Wow I can't believe the support I'm getting for this story! Even just seeing how many people are actually reading is overwhelming. Thanks so much guys. I hope you like this next chapter. Please please let me know what you think!
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The year quickly got back into full swing. Lindbergh had been FURIOUS about the "theft" of his calf. We all heard him the next morning at breakfast, screaming about the research he would lose. Potter, Black and I shared a smug look across the Gryffindor table. And that was the last encounter we had for a whole month. I thought I'd gotten off easy. But part of me was almost sad by how little we'd had to do with one another. With them I'd been different. Different to the cold, closed off, silent girl I'd become. I chattered, I beamed, I bantered. I wasn't like I used to be, before it happened. But I was almost happy, that night.
I drained my cereal bowl and swung my satchel over my slim shoulder. It was Friday, finally. My favourite day of classes. Two hours of Alchemy in the morning and a two-hour gap right before lunch. Not to mention, Potions with Sev in the afternoon. We'd silently decided to stick together again this year.
As I walked up to the Alchemy tower I contemplated the charm I was tinkering with at the moment. The goal was to come up with a sort of perception filter. That the caster would become impossible to look at or notice. They would literally just fade into the background because the minds of others wouldn't be able to process them unless they were directly looking at the caster.
There were still a few kinks to work out though. This was one of the most complex charms I'd ever attempted. Usually I just altered ones already invented. But I wanted to do something extra special for my Alchemy portfolio that would set me above the rest.
The class was small. There were only five of us taking the class. But that made it even more enjoyable, to be honest. I diligently worked through the two hour period, tinkering with my charm and starting my essay on the importance of pronunciation and formulation of words in spellwork.
After class I decided to pop down to the kitchens to grab a quick snack and then head up to the Astronomy tower to study. I didn't really like studying in the library because that's where Seb, Wes, Cate, Jacob and Quinn studied. I didn't really want to bump into them.
As I strolled to the kitchen, looking forward to my two hour break I saw something that made my heart break. Sofie. Absolutely crying her eyes out, tucked away in a little alcove in the hallway.
"Sof!" I cried and ran to her side.
She whipped her head up; horrified that someone had seen her like that, but then lowered it again when she realized it was me. I crouched next to her and put my hand in hers.
"What happened?" I stroked her short, brown hair gently.
"I-I hic I'm s-so scared.." She breathed through her tears.
"What are you scared of? Please tell me?" I squeezed her hand tightly. Ever since that summer I'd been so protective over Sofie, terrified something would happen to her.
"Y-Yaxley, and the Carrows. Th-they hic-" She was too distraught to get her words out.
"Shh. Come with me." I hushed and pulled her to her feet.
She didn't question me and tucked her small frame under my arm. Seeing my little sister in such a state was killing me. I'd made a promise to myself back then, never to let anything like that happen to her again. But with an imminent war on the rise… I felt like there was not much I could do for her anymore.
I led her to the kitchens and explained to the many eager, little elves that all I needed was some hot chocolate and cookies. They happily obliged.
Sof had calmed down a little by the time the hot chocolate arrived. She sipped it slowly, regaining her composure. I said nothing, waiting patiently for her to be ready to talk. Every now and then she sniffled a little, but eventually she sighed and looked up from her drink.
"I was walking back from Care of Magical Creatures. That's the class I have without any of my friends. And a couple of the Slytherins in my class cornered me." She began.
I felt my grip on my drink tighten involuntarily.
"I told them to leave me alone or I'd call for a teacher, but I think they could tell how scared I was. They kept hinting that they knew all about what happened last year and that… that it would happen again if we weren't careful." She whispered the last bit, biting her lip worriedly.
Though I was terrified myself, I had to pretend I was fine so not to frighten Sofie anymore than she already was.
"They couldn't know what happened, really. It was really hushed up. And Sof, they're only 13 year old wizards and witches. What do they know of Voldemort and the Death Eater's plans?" I stirred my hot chocolate to try to hide how shaky my hands were.
"Loz… they knew!" She insisted, widening her brown eyes. "Plus think of who their parents are, all Death Eaters probably."
She did have a point. I felt my mouth run dry at the thought that there was something more planned for my family. We'd been lucky, really. Lucky not to have lost anyone. Lucky that all we ended up with were recurring nightmares and slight PTSD. It could have been so much worse. And if what Sofie was saying was true… it still could be.
"Sof, it was a scare tactic. I promise everything is going to be ok." I got up and cuddled her close, lying through my teeth.
"I hope you're right. I don't think I could handle going through that again." She sniffled into my robes.
We didn't say anything for a while, but eventually she pulled away.
"I should get to class. It's halfway through Charms. Flitwick will kill me." She mumbled, straightening her robes and wiping her eyes.
"Are you sure you can get there by yourself ok?" I asked, smoothing down her hair. It was short, only reaching her chin and had a tendency to fluff up a little.
She smiled her gap-toothed smile. "I think I can make it up a flight of stairs on my own."
"Just making sure, cheeky." I pulled a tongue, relieved to see that my bullshit pep talked seemed to have worked.
She pulled one back and left me in the kitchens.
What Sofie had told me had scared me more than I was willing to admit. Not that I was taking the word of a bunch of kids as law, but she'd definitely had a point. Their parents were probably all Death Eaters or had some idea of Voldemort's movements. I absentmindedly broke a cookie between my fingers, crushing it to dust. Just like any resolve to be strong I had managed to conjure up for Sofie's sake.
I whipped my head around as I heard someone try to cover up a cough. The thought that someone had been here listening to us openly discussing our fears scared me in a different way. Black sheepishly stood up from behind one of the workbenches. He blew a strand of dark hair away from his face. I narrowed my eyes and crushed the cookie in my hand harder.
"What are you doing here?" I growled.
"Technically I was here first." He said drily, walking towards me.
"So what, you figured instead of mentioning to us that you were here, you thought it would be a far better idea to hide behind the workbenches?"
"Well, look, at the time it did seem like the best option." He rolled his gray eyes and collapsed in the chair opposite me, where Sofie had been sitting.
I said nothing for a while, wondering how to ask him how much he had heard. I didn't want to let on anything, but I also wanted to know how much damage control I'd now have to do.
He stared at me with a strange look on his face, waiting for me to speak. I wished he would bloody cut the staring crap out. It was super unnerving. I couldn't get a read on him at all. What was he thinking? Did he feel sorry for me? Did he think I was pathetic? I self-consciously wound a piece of my hair around my finger so I wouldn't have to look at him anymore. It didn't help that he was unbelievably handsome. He was already intimidating enough without also being intimidating in appearance.
"I never asked. I was too… confused. I kept making up excuses, but they all seem so feeble now." He mumbled, breaking his intense stare.
"What are you talking about? Asked what?" I spat, still annoyed. Trying to hide that he had flustered me.
"Are you…alright? You know, after everything that happened." He said, sounding rather strangled.
"Alright? Am I alright?" I said quietly, rage building in me like a fire.
"Yeah I mean, I'd never really taken notice of you before. You always seemed so flimsy and shallow. But you changed last year. You looked haunted almost. And I got how that feels." He went on, obviously not noticing how angry I was getting.
I pushed my chair back and banged my hands down on the table, my eyes flashing.
"First of all, it's been a year! A year, Black. One year since my whole life got turned upside down. Everything changed. How the hell was I supposed to respond to that? I lost everyone I cared about. And maybe my friendships and relationship seemed flimsy to YOU, but to ME they were important. Another thing… How the fuck do you know anything about what happened? No one was supposed to know!" My voice got louder and louder and more and more volatile until I was literally spitting my words out at him.
I sat back down, exhausted and confused. I hadn't felt that angry in a really long time. And I certainly had never yelled at anyone like that before. Not even Jacob. I didn't know why I was so mad. Maybe because hearing him say that, so many times, he'd had a chance to ask me how I was and didn't. Maybe because for some reason, I wanted him to care. To check up on me. Like I'd always checked up on him. And he hadn't. Maybe because I knew he was right. All my relationships had been so paper-thin. And so had I. And for the last year I hadn't known who I was. I didn't know how to be real, how to be 3-dimensional. I still didn't. And that scared me.
Black seemed unfazed by my rant, for the most part. He just sat there with that same weird look on his face. I couldn't put my finger on it.
"So what are you doing out of class anyway?" I asked.
"Gap until lunch. You?"
"Same." I said quietly.
He smiled. "Good."
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There you have it! I'll try to update again soon. Please leave a review! They really make me want to write faster! Even just one word to tell me what you think :)
