She watched as the youngest Potter boarded the train for his final year, Lorcan her twin board for their fifth year, and the girl sat at the station, her suitcases beside her as she planned on NOT moving, letting the train leave without her and Lysandra could return home and not go back to school for the next year. Unfortunately, after the wizarding war, the train was chaperoned by teachers and Cane had this year, her magical theory teacher, the only class she actually advanced in as it had nothing to do with performing the spells and her plan was foiled.
âProfessor CaneâŠâ  her head turned towards him, tears still ran down her face as the boys who tormented her at school ran past her to catch the train, laughing as soon as they saw her ALONE, knowing it would only begin to spark rumours about looney lyssie. It was how everything began, she just wanted to curl up in her suitcase and never leave, the creatures there, they protected her, kept her safe, made her feel at home, Hogwarts wasnât her home. The Hufflepuff sniffled softly, tucking her cardigan into her hand as she wiped it across her face before laying her fists on her knees.
however, it wasnât going to stop her tears and mental anguish
Shaking her head the girl sighed gently. âThanks, Professor, but I am only ever smart in Hagridâs, Uncle Professor Longbottomâs or your class, I canât do anything with actual magic, I canât defend myself, I am far from strong.â
She couldnât take the compliment, she was horrible at receiving them, even worse at actually believing them.
âItâs because of THEMâ - a hand went up as the final boy who laughed at her boarded one of the middle carriages - âthey torment me at school Professor, Lorcan tries to stop them, but he isnât in my house, heâs a Ravenclaw, there is only so much he can do, half of them are Hufflepuffs, and the rest are in your house Professor. I donât want to go BACK to Hogwarts.âÂ
         that wasnât what he meant by smart, or strong.
         â in my experience, there is much more to strength and intelligence than doing magic and getting good marks.  â
         dry and factual, his tone betrayed no sympathy or comfort. he wasnât planning on lying to her (unless she frustrated him to the point of wanting to end the conversation at any cost), and he had no intention of flattering her. defending oneself was important, but magic was certainly not the end-all to that. and in his opinion, there were plenty of classes that oneâs aptitude within had absolutely no bearing on oneâs intelligence.
         he knew the boys in question, and obnoxious though they were, he had no intention of correcting their behaviour, at least not in any way that would aid her. their defense against a cruel world was cruelty, and he was in no position to judge them for that, though their execution did leave something to be desired. subtlety would have served them better, but he was under no obligation to instruct them in the finer points of being mean whilst still being likeable. even within his own house, he played favorites.
         besides, punishing their behaviour would likely only make things worse for the girl. they would grow more cruel and more sneaky and she would still be here (or in the hospital wing, more likely) crying just the same.
         â well, you have to go back. and they likely wonât stop on their own, so your only recourse is to grow stronger. grow more resilient, in your mind. you donât have to fight back, but you must make it so they canât hurt you, or it will never stop. there will always be people who want to hurt you.  â