|In The Dark|

75

ANNABELLE LUPIN-BLACK

When we arrived at the party, it was exactly what I expected. Jazz music, appetizers, drinks, decorations and all of Slughorn's favorite students. Mostly Slytherins and Gryffindors. We greeted Slughorn and he insisted on taking our photos. Then Harry and Luna arrived and Slughorn dropped us instantly to go talk to Harry. Not surprising. "Can we leave yet?" Pansy asked. I chuckled and took her hand. "Let's go get drinks." I said. She nodded and we walked over to Neville who was carrying a platter of champagne. Pansy took a glass and handed me one. "Thank you, Neville." I said. He smiled. "No trouble," he said. I looked at the glass hesitantly and Pansy smiled. "You can drink it, Anna. Nothing bad will happen." she said. I nodded and lifted the glass to my lips. But I couldn't do it. I pretended to take a sip and she smiled. "You can have fun, we'll keep you safe." she said. "Thanks, Pans." I said.

We brought the drinks back over to the boys and Astoria and everyone took one. "Champagne. Thank Merlin." Astoria said. She drank it all and got another one. Then we all started snacking on the food. When I looked up, Theo was staring at me again. "Theo, babe, do you want to dance?" Astoria asked. He looked at her and nodded. "Sure," he said. She pulled him to the floor and they started dancing. "Pansy, babe, dance with me?" Blaise mocked. Pansy smirked. "Why of course." she said, rolling her eyes. Blaise led her to the floor and they started dancing. Enzo looked at me and I laughed. "Absolutely not." I said. "Please. It'll be fun." he said. "No, it won't." I said. He grabbed my hand and the next thing I knew we were dancing too. He placed his hands on my waist and I rested my arms on his shoulders. We swayed back and forth, talking and laughing. The night went on and Astoria got drunk. She was laughing and spinning around. "Someone had too much champagne." I mumbled. "Speaking of, can we take a break? I'm thirsty." he said. I nodded and we walked back over to the table. He took another drink and I faked another sip. "You know, Anna, you can take as many fake sips as you want but you've been drinking the same glass all night." Enzo said as he watched everyone dance. I looked at him quickly and put my glass down. "I just- I'm sorry." I said quietly. "Don't apologize. I understand." he said. I nodded. "But I need to know... are you scared of someone else, or yourself?" he asked. My face fell. "I'm scared that if I drink, I won't be able to stop." I said. He gave a nod of understanding. "I'm proud of you." he said with a small smile. I smiled. "Thanks." I said. "Do you want to dance again?" he asked. "Yeah, why not?" I said. We headed to the dance but then Snape stepped in front of us, blocking my path. I looked at him sharply and narrowed my eyes. "Professor Snape, what are you doing here?" I asked. "I was invited." he said plainly. I scoffed. "Probably out of obligation." I mumbled. He raised his eyebrows. "What did you say?" he snapped. "Nothing. Isn't there a first year you should be bullying or somewhere else you can be making people miserable?" I asked. Enzo laughed and Snape shot him a look. "Mr. Berkshire, I'm sure your girlfriend can survive a moment without you..." he said. "We aren't dating." we both said at the same time. His face stayed the same. "Fascinating." he stated. I rolled my eyes and looked at Enzo. "I'll be back in a second." I said. He gave a small smile and a nod. "Good luck." he whispered as he walked off. I looked back at Snape. "What do you want?" I snapped. "I want you to remember what your father told you. Something about respect." he said. I exhaled sharply and gave a fake smile. "How can I assist you on this lovely evening, Professor?" I smirked. He crossed his arms. "Dumbledore asked me to deliver a message." he said. My face faltered. "What did he say?" I asked quickly. "He said he hopes you have a good holiday and he will see you after you return from break." he said. "Where is he?" I asked. "I think you know the answer to that question." he said. I looked around quickly. "He's there? Can I see it?" I asked. "No." he said shortly. "But I-" I started. "No. You don't need to see it, you'll live there soon enough." he said. My face dropped. "Me?" I said quietly. He nodded. "No, I'm not going. Just Theo and Draco." I said. He shook his head. "The Dark Lord could dig through your mind and find out about everything. If we don't hide you too, this will all have been for nothing." he said. My stomach lurched. "But my dad, my friends, they'll be fighting a war! I can't hide!" I exclaimed. "You don't have a choice." he said. I felt sick. My eyes filled with tears. "You want to save Draco, right?" he asked. I nodded. "Then I think you'll find that hiding changes things in ways you'd never know." he said. Then he walked off. I stood there, as tears fell to my cheeks. I wiped them away and walked over to a table and downed my glass of champagne. "I should have known." I whipped around and Theo stood there. "Everyone had me convinced that you changed. Blaise even told me you were sober. I should have known it was bullshit." he said. "Go away, Theodore." I mumbled. "You really had me this time." he said. "I said go away!" I snapped. Enzo rushed over and grabbed the glass away. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Poor Enzo. He doesn't know yet." Theo said. Enzo looked at him. "She'll always disappoint you. No matter how hard you want to believe she changed, it's always bullshit." he said. "She did change. She changed for you." Enzo said. "Let's just go, Enzo." I said as I started to leave. "If she really changed then why is she still wearing sleeves?" he asked. I looked at him as more tears fell. "I'm sorry, Theo." I said quietly. Then I left.