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xlviii. FORTY-EIGHT
LIE AFTER LIE
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ATLANTA, AFTER STARING, HORRIFIED, FOR A GOOD FEW MINUTES, HAD LEFT THE BODY HER BEST FRIEND UNTOUCHED. And so when she eventually hurried away, she was left to hear the cries of horror and shock as people witnessed the Lestrange girl, sprawled out on the floor, lifeless. It was one her many hopes that Bellatrix would not find her dead daughter before she got the chance to explain.
To see her friend lying dead on the floor somehow hit her hard in the heart, and Atlanta was left to wonder what would happen to herself now. She'd been split from Melora for quite a while, ever since the pair were sent crashing to the ground together, and since she'd heard the other girl crying so loudly about someone that had died. Atlanta still didn't know who it had been, though.
If she were to be honest, finding Melora to end in such a way was making her see the truth in the war. So, Atlanta had never originally wanted to be an actual Death Eater, but she'd still supported them. And now, they were the cause of her best friend's death. Or, at least, she was the cause of it. And for that she felt unbelievably awful.
Her friend's mother was already in the forest when she arrived there, along with several other Death Eaters, and the Dark Lord himself. There were more that appeared after she had done, and a few of them brandished injuries that made Atlanta recoil. And, to no surprise of hers, those who were in too much of a horrible condition were immediately murdered. Atlanta flinched very slightly as she watched the green light dance around her tauntingly.
As Atlanta stood around, she noticed Melora's aunt and uncle appear in the forest. She felt her guilt double in feeling immediately. She knew that Melora had practically been raised by the two of them, and she found it would have been immoral to tell them that her closest friend had been murdered... by her... at a time like this. But then, she reminded herself, it was the middle of a war, and there would never be a point that could be considered good.
Narcissa was looking around worriedly as time passed. Her eyes filled with more fear as she awaited for both news of her son and her niece's safe return. She could not bear to watch the woman suffer, and especially when she knew the truth. Melora would not be returning. She would not stand, or walk, or speak, or smile, or do anything, ever again.
"Have you seen Draco? Or perhaps, Melora?" she asked as Atlanta approached her, her eyes mostly remaining fixed upon Atlanta's face. "I haven't seen them since the beginning of the battle..."
"Melora was killed," Atlanta responded quietly, before glancing over at the girl's mother, who remained gazing longingly at the Dark Lord. "An unintentional murder."
