"Hey guys," Scarlet greeted the boys as she sat down beside Blade in the Great Hall, back at Hogwarts.
After Leila left them for good at the Malfoy Manor, Kylo took off with Declan and Mattheo. Drae got in a fight with his parents which resulted in him staying with Theo and Scarlet until they got back to Hogwarts. Scarlet spent Christmas crying into Theo's chest as Drae silently watched the fireplace in her room. Blade apparently hadn't spoken a word to his mother and Enz decided to stay with some random girl for the rest of the break. Basically, no one was talking with their parents.
"Hey, Scar," Enz quietly greeted her, glancing over at Kylo every few seconds.
Scarlet looked over to see Kylo staring at his plate full of food that hadn't been touched. She hadn't ever seen his cheekbones so defined and the bags under his eyes so dark.
With the way Kylo looked, she guessed he hadn't heard from Leila even though Declan informed them that she returned the car in the dead of night.
"Is she here?" Scarlet quietly asked the group and all of them shook their heads as Declan sighed, putting his head down.
"I don't think Leila is returning to school."
Scarlet looked over her shoulder to see Potter standing behind her with a letter in hand. Blade stood up with Mattheo, both of them staunching Potter. "What do you want?" Mattheo sneered.
Potter put his hands up in defense. "I'm not here to start drama, only to deliver a letter Leila wanted Scarlet to have," he explained, sending her an alarming look.
Kylo shot his head up at the mention of Leila and Scarlet sighed, shoving Blade back down as she stood up. "Thanks, Potter," she mumbled, taking the letter from him as he gave me a nod and walked away.
"Why the fuck would she give him a letter?" Kylo scoffed, glaring at the back of Potter's head.
Scarlet ignored him, sitting back down and opening the letter without a care for the envelope that ripped away. She unfolded the paper and started to read it out loud.
Scarlet,
I honestly don't know what to write. I don't even know where my head is right now but what I do know is that you guys must hate me. I can't even blame any of you, especially Drae and Ky.
I'm sorry for leaving how I did but it's what is right. As long as I'm away from you guys, then only I will be harmed. I don't know what I would do with myself if any of you got hurt.
There's a high chance I won't be returning to Hogwarts, but if I choose to come back, please stay away from me. I hate to ask you all for that, but it's what I wish and what's right.
You may see me around with a few people you don't approve of, and I know you will all be furious but I'm doing what I need to do in order to stay away.
Please, all of you stay safe. I love you guys, this is goodbye.
Leila.
With shaky hands, Scarlet slowly put the letter down with a few tear drops falling onto the paper.
"That's it?" Theo questioned across from his sister. "Surely there's more. Does she say where she is?"
"She doesn't want us around," Enz said, pushing his plate away. "She thinks she's protecting us."
"But she's really not," Declan mumbled. "If you told her what Voldemort said, then she wouldn't leave us," he said to Drae.
Drae stayed quiet but Mattheo snatched the letter from Scarlet, reading it over again. "Who the hell would she be with that we would be furious about..." he trailed off, a look of realization on his face.
Mattheo shot up from his seat, dropping the letter on the table and grabbing his bag. "Where are you going?" Scarlet questioned him.
He didn't turn around as he started to walk away, and they silently watched him. "To find my little sister," was all he said.
Kylo didn't even bother to grab his bag as he got up and followed Mattheo. "You can't stop me from coming."
Mattheo gave him a nod and started to talk to him, but they reached out of earshot and Scarlet didn't look away from them until they disappeared from view.
"I'm surprised you aren't going," Blade said to Declan.
Declan shrugged his shoulders, pushing around the food on his plate. "I've got a few people looking for her already."
"How the fuck?" Enz mumbled, looking at him skeptically.
"You scare me," Drae muttered under his breath.
Scarlet shook her head, wiping away her dried tears as Theo cleared his throat, gaining all of their attention. "I was thinking of going to the Underground tonight. Anyone else in?"
"Seriously?" Scarlet deadpanned, sending him an annoyed look. "You think right now is a good time to go out partying?"
"My life is already going to shit, so spare me sister if I want to get drunk and forget about my dammed future," he retorted back, grabbing his bag.
The rest of them stayed silent as they watched him storm away, shoving other students out of his path of escape.
"We're all dammed," Scarlet sighed, facing back to the boys. "Why does this feel worse than the last time Lei left us?"
"Because this time it is worse," Blade answered her rhetorical question, putting his books into his bag. "This time we're all in some type of arranged marriage with hell. This time none of us has a choice."
"He's right," Drae mumbled, dropping his fork on the table with a loud sigh.
Scarlet looked around at the last of them still seated. She looked around at her family—devastation, and exhaustion covering their faces.
They truly were in an arranged marriage with Voldemort controlling them.
✘☆✗☆
"I still can't believe you convinced us all to come here," Scarlet muttered, getting out of Theo's passenger seat as Mattheo parked his car beside them and Enz got out from the backseat. "I don't even want to get drunk or fight tonight."
"You say that now, but once we get inside, you'll probably have a great time," Enz joked, throwing an arm over her shoulder as Declan and Kylo walked over to them, and the rest of the boys got out of Mattheo's car.
"Leila's here," Mattheo informed them and Scarlet swore a little color returned to Kylo's face at the information.
"How do you know that?" Theo asked, starting to walk toward the twin black doors.
Enz pulled Scarlet along with him behind Theo as Mattheo answered, "Because someone told me she would be here tonight."
Scarlet glanced over at Kylo and Declan, the both of them talking quietly to each other before Declan silently turned around, walking back over to his bike.
Enz noticed, sending Scarlet a confused look that she shrugged her shoulders at as they walked into the Underground, music greeting them. As soon as the other students came into view, Theo darted toward the drinks while Kylo went straight toward the Pits.
"I'll go get the drinks," Scarlet announced to the boys. "Me and Theo will be there soon."
Enz gave her a nod as she walked away from them and over to her brother, dodging conversations and hellos on the way. Theo didn't look at her as she started to fill up three cups full of alcohol.
"If she's really here then you can't talk to her until after Ky has," she warned him, filling up the last cup and putting the bottle down. "They have shit they need to talk about before any of us can talk to her. The last thing we need is for her to run off again."
"I know," he grumbled, tucking the bottle under his arm and then picking up his three cups and facing her. "I don't think she'll want to talk to me anyway."
"She probably doesn't want to talk to any of us," she sighed, picking up her three cups. "We came here so you can get drunk, let's just do that."
He gave her a nod and started walking away. She followed close behind him, making sure to not crash into anyone while also keeping an eye out for Leila who could be anywhere in there.
"Damn, he even has the whole bottle," Blade joked, taking a cup from Theo as the siblings stopped at the end of their usual booth.
Scarlet put down her cups, taking one for herself as she sat down next to Enz and Theo sat down beside Blade, not bothering to laugh or answer him back.
"Where's Ky?" Scarlet asked them and they all shrugged their shoulders with no answer. She sighed, taking a long sip of the burning liquid that settled into her stomach.
Might as well get drunk while I'm here.
✘☆✗☆
"Slow down there," Drae laughed, pulling the bottle away from Scarlet's lips as she swayed at the end of the booth after coming back from the dance floor where she left Enz and Theo to enjoy their time. "Last thing we need is you throwing up on someone."
Scarlet groaned, pouting her lips at him as he took the bottle away from her and handed it to Mattheo who was staring her down. Unwanted butterflies erupted in her stomach, and she didn't even bother to shoot them down. Instead, she let them embrace her.
"I promise I won't throw up," she promised Drae, holding her hand out for the bottle but he only chuckled. "Fine then," she mumbled, dropping her hand and sitting down beside him. "So has anyone—"
"I'm fucking leaving," Kylo angrily said, snatching his jacket off the table and scaring the shit out of Scarlet. None of them had seen him since he told them he couldn't find Leila over an hour ago.
"What's wrong?" Scarlet asked him, standing up and Drae grabbed her arm to steady her as she swayed back.
Kylo shook his head, putting his jacket on. "Leila's here and she's with fucking Silas."
"Bullshit," Mattheo said, standing up with Blade and Drae. Scarlet's drunkenness quickly sobered into worry as she looked over at Mattheo, his jaw tense as he looked at Kylo. "Where is she?"
"Fighting for Silas in the Pits," Kylo answered and then started to walk away as Mattheo and Blade stormed off to the Pits.
Scarlet reached out, grabbing Kylo's arm and stopping him before he could leave. "I'm sure there's an explanation," she quickly said to him as Drae let go of her, rushing into the dance floor to no doubt find Enz and Theo. Kylo turned back around to face her with sadness and anger in his eyes. "She hates Silas. I'm sure she's just doing this to keep us away from her."
"I was going to leave her alone," he argued, pulling his arm out of her grip. "All I wanted was to talk to her one last time before staying away from her like she wanted. I just wanted her to hear me out before she decided to leave us for good."
"She loves you Ky," she confidently said, even though she wasn't confident anymore considering Leila was there with Silas. "I've never heard her say 'I love you' to anyone but you, Drae, and Deezy. She really does love you Ky. She's just confused."
"Yeah, well now she's made me confused and pissed. I don't know what else I'm supposed to do, Scar," he admitted, shaking his head.
"Just wait for her," she softly said as he turned around and started to walk away. "She loves you."
He continued to walk away with his shoulders tense and his head down. Scarlet muttered a sentence of curse words before grabbing her brother's jacket and rushing toward the Pits.
The shouting and chatter got louder as Scarlet entered the Pits. Bodies shoved each other and voices howled, making it harder for her to hear her own damn thoughts as she pushed her way to the front until she could see Blade standing at the edge with Enz, Drae, and her brother.
"Guys!" Scarlet called out to them, and they all turned around just as a dude shoved her. But Blade managed to grab her arm and pull her to his side before she could land on the ground. "Bloody hell..." she trailed off as her jaw dropped at the sight of Mattheo in the Pits and up against none other than Silas. "Oh fuck."
"Leila's here too," Blade informed her, pointing behind Silas and that was when she noticed her best friend leaning against the side of the Pits with a small smirk as she watched Silas throw a punch that landed against Mattheo's ribs.
"Why are they fighting? And why is Leila in the pit?" Scarlet questioned them, grabbing onto Blade as someone behind them bumped into her.
Blade glared at the guy behind them, wrapping his arm around her waist to keep her steady. "Because Silas has a big mouth and Lei is fighting next."
"Who the fuck is she fighting?"
"Some Slytherin girls," Drae answered for Blade and Scarlet looked down to see two blonde-haired girls leaning against the wall below them.
"She's going up against two? But you only do that if you're going for the title," Scarlet mumbled, not believing that Leila would ever try to take the title that she was supposed to take back from Mattheo. "This is insane, even for Lei."
"We know," Enz breathed as Mattheo landed a punch to Silas's jaw. "Where's Ky?"
"He went back to Hogwarts," Declan's voice sounded from behind them, and Scarlet turned around to see him looking down into the Pit.
"This is bullshit," Scarlet said just as Dean called the fight to an end and jumped into the pit.
The whole room went quiet as he stood between Mattheo who looked like he didn't even get hit compared to Silas who had a split eyebrow.
"And the winner," Dean drawled and then grabbed Mattheo's arm, lifting it in the air, "is The Serpent King!"
The whole crowd cheered as Silas started swearing, walking over to Leila who didn't even flinch at his harsh words. Instead, she sent him a murderous look, throwing a towel at his head as she walked past him.
Scarlet pushed away from Blade, dropping into the pit beside the two blondes as Drae and Enz told her to get back up there with them.
"Get the hell out," Scarlet growled at the girls who both didn't dare to protest against her. She waited for them to climb back out before she turned around and came face-to-face with Mattheo. "Good win."
"What are you doing?" he questioned her and behind him, Leila looked at Scarlet with furrowed brows.
Scarlet looked away from her and back to Mattheo. "Trying to get back my best friend and your sister."
"This won't work," he argued, unwrapping his knuckles. "Silas has brainwashed her again."
"So you talked to her?"
"I couldn't because Silas is always with her, but she's changed—"
"Hurry the fuck up!" Leila shouted, smirking at them again as she clenched and unclenched her hands. "I've got a title to win."
Scarlet scoffed, pushing Mattheo out of her way as he sent her a knowing look and she headed straight toward Leila. "If you want that damn title then it's me you verse."
Leila's smirk faltered as she looked around for the two blondes before facing her again. "That's not how it works Little Nott," she crooned, shaking her head. "Either I verse Mattheo for the title or two girls and since he won't verse me, I gotta go against two chicks."
"Tonight the rules are different," Scarlet challenged her. "If you want the title, then fight me but we both know you won't fight me."
"Is that a challenge?" Leila arched a brow. "What part of 'stay away from me' did you not understand?"
"All of it," Scarlet harshly said, stepping closer to her. "Do you even know what you're doing to the rest of us? To Deezy? To Kylo?" Leila flinched at the mention of Kylo, and Scarlet's heart pained for her. "He saw you with Silas tonight, Lei. He saw you two and is heartbroken."
After a long moment, Leila shrugged her shoulders. "I'm meant to marry your brother. Why should I care anymore about Kylo?"
"This isn't you, Leila. This isn't the crazy, unpredictable girl I've been best friends with for years." Scarlet's voice cracked as she looked at her. Really looked at her. At the mask, she had over herself to seem like she didn't care when they both knew that deep down, she still cared about the rest of them, especially Kylo.
"She's gone," Leila seethed, getting in her face. "I killed that girl the second I was ordered to marry your pathetic brother."
Scarlet's eyes widened as she stepped back, blood seeping from Leila's lip and her hand burning in pain, along with her heart.
I just punched my best friend.
"Oh my God," Scarlet rushed out, reaching her hand out toward her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Leila pushed her hand away with a smirk as she licked her lip, a fire lighting to life in her eyes, and that alone scared the shit out of Scarlet. "Now this is the Scarlet Nott I know," she chuckled as Scarlet took a step back. "I wonder how long you've wanted to do that for."
"I wasn't thinking," Scarlet argued, feeling her emotions tumbling over each other as Leila stared at her with no mask on that time.
That time, Leila looked nothing like Scarlet's best friend.
"Just stop whining and fight me, Scarlet," Leila snapped. "You've got them still, at least let me fight you for your title." She glanced behind Scarlet at the boys, and Scarlet turned around to see Drae was now gone and so was Enz. Blade and Mattheo had their eyes locked on the pair and then there was Declan Sabort. Declan looked like he was ready to snap at any moment as he looked at Scarlet with a glare before turning around and walking away. "Well, maybe not Deezy anymore."
"I'm not fighting you," Scarlet mumbled, facing back to her. "Fight the two girls. Fight your brother. I don't care," she snapped, sending her a disappointed look before turning around and walking away. Walking away from the girl she used to call her best friend.
Leila Malfoy-Black was truly gone, and Scarlet had a feeling this was just the start of Leila Riddle.