𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗜 ━━ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧
056. help will be given at hogwarts

HOGWARTS, A DAY AGO

          "𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗗𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗚, 𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗪 𝗧𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥?"

      Scarlet stopped in her path, her heeled boots clacking against the hard floor as her eyes laid on a curious Nancy Stanley; her eyes squinted in Scarlet's direction with suspicion. The blonde thought that she found the girl quite quickly—rather, Nancy found her.

"What are you doing in my way?" Scarlet folded her arms over her chest, staring down at the shorter girl with an intimidating expression. For a Ravenclaw, Nancy sure was not smart enough to take the run for it. 

The shorter brunette girl held a glass of water in her hands, and she clutched it tightly. "Well, Bridget, it is getting quite late at night—you should be back in your territory."

Scarlet's blood ran thick with rage, and she stepped forward near the girl—holding a murderous smirk on her crimson lips. "I think you should crawl back into that hole you came from and mind your own business, Mudblood."

The colour physically drained from Nancy's eyes, and alarm bells rang in her ears. Yet, she stood her ground. And Scarlet appreciated her futile bravery. 

"Don't be standing in my tower, insulting me when there is nobody else to see, coward." Stanley raised a brow.

"You're getting on my nerves," Scarlet knew the girl was the key to whatever plan she proceeded to execute. Nancy Stanley was just some muggle-born girl from a filthy corner of a muggle town that nobody cared about. If anyone's death would escalate the fear of Muggle-Borns at Hogwarts and push them away from this school, it was Nancy.

      "I'll tell you what I'm doing in your tower," she took another step forward, causing Nancy's back to be flat against a wall. With narrowed eyes and a threatening glare, Scarlet raised her hand and held Nancy's chin with a tight grip—fingers clutching the sides of her face—earning a slow whimper from the girl. "I'm here to send you back to whatever filthy hole you came from, back to your filthy Muggle parents—"

      Her words got caught in her throat when Nancy managed to wiggle her frame out of the blonde's hold and raised her hand to throw the glass of water right in her face.

      With a shocked gasp, Scarlet stumbled back and ran a hand over her face to remove the excess droplets of water dripping down. Then, she chuckled darkly, a sound that made Nancy uneasy. 

      Worried and taking this as an opportunity, she ran. And a part of her knew she could not make it far enough to ever escape Scarlet Bridget. 

      Scarlet caught up to her soon enough, chasing her out of Hogwarts entrance and finding her right at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The blonde stepped closer once again; grabbed the girl furiously by the collar of her shirt and slammed her against a tree.

"Silencio," Scarlet whispered menacingly, waving her wand inches away from the terrified girl's face. "No more snarky remarks, sweetheart?"

      Nancy fought against her grip, feeling the pointy end of Scarlet's crow-head wand lingering against her neck in a threatening manner. With her other hand, she grabbed the empty glass out of the girl's hand and slammed it against the temple of her head; Scarlet threw the girl against the ground. 

      She saw her against the grass, arms landing on the broken pieces of glass which resulted in gruesome wounds. Tears spilling, Nancy picked up one of the pieces and aimed it for Scarlet's leg.

"Pathetic," the girl kneeled down and gripped Nancy's wrist harshly before she could stab the piece into Scarlet's skin. Without remorse, the blonde bent the girl's wrist and made Nancy aim the broken piece against her own chest. She let out fits of sobs and whimpers of disagreements. Not that Scarlet cared.

       Nancy could not even let out an ear-piercing scream as the sharp pain hit her chest, making her draw blood as she gasped for air lightly. 

Nonchalantly, Scarlet took a peculiar-looking necklace out of the pocket of her robe. "Do you know what this is, Stanley?"

Nancy could not speak. The blood started to soak into her white shirt. 

"It certainly looks like a useless necklace, but it's a key to a painless death," Scarlet ruthlessly grabbed her figure and slammed her against the floor again, hovering over her as Nancy winced out in agony. 

      There were no walls of unphased bravery in Nancy's eyes anymore. And soon, there would be no life either. 

      The necklace was only able to touch her skin just slightly, the skin on her throat before a sudden interruption.

"What the fuck, Bridget, what are you doing?" A familiar whisper-yell interrupted her actions, making her drop the necklace before Nancy's lifeless body.

"Crouch?" Scarlet turned and squinted her eyes in the dark, watching an agonised Barty Crouch run over to her, jaw hung open. 

Working quickly, she grabbed the necklace again, wanting to finish what she had started. Nancy's blood was staining her shirt, robes, and hands now. 

"Scarlet, if you kill her, you won't be able to come back from it." Barty stated with a firm tone, stopping her from her movements as she froze completely.

      With a wide-eyed gaze, he knelt on the floor and locked eyes with Scarlet. He leaned forward to push some strands of sweat hair out of her face and held her cheekbones in his hand. 

"Get off of me," she tried to shove him away, but the stubborn Crouch held her in place. 

"Your eyes, what happened to your eyes," he asked with a real sense of genuine confusion and a lingering hint of fear. Gripping her arm, Barty made her stand up, making her stumble away from the body.

      "Your eyes look dark, can you tell me what the fuck you did?" Barty shook her figure, and no response came. As though she was the paralysed one and not Nancy Stanley. 

      Then, rushed in a group of Marauders, interrupting Barty's inquiry.

HOGWARTS, PRESENT

      SIRIUS BLACK WAS WORRIED. Out of spite, he often uttered words and phrases that he never meant. And out of all his miserable thoughts, one of them has never been the idea of Scarlet Bridget being insane. Scarlet was not insane. She was perfect, to him she was.

However, seeing her at the moment, watching her in a blood-soaked shirt and freaking out about a hurt student, and then attacking one of her own friends—it did not look like she was handling herself very well.

With worries on his mind, he stood before the doors to the classroom of Professor McGonagall, fidgeting with his hands as he thought about the line between wrong and right.

The door swept open, "Mr Black, you've been standing here for 15 minutes, what is the matter?"

For a second, Sirius' breath hitched. His lips parted and he finally found his voice, "I was hoping I could speak to you, Professor, it's about... Scarlet."

The professor raised her chin sharply and nodded in agreement, moving aside and allowing him in.

He took a seat with an awkward cough, and the woman questioned, "Would you like some biscuits?"

"No, thank you, professor." He watched as she took a seat right opposite of him. "I'm worried about her."

She nodded, "What has happened? Can I have some details, Mr Black?"

Sirius shrugged, "Well, I can't tell you all the things unless she consents to it, but I can tell you that she has been acting very strange..."

Professor McGonagall's shoulders raised in an alarmed manner, and she nodded ever-so-sharply, prepared for Black to continue with his theory.

      "SCARLET, WAKE THE FUCK UP!" Everest shook Scarlet awake once again, "McGonagall's been waiting for ten minutes, she wants to speak to you."

The girl then instantly shot up, a small gasp leaving her lips. "Shit, shit, I'm so in trouble."

"She said it's no worries, you should probably speak to her freely," Everest smiled softly in an encouraging manner.

It turns out, McGonagall was there to escort her elsewhere instead of speaking to her directly.

"May I ask you something?" The girl questioned as the two walked.

The professor shot her a small nod, "Go ahead, Miss Bridget."

"What happened to Stanley?"

"Thankfully, she woke up this morning, perfectly healthy," Professor McGonagall replied with a tight smile, a sigh of relief escaping her at the thought of her student being fine. "She will be back in class in no time."

"And where are we going?" She asked another question.

"Headmaster Dumbledore's office," her reply was short and Scarlet could not bring herself to ask more questions. 

When she entered the large office, multiple unnecessary objects were laid around in the place. It was disorganised which made Scarlet grimace. 

"Miss Bridget, sit," Dumbledore softly uttered, gesturing for her to sit as McGonagall stood with her raised chin right beside her. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No, sir, thank you," she wanted to get it over with already.

Thankfully, the headmaster went straight to the point. "Miss Bridget, help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it," Dumbledore told her gently. "You can speak to us."

Scarlet's jaw clenched. "I–I don't understand, what is going on?"

Dumbledore shared a cunning look with McGonagall and nodded. "Is there anything out of the ordinary in your day-to-day life, Miss Bridget?"

Scarlet—humorlessly—felt her lips curl up, "I can get you a list."

Unfortunately, the professors did not find it funny. "We had a small chat with Madam Pomfrey, she raised concern regarding a potion you received a few months ago, and you said it must have been a prank." Dumbledore stated firmly, almost having enough of all her bullshit.

      "We have sufficient evidence to believe you're still on that potion, Miss Bridget, intentionally or not."

"Are you insane?" The Bridget retorted at the old man, watching Minerva flinch from the corner of her eyes at her words. "Why would I put myself on that stupid potion that makes my life miserable?"

"So, you admit it, you still feel the effects of it." Minerva hopefully looked at her.

"No—!" She shook her head but was cut off soon by Dumbledore.

"Some of the Slytherins you closely associated with mentioned you disappear multiple times in a day," he told her. Scarlet's eyes lingered around the room awkwardly. She did disappear from her designated spot next to her friends, that was mainly to make out with Sirius. But Dumbledore added to his statement, "Miss Chasseur mentioned you weren't in your room for an entire night last week."

"Have you launched a thorough investigation in my name?" Scarlet shrieked, "Don't get my friends involved in this." The professors could see she was in denial, and Scarlet saw right through herself in the same way. 

      She was worried about herself, about the events of last night and what she caused, however, she was not going to let someone be part of her worries. She really did not mean to lie to Everest when she said she would speak to someone—she just could not. 

      Nobody would believe her. Nobody would help her. The cage she built around herself brick by brick could not be demolished, not now, not ever.

"We did it because someone close to you has left us a note of concern... and if your friends are worried about you — we must look into it." McGonagall sternly looked at her, a look that sent shivers down her spine.

Then, a sudden fury burned in Scarlet's chest. She was furious. The note was not anonymous. She knew exactly where it came from and she was going to murder the source of information. She ignored that voice in her head that told her to get help.

"May I be excused?"

"Miss Bridget, this is an important conversation—" Dumbledore started.

Minerva snapped at her. "We're trying to help you, I may not be your head of House but you are my responsibility. If something is wrong, I need to help you, Bridget, before things get out of control and something terrible happens to you."

      Scarlet was taken aback at her tone of voice, she sounded like an angry and equally concerned mother giving a lecture to her child. She thought for a second, she thought of being stuck in whatever hell she was living in.

"I know you're afraid, Scarlet," her tone levelled down, and a look of solemn took over her eyes the moment Scarlet fell silent, unable to snap back with another rageful or sassy remark. "I know you're scared to share but if you don't talk to us, we can't help you get better."

      Her wise eyes fell to Scarlet's shaky fingers as the blonde vicariously fiddled with the plethora of rings designing her dainty fingers, her index then started to tap against an emerald-stones bracelet she wore, making a loud, clicking sound over the expanse of silence in the room.

"I'm not going to force you, if not now, you can come anytime, our doors will always be open," McGonagall shared a look with Dumbledore who nodded quietly. "If you change your mind, give me a notice."

Scarlet nodded and gulped down with difficulty.

"Thank you, Miss Bridget," Dumbledore spoke, not as pressuring as he initially was. Scarlet wanted to greet them a small goodbye out of politeness, but she could not. Her throat closed up and a chilling shiver took over her body.

It could not have been the cold. It was the utterly gruesome realisation that she—Scarlet Celestine Bridget—required help.

      "YOU LYING MORON! YOU SNITCHED TO MCGONAGALL!" The moment of solemn realisation and the chilling effect was not ever-lasting, and the permanent rage carved into her heart made its appearance once again. 

      After requesting Marlene to allow her to enter the Gryffindor Common Room when she came across the blonde and Everest, she dashed into the place, earning horrified looks from everybody else.

      Sirius was startled, eyebrows pinched together as his three friends shot him a look confusedly.

Then Sirius squeezed his eyes shut as though the reason behind her anger finally clicked. He stood and walked up to her figure. "Look, Blondie—"

"You fucking liar, I trusted you! You made me look insane to my professors!"

"Merlin, Pads, did you tell McGonagall?" James scoffed, standing up from his seat.

"She asked me to tell her if something's wrong!"

"Liar!" Scarlet snapped at him, standing a few inches away from him and sternly staring. "She said you raised concern—that you—"

"She asked me months ago to keep an eye on you, in case—" he pursed his lips, cutting himself off and his eyes wandered the expanse of the room, a couple of Gryffindors were present and they were all looking at the sudden commotion.

"Everybody, back to your dorms, now!" Lily authoritatively declared, and nobody dared to stay back and argue against her decision. Nobody spoke against Lily Evans, it was sort of like an unspoken rule.

"I thought–I thought I could trust you," Scarlet frowned, lips trembling now as she stared at him

Sirius' face fell. "I was trying to help, you looked so... so out of it lately."

"Out of what? Out of my mind?" Scarlet asked with a raised brow. "I don't need anybody's help, I can take care of myself so stop butting into my business."

"I wasn't going to sit there and watch you go through it alone," Sirius snapped back, convinced he was right. "I told you I wasn't going to let anything happen to you and I meant it, so I'll be here, trying to keep you safe whether you like it or not."

"But—"

"No buts, I don't care what you have to say, I've made my decision." He spoke in his definite, stubborn tone and it was impossible to go against his words. It was almost like the world kept giving her something to hold on to, even when she didn't want it.

      Because when you have something to hold onto, you also have something to lose.

      She didn't want to lose Sirius Black.

      From the corner of her eyes, she could see the girls' and the boys' jaws dropping to the floor, eyes widened the moment she started to turn around without retorting back, as though it was the most unusual sight ever—the fact that Sirius left her void of any remarks.

      It was James who watched the two with squinted eyes and arms folded, gaze moving back and forth between the blonde girl and the raven-haired boy in a suspicious manner.

      Without arguing, Scarlet left the common room and searched for cold. The coldness of her territory—down to the Slytherin dungeon.

𝑪𝑨𝑹𝑨 𝑺𝑷𝑬𝑨𝑲𝑺

i live for tiny little 
#starlet moments. 

he cares a lot, guys,
he just doesnt know it 
YET.