Surviving Times

The banquet ended and the students followed their prefects to their respective houses. The prefect went on and on about the Slytherin beliefs, which was completely messed up by the way and the quartet merely ignored it. They were experienced actors by now and could fool the masses passively. It required little to no effort from them.

The prefect's rant was done and boy, by the end of it, except for Mia who knew worse, the trio wanted nothing more than to place a hex on him. It was utter nonsense.

They have studied history quite extensively. So, they knew some facts. While Salazar Slytherin favoured purebloods over muggleborns, he did it for a reason. Purebloods, a thousand years ago, were fit for being called nobility. Think about it, the times where magic was not secretive… the researches, the spells, the grimoires passed from generations. They learnt and practiced it from a very young age. It was a different world.

Muggleborns, on the other hand, were completely clueless about magic. They didn't even know the M in Magic. Heck, they feared it as some sort of the devil and doom. Some muggleborns were even needed to be taught how to read and write. They had to be taught from square one, during this, many purebloods were dragged down. While this was acceptable, the muggleborns were not from the same world after all. They were awkward. They couldn't fit in the magical world like the purebloods and couldn't go back to their old lives. In desperate situations, many succ.u.mbed to dark arts.

The worst atrocities in history were caused by mages, yes. But many of them were muggleborns. This was a truth often ignored. They used magic for their means. They didn't care for the Magical code of conduct, because the magical society never saw them as one of them. This has in turn created a very bad image of the entire magical society.

And of course, there was retaliation to all the crimes from the muggles. It was the beginning of the famous witch burning. Many people, real witches or innocent humans were killed. The Pendragons would make a fine example. Many wizarding families had to pay for the crimes they didn't commit.

And Salazar Slytherin hated them for this. Thus, came his well-known dislike for muggleborns. Alas, his intentions were noble but misunderstood. He was a perfectionist and maybe an extremist too. He was ambitious and wanted to bring the wizarding world to greater heights. But the muggleborns… they created lot more trouble than he could handle.

The rest was no secret… the fabled argument and departure.

But at present, the times have changed and the muggleborns were… tolerable and were able to catch up to the purebloods with enough hard work. All of this would have some other time to discuss.

The saddest thing is, the Slytherin house has not been 'updated', even the common room. While it was gorgeous, it was a millennial old or more, since this was Slytherin's castle before it was Hogwarts.

And the quartet did not like it. They enjoyed watching retro in screen, not living in it. When they reach their limit, the Slytherin common room would be renovated… once again, that's a story for another day.

After a half an hour, the prefect's rambling was done, and they could go to their rooms. The Slytherins had their own rooms. They didn't have to share. Probably a little bonus from the founder. The quartet sighed and went to their dorms.

Mia looked at her work. She literally changed the room to her liking. It took her a minute, and it would take the other three 30 minutes. She took a bath and changed into nightwear. She sat on top her bed. Then, the door was opened, and a silvery blur was seen. It was Gresil in cat form.

He was resting snugly on her l.a.p. Mia didn't mind it and started pampering him. It was nice to pet him. He had the softest fur she ever knew. It felt silkier than Aries' wool. And the Exceed never said no for his exclusive pampering.

They once again started speaking telepathically.

"Hello, Gresil, or should I say Mr. Edolas?" Mia laughed at the thought of it. Sure, she knew he would make a great therapist but never thought it would become a reality.

"Anything you like. But tell me, why do you look preoccupied?" Gresil knew Mia for two lifetimes now. Saying he knew her well is an understatement.

"You know… I've been having some nightmares." She hesitated.

"Since when?! And why do I not know about it?!" the docile cat become a little feral.

"No one does. I've been having them for a year now." She sighed. It's not like someone deliberately asked.

"And you tell me now?!" he was incensed. She was having nightmares, and he hasn't known anything about it till now. It made him feel worthless. Looks like he was not that dependable.

"Yep." She answered truthfully.

"Mia, look-"

"I didn't want to pull you back." It was the first time Gresil was interested in something this much. And she wanted to give him the time he deserved. She wanted him to have a life of his own. He did nothing to be always stuck with her.

"You… you never do. This job… everything was for you. So that you could use some help, Mia." Gresil cherished her more than anything. She was family. She raised him. They've been through hell and walked through it. Even this job was a way to help.

"I know. I planned to tell this to you sooner or later." She sighed again.

"Sigh… Tell me what the nightmares are about." He asked. Arguing now wouldn't make things any better. He must be more reliable in the future.

"The nightmares were… good in the beginning. I saw everyone I loved. My first family, you, my fellow alchemists, everyone from Fairy Tail, Katniss, then the people from this world… Everyone who I cherished. Then…" She had said with a fond smile on her face before it vanished into pain.

"Then?"

"Then all of them were killed. Their hearts ripped out by… a claw."

"…! No! It couldn't be…" Gresil was absolutely terrified. Pure horror coursed through his being at the mere thought of it.

"Yes. He was there. Turning my sweet dreams into nightmares." Mia confirmed. And Gresil was stunned. The thing which made their life miserable was back and haunting her.

"Mia are you… okay?" he felt numb asking it. The thought alone scared him.

"I'm okay. I'm… over it. But there's this thing. He was not in my dream today." Mia said weakly.

"What? Wait a second, today? You slept in the train?" the exceed asked, a bit baffled. He knew very well about the enmity transportation held against her.

"Yeah… And though he was not in it, but it wasn't much better." She said.

"What was it then?" As far Gresil knew, anything without 'him' was better. Very much.

"I… dreamt about Henry." She said, feeling more tired.

"…" He understood. She dreamt about the day when her husband murdered on their wedding day in her first life. Worse, he was shot before he put a ring on her. It left her devastated. But that was not the end of it. She had to fight for the custody rights of her stepson, Henry. And the govt didn't think a 24 years old bookstore manager was good enough for taking care of a kid…

"Why did you think of Henry?"

"Sigh… today I saw Harry Potter. The state he was in… it was similar to Henry's when he was with his biological mother." Both of them were malnourished, physically and emotionally.

"…"

"And when I saw his eyes… they were just as green as Henry's. Deep, like moss but also shiny like emeralds." She said while reminiscing about it.

Gresil was confused. He was happy her dream didn't have 'him' but also… Sad that very few good things happened to her when compared to the terrible things. He didn't what to say… Her every life was messed up. Just when she was about to have happiness, when things would get better, everything would end up so bad that it made her afraid of her own happiness.

In her first life, she lost her family. She was orphaned. Dropped out of high school, her lover died on her wedding. She had to struggle. A lot. Her stepson, Henry, was someone she loved like her own. For him, she sold her dreams at a high price. Then the things got better, but she died.

In her second life, she was still traumatized. The past haunted her.

Every life was nothing short of misery. She was not even able to love someone. And when she finally did love someone, that man did everything to become her worst nightmare.

Their thoughts were disturbed by the sudden noise. Three figures stood at the door, sneakily. Mia looked at them and quickly concealed her emotions. Gresil disappeared as well, more like he hid very nicely.

"What are you doing here? And Theo, Draco, how were you both able to sneak into girls' dormitory?" She asked them, lacing her tone with some amus.e.m.e.nt. Getting past the girls' dorm protected by magical wards was not easy at all. She quickly closed the door and the three sat on the couch.

"That's not a big deal. We just had to be a little creative." Theo said with a smirk while Draco winked mischievously.

"Creative? More like third-rate. I just had to carry them both in this little briefcase." Daphne scoffed. Newt Scamander like briefcase.

"I see. Back to the question, why are you her so late? We've got classes to attend tomorrow." Mia tried to chide them, but her tone said otherwise.

"Exactly, first day of school, we need to have a slumber party." Daphne said with a grin.

"We are here just for the food and drinks only." Draco and Theo made their intentions very clear.

Mia smiled at them. Sure, she could use a party.

Gresil watched as the four of them partied. After Maze Runner marathon, the three of them lay dead asleep on the floor. Mia sighed. Gresil put some blankets on the boys. The rug was soft, and they would be sleeping on it. She brought Daphne to her bed. The four kids and an Exceed had a sleepover.