✔️ 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐎 → ℎ. 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦

20 | B U R N I N G

behind my face & above my throat;
waging wars.

   "EMBER! EMMIE, NO, stop!"

   A strong hand wrapped around her wrist, softly but certain pulling her back. His voice was sounding so soothing, she'd listened to it a thousand times, and a thousand times it had brightened all of the shadows. So why didn't it calm her this time.

   The thick fog inside her head didn't want to lift; she wanted to hurt, she needed to hurt!

   "Let me go!", she hissed, trying to pull her wrist out of his grip. "Let me go, I said!"

   "Calm down, Emmie, he isn't worth it", Cedric fiercely whispered, not loosening his fingers around her petite arm even the tiniest, what didn't mean that she stopped fighting against it. "Ember, look at me." But she didn't. Her eyes still fixed on Malfoy, who had stepped back and watched her with a glint of fear in his eyes. She liked the sight of it. He had every reason to fear her. She just needed to get rid of Cedric, then ...

   "Look. At. Me."

   She blinked. His free hand had reached out for her shoulder, shoving Ember around so she was forced to look into his eyes; loving marble grey eyes, even though covered by furrowed eyebrows, incapable of hiding that affectionate glimming in his irises. And for a second, she felt like being kicked out of her own head, needing a moment to focus on her surroundings - and of what had been just happened.

   "Pathetic, you said?", a snarling voice sounded like being spoken through a long tunnel. Her eyes were now wandering to her wrist, still engulfed in Cedric's large hand, her own fist clenched, her fingernails painfully digging into the palm of her hand.

   "Miss Potter!" She didn't have to turn around to see the owner of this icy voice to know who it was. "This is the second time I -"

   "I'll take care of this, Snape", another deep growling voice appeared, and this time Ember's head snapped around, eyes widening by the sight of Professor Moody. Snape did look like he was about to scream bloody murder, but remained silent. "Miss Potter, follow me", Moody said, both of his creepy eyes on Ember, and her shoulders sacked down, heading straight after Moody out of the Great Hall, that had never been so quiet.

·

   "What did he want?"

   "Did he give you detention?"

   "Did he use the Cruciatus Curse?"

   "Oh Hannah, don't be stupid, he wouldn't do that - he didn't, did he?"

   "Of course he didn't", Ember snorted, letting her tired bones fall into an empty armchair in front of the fireplace. The second Susan and Hannah had caught a glimpse of her they were exploding with questions. "I didn't get punished at all."