Capable of Cruelty

Her name was Zorranah, but everyone called her Zane. It was just as well, seeing as she hated Zora. It sounded too girly for her (as well as sounding like "Zorro"), and, in a sense, it was. Her hair was brown, though tonally highlighted throughout with blonde, and layered, the longest layer just caressing her shoulders. It had a natural waviness to it, but she had straightened it for today. Her eyes were dark brown, almost indistinguishable from the pupil, and seemed to burn with an inner fire when her temper got the best of her, which was probably more often than not. She had fairer skin than most, but a flawless complexion. She was, at the moment, wearing dark jeans that clung flatteringly in all the right places, a tight burgundy sweater with embroidered swirls and patterns, and black converse with black and red checkered laces. Her cat, Nox, walked beside her. She often considered the young male cat her best friend in the world. He had eyes that seemed to radiate with understand whenever she was lonely, or bored, enough to talk to him. He was completely black and she found the stereotype attached to him, and thus, her, rather fitting.

She had just turned sixteen earlier that month, August tenth, and was ridiculously glad to finally be getting out of her family's house. She had been to several different schools in her sixteen years of life, but never a boarding school. She didn't really find the first day of school very daunting, seeing as she'd had several, and was excited to be going to a school where she could be away from her family for long periods of time. "I might not even come back for Christmas," she thought, relishing the idea. Not only was it the freedom, it was the fact that she could finally be around other people with her "gift". No more private tutors who came over after she had spent all day learning about algebra or photosynthesis. No more lame stories as to why her hair was blue from a spell-gone-wrong the night before. No more hiding, pretending, lying. It was going to be absolutely marvelous.

What she liked most about starting in a new school was the feeling that she could be anyone she wanted. Mind you, she was perfectly happy with the way she was, but she had always needed to put on a mask around her family or muggle friends. It was tiring and, frankly, she was getting fed-up. Hogwarts would be her first chance to really put herself out there. She didn't have to hide the fact that she was a witch or any of the things her parents would never know, and would never approve of anyway. They hardly even approved of her being a witch! Sure, they had gotten her the best tutors and all the best equipment, but there was always something in their eyes when they looked at her that said everything they never would.

She was a disappointment, always had been. When she was younger, she had strived to meet their expectation of her "personal best". It was only when she was about twelve that she realized they didn't want her best, they wanted the best; and the best was something she just couldn't be. It still amazed her to this day how much she changed after realizing she would never be good enough. It almost liberated her, knowing that they would never be truly proud of anything she ever did. If nothing she did would ever be good enough, why continue to reach above and beyond her capabilities? Her parents often called this when she "started to go downhill"; she often called it when she "found herself". She definitely preferred her explanation.