Silence is Deafening

Chapter 29

The girl looked young, and terrified. It disgusted me.

Before I could process what I was doing, I had whipped out my wand and pointed it at my hair. With a quick mutter of an incantation, suddenly the ends of my hair were falling onto the floor. Now, my hair only hung to my shoulders.

It wasn't enough. It was never enough.

"Crinus Muto." I whispered, and suddenly it began.

The ends of my hair deepened in color, until it was a stark black. It wicked its way up my hair, as if I had slowly dipped my hair into a bowl of black dye. Finally, there was a slight stinging sensation as the color reached my scalp.

My hair was raven black. It glinted blue in the light. It barely touched my shoulders.

The girl in the mirror smiled wickedly, her eyes wide with malice.

I was not the girl from last year. She died, I was born. Draco Malfoy wasn't the only one who was allowed to completely change overnight.

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"I still cannot believe it." Ginny muttered, grabbing a strand of my hair in her fingers. We were walking quickly on the platform of the Hogwarts Express, trying to get a seat as soon as possible.

Ginny had freaked out the next morning when she awoke next to me. She begged me to dye it back, but I refused.

Remus had stared at me as if I was a stranger. He cleared his throat and told me that he liked it, but the lie in his voice was obvious. Everyone had stared at me as if I was a bomb, about to explode. Maybe I was. Who knew?

"It feels better this way, Ginny. Don't look too much into it, alright?" I begged, as we stepped aboard the train. All around me, students were bustling to their seats. Nervous chatter filled the compartments.

"D'you want to find a compartment? I think Neville said-

"You go on, Ginny. I'm going to find Bonnie and Astoria. I haven't seen them all summer." I said, smiling softly. Ginny nodded in understanding and began to push her way toward the back of the train. I moved, too, looking toward each compartment. I hadn't realized I wasn't looking at where I was going until I bumped into someone - hard.

"Move." a cruel voice came, and I looked up into Draco's eyes.

Shock registered on his face. I saw his eyes move from mine to my hair, which I had straightened completely. He looked at the ends, which brushed the tops of my shoulders. He looked down at my clothes. Finally, his eyes came back to mine, and his mouth fell open in shock.

"Elizabeth." He said, simply. My eyes narrowed.

"It's Clarke. Can you move?" I said, trying desperately to keep my voice under control. My hands flexed, once again remembering the feeling of his neck.

"Your hair-

"Yep. It's different. Excuse me." I said, brushing past him. As I was close to dodging him completely, he leaned toward me. I automatically leaned back, pressing my back into a compartment door.

"I hate it." Draco breathed, his voice sounding steel-like and angry.

"Good. That was the point." I bit back.

Draco looked at me in fury, his eyes narrowing. My heart was galloping a hundred miles an hour, waiting for him to say something. Being this close to him was terrifying, as I kept getting hints of the mint that was on his tongue. I willed myself not to breathe, as I knew it would crumble my resolve.