"𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝.
𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫..."
The Lestrange line has been a loyal ally of the Dark Lord for years, enthusiastically being one of the caus...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO SCARS
Snow was swirling against the icy windows once more; Christmas was approaching fast. Hagrid had already singlehandedly delivered the usual twelve Christmas trees to the Great Hall; garlands of holly and tinsel had been twisted around the banisters of the stairs; everlasting candles glowed from inside the helmets of suits of armor and great bunches of mistletoe had been hung at intervals along the corridors. Large groups of girls tended to converge underneath the mistletoe bunches every time one of the popular male students went past, which caused blockages in the corridors, some boys and girls even trying their luck with Artemis; fortunately, however, Artemis' frequent nighttime wanderings had given her an unusually good knowledge of the castle's secret passageways, so that she was often, without too much difficulty, to navigate mistletoe-free routes between classes.
"And how're they doing?" Artemis asked when she entered the Great Hall with Draco, Isabella and Theo, just after narrowly avoiding Gregory Goyle under the mistletoe. The trio's laughter stopped instantly. They knew who Artemis was on about. Tom and Daphne. Despite their argument they knew the three cared deeply about each other, they were just too stubborn to apologise.
"Oh, you know," Theo laughed nervously, glancing at the Rosewood's who were whispering to each other at the end of table closest to the staff table.
"They miss you," Isabella spoke up before the boys could feed them some cock and bull story. "And you miss them," she added.
"I don't need them," Artemis said sternly, her stoic facade cracking ever so slightly as she made eye contact with Daphne.
"They're your family, they're your best friends," Isabella replied back. "You was the Maid of Honour at their wedding, for Merlin's sake!" Isabella didn't respond, but huffed when her friends sat around the married couple. Artemis looked around, she knew she wasn't welcomed at the Gryffindor's table, and had no other friends at Slytherin.
Artemis sucked in a breath, biting her lower lip before sitting down on the free space beside Tom.
"Hi," he said in a low voice, trying to give a small smile. Artemis could see the pain behind his eyes and the lack of sleep. She didn't respond, too proud to apologise for causing their argument.
"So, Artemis and I have been invited to Slughorn's Christmas party," Theo spoke up, breaking the uncomfortable silence between the friends.
"Oh, and are you going together?" Daphne spoke up for the first time, twirling the fork around her plate.
"No, I'm taking Wyatt," the group smiled as Theo's eyes lit up with childlike excitement.
"I'm taking Ginny," Artemis muttered, causing the Pureblood's to choke on their drinks, all except for Isabella who looked at them strangely.
