no matter how loud i scream, you'll never hear my desparate calls

She lay on her back in the garden, red hair spread out around her head like a sheet. Her eyes were closed and the pale skinned girl sighed. On the back of Storm's eyelids, the display was far more beautiful than reality. It was night, but in her head she saw fireworks dancing around in the dark sky. The corner of her lips twitched at the thought. Hah, fireworks.

The Gryffindor lay completely still. If they were far away, a stranger might have thought she was dead. Only very close woud it be possible to see that she was still breathing slightly.

It was an unnaturally warm spring evening. AStorm pressed her ankles together. Her arms were spread, as if she were going to hug someone. At that moment, the redhead felt she wished someone just would.

Storm just lay there, waiting for nothing and nobody.

Quinn was walking around the school. Just trying to get a better look at the place because she was going to be stuck here for the rest of her years in school, probably. She got to the Hogsmeade gardens and saw a girl there with red hair, just laying there. Quinn walked closer to her and tried not to startle her.

"Are you alright" Quinn asked her. Quinn looked up in the sky to see it was dark out but Quinn and apparently neither did the girl care.

Storm sighed at the voice. "That depends. I was fine, I am not fine and I don't know if I'll be fine." She didn't even open her eyes to see who it was. It wasn't like it mattered. Nobody cared, anyway.

"What about you?" The redhead said. "Were you alright, are you alright and will you be alright?"

Quinn nodded knowing that the younger girl didn't want to be bothered and that excate moment. "Well it is better to talk to someone than keeping it to yourself. I know from personal experiance" Quinn said to the girl who still remained unamed to Quinn.

"I will be fine, I've had better days" Quinn replied to her. "Anyway, I'm Quinn Mikaelson, who are you, if you don't mind me asking" Quinn asked.

Storm opened one eye, and turned it to look at the older girl. Slowly, she opened the other and propped herself up on one arm, facing her. "Personal experience?"

She shrugged. "Vague answer. Oh, I'm Storm Everlee."

Quinn watched as the younger girl turned around and talked. "Yeah, I've had some bad things happen to me when I was growing up, so if you ever have a need to talk, I think I'll understand more than anyone else here" Quinn reassured the young girl. Even if the girl didn't go through the excate same thing Quinn did, Quinn knew how it felt.

Quinn offered the girl a smile. "Nice to meet you Storm".

"I- yeah," she nodded. "I really, really don't mean to pry, but have you ever been... hit by anybody close to you, like family." She bit her bottom lip. "It's just- I'm sick of hiding it! Nobody's interested, so I figured: 'oh, nobody wants to hear your stupid, sad little stories', and kept it all to myself. But then I meet somebody that might understand, and it's just- I'm sorry." She shook her head and buried it in her hands.

"Yeah," Storm muttered. "Nice to meet you, too."

Quinn wanted to hug the little girl. This girl was going through the same thing. Quinn sat down next to her and put her hand on the girl's hand. "I have, ever since I was born my father abused my mother and I. I used to be afraid to go outside because anything my mother and I did, pissed him off. He got drunk a lot and when he did he'd become worse. When I was 8 my mother finally packed up our belongings and took me and left. I haven't seen him sense but when I was 13 he found me again, made me pay for leaving with my mother. Before I started this year he continued to beat me. In the mix of all this drama I found out he was unfaithful to my mother and now I have a half brother who went through the same thing. It's okay to tell me Storm, if you want I can talk to my brother and we can try and help you" Quinn offered.

Storm was obviously upset about this. Quinn couldn't blame her, Storm was getting abused by someone she thought loved her, just like Quinn.

Storm resisted he urge to pull her hand back. She listened, eyes wide. She felt bad now. Her story seemed pathetic, she thought, compared to this girl. "Gosh, I'm so sorry." She barely murmured it, but it was audiable.

"My brother and I always fought as young kids," she said. "I got to go to Hogwarts, he was jealous. I can't really blame him, our parents always talked about me." Storm sighed heavily. "So he began to hit me. Every summer, every christmas. Hell. And then my parents decided to split up. My mum wanted to move to the States and took my sister with her. Selfish bitch. She left me with my brother and drunk dad. Hell on earth. My dad hits me, too. It's his way of venting after that bitch left him. I-I don't want to stay, but I can't go, because then I won't be here." She shook her head. "I don't want it."

Quinn shrugged. "It's okay, I'm surrounded by my best friends, my boyfriend, my mother, my boyfriend's father, and my half-brother. They try their best to protect me and keep me from breaking down and giving that ass hole what he wants. I refuse to become a punching bag and I refuse to let him have his power over me" Quinn said to Storm.

Quinn felt tears prickle her eyes but she didn't let those tears fall from her eyes. "Storm, it is not your fault that you're gifted, you are who you are and no one can take that from you. Just stay strong Storm, surround yourself with people, make friends, get someone to love you for you, keep yourself distracted and try your best to not let your brother or father win, because than that is when they will have the power over you, when they know that you're defenseless" Quinn replied.

Storm fiddled with a wavy, red lock of hair. "Tha- That must be nice." She didn't know. The Gryffindor was alone, and had no one. No good friends- or friends, for the matter- to support and care about her. No one. All she had was herself. She was her own best friend. Storm was the only one who understood her.

Then again, this girl seemed to know what it was like.

Storm sniffled. "No. I know it's not my fault. I don't know what to do. I canged. I went from, well, me, to some attention-seeking bitch that I can't get away. I want to be me again, Quinn. I want my parents to be married and love each other. I want my sister at home, and I want my brother to be nice to me again. I just want my life back, but it's too much to ask. Everything has consequences and I feel them now." She wiped away a single tear from her eye. "Look at me! I'm a total mess! I let all this shit change me! I'm about as fucked up as you can get."

The redhead took a deep breath. "And the worst thing is that it's my fault that I'm so screwed."

Quinn nodded to her. Quinn looked the girl over and knew how she felt. Storm was all alone in this, just like Quinn was. When Quinn had no one, all she could count on was herself. Than she grew up and started to get to know people and actually let people in.

Quinn looked sadly at the girl. "I know Storm, I know how your life is out of control but it is totally up to you to put them back together. Owl your mom, beg her to come home and tell her what's been happening. As for your brother just think of something great to tell your parents so they can love him equally. You need to take matters into your own hands" Quinn explained. Quinn shook her head. "No you're not. You are a young girl who is dealing with problems out of your reach".

"No it's not".

"I've tried," Storm said quietly. "I- I wrote to her five times. I begged her before she left. It was too good of an opportunity for her. She doesn't love him any more. I guess I was part of that sentance. She doesn't love me." She hadn't realized that she was crying before then, and wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "They do love him, but I guess we never really were very close. That I was different and he was normal... Well, he didn't take it very well."

The redhead leered at the girl. "Yes, it it. All my fault."

Quinn felt bad for the younger girl. She didn't know what to say to her. "Your mother loves you, she could never hate you. Yes she left you with your father but maybe she will one day come back" Quinn tried to reassured her. Quinn nodded. "Your brother is probably jealous and the only way to let out his anger is on you".

Quinn shook her head. "Did you ever try contacting an adoption center, see if they'll send someone out and take you away and a family can adopt you" Quinn asked.

"Sh-she does," Storm protested. "I- I was her least favourite child. Always trouble, and she kept telling me off. I didn't think that she really hated me, but now I know." She nodded slightly. "I know."

The Gryffindor sighed and shook her head. "No. I don't really want to. I keep telling myself that it'll get better."

Quinn felt sorry for the young Gryffindor. Quinn had reason to believe that the younger girl's mom really did love her and that she had a reason to leave. "She must have a reason".

She nodded to her. "You should but its your choice".

Storm was shaking in anger and frustration. "She must have a reason? I'll give you a goddamn reason for her to leave! She had a perfect husband, a perfect son with a perfect football career, a perfect youngest child. Her family was fucking perfect except her middle kid. ME! Sh-she never was a big fan of me. Always getting into trouble. Her friends hated me, teachers hated me. Of course she had to think the same as them." She hadn't realised that she was sobbing before then. Tears streaked her pale cheeks. "And I thought that she loved me? Add naïve to that list while you're at it."

"I don't feel like I can," the younger Gryffindor sighed.

Quinn was a little taken back by Storm's outburst but put her arm around the girl for comfort. She didn't know what to say. Yes they were both abused but Quinn's mother stayed and Storm's didn't. "It's okay, just let it out" Quinn said soothly. Quinn shook her head. "You're not naive. You're a young girl trying to survive something so horrible. I get it, I was like you once, I still kind of am. Yes my father found me and I regret that but Storm. If you ever need someone to talk to I'm here for you".

"One day you might".

Not even noticing the arm arond her, Storm sobbed softly. What had gotten into her? Old-Storm would scoff at the idea of crying, especially in front of anyone. Yet, here she was. Weeping brokenly snuggled into a random stranger who knew so much- but so little- about Storm. "I am naïve. I thought that we were the best family ever. I loved them, and they let me down." Her voice was trembling, yet she kept her composture. "I-I've never had anyone bee there for me before. Thank you."

"I might," the red haired Gryffindor said doubtfully.

Quinn sighed. She knew how the girl felt, she thought she had the perfect family before she hit the age of three and than everything went down hill. "I know how you feel, I was you before. I thought I had the perfect family, the perfect house, everything but my dad proved me wrong. My mother tried her best to protect me but it isn't your fault. It's the people that ruin your child hood".

Quinn gave the girl a smile.