On her way to breakfast

[Athene Perthro]

Athene pushed aside the portrait and stepped out into the Dungons. She was on her way to to the Great Hall for breakfast and was, as usual, alone. She could hear a few other students chatting ahead, and some behind, still in the Slytherin Common Room.

She sighed. Last nights house meeting had been awkward, what with Bella and all. Although Athene was usually awkward around Bella these days. She was just beginning to feel less and less comfortable around her, and she was beginning to think that Bella felt the same way. It was a shame, really, as they had been such good friends.

She had her messenger bag over her shoulder, with her books and quills. She didn't want to have to come back to the Common Room before lessons.

Suddenly, she walked into something hard. A person. "Watch what you're doing," she snarled.

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[Sophia Stark]

Sophia stumbled slightly as she was knocked into from behind and she stopped suddenly, the sound of Athene's snotty voice filling her ears. Turning around with a look of pure loathing in her golden eyes Sophia glared down at Athene.

"Excuse me? Perhaps you should be the one who is watching out."

 

[Athene Perthro]

Athene crossed her arms across her chest and pouted. Just perfect she thought sarcastically. Of all the people she could have run (literally) into, it had to have been Sophia Stark.

"Maybe you shouldn't dawdle," she shot back rudely.
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[Sophia Stark]

Sophia stared incredulously at Athene for a few moments. "You know you really should learn to respect your elders, especially those in a position of power over you." with that she turned and began to walk swiftly toward the Great Hall.

 

[Athene Perthro]

Athene snarled at Sophia's back, and called out as the Prefect walked away. "I'll show respect to you when you earn it!" She hated Prefects. No, she hated Drage, and didn't know exactly what she thought of Sophia. It wasn't like, though, and that was for sure. She did have a bit of respect for Katrina, though, despite never having met her in person. So she guessed that not all Prefects were that bad.

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[Sophia Stark]

Sophia stopped and turned, walking back to Athene. She stopped before her, staring down at the younger, much shorter girl. "Then what exactly have I done to earn your disrespect? Because I have not yet done anything to you except help you, yet you have shown nothing but disrespect toward me since your very first day here.

"No wonder you and Bellatrix are friends, you two are perfect for each other. At least your wretched uncle knows how to speak properly to people."

 

[Athene Perthro]

Athene scowled. It looked like everyone was spending more time with her Uncle than she was. First Drage, now Sophia. Athene scuffed her foot along the ground bitterly.

"At least I'm not blowing hot and cold all the time," said Athene after a pause. It had taken her a few seconds to think of how to reply, and hadn't managed to come up with anything clever. She cursed herself silently for it.



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[Sophia Stark]

Sophia narrowed her eyes for a few moments before rolling them. With an exasperated sigh she began once more toward the Great Hall, hoping Athene would drop this useless discussion.

 

[Athene Perthro]

"Some Slytherin," Athene muttered loudly. "Walking away..." She hadn't moved, but waited for Sophia to walk a while ahead before continueing herself. She hated this. All this argueing with everyone. She just couldn't do anything right. She resisted from punching the nearest wall in frustration. <i></i>

 

[Sophia Stark]

Sophia stopped and turned around once more, but did not step closer to Athene. "Why does everyone in this castle have to stereotype people based on what house they are sorted into. Yes, I have some Slytherin qualities, but not all Slytherins are exactly the same. Not all Syltherins like to stand and argue in corridors about absolutely nothing as opposed to eating breakfast. So if it is un-Slytherin of me to walk away from your pathetic attempt at angering me then I suppose I was sorted into the wrong house in your eyes."

 

[Athene Perthro]

Athene flushed deeply, and had to stop walking again to avoid running into Sophia a second time. She cleched her fists at her side and said nothing, just glared at Sophia. She knew that Sophia was talking sense - that she was right. But she would never admit it. She had too much pride.

With a small, exasperated huff, Athene started walking again, but much faster this time. She brushed past Sophia, deliberately walking into her shoulder, and carried on walking once past.
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[Sophia Stark]

Sophia rolled her eyes when Athene brushed past her. "You really are just like Bellatrix," she muttered as she turned around and began walking toward the Great Hall. Her tempo was slow so as to allow Athene to stay ahead of her.

 

[Athene Perthro]

Athene growled and turned around angrily. It didn't look like they were getting very far at all. Her hands were clentched so tight that Athene could feel her nails digging into her skin.

"I'm nothing like Bellatrix!" she half shouted at Sophia. "Nothing! You don't know anything about me, so stop asusming that you do." She turned around and began to walk a little faster, angry tears stinging at her eyes. <i></i>

 

[Sophia Stark]

Sophia was stopped in her tracks by Athene's outburst. She was quite surprised and taken aback by it. "Now who is the one walking away?" Sophia said softly, hoping to lure Athene back. She had a lot of things she wanted to say to Athene, but she wanted to be facing her instead of yelling them at her as she rana way.

 

[Athene Perthro]

Athene paused again, but didn't turn around. She bit her lip. Sophia was right - Athene was being a hipocrit. She took a deep breath, and turned around. She wasn't as calm and collected as she would have liked, though, and stuggled to think of a decent reply.

She opened her mouth, and closed it again, before tightening her lips and glaring at Sophia.

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[Sophia Stark]

Sophia was relieved when Athene turned around. She waited for Athene to speak, but when she saw that Athene did not appear to have anything to say, she began. "If you are nothing like Bellatrix then why do you not show it? You are right, I do not not anything about you, but from what I have seen you are a spoiled brat who refuses to listen, thinks she is always correct, and does not see any reason to change her ways."

 

[Athene Perthro]

Athene tightened her jaw. It reminded her vaguely of some of the things Manteia had said during her and Belleatrix's two week detention. But she was better than Bellatrix, she thought. Manteia himself had proved that. Hadn't he let Athene go halfway during the detention, and kept Bella on? Did that mean anything?

How much did she want to be different from Bella? She thought on this for a while. Bella - who had proved to be immature and selfish. But Bella was also the one who had taught Athene that it was posisble for her to have friends, without being weak. That she could get close to people, without feeling bad.

Athene felt conflicted, divided. She didn't want to be like Bellatrix, but to a degree, she was. And the more she distanced herself from Bella, the more like her former friend she became. It was a vicious circle.

"You're relying too much on rumor," she said coolly after a while. Which she thought was true. She hadn't seen much of Sophia at all - so unless Sophia had been keeping an eye on her, Sophia wouldn't have seen much of Athene over the last year either.

Of course, this didn't rule out the fact that the rumors were probably true, but it made Athene feel a little better.

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[Sophia Stark]

"I did say from what I had seen. I am trying to give you a chance to prove me wrong. Show me that you are not like Bellatrix Athene. Prove to me that you are different." Sophia stared down at Athene, wondering what Athene would do now. She seemed to be having some trouble with this particular situation and Sophia was anxious to see how she reacted.

 

[Athene Perthro]

If Athene had felt conflicted before, it was nothing to how she felt now. She tried to think of how to answer, but her small, twelve year old mind failed her. She shook her head and looked away.

"How?" she asked patheticaly. <i></i>

 

[Sophia Stark]

Sophia's expression softened slightly and she stepped closed to Athene. "Have you ever heard the Muggle expression "you attract more bees with honey?"

 

[Athene Perthro]

Athene raised an eyebrow. No, she hadn't. She hadn't heard many Muggle expressions in her childhood, if any.

"No," she said cautiously. "What does it mean?"<i></i>

 

[Sophia Stark]

Sophia smirked, but not an evil one. Perhaps Athene was not beyond saving. "It means that you will get more by being pleasant than by being a nasty brat. You want power, correct? Then gain it by manipulating those around you in a subtle way, not by writing in your own blood on the walls."

 

[Athene Perthro]

Athene cringed slightly. No, the stunt in the great hall had not been subtle at all. Although that did enlighten Athene to something, that made her feel much better, although Sophia wouldn't have known it when she said it. Athene wanted Power, and bellatrix wanted fame. They were different.

However, she already knew what Sophia was saying, to a degree. It was why she had been making the effort to be nice to the first years. Bella had failed to grasp what she meant at first, when she had said that she wanted to gain their alliance by being friendly, rather than with threats and force. She was, however, still struggeling to keep up the act at all times.

"I know that last year was a mistake," she said through gritted teeth, not meeting Sophia's eyes. By 'last year' she meant the writing on the wall, the befriending Bella. Nearly everything.


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[Sophia Stark]

Sophia nodded "Good. That is a positive step towards proving you are your own person and not Bellatrix's sidekick." She stepped off and began toward the Great Hall yet again, wondering if Athene would say anything further.

 

[Athene Perthro]

Athene watched Sophia go, intruiged, but at a loss for words. Sophia was surprising her more and more every time they met. Athene just stood there, watching Sophia's retreating back, and didn't say anything.

She thought about what Sophia had said. It was something about her saying it that made it sound different from when other people had said it. But she just wasn't sure why.

She shook her head and snapped herself out of it. She could hear some other students coming up behind her, chatting away, and decided she didn't wat their company, whoever they were. She hurried after Sophia, towards the Great Hall.
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