ink - sirius black

panic and strikes

tw: panic attack

February 10, 1977
7:32 am
Hogwarts

The way to the Great Hall for breakfast was much more concerning than usual for Anneliese. Normally, the Slytherins would greet her, the Ravenclaws would glare, and the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors would be a mixture of the two.

This time, though, the looks she received weren't on either end of that scale.

Instead, they were all full of pity.

And if there was one thing Anneliese hated, it was having people do things for her or act certain ways because they felt bad for her. After her broomstick had been vandalized, Callaway had loathed the way people treated her, and was happy when it had been forgotten.

These looks, however, were ten times more full of regret. Like people actually wished they hadn't been so cruel to her. The sensation was peculiar and uncomfortable, and made Anneliese want to go back up to the comfort of the dorms.

"Why is everyone looking at you like that?" Alice asked in a low tone, leaning into Anneliese so that no one else could hear them. "It's weird."

"I was asking myself the same question," Anneliese replied with a frown as she glanced around.

"Do you reckon that someone did something bad again?" Lily wondered aloud with concern based on the past. "Like the tally marks or the broomstick?"

"I don't know, I just want to figure out what this is," Callaway said tightly. "I hate not knowing when it's about me."

"Just ask," Dorcas said simply with a shrug as if it was that easy. "It's the best way, just make sure that it's someone who won't lie to you or turn you away."

Before Anneliese could ask, she heard.

"I actually feel bad for making that tally when she has so much else going on in her life," a Ravenclaw said to his friend. "Maybe that's why she's such a bitch, you know?"

"If my parents abandoned me, I would be bitter, too," his friend agreed with self righteousness at their generosity. "Who wouldn't be?"

Anneliese felt like her world was closing in on her.

The air was suddenly too thick to breathe in properly, almost like there was just tar filling her lungs instead of the crisp breeze going through the open air corridors. All of the people surrounding her started to blur into one chaotic mass full of voices that were becoming far too loud to even process.

Instead of her heart speeding up as she felt it was supposed to, the pounding in her chest began to slow down, the thundering sound only hammering through her head every few seconds.

The structure in her legs seemed to decide that it was a good time to turn into only water, and Anneliese quickly leaned against a wall to support herself.

Alice, Dorcas, Lily, and Marlene watched in panic as their friend tangled her fingers in her blonde hair, trying to grip onto something that would help her, but nothing looked like it was working.

"Anneliese, what's going on?" Marlene asked as she rushed over to the wall, all humor gone from her usually playful, light eyes. "What did you hear? Do you need Pomfrey?"

"I just need a second, I'm fine," Anneliese choked out. "Please, just a second."

"No, you're not fine," Lily said, her light green eyes darting all over her friend's features. "You're not fine at all. Come on, let's go back to the dorms."

Callaway genuinely couldn't reply. Her heart rate only seemed to become slower and slower. She could vaguely hear her friend's voices around her talking, and she tried to talk back.