𝖒𝖚𝖉𝖇𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖉 ~ 𝕋𝕠𝕞 ℝ𝕚𝕕𝕕𝕝𝕖

TWENTY-FOUR || PENNY

"Fifty points from Slytherin?" I weakly remarked.

Malfoy scoffed, and slowly turned to Penny. "Oh no you don't," She said, backing away with her wand directly pointed at him.

Blondie took another step forward, and suddenly reached through his satchel.

His hand shot out, holding something I was very familiar with. He grinned, and threw the invisibility cloak over himself and Weasley's unconscious body on the ground.

"Wingardium Leviosa," He said from under the cloak. I heard footsteps going farther and farther.

No.

"Malfoy!" Penny screeched, chasing after his barely audible footsteps.

"Come back here. Bring -pant- her -pant- back!" She held her hand against the wall to support herself. Redhead was gone.

Who knows what was gonna happen to her.

'At least she's a Pureblood,' I reminded myself for the second time.

"Penny!" I called.

She turned back. I froze when I spotted her eyes. They were glistening for some reason. Was she - crying?

"There there," I said, trying to comfort her, while awkwardly patting her back. Penny stifled a sob. "Malfoy was just trying to scare us," I added emptily.

I knew he wasn't.

This was real. It wasn't just another silly game of his.

I felt the right shoulder of my robe dampening as I continued to pat her back. I pulled her off of me, which was somewhat difficult as she was at least a foot taller than me.

"Look, we'll get her back."

"You -sniff- mean it?" "Yeah, I mean it." I considered something. "Erm- might I ask - why are you so affected by this? After all, Penny, we barely kne-know her," I said, quickly correcting myself.

Penny frowned at this.

Shit.

"You mean you barely know her. I do. - And I already miss her... a lot. I'm scared. I'm scared of what Malfoy's gonna do to Enola." So that was her name.

Enola Weasley.

Something clicked.

"I don't mean to be intrusive... but do you- erm- like her?"

Penny's face paled. Her straight golden-blonde hair limply hung over her face, gently waving. "I- I-" Her mouth was hanging open.

She looked terrified.

"H-How did y-you know?"

"So you do," I said with a half-smile. I suspected she was different from our third year at Hogwarts. While I was rambling on and on about my latest crush, she would just close her eyes and tune me out.

It was only until recently that she started talking about boys.

That weekend at Hogsmeade last year was the first time. I was a little skeptical at first that she'd bottled everything up until then, but from that moment on, our positions had switched.

I was the one who had to listen to her rambles.

I was wrong, though. I was happy for her, although many other members of the wizarding community might not be.

'Perhaps, someday in the future,' I thought.

"Penny," I said, grabbing her hand. "It's okay." She furrowed her brows. "R-Really?" "Yeah. Does Enola know?" "I t-think so. I'm really not s-sure," She hiccuped.

I took a deep breath.

"Then we'll go find her. Right now."