Enchanted

You are lying

It took a while for Brett to comprehend what was happening.

The hallway, dark and crowded. Occasional screams of students echoing through the ceiling. Shuffling of bare feet slicing through the stone floor.

"Brett, head to the main dining hall right now! Dumbledore would have figured something out by now. It's too dangerous anywhere-" Justin's voice was cut out by another shout from the students next to them, searching for his sister.

"They are right behind us! We should hurry!"

Eerie, Brett thought. Death eaters attack in Hogwarts in the middle of the night? For what? He thought no place on earth could be safer than Hogwarts. With magical forests and lakes guarding the school ground, the strongest wizard in the universe as a headmaster, and Eddy-

Brett stopped in his track in the middle of swarming students, looking behind where the potions classroom is. The students behind him grunted in surprise but Brett stood his ground, unmoving.

Eddy.

Did Eddy make it out to the dining hall? Was Eddy safe?

His heart still ached whenever he thought of that name. It has been a week already and yet, the pain was still fresh in his mind, from the moment the rejection was clear when he asked Eddy out for the Yule ball. Regardless of what happened between them, Eddy was his tutor, his first friend at Hogwarts, and maybe so much more - Brett couldn't fathom the thought of running away without knowing that Eddy was also safe.

Another round of screams swept across the crowd when a spark of green magical lights hit the wall next to the running students, almost destroying the castle wall. Students scrambled away from the attack, running for their dear life to the dining hall.

Still, Brett didn't move, his feet stuck like a root of an old tree.

Maybe Eddy is back there, running away from the bad guys. Maybe he needs help -

Brett was just about to run back to the stairs when a cold tip of a wand touched the back of his neck. Startled, he looked back to see a masked figure right behind him, ready for an attack. Brett clenched his eyes shut, waiting for a blinding green light to kill him cleanly on the spot when a monotone voice spoke behind a mask.

"Run," the voice rasped.

Brett's eyes immediately opened wide when he recognized the voice.

"Eddy," Brett whispered.

"Run to the dining hall before I kill you," Eddy stuck his wand on Brett's chin.

"No," Brett shook his head. "it is too dangerous. we are going there together-"

"Idiot," Eddy shouted. "I know you are stupid but how STUPID are we talking here? Don't you see that I'm part of the death eaters now?"

"You won't kill me. You won't kill anyone. I know you too well-"

"Confringo!" Eddy pointed his wand at a statue next to Brett. The statue exploded into an orange light, leaving nothing but ashes.

"Eddy!"

"That will be your head next time. Run!" Eddy shouted harshly.

"Why? Tell me, Eddy. What happened?"

"Nothing. You never mattered to me. You never did," Eddy drew out a quick painful breath. "It was all an act to deceive everyone."

"No, you are lying," Brett shouted back. "Stop lying and just come with me!"

"Shut the fuck up, Brett-"

"You love me. You do love me. I know you want to go to the Yule ball with me. I know you do-"

"Stupefy!"

A white light hit Brett. Brett fell to the floor, limp, looking at Eddy running to join a group of death eaters.

The last thing he remembered was a dusty window illuminating the sign of death eaters on the starry sky: a skull, and a snake engulfing Hogwarts.

And no, Brett refused to believe Eddy took any part in that.