Emerald Slippers- [Ginny Weasley]

Eight

It took a very minimal amount of time for the word of the cabinet being repaired to travel back to the Death Eater headquarters. The vanishing cabinet now functioning meant that they could go ahead with planning the second part of the mission. This was the part that Naomi was kept in the dark about. And it would appear that this was not to change. She was not to be informed as to what they were going to use the vanishing cabinet for other than sneaking people into Hogwarts who should not be there. She wasn't sure as to exactly why they had picked Hogwarts to infiltrate, but Naomi had more than her suspicions. After all how could she not? She had heard Draco mumbling to himself for weeks now, months even as they worked together about part of the plan she was not allowed to know. Naomi was convinced the boy wasn't even aware he was mumbling so intensely about it, but his mumbling had helped her piece together what else was to occur.

Naomi didn't need to be told that the reason the Death Eaters were coming to Hogwarts was for the headmaster. After all, Albus Dumbledore was world renowned for his skills in combat and he had a history that would make any villain go crying to their most likely dead mother. However, this meant that by bringing the Death Eaters here to where the headmaster would be, that the so called idea of the school being a safe space for its students would be broken. It could no longer be a safe space if the Death Eaters could get in and kill the leader of the light completely without being found.

Knowing this, without having to be told, caused Naomi to have a negative outlook at life. It wasn't like she was all sunshine and daises previously, however, she became even more withdrawn then beforehand. She had continued to cut down the people she socialised with. Sure she hadn't really had many friends for the previous year who hadn't been approved by the Death Eater regime, but she had little heart in her to be mean to everyone she came across. She had always been polite to those she was seated next to in class. But she had stopped engaging with them. It was almost as if she couldn't really look anyone in the eye anymore. She knew what she was going to do to the place many of her peers called home. The place where so many of them finally felt accepted. 

There was this one Hufflepuff in her Herbology class who sat on the connecting desk to her own. The girls name was Hope McLeary a sweet muggle born girl. And every time Naomi looked at her, took a moment to truly take her in she felt the true intent of her actions. She felt so stupid sitting next to the Hufflepuff talking to her as if she didn't bare the mark stating she wanted anyone not born to wizarding blood dead in the first place. But knowing that she was allowing the maniacs she was supposed to call team mates into the school where they were most likely going to kill the girl just because her parents were muggles. It was more than enough to keep her up at night. 

She would have terrible nightmares for the following nights after the completion. Her guilty conscious playing heavily on her mind. The dead bodies of students plaguing her mind the second she was no longer distracted by the tasks of every day living. This has caused her to have very agitated roommates. Considering the silencing charm they had placed over her bed was enough to stop the nightmares from bothering them when she had them. But they weren't enough to stop Naomi from getting up in the middle of the night to go and clear her head. But irregardless of how hard she tried Naomi was always making enough noise to wake one of her roommates. Astoria understood and tried to stand up for her, but it wasn't enough to stop the anger felt by the other two girls they roomed with. And therefore, Naomi had resulted to sleeping in the common room for a little while, just until she had these nightmares under control. 

She had taken to start walking the corridors at night, being cautious enough to avoid the prefects on their patrols. By walking around the castle grounds before trying to get an hour sleep on the sofa, it allowed Naomi to put off these nightmares for as long as she physically could. Yet on her wanders around the castle, she always found herself returning to stand beside and stare at the same cabinet. Staring at the dark green and navy swirls that littered its visible panels. It was nothing short of a bad omen, and standing beside it Naomi was sure she was absorbing its bad mojo. But she couldn't stop herself from turning up there every night she went on the walk. She supposed partly it could be some sick pride she felt at having managed to get the cabinet to work. But perhaps, and she hoped more than anything, it was because she felt such immense guilt at having fixed the cabinet. 

It was just hours later that she returned to the cabinet once again. Only this time, it wasn't in the wee hours of the morning and she was not alone. It was finally time for the Death Eater's plans to be put into motion. They were activating the vanishing cabinet and allowing Death Eaters to enter the school. She stood shoulder to shoulder with the blonde Slytherin their hands clasped together as they waited anxiously to see the plan work. The strange swirling sound the pair had only heard working once beforehand started up again. They were on the way. 

"It's going to be okay Ni, we're both going to be fine." The intent of Dracos' words was supposed to provide Naomi with comfort. To ease some of her anxiety however, all they did was increase the anxiety she felt as she latched onto the fear he projected. Neither of them wanted this, but they didn't want to know what would happen if it didn't work.

"And if not, I'll see you on the other side." Naomi's words also portrayed just how scared she was in that moment. Either they lead to the death of their headmaster or themselves. Someone was dying tonight she just wasn't 100% sure who it was going to be. 

The cabinet door flew open with the most violent swing Naomi had ever seen the door perform. She didn't need to see the first figure to exit for she heard a familiar cackle within seconds of the door opening. Naomi soon laid her eyes on the definitive figure of Bellatrix Lestrange with her unruly black curls and piercing blue eyes. The woman who could make the strongest person cry. Those exact blue eyes bored into Naomi as the woman sent her a sneer. Bellatrix then stumbled out of the cabinet as the sound fired up again. 

A total of seven Death Eaters entered the castle through the cabinet. If Naomi had felt sick with guilt prior to this point she now felt overwhelmed with the intensity of the guilt she was currently experiencing. The nauseous feeling she got from her actions were enough to smother her, and Naomi was certain if she could slip away from the adults surrounding her that she would lose the contents of her stomach. But she knew that this urge could not be acted upon, and neither could the one she had to run in the opposite direction and shout for help. Until she was dismissed, she would have to follow the other Death Eaters around.