A Hufflepuff's Loyalty

Chapter 3

It was my second day at school, and I sat staring at the abundance of food on the breakfast table, with a frown on my face. It was still early; most students were still in bed.

Think, Jena, I said to myself. Apparating isn't an option. How else can I get out of this rotten castle?

A couple of sixth-years came into the Great Hall, laughing richly. I ignored them, blocking out the noise.

I could sneak out at night... But then there's that gate. Maybe if I...

"Good morning," an overly cheerful voice harshly interrupted my train of thought. I looked up to see a girl with the widest smile and two blonde ponytails standing over me. The girl stuck her hand out to me. "We haven't had a chance to talk. My name is Hani. I saw you get sorted into Hufflepuff yesterday. You're enrolling into fourth year, aren't you? You'll be in my class then, I'm in Hufflepuff, too!"

I blinked, my frown only deepening. How on earth had I given this girl the impression that I wanted to talk? She was probably a blood-traitor. Or a muggle-born. Just like the Death Eaters had always told me about.

"And?" I replied coolly.

The Hufflepuff girl wavered, her hand lowering. "Well, I... I just thought... Maybe we could be friends?"

"I don't think so."

The girl's jaw dropped, before she huffed and walked off.

I glared at her back. Ridiculous. I wouldn't want to be found dead with her kind, let alone befriend them. I sighed, wondering miserably what the Death Eaters would be doing. Would they miss me, would they send someone to rescue me from this place? They were training me up to be one of them, after all...

"Savage," said a nasal voice next to me. "You should've been a Slytherin."

Sighing internally for yet another interruption, I turned my head. A boy who I guessed to be a few years older than me, grinned back at me. His brown hair covered most of his face, but a wealth of acne was still visible. The green on his robes gave away the house he belonged to.

I hesitated. The Death Eaters had all been in Slytherin. Could Slytherins be alright? Now that I thought about it, how was I supposed to know who was a blood traitor and who wasn't?

"Yeah. I probably should've," I muttered.

"Mind you, it won't be easy this year," the boy continued, more to himself than anyone else. "What with You-Know-Who's disappearance."

My heart skipped a beat. "His disappearance? What do you mean?"

The boy glared at me. "Come off it, don't tell me you don't know." When I didn't respond, his jaw dropped. "You actually don't know? Everyone's been talking about it!"

"Yes, well, I've been... In a fairly confined space the past couple of days," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well, you've missed the news of a lifetime. You-Know-Who was defeated – by a baby, apparently!"

I scoffed. "Oh, please, you believe that? The most powerful dark wizard in history, defeated by a baby?"

"It's true, though! Look, it's all over the news." The boy slid his Daily Prophet over to me and I was immediately greeted by the headlines, screaming, HARRY POTTER, THE BOY WHO LIVED and HARRY POTTER, 1 YEAR OLD, DEFEATS HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED.

"This can't be real." My eyes widened. "He's actually gone?"

"Apparently so," said the boy sadly. "Slytherin has been associated with You-Know-Who for so long. They used to fear us for that. Now, they're just going to blame everything on us. They'll all take their anger out on us. I'm telling you, you're lucky, having been sorted into Hufflepuff. Slytherin isn't safe this year."

My head buzzed. The Dark Lord was gone. Truly, really gone. Everything we'd worked for... Everything we'd done, it was all for nothing. "The end justifies the means", Evan Rosier used to tell me. But what if there was no end? What about the means then?

"Anyway, I'm off. Gotta go get my books from downstairs. You can keep that paper, if you like."

I hardly even heard him. If the Dark Lord was gone... What about the Death Eaters? Where had my family gone? Surely they'd continue to fight for his cause... Wouldn't they?

Would they?

The boy was long gone, when I snatched the newspaper from the table and flipped through the pages. I needed to know more. I needed to find out –

I froze. My heart seemed to have stopped working entirely. My lungs forgot how to breathe.

A slim face with deep-set eyes and high cheekbones stared up at me. The same neatly trimmed hair, and stubbled chin that I'd seen every day for over five years. Right there in the newspapers.

I struggled to tear my gaze away from my guardian's picture, but I had to read what it said. Tears bubbled up and burned behind my eyes with every word I read. Evan Rosier was dead. He was painted out as some horrible guy, a Death Eater who did nothing but kill people.

He wasn't like that! I wanted to scream. He didn't just kill people, he saved my life!

Next to the article stood another picture – another one I recognised.

ALASTOR MOODY – AUROR OF THE YEAR, the headline read. Alastor Moody, long-term auror for the Ministry of Magic, has surpassed himself. In the past few days, since You-Know-Who's disappearance, auror Moody has arrested or otherwise eliminated over twenty notorious Death Eaters. This list includes, but is not limited to, Roman Petty, Cain Harmon, Evan Rosier...

Evan Rosier. Alastor Moody had murdered my guardian. Alastor Moody, the same man who came to get me out of Evan's house and brought me to the Ministry. Why hadn't I done anything when he took me? Why had I fought against him?

I should've defended Evan's honour. I should've killed him.

But it was too late. It was all too late now.

"Hey, are you okay?" I blinked furiously to get rid of the tears before looking up. Another Hufflepuff. Couldn't they just leave me alone?

"Peachy," I grumbled at the empathetic, raven-haired boy.

Instead of walking away, like I'd hoped, he sat down next to me. "I know how you feel," he said. "I've lost my aunt and uncle. But I believe they died for a good cause. After all, the war is over now!" He laughed heartily. Everything about this kid irked me – from his eyes that stood inches too far apart, to the freckles on his face, to his horrendous laugh. "The war is over, and you and I are still alive. It'll be alright, as long as we remember our loved ones."

I scoffed, but didn't respond.

"I promise you," said the boy, still smiling. "Things will be better from now on. You'll see, the other students will start coming back again. The school will be up and running again. It's a tough time, but we'll get through it together. Like a proper family."

I could almost feel a snap inside my head. "Like a family?" I growled.

To his credit, the boy only hesitated for a split second. "Yeah, like a family. Your housemates are your family here."

Before he'd even stopped talking, I had taken my wand out and stuck it between his ribs. "My family is exactly what's been taken from me. Don't you dare tell me to just replace them." The Hufflepuff boy whimpered quietly, his eyes wide, staring down at the wand in my hand. "Now, listen carefully. I know exactly 36 ways to curse you, and I'm more than happy to use each and every one of them on you. Do not, ever, talk to me again. Do you understand?"

The boy nodded rapidly. I stood up from the table, put my wand away and walked out of the Great Hall, the Daily Prophet clutched between my fingers.

As I left the Hall, I let out a shuddering breath. Evan was dead, and the Dark Lord was gone. Everything I'd ever known had fallen apart. Everything I'd been taught had been destroyed.

Even if I did find a way to escape the castle, it was very unlikely that I had anywhere to go.