Whispering

With the dorm room door firmly shut, three seventh-year, Slytherin boys sat on the floor in the dark, heads together, whispering excitedly.

"I'm sure we'll be Marked this summer," Evan was saying. "After all, what will there be to wait for after we graduate?"

"About time," Severus muttered.

"I hear Bonfante's already marked," Avery piped up. "Regulus too."

"That's because Black has a cousin in a high place in the Organization," Snape drawled.

"Anatole doesn't…"

"Yea, but Andre told me he's in favor there; Dolohov's protégé."

Snape made a face. He didn't get along very well with their commanding officer…

Haunting

After the war began, Antonin rarely went home. He spent most of his time at Headquarters and had secured rooms there. When he did need to go home, it was always with the same nostalgic, sinking feeling. It was the house he had grown up in, the yard which he, Augustus, Igor, and Lucius had flown around when they were young teens, the porch on which he would often have tea with his parents and sister in the summer. Every time he went home, the haunting echoes of the past jumped out at him, opening old wounds, possessing his soul.

Lingering

"Don't go."

"Pansy."

"Draco."

It was useless to argue with her, she wouldn't back down until she knew. "Look, it's my mission, my job; I have to get it done."

"But what is it that you have to do?" She shivered; the old feeling of foreboding was back.

"You'll find out before daybreak." Draco leaned in, capturing her mouth with his lips. A second, another, and then he was gone, torn away from her and melted into the darkness of the hallway. Pansy reached up and touched her mouth lightly. Her lips tingled, his goodbye kiss lingering in the darkness.

Echoing

The lone steps echoing down the empty corridor are a measured staccato. Antonin doesn't bother to take out his wand, he knows its Alecto. He almost expected her brother; Amycus hadn't been very friendly lately and a confrontation wasn't completely out of the question. In the dim light, he almost can't see her face but her form is familiar and so is the slightly nervous bobbing of her head.

"You wanted to see me?" he asks, his voice echoing as her footsteps had.

"I've needed to tell you…I've always loved you—"

"Don't. I'm not the man I once was."

Murmuring

The murmuring of the water was soothing as it ran down the marble figure and into the small pool at the bottom. The cool drops of liquid azure slid over her skin as she touched the water. She saw her reflection in the fountain, green eyes and auburn hair. The quiet murmurs of the water lulled her into believing that the world was still beautiful and she wasn't living with self-inflicted pain and regret.

A rustling in the grove behind her and a shadow slipping away made her look up. "Severus?" No answer. Lily didn't know why she'd expected one.