True Rumors

It was the first week of school and Isobel was pissed. Third year was already proving to be frustrating.

But the most frustrating part had come from a rumor started about her. A true rumor because it came from a secret that she had told someone in confidence. And that person was Cameron,. And Isobel knew that Cameron would never tell a soul.

Isobel could rule out pretty much everyone. But she had her suspicions. There were a few perceptive students that Isobel was forced to interact with. And most of them liked Isobel. Except for one. And that was Kayla Miller.

Kayla seemed like a likely suspect. She had enough popularity to spread the rumor around and she had enough of a reason to. And it was a reasonable choice because Kayla didn't have to worry about this part of wizard-life at all.

So Isobel walked in the Grand Hall, and made a beeline for the Nuage Table, weaving in between bodies. She knew people's eyes were on her. They knew she was angry. "So Miller..." she said coolly when she arrived, leaning against the wooden edge next to the other girl. "You like spreading rumors about people's blood status?"

Why would someone accuse her of being a Muggleborn. Yes, she was. But no one had any reason to believe that she was. The Greens were Pureblood. Isobel was a Green. She looked enough like them to pass as biological. She just didn't understand why anyone would find it necessary to pick on her.

Kayla was trying to enjoy her yogurt and fruit salad before class. How she had missed the delicious food at Beauxbatons. She sometimes wondered it would be too filling, but it turned out to be very healthy and wholesome. With her friends surrounded and chattering around her, she couldn't think of a better way to start the day. Until Isobel Green barged in, that was.

Kayla listened patiently as she wiped a small trickle of yogurt off her lips. She could guess what this was about. She certainly meant to keep Isobel's little secret shut, but it slipped out in conversation with two of her friends. They had been upset about Isobel and the information seemed relevant. Too bad those two friends turned out to be blabbermouths. She wasn't going to throw them under the bus for Isobel.

"No," she replied coolly, looking up at the girl in the eye. It was the truth. "I don't spread anything that isn't true. It's a waste of energy." Honestly, she didn't dislike Isobel that much to go out of her way to undermine her. If she thought otherwise, it would be amusing.

Isobel honestly didn't know what she expected to accomplish in this situation. In any other situation, she would walk away. But this time, it was personal.

Her eyes narrowed. "Okay. So you don't like it, but you think it's funny and continue to do it?" she asked, believing she knew the answer already. Isobel pushed her hair to her other shoulder.

She had to think for a moment. Isobel could just defend herself. But that would lead everyone to believe that Kayla was telling the truth. Which she was. But there had to be a way to make Kayla look like the bad guy.

Then Isobel remembered. Kayla was a Pureblood. She could make this a classic case of blood prejudice. Then, it wouldn't matter if Isobel was a Muggleborn. Isobel would be defending them as a whole, which would win her some fans in the process.

"I just want to tell you that it's a sick thing for you to do. To call someone a Muggleborn like it's some sort of insult. I think that says more about you than about about anyone else," she said to the older girl with a smile, "Especially since you're a Pureblood and all."

It felt god to play dirty again.

Kayla shrugged. With her friends around her, she felt nothing could break her calm. "I personally didn't tell many people. And it's not really that funny, so no." She didn't get the big deal about it. She just found it interesting that high-and-mighty Isobel of the high-and-mighty pureblood Green family was Muggleborn. She hadn't meant for it to turn into a whole thing.

Her next comment stung a little. Isobel playing the victim again. She narrowed her brows. "I never said it like an insult, and you don't have proof that I did," she replied in a matter-of-fact manner. "It would be hypocritical of me to do so. My brother's a Muggle-born. I have Muggle-born friends. One of my best adult friends, Harley, is a Muggle-born."

Kayla turned away, back to her Greek yogurt. She didn't have to prove to Isobel that she had nothing against Muggle-borns. She just had to convince the general public.

"Have you ever heard of the rumor mill? Telling people other things that are untrue goes everywhere. And it just makes you look like a bad person. You act like you're above all that shit but obviously you're not any better than the other students here," Isobel said calmly. She was getting really frustrated. Kayla told people something that wasn't any of her busines

"If you didn't say it as an insult, why are people saying insulting things to me?" she asked. "And even if you didn't say it as an insult, you gave people permission to use it as such, just by saying something about it. You are condoning the behavior like it's not a big deal. And you know that my family is Pureblood. How could you say that I'm a Muggleborn when my parents are wizard folk?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I have reason to believe what I say is true," Kayla replied, saying it with more confidence than she really was. She didn't have to prove anything to Isobel. "If it isn't, then tell them." She really didn't care about this anymore. She had other matters of more concern.

"I don't control what everyone says," Kayla rolled her eyes. Her friends were done and she was almost done with her yogurt. She prepared to leave. "Why are you getting so worked up about this if it isn't true? I'm sure you've had other rumors spread about you before." Such was the price of popularity. She'd endured her own share of them and certainly not everyone loved Isobel.

"No. You don't control what other people say. But apparently you can't control what you say. You have more influence than you think. You are a public figure now. If it's okay for you to say something completely unjustified as a joke, or whatever you're calling it, people think it's okay for them to do the same. You are leading people astray. It is an abuse of power in the politics of popularity. So overall, Kayla, this is not something I can fix. It's not going to go away. It will always be there. Your comment about Muggleborns will always be a part of your reputation," Isobel said, shrugging. "Maybe a part of mine. But I'm the victim."

God this girl was taking this way out of proportion. The people around her were starting to snicker. Kayla barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes again. Seriously, politics? It was just school, for Merlin's sake. "If it matters that much to you, I'm sorry I mentioned this to two people." She tried to put on the best apologetic face she could manage, but there was sarcasm in her voice.

At least she was admitting she was playing the victim. She laughed. "My comment? All I said was that it was possible you were Muggle-born. I said nothing about Muggle-borns in general." How she hated generalizations. At least, anyone who knew Kayla would know she would never do something like that. "It's you who's taking it as an insult." She looked up to see her friends were waiting for her to leave. Kayla pushed her plates away, gathered her book bag and left with them without a second glance at Isobel. She had learned better than try to reason with her.