You Promised Me→♡•°Tom Riddle°•♡

Chapter 26

Faith had always loved sneaking around the castle at night: the beams of moonlight streaming through the stain glass windows, the gently cold breeze of the crisp night air drifting through the deserted corridors. Something about the peaceful yet eerie atmosphere of the castle after hours made Faith feel alive.

Silently, Faith creeped down the corridors and out of the castle, making sure not to be seen by any teachers. As soon as she made it to the outside of the owlery, the chilly December wind stung Faith's eyes. Perhaps she should have worn a jumper at least, instead of her thin robes.

Trembling with cold, wrapping her arms around herself and silently swearing at herself for forgetting a jumper, Faith made her way up the frosty steps of the owlery.

"Hey!" An irritated voice disrupted Faith's thoughts, and she quickly realised she had bumped into a person. "Look where you're going!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Faith apologised, making way on the stairs for this mystery person to pass.

"Wait, Faith? Is that you?"

Faith squinted in the darkness. Her eyesight was far from perfect, and the fact that the moon was the only light source did not help.

Lumos, she held her wand up towards the mystery person.

"Amara?" Faith raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing here?"

Amara rolled her eyes, "I could ask you the same question."

"I'm sending a letter..." Faith replied warily. She was half surprised that Amara hadn't tried to jinx her yet, the last time they'd seen each other, Amara had practically been sending Faith death stares.

"Wow Faith, who would have known," Amara rolled her eyes, gesturing to the owlery the two stood in.

"Right." Faith nodded, narrowing her eyes at Amara with confusion. "Amara, why haven't you hexed me or something yet?"

Amara raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "I'm not going to bloody hex you Faith," she shook her head, sitting down on the steps. Faith sat next to her, brows furrowed.

"Why not?" Faith asked.

Amara laughed, shaking her head, "Merlin Faith, anyone would think you want to get hexed,"she turned away from Faith, looking down at her feet, "I'm mad at you Faith, but it's not like Walburga didn't have it coming."

Faith nodded, "I am sorry Amara. I'm sorry that I hurt your friend. But, I'm not sorry for hurting Walburga. Not really. She crossed a line,"

Amara sighed "Walburga isn't exactly my friend anyway, I suppose." Amara furrowed her eyebrows, frowning, "Well, she is. It's complicated."

"I get it," Faith agreed, "She's your friend because of your parents, right?"

Amara frowned again, "Yeah, I suppose. We've basically always been friends though, since birth really. She never used to be like this, not really. That was when we were actual friends, who cared for each other." She sighed, turning her head to look into the stary sky, "Now it's all fake. I don't agree with what she does or says, so I can't be on her side anymore,"

Faith put an arm around Amara's shoulders, pulling her into a warm side hug. "People change."

Amara hugged Faith back, sighing deeply, "They do, don't they."

Faith nodded. People do change, and Faith was all too aware of how much pain that change can cause. How can a person be everything you love, and so suddenly become unrecognisable? It was a question that Faith often pondered. How could somebody change so quickly?

"Did you really have to send her to the infirmary though, Faith?" Amara laughed, her brows raised at Faith, who put a hand on her face.

"I really didn't mean to, mars, I swear it," Faith rubbed her eyes, shaking her head.

Amara laughed and shook her head back, "At least I know who to go to if I ever need backup!" She grinned.

Faith groaned as they two stood up.

"Oh yeah," Faith muttered, "I'm spending the night somewhere else..."

Amara raised an eyebrow, "where exactly?"

"Nowhere important," Faith replied quickly, grinning.

Amara grinned back, rolling her eyes, "Alright, if you want to be so mysterious, I'll see you at breakfast!"