A Hufflepuff's Loyalty

Chapter 1

Footsteps.

My heart pounded furiously. They were getting closer. I pushed myself deeper into the depths of my wardrobe.

Voices.

I'd heard them outside, talking about how Rosier was gone, how the house would be empty. They didn't know I was there.

Cold sweat stood on my back, the little hairs on my arms on end. They couldn't find me. They couldn't know I was here. If they did, I'd... I'd...

"... stupid? You can never lose focus. You're an auror, for Merlin's sake!"

I pushed myself back so hard the wood creaked, making me squeeze my eyes shut tightly. Aurors... I should never have stayed here after Evan died. But where was I supposed to go? Evan Rosier had been my guardian – the one person in the world who had ever given me a home. An actual home, with food and a bed and everything. And now he was gone, and I had nothing, once again.

"Nobody is in here!" shouted an exasperated voice. "Rosier is dead! Let's just check for dangerous objects and dark magic, and be on our way. Stop making such a fuss about everything."

Uneven footsteps, one much heavier than the other, came into my bedroom, a coarse voice muttering profanities under his breath. I stopped breathing, squeezing my eyes shut as tight as they'd would go.

I should've left the house. I should've found a way to contact the other Death Eaters. If only Evan had taught me that.

The footsteps stopped suddenly, but I knew he was still there. I imagined him glancing around the room, seeing the empty walls with the torn wallpaper, the threadbare single bed in the corner, and... the wardrobe where I was currently hiding. I swallowed hard.

Suddenly, without warning, the door of the wardrobe opened with such force that it slammed against the wall. A pathetic whimper made its way out of my mouth. The Death Eaters would've been disgusted if they'd seen me this way. But I had not yet learned enough to win against a trained auror. My body, frozen in fear, wouldn't even let me try.

A shabby man in a big overcoat stared down at me with one normal eye and one striking blue, rolling around aimlessly in its socket. A large bandage covered his nose on most of his left cheek. His wand was aimed straight at my heart.

"Who are you?" the man spat.

A single tear rolled down my cheek. This was the end.

When I didn't answer, the man reached out a scarred hand and pulled me out of my hiding place. My hand automatically grabbed the wand in my back pocket, but the auror was much quicker. The second my wand came in sight, it was already flying through the air, and he caught it almost gracefully. My legs shook uncontrollably. He's going to kill me. That's what they did to Evan, that's what they'll do to me.

"You're coming with me," said the man. He turned around and shouted towards the door, "Found something. I'm taking it to the Ministry, you think you can stay out of trouble for two minutes?"

"That's easy, 'cause there's no one here!" the other man shouted back. The irony of his response put an awful grin on the auror's mutilated face. "What have you found anyway?"

Without answering, the auror pulled me against his chest and made the world disappear. After a sickening second of disapparition, we found ourselves in a room about as big as my bedroom, except everything was pure, blinding white. The walls were white, the floor and ceiling were white, even the sofa in the corner – the only furniture in sight – was a spotless white.

"Stay here," said the man, before disappearing once more.

I immediately turned to the door – only to find that there wasn't one. Neither of the four walls around me had a door. Nor a window. There was no way in or out except apparition. I had no idea how to apparate, but even if I did, the auror had taken my wand.

My heart heavy with helplessness, I dropped myself onto the sofa, burying my head in my hands. I'd heard all the stories; I knew what was going to happen next. After being taken prisoner by the Ministry, they'd have a trial. An unfair trial, designed to make it seem like justice was done, while actually they had already decided on my fate beforehand. And then, after the trial, they'd list all the things I'd supposedly done wrong, and send me off to Azkaban.

Azkaban, the wizard prison, where the dementors would feed on me for the rest of my life. I was doomed. And all I could do was sit here in this holding cell and wait for my life to end.

Time passed slowly. After a while, I lay down on the sofa and closed my eyes. The stress of the last couple of days, since Evan had passed away, had drained me of everything I had.

When I opened my eyes again, I wasn't sure how much time had passed, or whether I'd slept. But somehow, without me noticing anything, a table and chair had popped up in the room. I jumped in haste when I saw that there was food on it.

Evan hadn't starved me, not by a long shot, but he never gave me more than I really needed either. And since I'd lived on the street before moving in with him, I had never eaten as much as I did now, never in my entire life. There was soup, sandwiches, chips, fish and chicken, fried eggs and sausages. Whatever I felt like eating, it was there. At one point I thought to myself that I could use a drink, and suddenly I noticed a full jug of orange juice at the back of the table.

Being in this cell wasn't so terrible. Too bad they'd take me to Azkaban soon.

When I finished dinner, I went back to the sofa and waited some more, dread and hopelessness taking over every single thought in my head, until finally a man popped into the room. He wore sand-coloured robes and a sunny smile.

"Well, aren't you a lucky one!" said the man, spreading his arms wide.

My eyebrows lifted.

"Since it's a bit busy here at the moment, you know how it is, this cell is currently needed for... other things."

Other things? What does that mean?

"So a quick decision has been made, and guess what?" The man paused for a second, to give me the chance to answer. When I kept quiet, he answered himself. "You're going to Hogwarts!"

My jaw dropped, my eyes widening. No... That can't be true! Not Hogwarts. Even Azkaban is better than that!

"Amazing, right?" the man continued happily, completely misinterpreting the shock on my face. "Give me a few minutes to get everything ready and get your wand back for you, and then we'll be on our way."

No! How could this be happening? As the man disappeared, I grabbed my hair in horror. Of all the places in the world they could've sent me, they sent me to Hogwarts. The stories the Death Eaters had told me about that place... About the people who went there... My kind does not belong there! I knew that much for sure.

And once they realised what I am, they would take me to Azkaban after all.

I'd dodged the jinx, only to be hexed in the back.