Silence is Deafening

Chapter 15

"All I'm saying is that someone had to have hexed Katie!" Harry said, his voice loud.

I had just come up behind him, Ron and Ginny. They were all sitting at the table eating lunch, and Ginny shushed him before he could say any more.

"Who hexed who?" I asked, and Harry spun around quickly.

"Oh, hello Lizzie. You haven't heard? It happened a few weeks ago. The day before I gave you that letter from Remus, in Hogsmeade. Katie Bell was hexed." He said, his eyes darting to Ron again.

I knew Katie. She played for the Gryffindor quidditch team, and she was a year older than I was.

"What? No, I didn't hear that. Is she alright?" I asked, quickly taking a seat beside Ron. Harry looked around him quickly, and lowered his voice.

"She's at St. Mungo's now. I've heard it could be months." He said, and my jaw dropped. Months?

"I can't believe that." I whispered.

Ginny shot Harry a disapproving look, but Harry ignored it.

"I think it was Malfoy who did it." He said, and I froze.

Draco? No. I knew that wasn't true. Sure, Draco could be a foul git when he wanted to be. It was no secret that he hated Harry and pretty much anyone who was in Gryffindor house. Enough to curse one of the students? There was no way. He would never.

"Harry...that's a rather bold statement." I said, looking at him in confusion. He just nodded, looking determined.

"I get it, you're not Malfoy's biggest fan. I can guarantee you, he wouldn't have done that. I don't think he has it in him." I said uncomfortably.

"Look, Lizzie. I get it, Malfoy is in your house. You probably don't hate him like you did at the beginning of the school year. But believe me, I've known Malfoy for years. He most definitely is capable of this." Harry said gravely. Ron nodded next to me.

"But why would he? What's he have against Katie?" I asked, feeling a bit of anger toward Harry rising in me.

"I don't think it was Katie he was targeting. I think he was targeting...someone else, and Katie was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Harry answered. I narrowed my eyes slightly at him.

"He has no reason to do that, Harry. None at all. I'd be careful spreading false rumors." I said, the bitterness in my voice surprising even me. All 3 of my friends looked shocked at me, and Ginny even said "Lizzie..." in a sort of weird voice.

"Look, I'm not trying to be rude. All I'm saying is that something happened to Katie, and it's really easy to blame Draco. Just gather all of your facts before you do." I said, standing up quickly and gathering my books. I stomped away from the table and felt their eyes boring into the back of my robes. I headed down to the common room, having a few hours to kill before my next lesson.

When I entered the common room, Blaise was perched on the couch. He looked up as I came in and gave me one of his award winning smiles.

"Hello, love." He murmured as I got closer to him, taking my hands in his and leading me closer to him.

"Hi. You look nice." I commented, looking at his wrinkled shirt and loose tie.

"Trelawney cancelled Divination today. Something about Venus being lined up with Saturn and that we would all die. I'm not surprised, I was supposed to die twice last week. Crazy old bat." Blaise said, and I erupted into a fit of giggles. I let go of Blaise's hands and fell onto a chair by the fire. By now, there was an incredible amount of snow outside, and it seemed to be seeping through the walls.