Deceit (Harry Potter fanfic)

The Thief

I tucked the book under my bed before heading down for breakfast; Ari and I joined the Slytherin table in relative silence.

"We need to talk" Sebastian murmured, leaning close to me so that no one else could hear him.

"Not now" I whispered, picking up a piece of toast and taking a bite.

"If not now, then when?"

"Perhaps when I'm not eating!" I retorted, a little louder than I had intended.

"Ooh, the lovebirds are having a fight" Draco snickered, earning him a slap from Hailee, who was the only person besides Arielle who I had told about Xander.

"What?" Draco turned to her, bemused. Hailee merely shook her head wordlessly, offering him no explanation but thankfully Draco said nothing more on the matter.

A deadly silence settled over the table while we ate, the silence was such that no one dared to break it, it had a power, a hold over us. As I ate, I stared fixedly at the table, ignoring Sebastian's unwavering stare and the fleeting looks that Ari and Hailee would send me. I just didn't want to have to deal with anything, I guess it's what I naturally do. When something gets difficult I run away and when I can't run, I hide. I wasn't born to be brave or a hero like those Gryffindors I though bitterly, the hat had only hesitated for a fleeting second before placing me in Slytherin. Sometimes I wish I had that courage that they possess, that I could do something for the right reasons for once. Yet I knew that I wouldn't, at least not now, not now when I didn't even have the courage to break up with my boyfriend.

"Mia" Sebastian whispered, grabbing my arm "can we talk now? Before class?"

I sighed, lifting my head and meeting his deep chocolate eyes, he held out his hand with his palm facing upwards, an invitation for me to take it. Glancing towards Ari, I took it and rose with him to leave the Great Hall. Hand in hand, we strolled through the castle and out into the bright morning sun. The sun was already high in the sky, casting the whole area in a warm orange glow, the day was absent of any kind of breeze, further emphasising the summer heat. As is common on a hot day, a wave of heat shimmered just above the ground, creating a mirage like illusion.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked, keeping my tone conversational.

"You" he murmured, bringing my hand to his lips and kissing it "you have seemed distracted lately, what is wrong?"

"Nothing" I lied.

"Come on, Mia. I know you better than this, you can tell me, I'll always be there for you" he soothed.

An overwhelming wave of guilt washed over me. How could I break up with him when he was being so nice to me? So instead I decided to do something completely different, tell the truth. Or at least part of it.

"Xander's alive" I blurted out.

"What? That's impossible" he breathed, a mask of shock covering his features.

"I saw him. In St. Mungo's" I stated simply, untangling my hand from his.

"Are you sure, darling?" He questioned, his voice soft and exhibiting a streak of understanding. I nodded.

"He's in a coma" I sighed, wrapping my arms around myself and looking away into the Forbidden Forest.

"Oh, babe" he comforted, enclosing me in his arms "you know, I don't want to be the one to say this... But... He may never wake up"

"He will" I stated, stubbornly trying to extract myself from his embrace "Mad-Eye knows how to bring him back and I'm going to find out"

Finally I managed to wriggle out of his arms and I turned and looked him directly in the eye; his emotions were impossible to read.

"He'll pay for that" he whispered, his voice as soft as velvet but it possessed a dangerous edge. The underlying power of his voice was intimidating. After kissing me on the cheek he strode purposefully back to the castle and out of sight, leaving me alone on the lawn.

I didn't have long to deliberate over his strange behaviour before I had to get to potions, Ari and I sat together discussing it in the lesson, careful to lower our voices every time Snape passed us. True, as Slytherins we were offered a lot more leniency than the Ravenclaws with whom we shared the class but due to their potions often turning out almost perfectly we were expected to match their standards and not 'let our house down'. I much preferred our potions lessons last year when we had shared with the Gryffindors, widely known as Snape's least favourite house, last year we could get away with almost anything. How I missed the days of sharing with students who would cower and suffer under Snape's wrath; the Ravenclaws never provided quite the sane standard of shows that the Gryffindors had.

As Snape passed us once again, Ari added a few ingredients to our cauldron and I pretended to be reading the instructions.

As soon as his back was turned Ari resumed talking "So why didn't you break up with him like you said you wanted to?" She questioned.

"He was so sweet about everything and I just couldn't do it" I replied, stirring the potion as I did so "besides I've been thinking about what you said"

"And?" She prompted.

"And I reckon you are probably right" I smiled, wincing at the look on her face.

"Aren't I always?" she grinned, altering the heat so our potion turned a deep purple "ooh, that's pretty" she mused, bending over it.

"Your potion is meant to be blue, Miss Blackwood" the bored voice of Snape remarked.

"I know" Ari giggled "we're not finished yet"

"Well, perhaps you should stop gossiping and concentrate on completing your potion" Snape drawled, before leaving to criticise a pair of Ravenclaws.

"We best finish this" she sighed, gesturing towards our violet potion. I nodded in response and, for the remainder of the lesson, we worked in relative silence until our potion was perfect, matching the standard of some of the best Ravenclaws in the class.

When lunch came around we headed to the common room, which generally provided a better place to eat than the Great Hall. Alice, Hailee and Draco met us there, strangely there was no sign of Sebastian anywhere. I shrugged and sat down, joining the group. Though it was odd that Sebastian wasn't here to eat with us, I didn't let it bother me.

"Lily, have you done McGonagall's paper?" Alice asked.

"Uh-huh" I nodded.

"Can I borrow yours please?" she asked.

"I suppose" I shrugged "it's in my room, on the bedside table"

"Thanks" she murmured, disappearing up the stairs. A minute later she reappeared "uh, you might want to see this" she whispered, beckoning for me to follow her.

The sight that greeted me was shocking. It looked as though my room had been turned upside down, while Ari's side of the room remained almost untouched, my side of the room was a complete mess. Drawers had been pulled open, their contents strewn over the floor, my clothes had been emptied from the wardrobe, leaving it bare, stuffing from the pillows was littered about the room and my trunk lay open on the floor.

"It looks like they were looking for something" Alice suggested.

"And they found it" I replied my voice grim.

The book was gone.

~

Double updates! Hope you enjoy it :D