She belonged to herself only. She had edges, boundaries, tastes, definition down to her eyelashes. And when she walked it was clear she knew where she was going.
The only thing I remember from my
childhood is when you are scared make
yourself tall. I’m the tallest girl alive. I’m
the tallest knife. No throat can hold me.
Dalton Day, from the title poem of To Breathe I’m Too Thin (via bostonpoetryslam)
❝ Her quickness of mind was like a hiss, a dart, a lethal bite. ❞ ADRIANNE HO? No, that’s actually LISETTE ZHANG. Only 27 years old, this SLYTHERIN alumni works as an ART CONSULTANT and is sided with THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. SHE identifies as CIS WOMAN and is a MUGGLEBORN who is known to be INDULGENT, CUNNING, and RETICENT but also PRAGMATIC, INDEPENDENT, and TENACIOUS.
( TW: RACISM, DISCRIMINATION, BULLYING. )
lisette’s mother, zhang xinyu, has given up everything for a better life in london. she works tirelessly as she juggles domestic work, night school, raising a child, and paying bills. they don’t have lot, but they have the help of family, and they get by. lisette’s father isn’t in the picture; the deadbeat hasn’t been around since she was three.
children are cruel when you look different and your sneakers have holes, but lisette isn’t one to be pushed around. she’s a plucky, determined thing, landing herself in the principal’s office for schoolyard fights more than once to her mom’s disappointment. ( as she grows older, she’ll develop more underhanded methods to deal with people she strongly dislikes. )
as much as she tries, xinyu isn’t sure how to handle her unruly child, and even less sure of how to deal with how books will randomly levitate and pots will shatter without lisette touching them. all questions are answered when lisette receives her hogwarts letter at, and lisette can’t be happier to leave. magic! owls! wands! no more racist schoolkids! the zhangs scrounge up enough for her school supplies and she’s sent off.
she’s sorted into slytherin, and lisette doesn’t really get it but green is a pretty color. she thinks she’ll make friends with the boy next to her until they talk about their families and he learns she’s not pureblood---worse, she’s muggleborn---and moves to the other side of the table. she quickly learns that magical children aren’t any different from the mean classmates she left behind, and sometimes they’re worse.
it’s not all bad. there are some friendly faces in slytherin and even more in other houses, so she puts her energy towards making friends with them than trying to please those she never will. still, people think she’s an easy target: poor, small, mudblood with secondhand robes and an insignificant last name.
her first and second year are tough, but schoolwork distracts her. lisette is never made to feel like a burden, but the best is expected of her even at a young age. i came here for you, don’t let my efforts go to waste. even when she’s at hogwarts and her mother doesn’t understand at all, she’s still expected to bring home good grades. she’s a natural at charms and transfiguration, and mid-way through her third year, people know not to mess with her unless they want a jinx their way. it doesn’t get easier---she’s got the scars to show for it---, but she does get tougher.
a tenacious child grows into an ambitious teenager, and she’s always been a quick study. surviving in the den of snakes takes becoming a snake herself; lisette learns to wield a sharp tongue and a whip-fast wand. she has an even faster punch---blood purists really don’t see a fist coming when they’re expecting a hex first.
if you can turn a hedgehog into a pincushion, why can’t you turn polyester into silk or a rock into a ruby? this is how she remakes herself: she spins straw into gold. she’d much rather infuriate the bigots by becoming just as elegant and poised if they’re going to look down on her all the same. by fifth year, she’s getting higher grades and she dresses better. how’s that for a mudblood?
once she graduates, she decides to attend muggle university for art history bc fuck the wizarding world. all the while, she pretends she’s rich, making money off of transfigured items she sells to her classmates. oh, just cleaning out my closet. no big deal. what’s the point of having magic if you don’t use it?
she somehow falls into the wrong crowd---or maybe it’s the right crowd---as she gets into the art dealing business. modified duplication spells paired with transfiguration spawn never-before-seen paintings and sketches of famous artists that sell for hundreds and thousands. she takes a cut from art dealers who sell her forged works, and as the years pass, she starts to sell directly with the help of her connections. she’s more than comfortable, she’s bought her mom a new car and new flat in the nice part of london, and life is grand.
but she can’t completely ignore the wizarding world, try as she might. she still has friends there, after all. she’s never been one for noble causes, but she can’t sit around and do nothing when she ( and others like her ) are being targeted with such vitrol. so she joins the order; she’s not going down without a fight.
personality
hers is a quiet, simmering kind of anger. it fuels her drive to bring down the death eaters, and fuels her ambition to grow more successful than anyone who ever told her no. she is calculating, efficient, and deceitful, not opposed to using underhanded and morally grey methods to fulfill her goals. very loyal to her friends and family. would kill for them.
she’s no longer as cold and caustic as she was in hogwarts; she puts on a smooth, sociable front, and has grown skilled at sweet-talking and charming people to get her way. she’s actually quite friendly now, with a quick wit and a dry sense of humor. unless you’re a pureblood. she’s not too fond of purebloods from the get-go unless you’re really nice or trustworthy or you’ve proven your worth or something.
lover of pretty things like art, perfume, and jewelry. likes dressing well and enjoying good wine. great aim.
It did no good to cry, she had learned that early on. She had also learned that every time she tried to make someone aware of something in her life, the situation just got worse. Consequently it was up to her to solve her problems by herself, using whatever methods she deemed necessary.
Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
(via wordsnquotes)
a girl is told she is nothing. she hums
into the soft dark - just wait,
till i come back
& eat you bare.
till your heart cries blue.
till your bones are fear
Scherezade Siobhan, log #1 (Published in The Undertow Review)
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pixelskylines
tangentwithtanner
areudirty
origamiaround
titsay
