And here comes the round 7 drabble! This was a good write, I think, and I hope you all like it. It's still for the Ravenclaw Prefect and Astronomy position on Houses Comp.

The prompt I picked is (action) jumping in surprise, shock, or fear. I'm using it in the surprise context.

Word Count: 920

Betas: Ash Juillet, Miakoda

Susan knew that lying was wrong, but when she thought back on it, she didn't see what she could have done any differently. Years after the war had ended, she had come to the realization that if she hadn't told those lies, hadn't gone against her values, both as a person and a Hufflepuff, both she and Hannah would likely have come to serious harm.

It was the year Lord Voldemort had come back. That year, she had seen so many terrible things happen, and she had done many things she would never thought herself capable of. She and her best friend, Hannah, were among those who had quickly gained the ire of the reigning powers of Severus Snape and his nefarious deputies, the Carrows.

So far, Hannah and Susan had, for the most part, kept clear of their curses, but it was only a matter of time with how things had gone so far. There was only so much protection being a pureblood offered.

Around November, the two of them had decided they would simply sneak away and go on the run. Anything would be better than staying, waiting until they did or said the wrong thing and ended up on the wrong end of a Cruciatus Curse.

"Susan, we have no means," Hannah protested when Susan had suggested the idea. "How are we going to do this?"

Susan had already come up with the plan before Hannah had asked. "I'll ask my parents to transfer some of my Aunt Amelia's trust fund money out and send it to me. I'll say it's for Christmas presents; there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up soon."

Hannah looked dubious but nodded. "All right. I suppose it's okay to lie to your parents, then?"

Susan sighed. "I don't want to lie to them, Han, but I also don't want to have the Unforgivables used on me. Do you?"

Hannah shook her head. "Of course not. When are you going to send the letter?"

"Tonight," Susan replied. "The sooner, the better, right?"

It was two weeks later, and Hannah and Susan had everything they needed to make their escape. Susan's parents, not seeing anything wrong with her letter, had sent the money the following week. They had slowly gathered things they would need over the next few days.

They snuck bits of food from every meal, stocked up their Potions ingredients from the school pantry when no one was in there with them, and practiced every defensive charm they knew in preparation to leave.

Hannah had even been clever enough to charm an old blue handbag of hers with an Undetectable Extension Charm, so they could carry everything they would need.

It was now the day of the Hogsmeade weekend, the day they planned to make their escape. At first, Susan had wondered why the weekends were kept on. Then they had learned of the extensive "protections" that had been enacted around the school. The dementors had been brought back, for one. Snatchers patrolled the streets, looking for anyone out of bounds. They were mainly for the purpose of keeping unwanted people out, but they did just fine keeping the students and villagers in.

Susan stood among the crowds of students, who waited to be allowed out of the Entry Hall doors and down to the village. She knew she had to appear normal, like nothing was wrong, but she couldn't stop herself from bouncing her knee in agitation.

She must have been giving off a more nervous air than she'd wanted to because to her chagrin, Neville came up to her, his brows knit in concern. "Hey, Susan, is everything okay?"

Susan screamed in surprise and jumped nearly a foot, so wrapped up in their plans she hadn't noticed him. "Sure, I'm fine. Just ready to get to the village."

Neville eyed her squarely. "You're sure that's all?"

Please stop questioning me, Susan thought desperately. The fewer questions he asked her, the less she would have to lie to him. Despite the lie to her parents, she did not want to make it a habit. The one she had told her parents already churned her gut unpleasantly.

Outwardly, she said, "Of course. I have a ton of Christmas shopping left to do, you know. Hannah and I are going together, but I haven't seen her yet."

Neville pointed a little ways away, where Hannah was waiting alone. "There she is." He paused for a moment, as if considering what else he wanted to say. Finally, he said, "Susan, you will be careful, won't you? I mean, keep yourself safe here. The Carrows look for any opportunity to 'discipline' us, you know."

Susan nodded fervently. Despite everything, this was something she didn't have to lie about. "Of course I will, Neville. Don't worry about me."

"I worry about everyone," he responded. "It's kind of become my responsibility now."

Susan wished she could return this honesty with some of her own, but instead she simply said, "We all look out for each other, right?"

Neville couldn't think of more to say, so he walked on ahead. Susan lingered back, allowing Hannah to reach her.

"Finally," Hannah murmured. "I thought he was onto us when he pointed at me."

Susan decided not to tell her how right that was, adding just one more white lie to her growing list. "Nah, we've been too careful."

Hannah nodded. "I guess so. Let's go, then."

Susan nodded, allowing Hannah to move before her in the queue. Let's go, indeed.