The Eagle and The Snake: A Tragic Love Story

59. Boy Decoy

In the weeks that followed, Carly stayed away from everyone that she cared about, and it almost killed her.
She almost never hung out with Luna in public, and dared not to even smile at her while other people were around, in case they were accused of flirting.
With everyone on the look out for homosexuals, they just couldn't risk it.
So, they could only spend time together, in secret, after hours.
This meant that whenever someone picked on Luna during class, and in the corridors, Carly couldn't leap to her defence, as she didn't want to do anything that would make her look like Luna's girlfriend. But this didn't stop the pair from getting their revenge on the bullies at a later date, using some of the spells Bellatrix had taught them.

Having an excuse to stay away from Harry though, was something Carly was grateful for.
And luckily for her, Harry was too busy being Quidditch Captain, and doing difficult 6th year work, to worry about not spending time with his sister.
Since Carly couldn't hang out with her normal friends, she was forced to spend a lot of time with her roommates, and Draco's friends instead. Which is why she couldn't help but notice that Draco's cocky attitude was starting to slip away.
Whatever his mission for Voldemort was, she could tell it wasn't going well.

Despite almost everything in the world being awful, Carly couldn't deny that there were some benefits to being back at Hogwarts.
Snape was by far the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher they had ever had. And she learned almost as much with him, as she had done with Bellatrix.
Having access to the Hogwarts library again, was also something Carly greatly enjoyed.
She had also started attending Slug Club meetings, as it allowed her to interact with some of the best sudents at Hogwarts, as well as lots of famous people that Slughorn brought in to show them off to.

Since Luna and Carly couldn't talk all day, during weekdays, they only got to catch up in the evenings, in the Room of Requirement, while everyone thought they were studying in the library.
"I missed you" said Carly, as she strode across the room, and hugged Luna, who was sat on a blue beanbag cushion, on the floor.
"You too" mumbled Luna.
"What's up?" Frowned Carly, confused by Luna's lack of enthusiasm for her arrival.
"Have you not read the Evening Prophet?"
"No".

Luna sighed and picked her paper off the floor and handed it to Carly.
"Another couple has been arrested and taken to Azkaban" explained Luna.
"What! Why?" Questioned Carly, as she sat down on the green beanbag cushion beside Luna, and began to quickly read the article.
"They were reported to the Ministry by one of their co-workers. And when the Ministry got to their flat, they realised that the pair weren't housemates, because there was only one bedroom. So, they arrested them, under suspicion of being lesbians, and they were taken to Azkaban" revealed Luna.

"Well, they might not have been a couple. They could have just been too poor to avoid more than one bedroom" said Carly.
"That's true. But the Ministry aren't known for their logic. And without anymore evidence, they decided to just arrest the pair, and sentence them to life in Azkaban" Luna said glumly.
"It seems like barely a week can go by, without someone being sent to Azkaban, either for being a death eater, or for being a homosexual" sighed Carly.
"They say it won't be long until Scrimgeour gives out a cash reward to anyone that snitches on and gives evidence against gay couples"
"That will just lead to a lot of people being arrested, who aren't even homosexuals".

"Yes, it will. And how long do you think it will be until they come for us?" Asked Luna quietly.
"That is not going to happen, for we have taken every precaution to stop people from finding out about us" reminded Carly.
"We have. But quite a few people know that we are together, and it would only take one of them to blab, for us to be arrested. My family knows about us, and so does yours. And I'm pretty sure some teachers do as well" replied Luna.
"No matter how angry Andy is at me, she would never throw me under the bus like that. I know that neither her, nor Ted, nor Nym, would rat me out to the Ministry. And I trust your dad, just as much as I trust my guardians. He wouldn't send us to Azkaban, I'm sure of it. Dumbledore has also promised not to reveal any of our secrets. So, you have nothing to worry about".

"I hope you're right. Because I don't see what else we can do, aside from pretending to date some guys, to throw people off the scent" said Luna.
"Actually, that's not a bad idea" commented Carly.
"I was being sarcastic. I don't want to actually date a boy" replied Luna.
"It's not about what we want, it's about doing what is necessary to keep ourselves safe. I'm sure I could convince Blaise, or one of the other Slytherin boys to date me. And even if it's not for very long, it might be enough to convince people that I'm straight".

"But I can't get a boyfriend. Every single boy at Hogwarts would rather jump off the Astronomy tower, than date me. Besides, I couldn't fake being in love with them, for I'm not that good of an actor, and I would never want to cheat on you by kissing someone else" admitted Luna.
"I'm sure that if just one of us dates a boy, it will be enough to make sure than no one thinks we are dating. And since you have no other female friends, no one can excuse you of going out with any of them. So, I will take one for the team, and date a disgusting boy, to protect you" replied Carly.

"But I can't ask you to do that for me" insisted Luna.
"I will do whatever it takes to keep us out of Azkaban. And I know that if the roles were reversed, and you were the more popular  one, you would do this for me, to protect me. So, I don't mind doing this, in order to keep us safe" informed Carly.
"And do you really think this will work?" Asked Luna.
"Well, I might as well try. Because we have to do everything in our power, to stop people suspecting us".

"But do you really think that you can actually get one of the boys to date you? Don't forget, that you are an oddball like me, even in your own house. So, you're not exactly the most popular person ever" reminded Luna.
"Actually, since we joined the dark lord, I've been better at getting along with my house mates. And some of them are convinced that I'm a death eater, which makes them respect me. So, I'm sure I can get one of them to go out with me for a bit. But if I can't, I could always force my cousin Draco to put on a front and pretend to go out with me, by saying it's a mission from the dark lord" suggested Carly.
"That could work" agreed Luna.
"Yes, it could. So, don't worry, everything is going to be fine. I am going to do whatever it takes, to keep you safe, my Atlantis"
"Thank you, my Star".