You wait in the center of the village in Hogsmeade. The shops are mostly closed, except for the occasional drunken laughter from the Three Broomsticks.

You shiver, pulling your coat tighter.

“Where are they?”

The guys were supposed to meet you an hour ago. At first, you thought they were just running late. Then, irritation set in. Now? Now, you’re just uneasy.

And then, the first scream pierces the night. It’s followed by another.

Figures apparate into the village in bursts of black smoke, their robes billowing as they descend upon the unsuspecting and are taken away.

Your feet pound against the cobblestones as you weave through the panicked crowd. You dive into an alleyway, pressing yourself against the cold stone wall. Hands trembling, you pull out your phone and frantically dial Mattheo.

No answer.

You try Theo. Your heart stops as you hear a faint ringing at the end of the alley.

Your stomach twists as a figure steps forward from the darkness, a DeathEater mask catching the dim light.

You turn to run, and slam into another masked figure.

A cold hand grips your wrist. Before you can scream—before you can even think—the world twists around you.

Darkness. Cold. Apparition.

You stumble, your balance lost as you land hard on stone floors.

“Let me go!” You thrash against the unseen hands gripping you. “What the hell do you want?”

You feel your stomach drop as you watch them remove their masks one by one.

Standing in front of you are the faces you know better than your own.

Tom. Mattheo. Enzo. ReguIus. BIaise. Theo. Draco.

The ones who promised to protect you. The ones who said they’d never let anything happen to you.

“No,” you whisper, shaking your head, stumbling back. “No, this isn’t—this isn’t real.”

Mattheo steps forward first. “Easy, {{user}}.”

Your eyes snap to him. “You promised—”

Tom exhales sharply. “We never promised we were the good guys.”

All you can do is stare at them and wonder if they ever meant their promise to you at all.