NUMB | D. MALFOY {EDITING}

xvii. bellatrix lestrange

          Meanwhile, Harry and Anastasia ran through the maze as they followed Bellatrix's voice.

          "I killed Sirius Black!" She sang, jumping and dancing as she did so. "I killed William Rosier!" This time, Anastasia quickened up to catch the evil woman.

          "You come to get me?" The woman yelled at the pair, an evil smile in her ugly features. "Try to get me! Come to get me!" She teased, causing the anger of the pair to increase.

           Both Harry and Anastasia stopped abruptly when they heard Ginny's quiet voice close to them. They shared a few glances before meeting the girl being in front of a Death-Eater.

          "Stupefy!" Harry exclaimed, stepping in front of the ginger in a protective manner. Anastasia stood next to him with her wand raised and short breaths.

          They followed the sound of their laughs with raised wands and with their eyes carefully watching where and who was attacking them. Anastasia felt her heart pounding as she heard William's voice inside her head, urging her to attack the evil woman who was the reason of his death.

          "Harry!" The voice of Remus didn't stop them from being alert of any movement the woman could make. "Anastasia!" He yelled again.

          Soon, spells were thrown everywhere as the trio tried to protect themselves from the Death Eaters that tried to attack them. It was obvious neither of them needed help, but when Remus and Tonks appeared, everything seemed to get calmer.

          Anastasia froze when her eyes locked with a pair of black ones, the ones that have been haunting her since the beginning. She stepped forward with an angered expression and her wand pointing at the woman hidden.

          "You filthy blood traitor." Bellatrix simply said and vanished from their view.

          The girl's eyes followed them as they destroyed the house and set fire on everything they could to make more damage. Anastasia ran to meet the family but her heart sank at the house being almost completely destroyed by the evil people.

          Anastasia saw the house that it could be her home, being destroyed by the people she hated the most.

▲ △ ▲

          The teenagers departed to Hogwarts the next day. The four of them were awfully quiet as they boarded the train with sad eyes and pounding hearts. As soon as Hermione came to sight, Anastasia was embraced in a tight hug, followed by Harry, Ginny and finally Ron. The four looked at Ginny slowly walk away from them to meet Luna in the other side of the train.

          "I'm so sorry." The girl whispered, walking inside a compartment with the other two. "How's your mom, Ron?" Her hazel eyes turned to see the ginger boy in the other side of the compartment.

          "She's fine. A bit sad, but fine." He quietly mumbled.

          Anastasia rested her head in Harry's shoulder and closed her eyes with a pained expression. She knew Bellatrix would tell Voldemort that she switched sides and now he didn't have that 'secret weapon' he was so proud of, and that scared her. The thought of putting everything in danger lingered inside her stomach as her eyes locked with a pair of familiar grey ones.

          Draco walked past the compartment and glanced at the girl with an angered expression. He didn't stop, but he knew the look he sent her was enough to let her know that everything he did to keep her safe, was forgotten because of her reckless actions the previous night.

          The whole trip back to Hogwarts consisted in them explaining the situation to Hermione, who at first was angry at the brunette but soon understood and embraced her in quick but meaningful hugs. The Golden Trio and Anastasia had created a bond that day, a powerful bond that not even her love for certain blonde boy could break.

          The quartet changed into their robes and walked to the carriages in silence. They shared one and chatted about everything in their way back to the school. As soon as they entered, they agreed to meet in the Great Hall before going on different ways. The trio walked to the Gryffindor common room while Anastasia quietly made her way to the Slytherin dungeons.

          "Pureblood." She whispered the password and walked inside as soon as the door opened wide for her. She noticed the common room getting packed and diverted her gaze from her housemates to her dormitory.

          In silence, she walked all the way from the entrance to the girls' dormitories but got stopped by a hand wrapped around her forearm. Her eyes met with a pair of grey ones and her breath hitched at the touch of his fingertips in her skin.

          "What do you need, Draco?" She whispered, looking away.

          The blonde boy opened his mouth to speak but the words seemed to be lost because nothing came out. Anastasia finally looked directly at his lost eyes and noted that he seemed paler than he usually was, from where she was standing, she could hear his heart pounding faster and louder.

          Instead of speaking his feelings and revealing her how much he missed her, he cupped her face in his large hands and crashed his lips in her plump ones. This action caught her out of guard but she enjoyed it, after days of not cherishing the feeling of fire in her body when their lips touched.

          Anastasia broke apart with teary eyes and looked at their interlaced fingers. She felt like the color has been drained from her face as the realization hit her and backed away quickly, ignoring the pained expression in the boy's face.

          "I—We can't." She simply said and walked out of the dungeons with the anger of having to choose sides.

          And she didn't know where she belonged.