Chapter 13

Senna's POV

To no surprise, class was canceled the next day. They were, without a doubt, searching the castle and investigating the details of the attack. The girl's quarters at Brownwell were buzzing with hushed whispers. Rumors were beginning to spread. And a few of them starred Senna as the antagonist. Of course. She got a whiff of some of them:

She's a dark witch. I bet she's the one who let them in.

She was there. She tried to overtake Hogwarts, and ran back here when her plan failed.

I hope she gets expelled for this.

Everything they conjured was incorrect, except for the expulsion part. She could very well get expelled from lying to her Headmaster.

Breakfast was served inside their dormitories. Senna grabbed a few pieces of toast and scampered into the second lobby. It was usually full of giggling girls, but was currently deserted. No doubt her presence here contributed to that. Her peers seem even more terrified of her since she showed up last night covered in blood. After her small breakfast, she wandered back to her bed and slid under the covers.

She closed her eyes, willing the throbbing headache to go away. But it didn't. Her entire body hurt, down to her bones.

Despite the pain of knowing how hopeless her situation with Tonks was, she should be in a better mood. She had gotten lucky last night. In the chaos of the lock down, she had managed to sneak back to her dormitory. When she entered, she was caught by several frightened Brownwell girls. She didn't blame them. Covered in dried blood and soot, she looked like someone from a murder scene. It was surprisingly easy to threaten them into silence. She was able shower away the filth, discard her torn uniform, and convince her Headmaster she was there all along. She knew this was a bad idea. Once the Hogwarts staff confided in him about her reckless intervention, she would be in a lot more trouble. But she had been exhausted, and simply couldn't bring herself to explain it all to him and deal with the consequences.

And Senna was disappointed in herself.

Despite the her ongoing endeavor to master defense against the dark arts and physical self-defense, despite her flawless performance in every class and test, despite the instinct, skill, and strength she gain from spending her childhood fighting just to survive… Despite it all, she had been useless at the scene of the fight. A burden. She missed for God's sake.

And Tonks was right.

For the first time in her life, she was not as good as she thought she was.

The pain lingering in her body was nothing like the shame and embarrassment she felt. It hurt worse.

She spent the day in her bed, thinking. And thinking. Until there was nothing left to analyze. Tonks wasn't going to give her the time of day. Not now, and probably not ever. Her temporary interest in Senna had been just that—temporary. Senna had to focus. She was here for the tournament, not to be led around the nose by puppy love.

And besides, she was beginning to unearth something far more important. Her origins. Snape knew something, and she was so close to learning what it was.

But her heart still ached, yearned for the piece of happiness that was always out of her reach.

The lockdown lifted in time for dinner.

Senna was morose at dinner. Hannah, being the sweet friend she was, kept inquiring about her well-being. "What happened to you? You look dreadful." Hannah asked her. "Maybe you should visit the hospital wing."

"Nothing happened." Senna lied.

But Hannah was right. She did look dreadful. Senna observed her reflection in the shiny goblet full of pumpkin juice. There were dark circles under her eyes, she hadn't bothered to do her hair, and she looked paler than usual. Professor Snape's healing magic was very good. All the bruises and scrapes on her face had vanished, and what was left of the deep gash on her forehead, was now a faint, unnoticeable line. It was almost like she was never at the fight. But there was no magic that could erase the piercing ring in her ears, the deep ache in her bones, the pounding headache, and the physical and emotional exhaustion she felt. She felt as dreadful as she looked.

She was also anxious. She kept looking up at the staff table to see Headmaster Roberts speaking with Hogwarts staff, waiting for the slip to happen, and she would be in very big trouble.

She had no appetite, but forced herself to put away a few slices of bread and several spoonful's of stew. It seemed so strange to sit here in the Grand Hall, with the multitude of Hogwarts and exchange students, when just yesterday, it had been a war zone.

"Did anyone get hurt yesterday?" She asked Hannah.

"None of the students. We were all already in bed when they started the lock down. And it looked like the staff is all here," she jerked her head towards the staff table.

"And the Aurors?"

"I don't know." she shook her head.

"No one knows how they got in?"

"Not yet," Hannah sighed, "But the information will go around eventually."

Senna snorted, "The gossip grapevine is a great source of bullshit."

Hannah laughed, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. She was too shaken up by the attack. She had always believed Hogwarts to be a safe haven, untouchable. And if Death Eaters could waltz onto campus, what was to stop the Dark Prince from barging in and wiping out muggleborns and blood traitors?

Tonight, she didn't wait for the tables to clear of students before standing. She didn't was to be the only one left among the occupants of the staff table. Surely her Headmaster had gotten the truth by now, and she wasn't in the mood to hear about it. She tried to blend in with the crowds, but it didn't help that she was nearly a foot taller than the Hufflepuff girls surrounding her. She bolted towards the door.

"Senna!" A voice called.

She ignored it, breaking into a run. Students turned to stare at the commotion and moved out of her way.

"Senna!" It was Viola Richmond's voice, and it was getting closer.

Senna made a turn towards an empty corridor. Once away from the crowd of students, she stopped, but didn't turn around to face Viola. "I didn't know we were on a first name basis, Richmond."

She expected to hear her skidding to a stop, but her footsteps kept coming, and she sounded far too close. Was she going to run into her?

Senna spun around to see what she was doing—but it was too late. Viola was inches from her, with her hand raised in the air—and then it came down on her face.

Viola slapped her hard enough that she saw stars. Pain seared through one side of her face. For a moment, she was too stunned to be angry. But when the initial shock wore off, she was livid.

But before she could open her mouth to insult her, Viola's arms wrapped around her neck, pulling them close. Senna stumbled backwards and tried to get to her wand, but Viola was pressed so tightly against her, that she couldn't get to her blazer pocket. Viola was obviously trying to kill her. Or was she?

Senna stilled and concentrated on Viola's emotions. Anger towards Senna. That was no surprise. But it was the relief Viola felt that baffled her. She was happy to see Senna alive and unhurt. She was enjoying the feel of Senna's body against hers.

Wait… was she hugging her? Viola Richmond was hugging her? The concussion much have been worse than she thought. She was clearly hallucinating.

Violas arms released her, and she took a step back.

"What—" Senna started, but was interrupted.

"What the bloody hell were you doing? Running towards the danger?" Viola spat. "Apparently, you not as smart as your O.W.L's say you are!"

"Wait—," Senna blinked, "how do you know what my O.W.L's say?"

"Nevermind that!" She fumed. Her face turned redder. She was almost the same color as her hair now. "I hope you're in huge trouble, you deserve it!"

"I'm sure I am." Senna exhaled. She was too drained to stay angry. And she wasn't in the mood to be yelled at all night by this girl.

Her perfect face was contorted into a scowl. She was still stunningly beautiful, even when angry. Not many women could have such luck. Her red hair was disheveled from running, and thrown over her shoulder like an angry flame.

Viola opened her mouth, and Senna knew more insults were on their way. So she sucked up her pride and did the only thing she knew that could shut her up—an apology.

"I'm sorry." Senna said in a quiet voice.

Viola's full lips twitched, but she didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry about running off like that and throwing you into the shelving. Were you okay?" She asked sincerely.

Her apology caught Viola off guard. She hadn't expected Senna to give up so easily, and didn't know what to make of it. "Umm… I'm fine." She grumbled.

"And I'm sorry I worried you."

Viola took a step back, her cheeks flaming. "D—Don't be stupid, I wasn't worried."

To Senna, the lie was clear as day. Viola could no longer look at her. Actually, it was rather cute. It wasn't often that she saw Viola embarrassed.

Senna took a step forward and reached out to touch her arm. She expected Viola to jerk away, and was surprised when she didn't.

"Seriously," Viola mumbled, her face pink and facing the other direction. The blush was endearing on her freckled cheeks. "What were you thinking?"

Senna sighed and decided to be truthful. "I panicked. I was worried about a friend of mine."

Viola's green eyes flashed towards her. "What would a friend of yours be doing at the scene of a fight?" She asked skeptically, thinking Senna was referring to one of the Death Eaters.

"One of the Aurors," she corrected quickly.

Viola raised her red eyebrows in question, "You're friends with an auror?"

"Well… not really. Not anymore." She admitted, her heart sinking.

"That's what I thought. Auror's are the best of the best, they'd have better taste than hanging out with you."

A flash of irritation coursed through her. She was right of course, but that didn't stop the pain from resurfacing. Tonks did have better things to do. Better people to associate with. She knew that, and it hurt.

Viola's bright green eyes were alight with amusement. A smug grin spread across her face.

Senna wanted to slap her. She would've—if she wasn't caught off guard by the sexiness of that grin. It was cocky, arrogant, and yet, it made her stomach flutter uncomfortably. Her fingers twitched with the urge to both slap the grin off her face, and kiss her until she was begging for air. Senna fought with those impulses, trying to decide which one she wanted more.

Senna moved quickly and took another step forward, grabbing Viola's face between her hands. Viola tried to step back, but Senna's hold was too strong. Her green eyes were surprised and confused. Senna leaned forward so that their faces were an inch apart. To her satisfaction, all traces of smugness left Viola's face. Looking directly into those piercing eyes, it was easy to gauge her emotions now. She was confused, unnerved, but strangely excited.

Now, it was Senna's turn to grin.