The Slytherin and the Hufflepuff

Chapter 15: the letter

Emma walked back through the beaten castle. Bodies were scattered everywhere. She paused and turned to see...

"No. No this can't be", Emma said as she approached a body on the ground.

"No! Cassie no! Please", Emma bent down beside her best friend. "You're all I have left, please no" Emma sobbed beside Cassie before she was eventually torn away. She watched as they carried Cassies lifeless body away.

Emma sat in her room at Hogwarts. She had used the Obliviate charm on her parents before helping Harry and his friends so she couldn't return home. And now she had no friend. Cassie was gone and Draco left her.

The entrance to the Hufflepuff common room had been destroyed but the rooms themselves were mostly intact.

Staff were allowing the homeless students to stay in the castle if they wanted to. Emma had nowhere else to go so the stayed.

She looked over once more at Cassies empty bed before going to sleep.

Weeks had passed. Emma spent her time practicing spells and playing around with her broom. Until one day, while she was lying in bed, she heard something outside her door. Emma stood up and opened it, only to find an owl sitting outside her door. The owl was carrying a letter in its mouth. Confused, Emma picked up the letter and read it.

Emma,

I know you probably have no desire to see me again, but I want to see you. I have no idea where you are but I have faith that my owl will find you. If you want, meet me at Malfoy Manor. My owl will show you a way to sneak into my room. I just want to talk.

Sincerely,
Draco Malfoy

Emma starred at the letter for a minute.

"Do I go?" Emma asked the room, hoping for someone else to answer her.

"On the one hand, Draco betrayed me. On the other hand, he's a nice guy who probably had good reason for leaving me behind. I should hear him out" she shrugged. "And I have nothing better to do".

Emma wrote back a simple:

Fine. When?

She gave it to the owl and sent it on its way. Emma waited anxiously for a reply, slowly regretting her decision as the hours passed.

The owl soon returned with another letter. It read:

As soon as you can.

Emma thought about how she was going to get there. "I have been practicing Apparate lately, so I could try that".

Emma practiced for another hour or so until she felt that she had the hang of it. She Apparated from her room, the the common room, then to the Great Hall, and then back to her room. Emma luckily knew what Malfoy Manor looked like, seeing as she had been tortured there. 

Emma concentrated on the outside, took and deep breath, and apparated.