The Abuser

A Bird Set Free

Caught in a place that is in between who I once was and what I want to be. Trying to find what I need that will set me free. Tell me where do I belong. Tell me where to go from here so I can rewrite all my wrongs. I know there's a place somewhere, so tell me where do I belong. Lost on common ground and inside I'm screaming to be found.

- Vagabond by WILD

.....

I rub the shining golden coin between my fingers, rubbing off the water droplets that have collected on it. The Room of Requirement is so crowded with D.A. students that my only private moments now come in the shower. I let the warm water run through my short hair as wash soap from my legs and torso. I haven't seen Draco Malfoy in months; he's not returning any of my messages and it worries me immensely. I really hope that he hasn't given up on us. Despite everything that we've gone through, there's no changing the fact that we've gone through it all together. I can't picture my life without him. Whether I've been planning his murder, hating his guts, crying over his sins, or kissing him, he's been an irreplaceable part of my childhood; the thought of him drifting away is too much to bear.

I shake water from my eyes, and hold the coin up to my lips. "Meet me." I whisper, watching the words appear on the golden surface before fading away. If he doesn't reply then I will be seriously tempted to go out looking for him myself!

I turn off the tap, stepping from the shower after wrapping myself in a fuzzy towel. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown are chatting amiably while drying their hair before the mirror, and I hurry over to join them.

"It was the ugliest- Oh, hello, Zell." Lavender turns to me with a smile, her hairbrush dangling uselessly from her knotted tangle of wet blond curls.

"Hey. You should cut your hair like me. It's easier, I promise!" I tease, waving my wand over my face to remove any remaining traces of makeup. "Ginny and Luna would be happy to do it for you..." My voice trails off at the sudden remembrance that neither of them is with us anymore. Neville says that both are safe, but I miss them more than anything.

"Hazel!" Lavender sticks her tongue out at me with an evil smirk. "No way am I letting those two lunatics give me the kind of hack-job that they did you!" She lowers her gaze, evidently recalling the same thing as me.

I shove her lightly, and then turn before the mirror to examine my now chocolate brown hair closely. Padma Patil taught me the Colovaria charm last month, and I've been using it every few days. I'm amazed that I never bothered to try it out sooner; it's really fantastic. "You're right. Next time I see Ginny or Luna, I'll have to tell them that they are worst hair-dressers in the Wizarding world. I mean, it's growing back... but I'll swear that the right side is three inches longer than the left!" I don't particularly care about my cut, but witches have to express their inner love for fashion every once in a while.

Lavender gives me a slightly insolent smirk and waves her wand over her hair, which immediately straights, the brush sliding through it to fall on the tiled floor. "That's how you get things done." She laughs, and comes to my side. "I have a pair of scissors in my bag. Let me give you a trim- I promise that I'll do a better job than Lovegood." I nod in submission as she pulls the instruments from her "personals" bag, and begins to snip away at my damp locks. "I like this color on you; it goes with your eyes. Hold still, will you?" She shifts to my right, and takes off an extra-long chunk with a swift movement.

I look up at the ceiling, fingering Draco's golden coin as Lavender works. It's pretty great having friends, I figure.

"What's that you got?" Parvati leans over my shoulder to snatch the coin, holding it up to the light. "Pretty! Oh, what's it like being rich with two manor houses?" She asks sarcastically.