Julia bid them both farewell and got back into her bed just before the stroke of 11. She sighed and curled up in a ball, her blanket over head head as she listens to the others sleep peacefully. They didn't have to worry their boyfriends were lying to them, and not little white lies. Lies that are just little fibs. Big ones, ones that could literally change everything. She let out a sigh, wishing for once she knew what was happening and what she could do to make things right again. She soon closed her eyes and managed to fall asleep.

(( I am so sorry for disappearing ))

Caelum sobbed. No, he didn't just sob. He broke down into tiny fragments in front of his friends as soon as they entered their room and shut the door (and placed a few silencing charms just in case). He knew he could never tell them, but perhaps they could listen.

He shared what little information he could share, forcing whatever words he could out of his mouth as a lurching feeling dribbled down his throat and a fire threatened to burn it at the same time. He kept his hands clenched at his sides or crossed in front of his chest as he fought away the urge to claw at his own tongue and he tried (so very hard) to hide the pain from the dark mark on his chest.

And they listened, as they always had, with worried eyes and tensed faces. They offered no words but a simple hug and a tightened hand around his shoulder. They never took their eyes off of him, afraid that he would disappear the moment they looked away, and even as they slept, they kept their curtains open promising to be there for their friend the moment he needed them.


It was lunch time when the three finally left the dungeons and made it to the Great Hall. (They had no classes that morning, after all.) The two walked closely on each side of Caelum just as they did in their first year like knights escorting their Slytherin prince. There was a strange air around them as they took their seats and Frank and Aren sent glances towards the Ravenclaw table hoping to invite the three girls to their side of the hall.

(Its okay! I'm just glad your back and okay)


Olivia and Amria walked down with Julia that next morning, all three looking like they hadn't slept too well. Julia had put her hair up into a ponytail since it was unseasonably warm still, smiling when she saw Amira sont the same with her ling dark locks. Olivia looked over at Julia as they entered the Great Hall that morning,"Everything will be okay in the wnd." She said to her softly, knowing her worries for Caelum kept her up late that night.

Julia looked at Olivia and nodded,"I can only hope so." She said softly in reply.

Amira looked at them,"Let's find seats. Breakfast sounds wonderful." Together the three girls looked around for a place to sit. Julia had wanted to sit with Caelum and the guys, but... After a few moments she looked at her friends,"I need air." She said quietly,"I'll see you guys later." With that she darted out of the Great Hall and outside on the castle stwps.

It didn't take long before Caelum took off after Julia. Frank and Aren had followed him until the doors to the great hall but did not move past them, simply watching as their friend chased after the witch he loved.

He found her by the steps they always seemed to meet at and Caelum took a shivering breath before coming closer. More guilt washed over his face the nearer he was and his hands had curled into fists to stop them from shaking.

"Julia, I-" he forced his eyes to move from where he'd been glaring at the ground to look into hers, trying to find the resolve that dissipated as soon as he moved close to her. The corners of his mouth quivered and his eyes glazed over as he spoke weakly. "I'm sorry."

Seeing that only caused Julia to burst into tears,"I hate that you hide things from me. I know people have their secrets but something keeps telling me it's something serious you're hiding from me..." She murmured softly,"I hate things are happening and there's nothing I can do to fix them. I hate that I feel like no matter what happens I'll end up losing you somehow." She couldn't stop her tears, as they had been building up for a little while. She took a breath, a gasping breath, before more tears fell from her eyes,"I hate that it came out this way because I know you have your own problems to worry about but I just can't stop worrying..." She held her head in her hands, trying as hard as she could to calm down a bit. After taking a couple of deep breaths, she looked up at him,"I hate that I feel like this and nothing I do to keep calm is helping me anymore." She looked down again,"I'm such an emotional mess I'm just falling apart."

Caelum hugged her. He wrapped her in his arms and held her against his chest. He could feel the heat rise behind his eyes as tears threatened to burst and the quivering mess that his breathing was turning into. But all of this he pushed down. He's already cried a few tears too many, after all.

"I've been trying to keep you away from all this, you know. But I guess Potters really have a hero complex with you trying to save me from whatever this is." He joked half-heartedly and let out a shuddering breath. "I can't tell you everything, Julia. Not right now." His eyes moved to look back in the direction of the doors where he was sure his friends were watching yet again. "I tried to tell Frank and Aren as much as I could but that ended up with the cu-" he flinched and tried to rephrase. "I didn't manage to tell them much but I think I told enough for them to understand."

"But with you … I don't know if it will be enough. I want to tell you everything, Julia, but I can't and it's not because I don't want to."

Julia looked up at him softly,"I just wish there was something I could do... the worry is eating me alive." She admitted quietly,"My parents have been concerned too about what's going on since your mother came to us." She sighed,"I just don't know what to do. And considering I've had the answers before, not having them now puts me in a position I never wanted to be in..."

"I …" I don't have the answers either.
Caelum sighed as he tried to think of ways to solve everything so that everything could go back to normal, so that he wouldn't have to think about avoiding that bloody dark wizard, so that he wouldn't have to look for another f**king way into Hogwarts anymore.

"Perhaps … perhaps I should go to the headmaster. No … a visit to Madame Pomfrey first." He let out a resigned but relieved sigh as he turned to look into Julia's eyes before decidedly removing the Malfoy ring from his finger and pushing it into her palm. "Take care of that for me, yeah? Just in case." He smiled comfortingly at her before glancing at the remaining sapphire ring on his finger.

Julia nodded when he mentioned seeing the headmaster and Madame Pomfrey. When he gave her his family ring, she took it carefully,"Are you sure?" She asked gently, knowing how much the ring meant to him. Making sure he was positive on what he wanted her to do, she made an enchanted chain and wore the ring as a necklace,"Itxll only come off when you would like it back." She promised him, meaning she would keep it with her as safe as possible.

"Mm. I'm sure." Caelum hummed in reply and led Julia back to the Great Hall with Aren and Frank following them after meeting up by the doors. After which, the Slytherin trio, with Caelum reluctantly agreeing to let the two come with, arrived at the infirmary where Madame Pomfrey hushed them in as soon as she detected the illusion charms cast all over the Malfoy heir.

After a jumble of rejuvenation potions, she sent the three an inquiring glance with the raise of an eyebrow.

"It wasn't … well … there's another thing, Miss Pomfrey." Frank scratched his ear as he looked back and forth between the mediwitch and his best friend. "You see … Caelum's got a cu-"

"A curse mark." Aren joined in, finishing Frank's sentence for him. His two best friends cast him a glance before turning back to the mediwitch.

"Oh, a curse mark. I see. Hmm … By Merlin's- What do you mean he's got a curse mark?!" She cast a silencing spell over the infirmary before promptly asking Caelum where it was. He tried to answer but only flinched in response so his friends answered for him.

"He can't say, ma'am. The curse isn't letting him tell us." Frank leaned over, both worried and curious. "We couldn't think of any curse like that and we didn't dare ask our parents about it just in case … you know …"

Madame Pomfrey cast diagnosis spell after diagnosis spell but the curse couldn't be detected. She muttered something about goblins and curse breakers while escorting them to the headmistress' office.