Hello hello! :) Back with another chapter and this one's got a bit of ~angst~! Ooooo!

Please review, fav, follow, and all that!

Also, I wouldn't get used to updates this close together... I just had a really long weekend so I had some time on my plate! Ahaha.

Enjoy!

- CHAPTER 2: THE WAR TO COME -

"You are absolutely going to chop it off," I sneered. My shoes tip-tapped on the flagstone beneath me as we walked down the dim corridor. "I'm not walking around as the wife of someone with that."

"If I have to suffer by your side for the rest of my life," Lucius bit back, "I'm going to do it with whatever hairstyle I want."

It was just reaching midnight and we were making our way back to the grand staircase to meet up with all the other Prefects on duty. We were in the throes of a conversation about Lucius' hair, which he had decided to grow out this year. He was looking more and more like Abraxas as the weeks went on and he was now able to tie it up in a low ponytail. Long hair looked good on some boys, but I wasn't a fan of his.

"It's gross," I continued, scrunching up my face. "It'll be like walking down the aisle to your father."

I shuddered at the thought and he sent me a menacing glare. We continued on in silence after that, the journey to the first-floor landing seeming to take forever after an already long night with my husband-to-be.

All we had talked about during our entire shift was his displeasure with how he had to take potions with the Hufflepuffs this year, most of them in his class being not up to snuff when it came to blood or social status. I repressed the urge to send a silencing jinx his way when he started discussing the plans he and his equally disgusting friends were formulating to make his poor classmates miserable.

"Don't worry," I had said at one point, feeling physically repulsed, "I think they're suffering just by having to be in the same room as you."

When I had spoken up, he had abruptly stopped and yanked me to face him. His other hand twitched as if it were going to reach up and hit me. I had stopped breathing for just a moment.

"Shut your ungrateful mouth," he had seethed. "They're lucky they get to breathe the same air as us."

After that, I had remained quiet until we switched to a different subject that didn't involve his interactions with non-purebloods and I once again felt safe to poke at him.

As the night went on, I found myself desperately yearning for another shift with Lily. We would talk lightly about how kiss-assy Slughorn could be towards his favorite students or how excited we were for the annual Hallowe'en feast. I didn't want to talk about weddings or blood, but about actually things that mattered. Things like grades and what was going on with friends, not that I had much to say about the latter considering the significantly small pool of people I could actually call 'friends.' It was exciting to live vicariously through Lily in this regard and I was more than happy to listen to her chatter away about things like her agitations with James Potter or the latest Gryffindor gossip she had heard from Marlene McKinnon.

"What are you looking so bothered about?" Lucius asked, but his voice leaned more towards contempt than worry. "Your face becomes even less attractive when you frown like that. You're going to get lines if you keep it up and mother will not tolerate that for our engagement photos."

My eyes were straining not to pop out of my sockets from the eye roll I sent his way. Serpentina was planning an elaborate photoshoot over the Christmas holidays and she was acting as if it were just as important as the wedding itself. She even sent me an intense skincare regimen, none of which I was following.

"Many apologies," I said dramatically. "Wouldn't want to upset her, of course."

"It's not a joke. These photos are going to accompany our official announcement, so they have to be satisfactory for public view."

"I don't even understand why we have to make such a big deal of it," I said, exasperated, thinking of the half-page story our parents had already lined up to be published in the Daily Prophet. "Byron and Andromeda didn't make any superfluous announcements."

"Yes, well, Byron isn't marrying someone who also has a father with such an important position in the Ministry. Our nuptials in particular are just as much about politics as they are blood status."

"So ridiculous," I grumbled.

"You need to start changing your attitude if you want this marriage to work, Elsbeth," he stopped to look me sternly in the eyes. "We're way past the point of being able to be a happy little family, but we at least need to be decent about it. I'm not delighted about it either, but our families are relying on us. This is all about the larger picture."

My face stoned over as I contemplated what he was saying. I was happy we were on the same page about the fact that neither of us would ever be pleased about our situation. However, I was hesitant about the thought of putting too much energy into our relationship beyond what was necessary. How could I be decent about all this when I was going to be unhappy for the rest of my life?

"Fine," I said levelly, pushing my emotions to the side. "Whatever you say."

"That's better," he replied smugly. "Let's go, we're -"

But he was interrupted by a gasp to our left. Halfway down the corridor was Andromeda Black, her petite form half in shadow as she was illuminated by the moonlight coming through the large windows. Her eyes widened in shock and she started fidgeting on the spot.

"Miss Black," Lucius said coolly, redirecting his frosty gaze towards her. "Why are you roaming the corridors at this hour?"

"Um," she began, her eyes darting to look anywhere but into his, "just studying and lost track of time."

"Hmm," he pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes at her. "Alone?"

"Yes," she said without hesitation.

"Where are your books?"

She froze, face paling. There was no satchel to be seen. My eyes flashed between her and Lucius, pity for the girl washing over me. She clearly wasn't telling the truth from the get, but I didn't understand why he was making such a big deal about it.

"M-must have left them in the study lounge I was in," she stumbled. "I'll just go back and grab them real quick and then head down to the dungeons."

She quickly turned around to head back from where she came but was interrupted by Lucius.

"No. Stop," he said firmly. "As Prefects, we can't let you continue to wander the corridors alone in good conscience. Elsbeth will run and grab your bag for you."

His voice was a mixture of mocking and menacing. Andromeda looked like she was about to cry, her entire body shaking slightly. She pleaded for something through the look she was sending my way. I remained still, unsure of how to proceed.

"Well?" Lucius turned to me, eyes conveying some sort of hidden order. "Get on with it."

The atmosphere wasn't right to make jokes about how he hadn't said 'please,' so without a word I made my way down the corridor. Andromeda's eyes met mine once more, ridden with desperation, and I sent her a sad smile. Her head dropped as I passed her and I wondered what she was so afraid of.

Rounding a couple of corners, I soon found the study lounge on this floor and entered it. It was quiet and the torches on the wall cast an ominous glow over the suits of armor positioned in each of the corners. I didn't even bother to check for any forgotten satchels or books around the tables, knowing full well that Andromeda had not been studying, but I did look around for any indication of what she was actually doing up here this late at night. After a couple of minutes of prodding around, I came up with nothing and headed out.

I continued down to the end of the corridor in the off chance there was anything of interest there but still didn't see anything out of the ordinary. With a shrug to no one, I turned back around and headed back to the floor landing where I left Lucius and Andromeda.

"Achoo!" I heard just as I was about to head down another corridor. Lighting the tip of my wand, I turned quickly in an attempt to locate the source of the sound.

"Bollocks…" I heard a faint whisper.

Following the direction of the voice, I found myself in front of the bunched up curtains of one of the large windows. With the extra lighting from my wand, I could now clearly see a pair of loafers sticking out from underneath them. I slowly pulled them back to reveal a sandy blonde-haired boy dressed in Ravenclaw robes, looking just as terrified as Andromeda had been. He was rubbing his nose, the dust must have made him sneeze.

"What's your name?" I asked.

He eyed me hesitantly like he was wondering if he should answer or just take the punishment he expected me to give if he didn't.

"Ted," he finally said quietly. "Ted Tonks."

I gasped slightly. He was Muggle-born, I was sure. I knew practically all the students who were just by listening to the crop of students I had to interact with on a daily basis. I also knew he was in the same year as my brother and Lucius, as the latter had just been complaining the other week about how he had almost thrown up when they had been paired together during Transfiguration class one day.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered frantically. There was no way Lucius and Andromeda could hear us even if we were talking at a normal level, but I wasn't going to take any chances of him picking up on our voices. I did not want to be responsible for the torture of this boy tonight.

I asked him, but my gut was telling me he was why Andromeda had looked so frightened. They had been together, but why? And at this time of night? It wasn't looking good if we were hoping to keep up pureblood ideals. Ted seemed too afraid to answer this time and he hung his head.

"Were you with Andromeda?" I asked, gathering his attention back to me. I could see the cogs working in his mind as he desperately tried to think of an excuse. Like with Andromeda, a wave of pity washed over me and I sighed. "It's alright, you don't have to be scared to tell me the truth."

His eyes met mine, terrified and unsure. I can't imagine he's met too many honest Slytherins.

"I promise."

"Yes," he finally squeaked out. "But you can't tell anyone! Please. She'll be dead."

He spoke in a whisper as well, but his voice was desperately pleading. Like me, he understood what it would mean if she had been found in this situation with the likes of him. I was conflicted about what to do, but I was absolutely positive that I couldn't call Lucius over. He would be able to put two and two together without even asking. That would lead to both this boy ending up in the hospital wing and Andromeda possibly getting blasted off her family tree. Giving him detention and sending him on his way wouldn't do either. Lucius would be able to look at the logs and see who gave it to him and on what night, also alerting him to their meetup.

I let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through my hair as I stepped back from him. I focused on a particularly regal portrait of a unicorn, now sleeping in the light of the moon, for a few moments before making my decision.

"Alright," I said in a determined whisper, "you wait here for ten minutes, no more, no less, and then head straight to your common room. Straight to your common room, do you understand? If you hear anyone, you hide."

He looked at me, stunned.

"Do you understand?" I asked again, a little more aggressively. He finally nodded. "Good. And next time, find some curtains that cover your feet."

I saw him blush as I turned away, making my way back towards Lucius and my sister-to-be. Well, my sister-to-be for now. I'd have to talk to her about this somehow. She absolutely couldn't be sneaking around the castle with a Muggle-born in the middle of the night while Lucius, my brother, and I were constantly patrolling. I'm not sure how my brother would react, but if Lucius caught them, that would instantly be the end of their engagement.

"Thank you," I heard him call out weakly. I stopped for only a second, shooting him a wistful look over my shoulder and then rushing down the corridor.

With only a finite amount of time to remove Lucius and Andromeda from where I left them, I broke out into a light jog to find my way back. I stopped to catch my breath quickly and then turned the last corner. They hadn't moved from their positions, Lucius standing smugly on the landing, Andromeda shaking as she stood in the middle of the corridor. I can't imagine they spoke a word to one another.

"Well?" Lucius' voice echoed throughout the hall, harshly breaking the silence.

Andromeda's head whipped around to look at me, worry written all over her face but melting into what looked like relief when she saw that I was empty-handed. I only met her eyes for a second, making sure not to betray any emotion while my husband-to-be watched me like a hawk.

"Nothing," I said levelly, giving a shrug.

"What?" He almost sounded mad. "What do you mean 'nothing'?"

"Couldn't find anything," I stopped next to Andromeda and turned to face her. "Sorry, Filch must have found your satchel and taken it. Good luck getting it back from that nightmare of an individual."

I tried to reassure her through my joke and matching smile. She looked calm for the first time I had seen her that night. There was no way of knowing if she knew I was covering for her or if she just thought I didn't find Ted at all.

Lucius glared at me the entire time I walked over to reposition myself next to him. He was clearly upset that I didn't find anything. I ignored him as I planted myself on the landing and looked back at Andromeda.

"Go straight to the common room," I told her, echoing what I told Ted. "No detours. We'll know if you took one."

I tried to convey what I knew in both the look I sent her and my words. Realization seemed to dawn across her features and she once again looked frightened, but only remained so for a moment before steeling her face.

"Now, let's not be hasty," Lucius sneered. "She's still out past curfew. It's deserving of at least a couple nights of detention."

"Oh, shove it," I snapped at him. "Do you really want our only detention of the night being handed to a Slytherin? Just let her go. I'm tired and we're already running late to meet up with the others."

He set his mouth in a straight line as he challenged me with his gaze. When I didn't falter, he looked away in a huff.

"You," I directed towards Andromeda. "Go. And this better not happen again. Get a watch or something."

With a meek nod, she finally moved. She brushed past us quickly and headed down the stairs. I sighed with relief, she was heading in the right direction so it was unlikely she would pull a fast one to meet up with Ted again. At least not tonight.

"Let's go," I said after we saw her disappear around a corner. Without waiting for him, I made my way down the last set of stairs and walked down the corridor to our meeting place in front of the doors to the Great Hall. Unsurprisingly, Remus and Lily were already waiting for us along with the Prefects on duty from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

We debriefed on the night. The Ravenclaws had caught a couple of Gryffindors snogging on the stairs leading up to the astronomy tower, while Remus and Lily found a sleeping Hufflepuff in the library. Other than that, it was a pretty boring night for all. We discussed upcoming schedules amongst ourselves for a few moments.

"Oh, Elsbeth," Lily said, turning to me from where she stood beside me. "I wanted to ask. This Herbology essay is driving me insane. I heard you're quite the genius in that subject so I was wondering if you'd be able to help me out?"

The rest of the Prefects were still talking amongst themselves, so I hoped that her voice was quiet enough to be drowned out by their chatter. I was hesitant. If anyone in Slytherin caught me with her, it would be a disaster. But what was the harm in helping a fellow classmate study, really?

"Um, sure," I finally answered meekly, sending her a small smile.

"Brilliant!" She said excitedly. I winced at how loud her voice became, praying no one overheard. "Let's meet at the library tomorrow after dinner?"

"Sounds like a plan."

With one last smile in each other's direction, we turned back to the larger group. All of us said our goodnights and we departed for our respective dorms, Lucius and I being the only ones to head downstairs rather than up. He stormed off in front of me and I practically had to jog to keep up to him. It was too eerily quiet, even for the two of us and I began to feel uneasy. Had he heard Lily and me?

I soon got my answer. When we were halfway to the common room entrance, he stopped abruptly and looked in every direction to see if anyone was roaming the hallways. When he saw that the coast was clear, he turned back to me, grabbing and shoving me against a wall. I felt the wind get knocked out of me momentarily.

The look in his eyes sent chills down my spine and I knew I was in for some reprimanding. Usually, he kept it pretty nonviolent, minus a tug of the arm here and there, but this was the first time he had laid a significant hand on me. And for the first time, I was absolutely terrified of him.

"Are you an idiot," he began, seething while he kept a strong hold on my upper arms, "or do you just take pleasure in not listening to me?"

"I-I," I began in a whisper, unable to think of how I could defend myself. "You're hurting me, Lucius."

"Shut up," his hands gripped me even tighter. I could just imagine the bruises that were forming. "How dare you even consider hanging out with the likes of that Mudblood. I forbid you to do so and, if I find out you went against me, there will be consequences."

"I don't have to follow your orders," I bit back, feeling a little more confident. "We're classmates! No one's going to care that I'm studying with another student. You're being dramatic."

This infuriated him more. He released one of his hands from my arm and moved it up to wrap around the top of my shoulder. It was dangerously close to my neck and I was sure he could feel the pounding of my heart through my veins.

"You ungrateful wench," I flinched at his words. "Once again, this is not a joke. I am not going to let you wreck our reputation within the wizarding world. You are going to be my wife and so you will listen to me, and I will use any means necessary to make sure you do so. Any means, so do not test me."

I was sure I was shaking, but I couldn't feel it through how numb I was. However, I could still feel his hand tighten near my throat.

"Do you understand me?" He asked as he continued to fume. I knew there was really only one correct answer to his question, but I couldn't find the voice to speak. His stare was so intense that I had to break eye contact, but was drawn back to him as he shook me forcefully. "Look at me! I will not tolerate your insolence from now on, so you better recognize that."

To mollify the situation, I tried to think of something, anything, to say. My mind was conflicted, I wanted desperately to end this interaction, but I felt like that would be surrendering whatever power I had left to him. But what choice did I have really?

"O-okay," I finally conceded as I felt the weight of the world crashing down on me.

"Good," he smirked smugly. "Now, to start, why did you lie to me?"

"What?"

"When we caught Andromeda and I told you to go check, I know you were lying to me about what you found. Andromeda Black is not one to study until the wee hours of the night."

I looked down once more. I was freezing, the frigidity of the stone wall pressed against my back and seeping through my robes. Relinquishing his hold on my shoulder for just a moment, he pulled my face back up with a hand on the jaw. His hold wasn't as aggressive as it was on the other parts of my body, but there was still force behind the movement. When he was done, he replaced his hand on my shoulder.

"I was telling the truth," I choked out.

"And now you're lying again. Why? What was back there?"

"Nothing," I tried forcefully but didn't sound convincing in the slightest. He narrowed his eyes at me. "I s-swear."

"Rather," he said in realization, "who was back there?"

"Really," I pleaded, almost on the verge of tears as his grip tightened even more.

"See, you're lying to me again. I'm going to give you one last chance. What -"

"Everything alright over here?" Someone interrupted him.

Both of our heads whipped to see James Potter, twirling his wand in his hand with Sirius and Peter flanking him. They were coming from the direction of our common room entrance, oddly enough. I wasn't exactly surprised, being the pranksters they were. I'm sure they had found some alternate route that led them to the dungeons outside of the normal path. I was more confused about why they would be down here in the first place. All of their eyes were trained on Lucius, not exactly glaring but not looking too chummy either. I noticed that the latter two also had their wands out but kept them to their sides.

"Ugh," Lucius responded, unfazed. He removed the hand on my arm so he could face them but kept the other hand firmly on the top of my shoulder. "I thought I could smell something foul."

"Yeah, that's actually what led us to you," they all stepped forward as James continued.

Lucius finally released me as he moved to grab for his own wand. I finally took in a breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding onto.

Like on the train, they squared off against one another but kept their wands lowered minus James, who still twirled his.

"What are you scum doing down here?" Lucius asked, venom dripping from his every word. "We're not fond of having your kind," he shot a pointed look at Sirius, "around here."

"Just strolling," Sirius shrugged. "Hope we didn't interrupt anything too drastically important. Getting in a little snog session?"

His face remained comical, but there was an underlying tone of malice. I wondered how much they had heard.

"What happens between me and my fiancee," he made sure to emphasize that word I hated so much, "is really none of your business bloodtraiter. You and your repugnant friends can scamper on now."

"Mmm, the night is still so young though. I think we'll stroll around for a bit."

Sirius' words were still slightly menacing as he continued to gaze at Lucius. James followed suit, while Peter looked like he was getting some sort of sick joy out of the possibility of a fight breaking out. The glee in his eyes made me shiver a little.

"Tsk, tsk. Student's wandering the hallway this late at night," Lucius said cruelly. "That's an automatic detention. A month or two should do, don't you think Elsebeth?"

He turned to me for the first time since we were joined by the other boys. Scared once more under her gaze, I gave some sort of shrug and nod hybrid before dropping my eyes to the ground.

"That's not necessary," a calm voice rang out on the opposite end of the corridor.

The Gryffindor trio looked past Lucius as he turned around. I raised my head slowly to see Remus leisurely walking up to all of us.

"I was just accompanying them back to the dorm, actually," he continued, now standing right beside Lucius and sending a pointed look in his friends' direction. Peter almost looked disappointed that he would not be getting the brawl he wanted.

"How… convenient of you, Lupin," Lucius sneered, pocketing his wand in defeat.

"Quite right," Remus only replied pleasantly. "I think it's time for us to head up. Let's go, boys."

The Gryffindors also looked defeated, following suit and putting away their wands.

"Yeah, suppose it's time to hit the hay," Sirius chimed in. I felt eyes on me and meekly turned to see that he was looking at me. Maybe I imagined it, but it looked as if he gave a short nod in the direction of my common room.

Feet seeming to move on their own, I pushed myself off the wall. My body ached slightly, but I quickly straightened up and walked towards the Gryffindors. Lucius sent me a glare when he noticed my movement as if commanding me to stay, but I used the last shred of confidence I had to ignore him. Feeling a little lightheaded as the entire night's events weighed me down, I kept a hand on the stone as I walked close to the wall. It didn't take long for me to reach the trio that had approached us, admittedly maybe saving me in the process, and I kept my head down as I brushed past them.

"Alright, Ledoux?" I heard someone ask softly, echoing lightly through the corridor and breaking the silence.

After he spoke, I didn't even have the energy to send Sirius an incredulous expression. I just met his eyes briefly, not even bothering to look at anyone else but still feeling their gazes on us.

"What do you care?" I finally grumbled and continued on down the corridor at a brisk speed.

After rounding a corner and hoping that the other boys would keep Lucius occupied for long enough, I broke out into a faster power walk. I wanted to reach the common room before he could catch up, ignoring the dizziness that threatened to take over my vision completely. The password to the large wooden door spilled out of my mouth and I practically fell into the lounge. I didn't take the time to look around, only recognizing that there were other bodies in the room before practically sprinting to the girls' dorms.

Leaning against my door after I entered my room, I tried furiously to catch my breath. My sniffles rang out throughout the room as I slid to sit on the floor. I tried to stifle the sobs that threatened to pour out of my body but failed.

This sort of behavior was to be expected from the likes of Lucius, but I had noticed that his attitude was getting worse lately. Just looking at his family, you could tell that when the fangs came out, they bit deep and I had put myself on the wrong side of them. I knew it all along but didn't realize I would have to face my grim reality so soon.

I found myself thinking of Serpentina. Like I would soon be, she had married into the Malfoy family. Did she also have to suffer at the mind and hands of Abraxas like I now did Lucius? Looking at her now, she fit right in. I wondered if she was just born to play the role of the matriarch to a family like this, or if she had been chiseled down to be the perfect pureblood wife and mother. I could certainly see it either way, but I worried about what that would mean for me if it had been the latter. It would mean that tonight had only been the tip of the iceberg, with pure dread to come.

"Elsbeth?" My roommate called out groggily and I watched as the silhouette of her leaned up on her bed. "It's so late. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Celeste," I quickly sputtered out, wiping at my tears and standing up. "Sorry I woke you."

She just grunted in response, her head quickly reuniting with her pillow. I stumbled over to my own bed, trying not to fumble in the darkness and wake anyone else. Quickly changing into my nightgown, I finally felt the warmth of my sheets engulf me as I clamored into bed. I placed my engagement ring on my bedside table as I did every night.

I tried so desperately to sleep, but every time I closed my eyes I saw Lucius' glare against my eyelids. Solitary tears rolled onto my pillow until they ran out.

So instead, I stared out the window, feeling my eyes dry up as I watched morning arrive. The room was soon tinted a bright teal as the sun rays seeped through the Black Lake just beyond the glass. When I finally tore my eyes away, the clock said it was just past five-thirty.

Feeling no reason to stay in bed, I got up with a sigh. After bathing, I put on some jeans and a sweater, then grabbed my coat and scarf on my way out. The fire in the common room was still ablaze, brightening the room against the green haze brought in through the large windows at the front of the room. I watched a pack of Grindylows float by as I passed them.

I was putting on my jacket, halfway to the door, when I saw her. Andromeda was curled up on one of the large couches at the end closest to the fire. She blankly stared into the flames, still dressed in her robes from last night. I don't think she realized I was there, she was so in her own world.

"Couldn't sleep either?" My voice came out in a hoarse whisper and she jumped in her spot.

She took a second to gain her composure before looking down, fidgeting with her fingers.

"Just a lot on my mind," she said meekly.

"Mmm," was my only response, unsure of what to say. With her facing me, I could now clearly see the tear stains that littered her cheeks. She looked pale and exhausted. It was probably a mirror image of what I looked like right now as well. "Um, would you like to go on a walk with me?"

She slowly raised her head, meeting my eyes for a moment. After contemplating, she finally nodded.

"Sure. Let me just go change real quick."

I waited for her in the same spot, watching the fishes in the lake come up to the windows and then retreat as they so often did. With each passing moment, I became more nervous. Finding Ted Tonks would no doubt come up during our morning excursion and I didn't know where to start. I wasn't sure if I wanted to carry around the truth of that situation.

She broke me out of my thoughts when she returned from her dorm, now bundled like me in a jacket. With just a smile in each other's direction, we headed out of the dungeons. The cool air kissed my cheeks and relieved my swollen eyes as we exited the castle. We remained in silence as we meandered through the grounds, finally finding ourselves strolling along the edge of the lake. The only sound to be heard was the crunching of the pebbles under our feet and the water as it lapped up to the shore before receding out once more.

"Thank you," she finally said. "Ted told me that you found him and what you did."

I stopped abruptly and turned on her.

"Please tell me you did not go see him," I begged. I wasn't angry, just disappointed. "How could you risk something like that? Lucius was already suspicious and you could have been so easily caught."

"Don't worry, I got your message loud and clear. I didn't go to see him."

"Then how did you know?"

A sly smile formed on her face. She reached inside her pocket and pulled out an ornate compact mirror. Grabbing it as she handed it to me, I opened and saw… myself. My currently red-eyed, puffy-faced self. It was just a normal mirror from what I could tell.

"Am I missing something here?" I finally asked her after I turned it a couple more times in my hands.

"It's a two-way mirror. Ted gave it to me for our one year anniversary so we could communicate more easily," she said with a sad smile. I handed it back to her and she looked at it longingly. "He got in touch with me last night when he got back to his common room and told me everything. I really can't thank you enough, Elsbeth. I was so worried that we had finally been caught."

"Wait, wait," I said as I caught up with what she had said. "Let's back up, your one year anniversary? How long has this been going on?"

"It'll be two years officially this Christmas. Well, the day before Christmas break starts," she giggled. It was an odd sound to hear coming from someone who looked like they got hit with a brick.

"Wow," I whispered as we finally continued to walk. "How did it all start? And how were you able to keep it so quiet all this time?"

"Well, we're in the same year so we've had classes together since first year," she began. "But I don't think I really started paying attention to him until fourth year when we took Care of Magical Creatures together. He was just so enthusiastic to learn about them, always the first one to approach them during class. I think I first knew I liked him when we were studying Kneazles. I've never much liked cats and they look so much like them… Anyway, he saw me kind of off to the side and came up to me with one in his hand. He just took the time to talk to me about them, about all their quirks and characteristics, not rushing me to interact with it but just waiting for me to get comfortable enough to reach out. It was only after I pet it that he told me that it would have lashed out if it didn't trust me, the prick."

She stopped to giggle, thinking back on the memory.

"From then on, he kind of helped me every time I seemed hesitant. It was really quite sweet but even without knowing what he felt, I knew I couldn't act on my feelings. So then fifth year rolls around and this time we're all taking potions together. It was that year Slughorn encouraged finding a partner not in your house, you remember? Yes, well, we ended up working together quite often. Then I don't know, we just started talking. First in class only, then he would stop me in the hallways sometimes until finally we just spent time secretly roaming the grounds like we are right now. We were always careful and he was very understanding of the fact that I couldn't be seen with him.

"He told me pretty early on that he had also liked me since fourth year and I immediately let him know that we couldn't work. It was already risky sneaking around with him and then things were only getting worse with my cousin and that side of the family. But he was persistent. He dragged out our meetups just because he wanted to be near me since we couldn't openly interact with one another. And I learned that he's just so kind and intelligent and open-minded. It wasn't like anything I'd ever experienced before with our particular crop of wizards. Eventually I gave in and we had our first kiss the day before Christmas break in fifth year.

"And then it was pure secrecy after that. We usually kept it to early morning or late-night meetups. Then he gave me the mirror and it became easier to talk to him. We also secretly wrote to one another every summer and during all the breaks. As you can imagine, we were both crushed when we found out I was betrothed to Byron. No offense, of course. But we decided not to end it despite that. In fact, it made our relationship stronger and we became even more determined to make it work out. We were really doing so well hiding it all until you two caught us last night."

We both chuckled at that before she gave out a long sigh at the end of her story. The entire time she had been speaking, her voice was filled with both utter happiness but also overwhelming sadness.

"You love him, don't you?" I asked sadly, as we stopped once more so we could look out on the beauty of the lake. The morning birds began to chirp around us.

"Yes," she finally whispered.

We eased into a heavy silence. I couldn't imagine the position she was in. I found being promised to someone extremely difficult already, even without the complications of ever being in love. I guess I was lucky enough to have never been in the position of truly caring about someone before, so it made it easier to resign myself to the fact that it would never happen considering I was now set to get married.

"What comes next?" I asked.

"That I can't tell you," she said. She wasn't mean about it but said it with firm finality.

"Why not?"

"It's already dangerous enough that you know all this. In fact, I was thinking about obliviating you the entire time we were walking down here… But I just feel like I can trust you."

"Oh. Well, thanks," I trailed off, taken a little aback. I felt some sort of joy at the fact that she was comfortable enough to tell me all this. If only it wasn't about something so life and death. "You're not thinking about doing anything rash, are you?"

She stiffened up like she had been caught. My heart began to beat rapidly as I worried about what she was planning.

"Andromeda," I said shakily, "what are you going to do?"

She turned to look me in the eyes, searching for whether or not to trust me once more.

"We're going to get married," she finally said. She was confident and unfaltering as she spoke, looking back out to the lake. "The plan is to run away as soon as this year ends."

"What?" I couldn't hide my shock this time. Was she insane? I felt like I couldn't breathe at even the thought of her trying to do something like that.

"I'm sorry but I'm not getting married to your brother, Elsbeth. He's a nice guy, don't get me wrong. I was incredibly lucky that it was him of all people that I was set to marry. But I'm not going to live my life with someone I'm not in love with. I'm not going to spend the rest of my days surrounded by… by those people. I just can't"

We stared at each other for a long time. It became evident that she was waiting for me to say something so I tried to control my breathing in order to respond to this bombshell.

The more I processed it all, the more I realized that I was actually envious. Both for the fact that she had found someone that she truly cared about and that she was brave enough to do something about it, even if it meant completely leaving her family behind. I realized I wanted her life so badly, but could never have it.

"What about your family? I mean with everything that happened with Sirius… The Black household would be destroyed."

"Don't worry about that," she sighed sadly. "We already have players on either side of the family restoring our place within the 'elite'. You know, with everything going on and all…"

"What do you mean?" My face scrunched up, perplexed.

She paused for a moment, looking at me confused.

"Do you really not know?" She asked slowly.

"Not know what?"

"Things are happening, Elsbeth. Things much bigger than us that are threatening the world as we know it. There's a war about to start and I fear for everyone that's not loyally pureblood if the wrong side wins."

I was stunned. A war? What was she saying? She looked at me nervously, fidgeting a little as she kicked some pebbles around under her feet.

"I'm honestly surprised you don't know. Byron's already been recruited. Lucius probably, too. He's starting to bring them in younger so he's got the numbers… My entire family is in on it, with Bellatrix and Regulus 'leading us to glory.'"

She said the last part mockingly, but I could barely hear her through the ringing in my ears. Byron? No way would he be a part of something like that willingly.

"Is my father in on this?"

She went back to kicking rocks again, not facing me as she spaced out while her eyes rested on the horizon.

"Yeah," she whispered, "like our family, the Ledouxes are in his inner circle along with others up there in status. The Malfoys are definitely included, of course."

I felt my knees buckle and I sat down on the ground. My head sunk into my hands as I leaned forward. If I had any more tears to cry, I had no doubt that I would be sobbing. Instead, I heaved dryly, my breath completely knocked out of me.

How could I not know? My entire family was becoming part of a war that was raging right under my nose. I couldn't understand if they were just so good at hiding it or if I was just too big of an idiot to realize what was happening.

"Who is it?" I asked as angrily as I could. "Who's leading this?"

"His name is Voldemort," she said with a sneer as she slowly sat down beside me. "But he sometimes goes by the 'Dark Lord.' What a pompous ass."

I racked my brain to see if I'd ever heard the name but came up blank.

"Doesn't make sense really," she continued, picking up a rock and throwing it harshly in the lake. "He's a half-blood. I can't believe someone is willing to cause so much harm because he's bitter about his blood status. Just fuels my desire to get out of this community as soon as possible."

I just raised my head and shook it. This was all so unbelievable. Lucius made sense, but I repeated over and over in my head that there was no way Byron could be a part of all this. Not my brother, who joined me in the corner at every gathering to scoff at the pretentiousness around us. Not my brother, who took every chance he could to cheer me up when this life of ours weighed me down. I only hoped that he was withholding this from me to protect me but after everything I'd heard, I couldn't be so sure.

"Are you okay, Elsebeth?" She asked me sadly when I remained quiet.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I just need to think through some things."

"If I were you, I really wouldn't go seeking anyone out and asking for answers. If they haven't told you yet, there must be a reason. Might be best to wait until they bring you in themselves."

"Right," I said flatly.

She remained silent, letting me stay lost in my tumultuous thoughts. I felt like my world completely flipped in the last ten hours and I honestly didn't know how to proceed from here. I so desperately wanted to talk to my brother, to understand what he was doing. At least Andromeda had been willing to disclose everything to me so willingly.

"I'm not going to tell anyone, you know," I finally spoke up. "You don't have to worry."

"Thank you," she replied and from the tone of her voice, I knew she understood that I was referring to her and Ted.

We sat there for the longest time, just staring out at the lake. For so long, I thought I knew what was in store for my future. I would be married, have kids, and live out a mundane life just hoping that my children or maybe their children would finally have the choices that I never did. It was the reality I had accepted for so long, with the hope that the people close to me, like Byron and even my parents, would be there to guide me through when things got particularly rough.

As I watched the water lap up to my feet, just missing my shoes before it receded, I finally realized that my future was no longer set in stone as I had previously believed. My path was about to shift dramatically and I wasn't sure if I was prepared to follow it when it did.

Dun, dun.

Also, I just want to note that I absolutely love Lucius Malfoy. I know I'm playing him as a baddie right now, but I think that's just a reflection of the way he was raised/what he's currently going through. We'll see a softer side of him soon. ;)

Until next time, my lovelies!