Better - The Marauders

SEVENTY-TWO

- Chapter Seventy-Two -
"If not for the vow, you wouldn't be breathing."

The morning came with peaceful splendour. Elladora woke to an empty dorm room, the other girls having gone down quite early whilst she tried to avoid the rush of Slytherins that would be filing out of the dungeons at the early hours of the morning. She'd been in the house long enough to know that they were always nearly the first ones in the Great Hall after the return on the holidays, it wasn't an agreement or some sort of thing, it was just a natural occurrence that you pick up when you spend your days in quiet surroundings.

Last night had been filled with boring plans talked about in small hushed whispers that Elladora didn't pay much attention to. She had her mission, act like she normally would and lie to the Death Eaters, easier said than done she presumed but knew that she could get through it. She wasn't kept long when she came back to the Common Room the previous night, instead kept with the group for a little while longer before heading up to bed when Snyde proposed that he was doing the same.

Actually falling asleep was an easy feat too, it had been quiet, peaceful and she did not have to bother with any sneaking around since most of the girls had been downstairs in the Common Room when she went up to bed. The curtains had been pulled safely around the sides once she had gotten changed into her pyjamas, the dark mark on her arm taking her by surprise at first but once the shock settled in, she finished her changing and climbed into bed with a small swear.

The burns from the vow were also still there, they seemed to be light every time she looked at them so she had no idea why they were still there. From the time that she got the vow to now, they should've at least mostly faded. Maybe it was permanent, she didn't mind, it's not like she was going to roll her sleeves up anyway. That was something she had to be careful of, careful not to roll her sleeves up or wear anything that someone could see the marks on her arm through.

If she did that, she'd be done for. The bruises on her hips from Macnair's grip had still yet to fade and that reminded her of another thing she had to do, tell Regulus about the safety she had guaranteed them both. He might be upset with her at first for wasting her firsts on someone she didn't care for but that was easily out ruled by the fact that they were safe and no longer had to prove much of their loyalty.

Every night Elladora thinks about what she could have done differently and the guilt eats her up. But apart from that, falling asleep was no big deal. Neither was the waking up where Elladora was greeted by another silence and when the curtains were opened, no one was there. Breakfast had only started ten minutes before that so she could still make it with extra sleep, even the Slytherin dorm room beds are more comfortable then the one at her house and that is saying something.

Her school uniform felt odd on her, she had not worn it for only two weeks and still it was like she had never stepped foot in it before. She slipped her cloak on last, slipped her shoes on, grabbed her bag and her wand before exiting the room and walking down to the main Common Room with a small bounce in her step, the day was going great so far and she hoped to keep it that way so everything could feel mostly normal except for the nightly meetings she presumed they had to have in the Common Room courtesy of Evan checking in regularly with letters.