You...

[Aliyah Wright]

Aliyah was moderately enjoying the beginning of her summer/winter break. She had managed to convince her parents that they should stay and celebrate the Christmas holidays in New Zealand before heading back to the States to celebrate the New Years with her mother's side of the family. Massachusetts can get so cold in the winter and spending her vacation on beach instead of being buried in snow sounded like a far more attractive option. She was glad Harrison and Kennedy were able to see reason. Typically the Wrights would spend Christmas in her paternal grandparents' estate in Salem. The large old house was always beautifully decorated, but it never had the same warmth after her grandmother died. Her paternal grandfather died when Aliyah's father was younger, so it was just the three of them and the only other family they had in the area was a great aunt, her children, and grandchild whom no one ever really talked about. The eleven year old couldn't even recall any of their names.

The family of three was in Obsidian Harbor for the day to do some last minute shopping. Aliyah skipped along a few paces in front of her parents. New Zealand was growing on her. Hogwarts was great and her grades were good, although the first year and her father got into heated argument over her final flying grade. He wished she would have tried harder, and she wished he would have bothered to teach her to fly himself when she asked him to before starting school. The two normally never fought, but lately it seemed like Harrison Wright was never making good on the things he promised his daughter and the pre-teen was getting tired of it. Caught in an impasse the two had brokered a silent truce and didn't speak of the matter again. The mood between the two still hadn't quite returned to its usual lightness and the silent treatment was the only way the eleven year old could cope. "Hey mom..." She spun around abruptly to face her mother to ask if she could go ahead shopping alone. She began to walk backwards as she talked, but her experiment in multitasking was short lived as she accidentally knocked into someone behind her. Her eyes squinted at the person in recognition and instant irritation. "You..." she hissed at the boy in front of her.

 

[Raymond Mandy]

Raymond Mandy was considering his summer break mediocre. It had not been as eventful as he hoped, and this did not please him. Ray Ray had expected to have a relaxing time. Instead, Michelle was pushing him even harder to get good grades. His grades for the first semester had been tolerable. He was proud that he was able to show the woman that he was at least average in some subjects. He and Ray had not talked much. But, Michelle had been giving the boy much more attention than usual. It was surprising that his sister was not the one that Michelle was spoiling. The attention felt good, but there was cons to everything. As a reward for his hard work, Raymond was able to roam freely in Obsidian Harbour. This showed that he had gained some trust with his foster mother. It was exciting. He was glad that he was finally trusted enough to be able to go places without extensive supervision.

Raymond bought ice cream with the money he had. It was peanut butter flavored, his favorite. Raymond loved peanut butter. After magic, peanut butter was life. He was so grateful that he was not allergic to any foods. He was not allergic to anything, unlike Ray who simply had allergies. He felt as if he and his sister were drifting apart. Ray Ray loved his sister, and he would do anything to protect her. There was not much he could do about her choosing to act differently. He found walking out of class to be disrespectful. It was not only disrespectful to the professor, but the boy took it up a notch and he said that it was disrespectful to magic. If she was going to be sensitive, she might as well be a squib. It was harsh. But, Raymond was placed in his house due to his extreme admiration and respect for magic. The boy was walking calmly while he licked his ice cream. There was a girl walking backwards. He tried to avoid a collision, be it did not work out that way. His delicious peanut butter ice cream felt to the ground, and there was a female glaring at him. Raymond rolled his eyes. This was not his lucky day. He dropped his favorite treat, and he saw a worthless brat in front of his eyes. She looked to be with her parents. He had to be presentable. "Shouldn't you be in a dumpster somewhere? I am sure that is where they are taking you right now." he said lowly. Presentable was thrown out of the door. This girl managed to ruin his night. She was not a friend at all. He did not care about what her parents thought of him.
​

 

[Aliyah Wright]

Aliyah immediately recognized the boy standing before her. He was Raymond Mandy. The rude boy who completely the ruined her first Halloween Feast. He called her worthless and made her lose her cookies all because she didn't get his stupid costume. Hate was a strong word, but her housemate was definitely one of her least favorite people she had met during her first few months at Hogwarts. Thankfully, she didn't have to deal with him for the rest of the term, but she hadn't forgotten how he treated her. The young witch's cheeks grew hot with anger when she heard his words. "Me...dumpster...seriously?!?" she sputtered in indignation. The Slytherin reached towards her skirt waist band where is normally kept her wand and was disappointed when she remembered that it was locked up in her mother's desk at home since student weren't allowed to perform magic outside of school. She hoped that she could get the chance to duel next term. Maybe the two would have a match and she could give him the proper cursing he truly deserved.

Aliyah took a step toward Raymond fully intending to give him a piece of her mind when she was interrupted by the sound of a man's voice. "Aliyah." Merlin, in her anger she had forgotten that her parents were walking a few feet behind her. The eleven year old quickly blanked her face and smiled innocently in their direction. "A friend from school?" Her father said as she looked on in suspicion, while her mother looked past the pair and to the ice cream that was beginning to melt in the cobbled street. "You knocked his ice cream over. Aren't you going to apologize for the mess." Aliyah's mother wasn't asking for her to apologize, she expected it. Raymond was not her friend and he certainly didn't deserve an apology, but she knew she had no choice but to put on a little show if she wanted her parents to leave her alone. She sighed and threw her arm around the boy's shoulders in faux camaraderie. "Sooooo sorry about your treat Raymond. How about another one? On me." She quickly glanced at her fellow Slytherin before looking back at her parents. Aliyah's little act seemed to be good enough appease her mother although her father didn't look fully convinced, but the girl didn't particularly care what he thought at the moment.

Kennedy Wright handed her daughter a few coins, more than an enough for two ice cream cones, and headed with her husband up the opposite side of the street. As soon as her parents were out of earshot, Aliyah quickly lowered her arm and her smile transformed into a sly smirk. "Karma's a witch, isn't it?" she said sarcastically as she dropped the coins into her pocket. An actress deserved to be paid for her performance and she had no intention of buying Raymond any ice cream. He owed her too much. An apology for the feast and a plate of cookies for starters. "So what are you doing here Mandy? Where's your keeper? They normally don't let zoo animals out of there cages." she teased. He called her trash so she called him an animal. And based on his lack of manners, Aliyah knew her insult some truth to it.

 

[Raymond Mandy]

Raymond stood with his arms crossed. He was having a really good break. Why did he have to see this bad luck charm. The boy attempted to step away from Aliyah's arm, but her grip was a bit strong. He felt disgusted at her touch. There was mutual dislike between then, and the tension was able to be cut up and served on a plate. He did not care about the ice cream anymore. Yes, it was his favorite kind, but he would rather be at home bothering his sister than be around this witch. He scoffed, "You can't even stand up to your parents." he whispered. If it were him, he would have let Michelle know that this girl was no friend. He felt like doing even better in his classes so that they could duel. He was obviously the better wizard.

Raymond stepped away from the girl, and he rolled his eyes. He felt like he needed to change clothes, and now that her parents were gone, he was able to properly express his feelings towards this brat. "Karma has nothing to do with this, Wright. You bumped into me on purpose!" he insisted. The girl had clearly planned it out as soon as she saw him coming from afar. She never intended on buying him a replacement, but he was going to insist on getting one. Raymond held out his hand. "You still need to pay for the damage you have done." he stated seriously. He was seriously not afraid to reach into her pocket and take the money. She was being unnecessarily difficult. It was not his fault that she was not strong enough to hold her ground at the Halloween Feast. She had probably expected someone to save her from humiliation. "I am actually old enough to roam around on my own. You still have to have your guardians supervise you." he retorted and 'tsk'd at the sadness of her situation. He saw how both of them had gotten sorted into Slytherin, but he really wished that they hadn't both been in the same house. He was going to have to deal with this witch for six more years.
​

 

[Aliyah Wright]

"Oh please." Aliyah instantly dismissed Raymond's comment about her not standing up to her parents. The eleven year old knew how to pick her battles and she preferred to only start fights that she knew she could win. She was already on thin ice with her father and she wasn't about to risk being on punishment for the rest of her break over this stupid boy. "Get over yourself. My back was turned. It was an accident." she said as she rolled her eyes and crossed her own arms mimicking her housemates stance. Aliyah was amused at her housemate's insistence on retribution for his fallen ice cream. "Umm...how about...NO!" she said as she playfully slapped away the boy's outstretched hand. "Unless your ice cream came with insurance, I don't owe you a thing. But if you hurry on and go find your mommy, she can buy you a new one." Her voice raised slightly at the end of her statement. She wished she could have been this bold at the Halloween Feast when they first met, but there were faculty and older students everywhere. The first year had hopes of being in student leadership one day and getting into altercations at school events most certainly wouldn't help her succeed in that goal. But today they were not at school and what she did off of Hogwarts campus couldn't have an effect on her reputation inside the school (or at least she hoped).

Aliyah tapped her foot impatiently as the longer the boy stood in front her the more annoyed with him she grew. The moment she heard Raymond's tongue click, she lost it. She didn't need his pity whether it was real or not and she really didn't like what he was implying. "We are in the same year nitwit!" she practically shouted. For all they knew she could have been older than him. "And if we are talking about maturity here, you clearly have the maturity level of a two year old! I mean you are the one started all this at the Halloween Feast. Shouting and throwing things! And all I did was be nice to you. I offered you cookies!" The young witch let out a long winded rant and by the time she was finished her chest was heaving as she struggled to steady her breath. Aliyah knew she should stop, but she couldn't. She had one more thing she had to say. Raymond's lack of accountability and respect was disgusting and she had to put him in his place. "I pitied you. Standing by yourself hugging that dumb doll. I was doing you a favor by talking to you. And sparing our house some embarrassment. You were nothing but a charity case to me." Her voice was low and her eyes were narrow slits. Her statement was in essence a lie, but today she meant every venom laced word and she hoped they stung.

 

[Raymond Mandy]

Raymond refused to believe it was an accident. Wright had saw a chance to ruin his day, and she had took it. He thought that she would have matured some. He was not surprised that he was disappointed. "You're nothing but a worthless liar." The boy rolled his eyes. He wished that he could have his mother by him another one, but she was dead. And, Michelle was fostering them. He wouldn't see the woman as a mother until she adopted them or at least adopted Rayvnn. He was tired of this girl. He was no longer in the mood to fight with her. He did not like people to notice, but family was a touchy subject for him. Soon, she started to yell. Was her tolerance really this low? The boy seriously had better things to do.

He shrugged. "Why are you yelling like a little tw@t?" he asked and shoved her shoulders with both hands. Raymond was not the type to get physical. He just felt like it was the perfect way to defend himself. It was not like she had her wand. They weren't even allowed to use magic outside of school, so he had not worries. "Pity? I didn't need your pity, Wright or your dumb cookies." he retorted. He was a charity case to her. It did not bother him. He could not understand how someone could be so disgusting and worthless. He would never bring his house shame or embarrassment. He was sorted into Slytherin for a reason. He was going to make something of himself, and he did not mind squashing Aliyah Wright while he did it. "You want to do me a favor? Go die a painful death." he snarled, and he spit at the girl. No one had ever irritated him so much. Wright was dealing with the wrong guy, and he was definitely going to cause her harm next semester and all her years at Hogwarts.
​

 

[Aliyah Wright]

Aliyah managed to regain so resemblance of composure, but was still seething with anger. She held her breath, clenched her fists, and stared daggers at the boy standing front of her. A liar probably, but Aliyah Mae Wright was anything but worthless. She knew it and she expected everyone whoever graced her presence to know it as well. She pinched the bridge of the nose, closed her eyes, and let out a deep hollow sigh. And this is what I get for trying to be nice to people. All the tension was beginning to give her a headache. Ugh. He so wasn't worth it. She said what she needed to say and they were practically even now. An ice cream cone for a plate of cookies. Aliyah was fully prepared to walk away and consider the young wizard a lost cause, but she heard Raymond swear at her. Her eye flew open like drawn window blinds and before she could even chastise him for his vulgarity, he shoved her. The petite girl stumble backwards on the cobbled stone sidewalk and fell roughly ground. She gingerly got back on her feet and closed off the remaining space between them. She really wanted the slap the spit out of his mouth, but as she stood toe to toe with him she inexplicably began to chuckle. Aliyah did know whether she should laugh or cry because the situation had grown so ridiculous. It was the second time that the Raymond had laid hands on her and this time his assault was coupled with a literal death wish. Seriously, he wishing someone dead over some harsh words and spilled ice cream. She couldn't even take the other Slytherin seriously anymore. If he got bent out of shape over all of this he really needed to grow a thicker skin.

Considering everything Aliyah had seen of Raymond from the Halloween Feast until now, she found his character severely lacking and he was completely unworthy of her precious time and energy. She was embarrassed that she had already wasted too much on him already. The eleven year old finally came to the conclusion that no amount of yelling, arguing, or shaming would change the fact that he would always be an immature, disrespectful, and hateful little boy. She was not intimidated by him and she was actually quite flattered that he was so threaten by her. As he should be. She knew she was better than him in every way that mattered. Her grandmother always use to say you should never fight with a fool because they have nothing to lose. Raymond Mandy was as hopeless as any fool could possibly be and she refused to sink to his level. No, instead Aliyah was going to beat him the old fashion way, by being the bigger person. "You know what Raymond," she said taking a step back. "You...have a very happy holidays." She smiled brightly right in his face before she turned on her heels and disappeared into a crowd of window shoppers.