A/N: Bella thought he had forgotten her.
Submission for:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments): Flying Lessons Assignment #2 - consider the theme of misunderstanding. Prompts - (plot) People are watching the stars in the story, (narration) She smirked.
She opened the door and stepped out into the night air, this time not even bothering to pull her cloak closer. She wanted the shiver to run across her skin and make her nerves tingle. It gave her something to feel instead of the emptiness in her pocket and in her heart.
The letters have stopped now. Every morning, she would look towards the influx of owls flying above the tables, but no new envelopes were dropped into her lap. Even when she sent her own letters, something he warned her against doing, they always came back still attached to the owl.
His letters gave her purpose, but there were no more. He had forgotten her and now, she was nothing.
She looked up at the stars, tracing the twinkling lights of her family against the velvet backdrop of the sky. The patterns were ingrained her from childhood, and it was something she often did when she was alone or sad.
She wondered where he was, and if he still thought of her. She doubted it though. He never truly needed her any way.
He drew his scarf tighter as he wavedhis wand about him, lighting his path through the forest. He had been travelling through Europe for the last few weeks, amassing his army and never staying in one place for too long. During this time, he had been out of touch with his followers, but he was sure they could manage without him. It could be considered a test of their worth, and if they did't pass, then they deserved to be disposed of.
A lonely howl was heard in the distance and he looked up at the night sky. The moon was not yet full, so werewolves were the least of his worries, but that didn't stop normal wolves from still calling out into the night.
He took a deep breath, letting the cold air sting his lungs as he was transported back in time. He remembered in his youth when he would often steal from his dormitory to stare up at the stars on a night similar to this. It gave him solace and time to think in the silence.
His thoughts drifted to the current state of the school and his followers on the inside. They were his followers in the making, helping to convert others to his side. Children made great soldiers: they foolishly thought they're invincible and they had nothing yet to lose. Once they all graduated, they would join his ranks, ready and eager to do his bidding.
The names of his recruiters ran through his mind: Nott, Avery, Malfoy and Black, the only woman in the group, but she was doing the best work. Through his own spies, he knew everything of her performance and she had made the most progress. He hadn't spoken to her in a while and he wondered how she was doing.
Within the hour, he reached a village, and as luck would have it, met a man with an owl who was easily manipulated.
She sat at breakfast the next morning beneath the flowing green and silver banners. With half an ear, she listened to the girls around her speak about their assignments and the latest trends in fashion, things that never truly interested her. Inwardly, she was marking off the days until she was out of this place. It was only a few more months until the end of the school year and then, she would be completely free.
Above her, she heard the fluttering of owls and she barely looked up, not wanting to be disappointed again. There was nothing for her, there hadn't been for a while now.
So she was genuinely surprised when a letter dropped into her lap, narrowly missing her plate of eggs and toast. There were no words on the envelope, no identifying marks, but she could practically see the smell of wood and smoke wafting off the parchment.
She tore into the letter with viguor, not even caring how obvious it was that she was never listening to Emmeline's recount of her trip to Paris last summer.
"My Bella, it has been too long..."
It has been, she smirked.