If Love is a Game...

Chapter Twenty-Four

What Not to Hear

The night was never fair for her. No, the house was never fair for her either. Of course, her family wasn't fair for her too. And always, her sleep pattern was never fair to her. As she wandered down the dark hallways of the frighteningly Dark mansion, she began to wonder if she was ever going to get a good night of sleep again in her life time.

Lorena had once again awoken in the middle of the night at the Malfoy Manor. This just happened to spark her anger again. It was the last night before she went back to Hogwarts and she couldn't even get a descent's nights sleep--and it was not because she was excited. She wanted to sleep and she had forced herself to be very tranquil.

She didn't even snap at Lucius when he made that snide remark about her falling right back into Remus' arms. Well, she did hex him, but she only flicked her wand subtly and said the "magic" words very quietly; she didn't scream at him. That counted, right?

Still, at this hour of the morning, she was very languid; she could barely open her eyes and move. She didn't even lift her feet up when she walked; she just shuffled them across the cold floor. Besides, it wasn't like she could see with her eyes open anyways. The floor was cold as ice, but with some socks on, it felt like ice in hot weather. It didn't help that the house was usually cold anyway. If home is where the heart is, the hearts in this home must be frigid.

The only reason Lorena was up was because her throat was scratchy and her mouth was dry; she was thirsty for water. She had tried her bathroom, but realized she had no cups. Grudgingly, she had walked out of her room and into the darkness she so detested. She passed Lucius' room; she was close to the kitchen now. All she had to do was to walk down the elegant stairs--without tripping--and pass through the formal living room, then the kitchen at last. She could almost smell the water--whatever water smelled like (Did it even have a smell?).

The house was silent, as usual for this time of the morning. It was a very eerie sort of silence that could frighten people out of their wits--right out of their common sense--but Lorena had gotten so use to it, it didn't affect her anymore; she was almost immune to fear, it sometimes seemed that way, anyway. She'd been scared so much in her past that it seemed she couldn't be scared anymore--she'd been "frightened out". Still, she disliked the silence, even in her sleepy state.

The silence in the house was actually quite disturbing, but as Lorena neared the stairs, she began to hear voices that she shouldn't have been hearing this early in the morning. She didn't know who they were and she couldn't understand them at all. Her mind was warning her that she shouldn't be listening in on the conversation and that she should just turn around and walk away, but she was set on hearing what they had to say. She walked down the stairs silently and then crouched down to sit on them when she got to a point where she could hear and see who was talking clearly. She grabbed the poles of the railing and watched as the people walked out of the shadows. Who she saw woke her up completely.

Her uncle, Mr. Malfoy, was standing beside Marcus, her cousin, talking to Mr. Melanie and Samuel Melanie, Krystyna's father and older brother. She felt her stomach twisting in apprehensiveness. What were they doing here in the middle of the night? She leaned in closer to watch, trying her best not to blink so she wouldn't miss anything.

"...she finally broke; I didn't think we'd have to go this far to get her back in line," Mr. Melanie said wearily, taking his glasses off to wipe them on a white handkerchief in his right hand. "She's as good as any good pureblood girl."

"Perfect," Mr. Malfoy sighed. Lorena rubbed her muzzy eyes. She realized he was talking in a lower voice and she couldn't hear. She traveled down the stairs a little further. "...he will be overjoyed when I tell him the new."

"When should it be held?" Samuel asked, a smirk playing on his face.

"Does it depend on what jobs they're focusing on?" Marcus added calmly, looking at his father. "Lucius is sure on what he wants to do, correct?"

"Of course, he knows right where he's going and he's very proud to be going there," Mr. Malfoy replied gruffly, looking at his oldest son. Marcus glanced at Samuel and nodded his head. "He'll be great once he gets there. I told him that myself."

"What about her?" Marcus questioned. "What is she planning on doing after school?" Samuel and his father looked at each other and sighed unhappily.

"We're not for sure yet," Mr. Melanie admitted lowly, looking slightly angry. "As we're not on speaking terms anymore, I don't know. I haven't spoken to her as my daughter for years now. She won't have anything to do with me unless she is pushed in front of me unwillingly."

"And as I haven't been home for a while and we don't usually get along very well, she hasn't told me either," Samuel added disconcertedly. Mr. Malfoy frowned, but Marcus clasped his hand on his father's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it; it doesn't matter anyways," Marcus told them all serenely. "I think a month after school has ended will be just fine--the sooner the better." The men thought about it for a second or two and then agreed with him, murmuring their words so that Lorena couldn't hear a thing they were saying again. She ventured down more steps, careful to be silent.

"What did you have to do to break her?" Marcus asked eagerly. "She's a strong girl, I could see it in her eyes while we were at dinner; she was not a happy girl."

"The usual: Threaten her friends' and their families' lives--of course not Lorena--but I wished she wouldn't have believed us so quickly," Samuel said with a prolong sigh. Marcus, Mr. Melanie, and Mr. Malfoy laughed so coldly that it sent shivers up Lorena's spine. Her name had been mentioned. Her life alone was not in danger; she felt sick. "So the deed is done; mission accomplished."

"She'll understand when she's older," Mr. Melanie sighed. "It's for the best."

"Lucius will be very delighted to hear the news," Mr. Malfoy noted. Lorena strained her ears to hear a bit more to the conversation; she could tell it was coming to an end. "Krystyna has finally given in and lost her petty battle with her family."

It felt like a bomb had been dropped on her head. Krystyna had...given up? No, of course not, she had been forced to because...lives had been endangered if she didn't. Yes, that was it. A deep resentment rose up in Lorena as she glared at her terrible family. Why couldn't she just run away? She wasn't a Malfoy, after all; she was a Fawcett, but Fawcett's are the same way and she's a Malfoy all the same because her mum used to be one of them. And this thing that was going to happen in the summer was...a wedding she suspected. Krystyna was going to have to dump Sirius and marry Lucius.

Lorena was appalled with the idea of it. She wanted to get right back to her room, lock herself in it, try to forget everything she had just heard, and sleep away. She went to get up, but then, the conversation took another turn.

"Has Lorena cracked yet?" Samuel asked evenly. "I heard her parents are very delighted in her meeting with Brandon Hemmingway--nice boy, he is."

"Oh, no, we haven't gotten to that point in life with her yet," Mr. Malfoy said tiredly, frowning. Lorena sat back down quickly, watching them avidly. "You see, Lorena's a very....enigmatic girl. She's very complicated with her emotions and actions. Her First Year, if you can recall Samuel, was very difficult with her confusion on what was right and wrong."

"Yes, she was very difficult with me, talking back to me on what I told her to do," Marcus said with a nasty grin, as he reminisced those far away years. Lorena clenched her jaw tightly; that had been one the worst years in her life, almost.

"In her Second Year, she had befriended Krystyna completely, but along with Whitfield and the Mudblood," Mr. Malfoy explained slowly, as if telling a story. "She became corrupted, but held a civil tongue with us through the year, trying to give excuses and lies to us on why she was usually with them. And then, after one night in the summer holidays, she seemed to turn a new leaf of hate on us. At school, she became very snappish with Lucius and he didn't know why.

"Fourth Year, she detested him completely and hated him to the core. Fifth Year, her anger soared to new heights and her strange tranquility at times alarmed us. Sixth Year, she got into many duels with Slytherins and Lucius, most of the time; and she hated seeing us. She did her best to never look at us straight. And now, we come to her Seventh Year where she has come so close to have threatening Lucius and, if I heard correctly, dating a boy her family and ours alike strictly do not approve of."

Lorena gnashed her teeth together. They were very lucky she didn't have her wand with her at this very moment; otherwise they would've all likely been hexed until she felt satisfied. Unfortunately for her, she had left it on her night stand. The men in the room readied to leave.

"Well, put her under the same pressure and she'll fall just like Krystyna," Samuel said lightly.

"Hm, somehow I doubt that; if we hurt any of her friends, she'd probably murder us without any second thoughts," Marcus chuckled cheerfully. Lorena didn't see anything funny about the situation. How she longed to have her fingers wrapped around his throat tightly. Then, he could see what pain was like, the stupid prat.

"We'll have to stop by again to make the plans for the reception and all that," Mr. Melanie said gruffly. "Our wives and daughters can do that, of course. And we'll need to create a backup plan, just in case something goes wrong and someone finds out."

"Of course, precautions are always a necessity," Mr. Malfoy replied, nodding his head. They said their good byes and readied themselves to Apparate. Lorena got up to leave when suddenly, the unluckiest thing in the world that could happen to her at this very moment, happened.

The old step she had been standing on broke and she shrieked, falling backwards and landing square on her back on the floor. Even with her eyes closed from the pain, she knew they were all looking at her.

I'm dead! I'm dead! I'm dead! They're all going to tie me up and hide me in a room until Krystyna is married and then they'll let me out, before making sure that I don't say a word to anybody! Lorena thought, terrified. I don't want to die just yet!

"Lorena, what are you doing here?" Mr. Malfoy demanded. She opened her eyes and groaned in pain.

"I was getting a drink because my throat is dry and scratchy," Lorena answered truthfully, trying to take deep breaths, but it hurt badly. She sat up and put her hand to her side, wishing that she had her wand with her so she could heal herself up. The pain in her side was, well, painful.

"Did you hear anything?" Marcus questioned with a hint of anger in his voice. She knew that if they caught her eavesdropping on them in such a conversation as high as this one, she would be punished for eternity. She wasn't about to tell the truth.

"Hear what?" Lorena asked calmly, trying to keep a straight face so they wouldn't know she was in dreadful pain. Falling down the stairs and landing right on your back really hurt. She tried to get to her feet by pulling on the railing, hoping that it wouldn't break too. This house was so old; she'd been expecting that to happen a long time ago, just not now.

"So you heard nothing?" Samuel asked fiercely. She glared at him through her groggy eyes.

"Can you hear?" Lorena snapped at him. "I don't know what you're talking about. Was I supposed to hear something?" She turned to her uncle, looking at him questionably. He looked at Mr. Melanie nervously and then back at her.

"No, we just thought we heard something, that's all," Mr. Malfoy replied calmly.

"Fine; now if you'll excuse me, my dry mouth is killing me and I'm tired as humanly possible," Lorena muttered under her breath. "I'm getting a drink and then going back to bed. Get out of my way."

She pushed Samuel away from the entrance to the kitchen and trudged into it, shutting the door quickly behind herself so they couldn't see her.

As soon as the door shut, she burst into a look of panic. What happens if they didn't believe her and they knew she heard? What were they going to do to her? Better yet, what was going to happen at school? All these questions buzzed around her head and there was no one safe to ask them to. She did the only thing she could do; she got a glass of cold water.

~*~

Krystyna was extremely happy and relieved to hear the sharp whistle of the Hogwarts Express blowing in her ear as they stood on Platform 9 ¾. Andrew had shouted his goodbyes before taking off for the train to catch up with his friends, who he'd seen. Krystyna didn't see any of her friends yet, but she just wanted to escape her family.

She glanced at them and saw her father glaring at her warningly, her mother looking at her wavy, slightly messy hair, Samuel smirking at her and tapping the watch on his wrist with his wand, and Catherine holding her bulging stomach softly, giving her an encouraging look. She smiled at her aunt and walked away from them, pushing her cart for the train.

But before Krystyna could even get on the train, someone wrapped their arms around her waist and lifted her in the air joyfully off of the steps. Even without seeing his face, she knew who it was and a soft, wistful smile crept upon her face.

"Hello, Krystyna," Sirius's voice murmured in her ear. He set her back down on the ground so she could turn around and hug him, as usual. And she never wanted to let go of him, ever.

"Hello, Sirius," Krystyna replied longingly, putting her face in his robes again and finally letting go of him so she could look up into his beaming face. James walked up behind him, pushing his own cart around like a maniac after chasing some Second Years, who were now laughing, despite Lily's protests.

"Sirius terribly missed you, Krystyna; murmuring in his sleep at night, 'I love you, Krystyna. I miss you, Krystyna. I want to see you again, Krystyna.' It nearly drove me nutters," James chirped gleefully, cheerfully watching his best friend blush for the first time, it seemed. Lily giggled while Krystyna went a delightful shade of pink.

"Have you seen Lorena yet?" Lily asked, now scanning the place. She looked at Krystyna, who was looking down at her shoes and frowning. She touched her shoulder. "No, I didn't mean over the break. I know you saw her then--so sorry about that. What I meant was on the platform."

"Oh--er--no, not yet," Krystyna answered, slowly returning back to a normal color. James and Sirius offered to find a compartment and take their stuff away. They agreed, but before they could do so, Lorena appeared through the barrier.

It was strange to see her standing right beside Lucius, but it was normal to see the two arguing ferociously, glaring at each other heatedly. James grinned suddenly. Lucius must've said something cruel--most likely about Remus--because Lorena whipped her wand out and poked him in the chest with it, telling him off. Lucius looked positively scared to death as he stumbled away from his cousin while Mr. Malfoy grabbed Lorena by her wrist and pulled her away from his son. She said something and he scolded her. Grumbling, she grabbed her cart handle and began to push it away; Lucius looked thunderstruck and pushed his cart farther away from her.

"Lorena, hey, over here!" Lily called. Lorena looked up and saw them waiting for her. She smiled again and pushed her cart over to them happily. James and Sirius looked absolutely delighted.

"What was all that about?" James asked her eagerly.

"What was all what about?" Lorena replied bemusedly, softening the front of her robes. James glanced at Sirius and they both grinned. The mischievous boy looked back at her.

"What was all that with Malfoy about?" James repeated curiously. Lorena frowned at him, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "Was it about--"

"No, actually it wasn't about Remus, thank you very much," Lorena replied indignantly. He looked a little put down. "He already knows that if he said anything to do with that to me this morning, his father wouldn't have been able to save him from me."

James and Sirius's grins were identical. Krystyna wished she would've hexed him anyway and Lily was glad she didn't get into trouble.

"What was it then?" Sirius questioned her. Lorena grumbled something under her breath and took something out of her pocket.

"He was teasing me because my parents forced me to get glasses so I could read the board while taking notes," Lorena told them truthfully, putting on a pair of glasses. Sirius and James burst out laughing, but it was safe to say that her glasses looked a lot better than James's. "It's not funny, so shut up! At least my glasses look better than yours, James!"

Sirius looked at James and started laughing even harder. Even Krystyna and Lily started to giggle. James stopped laughing. "Hey, she's right, mate!" Sirius exclaimed through his laughter. James shot him a glare and then took off his glasses to look at them. He put them back on.

"So they're a little out dated; it's not my fault," James replied. And then he joined them in on the laughter as Lorena hid her glasses in her pocket quickly and they went to find an empty compartment. When the laughter subsided, Lorena shot Krystyna a look in her direction, but Krystyna was too busy talking to Lily and James.

~*~

They had found an empty compartment soon enough, one far away from the other side of the train where Lucius and his friends were. Just thinking about him made Lorena's blood boil, and Krystyna think about what she was going to have to do on February Sixteenth.

As they talked, Lorena saw Krystyna laugh and talk like nothing had happened--when she knew perfectly well something did. However, when they met each other's eyes, she immediately snapped her eyes away for some reason. Then, Lorena thought of something; perhaps she reminded her friend of Lucius too much. She sincerely hoped not...

And then, she couldn't stop thinking about what her uncle and brother had said about her. They probably thought she was homicidal, but that meant they couldn't do much without consequences; she supposed that's where her hot blooded temper served her good. Sure, they thought of her as a nutter, but one brilliant and brave nutter at that. Still, they wanted her to marry that stupid, evil, slimy git.

Then Lorena thought about what was going on with the Sirius/Krystyna/Lucius thing, oh the horror. She was actually fearful of what Krystyna might have to do. Undoubtedly, she probably had to break Sirius's heart so he wouldn't put two and two together. But that obviously wouldn't make her father and brother so happy alone; she probably was going to have to push away Lily, Sara, Remus, James, and Peter along with Sirius. Actually, she knew that was going to happen. She could see it in the way Krystyna looked at them individually. What was going to happen...?

"Lorena...Lorena...hello, are you there?" Lily's voice came distantly. Lorena snapped her head to look at her and she felt strangely far away from her.

"Hm--oh--what were saying, Lily?" Lorena asked evenly, as if her spacing out was quite normal. Lily looked as though she thought Lorena was ill.

"You haven't heard a thing we were saying, have you," Lily said rather concernedly. Lorena didn't answer her--didn't nod or shake her head. She felt strange. She felt like she couldn't. She just felt very languid and distant--with everybody. Maybe it was from all the sleep she had lost over the holiday. "We've been talking and you haven't uttered a single word on the trip. We're halfway to Hogwarts right now!"

Lorena seemed slightly perturbed by this. They were halfway to Hogwarts and she had been entirely silent throughout the whole trip. She'd been thinking a lot harder than she'd thought. Even James looked slightly worried, and that was saying something. Or maybe she was seeing things. When did James Potter ever look worried?

"Listen, Lorena; I think Lil's right on this one," James said grimly. "Are you feeling well? You look sick."

"You look like you've saw someone die and then saw their ghost," Sirius noted, getting a closer look at her and raising his eyebrows. She didn't like how they were all staring at her. She wanted out of their sights and for the first time in her life, she wanted to be alone and in the dark.

It had always been a fear of hers, to be alone and to have no one like her. She'd been told, as she grew up, that if she didn't act a certain way, no one would like her and want to be her friend. She hadn't grown up in a very close family, and there was always that void in her heart where she felt she wasn't loved by anybody. She had always liked to be surrounded by people; not the center of attention, but not alone in the world. It was strange that now, that was what she wanted to be: Alone.

Maybe it's those bloody negative thoughts of mine that I keep having, Lorena told herself in her mind as they stared at her and she felt unable to answer them. Or maybe I am sick.

"Lorena, are you going to talk at all?" Lily questioned her concernedly. "You've never been this silent. Not since... Oh, Lorena, did you see Marcus again?"

That name spurred a lot of heated vehemence in her mind and body. And yet, she felt strangely calm and cool. Lily had been referring to her First Year when Marcus had caused a lot of mental and emotional problems for her. Yet, she was right on the spot. She had seen him again. Lorena nodded her head slowly, but felt very serene. Maybe she was still having those after effects from the Tranquility Charm her uncle had placed on her several times over the course of the years.

"Did he do anything to you? Did he hurt you? Did he say anything to you?" Lily bombarded her with many over worrying questions, but that was what Lorena had been expecting. Lily was just being the concerned and caring friend she always had been, and that was why Lorena got along with her so much.

"He didn't do anything to me; he didn't hurt me; he talked to me, but just to irritate me," Lorena replied monotonously, in a voice that was not her own. Krystyna raised her eyebrows, looking at her directly for what seemed like the first time on the trip. James and Sirius glanced at each other and looked right back at her with large eyes. Lily, the most sensible one of them all, put the back of her hand to Lorena's forehead immediately.

"You're burning up! You're ill, Lorena!" Lily exclaimed shrilly, snapping her hand away immediately, as if she had been burnt. "Why didn't you tell us?" James readjusted his glasses quickly.

"I didn't know I was ill. I didn't know I was sick," Lorena replied, sounding amazed. She felt relieved to hear the emotion back in her own voice again. "I didn't feel sick, at all. In fact, I still don't feel sick."

Actually, I don't feel anything right now. Maybe something is wrong with me, Lorena thought quietly in her mind, starting to feel a little anxious.

"Maybe you should go to the nurse at the front of the train..." Sirius said lowly, still watching her closely, as if she might suddenly faint any second now. She scratched the back of her head and sighed. She had decided that she was feeling the side effects of the Tranquility Charm--that she been subjected to so many times--and that was why she hadn't felt sick.

"I think I will go to the Madam Tyson, Sirius," Lorena yawned distantly, standing up. She was also feeling extremely tired. Of course, that was another side effect of the Charm. Lily jumped to her feet.

"I don't think you should go alone," Lily told her firmly. Lorena let go of the handle and turned around to face her calmly. She had a point. Lorena was thinking on the exact same lines. What happens if she did black out while on the way to the nurse; that was a side effect, too, wasn't it? She nodded her head.

"I'll go with her, Lily," Krystyna said, getting to her feet and stretching. "I need to walk around, anyways; my feet are asleep." Lily nodded her head and sat back down in her seat next to James.

"Er, thanks for telling me," Lorena said awkwardly, grinning lopsidedly. "See you...whenever I can."

She walked out of the compartment and heard Krystyna saying good bye for now too. The compartment door was shut and Krystyna jogged to catch up with her.

"Thanks for coming with me, Krystyna," Lorena muttered quietly, her hands dug deep into her pockets and looking down at her feet as they walked. She inclined her head just a little.

"Lorena, I'm a little worried," Krystyna sighed. "What's wrong with you today?"

There was a pregnant pause of silence in which Lorena stared at the floor and Krystyna stared at her friend uneasily.

"I'm so sorry," Lorena blurted out suddenly. Krystyna was slightly taken aback by this statement. What was she sorry about?

"What in the world are you talking about?" Krystyna questioned, looking at her oddly and holding in her laughter. Had the world suddenly gone mad and were things turning upside down? It seemed like that was happening a lot this year.

"I'm so, so sorry," Lorena repeated firmly, not looking at her, but she saw tears welling in her empty gray eyes, threatening to leak out onto her even paler cheeks. Krystyna wasn't quite sure what to make of it all at the moment.

"What are you going on about, Lorena?" Krystyna asked bemusedly. "There's nothing to be sorry about." At this, tears started escalading down Lorena's cheeks and Krystyna felt very helpless as she watched her friend fall apart. She hadn't seen Lorena cry for a very long time.

"I'm terribly sorry about it all," Lorena said again, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes with her black sleeve. "My stupid c-cousins and my evil uncle and narcissist aunt... I'm so s-sorry about them a-all... And your f- family... them too I'm s-sorry about... Those heartless p-prats--and I'm r- related to the lot of them all! I'm sorry... so sorry about this m-mess they're c-causing..."

"Um... Lorena?" Krystyna asked, still confused. She had only heard about how her family was terrible and something about a mess they were causing. "I don't know what you're talking about." Lorena looked up at her with startling penetrating eyes and they immediately stopped walking.

"They warned you not to tell anybody, didn't they?" Lorena said in a barely audible whisper. "They told you that if you told anyone, someone would get hurt, didn't they? They threatened lives, didn't they? And they did it all so you would marry that bloody arse!"

Krystyna nearly jumped back. Lorena, though she shouted many degrading words, was never one to cuss like that. But she immediately knew what Lorena was talking about. Somehow, someway, the girl had found out about the little "chat" between Mr. Melanie, Samuel, and her. She looked at Lorena, utterly horrified. What happens if someone got hurt because Lorena knew?

"Oh my gosh, how did you find out?" Krystyna hissed fearfully, wondering if Samuel was on his way to attack one of Lily, Remus, Sara, or James's family member at this very moment. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins.

"I heard my uncle and Marcus talking to Samuel and your dad last night in the formal living room while I was on my way to get a drink, but the stair broke and I fell and they questioned me, but I said that I was just getting a drink and didn't hear anything and then left them, but I'm not sure if they believed me," Lorena said in one short breath. She gasped for air and began to breathe again. There was silence. "Is it all true, Krystyna?"

Krystyna nodded her head painfully. "Yes, it is," she mumbled. There was silence and then words spilled out of Lorena's mouth again in a hurried rush.

"We have to tell someone! Maybe a professor or--no, we should tell Dumbledore or--or--"

Krystyna grabbed Lorena by the shoulders and squeezed hard, looking her straight in the eyes very hard and forcefully. "No, we're not telling anybody," she told her firmly. Lorena opened her mouth to object, but she added, "They have a spell over me, I think, that if I--or you--tell anyone at all, they'll instantly be alerted and they'll kill everyone they can. I'm not risking anyone's families' lives. I'm not risking my friend's lives to bail me out of this."

Lorena didn't like the idea to stay silent. She was dying to tell someone and she could tell Krystyna wanted to do the exact same thing. She was itching to go right to Dumbledore and spill out everything, but she couldn't do that now. However, Lorena nodded her head, for Krystyna's sake.

"I have until February Sixteenth, so I'm enjoying it while I still can," Krystyna muttered quietly. "Please don't remind me, okay?"

"It's kind of hard, since I look like Malfoy and all..." Lorena murmured vaguely. "I'm just a sad reminder of your sorrow. Maybe I should stay away from you until this all starts to happen. I'll only make you miserable anyway..."

"Don't you ever say that again, Lorena," Krystyna ordered her. Lorena rubbed her eyes again. "I never want to hear you say that again. You don't remind me of Malfoy at all. You're not a sad reminder of my sorrow and you'll never make me miserable. Do you hear me? Never again will you say that, alright?"

Lorena nodded her head jaggedly and looked down at her feet. Before the summer ended, she and Krystyna would be cousins, practically. She glowered at the idea of it. "Sorry..." she muttered.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Krystyna sighed, regaining her composure. "We're going to have the best time of our lives before this happens. And we'll all be happy so I can remember, right?" Lorena nodded her head again.

"C'mon, you look even worse than before," Krystyna noted gently, pushing Lorena for the nurse. "Lily might start to get over worried again and drive James and Sirius bonkers." Lorena nodded her head again as they began to walk once again. She was feeling even more distant than before. Yes, she'd been under the Tranquility Charm one hundred too many times. Krystyna felt extremely bad again. She didn't want to do this, but she knew she had to. They walked the rest of the way in silence.