The Peak Of My Existence [T.N]

BETRAYAL

"Unbelievable!"

Hermione threw herself down onto the bench opposite Vulpecula, who, so startled by the suddenness of Hermione's arrival, dropped her toast.

The Great Hall was unsurprisingly busy, given that it was a Thursday morning and classes had been back in full swing for over two weeks. Therefore there was a considerable amount of chatter in the air, which Vulpecula had mastered the art of blocking out.

"Oh cheer up, Mione." George laughed as he began to fix his scarlet tie after a stern look from McGonagall.

"Yeah, whatever's got your wand in a knot can't be that bad." Harry chimed in with a chipper tone.

The boy was sat to the right of Vulpecula, the two seemed to have a silent agreement to spend as much time near each other as possible. Fear brought them closer.

"Oh, but it can." She argued as she chucked a copy of The Daily Prophet onto the table in front of her.

Vulpecula lent over the table and grabbed ahold of the newspaper, turning it upright and beginning to read the front page, her smile dropping instantly.

"Mass breakout from Azkaban?" The girls head shot up and scanned the fallen faces of her friends.

"That's- thats Bellatrix Lestrange, she's Malfoy's aunt," Ron spoke up, "your- your dads cousin."

Ron was referring to the moving picture on the front page. A woman dressed in grey, with chains on her wrists and hair matted, screaming silently at them.

"She's the one that- used the Cruciatus curse on Neville's parents." Harry spoke quietly. "And she's one of Voldemort's most loyal followers, Sirius told me."

Vulpecula's heart began to beat at an unimaginable pace, her breathing grew heavy and her mind went fuzzy. The thought of being related to such a monster made her nauseous. This wasn't like when her dad had escaped, not comparable in the slightest, because at least her father was innocent.

"That's not all." Fred's voice pulled the groups attention as he arrived at the table. "Umbridge might be onto us, she's forming some kind of group, probably to spy on us."

"Well isn't this all just dandy." Ginny huffed out from besides Hermione, earning a few sad smiles.

The group were startled when a sudden banging sounded from outside of the Great Hall. With glances to each other, the Gryffindors rose to their feet and followed the noise.

Through the large doors, they found Filtch on a ladder at least ten feet in the air, hammering a large nail-like object into the wall before hanging some framed message.

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"You know, I'm not liking this new power she's got." Ron murmured.

"Trust me Ronald" Vulpecula responded with her neck strained to watch Filtch's actions. "no one does."

A movement down the corridor caught Vulpecula's eye. She pulled her gaze away from the wall that was littered with framed parchment, which was becoming more concentrated with such every day.

Her sight fell onto a figure retreating, the limited light of the end of the corridor made it a mere shadowy silhouette; however, she recognised the shape instantly.

Without a word to her friends, her feet took off down the corridor, chasing after the figure. She walked swiftly around the corner she watched it disappear around moments before and spotted an ajar door.

The gap between door and frame allowed for a slither of sunlight to escape the room and cast an elongated line of light across the stone floor and wall. As Vulpecula approached it, her eyes were glared with the light.