Leah Labelle has spent most of her years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the shadows, always present but never quite noticed. She often felt caught between not being ugly enough to be bullied and not being captivating enough to seiz...
"What do you mean you have to go?" I ask my brother, my voice trembling as I cling to him, panic surging through me like a powerful, unrelenting tide.
He meets my gaze with a heavy look. "You know I can't stay here."
"But you've been here for months!" I protest, my desperation growing.
"To make sure you were safe," he replies, his voice soft yet firm, as if trying to soothe a wound that won't heal.
I wipe away the tears that slip down my cheeks, feeling my heart shatter once more. "I don't want you to leave," I whisper, my voice cracking under the weight of my fear.
Lucas is silent for a moment, his expression unreadable. "It's okay, little L. We'll see each other again soon."
"How do you know that?" I ask, sniffling as doubt and fear coil around my heart like a cold serpent. "What am I supposed to do? Dumbledore is dead, and my friends are Death Eaters!"
His eyes harden, a storm brewing behind them. "Listen to me," he says, gripping my shoulders with a fierceness that startles me. "You're going to keep a low profile—don't draw attention to yourself, and whatever you do, do not try to be a hero."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask, confusion and frustration swirling inside me.
Before he can answer, his eyes dart past me, narrowing as the sound of a branch snapping echoes through the cold night air. His grip loosens, and he begins to turn away.
"We'll see each other again soon," he repeats, his voice already distant.
I open my mouth to call out to him, but a familiar voice suddenly calls my name. Instinctively, I turn toward the sound, my heart leaping in my chest. But when I glance back, my brother is gone, vanished into the shadows as if he were never there.
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THEODORE NOTT'S POV
"What the fuck was that?" Mattheo snaps the moment we step into his room at Malfoy Manor. The door slams shut behind us, the echo reverberating through the room like a gunshot.
I run my hands over my face, feeling like I'm suffocating under the weight of everything.
"Why are you so fucking obsessed with my girlfriend?" he demands, his voice sharp enough to cut.
Something snaps inside me. I drop my hands and fix my gaze on Mattheo, anger burning in my chest. "She's not your fucking girlfriend," I retort, my voice low but filled with venom. "You don't even fucking know her."
