Queen of Disaster | 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝐿𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑛

Chapter 119

By the time Christmas break had come to an end and Diana had returned to Hogwarts, everything in the Wizarding world had taken a darker turn. People were dying every day; Muggles, Muggle borns, and even witches or wizards who tried to stand against the Dark Lord's wishes.

     Everything had changed so drastically that Diana's problems in her personal life almost sounded silly even to herself. So what if she was being betrothed to someone she disliked? It had bern happening for centuries in her family, to all the girls that cane before her in that bloodline.

     People were being killed and tortured on a daily basis, so maybe being married to Evan Rosier wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

     But this thought only lasted a mere minute in Diana's head before the panic took over again and again, and the horror of her doomed life became a reality in her head.

     With the passing weeks, the day of her wedding drew closer and closer, and Diana couldn't care less about her N.E.W.Ts and final exams. She wasn't going to be allowed to work after marriage anyways.

     "I keep wondering what my life would look like in ten years, you know," Diana mumbled as her and Layla were making their way to the Great Hall for lunch after their Potions class. "Staying at home while Evan's off torturing Muggles, bearing him two kids, ordering around house elves and not being able to do anything else... It kills me just to think about it."

     "But maybe you could work if you wanted to," Layla tried to reason. "You're really good at Ancient Runes. Maybe you could do something with that. Maybe even teach at Hogwarts. You're really good at explaining things in simple and understandable words."

     Diana snorts. "Yeah, right. Rosier would just love the idea of me living at Hogwarts."

     "But what's wrong with that?" Layla mused as the two girls sat down at the Slytherin table, though none of them really were in the mood for eating.

     "You don't get it." Diana shook her head, sighing. "You don't know what prejudiced Pureblood families like mine are like. Mine are very different than yours."

    At her words, a sudden gloom fell upon Layla's face. She looked away from Diana, distracting herself by putting grilled chicken on her plate.

     "Oh, shoot. I'm sorry," said Diana, looking at her friend with distress. "I forgot about —"

     "It's okay," Layla cut her off with a gentle smile, though she didn't seem okay at all.

     Her father, being the editor of Daily Prophet and being a man with great influence in the Wizarding World, was wanted by the Death Eaters for years. They tried to pressure him into joint the Dark Lord, but her family went into hiding. And only weeks ago did Layla's parents fled the country.

     "Why didn't you go along with them? It's dangerous for you here," Diana lowered her voice so no one could overhear them.

     "I wanted to complete by education at Hogwarts. I'd worked hard for getting here, for working on Slughorn for the past seven years to reach my goal. Besides," Layla shrugged, taking a sip from her goblet, "I'm no coward. I don't run when things get tough. This is my life."

     "This is not bravery, it's idiocy. I would've run away with my family to a safe place if I were you."

     "Well, you're in a similar situation, Diana. And you're not running either," said Layla, more firmly this time. "Why aren't you running away, Diana, if you think that's the best solution? Why are you settling and marrying Rosier?"

     Diana fell silent. She looked at her friend, at a loss for words.

     "Because I'm the coward," Diana said. "You're brave for staying. But I'm not brave enough to run."