Chapter 2
She knew what was waiting for her as soon as she walked into the tower but there was no way to avoid it. She had tried staying out until everyone was in bed, she’d slept in the room of requirement, she’d even spent a night or two outside. She had done everything in her power to avoid them but in the end it just made things worse. They were always waiting for her, and she couldn’t get away.
They were smart about it too. Never going as far as to hospitalise her or catch the attention of the teachers. And They reminded her constantly of why she deserved the pain and humiliation. And she could understand why They did it, so she said nothing. She took it all and carried it with her because in a way, she felt she deserved it.
With one last soft sigh, she opened the door to the common room and stepped inside. Her shoulders hunched in and her eyes saw nothing but the floor. She made her way across the quiet common room daring to hope, just like she always did, that she’d make it to her room unaccosted. And just like always, They stopped her.
Terri grabbed her shoulder, none too gently and pulled her over to their group. The common room had different little alcoves to study in, each with a silencing spell on it so that the students could study in peace. They were always in one of these little places where no one could hear the harsh words, the taunts, and jibes they threw at her like so many arrows. Even if they could hear they might think it was friendly teasing. Underneath the smiles and laughs though was an edge. A bite to Their words accompanied by equally sharp pain.
As Terri pulled her over to the alcove she tensed up but didn’t try to pull away and Terri smirked. He shoved her to sit down next to Michael and then sat down on her other side, tightly trapping her between them.
“How’s our favourite girl?” Terri Michael asked with a sneer.
She did not answer, merely kept her eyes on her hands which were twisting in her lap.
“Come now Michael. You know she’s too good to answer us. She’s a bloody pureblood after.”
“You’ve been avoiding us again, haven’t you?” Isobel said softly, her tone of voice carrying a threatening edge.
“I haven't, I swear.” Ada Cox said, panic already creeping in.
“Then where were you at dinner?”
“I was in the library studying, I lost track of time. I didn’t mean to skip.”
“You’ve got to be hungry then, if you skipped dinner.”
“Yeah, don’t you want to eat something?” Terri asked.
Cox could sense a maliciousness in the exchange but couldn’t, for the life of her, figure out what they had in mind, nor how to avoid it.
“I’m not hungry, thanks.” was all she whispered and immediately regretted it.
“Oh, so the pureblood thinks she’s above us muggleborns, does she?” Terri snered.
“No it's got nothing to-” Ada protested but was cut off by Isobel.
“The ickle yittle pureblood is too grand for our food is she? And after all the trouble we went through to get her food and keep her properly fed.”
“We can’t just let it go to waste now can we?” Michael asked, doing nothing to hide the evil grin spreading across his face.
“Please, I’m not hungry. Just let me go up to bed. I promise I wasn’t trying to avoid you.” Cox pleaded but to no avail.
“A little birdie tells us that you’re lying. You weren’t in the library at all. You were in the kitchens with that Malfoy snake, probably conspiring against us. Trying to kill us all off again, are you?”
“No! I swear, I’m not plotting to kill anyone! I’m not even plotting anything!” Cox was truly starting to panic now. Whatever was coming wasn’t good. Especially since they’d caught her out in her lie.
“He was just doing his duties as a prefect! All he did was give me half a sandwich that the house elves made because he found me in the library during dinner! That's all that happened I swear!”
Cox struggled briefly but Micheal gripped her even tighter and she winced.
“Come on little Ada,” Isobel crooned. “Every little baby needs their dinner. Otherwise they get all cranky and fussy. And we don’t want that, do we?”
Isobel pulled out a container of something nasty and orange looking along with a spoon. She nodded at Michael who readjusted his grip on Ada so that she was turned with her back against him and his arms wrapped so that he pinned her arms down to her sides and she couldn’t move.
“Now be good for me, ickle Ada, and eat up your dinner. If you don’t behave you wont like the consequences.” Isobel unscrewed the lid to the jar and even she wrinkled her nose at what was inside.
Ada tried to struggle but Michaels grip was tight as a vice. All she could do was turn her head away as Isobel pushed a spoon of orange goop towards Ada. Cox shook her head and pressed her lips close together, unwilling to take it.
“Now really, what a horribly behaved child. I thought Pure bloods were raised better than this. Or perhaps, you were so spoiled that you never learned to eat what you were given. Regardless, you will eat all your dinner and you wont move until you do. Terri, would you mind helping the poor little child stay still?”
Terri Boot grinned and grabbed Ada’s chin, forcing her to stay still before pinching her nose. When Ada finally opened her mouth to breath, Isobel shoved the spoonful of baby food into Cox’s mouth. Cox gagged at the taste and tried to spit it out but a warning look from Isobel made her swallow it. It was a struggle but she did swallow it before grimacing.
“Does the baby not like her dinner? I believe it's Sweet potato and turkey. If I’m not mistaken it's what was served for dinner tonight. Would you like some water?”
Cox cautiously nodded and soon regretted it. Terri reached down and grabbed something off the floor. Cox was horrified to see that it was a plastic baby bottle. For the first time she just looked around with exhaustion and defeat in her eyes. She might as well just accept things and get it over with. And so, with tears streaming down her face, she sat in Michael’s tight hold and let herself be fed the disgusting pureed baby food and even let Terri use the bottle to give her water. The trio taunted her but she didn’t respond. She just sat there, with a blank look on her face and stared off into space. When the jar had been scraped clean, she didn’t move; just sighed and closed her eyes. Michael stood up with her still in his grasp before roughly dropping her onto the floor and stepping over her.
After they had left, she slowly pushed herself up and made her way to her room before collapsing exhausted onto her bed.She looked over at the letters she had opened this morning from her mother and father and let tears finally fall. Her mother had clearly expressed that Ada was not welcome home for the winter holiday, or for any other holiday after that. Ada was a disgrace to the family name and to be cut off. Her brothers had been so much more successful in life and thus, were the only children her mother needed. Her father, for his part, expressed his disgust that she hadn’t even been made a prefect, and here she was in her seventh year. She wasn't top of her class, on the quidditch team, or involved in any extracurricular activities. She was a failure and a disappointment. She was not to be welcomed or recognized as part of the family unless she somehow managed to make a name for herself in the world. All her belongings would be sent to her at Christmas and she would be removed from the castle's wards.
She had known it was coming, she was a girl and her parents had not wished for a girl. She was a disappointment from the beginning. Her older brothers had already become successful business men both in the muggle and Wizarding world. At school they had been quidditch captains, prefects, head boys, and had been chosen for numerous extracurricular projects with the teachers. In short, they were everything Cox wasn’t. She’d only ever seen her brothers twice, and in both short, stilted meetings, they had seemed perfect in every way. She really couldn’t blame her parents for removing her from the family. She never fit in. Cox cried herself into a deep but restless sleep, both thankful for and dreading the weekend to come.