Invisible String - Sebastian Sallow

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Cruciatus Curse

Perhaps I wouldn't have doubted myself in the Undercroft a few nights ago and actually fucking kissed her. But for yet another countless time, I hadn't managed it. She'd been the one to say friends was best; I had to honor that wish.

She was sat next to me, staring directly ahead at the door to Professor Hecat's office, rigid, her blonde hair tied away from her face, save that stubborn piece I always had to tuck behind her ear. Her silk green tie was loose around her neck, her velvet green Slytherin House robes, a gift from Professor Fig, rumpled and in need of a press. She was too anxious to care, and that was what had me worried. She had been silent at breakfast, only smiling at Poppy, casting nervous glances to me. Ominis had asked me if she was alright after she'd failed to answer his inquiry about the Quidditch team.

"Abbi, it's fine," I whispered to her, leaned over close, relishing the scent of honeysuckle. I placed one hand on the small of her back, and the other gripped hers tightly in her lap. "We'll duck out of Herbology again if you- if we need to."

Just because I couldn't kiss her didn't mean I couldn't touch her. At least, she never stopped me.

She turned her green eyes to me, scanning my face quickly. I raked in a breath as her eyes flashed to my lips and I had to scold myself to behave. She wasn't looking at my lips- she was just looking at me.

"What one to do you think it will be today?"

Before I could answer, my mouth open to give her my guess, we heard the door open. Rather than come from her office though, Professor Hecat entered the classroom from the main door, striding up the isle as quickly as her frail body could move.

"Good morning, class!" Her voice called over the room, loud even though she didn't have to silence anyone. "I trust you've found the time to work on your essays useful."

No one spoke. A cough sounded from halfway up the room - Abbi, Ominis, Poppy and I still opting to sit in the very back of the place- and a paper shifted across the desktop.

"Accio!" Hecat called, and suddenly, the papers on top of our desks and shot right to her, coming to a landing in a neat pile on her own desk. "Now then, we will continue on with our lesson plans for this term."

Leta Black's pale hand shot into the air, "Are we not going to discuss what we learned about Imperio?"

Impatient as ever, and desperate for more knowledge on the curse, her dark eyes were narrowed at the professor. I had to suppress a laugh- all she had to do to know everything about the curses was open a handful of books in the Restricted Section. Abbi and I had plowed through every single book, and I knew all that there was to know about the spell by now. If Leta, member of the Noble House of Black, still had questions, it meant not only did her family not think her worthy of the knowledge, but she had been to lazy to open a book.

Professor Hecat simply nodded, "We will, Miss Black. But for now, we will be moving on. The Cruicatus Curse is what we will be starting today."

I knew it was coming, it wasn't a surprise. What was a surprise was how quickly I was ripped from that class into my own head, watching it all play out over again.

We were in the maze of tunnels for the Scriptorium, Ominis pacing, flat out refusing to use Crucio on me to save us from certain death at the hand of Salazar Slytherin. Abbi was looking at me, asking for guidance- asking something that surprised and intrigued me. She had asked to learn, said she would do it. When she hadn't been able to, I'd been the one who had to inflict that curse on her.

She had refused to let Ominis suffer it again.

Her scream had ripped through the air, Ominis had thrown his hands over his ears, wet tears rolling freely down his cheeks, and the spell crackled over her, her body twitching on the ground, and the door melted away.