|In The Dark|

56

Cleverness

TIME JUMP: 1 WEEK
ANNABELLE LUPIN BLACK

"Annabelle," I heard knocking on my door. "Anna!" they shouted. "Go away." I groaned. The door opened and Enzo walked in. I pulled my pillow over my head. "I'm asleep." I said. He jumped on my bed and shook me. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" he yelled. I groaned again. "Ugh! What?!" I yelled. I sat up and looked at him. "We have to leave," he said. I looked at him in confusion. "Diagon Alley. Today. To get our stuff." he said. "That's today?" I questioned. He nodded. "No, no, no. I'm pretty sure we have months. We should just stay here and sleep." I said. He scoffed. "Come on, we haven't left this house since we got here," he said. "It's not safe." I said. "It's not safe for the purebloods. Lucky for us, we were born with a dirty bloodline. Bound to be forever inferior in the wizarding world." he said sarcastically. I chuckled. "Anyways, We have to get everyones stuff since Blaise, Pansy, Theo, Astoria and Daphne can't go to Diagon Alley." he said. "I guess it would be nice to get out of here." I said. He jumped up and clapped. "Exactly!" he said. "You know..." I started. Then he stopped. "What?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "If we are going to Diagon Alley today, you are going to meet Harry." I said. He smirked. "Ah yes, the chosen one. Am I correct in assuming the entire golden trio will be present?" he asked. I shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't talked much to them. Ever since Sirius died, Harry and I have been kinda off." I said. He nodded. "It'll be fine. We don't have to spend much time with them if you don't want to. We can make it a quick trip." he said. I nodded. "Let me get dressed and we can go." I said. He nodded and laid back on my bed, crossing his ankles with a smug grin. "What are you doing?" I asked. "Staying for the show," he said. I laughed and started to hit him with the pillow. He ran out and I shut the door. "I'll be down in a few minutes. Make sure to get everyone's letters," I called out. Then I got dressed and packed my bag.

I came down the stairs and into the kitchen. Everyone was eating breakfast and talking. I hugged my dad and grabbed a pastry. "Enzo, did you get the letters?" I asked. He nodded and handed them to me. I tucked them into my bag with my wand. "This is the first year I won't be going to Diagon Alley to get all my things." Daphne said. Astoria squeezed her hand. "It's not safe for us. We have to stay here." she said. Daphne just nodded. "Are you ready to go, Anna?" Enzo asked. "Yeah, let's do it." I said. I started to leave and I walked out. I could see Theo and Astoria holding hands under the table. My eyes become glassy and I quickly shut the front door. "Are you ok?" Enzo asked. I nodded. "Anna, talk to me," he said. I shook my head. "It's nothing. Really. I'm fine." I lied. He just nodded. We held each other's arms and spoke. "Apparate." I felt my feet hit the ground and I opened my eyes. What I saw made my heart stop. Diagon Alley had been destroyed. It was practically a ghost town. "Bloody hell" Enzo mumbled. We started to walk down the cobblestone path and look at everything. "What happened?" he asked. "I think it was the death eaters." I said. He just nodded. "Come on, I'll take you to the twins joke shop. I think Harry, Hermione and Ron should be there." I said. "Ok." he said with a nod. We continued walking until we got to the shop. I smiled as I saw it. The twins had worked so hard to pull this off and I'm so glad it was popular. We went inside and it was packed. There were so many kids running around, playing with every toy, trying out products, buying things. Brilliant. "There's our girl!" I heard someone yell. I turned around and Fred and George stood at the top of the stairs in matching suits. I smiled. "Fred, George. I knew you missed me." I said as I gave them a hug. "How could we not?" George said. I chuckled. "Who's your boyfriend?" Fred said with an eyebrow raised. I rolled my eyes. "His name is Enzo and we are just friends." I said. Enzo held out his hand. "Nice to meet you guys." he said. They shook hands and smiled. "Pleasure is all ours." Fred said. Enzo nodded. "Have you guys seen Harry?" I asked. "He just walked in." George said with a smirk. I turned around and saw them. Harry, Hermione and Ron. Harry and I saw each other and we both froze. I haven't talked to him since he left my room that night. After I yelled at everyone and he realized how I genuinely wished I was dead, he avoided me. I think it's because he didn't know what to say or do. I understood. We were both just staring at each other and I noticed Hermione whisper something to him. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked at Enzo and he looked concerned. "He's your family. You can't avoid him forever." he said. I just nodded. And just like that, Harry walked over and we were standing in front of each other. "I-I'm sorry." I said softly. He smiled. "Me too," he replied. Then I hugged him. An hour later, we had all looked over the entire store, caught up on everything that happened, and everyone was talking and laughing. "Ok, we really mean it this time. Enzo and I have to go get our school supplies." I said. Harry sighed. "Fine," he said. "I'll see you on the train in a few days." I said. He nodded and smiled. Then we all said our goodbyes and Enzo and I left. "Where should we go first?" Enzo asked. "I'm not sure, there's a lot of stuff on this-" I started.

"There they are!" a voice shouted. Enzo and I whipped around and my veins iced. 5 death eaters in masks and Mr. Greengrass stood down the street from us. "Run!" Enzo exclaimed. We both grabbed our wands as we ran down the streets, dodging curses and hexes. "Petrificus Totalus" someone yelled. The spell hit Enzo and he froze and hit the floor. I stopped in my tracks but before I could perform the counter curse, my wand flew from my hand. I knelt down next to Enzo as the death eaters came closer. "Run," he said. I shook my head. "Not without you." I whispered. They circled us, laughing. Then the body-bind curse was released and Enzo stood up. He held my hand tightly and we stood back to back. "Your daughters aren't here and we aren't going to tell you where they are. You might as well let us go." I said. Mr. Greengrass just laughed. "You think you can steal my daughters and there wouldn't be consequences?" he snapped. "We saved them from your psycho arse!" Enzo snapped. "Incarcerous!" I felt ropes wrap around my wrists and bind them behind my back. The same happened to Enzo. "I'll check the girl for any contraband she might be hiding." one death eater said. "Don't you fucking touch her!" Enzo yelled. The death eater pushed me so I faced a wall. I squeezed my eyes shut as I felt him drag his hands up my legs and under my dress. He groped my chest and I felt his hot breath on my neck. My eyes watered and tears fell down my cheeks. I could hear Enzo struggling and screaming but I just felt sick. "Gag and blindfold them both, we'll take them to the meeting." Mr. Greengrass said. I felt a gag tied over my mouth and suddenly the world went dark. Then we were being dragged away somewhere. Maybe this is finally the end. I heard a door open and close and I was pulled up some steps. Then I heard a familiar voice. "What the hell is this?!" It was Draco. "Don't act shocked. They stole my daughters and I intend to get them back." Mr. Greengrass said. "I didn't think you cared about your daughters. I know how you treat them." Draco snapped. "Watch your tone, son" Mr. Greengrass. "I'm not your son. And as of right now, I'm your superior and I order you to let them go." Draco said. "You can't-that's not-" Mr. Greengrass stammered. "You heard him." I recognized Cissy's voice too. I felt the ropes disappear from my wrists and I pulled the gag and blindfold away. Draco stood in front of me in a black suit. His eyes were full of concern. "Are you ok?" he mouthed. I nodded. "Don't worry, we won't tell anyone about this. We'll leave and pretend this never happened." Enzo said. "Go." Draco said. Enzo took my hand and we started to leave. Then she appeared. "Leaving so soon, Dahlia?" A chill went down my spine as I watched Bellatrix walk in with her wand pointed at me. "Don't call me that." I said. "But that's your name, my dear daughter" she said. "My name is Annabelle Lupin-Black and I am not your daughter." I spat. "We have to go." Enzo said tugging on my hand. "She's not going anywhere." Bellatrix said. I stared at her and then at Draco. I knew that now that Bellatrix was here, there was no way I was walking out of here. So I had to at least protect Enzo. "Fine. Let Enzo leave and I'll stay." I said. She chuckled. "So demanding. Like mother, like daughter." she taunted. "Do we have a deal or not?" I asked. She smirked. "The boy can leave." she said. I turned to Enzo. "Go." I said. "Not without you." he whispered. "I'll be fine." I replied. "No, I'm not leaving you here with these psychos," he said. "I've got her." Draco said, walking up to us. Enzo looked hesitant but nodded. I hugged him. "Tell my dad I'm fine. I'll see you at Kings Cross tomorrow." I said. He nodded and left.

It wasn't until we arrived back at Malfoy Manor and I tucked my cold hands into my jacket that I realized he had slipped his wand into my pocket. I couldn't help but smile at his cleverness.