Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling. The members of the Secret Sealing Club are the creations of ZUN.

Between the Lines 3

"Flo, you're not looking too good."

"I always look good, Fawley." Flora Carrow replied, poise as intact as always.

"And as I said, you can dispense with the formalities when we're alone." Gemma Fawley raised a hand to adjust her thin-framed glasses.

There was an awkward silence as each girl waited for the other to continue, before Flora materialised her wand from her sleeve and waved it at the door, closing it shut.

(Slytherins Fifth Year and above had private rooms, deemed almost necessary due to the presence of OWLs and NEWTs. For the lower years, two to a room was usually the case, with some exceptions in either direction numerically.)

"Flo," the older Slytherin started again. "You look terrible."

There was another long silence. Flora had the conversational skills of a diplomat, but that didn't mean that she had to put it to use all the time.

"I know." She eventually said.

"And?"

"And nothing, Gen." Flora spoke. Her posture had not relaxed a bit.

Gemma waited patiently. She had been dealing with her junior for five, coming to six years, now. Her family was rich in gold and jewels and had a well-traced bloodline, while the Carrows, while not especially poor, had been struggling in the lower rungs of nobility for quite some time now (though nobody would ever admit it).

But the older girl had seen the same streak of quiet rebellion in her junior as she had seen in herself, and so had taken steps to establish a friendship.

Well, it had been a alliance first, but eventually it was a friendship, real and true.

Or so she hoped.

"Hestia's making problems again." Flora said suddenly.

Gemma sighed. Magical twins…were an omen. A few hundred years ago, as her father had said, families used to kill one or both of them out of sheer superstition. Of course, that was no longer done.

Especially so with the Carrow Twins, where people simply took the cautious policy of not asking questions. "Everyone knew" that the Carrow blood was impure, with rumors of hag and vampire in the mix, but with that came suggestions of dark, twisted power, and dark, twisted ritual, hidden in the depths of their soul.

And that was why they were accepted.

But only just.

"What are you going to do?"

"Solve it, naturally."

Gemma sighed once more. If this was what she thought it was going to be (that is to say, violence), she wanted nothing to do with it. "You can't keep…I'm graduating this year, Flo. I can't keep you out of trouble forever."

"Good." Flora said.

"In what way, exactly, was that good?"

"It means that you get the chance to travel, of course."

"Flo, don't use diplomacy on me either." It wasn't that she had trouble playing the usual social games of allusion and read-between-the-lines used by everyone in Slytherin for plausible deniability, but she didn't exactly want to have to think extra hard for no reason, especially between real friends.

And then there were people like Luna Lovegood, who seemed to talk in a manner as roundabout as possible, either as an elaborate practical joke, or because she was actually insane. She still hadn't figured out which.

"I mean, Gen, that you should take the chance to see the world outside of Britain. Considering."

"Considering…oh."

"Yes. That manner of considering. Especially with a Dark Lord on the rise."

Excuse me? "Flo, did you just say–"

"To travel out of Britain? Yes."

Gemma swallowed. Fawleys were technically part of the purist faction, but to interact with You-Know-Who in any way… "I'll listen to you. But the problem with your sister…wait." Gemma shut her eyes. "Am I talking to Hestia or Flora right now?"

"Does it really matter, Gen?" Gemma felt a pat on her shoulder, and she opened her eyes to look up at the familiar pale skin and choppy brown hair. There was no reassuring smile – not that she was expecting one after six years, where a small smirk was the greatest expression of positive emotion that she had seen the Flora display.

(And the lesser said about Hestia, the better.)

"Really, get out of here while you still can." Flora said seriously. "Grandma said that my dear old Aunt and Uncle are back in the country. That should be a clear enough sign of things to come."

~~[q]~~

Elsewhere, there was a knock on the door.

"Miss Lovegood? Whatever is the matter?" Renko Usami answered, her usual cap absent from her head.

Luna looked around; the corridor was deserted. Nevertheless, she still felt a twinge of uncertainty, and a vague premonition of…ominousness. "Can I come in, Professor?"

While meetings with the students were slowly returning to their original frequency, Renko had not yet removed herself from being Merry's secretary, of sorts, warding off the more insignificant or unfriendly visitors to the office. But Luna Lovegood was a known entity, a student good in her academics that could be counted on to have interesting ideas.

She opened the door wider and stood to the side. Luna entered and took a seat, starting immediately. "It's about Harry Potter, Professor."

Renko felt a sinking feeling in her chest, but she nodded for the Fourth-Year to continue.

Was this what Merry meant?

Next chapter soon, hopefully. Updates can be found on my profile page.