Heart of Darkness [#4]

Chapter Ten

Hope you're enjoying it

Chapter Ten:

Hogwarts became really empty this year once everyone left for the holidays. Veronica kept me company though. We found ways to entertains ourselves for a few days. Snowball fights, walks, and simply exploring the castle were our normal ways of entertainment. Today we decided to go ice skating on the black lake, of course it cracked on us and we both fell in. It was absolutely freezing but we were on the edge of the lake. Luckily we were able to drag ourselves onto the land. Apparently you're supposed to check the ice by throwing rocks onto it before just jumping right onto your skates.

Walking through the castle was rather embarrassing, as we were soaked and I felt as though there were icicles hanging off of me. It was below freezing outside and the two of us looked like we went for a nice swim. I couldn't really feel my fingers or toes. "Do I even have to ask?" Snape said in his dry amused tone. I pushed the soaked blonde hair out of my face.

"No sir," I responded with a false smile.

We kept walking, but I'm sure the sight of us freezing to death made his day. When we got back to the common room Draco was there, he gave us both dry looks but didn't say anything. Did people expect us to do things like this? Due to everyone not seeming phased by this, I'm sure they did. Well, at least I hadn't fallen off the moving stairs again. After that, we didn't go anywhere near the ice. Instead we went sledding down the hill which had to be the most fun I've had over Christmas break. Of course when we both went flying over the rocks and landed in the forest, our sledding adventures came to an end. "Why are we cursed with danger?" Nica asked me one day with a laugh.

"I honestly have no answer," I responded.

That night Veronica and I were sitting in the common room by the fire, she had gone to the kitchen and got Hot Chocolate and ice cream for us. "There's something, you need to know," she said to me as we sat there.

"What?" I asked her.

"Um...a few years ago," she began and I listened closely. "When my father told me he was a Death Eater. I sort of..." I listened wondering where she was going with this. "I made a promise that one day well...at the time I wasn't thinking and he made it seem so great...I promised him that I would join too."

"What?" I asked almost spilling my hot chocolate. "Veronica, no! You can't!"

"I know Carlie, I don't want too!" she said back. "It's just that, my whole life he's looked down at me like I was nothing. I wanted to prove to him I was something, so I promised that when I turned seventeen I would join. I'm still sixteen though, so I have until the end of the year." I felt as though I've lost everyone to the Death Eaters, even people who were nothing but nice.

"You can't Nica," I said to her. "You have time to decide...maybe this war will be over by the end of the year. You never know." She nodded and sipped her hot chocolate, but didn't say anything else. I was afraid to think what would happen if she did join the Death Eaters. I know she didn't want to, but then again family could be a strong influence. Look what it did to Silvius.