The second Angela had sat down at the Gryffindor table, she immediately put her head down, pressing her hands into her ears. It was a constant rotation of conversations, all things she didn't care to listen to. Daisy. America. Regulus. Adhara. The school somehow knew everything that had happened over the summer as well as what had happened on the train.

She just wanted them all to stop talking.

"They're getting married!" A student exclaimed. "Can you believe it? They're younger than us and they're getting married!"

She banged her head on the table twice before looking up, "Do they truly not have anything better to talk about?" James and Sirius both exchanged a look, "Honestly, they should just mind their own business."

"It kind of is their business," Marlene replied. Angela turned to look at the girl to find that she was just mindlessly eating her food.

"Excuse me?"

"Marlene," Lily hissed under her breath.

"What?" Marlene huffed, "I'm not wrong. There's a war happening. Everything is everyone's business now."

"No, no it's not," Angela replied. "They may think that they're entitled to know what happened, but they aren't. They don't get to know anything. They don't know anything."

"The whole school already knows Ang, you might as well accept that now rather than worrying yourself over it."

"Marlene, let it go," James said warningly.

"Oh, come off of it," she rolled her eyes. "Back me up here Lily, you agreed-"

"Maybe I did but you're taking this too far."

James shook his head, "Agree with what exactly."

Lily's eyes widened and Marlene shook her head in disbelief, "Don't be so naive James. I get it, she went through a lot but she should be telling others what happened. We have the right to know so we know what we could be getting into."

Before anyone could stop her, Angela launched herself at Marlene. She yanked the girl off the bench and threw them both on the ground.

"Oh, shit," Sirius muttered as he stood up.

Angela sat up on the girl. "You think you have the right to know what happened to me, huh?" she demanded as she yanked the girl up by the robes and leaned closer, "You act as though you have the right to know everything but news flash, Marlene, you don't. I went through it. I made it out alive. Nothing happened to you! You have no say in what I do or do not tell people! That is none of your business!"

Marlene reached up to grab at the girl, the shock of it all wearing off. Angela raised her hand, ramming it straight into the blonde's jaw.

"Angela, get off of her!" Lily exclaimed. The redhead turned to look at James and Sirius, "Do something!"

Sirius and James glanced at each other before they both shrugged and James spoke up, "I think she has this one handled."

"I agree with Prongs."

Marlene pushed her hand into Angela's face, trying to get the girl off of her. Lily shook her head in disbelief before she moved toward Angela.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Remus suggested warily. It wasn't as though he were particularly enjoying the fight but he wasn't going to be the one to get in the middle of it either.

"Nobody else is doing anything!" Lily exclaimed before she reached forward, making an attempt at pulling Angela off. Lily managed to pull Angela off of Marlene, giving her friend enough time to pull herself together but Lily lost her grip quickly. Angela yanked herself from her grasp but Lily held onto her robes, pulling it off unintentionally.

Lily raised her hands quickly, the anger clear in Angela's face, "I-I don't want to fight! I just want you to stop."

Angela raised an eyebrow, "You agreed with her, didn't you? You think that I should share my experiences with everyone. For their safety?"

"I think that it could be helpful, yes," she answered honestly. "But I don't think you're obligated to tell anyone." Her head cocked to the side slightly as she stared the Head Girl down. "You know I'm going to have to take house points for this, right?"

Sirius snickered at this and James elbowed him in the side, fighting down a smile himself.

"You think I give a damn about house points?" Angela asked in disbelief. "I couldn't give two dung brains about house points. Here I was thinking you were supposed to be the smart one."

Angela suddenly spun around, her wand out, "Protego!"

The spell that Marlene shot her way bounced off the shield that she had formed and hit the Hufflepuff table. The group of girls who had been sitting there stood up quickly.

"You want advice, Marlene?" Angela asked, "Fine. Magic has a sound. Even before it's being used. When you're trapped in a room constantly waiting for the next spell to hit you, you learn to listen. Only you can't fight back. You can only listen. There is nothing that can be done. When you get taken, you might as well be dead already."

Marlene faltered at this, "But you're not."

"No, no I'm not," Angela replied. "I only wish I was." She could feel the sight of everyone on her but she couldn't even bring herself. "There is no winning this, Marlene. They are willing to go to greater lengths than we ever will be. Merlin, they're in this room now, and we do nothing. Dumbledore does nothing."

"There has to be something-"

"There isn't. Just ask Daisy," Angela suggested before she tucked her wand away. She turned toward Lily who took an automatic step back. Angela reached forward and grabbed her robs from the girl. She raised them slightly, "Thanks for holding onto this for me."

James immediately made his way after his sister, "Angela, wait!"

He managed to catch up to her, struggling to keep her pace, "Go back to your girlfriend, James, I'm fine."

"You're bleeding," he countered, grabbing her arm.

She yanked it away quickly, "I'm fine."

"Ang, I just don't want to lose you again."

"You won't," she replied, "Not soon, anyway. I still need space."

He nodded reluctantly, "Hey, I know it'll just be you in your room this year because of everything...there's an extra bed with the boys since I'll be in the Head Boy room. It's yours if you want it."

"I'll keep that in mind."

James started to walk in the opposite direction but stopped, "And Angela?"

She huffed, stopping her walk, "What?"

"I'm proud of you, you know that right?" he informed her and she smiled slightly despite herself.

"I know," she said with a sad smile before she turned and walked away.

She made her way straight to the come-and-go room, knowing it was the one place no one could bother her. She threw her robes down on the couch with a huff before she started unbuttoning her now blood stained top. She hissed slightly as she pulled it off her left arm.

Angela glanced down at her arm and frowned. The fight with Marlene must have reopened her unhealing wound on her arm. Blood Traitor. It was forever carved into her skin and wouldn't seem to go away no matter what she tried. She even tried slicing the top layer of skin away but that was just a load of unnecessary pain that eventually healed but did nothing.

She waved her wand over her now ruined shirt, transfiguring it into a rag. "Aguamenti," she muttered and a light stream of water covered the rag.

Angela cringed as she gently cleaned the wound the best she could. The last thing she needed was for it to get infected. She was so focused on cleaning the wound that she hadn't heard the door open.

"Angel?" someone muttered and she froze in shock.

"You shouldn't be here," was all she could say.

"I know."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I don't know."

She huffed before she stood up, facing the boy. He sucked in a breath as he saw her arm and she was quick to hide it. "Then you can leave now."

"I-I came to check on you."

"I'm fine," she said pointedly and she was now painfully aware of the fact that she wasn't wearing a shirt. He walked closer to her and she took a step back, "Don't come any closer."

He stopped at this, the two stared at each other, daring the other to speak. "Did you mean what you said in the Great Hall?"

She snorted in disbelief, "What? The part about us having lost? Of course that's what you-"

"No, not that," he shook his head quickly. "I-I meant the part about you wishing you were dead."

She watched him for a moment, unsure as to how she should answer him. He had risked his life to get her out of there alive. But then again, she had been in there for a month before he did anything.

"I meant it," she replied simply and he watched her for a moment. "If things weren't the way they were...do you think we'd still be together right now?" she asked him.

His face softened at this, "I would like to think we would have been together for the rest of our lives."

"Then why aren't we?" she asked with a shake of her head. He frowned and as he opened his mouth to tell her for the thousandth time, she raised her hand to stop him, "Just wait. I don't care anymore. I don't care about sides or blood status or anything. I'll do whatever V-"

Regulus threw his hand over her mouth without a second thought, his eyes wide with fear. "D-don't say it. Don't ever say it. You don't know what you're saying. You don't know what you want."

She raised her hands and gently pulled his hand down, gripping his wrist as though he were going to float away. "I want you," she said honestly, her voice cracking as she said it. He let out a heavy breath and he opened his mouth, "Don't say anything. Just let me have this one thing. It's the least you could do."

"Angel, I-" he began but she leaned up on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to his, successfully silencing him. He gasped and she leaned into him, her hands slipping up and under his shirt. He shivered slightly at this and she smiled against his mouth. "This is a bad idea," he muttered and she pulled him closer.

"Shut up," she requested, slipping his shirt over his head. They broke apart for a brief moment but that didn't last long. He kissed alongside her jaw, nibbling slightly on her neck. She let out a noise of satisfaction and he practically melted.

He moved down her body, kneeling at her feet. He looked up at her in admiration. "You're sure about this?" he inquired as he mindlessly tugged on the hem of her skirt.

She lowered herself to the ground, her arms wrapping around his neck. She kissed him, moving along his jaw and making her way to his ear. She nibbled slightly on his early lobe before whispering, "Yes."