Thick Smoke

Believe

It was a beautiful night in London. The moon was hiding between the clouds but a few sparkles of light had enough power to illuminate the ground. It was a perfect night for a ride on the broom, concealed from the muggle eyes.

In the air, Eliza had more time to think. She could still remember the ride back to London in the Hogwarts Express.

"What?!" Eliza just entered to see how was the trio when Hermione told her to sit and listen. "What do you mean Voldemort is back?"

Harry scratched the back of his head and leaned back, "I saw him, Liz. He looks terrible but he's growing stronger. The cup was a portkey and once we touched it, we found ourselves in a graveyard. He was there."

Eliza was speechless until she realized something, "Now that you mention it, where is Cedric? I've been out for a while and we had to leave before I got the chance to see him."

The trio looked at each other before Hermione turned to her with a sorrowful expression.

"He's dead. Voldemort killed him."

Eliza blinked twice before she closed her eyes, tears forming in the corners. Voldemort killed Cedric so easily, it was sickening.

For the rest of the ride home, Eliza stood in her corner and looked out the window. She couldn't believe Cedric Diggory was dead; not him. He helped her when they were in the library in Eliza's first year at Hogwarts and he actually continued to show interest in a possible friendship. Unfortunately no owl will come with a Happy Birthday in June, not from Cedric.

Now, it's been a month already and she couldn't help but feel bad. Her birthday passed, June 10th, and no matter how lively it was or how Remus decided to actually let Eliza go and have a one day fun with her friends, it was still sad.

"He died for nothing." Eliza mumbled, wipping her tears with her sleeve.

Eliza's days with Sirius passed incredibly fast and everything she could think of was how to improve her offensive techniques. Sirius did find out what happened to her but she didn't tell him about the last dream she had.

She took a sudden turn at the next intersection, flying past the Buckingham Palace before returning home. The wind picked up right when she landed and swayed her hair lightly; it grew a lot.

Sirius opened the front door right when she stepped in front of it, startling her when he suddenly pulled her inside. He wrapped an arm loosely around her shoulders and led her towards the kitchen.

"How long do you think this is going to last?" She asked when they entered the kitchen, each taking a seat at the table.

"I plan to stay here for a while. No one cand find me here. No one would even look for me here, actually."

"What about Voldemort?" She asked, looking straight into his eyes.

Sirius' loose smile dropped instantly, "It can take a day or it can take a number of years until he shows his face." He started, playing with his fingers nervously.

"Do you believe him?" Eliza already knew the answer but she wanted to hear it from him.

"I don't know. But if it's true, we have to be ready." He was really blunt with her yet when Remus asked, he was running around the bush. "Do you believe him?" He turned it to her.

Eliza's eyes hardened and rose to her father, "Yes. It's been so well planned out by someone with a lot of time in their hands. Who if not Voldemort? Besides, things happened..."

"What kind of things?" Sirius asked leaning over the table towards her.

He was curious from a number of reasons but the thought that she met a Death Eater as dangerous and spontaneous as Barty Crouch Jr was scary.