The Immeasurable Marauder

Peace and War

I woke up stuck to my bed sheets again. This nightmare was unrelenting.

It was, of course, more of a memory than a dream but I could handle a nightmare more than I could a memory. I had a piping hot shower in the infirmary before Madam Pomfrey could say absolutely anything. I felt dirty and all I wanted to do was wash off the memories from yesterday.  I dressed in a simple tank top and jeans. It covered most of the still pink scar on my back but I was done hiding. 

I wouldn't hide the things I had lived through. Battle scars were for the survivors and I was a damned survivor. I was going straight to Dumbledore to explain what had happened with Sirius, what he had told everyone. I'd have to leave but maybe he could help me find a place to go. I was alone in the world. I had an uncle who was sympathetic but I couldn't know if they had got to him yet either. 

But none of this mattered, I thought determined. I would not let Voldemort win, not against me. Each day I resisted, each day I lived was one more victory against him.

"Yves?" said a small voice from behind me.

I swung around to see Alice, Mary and Lily. All three of them had strange looks on their faces. I couldn't say anything. I wasn't ready to face them, I didn't want to do this.

"Alice." I said setting my face.

"How are you feeling?" She asked in her small voice again.

"Better." I said monosyllabically.

"Um... I've got that date tonight with Frank and I was hoping, if you got out of here today or tonight, that, uh, maybe you could help me get ready."

What the hell?

"Uh... that's a nice offer Alice but I don't think I will be able to."

"Oh, I see." She said dejectedly. "When I saw you up and about I thought you'd be out in time..."

"I, uh, don't think it's about that." I said not sure what to say. What was going on?

"What is it about?" Mary said looking at me knowingly.

"Do you really need me to say it?" I looked her straight in the eyes.

"Say what?" Lily said. "We'd like our friend back."

I looked away. How could they do this to me? Did they think I would be stupid enough to trust them after what Sirius had done. I had been nothing but nice to them. I went to my bed and started to get my things out of the bedside draw. I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

"Yves?"

"What?" I snapped! "What do you want me to say, yes, I'll come and braid your goddamn hair and chat about boys like you didn't ever hear anything? You heard what Sirius said, he wasn't lying. So lets just leave the Death Eater's daughter leave in peace."

The three of them looked at me with shocked, rounded eyes but they didn't move.

"Look Vee..." said Mary and I rounded on her but before I could say anything she raised her voice much more loudly than mine and said, "We don't care that your parents are Death Eaters. Sirius told us that the rest of the letter explained that you left because you didn't join them. We accept Sirius and his parents are the same if not worse. We aren't judging you and we haven't told anyone else. No one needs to know. You're our friend and you've been going through this right under our noses and we didn't even know. But now we do and we can be there for you, help you, maybe protect you like friends are supposed to. And yes, we'd like to, well, maybe not braid each others hair, that's a serious fashion faux pas at this point, but definitely chat about boys if you want." She said in such a typical Mary way that I couldn't help by smile.