𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 (OC x OC) - Full Series

[007] CHAPTER 20 - ASTRONOMY

"as much as it seems like you own my heart, it's astronomy—we're two worlds apart."
|| conan gray

Katelyn Scamander

I'm sitting in the Hufflepuff Common Room, minding my own business when Betty and her boyfriend Polites walk in. I roll my eyes as I cross my arms and glance in the other direction, annoyed at the way that they're smiling and giggling with one another. As much as I love romance, seeing it at a time like this makes me sick.

Polites Reynolds is a boy with curly brown hair and blue-ish green-ish eyes who is absolutely infatuated with my older sister. He makes Betty happy, I'll give him that, but it doesn't excuse the fact that they have no one to hang out with now that half the school's population are Deatheaters, so they snob all over each other around me. ME!!!

I'm not being dramatic when I say that I am literally dying inside. I can't take it. Betty has been trying to set me up for the entirety of this school year, but all I can think about is this one boy. I've never truly known him personally, but I used to catch glances of him in the hallways or whenever I'd talk to Makayla. It's sad that I can't do that anymore.

His blond, slicked back hair was always shining in the candle light and his green eyes were so perfect that I felt like I could journey through them and get lost in the forest. I didn't always like him. He was rather annoying in our first three years at Hogwarts, but I can't deny that he started looking cuter in our third year. I tried to ignore it, but it eventually was too much to bear. Makayla doesn't know about this. Betty doesn't know about this. Nobody can know about this.

If it gets out that I have a crush on a Deatheater, I might as well kiss my life goodbye. Therefore, I let Betty believe that I like absolutely nobody, leading her to want to set me up with some random, ugly boy.

"Kate, you're always moping around," Betty says as she sits next to me. "We just want you to be happy..."

"I am not looking for love when the Dark Lord is about to destroy the Wizarding World," I spit out sassily, crossing my arms. "If I were, I'd be a fool."

"Are you calling me a fool?" she asks, a hand raised to her chest as if she's offended.

"If that's what you want to call it," I mutter.

"You've been acting so weird lately!" she chides, rising from the couch and towering over me as if she has some sort of authority over me. "We can't do anything about the Dark Lord's wrath right now, so we might as well try and live our lives to the fullest while we still—"

I groan and complain, rising from the couch as well. "That's where you're wrong!" I interrupt. "We can do something! We could fight back!"

"And get tortured by the Carrows?" she asks before snorting to herself. "I don't think so, Kate. You don't understand the gravity of this situation."

"Neither do you!" I argue. "If you understood the gravity of this situation, you wouldn't be trying to help me find the love of my life right before our lives are eradicated by the Deatheaters."

"I'm trying to give you hope!"

"I don't need hope!" I snap. "I need my friends back!"

Before she gets a chance to respond, I rush up the winding stairs, pushing through the barrel shaped doors of my dorm and digging my face into a pillow as mascara-stained tears flow down my cheeks. I don't know how long I'm going to be able to handle this. How long I'll be able to hide this feeling I've had for so long. This love that I've had to hide from the world so I wouldn't be persecuted for something I cannot control.

Perhaps he couldn't control it either. Maybe—just maybe—he is actually a good person forced to do bad. I know it doesn't work like that, but I wish it was.

Amy Potter

I walk into the Gryffindor Common Room with Ginny. It feels so empty, so cold. Nothing has been the same since last year. My brother, Hermione, and Ron are all on the run from the Ministry now that it's been infiltrated by the Deatheaters. There's nothing fun, happy, or bright about this castle anymore.

The cries of rebellious kids who think that they can change anything echo through the halls, the cackles of the Carrows following behind them. They haunt my nightmares, but I'm no longer petrified. These screams, however, are hitting more close to home than I'd prefer.

They are the screams of Neville Longbottom.

My heart is heavy as Ginny and I stare at the fireplace. The crackling used to bring me comfort, but now it only brings me suffering. The heat used to keep me warm on winter nights, but now it only makes me colder.

Eventually, the screams become too overwhelming for Ginny and she sighs. "I'm off to bed... If Neville returns before morning, please give him my best..." she mumbles before turning on her heel and walks upstairs. Now, I'm standing alone in the empty common room.

My gaze shifts from the flames as I ponder over what once was a dynasty in this room. This room used to be filled with music, happiness, and laughter, but now it's quiet and somber. My brother hasn't been heard from in months and people are starting to lose hope. I wish that he would just find some way to contact us—or me—so that I could know he was okay. I can keep a secret, I just want to see him again.

The whole reason why Neville is getting tortured by the Carrows right now is because he thinks that he can be brave and strong. He wants to give us hope. It isn't working at all.

Neville is not my brother.

They may both be in the same house, but that doesn't mean they're alike at all. Gryffindor may be all about bravery, but Neville is anything but brave. (No offense, Neville...)