Run || Harry Potter FF

xiii || camp

Since I hadn't slept in a bed in awhile, I figured my sleep would have been deep and restful--exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, my confrontation with Draco prevented that. I tossed and turned all night and was woken up by a large masculine hand, shaking me abruptly. My eyes shot open, just as I had finally slipped into sleep.

"Layla," he said at normal volume, yanking me even further out of my slumber. "Get up. Everyone is waiting on you. Don't you want to kill some Death Eaters?"

I turned over to see George. His brown eyes looked more lively than I'd seen them in the short time that I'd known him. "Are we leaving already? We're not even going to try and plan this more thoroughly?" I asked, my voice raspy with sleep.

"Why should we when we can go out there and do it?" he said with a renewed vigor. "Hurry up and get ready. Everyone is waiting!"

When he was halfway out of the door, leaving me to get ready so he could exact his revenge, I called, "Is Draco down there?"

He sighed heavily. "No. He's not." And without looking back at me, he walked out.

I leaned against the wall behind the bed, closing my eyes. What if Draco didn't come? I knew he would regret it, but why was I so invested? What difference did it make to me if he wasn't there? This was about me and my parents. Still, after I pulled on my clothes, grabbed my bag, and made sure my pistol was loaded, I ventured up to his room.

My knuckles tapped on the door softly. "Draco?" I called. No answer.

My hands found the cold door knob and I turned it slowly. It creaked open, revealing a mess behind it. The lights had been left on and things had been ripped off the walls and pulled out of trunks. It smelled like melted plastic and some things appeared to be missing. My legs took me further into the dishelved bedroom as my mouth fell open. "Draco?" I called again, just in case he was hiding in the chaos.

On the table next to the bed, there was something scrawled on a piece of parchment. Why should I stay if no one wants me here? My heart sank as I realized what that must mean. He left.

I sat down on the bed in defeat. Crumbling the paper in my hand. "I wanted you here," I whispered, staring ahead but not seeing.

"Layla?" I heard, snapping me out of my trance. In haste, I stuffed his note in my bag and jumped up, meeting George in the hallway. He had an impatient look on his face.

"What is it?" he asked. "Where's Draco?"

"Gone," I said simply, attempting to hide the emotion in my voice.

"Well, good riddance."

Without another word to George, I followed him down the stairs where everyone was waiting.

After only a few days in the magic world, I was already sick and tired of apparating. It wasn't a pleasant experience by any means and it made me wonder if it was the perferred method of travel. I hoped not, for the wizards sake.

I leaned against a tree, listening to Harry, Hermione, and Ron devise a 'guard' schedule, and watching Bill and Charlie put up the tent. We were in a forest area directly outside a village, hidden by the trees and brush that surrounded us. Luckily, if someone were to stumbled upon our camp, they wouldn't be able to see us if we were in the tent.

George was pacing, his fingers twitching at his sides. His expression was impatient and calculating. Immediately a heavy feeling washed over me. I started to walk towards him when I heard, "Okay, so, three hour shifts, starting with me," said Harry, "and then Ron, Hermione, Charlie, Bill, Neville, and then Ginny."

I stopped dead in my tracks. They had left me out again? "Excuse me, I think you forgot someone," I said with my arms crossed over my chest.

They all looked up at me with careful expressions. "Well, we were just thinking that it might not be a good idea for you to have a shift since you know-you don't have a wand..."

"I may not have a wand but I do have this," I said, pushing Draco's note out of the way pulling the pistol out of my bag with haste. "And I've already killed Death Eaters with it."

"But--"

"I can handle myself," I said. My teeth were itching to grind together at this point, but I held back the urge and fixed a smile on my face instead. "Give me a shift."

Harry closed his mouth and looked down. "Okay. You're after Ginny. Maybe you and George could share a--"

"No. I think I'll be fine on my own, thanks." I left them then, walking towards George who had been completely unaware of the conversation that just happened. He was in his own head.

"George," I said.

He looked up at me for a split second before returning his gaze to the ground, still pacing. "Hey, Layla."

"What exactly are you doing?"

His twitching fingers found his hair which he pushed back forcefully. "Nothing. I think I need a walk or something. Want to come?"

I glanced back at the camp where everyone seemed to be absorbed in their own tasks. Sighing, I replied, "Sure."

He gave me a smile that could only be described as manic as he began walking into the expanse of trees. Reluctantly, I followed. The twigs crunched beneath my feet and the smell of the earth found it's way to my nose. These very specific details triggered a memory and suddenly, I was back with Draco and Neville following Harry Potter to his house before he got his memories back.

With a pang, I realized just how much had changed in such a short amount of time. Draco was gone, Neville had drifted, and Harry was doubting my abilities. Yet, I couldn't be upset. We were on the road to finding my parents. And that was all I could ask for. My feelings didn't matter as much as their safety.

"Ouch," George said, just as I ran into his back.

"Sorry," I mumbled, rubbing the crook of my arm where his elbow had pierced me. "Why did you stop?"

He turned around slowly, rubbing his chin with his fingers. "I think I'm going to go into the village."

"What? Right now? George, you can't go out there alone. We have no idea what's happening in there!"

"Well, come with me then," he said, the same manic smile fixed crookedly on his mouth.

"George, no! Just come back to camp. We can't go in there," I pleaded.

George shrugged. "Speak for yourself." Instantly, his front turned into his back as it retreated further into the trees. I looked behind me at the path that would lead back to camp and then back at George's receding silhouette. With a loud sigh of defeat, I followed him yet again.

"George, wait!" I called.

And with my hand on the pistol in my bag, I ventured with my unhinged counterpart into the unknown.