Rethinking Oneself.

As long as Christiare could remember, she had been raised with one thought and drive, Witchcraft was a vile abomination that must be stopped.
Had Hogwarts not the word "school" attached to it, she probably would have been forbidden to go.
Christiare, or Chrisi, or Taire, stared into the fire of the common room, flipping her wand around in her hand, thinking over her home life, pondering how bad Witchcraft really was. It was, actually fairly enjoyable to her, and she only wished it wasn't forbidden. The still silence was interrupted as she heard someone entering the Common Room, and she looked up to see ...

Arya looked out the window of the dorm and sighed, falling back on her bed. It was windy and rainy, and already promised to be the most boring Saturday ever. She didn’t even have any homework to do, which was something Arry never thought she would complain about.

Changing into a rather plain gray gown with black stitching, she decided she may as well sulk by the fire. To her disappointment, the Common Room was not empty. Well, only one person was there, but still.. That was worse than a crowd, she’d almost certainly have to talk to this one person.

“Hello,” she greeted her housemate, trying to be polite. “How are you today?”

Plopping down into a big armchair by the fire, Arya studied Christiare with slight curiosity. They’d shared a dorm for seven months, but Arry still knew nothing about her.

“Christiare, would you like to play a game of truths?”

Christiare looked to Arya, unknowing of why someone was speaking to her. She shifted uneasily, folding her legs beneath herself and tugging on a braid.
"Alright..."
She wanted to keep no secrets, she needed to get her past out of her system. Who cared what others thought anyway? She only hoped Arya wouldn't ask her anything that could be used against her.

“Brilliant,” she responded, smiling politely. “So the way this goes is we take turns asking each other a question, and we must answer as truthfully as possible. If you can’t answer a question or choose not to, you lose a sickle.”

Arya made herself comfortable and stared at the fire for a moment, thinking of what to ask first. It was a game she and her muggle friends played rather often; of course, they only risked losing stones or twigs, not real money. The questions tended to get deeper and more serious as the game progressed.

“Okay, first question,” she mused, thinking of something random. “What did you do on your last birthday?”

Almost instantly, Christiare's smile faded. She turned slightly so she could look Arya in the eye. She struggled with what to say.
Do I tell the Truth?... Father made me promise.. Yet I should tell someone.. Maybe once I befriend someone.. for now I guess, tell the truth, but not all the truth?
"I spent the day at home with my family, since my Birthday was over brake you know. My father led mass as usual, and forced me to since since it was my birthday, as usual, and I shared my birthday spotlight with God, as usual. What did you do on your last birthday?"

Mirielle was proud of herself. She had managed to scare the password of each and every house out of a few students here. She knew which fruit to tickle and what words to say.
She thought that she'd start with the gryffindor common room. They were sure to be more interesting than the Ravenclaws, them just lying around reading books. No, the gryffindors were more daring.
She entered the gryffindor common room smiling to herself. She had managed to trick the painting into thinking that she was one of them. But I'm not, thankfully.
"What are you two doing?" Mirielle said in a sing-songy voice.

Arya fidgeted in her seat while Christiare answered her simple question. A God spotlight thing didn’t sound like too much fun. Then again, it wasn’t like Arry and her family had partied all night on her birthday.

“Well, on my last birthday we sort of just did what we normally do,” she explained slowly. “Worked on the farm, brought the food into the village to sell. My parents let me buy a lemon tart from the baker, though, to celebrate.”

She wondered for a moment if she should charge Christi a sickle. Was it against the rules to ask the same question as the last person? Before she could figure it out, however, they were interrupted... by a Slytherin! Arya made a mental note to talk to the prefect about changing the password.

“Bloody hell, are you lost?” she asked Mirielle, feigning concern. “You do realize you’re supposed to walk down the stairs to your common room, not up them?”

Mirielle looked around the common room. The colors were hideous, to be sure, and there was almost no one there. Oh, this is no fun.
"That's almost clever for a gryffindor. I was curious about the other common rooms. I figured, you gryffindors were more fun than the book-loving ravenclaws but now that I see no one here, well it's a let down. Don't tell me you've never thought about what the slytherin common room looks like. One thing I'll tell, Salazar had better taste." Mirielle smiled before breaking eye contact with Arya. She, then, pierced her dark, cold brown eyes onto Christi, who she knew was an easy squirmer from watching her perform her spells in class."You never did answer my question. What are you two doing?" She said in an almost sinister way before sinking down by Christi, and scooting so close that it was uncomfortable. Lucky for her Christi was on the very edge of the couch and had no where to back away from her.

Christi fiddled with her skirts, looking down and away from Mirielle. She neither wanted to, nor knew how to truly respond. When Mirielle sat next to her, Christi wanted nothing more than to scoot as far as possible, and found herself awkwardly sandwitched between her and the couch end. She didn't want to seem rude, so she answered timidly.
"We were playing a game of truths..."
Her eyes flickered everywhere in the room except for Mirielle. Then, she had a thought. Stop being scared. Slowly, she fixed her eyes on Mirielle, and forced herself to look into those piercing brown eyes.

Mirielle smiled that Christi had the audacity to stare her in the eye. There's a bold Gryffindor. Elle laughed.
"A game of truths." She laughed again but it was a little more sinister this time."Have you been good little girls and only asked the safe little questions. Of course you have because you good little girls have only done safe little things." Said Mirielle. In truth, she had only done what good little girls had done but she was always game for something daring. "What about we alter," She looked at Arya."the game and make it truth and dare. Or just a game of dares. I'm up for almost anything." Her smile was so deadly that it could almost kill.

Inwardly, or possibly outwardly as well, Christiare whimpered. Usually, dares were something unspeakable for a girl like Christiare to do. She didn't want any trouble, or any enemies either. For a moment, she struggled to respond, before responding with a voice that was almost too firm to be her own, her eyes locked on Mirielle's.
"Why do you slytherin always try to make things complicated? A game of truths contains equal the risk for one whom has something to hide, we could turn to dares, but of course, that would suggest you have a secret you wish not to be revealed, hmm?"

Christiare herself, knew that by suggesting it, she would be questioned on her secrets, but, she decided then, what is the purpose in playing weak if you secrets make you strong.

Mirielle laughed. She only thought a game of dares would be more interesting.Why would I have any secret from her?
"Dear Christiare, why in the possible world would I have anything to hide from you?Come on be a gryffindor. Brave and daring. Sometimes I wonder if you should have been sorted into hufflepuff. So timid and scared. I think that sometimes I'm braver and more daring than you but of course I also have a mean streak."Mirielle stared down her opponent. She laughed again.Christiare my opponent?what a laugh."You're right a game of truths could be more dangerous if you have something to hide. Christiare do you have something to hide? Are you not such a nice girl after all?"Mirielle switched her cold gaze from the timid, little Christi to Arya. She had enough of the gryffindor. "What about you Arya, are you game? Or are you like the pathetic little supposed to be hufflepuff?" Elle stared down Arya trying to make her crack but even she knew that it wouldn't be as easy as Christi.

Christiare balled her fists as she thought.
So that's what they think of me. Timid and scared?
Christiare stood, smoothing out her skirts.
"Was that a question of truths? Or a dare to reveal one's past? If nothing else, I might as well be honest. Yes, I am timid, because I do not wish for rejection, yes I am scared, because all of this is new to me. But Yes, I am brave, because I am willing to put my whole world behind me simply to stand up to who dares compare someone like Arya to filfth such as I!"
When Christiare finished, she was gripping her wand tightly, her eyes were glaring. Obviously, she had been hit in a soft spot. Her face was stern.
"You come to our common room and insult us, neither of which you have the right to do. You're lucky I don't turn you in to a professor.
Christiare put away her wand and sat back down on the couch, looking at Mirielle with a ere smile.
"Please leave here before I loose my temper.

Hmm. SHe had a good point it could have been a truth but Christi didn't want to get on her bad side. She saw Christi stand and pull her wand out. Of course, Mirielle didn't need to stand to defend herself. She knew that Christi only did that to seem taller than she was.
"Oh Christi, I don't think I feel like leaving just yet. Oh and I never called you filth. I just said that you might not be as innocent as I thought. You can report me to the Headmistress if you like but that isn't fighting your own battles it's getting her to do so. Be brave, as you claim you are and fight your own. Also one more thing, do not ever cross me, I've been taught to use the black arts and I also read and study them up." Mirielle dismissed Christi's attempt to give her a scary smile. "Also, you've already lost your temper." Mirielle snatched Christi's wand from her hand, faster than anyone could ever see and pulled out her wand in such speed that it looked like a blur. She stuck it under Christi's chin."You see I could blow your head off but I choose not to because I'm somewhat against murder. This is a warning. Don't ever try to threaten me again. I'll give you back your wand when I choose to leave. I'm not ready yet."

Arya had been sitting quietly, watching all the drama unfold. To be honest, it annoyed her more than it worried her; she hadn’t woken up on the right side of the bed today, which was always dangerous for someone with a temper like hers.

Do they even realize I’m still here? she thought to herself with an agitated sigh. I have half a mind to wake Asher and go to the pitch, rain or not. She had to admit, she was proud of Christi for finally standing up for herself. Arry hadn’t been so timid and shy when she came to Hogwarts, but she was definitely wary of magic. She was muggleborn, none of this had come naturally to her. Mirielle’s threat snapped her back to reality; Arya stood and whipped out her wand.

“Expelliarmus!” she shouted, catching both wands as they flew through the air, and pocketing all three. She made a mental note to thank Adele later for teaching her that one. Secretly, she was quite shocked it worked, it was the first time she'd done it perfectly. “Mirielle, I hope that one day you’ll be mature enough to realize that magic isn’t always the answer. I also hope you realize now that you’ve made two new enemies, and Gryffindors at that. We won’t call the Headmistress, but I suggest you leave now. You’ll get your wand back eventually.”

Mirielle smiled. I must be sadistic. But if Arya thinks she can scare me by threatening me and taking my wand away then she is beyond wrong. I ran with people below my status. I know things and ways they think.
"I will leave." She walked calmly towards the portrait. 'Accidentally' rubbing into Arya as she left. Mirielle smiled when the thief's training and trick had worked. She had three wands in her hand and not that she needed the other two it was just more fun to have them and let Arya think that she had the upper hand or that she was winning.
She continued out the portrait at a calm pace. The thief always said that you had to act normally after it was all done or they'd know, so she did. She exited the common room and began to run all the way until she was high up in her favorite tree in the forbidden forest. Somewhere she knew that even the gryffindors were afraid to go. Then she smiled at her success.

Arya scoffed as Mirielle sauntered out of the common room. How stupid did she think she was? As if she was fooled by that little trick, a trick that had been attempted on her so many times by the village urchins?

“If she wants to play that game, then let her,” she announced coldly, more to herself than Christiare. “Let’s follow her, she’s not gonna get away that easily!”

Not waiting for her housemate to reply, Arry slipped on her boots and hurried out the door, chasing after the Slytherin. This meant war.