Silence is Deafening

Chapter 31

"Please, please don't get yourself hurt." Ginny almost begged, leaning closer to me.

"I'll do my best. C'mon. Let's get some sleep before this morning." I whispered, and we all stood up. Carefully, we all walked to the staircase and paused. I was going down, and they were going up. There was a silent, unspoken word between all of us.

"See you guys at 8." Neville said, awkwardly. We all hummed in agreement, and parted for our common rooms. I entered the common room, feeling quite unable to sleep. I sighed and turned toward the stairs, when a quiet voice rang out from behind me.

"Should be a detention, you know." I jumped as Draco's husky whisper reached my ears.

I didn't say anything as I turned, eyeing him warily. He was sitting on the couch nearest the fire, clad in joggers and a long sleeve tee shirt. I had never seen him in clothes that were not neatly pressed, or school robes. He looked absolutely edible, but I swallowed hard.

"Where were you?" He asked quietly, his eyes never leaving the fire. I cleared my throat.

"Taking a walk. Getting some air." I said, quietly.

"Liar." He said, tearing his eyes from the fire and looking at me. I blinked quickly.

"Why are you awake then?" I demanded, trying desperately to shift the attention off of me. Draco scoffed, sitting upright.

"Waiting for you. I'm Head Boy, it's my job to know where students are." He scoffed. Suddenly, he winced and sucked in a breath between his teeth. I saw his hand float absentmindedly over to his left arm.

"It's hurting, isn't it?" I asked, leaning up against a chair near the door. Draco looked at me suspiciously.

"Your...Mark. It hurts." I said, pointing to his arm. He pulled his hand away from it and clasped his hands together. Finally, he nodded so slightly I thought I imagined it.

"Good. I'm glad." I said, jutting my chin up.

"I bet you are. Go back to bed, Clarke. Before I actually do give you detention." Draco warned, his voice icy. I walked toward the stairs without another word.

Once I was in bed, sleep evaded me. I lay awake for hours, watching as the room became lighter and lighter with the rising sun. I had no idea what I was going to do to cause chaos, but I was afraid. The Carrows were not the people you wanted to purposefully piss off.

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Walking into the Great Hall, I was a mess of nerves. I still hadn't decided what it was that I was going to do, but it had to be big and it had to be grand. I was determined to give Neville, Ginny and Luna as much time as humanly possible to get the sword out of Snape's office undetected.

As I was walking along side the Gryffindor table, I noticed Neville watching me from the corner of his eye. He, Ginny and Luna were strategically placed so that they were no less than 2 meters from the door. I knew it was time. I tripped, dropping one of my textbooks on the ground and cursing.

"You alright?" Blaise asked, looking over his shoulder. I stood up, gathering my books and placing them on a table.

"Fine. Ugh, grits again? This is disgusting!" I said, turning to look at the head table. Snape was there, speaking carefully to Amycus. I took a deep breath, trying to control my pulse, and marched toward the head table.

"What are you doing?" I heard Draco hiss as I passed him, but I made no indication that I heard him. Snape watched me approach the table with a calculated, cold stare.