✔️ 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓&𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 → 𝑓. 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

24 | M Y S T E R Y

•••
so sharpen your fangs
and wear your toughest skin.
•••

"Stop being that nervous, she's just like a chihuahua", Tracey said, looking at Lynnea, her forehead wrinkled. "Loads of barking, no bite."

"I'm not nervous." And that was a big fat lie. Constantly Lynnea was awaiting the big bang, the stab in the back, the poison in her cereals. Pansy's glares alone could have killed her, and everytime Lynnea caught her staring she was wandering why it didn't.

"Of course", Tracey snorted, rolling her eyes. "Different subject: What is this with you and Draco? I mean ... Is this really worth all the hate?"

"There's no hate", Lynnea laughed, raising an eyebrow.

"Ain't?", Daphne asked, and the three girls took a seat in the great hall. "So how come you and your Gryffindor people don't talk anymore? Thought they are your friends."

"This has nothing to do with Draco and me", Lynnea muttered, putting some baked beans onto her plate.

"But with Weasley?"

"No."

"Want to hang out after dinner?" Draco sat down next to Lynnea. She hadn't seen him coming and flinched.

"I don't think that's a good idea ...", she vaguely replied, refusing to look at him. "See, you should better - er - spend some time with Pansy. Guess she's pretty pissed with me."

"Indeed, but another person also is, and wasn't that exactly what we wanted?", Draco said, a fat smirk on his lips.

"Ahhh, now I see", Tracy chuckled, wriggling her eyebrows.

"No", Lynnea hissed, slamming her fork on the table. "This is not what I want! All I want is peace! I just want this whole chaos to stop, okay? So just - argh, forget it!" She jumped up and stormed out of the great hall, leaving her friends behind with dazzled, slightly shocked looks upon their faces. Stepping out of the castle into the cold February air, she took a deep breath. With fast steps she crossed the grounds, coming to a halt at the black lake's shore. From the ground she picked up a stone, turning it in her hand for a couple of seconds, before she took all her force and threw it into the black lake. The surface rippled from where the stone met it.

For a while she just stood there and watched the tiny waves hit the shore. How on earth could her life became such a mess? It was sheer impossible to think of the ease everything held in between only months ago. Like a far away dream, almost like a different life she had a million years ago.

With a deep sigh she turned around - and was shoved painfully back, struggling less then a second, her arms stretched out for a hold that didn't come, before her body hit the surface and was swallowed by the icy dark water. When her head mad its way back over water, she coughed, spitting a spill of water. Her eyes flung open, meeting Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode standing by the shore, both their arms crossed.

"What the -?"

"Shut up!", Pansy snapped, raising her wand. "I warned you, didn't I? Stay away from Draco!"

Standing up so the water just reached to her hips, Lynnea snapped her wand up. She was shivering, drenched in cold water, and the icy wind did the rest.

"What is your fucking problem, Parkinson?", Lynnea hissed, her teeth clattering.

"Obviously it's you!" Still aiming on Lynnea, Pansy's face wore a manic expression. Her eyes merely slits, thin lips, a frightening grimace. "This is my last warning, Bailey, so better listen close. If you'll ever again - ARGH!"

Dirt and stones were blown up right behind the two girls in a small explosion, Lynnea ducked away from a flying branch just missing her head by inches. What the hell was going on?

•••

"Can't believe she's dating Malfoy", Harry muttered, glaring over at the Slytherin table, where the bleach blonde boy had sat himself down next to Lynnea.

"Well, she'sh a shnake, he'sh a shnake", Ron said, his mouth full of mashed potatoe. He swollowed down, before going on talking. "Should have known right from the start, shouldn't we?"

"Don't be stupid", Hermione snorted. "She's obviously up to making Fred jealous. Or does she look happy at all being with Malfoy?"

Harry again threw a gaze at her, seeing her frown and furrow her eyebrows. The next moment she stormed out of the great hall. For a second he thought about following her, but then Ginny arrived, a stern look on her face.

"We have to talk", she said, placing herself next to Ron. "About Lynnea."

Harry cocked an eyebrow, watching her curious.

"I -", she made a long pause, as if she'd try to sort out the right words. "I did a little - research. See, when we visited Dad at St Mungo ..." Harry listened to her in awe as she told them about the talk she, Fred and George had eavesdroped; that Lynnea might was the one to kill him, Harry. He felt like he should be afraid or shocked, or anything at all, but to his own surprise he wasn't. He couldn't even imagine. As Ginny went on speaking, he shook his head as if he wanted to get rid of a nasty fly. "... so I became suspicious. I mean, Fred's totally in love with her, and I didn't want him to run in some dangerous stuff. So I tried to find out a bit more about her, as we actually don't know a thing."

"And what did you find out?", Hermione asked, her eyebrows high raised.

"I sneaked into the staff room a couple of days ago, and got at her files." She lowered her voice. "The Bailey's aren't her real parents. There was a newspaper article about Michael Bailey adopting a little girl."

"Okay, but that doesn't make her a dangerous person, does it?", Harry said, shrugging.

"Well, after that I searched a bit more intense."

"Why?", Ron asked without taking his eyes from his food. "It's no big deal. Lot of people were adopted that time, it was after the first wizard war, people died, know?"

"She's born at Godric's Hollow", Ginny said, but immediately was interrupted again by her brother.

"No big deal. Harry also was."

"That's the point!", she hissed at her brother fiercely. "She's born at Godric's Hollow! On July thirty-first!"

"Where does that lead to?", Harry slowly retorted, his forehead started puckering.

"Come to a point", Ron smacked.

"Gosh! Have you ever noticed her eyes?"

"Of course not", Ron replied, looking dazzled.

"Harry, isn't it obvious?", Hermione whispered. "Merlin, why didn't we notice all the time?"

"Notice what?" Harry's fingers snapped up to his scar, a thumb pain laying underneath it.

"I think -", Ginny whispered, leaning closer to Harry over the table. "I think she's your sister. Twin sister to be exact."