Silence is Deafening

Chapter 32

Ginny, Neville and Luna had been discovered. They had tried to get the sword, but they had barely cracked into Snape's office before he discovered them. He had screamed at them, threatened them, and finally given them detention with Hagrid for a week.

"With Hagrid? Well, that's not very bad!" I encouraged, noticing Luna's eyes lingering on my cheek.

"Better than what you got. What were you thinking, Lizzie?" Ginny asked, looking at me disapprovingly.

"Yes, Elizabeth, what were you thinking?" A voice came from behind me. I spun, seeing a very angry Bonnie and Astoria staring down at me.

"I-I wasn't." I said quickly. Bonnie narrowed her eyes at me.

"Can we talk to you? You know--in private?" She asked, tapping her foot delicately. I nodded and stood up, following them into a hallway. Bonnie huffed, spinning to face me.

"Lizzie, what the actual fuck? You've been distant this year, you didn't speak to either of us all summer, and suddenly you're bowing up to SNAPE?" Bonnie screeched, causing other students in the area to look over. I shushed her, fiddling with my tie.

"Look, Bon...I'm sorry. Last year really fucked me up-

"I totally get that, Lizzie, but we were there for you! If you're going through something, that's when you talk to your friends. Not get yourself mutilated by Psychos 1 and 2!" she said, casting her eyes around to make sure that the Carrows were not hiding in the shadows.

"I--yeah. I know. Can you just trust me that it was necessary, what I did? It wasn't for nothing?" I asked, looking between her and Astoria. They eyed each other warily.

"Then tell us why, Lizzie. We're your best friends...or we're supposed to be. Talk to us." Astoria said, her soft voice instantly calming me. Bonnie was the fire, but Astoria was the ice. She knew how to calm a situation down easily. Looking around, I grabbed both of their arms in each of my hands. I pulled them into a quiet alcove near us, making sure we were alone.

"We--I am...I'm helping Harry Potter. Or, I want to help him. I want him to defeat You-Know-Who. I am trying...to help him as much as I can from inside the castle." I whispered under my breath. Both Bonnie and Astoria gasped, leaping away from me as if I had just combusted.

"Lizzie, are you suicidal? The Dark Lord would kill you! If you're discovered, he will murder you without blinking!" Bonnie gasped, her hand covering her mouth.

"Bon, I know this. Believe me, I know. I'm---I just have to try, okay? His army...his people killed my parents. Don't you guys know that?" I asked, squeezing their hands. Astoria was studying me carefully, not saying a word.

"Of course we know that. We know who your parents were...and who killed them." Bonnie said, rubbing my shoulder sympathetically.

"Did you also know that my only living family is You-Know-Who's right hand man?" I asked, my voice cold and emotionless.

The tension between us could have been sliced with a knife. Both girls were deathly silent.

"Er...no." Astoria said, swallowing hard.

"Does- does that mean you're..." Bonnie trailed off, her eyes flashing to my left arm.

"What? NO! Are you crazy? I want...him...dead! Why would I be working for him?" I asked, pulling up the sleeve of my left arm to reveal creamy, unmarked skin. I saw Astoria let out a sigh of relief.

"Look. This war- this whole thing is personal. I can't speak for anyone else, but I know what I have to do. I know where my allegiance is, and it's not with You-Know-Who. I will not be an innocent bystander in this war. My parents died for this cause, you guys! I can't...you know I can't. I'm not asking you guys to understand...I just need you to be easy on me." I begged, looking back and forth between them. They were silent.