slide away {lorenzo berkshire}

61. this is me trying

"Ignore every instinct to flee.
Remember: you are a monster too"
- Destiny

~~~~~~

Cassie Avery

The rumours we'd planted were everywhere now - students whispering about cursed hallways, secret disappearances, even fake sightings of Potter himself. People were nervous. Paranoid. Exactly how we wanted them.

Theo was thriving, of course - he'd perfected the art of sounding both terrifying and amused while warning people to "stay out of things that don't concern them." Draco backed him up with his usual sneer, and Lorenzo... well, Lorenzo had a way of leaning against a wall and looking at someone like they were an insect he might crush that worked far better than I expected. Mattheo just had to walk down the corridor and that was enough.

Intimidation? We had it handled.

But information? That was another story entirely.

Despite all the fear, we had nothing concrete. No whispered sightings. No overheard conversations from Potter's friends. It was like he didn't exist anymore, like the entire school had decided to forget him for their own safety.

Nobody was talking. If anything, the rumours we'd been spreading had made them quieter. People kept their heads down, avoided conversations where anyone could hear, and definitely weren't about to risk becoming targets. I wasn't sure if nobody knew anything or they were just too scared to say if they did.

And that worried me. Because if this dragged on, we'd have to do more - go further - and further in Voldemort's world usually meant blood.

The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. I'd agreed to make a list of last resort targets weeks ago, but I'd hoped we'd never actually use it. Now I wasn't so sure if we'd have a choice.

I went looking for Lorenzo, ready to vent my frustration and maybe get his take on how to avoid... whatever "extreme measures" really meant. The Room of Requirement conjured the door for me, as if it knew exactly where I needed to go. I supposed it did.

I pushed it open.

And froze.

Lorenzo and Mattheo were standing in the centre of the room. Neither of them looked particularly happy to see the other, but they weren't fighting either. Their body language was tense, arms crossed, posture stiff, like two people who'd agreed to talk only because they had to.

"...It's nothing personal," Mattheo's voice said. Blunt, tired. "We all had to do it."

"I know." Lorenzo's tone was stiff, defensive.

The air between them felt sharp enough to cut my hand if I reached through it.

"What are you talking about?".

Mattheo's head turned first, slow, eyes narrowing just enough to register my arrival as a complication rather than a surprise. Lorenzo followed, his gaze skimming over me with that careful, unreadable stillness I recognised from when he was deliberately keeping something back.

"Well?", I said.

Mattheo's sigh was deliberate, his attention flicking briefly to Lorenzo as if to say 'you want to tell her, or should I?'.

"There's talk that it's time for Lorenzo to prove his loyalty", he finally spoke.

My spine went rigid. "What kind of talk? Who's saying it?" I kept my voice level, but the edge in it was enough to draw Lorenzo's eyes to me, watching like he was weighing every word.

"I don't know exactly", Mattheo said evenly.

I laughed - sharp, humourless. "Of course you don't. You just throw out another grenade and stroll off before it explodes. You're consistent, I'll give you that".