"Please don't forget to have your essays written and on my desk Monday before the start of class." my professor finished his history of magic lesson with the instructions on the essay we were to write. I continued to scribble down the last of my notes and ideas for the essay I was supposed to write that weekend. My quill tangled for a moment in my long hair as it fell over my parchment, I threw it over my shoulder so I could finish. Students filed out past me as I finished and began to put my things away.
"Last one out again I see Miss Zabini." the professor said with a knowing smile.
"Yes, sorry!" I muttered throwing my bag quickly over my shoulder and moving quickly from the room. I was fairly well known by my teachers I always got my work turned in on time, was quick with the work and the spells and I kept to myself focussing on my school work. I had liked Beauxbatons, the gardens were beautiful and the teachers were kind. Part of me had grown to regret the day that I had begged my mother to let me attend, childhood troubles pushed me to be different than my brother and to run from conflict, to try and be out on my own, and I wished I hadn't. I missed Blaise, though we wrote often, it wasn't often enough. Though I deeply felt it, I would never admit that I was lonely there.
The school felt hollow and I walked through the crowded halls, every one heading for dinner, heading toward a weekend with plans and friends, and felt aimless and alone.
"He asked me out! ME!" a girls high pitched voice passed me gushing about a date she was to go on. I smiled at the excitement she felt, though I didn't know her at all. There were many who chose to stay away from me entirely because of my family name, a name that had been tainted in the war, a name that had a blight of loyalty to the dark lord. I heard the whispers, the frightened looks and so I stayed away, though I knew they were wrong about me, I knew they weren't wrong about most of what they had heard. It hurt to know that, hurt to know that there was truth to their words. I wandered further to the hall to eat dinner snagging a spot a table where I would be mostly left alone. Pulling the history of magic book from my bag I ate and read at the same time, it was the best use of my time.
"Come now Blair, must you always be so dull?" I looked up to see William sitting himself down in front of me, we weren't really friends, not in the true sense, but we talked on occasion.
"I'm offended by that William." I said shortly turning back to my book after sending him an almost bored look.
"Well you should be, it's no wonder you don't go out, you spend all your time with your nose in a book." he said and I knew he wasn't trying to be rude, he was honest.
"I'd rather be proficient at magic than waste my time here." I replied pausing in my reading to look at him and take a few more bites of food.
"Touche" he said giving me a nod of the head. I gave him a small smile before returning to my book to eat in silence some more.
"I'm off, I'd better get started on this essay." I acknowledged William who had started to converse with others at the table.
"You could finish it in a few hours, you don't need the time Blair, you are the best in our year for a reason." He said with a laugh, the others had paused to agree, I sent a small wave and retreated to my dorm for the rest of the evening. Engrossed in my research and scribbling away at my essay it took a while to notice the incessant tapping that had started at the window. Finally rubbing my eyes, I looked up and noticed the pitch black eagle owl perching on the sill just outside the window. It was Blaise's owl, excitement coursed through me for the first time that day. I tried rubbing the ink off my cheek that I had smudged there as a walked across to let the owl into the room. Pulling the window open the owl hopped in perching on my shoulder, it's talons dug in painfully.
"OWW! Soren you are much to big for this!" I chided the bird shooing it off and to the owl perch on the desk, Blaise and I had gotten our owls at the same time and when they were younger I had let the owl rest on my shoulder often. The letter he had been carrying was in Blaise's own handwriting and I pulled it open quickly, it had been several weeks since my last letter from my twin, he had gotten much worse at writing in the recent months. I was disappointed to see the letter was short, very short and to the point. As he had been busy at Hogwarts I could expect nothing less, we had grown more distant as I had attended Beauxbatons and he Hogwarts, it was a sad truth.
Blair,
I got your last letter, things are going great here at Hogwarts, I miss you too. I have a lot of homework so I'll have to write more later. Just be careful Blair. Be careful.
Blaise
My smile dropped a tiny bit at the lack of information, and the oddity of his almost warning. I didn't understand why he would have added that to the end, I was at school I was in a safe place. It put a breath of fear in me, something I couldn't fully explain an odd feeling of foreboding of being watched. I pulled out a piece of parchment and sat thinking about what I would write in response, words which usually flowed from my quill were absent. All I could think to write was a mindless thank you. Though thank you for what, the odd be careful or the lack of any sort of response to the lengthy letter I had written to him. Scratching the thank you off the paper I tossed the quill down on the desk leaning heavily into my hand glancing out the window into the darkening sky. With no response coming to mind I snatched a book of my desk and pulled the curtains around my bed to read until I got tired. The book kept my attention for a while until Soren began hooting and flying about the room, he landed on the window sill again and pecked the window until I tossed the book aside annoyed and moved to let him out. I should have known better than to try and keep the owl confined in my room until I found time to pen a response to my brother. The bird was so very attached to Blaise it never did want to stay away from him for very long. I got up and pulled the window open almost knocking the owl as I did so, he hooted in annoyance, snipping at me before flying off into the night. Shaking my head I went to close the window when movement on the grounds below caught my attention. Figures cloaked in shadow seemed to be moving silently toward the school. I watched curiously from above, I wanted to believe they were just students coming in from late night galavanting around the grounds but there was something about them. In the darkness it was hard to tell much about them, but there were close to ten of them closing in on the main entrance. They passed through the unlocked doors quickly and out of sight, I stood by the window staring down as a terrible feeling of fear passed over me. Nothing good could come of those hooded men, and I knew it. Shutting the windows I made my way to the door of my dorm pushing the door wide with trepidation listening carefully to the sounds of the school. There was much laughter and chatter from the common room, but I tried to strain my ears past it. Listening out for something amiss, something wrong, and it wasn't long until my listening was met with the sound I most dreaded to hear. Screaming, the noise filled the castle, alongside shouts of spells, and small explosions, the room below fell into a silence. The silence lasted for only a moment before panic began to set in below me. Girls began pouring up the stairs to dorms, my dorm mates pushed past me not saying anything terror and confusion in their eyes. I knew I had to do something, there must be something I could do. Running down the stairs clutching my wand in my hand I found a few others in the same position as myself. We each stood exchanging glances, taking deep breathes not really knowing what we would be getting ourselves into. Not sparing the time for another thought I pushed out the common room door and into the dimly lit corridors following the sounds of the screams. Footsteps echoed all around me, students running toward the conflict, students running away. As the commotion began to grow louder and students pushed past us I caught sight of Professor Earthwhile, the herbology professor stunned on the ground, a small pool of blood by her head. I pushed on into the fight seeing the men in masks, and I knew who they were. Death eaters. What were they doing here, at Beauxbatons. The dark lord was gone, why were they here.
"STUPIFY!" I screamed throwing a spell at a death eater with his back to me, I hit him catching him by surprise he fell back. Others saw me know and I dashed behind a column to avoid a well aimed spell.
"MISS ZABINI GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Mr. Hawthorne yelled between spells, he had seen me arrive. Ignoring him I popped around the column again to throw a few more spells out at the death eaters. The fight went on and the teachers around me fell, others had been locked out. There was a silence, and I crouched down shutting my eyes against the laughter of victory from the death eaters that remained standing.
"Revive the others!" I heard a voice call out, a voice that seemed almost familiar but I couldn't place it.
"Now now, Miss Zabini, I know you're out there. I wouldn't want to hurt you. Please do come out, you can join us. No one is watching." the voice was sickly sweet trying to sweet talk me. The thought made me want to vomit but I wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
"NEVER!" I shouted popping out again, they would find me, so I might as well face them head on.
"Stupify!" I hit another, before blocking the spell being thrown at me, there were several moments of back and forth before i was hit with more spells than I could block, I fell to my knees as my legs had been hit by a binding curse. I looked up at the masked men approaching with nothing but defiance.
"You would do well to beg for our forgiveness." one of them said slowly.
"I will not beg." I held my chin high, my eyes cold. "Insolent girl, I'll teach you to respect me! CRUC…" the spell was almost off his lips and I braced myself for what I knew could only mean blinding pain.
"NOW NOW! Don't be so hasty! She is a Zabini, a pure blood. The dark lord may have plans for her yet!" the leader placed his hand on the mans arm, stopping him from using the unforgivable.
"Very well." The man lowered his wand at the stay from his superior, my tension did not release. The dark lord would have no thought of me he was dead and gone. With his death my parents had turned away from the blindness and hatred of their youth.
"Voldemort is dead, and you will be caught and brought to justice for what you've done here!" I snapped full of anger at their words. There was some laughter before the leader spoke again.
"You dare use his name! STUPIFY!" his words rang out and then there was only blackness as I succumbed to the spell.