T W O

" i know that you don't understand "

The early August morning air greeted Bianca as she slowly opened her eyes. The noise of Theodore's steady breathing was a metronome tracking the passing seconds, and Bianca found comfort in it.

Through the cracked window, Bianca could only see the inky blackness of the distant sky. She held in a sigh; it was before dawn. She had grown accustomed to the training schedule that she was forced to live by in the summers, and it would take Bianca a few weeks to return to a normal sleeping pattern. No longer would she have to wake up at four to run six miles before training. No longer would she have to carry knives with her everywhere she went in fear of her parents launching a surprise attack on her, leaving Bianca to find a way to escape it alive.

Bianca's time as an assassin was over. Now, she was finally able to return to just being a student. The way as it should be.

"Bee?" Theodore's voice softly murmured, interrupting Bianca's spiraling thoughts.

Bianca glanced down to find Theodore propping up on his elbow. "What are you doing awake this early?" he asked her.

"Training schedule," she responded. "Go back to bed."

There was the distinct sound of rustling blankets as the mattress squeaked and protested. Theodore's hand was suddenly on Bianca's knee; he was sitting upright.

"And leave you awake all by yourself? I don't think so, North."

"How benevolent of you," Bianca responded dryly.

But she was glad that she wouldn't be alone in the darkest hours of night. Because that was when her memories screamed.

Silence stood between the two friends as all the right words refused to escape both of their tongues. They stared blankly into the darkness, pretending that they were both alright. Bianca didn't ask why Theodore woke up nor why it took him hours to fall asleep last night.

"Excited about going to Hogwarts?" Theodore finally asked, his voice dry and cracking from its lack of use.

"And see which unlucky person becomes our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor? I'd be surprised if nobody died this year."

And it was the truth. Bianca was kept in the dark about most things, but she had heard the murmured whisperings between her parents and the Pureblood families. Something was going to happen, and if her parents were involved, it could only be a murder.

But what unsettled Bianca the most was that the Malfoys had approached the Norths. The Malfoys, who hated the Midnight Assassins, arrived one night begging at their doorstep to let them in and help them. Draco was noticeably absent, and through the few outbursts that Narcissa released, Bianca had deduced that somehow, this meeting was about him.

Draco Malfoy and murder were not two things that correlated. He was a terrible person, yes, but he was not capable of the emotionless state one must accomplish to have in order to kill.

"Always the optimist," Theodore responded bleakly.

"Always the realist," Bianca corrected, flicking a strand of hair over her shoulder. "If you want optimism, you'll have to pay me."

A beat of silence. Then, "you know something, don't you?" Theodore asked. "Something that I don't."

"There's a lot of things I know that you don't, darling. Would you like the list alphabetized?"

Theodore huffed a sigh. "I'm trying to be serious for once, Bee."

"Well, stop. Whatever happens will happen, and there's nothing we can do to stop it."

Bianca flopped back onto the bed, squeezing her eyes shut. Through the messiness of the silence, the sound of Theodore gingerly standing up was a raging symphony.

"Is it about Draco?" Theodore asked softly. "My father told me earlier about what happened. He also said that I would be recruited soon."

A broken dam inside Bianca's chest burst as her closest friend admitted his future. A river of emotions coursed through her body, and she was helpless to stop it.

"I won't let them recruit you," Bianca said to the listening darkness, her words reverberating with a courageous strength. "I swear it. I'll kill them before I let them they take you."

"Thanks, Bee, but it's He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, not just any wizard. I don't think he can even die."

"We'll never know until we try."

"To murder someone?"

Bianca's white smile slashed through the night. "Exactly. If magic doesn't work, then I'd like to see him survive seven knives to the chest."

Theodore released an involuntary bark of laughter. "Merlin's Beard, you're demented."

"And your fiancée," Bianca reminded him. "You'll be able to enjoy my dementedness for the rest of your life."

A somber silence washed over the pair as their carefully structured future, that would be forever shared, spread out before them. Theodore would never be able to admit his feelings to Blaise, and he would forever hide his true self in order to maintain the delicate facade that the Pureblood families were built upon. And Bianca would grow to be a deadly assassin. As was North tradition, Theodore would become one, too, in order to carry on the "family business".

Nothing had ever been their choice. Especially not their lives.

"What would your parents do if we ran away right now?" Bianca asked, her voice a near whisper.

"You really are demented," was Theodore's only response.

Bianca sat up, scooting closer to the edge of the bed. In the little light emitted from the window, she saw the outline of Theodore's face staring down at her in amusement.

"Think about it," Bianca continued. "We could bring our trunks, and sneak out the window. No one would know."

"Until tomorrow morning, when my father is supposed to wake us up and bring us to Kings Cross Station," Theodore reminded her. "So someone will know."

Bianca rolled her eyes. "We would leave a note saying that we left an hour early to meet up with the Malfoy family, and go with them. Besides, don't you want to do something that is completely your choice?"

She knew that those words would capture his attention. And as the air remained empty of any further words, Bianca grinned.

"Grab your trunk, Nott. We're leaving here, and I don't plan on coming back until Christmas."

Bianca leapt from the bed, and approached the iron cage resting on the bedside table. It contained a black-feathered owl that was a descendant of her father's owl. Yet another thing that was North tradition.

But, truth be told, Bianca loved her owl, Caspian. Named after her favorite character from a Muggle book series, she had disguised an act of rebellion as a family tradition. And it continued to go innovated by both her parents.

In the darkness, she dug through her trunk and found a piece of parchment and a quill. With a scrawling hand, she wrote, "Went with the Malfoys to Kings Cross. See you at Christmas!"

Bianca slammed the note onto the nightstand and grinned at her betrothed, who gave her a wary smile in return.

"We're leaving, Nott," she announced to the night-soaked room. "And we're not coming back."

Theodore shook his head in bemusement. But he took Bianca's outreached hand, and allowed her to lead him to the window. She slide it completely open and, with her trunk levitating behind her by some use of a non-verbal spell, slipped outside.

Then, Theodore watched as Bianca jumped from a second story window.

"Bianca!" he shouted, forgetting that they were supposed to be sneaking out.

He stumbled to the window, his eyes desperately searching for any sight of the girl.

And there she was. Holding a finger to her lips, and glaring at Theodore. Her trunk was resting on the green lawn beside her.

"I'm a trained assassin, remember?" Bianca grinned up at him.

"You gave me a heart attack!" Theodore hissed in response.

Bianca rolled her eyes. "You're so over-dramatic, Theo. Here, you jump. I'll catch you."

He gave her a long, dubious look. "You'll catch me?"

"With magic, duh. We're at your father's house, it's not like they'll know it was was using magic and not him. Trust me."

Theodore found it difficult to trust a girl who had just leapt from a second story window. But he found himself swinging his legs over the ledge, dragging his trunk behind.

"Do you want my truck first?" he asked in a loud whisper.

Bianca nodded. He slid it off the ledge, and watched it freely plummet to the ground. Right before hitting the grass, however, it stopped it's quick descent and slowed to a gradual float. It landed without any noise.

"You next," she said.

Theodore gulped as his hand refused to let go of the window sill. He closed his eyes.

"D'ya want me to tell Blaise that you're a total pansy?" Bianca asked with fake innocence.

Without thinking, Theodore released the ledge and fell.

It couldn't have been more than a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime of fear. He didn't even have time to scream before Bianca's spell caught him and gently lowered him.

"Bloody hell," he muttered shakily. "How do you do that?"

Bianca shrugged. "Lots of practice. Now, come on. We have a lot of walking to do before we can summon the Knight Bus."

Bianca lifted her trunk, and walked away, leaving Theodore shaking his head.

"The Knight Bus?" he called incredulously after her. Bianca didn't have to turn around for Theodore to know that she was grinning like a demon.

He chased after the girl, and the sound of their freedom-chasing laughter spiraled up into the night sky.