How To Annoy A Gryffindor ; harry potter

Step 39: Go Exploring

Something's wrong. I need your help, Em. You need to answer my owls. It's important.

- Cullen

Rowle,

I heard everything at the Astronomy Tower. Just thought you should know. I'm sorry I ever even spoke to you.

Potter.

Austin Rowle threw the scrunched up pieces of parchment into the fire after reading the two of them over and over.

"What was that?" Ember asked, walking into the room slowly.

Austin turned to face her, "Nothing, love. Just a scrap piece of paper."

Love. A painful reminder of that evening with Harry Potter. A painful reminder of what had happened at Hogwarts. Albus Dumbledore was dead by the hands of Ember's godfather, Severus Snape. And of course, the reminder that it was all her fault. If she hadn't accepted the stupid tattoo she'd be dead, and they'd still have a chance of winning the war. But... did she even want that? She had everything. Her father back, an amazing group of friends — Friends. Georgia. Where was she now? What was she doing?

"Have we got any owls?" said Ember. "I need to know that Cullen's okay."

"Why would he not be okay?"

Ember shook her head, "I don't know," she lied.

A lie. Another one. Ember was terrified of what was going on with Blaise and Georgia and so she had asked Cullen to do something about it. Did she know if he had? Absolutely no idea. If Cullen wasn't sending her owls then something had to be wrong, he used to send at least two a day to make sure she was alright with the muggles. Now she knew something was wrong.

"My mark is burning," Ember said, looking up at her father. "Is the Dark Lord at the Manor tonight?"

Austin shrugged, "It's likely. He's been off... doing some things..."

Ember nodded, not wanting to push her father. She knew that when he was angry it wasn't good for anyone.

"You should go to bed, love," he said quietly.

Ember huffed, "I'm not a child, you can't tell me when to go to bed. I'm of age now,"

"That's what they all say," said Austin, looking at Ember with a bored expression. "If I said to go to bed, that's exactly what you're going to do. Someone is coming over tonight and I don't want you to be there."

With that information, Ember didn't want to be there. If someone was over, Ember wanted to be completely out of the house and not just in a room upstairs where she could hear almost everything. The last visitor they had at the Rowle Manor was now decomposing in the backyard.

She hurried up the staircase and to her bedroom, shutting the door with a deafening bang. Lying on her bed, she whipped out her wand and cast a bunch of spells around the room.

"Aguamenti," she said lazily, casting the water charm into her face and then the heating charm to dry it.

"Where are they?" Austin Rowle's voice flooded her ears and Ember sat up straight, looking at her closed bedroom door in curiosity.

Standing up, she pressed her ear tightly to the door and tried to listen in to what the two people downstairs were talking about.

"I- I don't know. She wouldn't tell me." it was a girl's voice.

That made Ember even more curious... Who the hell was her father talking to? He's never had a woman at the house apart from Narcissa Malfoy, and Ember would be able to recognise her voice. No. This was someone much younger and Ember couldn't help but recognise the voice. The name of the person was right on her tongue, but she just couldn't think properly.