The Mark of a Death Eater : Sequel

Chapter Twenty Three

I wish I weren't such a lost cause.

I shoved everything I was feeling down my throat. Be brave, Emma.

I pushed the door open and prepared myself for what I was about to see.

And my spirits fell.

The girl in front of me didn't have golden hair. I felt another piece of my heart crack. Why did I think it was Daphne that would be here? A pure blooded Slytherin, in a house hidden from the war. My expectations would be the death of me.

"Arianne?"

The dark-haired Ravenclaw was standing in front of Zayn, eyes wide with some emotion I didn't want to analyze. Zayn's hands were clenched protectively on her shoulders, which caused a tinge of discomfort in me. Then I remembered I had no right to be uncomfortable, none at all.

These are the thoughts that went though my head:

Her head is lowered, her body is turned almost away from me and she's hugging her arms.

His hands are tight on her shoulders. She's obviously very comfortable with Zayn because he wouldn't touch her if she wasn't. His jaw is clenched. That's his protective stance. 

Arianne is scared. And Zayn is protecting her. There's no one else in the room. He's protecting her from me.

I would have felt hurt by the realization if I hadn't completely deserved it.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Emma," she breathed. Tears that were locked in her blue eyes escaped and ran down her face.

"I have to talk to you."

"After you left Hogwarts, after Professor Dumbledore's funeral, things were... different."

Arianne, Zayn and I sat on wicker furniture, facing each other. Sunlight poured through glass walls, making the room seem infinitely wide and free.

"I didn't want to believe that you killed him. I didn't believe it. But everyone kept saying that you were there." Arianne's voice was getting frantic, as if she needed me to understand. She was pleading. "Then you and Draco Malfoy disappeared with Professor Snape, and Harry Potter was saying that he'd killed Dumbledore, and that you and Malfoy let the death eaters in-"

"It's okay," Zayn covered Arianne's trembling hands in his own. She took a breath, closed her eyes briefly and opened them. When she spoke again, her face was determined and her voice steady.

"A few weeks after that, Death Eaters came by the house. Avery, that was one of them. The other had white hair. They took my father away from me and tortured him until he was unconscious."

Caspar. My hands clenched. And he'd taken me to their home to gloat on his achievements. "What did they want from him?" I asked.

"Not from him. From me." Arianne glanced uneasily at Zayn. "They wanted information about the Osman's, where they lived and how they looked. Their people at the ministry couldn't locate this house. The Carrows at Hogwarts learned that Zayn and I were friends and they knew that I wasn't at school, so they came looking for me."

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop me from sounding angry. "So you told Caspar where to find them?"

"No!" she exclaimed, looking affronted. "But I realized why they wanted him; it was in order to hurt you. So I bought some time for us. I told them that Zayn and his family had left the country and offered to make them a necklace like the one that Zayn wore. I told them that if they gave it to you, you'd think that he was... dead." Her voice dropped.