She thought she’d be safe at Hogwarts, but every day she found herself doubting that more and more. Any time her stomach twinged after eating or she felt lightheaded in class, she was convinced that somehow she’d gotten poisoned without realizing it. She ate the same food off the same table as everyone else, but what if somehow hers was different? And if her stepmother’s ‘extra ingredients’ were poison, how long would it be before she discovered that she hadn’t taken it? What would happen then?
And as the paranoia spun out of control, she began to see danger everywhere. Every time she looked up at her stepsisters, they would avert their eyes. Were they in on it too? Out of her periphery there always seemed to be a pair of eyes watching, only for them to disappear when she shifted her gaze. Always someone behind her, always someone watching, someone who was now ready to strike–
She stopped and turned around, shoulders squared and fists clenched. She tried to give off some aura of intimidation and knowing but more than anything, she seemed like a scared, cornered mouse. Her quivering voice gave her away. “Are you following me?”
Djali was just walking back to the Three Broomsticks, not paying much attention to the people around him, when the blonde he’d been strolling behind whipped around and accused him of following her. The bartender raised a brow as he looked down at the younger girl, “Is there a reason I would be?” Of course he wasn’t purposefully following her, but where was the harm in messing with her a little bit?
