"Bella!" Aly shrieked.
"Keep it down!" Bella hissed, glaring at her. "D'you want someone to come up here?"
Aly clutched her heart as she stared at Bella's grinning face. Bella looked the same as ever, just a bit dirty and her hair was not as blond as usual. Her blue eyes, though, were sparkling. Bella climbed into the room slowly and then grinned.
"Do you mind telling me," Aly growled, "What the bloody heck you're doing here?!"
Bella ignored her and took out her wand. "Muffliato!"
"Bella, that's illegal! You're not of age!"
"So? I'm on the run, it doesn't matter anymore."
Aly's heart calmed down slowly as she stared at Bella, who stared back.
"Bella," Aly said slowly. "Why are you here?"
"I needed to find you," Bella answered, sitting on the windowsill. "You're the only one who can help me."
"Help you? Why would I do that? Bella, your family is wanted and I'm already partially dragged into this mess!"
Aly glared at Bella. "Why didn't you tell me about your family?"
"Because back them it wasn't important," Bella shrugged. "No one cared about the fact that my uncle was a death eater."
"When did John appear?"
"Sometime around Christmas holidays," she shrugged. "Threatened to kill us all of Adam didn't help you." Her face crumpled in pain. "I can't believe that he's...where he is now."
"Where's the rest of your family?"
"Hiding with some friends," Bella replied. "They live somewhere out here."
"So, why would you need me?"
"Because I need to go find Adam and reassure him that we're safe and that we're going to get him out of there. He doesn't deserve it. Haven't you been reading the Daily Prophet?"
"Of course I have," Aly snapped. "They're doing a three part series on your uncle."
Bella's eyes narrowed. "Well, that helps." She sighed. "Listen. It's nothing extreme. Just come with me to talk to Adam."
Aly looked down at Minako, unsure.
"Aly, I know that you care about him. He told me about your conversation right before he left for the center."
"He did?" Aly asked, surprised.
"Yeah. Apparently, you kissed my brother. What was that about?"
"Long story, and I'm not going to tell you," stated Aly shortly. "That's between me and him."
Bella raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, he said he didn't want to talk to you. You said to tell me hi, even though you'd doubt that I'd speak to him again."
Aly looked down at Minako again.
"Why would you say that? I love Adam and I'd talk to him no matter what. Did you really think that just because Adam didn't have a choice that I'd never speak to him again?"
"You weren't there," Aly mumbled. "You didn't see his face. I'd never been so angry and shocked in my life."
"Well, that was inexcusable."
"Go away, Bella. I don't want to talk to you anymore."
Bella raised an eyebrow. "That sounds vaguely familiar, doesn't it?"
Aly winced as she recalled Adam's words to her.
"Yeah, it does," Aly muttered. "You can go now."
"Fine," Bella spat. "But when Adam dies, you'll wish that you had come with me."
Bella turned sharply on her heel and started down the ladder of Aly's window.
Aly bit her lip.
"Bella!" she called as Bella was about to go down.
"Yes?"
"I'd go, you know I would! But my family and friends care about me."
Bella climbed back into Aly's room, smirking. "Then take them with you."
"My family?"
"Your friends, obviously."
"Bella," Aly sighed. She looked down. "My friends think that the fact that I care for Adam and want to help him is unreasonable. They think it's stupid. They think that I should be glad that Adam's where he is right now. And I'm not. But I can't just leave."
"Then tell them you're going."
"Bella, if I go then they'll never speak to me again!"
"You'd rather save your friendship with your little circle of friends than Adam?" Bella asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That's not what I meant!"
"Then what did you mean?"
"Bella, you're forcing me to choose between my friends and my family and I don't want to-"
Aly stopped speaking when the door opened and she stood up slowly and turned around.
Her heart stopped when she saw Char standing there, his hands on the knob, frozen.
Aly stepped in front of Bella, attempting to hide her. Bella merely peeked around Aly's shoulder, smiling at Char brightly.
Aly saw hurt and betrayal in his eyes and she wished she could say something.
Instead, she merely started walking for the door and ducked under Char's arm and slowly made her way down the stairs.
She ignored Amanda and Damien when they called her name from the living room and walked to the kitchen, opened the door and stepped outside.
She tucked her hands in her shorts pockets and began walking around the house.
"I'm a terrible person," she muttered out loud. "I don't know what to do anymore."
She kicked a pebble absently, feeling like there wasn't an answer to her problems anymore.