Loyalties | Barty Crouch Jr

The Old, Black Book

December 28, 1977 - Wednesday

Leonora hadn't seen Illyria for two entire days, as her friend had been locked up in her room, denied all food and only occasionally given water. For those two days, Leonora had locked herself up in her own room, only taking her meals in there, not wanting to eat alone with Illyria's parents.

During the two days, she spent a majority of her time staring out of the windows, watching the snow as is cascaded down. There had been a blizzard the day after Christmas, and she had kept her eyes trained on it for a majority of the day, watching as it inched its way up the side of the Manor.

Even though Leonora hated the cold, she had always loved playing in the snow. When she was younger, her and James, whenever they got along for even a minute, would have snowball fights and build snowmen and make snow angels. It was probably one of her best memories from being a young child. This blizzard would have been wonderful for that.

Suddenly, a loud knock sounded from the door, snapping the girl out of her thoughts. Her stomach dropped as she glanced towards it, dreading who it might be.

"Come in," she spoke hesitantly, standing up from the windowsill and fidgeting with her fingers. The door opened quickly, revealing her friend. Leonora let out a sigh of relief.

The girl looked terribly tired. Dark circles occupied the space below her eyes so badly they looked bruised. 

"Are you feeling alright?" Leonora questioned her friend as she scampered into the room, quietly closing the door behind her. She realized too late that it was a stupid question to ask, as of course the girl wasn't alright.

Illyria stared at her, eyes looking almost distant. "I'm a bit better than I was, believe it or not, cause I'm sure I look horrible right now. My parents have finally let me leave my room and I was able to get something to eat, but I'm terribly tired. I couldn't sleep for even a second during those two entire days. I've been worrying too much."

Leonora's eyes softened. "Why don't you lay down on my bed and try to take a nap? Maybe you'd be able to sleep among the comfort of a friend."

Illyria silently nodded, making her way over to the plush bed. She undid the perfectly made blankets and slipped into the warmth beneath them. Almost instantly, Leonora could hear soft snores coming from the girl.

Making her way back over to the windowsill, Leonora made herself comfortable again, before gazing back out into the snow-covered yard.

.........................................................

"How long have I been asleep?" Illyria asked with a yawn as she sat up in bed.

"About two hours," Leonora answered, turning her head towards the girl. "Your dark circles are a few shades lighter," she joked lightly. "Are you feeling any better?"

Illyria hummed in response, standing from the bed and joining Leonora at the window. "Have you been staring outside this entire time?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much what I've been doing for the past two days. It's reminded me about when I was younger and would play in the snow with James whenever we got along, which, you know, wasn't very often. It was fun though."

"You know," Illyria smiled, "it sounds like you really want to go outside and play."

"You say that as if I'm six years old. I don't want to go outside and 'play,'" Leonora spoke using air quotes. "We're way too old to be doing that."