Friday, September 11th
A little after 2:00 PM


Zel had just finished up with his Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and was very relieved to have a fairly large break between DADA and Herbology. All that he had left was, of course, Herbology and Astronomy, and then he would be done for the day. HE dreaded going to Astronomy- even though Zel loved it, he was so bad at star charts, it wasn’t even funny. At this point, going to Astronomy was just making him feel stupid, because no matter how much he loved it, and how hard he tried—he just was not doing a good job.

He was relieved that, so far, his roommates had not noticed that he disappeared during the full moon. He wasn’t particularly close to any of his Hufflepuff roommates, so he doubted that they even cared, or even noticed that he would be disappearing for all the other full moons for the rest of their time at Hogwarts. He hoped that he would eventually become more comfortable with it, so that heh wouldn’t have to keep it a secret any longer.

But to be honest, Zel was ashamed. He hated who—no, what—he was now. He despised it with every fiber of his being, and he wondered how his sister had been able to handle it all these years. Zel also felt a strong sense of resentment towards his mother, blaming her for the attack.

There was this club at the school, SAWS—Zel was interested in it, but he was also afraid that if he joined, people would assume that he was a werewolf. Especially his roommates, particularly Figaro. They were the last people he wanted to find out, though he knew they probably would be the first to figure it out.

And, speak of the devil.

He saw young Sophie Flickwick, hanging up posters. He thought that hse might have been the president of the club, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure. Zel had so many questions, and he was so curious—but he didn’t want to come across as creepy. He and Sophie shared a lot of classes together, though. He hoped that he could muster up the courage to speak up, and actually approach someone else for once.

Zel closed his pale blue eyes,  took a deep breath, and walked right up to her, hands shaking.

“Err… S-Sophie. F-Fancy seeing you here.”

”Fancy seeing you here? Zel, you idiot!” He thought, mentally stabbing himself for being so socially inept.

Sophie was doing her level best to, well, hang posters level. This presented a problem for the young witch in so much as  she was short and she wanted them to be high enough that people not at her eye level would notice them. Of course with their bright colors and the like they'd probably be hard to miss in the first place. She was taking a hugely reduced role in Art Club this year but making posters for SAWS and coming up with slogans to get people's attention gave her a creative outlet. She hoped once the year was under full swing she'd be able to balance everything better and take a more active role.

She was so focused on making sure the poster was level and trying to devise a way to use a sticking charm without getting in trouble for using magic in the halls that she was only vaguely aware of Zel's shuffling feet. "Gordic's Garters; I can't eyeball a line to save my life. You think that's straight Zee? I can't tell," she didn't bother to look over her shoulder, still chewing on her bottom lip. Zel Trumble was a strange boy creature. They weren't particularly close but they'd shared classes now for almost six whole years. He was in everything she was except Divination. He was shy but she tried to treat him like he wasn't.

"How was the Dragon then," she finally looked over her shoulder at him with a grin, tilting her head toward the classroom he had just come from. Sophie had gotten an A on her DADA OWL but she had no desire to step back into a classroom with Storm ever again. Calling a professor a bully in the middle of class - even if they shook your hand after, did not bode well for NEWTS or graduation. Besides, he had even more sway this year because he was Deputy Head. Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, her expression grew pensive, "You're an objective observer, If there wasn't a Sophie blocking the view would you stop and read it, the poster I mean"?

Zel was glad that she didn’t treat him like he was stupid, for saying something that sounded incredibly stupid. Perhaps it was the stuttering. He made a mental note to himself to work on that more in the future.  Zelig took a good look at the poster, and it was slightly crooked. Even though she asked him if it looked straight to him, he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. However, he was going to take a risk, and just tell her what he thought. “Err,” He squinted his eyes, and took a good look at the poster. “I-I think maybe if you til-tilt it to the right a little..” That was the best response he could honestly give. It wasn’t straight, but just a little bit of tweaking should help, right?

“Um. Storm was terrifying.” Zel said simply, his face paling, if possible, even more. The poor guy was intimidated by most people, however. Storm being as unkind and as cold as he was, scared Zel even more than most other teachers. He was decent at DADA, but was so gentle and unthreatening, that during partner duels he generally got his ass kicked. Zel just could not fathom being able to hurt another human being so willingly, whether or not it was in a classroom setting.

So many questions. Zel had forgotten how sociable this Sophie human was, and he was not used to it. To be honest, he never had talked to her much. “Um. I like it.” He did like the poster, and he did want to read it. However, it was set so low that he probably would not have taken notice of it if Sophie wasn’t there. “I-I’m just tall so… I-I might not have seen it. You know, if you weren’t there.” That last sentence of his trailed off into silence, though he did not mumble. Instead, when Zel got quieter, he also became extremely articulate on the words that he did not stutter on. “D-do you like SAWS?”

He was surprised at himself for being able to ask her a question, and possibly start a whole new conversation.

Sophie nodded at him, seemingly unfazed by his awkward stutter and bashfulness. Zel was shy, skittish about people, Sophie wasn't about to make him feel worse. Besides, she had this theory that if you treated people like they weren't awkward and different then eventually they'd feel less awkward and different. Nudging up the right side of the poster she tilted her head trying to get a better perspective. She also considered his point about his being tall and how it might have been harder to notice, "That is a problem. I mean I could carry around a stepladder I suppose, but then I'd have to carry half as many poster and I'd just use my wand but I'm rubbish at Charms anyway and since we've already had one duel this year they're being prickly about magic used in the halls," she sighed shaking her head, she just couldn't win some days.

His question piqued her interest though, she was always all for recruiting new members for SAWS. She gave him a bright smile as she finally turned to fully face him, "Yea, I like SAWS. I mean I would hope I'd like it since I'm in charge at the moment," her tone was joking, without being teasing. She didn't want him to feel silly asking questions, it was a lot of information to process. Sophie could offer a condensed version. "We took a big hit at the end of last year, so many of our members graduated, and now that Hogwarts is admitting Werewolves again we've had to kind of change what our mission is," raking her fingers through her hair she leaned a shoulder against the stone wall and tried to think of the best way to explain what she meant. It had come up in the first meeting, dealing with the different views on Weres and the level of tolerance.

"I think it's an important group, I know that might sound weird, all things considered," lots of people had questioned her reasoning behind supporting Werewolf rights when a Werewolf had killed her mother. For Sophie it was about forgiveness, about understanding that it was the failure of the system to protect people. "Basically, SAWS is of the mind that if a Werewolf is willing to be a part of the registry, if they're willing to comply with Ministry standards, if they check into their safe houses or holding cells every full moon, then they have the right to a normal life - they should have an equal opportunity to jobs, to an education. This year we're focusing on education and safety, teaching students about the measures in place to ensure their safety as well as Ollie's. Once we get that message out we can start talking about things like Wolfsbane and it's regulation".

    Being a generally good guy, Zel wanted to help her out somehow, but at the same time, he was afraid that if he was caught putting up werewolf-support posters, that people would assume he was a werewolf. Of course, he was one, but it didn’t change the fact that he was still going to try his damnest to hide it. He also was concerned about getting in trouble by using magic in the hallways. He was never one for breaking the rules. Zel realized that Sophie was in charge of SAWS, so that meant… That she was the president, and ultimately responsible for keeping the club together. He felt like that was a lot of responsibility, especially since she was taking advanced classes, just like everybody else in their sixth and seventh year.

“I-I understand that you think it’s important.” Zel said. And in a way, he thought it was important too. He felt like there needed to be groups out there that supported werewolves, and put an end to the discrimination they faced. He knew personally that there have been cases where wolfsbane potion had been withheld from werewolves as a punishment, and he felt like those people should be punished for their actions. Not the werewolves.  He agreed with Sophie that education was key, and he felt like it was essential in order to have werewolves live equally, without harming others. He knew Ollie, she was in his house and year. He never spoke to her much.

“My sister is a werewolf.” Zel mentioned, “Sh-she has the kindest heart out of everyone I know. It’s a shame that she always had to be homeschooled.” His pale eyebrows furrowed together. “What do you mean though, by regulation of wolfsbane?” he was a little confused by that statement. Did she mean limiting wolfsbane to people, or making sure that it’s produced in mass quantities? He assumed it was the latter, but he did not want to have a misunderstanding so early in their conversation.

She gave him a sad sort of smile and lightly patted his arm when he mentioned his sister, "I'm sure she's lovely," she started to say something else when he asked about the Wolfsbane. She thought everyone knew that the tainted potion had been a large part of the problem last March. Of course Sophie viewed that full moon through a different lens than most people. When something directly effects your life in such a large way, resulting in the death and subsequent dissolution of your family you were bound to pay closer attention to the details than the average person. "I mean quality control. The Direwolves and not knowing how to fight against them were part of the problem in March, and it took up a lot of news coverage, but there Werewolves at the ministry were given Wolfsbane with tainted ingredients".

"There was a series of events that day that cost people their lives, some of it the Ministry isn't responsible for but knowing your brew and that you've got quality going into it is first year Potions. I try not to blame anyone for what happened to my mum, for what happened on the whole but it showed us just how weak and flawed the current system is. I hope, with SAWS, that we can change that - that we can change people's perceptions. We're not denying the dangers, I'm certainly not, that'd be outright stupid..." she paused shaking her head, giving a small sigh, "but to force them to live as second class citizens, if they're doing everything they can to comply with Ministry regulation is just plain wrong," rubbing her neck she gave him a sheepish almost apologetic look.

She tended to get passionate about this particular issue, she knew it could be off putting or intimidating if you were a person who held strong beliefs, "Sorry mate, I tend to run off at the mouth about this stuff. You should come to our next meeting though. No one has to know about your sister, I'm certainly not going to tell them, and you might get something out of it. If nothing else Ayla Collins always makes sweets, her cookies are pretty scrumptious," she offered him a genuine smile, hoping that he'd think it over and maybe get involved. It wasn't just because the group was lacking members now, Sophie believed in being informed about social issues, especially ones that could hit so close to home. She felt awful for his poor sister.

At least someone else was sure that Emeline was lovely. It was nice to hear, even though Sophie did not know his sister. Zel thought that the words were especially kind, coming from her. Especially considering all that happened during the attacks. Wasn’t she gone for a week due to the death of her mother? It made Zel wonder what inspired Sophie to support SAWS, and why she even bothered. After all, if werewolves weren’t around, she would still have a mother. He wondered how her family was holding up, after the death of her mom. However, he felt like that was too personal of a topic, and was far too polite, and would be far too uncomfortable to bring it up. That was a question, Zel thought, that only dear friends should know the answer to.

“S-sometimes they’re forced to, you know.. Not comply. Sometimes others withhold wolfsbane.” Zel didn’t want to say it happened to his sister, but it had happened on multiple occasions, and always as a punishment. The only person whose voice mattered in that situation was Garrett’s. However, Garrett was living his own life now, and couldn’t be bothered with family affairs.  “It doesn’t happen with everybody, but sometimes people like ha-having that control over others.” Being a minority put people at a higher risk of being mistreated, and Sophie was right in a way. Perceptions about lycanthropy needed to be changed, but it wasn’t a change that could happen quickly.

Not after the attacks.

No, especially not after the attacks.

Zel was filled with a deep sense of self-loathing. Really, being a werewolf wasn’t just an inconvenience to him and Emeline, it was an inconvenience to anyone who was close to them. Part of it was society’s stubborn attitudes towards werewolves, but part of it was that underneath that strong bias, there was a basis of truth; it wasn’t a pretty one.

Sophie looked at him carefully, her head tilted to one side, "Zee, that isn't legal. If your sister is registered then the Ministry should be issuing her wolfsbane, and they can offer her a holding cell - is someone," she paused, looking very worried as she stepped closer and lowered her voice, "Is someone hurting your sister? If... if she needs help I, I still have connections to the RCMC. My godfather, he's the head. I..." her voice trailed off, lines of concentrated concern creasing her brow. There were a lot of things wrong with the Ministry, a lot of their practices that she felt were less than humane, the old cells with clanking silver bars like Fauna had been kept in, things like that...but forcing someone to transform as some kind of punishment?

It was an abuse of power, and she suspected not the only one members of his family were guilty of. If it were anyone else she would have been enveloping them in a tiny tight Sophie hug and trying to soak up whatever pain and information she could. Zel was jumpy though, skittish, he didn't seem to like being touched. She wanted to help, to offer reassurance but she wasn't completely sure how. "Whatever you tell me, I promise to handle it as discreetly as possible. No one deserves to be treated like that. No one," finally she reached out and wrapped her fingers around his wrist gently, bottom lip caught between her teeth, "There are people who can help, who care. I promise. I know it doesn't feel that way right now, but they're out there".

Tucking a lock of her hair behind one ear she gave him a sympathetic look, "It isn't your sister's fault, just like it isn't the fault of the man who attacked my mother. This isn't something a person chooses it, it's something that happens to them. Sometimes the fault is in the stars Zel, in fate, whatever you want to call it. It's why I'm still a member of SAWS, because while I understand that once a month Werewolves are dangerous... I'm more concerned with the other 29 days of the month and making sure that they're safe," her brown eyes looked up at the much taller, much shyer boy imploringly, "please come to the next meeting. You don't have to talk, you don't have to do anything, but I think it would do you some good to be around people who believe the same things I believe, to see there are people who care".

It wasn’t legal. Of course it wasn’t, but just because something wasn’t legal did not mean that people would stay true to the law. When Sophie started putting two and two together, his heart started pounding. He could feel it beating against his chest, threatening to break through his protruding ribs. He could feel little beads of sweat appear on his forehead, and his face, if possible—grew whiter, emphasizing the dark circles under his eyes. Zel felt nauseous, angry, frustrated, sick, and most of all—petrified. He didn’t want Sophie to know, but he also knew that his body language was giving too much away. “I—“ He gulped, closing his eyes. He couldn’t speak more of this. He couldn’t, not in the middle of a hallway. In an empty classroom, perhaps, where there was a little more privacy, would be possible.

Zel considered covering it up anyway, but it was too late. Trying to cover it up would be an insult to Sophie’s intelligence. He didn’t pull his hand away. Although Zel did not search for physical contact, he did not refuse it either. Zelig knew that people were out there who cared, but he knew that the people out there who were opposed probably outnumbered the supporters. He didn’t feel like, at this point, there was a way for werewolves to be completely equal, without there being some sort of risk involved. In a perfect world, Zel thought, there would be no risk.

“I can’t talk about this here.” The albino said simply. Although he did not visibly look comfortable, he spoke loudly, and clearly. However, Zel did not say he couldn’t talk about it—he knew that he had pushed the subject far enough to where he needed to give her more information. And from the sound of it, she had connections that could possibly help his sister. He could not refuse that. “Emeline is being held.” He hoped that Sophie would take the hint.

Sophie was mildly surprised by the forceful nature of his tone, this was obviously something he felt passionate about. Well, good, it'd be easier to keep him engaged probably. She glanced down the hall in either direction. Classes had already filed into the History room, so what did that leave? Thinking quickly she tugged him toward the nearest flight of stairs without a word. The Castle was massive, they'd find an empty nook or cranny somewhere to talk. She was going through her head of who it was she could contact. Griffon was the first idea, but he had his hands full at the moment - even though he wouldn't tell her with what. Kia was part of the capture unit, but she didn't have a lot of sway... there was always Muriel, she'd worked at the Werewolf Liaison office as long as Sophie's mum had, she had a soft spot for the Flickwick too.

Finally ducking into one of the empty classrooms on the second floor she turned to look at Zel, her heart beating a little faster in her chest as she closed the door behind them. The last time she'd done this had been for SAWS and that whole meeting was a blur of people yelling, crying, and threatening to storm out. Letting out a long breath she seated herself atop one of the old desks and gave him a moment to catch his breath before she said, "Alright, tell me the story from the beginning, I can't promise anything...but I can try. I have a friend, well Mum had a friend, she's still a liaison - but I have to be able to tell her exactly what's been going on or she can't help," Sophie paused giving him a very serious look as she toyed with the bracelet on her wrist. She didn't expect this to be easy for him, these things weren't easy for anybody - even loud people who never shut up.

She thought of her meeting with the counselor and how weird it had felt for her to talk through things so she gave him time. Sitting quietly (which was rather hard for the known loudmouth), just waiting. She felt the need to reassure him again, reminded of Dilly basically outing Lexi in front of people who had yet to form an opinion about the first year. It must have been terrifying carrying around a secret like that for Zel. Her features were sympathetic as she reached out to lightly touch his hand again, voice much softer than usual, "I promise whatever you tell me, no one at Hogwarts will know, not unless you tell them," she hoped that was reassuring... and she hoped his sister being in trouble would make him self assured enough to talk through whatever was going on at home. It was that idea that made her heart hurt for her mother, the idea of home being a safe place. It just wasn't for too many people she knew.

Zel rushed up the stairs and did his best to follow Sophie. He was glad that she was taking this so seriously, and trying to find a place where they could talk in private. For one, it showed that she cared. Also, it showed that she was taking him seriously. He was glad, since this subject was absolutely not a laughing matter. As he ran, he thought about his family back home. Surely, his younger siblings were being treated fine. They weren’t lycans. However, his mother had been slowly losing it ever since his father died, and lately it had been getting worse. Her poor husband was like a father to all her children, Zel included. And he had no power whatsoever.

If only Garrett was around. Although he was a squib, he was also the best at calming their mother down during her moments of complete irrationality.

Once the door was closed behind him, he tried to get himself comfortable. He sat down on a desk as easily as it was a chair, his feet touching the ground. He jiggled his right leg. From the beginning? But Zel did not even know where the beginning was. He supposed that he could start with the attack, maybe give some history on his father. However, he wasn’t sure if Sophie wanted to hear his life story. There were several long minutes that passed before he was ready to start. Might as well start from the very beginning.

“Err.. So… Feel free to interrupt me if you have questions.” Zel started out, his hands were shaking just from the thought of exposing himself to her so openly. “My dad was… Adamantly against werewolves.”  He explained, “Garrett and my dad would walk Emeline home from school,  but sometimes they were out later if they went out for dinner or something. When I was 7, Garrett came home but… Without my dad and Emeline. He was bleeding a lot. He wasn’t bitten though. Just… Slashed.” He shuddered at the thought.

“Garrett told us that Emeline and dad were being attacked, but he managed to get away. He’s a squib, so he can’t really use magic to fend off werewolves, you know? Everything was blurry after that, but my mom went to find them… My dad was killed, and Emeline was hurt, really hurt. She got bitten, and….” Zel cleared his throat, and looked over at Sophie. He didn’t want to feel like he was dominating the conversation. “My mom moved the family to Cardiff, where the three oldest of us were born. To be closer to her family, she was pregnant with Zenia at the time, and had little twin boys. She couldn’t very well raise six children by herself, while pregnant. She got married though, in two years. George is nice, he was her friend growing up. He and Garrett connected, because Garrett’s a squib too.” He felt like he was getting off track, and did his best to focus again.

He gave Sophie an apologetic look, and at this point, Zel’s whole body was shaking. He was not used to spilling out his life story like this, and it felt strange and unfamiliar. It was unnatural. “Err. Sorry. Um..” He was finding it hard to focus.  “So…  Things were fine. My mom stopped working so she could homeschool us. She made her own wolfsbane potion. She started to kind of… Lose it after my dad died. Every year she just got worse. She started…. Resenting Emeline, and blaming her for Dad’s death. If Emeline was not on perfect behavior, my mom started…. Threatening to withhold wolfsbane. Garrett stopped her, most of the time. But he was also busy with his first fiancée most of the time. He was the only one who could knock sense into my mom, George had no power.”  His voice, as well as his body began to shake. He was not comfortable with this feeling of fire in the pit of his stomach. This feeling that he wanted to punch something, or somebody.

He was angry, and it terrified him.

“Mom started doing it more and more, and she…. Became totally unreasonable. Geroge wanted to divorce her, but.. Then he didn’t want to leave us. And he had Nettie to think about. My mom got… Sick of me complaining, and she didn’t tell me when she withheld Emeline’s potion in July. My mom locks her up in the shed in the backyard, to keep her from attacking anyone. I went to check in on her and…” Zel shuddered. “She…” He couldn’t say it.

Zel couldn’t bring himself up to say it. It hurt too much. Just saying that he was a werewolf felt like he would be calling himself a monster.

He blushed slightly, and took off his shirt.

His emaciated torso was like a ripped canvas. Claw marks were carved into his skin, up his arms, up his sides, meeting at his right shoulder. On his right side, there was one giant bite mark, and on his shoulder there was a second. He looked like someone had ripped his skin apart, and could not put the pieces back together properly. It was devastating.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Zel's voice broke, feeling like the very sight of him was offensive. With haste and shame, he pulled his shirt back on. “Emeline’s being held, now… So…” The lycan sighed, left feeling as strained and tormented as his body looked.

Sophie tried to mask the horrified look on her face as he told her his story. She had heard a lot of things from her mum, talked about a lot of cases - especially after Ollie was expelled. There was something very different about seeing the way he affected Zee, seeing the way he shook, the expression on his face. It crushed her heart and made it feel almost impossible to breathe. There was nothing she could do, nothing to offer him comfort, it was like the night Chance had told her his mother disowned him all over again. How was it the world saw fit to give these horrible women children and then rob ones who had had mother's like Sophie's? Ramona Flickwick would have known exactly what to do, exactly how to handle this.

Sophie wasn't Ramona though, and as good at pretending to be grown up as she was, it took everything in her not to burst into tears. She wasn't even sure what kind of tears - frustration partly, sad partly, angry too. It all seemed so unjust. How had the Ministry not known what was going on until it was too late? How had no one checked on her, been with her, made sure she was getting the kind of care she deserved. She knew Zel wouldn't want to hear it but his sister being held was a much safer place for her than home. The conditions might not have been ideal but somehow as bad as all that was she couldn't help but feel it was more humane than the scorn of their mother. Merlin she sounded like a piece of work who belonged in the psych ward of Mungos.

Sophie didn't flinch or shy away when he pulled off his shirt. She had seen Ollie's scars a million times over the summer. For the most part her Hufflepuff friend accepted that the scars were a part of her and didn't seem bothered by them. Sophie knew that wasn't the whole story but she didn't like pushing Ollie to share what she didn't want to. She felt this pressure in her chest like she almost couldn't breathe looking at him. It was all so tragic, and she felt her eyes pricking with tears as she slipped off the desk and wound her slender arms around his middle after the material of his shirt settled back into place. The size difference between them would have been almost comical if the situation hadn't been so troubling. She just wanted to fix it...

The trouble with these situations is there wasn't really a fix. Obviously he was registered, obviously Reid knew about him. Obviously Zel didn't want anyone else to know because he looked six kinds of ashamed of himself. So...Sophie did what she did best, she hugged him fiercely. Hoping that a little bit of the care and the complete acceptance she felt would somehow sink through. She stood there for a long time, just trying to be comforting but not completely sure she was going about it the right way. When she stepped back a little - still holding on to him, but now able to look at his face she exhaled a long breath, "Don't be sorry, don't ever be sorry for asking someone for help. It's a part of life, mate. We all need someone sometimes... I'm just glad you trust me enough".

When Sophie gave him a hug, he jumped—not expecting any kind of physical contact. Especially not affectionate, kind, and accepting physical contact. Although Sophie was the president of SAWS, and close friends with Ollie, he expected her to shun him. He expected her to call him a monster, to tell him that he was dangerous, that he did not deserve the right to attend this school. He had expected her to call him an abomination, a sin against humanity. But, she didn’t. And that stunned him. Zel did not pull away from the hug, because deep down, he knew that he needed it.

His body was trembling, holding back any expression of emotion—but it was about to break. Zelig finally hugged her back gently. His entire body felt heavy, and finally, he could not hold it back anymore. His eyes began to water, and his chest began to heave with silent sobs. He was terrified, angry, sad, and touched all at once. He was terrified about his future, sad for his sister, and angry at the situation. Sophie’s kindness was moving, and he felt like he owed her for it. Zel made a silent promise to make it up to her, somehow.

“I’m- sor—“ No, she had told him not to apologize for his situation, for his feelings. “I… Thank you, Sophie.” His voice was scratchy, but it still held gratitude. “I just. I just want to see Emeline again, make sure she’s okay. I want to make it safe for her to go home, or somehow help her to find a job so she can live somewhere else. I don’t want her to be in trouble for hurting me.” His voice softened, “It wasn’t her fault. It’s mine. I should have known my mom withheld it.” Zel did want to assign blame to his mother, he wanted to so badly. But at the same time, he still loved her. His siblings still cared about her, despite the fact that she was not the nicest to Emeline.

She was still his mother. She had been a good person, but she was mentally ill. Something was wrong with her, that made her act like a completely different person. The person that withheld Emeline’s wolfsbane, was not the mother that Zel had once known. It was also not the mother that he wanted his younger siblings to take after.

Without thinking Sophie reached up to brush away his tears, her voice soft, "Zee, I can't make you any promises... but I know people. I have a friend in the Capture Unit," she paused, not wanting to see his reaction, "I know it feels like the worst thing in the world, I know that it's scary and overwhelming but I don't think your sister is safe at home. I don't think she should be punished - but right now a holding cell on it's worst day is better than a shed in the back yard," in that moment she hated his mother. She didn't say it of course because the woman was still his mum and wretched or not nothing would change that.  Having a direct line to the Liaison off in her mother would have made this situation so much easier.

When he admitted his guilt Sophie just shook her head, lips pulled into a firm line, "It isn't your fault, anymore than it's her fault. The fault is your mother's. Zel that's flat out abuse, and I don't know how old your sister is but no one should ever be denied their right to something they need to survive," she cupped his cheek, her small hand shaky with emotion. He needed someone to look after him so badly, to make sure he was okay - to protect him from the slings and arrows that were sure to come with people found out. That was another problem all together, he was so delicate she wasn't sure he could withstand the pressure of people finding out. He was roommates with Fig though and whether he would mean to or not Sellaphix couldn't keep his yap shut about anything.

"Ollie and Lexi know, right," it wasn't really a question, they'd have all gone to the Ministry together for the first full moon back. Chewing her bottom lip she dropped her hand to his shoulder, "Tell me what I can do to help Zee, I know I can't fix it, but what step do you want to take next"? She was more sure now than ever that he needed to come to a SAWS meeting, that he needed to see the kind of support he would have - though she was rather glade he hadn't seen the circus that was the first meeting. All that yelling and Ollie calling them beasts would have shamed him right now the door...but Sophie knew that came from her friend's own sense of shame. It was all just so much more complicated now. She wanted to protect him but she knew the secret would come out eventually, they always did.

He allowed her to wipe the tears off his face. It made him feel at home, like he was cared about. Most of all though, her kindness reminded him of his older sister. She was the one who comforted him whenever he was down, and now Sophie was when Emeline couldn’t. Zel wished he could be with his sister now, so that he could reassure her the way she always was able to reassure him. He wanted to be able to tell Emeline that everything was going to be okay, that there was going to be some way out of this. He was worried that somehow, his sister would get blamed for all of this, and that she’d go to Azkaban. If that happened, he doubted that he’d ever see her again, and that thought pained him.

“Emeline’s 19. Her birthday was on the first.” He stated, allowing Sophie to know her age. Maybe it would help whoever she knew, if they knew her age? Though it was probable that it was already in the system. The albino took a deep breath, and then continued. “It’s… It’s just that… What if I don’t see her again? Or my mom?” He did not want to lose either one of his family members. He was angry at his mother, but at the same time, she was his mother. He loved her. Or at least, he loved the mother she was, before she slowly deteriorated into mental instability.

He wondered if Muggles had these same problems, if they had special ways to treat people who were not mentally fit. Zel leaned his face into her hand, accepting her affection. It made him feel accepted, like someone around here actually cared about him. Not that fake care, but just… Genuine caring. Unfortunately, Zel also felt concerned that he was putting too much pressure on Sophie for revealing his problems.

He nodded to her response. Of course Ollie and Lexi knew. He had to do the walk of shame with them on full moons. Zel couldn’t think of anything she could do to help, nothing that he felt like she was capable of doing.

“I… I would like it if you kept this…. Quiet. Please.” Zel pleaded, “I can’t… I can’t have people know.” He couldn’t handle having others know. He already felt enough self-hatred, and he did not need additional bullying to add to his list of stressful situations. He’d still need some convincing to go to a SAWS meeting, but at this rate, it was becoming more likely. Now, more than ever, Zel needed a support system.