Shock, Loss, and Lux (Lux)

Guest

When Casey heard about Humphrey being killed in the attack on Hogsmeade, mainly by his own doing, she didn't believe it. It had to be some sick joke, or prank, something like that. She'd demanded to be seen his body if he was actually dead. That had been a mistake, seeing his lifeless body with the busted ribs, a few shards poking through the skin on his right side, made her vomit violently before she holed up in her dorm for the next two days. Finally, she'd come to realize it was actually happening and not a nightmare. She needed somebody to talk to, but the school Healer was too busy, so she'd requested through her head of house to meet with the Head Girl Lux. She had been there, seen what...what happened. Casey could get answers, and more importantly someone to share her confused and jumbled up emotions with.

Walking into the hospital wing, she took a seat on one of the beds, a screen pulled up around both sides and one at the end with a small gap to let others in. There was a chair waiting beside the bed that she laid down on, presumably for Lux. Now she just had to show, and Casey really hoped she would.

Guest

Lux saunted along the hallway, smacking gum in her mouth as she headed towards the hospital wing. The Head of House had approached her, telling her that a first year wanted to see her privately. When Lux questioned further about it, she'd been given no more information. That put her in a thoroughly foul mood. She hated giving up her 'me' time for anybody, much less a first year. But as Head girl, she had duties to fulfill.

Entering the hospital wing, Lux walked to the agreed meeting place and pulled aside the curtain with a flourish, revealing to her a Gryffindor girl. Lux was surprised but didn't show it. She'd expected at least a Snake. Why would she be asked to look after someone from a different house?

"Who the hell are you and why are you wasting my time?" Lux asked, not too nicely. She'd almost dropped the f-bomb there but managed to insert a different word. She'd been reprimanded more than once for cussing students out and it wasn't until they threatened to revoke her position as head girl that she actually made the effort to be careful with her words - when she had an audience.

In all honesty, Lux knew exactly who the girl was. It was her job as the school's resident Evil Queen that she knew all her subjects. It was they only way she had fun with them, playing with their feelings and destroying them one by one once she got bored.

Guest

Casey's head jerked towards the voice and her eyes narrowed through her tears at the older girl. She had been expecting this kind of thing after talking to others about what she was like, but it was still difficult to deal with in person. "Humphrey. If you don't already know I'm his sister." she stated, fighting hard to keep her voice from breaking. "Everyone I talked to says I'm too young to know what happened, that it will only upset me. I don't usually cuss but that's bulls***, and we both know it. You were there, and I need closure. Please tell me..." she said softly, a few more tears falling as the not knowing was driving her up the wall. What would make her idiotic big brother act like a hero and die. That was what she did, she was the Gryffindor not him. He was stupid yes, but not usually thaaat stupid.

A few shakes and tremors shook her small, petite body as she fought to keep from full-on crying. Somehow, she found the strength inside to fight it and the shaking subsided except for a tremor in the hands. Casey was a lot tougher than anybody knew.

Guest

Lux listened with a bored expression on her face, barely a changed in her reaction even with the girl's swearing. That was nothing compared to some of the words Lux uttered and if she was trying to impress Lux, she was failing terribly.

Raising one eyebrow, Lux rolled her eyes. "This is all? I'm wasting my time just so a little nobody gets closure," she muttered, loud enough for the girl to hear.

"Yes, yes, Humphrey," she continued, speaking a little louder and injecting as much indifference into her voice as possible. "The idiotic piece of crap. He deserved exactly what he got. He's dead and probably rotting in his own personal hell. Serves him right for taking on more than he can handle."

Lux slanted a condescending look towards the Gryffindor. "You want closure? Three words: get over it. People die all the time. Ain't gonna make a whit of difference how. I say good riddance."

Guest

Casey bit her lip when called a nobody by Lux, knowing from her perspective a first year would seem like that. It was hard, but she managed her anger and let it wash away, listening for what else she had to say about the situation. The mention of Humphrey taking on more than he could handle made some tears fall, idiotic was right on the mark too. She had heard about the kid in trouble who he tried to help, but she was right that he did it stupidly. "Idiotic and impulsive is Humphrey, most definitely." she said quietly. Deep down she was proud of him, but the main emotion she felt was fury. How dare he leave me alone here, he's my best friend. Even when he's gone his voice will always be in my head, helping me...not here, though. No more hugs, or late night Disney movie marathons. Wiping them away, she tried to steel herself and calmed her breathing that had become shaky from the crying.

"It matters to me how!" Casey said much louder but not a yell, before clamping a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry...but he's my brother. Please, I need to know as much as you can tell me Lux. If you want me to beg I'll beg, but I'd rather not."

Guest

"Not gonna disagree with you there," Lux said readily. For his own sister to call him an idiot, Humphrey definitely had a screw lose somewhere in his head. It was just better for everyone that he died. And stayed dead. Only, his sister didn't seem to think so, judging from the tears falling down her face. Lux almost felt sympathetic. Almost. She did not care enough to be sympathetic even if she was capable of sympathy - which she was not.

Lux merely raised an eyebrow at Casey's outburst. There was no need for such a dramatic reaction just because someone was dead. "Well, it shouldn't," Lux said firmly. "People die. Get used to it. It's gonna happen again whether you like it or not." Then the apologies started and Lux groaned. Was this girl for real? But the words that followed called an evil glint into her eyes. This should be fun. "I don't care if he is your brother. Get that through your thick skull," she started then paused, smirking a little.

"You want to know everything that happened? Well then. Beg. I'd like to see you try," Lux said, feeling no remorse. The girl practically asked for it. A part of her mind niggled, bringing to her remembrance how Kamrinda had treated her when she had her meltdown. They definitely would not approve of they way she was treating this girl, but Lux couldn't help it. She'd been inconvenienced for such a petty thing. She was going to make the girl pay for it. Lux would tell her what she wanted to know...eventually.

Guest

The way she agreed almost made Casey defend her, but there was too much truth in it for her to make it sound convincing. If he hadn't just died then absolutely she would have, not now though. Her big brother was gone, and it was by his own stupid choice. She really wished he would have simply left the situation to the aurors or someone like Lux, who knew how to hurt people and probably enjoyed it from what she'd heard and witnessed in their conversation so far.

Casey glared, wanting to slap her for that comment, nails digging into skin and drawing blood as she tried to hold back. "If you actually had feelings you'd know what I'm talking about. But, you're a socio I'm guessing." she said, having noted her lack of sympath, caring, or any other emotion aside from the tone of disdain for her feelings about this matter. Humphrey was book smart, she was people smart. She'd always been good at reading people, sometimes figuring out more than they wanted her to know. When she saw the smirk after the comment about her not caring that they were siblings she literally growled at her. "I know you don't. But it's relevant to why I feel I needed to talk to somebody." she managed, fuming.

Casey hated herself for giving this girl the satisfaction of begging for answers that a normal person would have given, but there was no way in hell she was talking to the other Slytherin who probably knew more about it. Naomi had been there, but Casey had never liked her after the first time she tried to talk and the girl acted all weird. Hopping off the bed, she looked up at the girl. "You better actually tell me if I do this, or I will find you one day and hunt you down myself." she said, knowing it wasn't wise to say that to a crazy girl, but she needed this. Her parents would need to know what happened, too. If she couldn't do it for herself, she could do it for them. Slowly, she sank to her knees and then bowed her back all the way forward until she was nearly kissing her shoes. "Please Lux, I'm begging here. Tell me how my brother died, and why you think he tried to do it. Please." she said, tears falling now thickly, at how degrading this was and the pain of thinking about Humphrey. Bowing to anyone, especially her, felt like getting her heart yanked out for the girl to stomp all over it. She was the most vulnerable she'd ever been, and she made a promise to herself not to be so weak in the future.

Guest

Lux smiled, a sweet innocent smile and yet full of poison. "Feelings are about as convenient as a pitchfork up your ass," she said. "Course I don't have feelings - not the inconvenient kind anyway." Lux could see that she'd managed to rile up the Gryffindor, and she mentally gave herself a congratulatory pat on the back. First years were always such fun to play with. They got upset so easily, and since this wasn't her first time playing with them, Lux knew all the right buttons to push. This girl was responding perfectly.

"It's not relevant to me at all," Lux shrugged. "You should be thanking me that I even considered giving up my time for this s***." The growl meant nothing to Lux. It only showed the girl's incapability to keep her emotions in check, something Lux had seen many times before. Really, people should learn to behave like the humans they are instead of animals.

At the girl's threat - or attempt at making one - Lux scoffed. This was too funny. The first year actually thought she was capable of hunting down and hurting Lux. It reminded her of a mouse trying to frighten a lion. "Hunt me down yourself? What're you going to do to me if you find me? Bleed me to death? Skin me alive and roast me? Please, I've done so much worse than that," Lux responded, with a wave of her hand as if swatting off an annoying fly. "There ain't nothing you can do to me that I haven't done. And ten times worse."

As the female got down on her knees and bowed down, a satisfied grin crossed Lux's lips. This was what she lived for. If phones worked here, she would've taken a picture of this moment. But she wasn't quite done yet. Pointing a finger at the Gryffindor's face, she instructed, "Stop all that blubbering. Tears are a complete waste of bodily fluids." Then, nodding once, she continued. "Good enough. Could be better but I'll accept this."

Now Lux had two choices to make. She could fabricate a story of how the idiot died - and she was more than capable of doing so - or she could tell the truth. She contemplated going with the first choice, but Kamren's voice and Clarinda's look appeared in her mind's eye. This is most inconvenient she thought to herself. Before meeting them, she wouldn't have hesitated to go with the first choice - or play with a girl a little more, for that matter. But ever since D-Day, she often found them popping up while she was having her fun. Fine, fine. I'll have mercy.

"A Nightshade took a kid hostage in the middle of the fight," Lux began. "Your crap of a brother decided he was good enough to join the fight and taunted the Nightshade. Naomi shot a Knockback Jinx at him, essentially saving his sorry ass - you really should thank her for that, by the way. At least she has brains and some common sense. Not only did she get your brother out of harm's way, she gave me the perfect set up to free the kid. But your very ungrateful twat of a brother somehow thought it made sense to re-join the fight and got himself killed."

"As to why I think he did it?" Lux continued. "I'd say it's because he has no brains in that skull of his. Or if he has, it's probably buried deep under a pile of stupidity."