Always There For You (Harry Potter OC X OC)

72. Loyal and Trust-

Mum was away for work. Lizzy watched tv lazily in the living room, while eating chocolate cake. Her backdoor was knocked. Joel? Lizzy was thrilled. That must be Joel. She put down her plate and rushed to the kitchen for the backdoor. Joel was there!

'Hold on a minute, wait,' she said, looking at a nearby small mirror on the wall to check her appearance and her teeth.

She opened the door happily.

'I miss you! How's your exam? Was it easy? Was it--' Joel hugged her tightly. He was weak in Lizzy's arms. 'You okay?' She leaned him against the wall. Joel had sullen eyes, staring into her eyes, abd reached to caress her face.

'What happened?' Lizzy asked worriedly. 'Did someone... die?'

Joel had newspaper on his hand and he handed it to her. Lizzy took a moment to read. Her eyes widened.

'Vol-- You-Know-Who... he's in the Ministry,' Lizzy spoke, reading the article. 'Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna, and Ginny... Order of the Phoenix... Death Eaters... Department of Mysteries... Prophecy...' Lizzy was contemplating. 'This is... getting too real.'

'...Let's talk about something else,' Joel said. 'I have already talked about it all the way to King's Cross.'

Lizzy nodded to him. 'Okay, let's go to the living room. Do you want chocolate cake? I bought it with Ann.'

***

Three days later, Lizzy got a letter from Sandra.

Dear Lizzy,

How are you? I hope you're fine in muggle world. The wizarding world is a bit chaotic. Actually no, it's crazy. Now that the Daily Prophet and the Ministry agree You-Know-Who's out there building an army, people are panicking.

Most shops are closed early. Aurors are patrolling the streets. My mum told me Cornelius Fudge will resign! The Head of Auror is taking his place... don't know his name though. But we'll know when he's officially Minister of Magic. His name will pop up everywhere.

Dad is... My family's joining back. The Flints will. It's inevitable. I don't know what to say to you about this... I'm torn.

Stay safe, Lizzy. Let's keep writing to each other. The house is suffocating.

Sandra

Lizzy showed this to Joel one afternoon at her backyard's porch.

He was displeased to read it. He said, 'Be careful of what you write... Letters might be intercepted by the Ministry or Death Eaters.'

'I can't imagine the tension... we're here, still feeling safe. God knows what it must be like.'

'Hopefully, we keep it that way. Keep it there, not us,' Joel said. It was the coldest thing Lizzy had ever heard of him. Though she couldn't argue against it.

She and Sandra began writing each other's letters back and forth. She was glad that Sandra find the lighthearted letters uplifting. Sandra stopped for four days. But when she sent one, she confessed her mum was helping Death Eaters.

'She shouldn't have written that in,' Joel said. 'It's dangerous writing to Sandra Flint. Tell her to stop talking about those things... or just don't reply back at all.'

'Joel... she's stressed out at home.'

'It's stressing me out that you're corresponding to her letters. She's a Death Eater.'

'Joel!' Lizzy was shocked.

'...Sorry... I uh...' Joel went out to the backyard to take some fresh air.