Disclaimer: I don't own or have any rights to anything that is actually published or was created by J.K Rowling. Derayina is mine. Touch her and die.

Last Chapter-. During that time Derayina reflected on how quickly her life had changed and tried to decide whether she liked it or not. She decided to stop thinking about that before she came up with the answer, knowing she wouldn't like either one of the two possibilities.

Once Derayina was satisfied with her braid she reached under her bed a retrieved a tattered black notebook. It looked like over fifty pieces of different coloured papers were sticking out from various parts of the water stained and torn book. The only aspect of the book that didn't look as if it had been dropped in a muddy river was Derayina's full name embossed on the cover in bold silver letters. Derayina skimmed her finger over the pieces of paper sticking out until she reached the one she was looking for. With an unnaturally quick movement of her wrist Derayina opened the book to where the piece of paper had marked it. Her eyes quickly scanned the page while the fingers of her left hand tapped her knee in an unidentifiable pattern. Hermione was in the bed next to Derayina and took advantage of the opportunity presented when the silver haired girl put the notebook to the side and reached under the bed again. A quick glance showed one page filled with illegible stanzas of small cramped writing and the other completely filled with bars and music notes. Hermione struggled to read the title of the music piece upside down.

Devil May Care, Devil May cry

Hermione startled at a sudden thump and jumped, quickly averting her gaze from the book incase she had been caught peeking. However, the thump had been caused by Derayina falling off the bed onto the stone floor.

"Ow…" The soft moan barely reached Hermione's ears. But as soon as it did she and all the other girls, also alerted by the thump quickly got out of their beds and rushed to Derayina. If they hadn't thought Derayina was hurt then the sight would have been comical. Derayina's head and torso were on the floor and the other half of her body was propped up against the bed with her feet still on the mattress. She was also cross-eyed and slightly dazed. Every single girl wanted to be the first to help Derayina up and so it took much longer than it should have and caused unneeded chaos. Derayina; however, was clearly not willing to put up with their concern and shook out their grasping arms irritably, flipping herself over and getting up with eel like dexterity.

All of the girls except for Hermione had begun to coo over Derayina, who had threaded her fingers through her hair to grip her head. Hermione was staring at the area of skin just above Derayina's left hipbone. When she had fallen her pajama shirt had ridden up slightly, revealing the lower part of her stomach. Presenting a stark contrast against her alabaster skin was a black tattoo. The tattoo was rather small and was of a skull and cross bones with a witch's hat on it. It was illegal, even in the wizarding world, to get a tattoo until you were of legal age. And thirteen was most certainly not legal age. Just after Hermione thought that Derayina shook her head briskly as if banishing the pain from her it and tugged her pajama top back down. For the first time the girls really looked at Derayina. Until now they hadn't had an opportunity to size up the other girl but now they could while pretending to looked over her in concern.

Derayina was wearing silver silk pants with a shimmery star pattern. Her shirt was a black, skin-tight short sleeve that showed off her lean but clearly muscled figure. With her silver hair and striking eyes Derayina was a beauty. A cold beauty but a true beauty nonetheless.

"Thanks for the help," Derayina said, her tone bordering on sarcastic. "But we should be getting to bed." The rest of the girls fluttered over a clearly irritated Derayina for a moment more before going back to their own beds. Hermione did the same but she was the only one who caught the look of disgust that flashed over Derayina's face for less than a second.

Only after everyone said their good nights and settled down to sleep did Hermione hear Derayina close her notebook and the rustling of sheets indicating that Derayina was finally going to sleep. And Hermione sighed, glad that Derayina hadn't snuck out of the dormitory as she had expected her to because she knew she would have followed.

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They attacked in a flurry of movement and black fabric, launching themselves from the shadows and stone walls that made the alley ways the keystone of Nodnol's underground. She tried and strained to see their faces, aiming to imprint them in her mind. Revenge. Revenge. Revenge. Revenge. But scarves were wrapped high and tight around faces. However, the brute strength behind the attack gave away the fact that the entire group was made up of men. As fists, kicks and insults slammed into their target she allowed herself one act of desperation when she curled into a small ball and wrapped her arms over her head, protecting her vital organs and face as she had taught the younger children to do. Bones cracked, skin split and blood ran but she bit down on her lip until the skin broke to halt any sound from escaping. She would not give her attackers the satisfaction of hearing her cry out. The tinny metallic taste of blood filled her mouth as one punch knocked out a tooth and gouged the skin inside her cheek. There was a pause before arms were snapped back down, leaving her face unprotected.

"Do you know who we are?" But she had resolved they would hear no sound from her. No cry, no yells, no yelps, no whimpers, no grunts, no words. So she spat. And squirreled away her pathetic triumph when a gob of spit and blood hit one of the attackers in the eye, the only part of his face visible around the scarf. Dull brown eyes ignited for a moment before a shooting star of bronze crossed her vision. Bones snapped out of place and realigned. Brass knuckles. Still, no sound passed her mutilated mouth.

"Demon eyes." Knives.

"Thou shalt not suffer to let a sorceress live." Stones.

The heel of a boot came crashing down on the back of her knee, smashing the joint completely. Finally, a scream.

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Derayina shot up into a sitting position, her mouth opened to scream but the only sound that came out was a ragged whisper. Her knee ached, a phantom pain. One pale hand was slowly brought up to trace the scar on her face. The scar she kept hidden during the day. Magic was wonderful. Slowly, steadily returning her breathing to the normal pace Derayina lowered herself back down. When her head hit the pillow she practically melted into the mattress, her entire body relaxing and softening. As the night melted into dawn Derayina lay awake, reflecting on the past, carefully compartmentalizing each emotion that accompanied it and storing them into the deepest recesses of her mind. And when the sun rose Derayina had revived her cold demeanor and the stage was set for another day. The mask fell.