The Thorns of Hogwarts | Cedric Diggory [2]

Chapter Twenty-One: It's Cold

 "There's no way I'm doing that."

Oriane's lips pressed tightly together at the rejection, but really, she wasn't sure what else she had expected. It was like Charlotte knew what question she was going to ask before the thought had even formed in Oriane's mind. Really, she had thought her idea wasn't all that bad, and maybe it was even a little clever. But standing there in front of Charlotte, talking in the crowded hallway as they pretended nothing was off, had her mind reeling.

She didn't seem angry, or at least Oriane had hoped she wasn't. There were many times when she had witnessed the wrath of Charlotte when other people had pushed the wrong buttons, and it was something she never wanted to be on the wrong side of. However, that stern stare and stoic look in her eyes wasn't all that comforting either.

"Look, I know it's crazy, but I don't know how else to get his attention," Oriane pleaded. "You're the only person I can think of who would be able to help pull this off."

A part of her had been hoping for a change in her expression, even if it was just the slightest, but she got no relief. Charlotte's intense eyes continued to stare right through her, almost as if she was trying to break her with her gaze alone. If she kept it up any longer, Oriane knew she would probably shatter into a million pieces in no time.

Thankfully, Charlotte's amber eyes broke away from her with a sigh as she glanced around at the students shuffling around them. Lunch had just gotten out, and most of the children were meandering around, lazily making their way to class as they trudged their feet. In the far edge of the hallway, she caught sight of two fifth years awkwardly asking one another to the Yule Ball.

"You might be right about that but..." Charlotte sighed once more as she tried to sort the thoughts in her mind. Her arms crossed firmly around her chest, eyes landing back on Oriane. "Are you sure that's really what you want to do? I mean... you might end up making him more angry than anything else. If you do this, you might lose any chance of him telling you at all."

This was something Oriane had already taken into account. Karkaroff was a... difficult man. He had already made it clear he was going to be less than helpful in her endeavors. Unfortunately for her, he was the only lead she had on tracking down her family's killer.

"Well, he's not being all that helpful to me now, either," Oriane retorted, mostly in a mutter.

"I'm being serious right now," Charlotte continued, her voice suddenly stern. "If you really want to do this, I'll help you. The thought of you doing something this stupid by yourself terrifies me. But I want you to be certain. You can't... take something like this back."

Even though she was the one who came up with the plan in the first place, the consequences of what could happen was the last thing Oriane wanted to think about. Hurting people was something she never wanted to do, and though the person she would be hurting was debatably a terrible human being, her stomach still churned at the thought.

"Wouldn't you do the same?" Oriane asked softly. "If you were in my situation, knowing this man was holding back information that could help... wouldn't you take that risk, too?"

Despite the students flowing around them, the silence that stretched between the two of them was so thick it was nearly suffocating. Terrible, palpable silence that made her ears ring. Something changed behind Charlotte's eyes. It was as if a large crack had formed in the strong persona she held. Oraine wasn't sure if she had caused that to happen, or something else, but for some reason it scared her.

The girl turned away, light hair falling in front of her face as she instead turned her attention back to the sea of students around them. Oriane could feel the pressure building in her chest from how long she had been holding her breath.