American Beauty

Chapter 62: Trouble

"Laila. Where have you been?" asked Harry as I walked carefully down the stairs.

"Away," I answered. I approached Remus warily. He had never raised his voice before and I was scared of the consequences.

"I was extremely worried about you," he said calmly. The calm was almost worse then the yelling. The anticipation ate at me on the inside and I shivered involuntarily.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I just needed some time to think and get through this thing with my mother. I had to get away and leaving now was the only opportunity that I might get. Please refrain from yelling."

"I wasn't going to yell," he said. "There might have been trouble while you were gone whether it be on your end or here. Stick with at least one other person at all times." I nodded.

.________.

The train ride back to Hogwarts was long and bleak. The moor was gray and tasteless. No flowers bloomed on the remote landscape.

Draco sent me a note that was passed from carriage to carriage until it finally reached me. He wanted to let me know what had happened at the death eater meeting over break with my mother.

She had wanted to kidnap me back, force me to join the dark side. I laughed when I heard this. Star Wars was the first thing that popped into my head when I read dark side.

I used the spell that could turn your wand into a light saber and proceeded to practice the Jedi moves. The whoosh of the saber brought back memories of my childhood and plastic sticks that we used as swords.

Where were Logan and my father now? Were they safe? Had they been taken by my mother? Who knew? Not me of course. I collapsed back onto my seat, the brief pleasure of being a child was gone.

I was frustrated by the fact that I could do nothing to stop the inevitable war from happening. The pull of a fight wore away this urge for peace and I left the train renewed in my thinking.

._______.

The Great Hall was buzzing with the news of what had happened at the Burrow, what the death eaters were planning next. The Ravenclaws were making up complex theories and taking bets on who would be right.

I had my own theory that ravaged through my brain. My mom was at the center of it. Of course, her next move and by default their next move was to capture me.

"Oh come on," I heard from down the table. "There's no way you would believe that You Know Who would actually come for Hogwarts. His army isn't big enough."

"I heard his army was ten thousand strong at least," piped up a third year.

"Ten thousand," the first kid scoffed. "Bull."

"Honestly you two," said Luna. "No one knows the numbers of his army and honestly it doesn't matter. The indomitable will to live will allow us to win where he cannot. The love that holds us together. His army is built on a foundation of hate. Pull yourself together. Infighting will not help us at all."

I continued to eat my soup as the table went silent. I smiled. Luna was a motivating speaker. We should get her to do this more often.