nothing had happened. At the end of the professors speech, she said, " I'm sorry." She hated saying the words, but felt they where needed. She wasn't apologizing to the professor, or those around her, but she felt she was apologiizing to her parents for acting the way she was.

She then felt it was her turn. She said, " I-I was at a party with my friends from Salem. My parents were going to some fancy gala that night and where supposed to be h-home before I was. I arrived before my curfew, which was 11:30pm, but was surprised to find no parents. My father was a muggle and my mom a half-blood. So they had taken my dads car. It had been raining, so the roads where slick. The p-police officer who handled their case said that the car had hydroplaned, and had smashed into a semi-truck..."

Miranda almost felt like she couldn't continue. She hoped that they understood what happened because of the sudden stop in the middle of the sentence, but she had to say it out loud. She had to come to terms with it completely and now she felt was the time. She said, "they both died. I now live with my fathers great aunt. Since she's muggle, she knows nothing about me being a wizard. She thinks I'm at boarding school. Which is Technicallu true, but I'm still lying to her."

She stopped there. She couldn't believe that she had gotten all that out with out showing some kind of anger towards something, or cussing somebody out. It was the first time in a long time that Miranda felt proud of herself. The first time she felt like she was taking a step forward and finally moving on.

Everyone decided to go straight ahead and moan about their stories as soon as Darcy shared hers. Lyra rolled her eyes as she watched the next few. They were nothing compared to hers, and even though she understood they were probably incredibly upset and scarred, she was certain she was much more so. What were they doing this for? Sympathy? Why would you want to relive the experience? Or was it, somehow, means of comfort to them? 

It was worth a try. Nothing anyone had said to her, nothing she had done, had helped the feeling of guilt and loneliness and grief that weighed her down. And she was tired, and almost done with trying to feel better. Then again, nobody knew exactly what had happened in Diagon Alley with Jack. Not the aurors, not her parents. Even Hunter didn't know the full details. And she wasn't sure she wanted to share them here, in a situation which felt forced and wrong. With mainly random strangers who didn't deserve to be the first to hear what had happened.

But if she didn't do it now, she wouldn't do it ever. So she swallowed, took a deep breath and shrunk back slightly in her seat, as if it would make up for what she was going to say, or stop anyone noticing her.

"Last summer, I went with my brothers and sisters to Diagon Alley." When she spoke, she was surprised to hear her voice was clear and confident. "I split up from Hunter and Lyn with my brother Jack to get some school supplies." That was the nice, easy beginning of the story, before things got bad and erupted into chaos. That was the typical fairytale layout. Except unlike a fairytale, Lyra's story didn't have a nice happy ending. 

There was a pause then, while she tried to find the right words and glanced at Hunter for any reassurance at all. "We got lost. And we ended up in an alleyway. And I didn't know where to go or what to do." Yet another reason why the incident was all her fault. "So I asked a man for directions," she croaked. "But he took out his wand and shot us against a brick wall. I tried to get out my wand to defend us both but he used this spell and made me drop it." Why couldn't Lyn be here? She just wanted to give her sister a hug and hear her promise that everything would be okay. Even though she knew that everything wasn't okay.

"His name was James Morgenstern," Lyra added on second thought. The name made her feel sick. And furious. Such a normal name for such a vicious, cruel murderer. "He told us he wanted to kill one of us. And the other one could spread the message." It was propaganda for himself. It was sickening. "Obviously I insisted it would be me." Why was it obvious? She wasn't entirely sure. Because she was a Gryffindor? Because she loved her brother so much? 

Anyway, to continue. By this point, tears were forming in her eyes but she blinked them back. "But Jack jumped in front of me. And Morgenstern used the killing curse. And I watched him fall backwards. And I didn't even get to s-say goodbye before he was dead." That only added to the trauma of losing her brother. "Then there were people, and aurors, and I couldn't breathe, and Lyn was hugging me but nothing mattered because JACK WAS DEAD." Then she leant forward, put her head in her lap and started crying quietly to herself.

If anyone else had interrupted Hunter's angry outburst, he would have probably told them to fuck off. And then turned around and blown up the door and stormed out. But when he caught a glimpse of blonde hair out of the corner of his eye, he fell silent. It wasn't until after she'd started talking that Hunter came to realize that it wasn't Ariel. It was Darcy. And although he didn't know Darcy - not really - she was an extension of Ariel. And he wouldn't dare shout at her. He still contemplated escaping - surely that would be better than what he was going to have to endure if he stayed.

But then, Darcy mentioned her sister, and Hunter hesitated. He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes finding Ariel - and for a moment, he tried to read her expression. The amount of people that Hunter gave a shit about was dwindling rapidly, but he'd hurt Ariel enough. And making a scene of trying to get out in the middle of what Darcy was about to say would be beyond disrespectful to her. And Hunter had already disrespected the memory of her father once, which was one time to many. He wasn't going to do it again. So, with a sigh, Hunter sunk back down into his seat and listened to Darcy talk. As she went on, he couldn't help but be impressed by how composed she was. Her voice was soft like her sister's, but steady. Hunter couldn't even think about what had happened to his brother without anger taking over.

Then Elddirs started talking, and Hunter wondered if it was okay to blow up the door at that point. After all, he didn't give a shit about Elddirs. But for some reason, he ended up actually listening to what the professor was saying. Not because he cared - more because his momentum concerning escaping had been destroyed by Darcy and if he was going to just sit there, he might as well pass the time by paying some attention. The guy apparently lost his whole family. Which sucked. But Hunter couldn't bring himself to feel any sympathy for him. Which only proved that he was really becoming a heartless git. But then, Elddirs started talking about how he had dealt with it - with the pain. With the loss of his family. And Hunter couldn't help but glance up, furrowing his brow. Anger. Solitude. Regret. Those things pretty much made up Hunter's entire life now. And it almost made him sick to know that he had something in common with their git of a professor. And in the back of his mind, he wondered if Elddirs was the kind of person that he was destined to become.

And then Elddirs was done and the transfer girl was talking. And that sucked and shit but Hunter didn't know her or care. And finally, everyone that was going to talk had talked, and Hunter was seriously hoping that they could leave. But then, a small voice to his side spoke, and Hunter couldn't help the look of surprise he gave his sister as she began to tell the story of what had happened. His heart raced as she began talking about Jack. About the last time he had been alive. And the first time she said his name, Hunter felt a pained look cross his face. Lyra was the last person he'd expected to speak up - aside from himself. And he wasn't sure what the emotions racing through his chest ever were. Misery, anger - betrayal? Because this was their brother. And none of these assholes deserved to know the first thing about Jack, let alone how his life had been ripped away from him.

But as her story came to that moment, Lyra looked over at him. And he knew that she was looking for something from him. A smile, an okay to continue - any kind of support at all. And it was the last thing that he wanted to do - to encourage her to continue. But in the back of his mind, he knew that Jack would. So, taking a deep breath, he nodded at her, meeting her eyes. So she continued, and Hunter averted his gaze, staring down at his desk and trying not to listen. He'd heard it before anyway. But how could he not? The familiar pressure in his chest was there, but he forced his anger away. Because he just had to last a few more minutes. And then it was over. Lyra started crying as she finished, tucking her head into her lap. With a sigh, Hunter reached out, his hand coming to rest comfortably on her back. Her words echoed through his head. Jack was dead. Gone. His eyes raised again to Elddirs, his gaze hollow, daring him to say the wrong thing. They'd been here long enough. It was time to go.