She truly thought in that moment that everything would be fine. She and Joshua were as happy as ever, taking that crucial step that Matilda had advised her to. Elizabeth hadn't talked to Tom, not one word since the Slug Club.

The morning after, she sat in the stands watching Gryffindor play against Hufflepuff. Joshua seemed to have an extra motivation to his play. She thought it had to do with the night prior. The memory made her smile all over again.

"Where is Klaus?" Matilda huffed as she looked from side to side.

"I'm sure he's just making the finishing touches on the posters," Elizabeth told her.

Matilda shrugged. "Watch it!" she yelled as a bludger came flying towards them. In a split second, Bonnie dove in front of them and clubbed it away. She waved to Elizabeth and Matilda as she saw them. "How is she so good?"

"Takes practice," Elizabeth pointed out the obvious. She always wanted to be a Seeker, but she hadn't touched a broomstick in five years.

Without warning, a loud whistle rang throughout the Quidditch pitch. The voice of Dippet echoed, "All students are strongly advised to report to the Great Hall, immediately."

The students all groaned and shuffled out of the stands, not even knowing who had won the match. The players came down off of their brooms and walked quickly to catch up to the rest of the students. Elizabeth walked next to Matilda until they reached the Great Hall. The teachers were all conversing with Dippet and looked extremely distraught. Once Elizabeth had sat down with her group of friends as well as Joshua's, the students were quiet. Joshua came in and sat down in between Melissa and Elizabeth, still in his Quidditch robes. He gave her a quick hug, then giving his attention to the front of the room.

Dippet stood, "I know it was incredibly unfortunate to cut your Quidditch game so short, but there will be a rematch." His voice sounded tired and strained. The students took notice and began worrying. "I also know that there is no acceptable way to tell you all what I am about to tell you. Last night, after you had all gone to sleep," he began slowly, "there was a murder."

The students all began gasping and looking around to see which of their companions weren't there. A pit formed in Elizabeth's stomach and she couldn't even breathe. It was Baxtart's all over again.

Dippet silenced the commotion, "It pains me to tell you in such a weak state, but you have the right to know." He stopped talking again, attempting to somehow put into words the horror that the hundreds of students were about to go through. "Last night," he sighed, "our beloved Gryffindor, Klaus Brandt... was killed."

As if all happiness had gone from the world, the students sat there in silence for a moment, contemplating what they had just heard. Where Elizabeth sat, where all of his friends sat, they were frozen. Matilda was the first to shed a tear. It began with silent weeping, then turned into full on sobbing. All of the students were in hysterics, not believing that a fellow student had been killed.

Elizabeth finally looked over to Joshua, tears in her eyes. He was sitting there, completely still. His best friend of nearly seven years was gone, just like that. Elizabeth knew how to help those who had just lost someone, so she slowly reached out and held his hand, not saying anything. A tear dropped from his eye, but he quickly wiped it away.

After a moment, Dippet spoke again, "We believe this unfortunate disaster to be the responsibility of Grindelwald. Until the castle has been investigated, until every passageway has been blocked, you all must not leave your Common Rooms under any circumstances. If this issue isn't resolved, you may have to return to your homes."

Everyone was crying. Elizabeth looked to those around her. Matilda was sobbing heavily into the arms of Walburga, who was crying along with her, but not as drastically. Melissa was quietly weeping into her hands. Across from Joshua, Henry was angrily muttering to himself, tears subconsciously rolling down his cheeks. Bonnie sat next to him, her lips parted and her face completely drained of color. She hadn't let one tear fall, but Elizabeth knew that no tears often meant the same as one million tears. Elizabeth rubbed her hand over Joshua's back in a soothing, circular motion. Nobody had said anything of substance yet. Finally, Elizabeth wanted to see how Tom and his entourage were taking the news.

No surprise to Elizabeth, Tom had looked as if he were bored with the whole gathering. He whispered something to Abraxas which resulted in a nod and a small chuckle, them both turning to look at Elizabeth. She began to think. Klaus was the one who nearly exposed Tom's true intentions the night prior. He had a reason to hate Klaus. She couldn't bear to think that what she knew to be true was in fact what had happened.

"You are all free to go," Dippet said in a calm, soothing voice. "If you need anyone to talk to, there will be counselors available. Please, be careful."

The students all slowly rose, still not being able to comprehend what they had just heard. Elizabeth walked next to Joshua, neither of them saying anything. Tears were silently escaping his eyes. Matilda was still sitting back at the table, being comforted by a few teachers as she sobbed. Bonnie had just begun to walk back, looking as if she were about to be sick.

"Elizabeth, I- I don't know what to do," Joshua whispered, breathing heavily. "He was my best friend."

"I know," Elizabeth told him smoothly. "He was such an amazing person."

Joshua didn't want to lose it. He had been told all his life that men don't cry, but he could barely hold it back. "Can you please stay in my dormitory with me? I know you're technically not allowed to, and perhaps just for tonight, but I can't be alone," he whispered, knowing that he could cry in front of her because she didn't judge him like he feared others would.

"Of course, I'll stay as long as you want me to," Elizabeth told him. "I didn't know it wasn't allowed," she pointed out, saying anything to take his mind off of Klaus.

"Well, you technically aren't allowed to even know where my Common Room is. I don't know where the Slytherin one is, nor the Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. No one really pays attention to that rule, especially me," he explained to her, sniffing a bit of snot back.

Elizabeth nodded, "I can show you where the Slytherin Common Room is."

"Really? All I know is that it's in the Slytherin Dungeons, under the Black Lake I believe," he became fully engaged in the conversation.

"It is, the lake water creates a very nice emerald glow over the rooms," she told him with a lighthearted laugh.

Joshua's smile faded, "I don't know if I'd be welcomed there."

"Meaning?"

"Riddle and his clan have nothing but hatred for me," he told Elizabeth. She dearly hoped he wouldn't come to the hypothesis that she had.

Elizabeth shook her head, "Then we can stay in your room."

"Alright, come up after dark. I'll be the only one awake," Joshua told her.

"I will," she told him and began to walk off into the direction of her Common Room.

"Elizabeth," he pulled her back. "I love you so much," he reminded her.

She gave a small smile, "I love you."

They parted and Elizabeth caught up to a group of Slytherins walking back to the Common Room. She saw Tom and his friends ahead of her, all walking in a seemingly organized formation. Tom was in the center with three boys on each side, the boys' heads to the ground. She saw Antonin directly next to Tom. Elizabeth highly suspected him to be involved somehow. They were all so organized. They wouldn't just leave one boy behind as Antonin had suggested they had.

She watched as they bowed their heads to Tom and separated from him, going down the steps with the rest of the students. Tom walked down the corridor by himself at a quick pace. Elizabeth realized she was wearing heeled shoes, so she slipped them off and left them underneath a velvet bench. She was left with her black stockings only, quietly following him, making as little noise as she could. Elizabeth was surprised that he hadn't turned around.

Tom was nearing a lavatory. As far as Elizabeth knew, it was a girl's lavatory. She didn't think he was confused. There was no chance that he would accidentally wander into the wrong one. She stood outside of the door, debating whether or not to enter after him. After looking behind her, she silently pushed the door open. Elizabeth entered and slammed the door. The bathroom was flooded again, causing her to grimace down at her feet. Tom saw her and stopped in his tracks, looking surprised and anxious at first, but soon masked it over with a charming smile.

"Hello there, Elizabeth. Lovely day, wouldn't you agree?" Tom taunted.

"I know that it was you," Elizabeth confronted him, a tear in her eye.

Tom pretended to be confused, "Is that what Corrington told you?"

"Don't fool around, it was you and I know it," she nearly shouted.

"That boy was a terrible waste of magic," Tom told her, nonchalantly.

Elizabeth's tears fell into the puddle below her, "How could you say that? Never mind that, how could you kill him? He did nothing to you!"

"He made me look bad in front of a professor. I can't have my reputation ruined by a mud blood like him," Tom muttered.

"Why would you kill him? He was one of my closest friends," she cried.

Tom rolled his eyes and walked away from where the sinks were, approaching her, "I told you. I care a lot about what others think of me, not so much you, but I do value my reputation."

"Why don't you care what I think about you?"

"You're different," he whispered, only a few centimeters apart from her. Tom looked down and laughed.

Elizabeth pushed him away from her, quite aggressively, "What are you laughing at?"

"Where are your shoes?" he asked, amused.

"Why in Merlin's name does it matter?"

He shrugged, "Also, you do know you're not going to get away with pushing me like you just did."

"You are a coward," Elizabeth muttered and began to leave, but her arm was tightly grabbed by Tom. He pushed her against the wall, her head hitting it with force. She didn't know why he hurt her.

"I would hurt you so terribly," he whispered through gritted teeth. "I would kill you in the most painful way," he put his hand on her head and rubbed the spot that pained her. "However, all of that magic that's up in that brain of yours is too valuable."

Elizabeth was crying, not because of her hatred for him, but because she was truly afraid of him, and hadn't let herself admit it. "Please let me go," she choked through her tears. "I just want to be with the one I love."

"You don't love him!" Tom shouted, hitting the wall next to her head. The sound made Elizabeth flinch, reminding her of when he'd hit her before. "He doesn't care about you!"

She was terrified. Tom wasn't acting like he normally did when he was angry with her. He was nearly shaking out of fury. His time was running out and he needed her to believe him.

"Elizabeth," his voice was shaking. He lowered his head down and leaned his forehead against hers, strands of his hair falling out which had broken from the layer of gel. "Elizabeth, you can't be with him, I'm the only one who really cares about you," he attempted to persuade her, desperately.

She shook her head, "No, I can't. I don't want to be a part of this anymore, please."

"It's too late for that," he ran a hand through her hair, letting out a heavy breath. "You are so precious," Tom whispered. "Sometimes, I forget you're just a child," he told her with a laugh.

"I'm fifteen," Elizabeth corrected.

"Very smart for your age," Tom commented. "Smarter than most," he began calming down, sweet-talking her.

Elizabeth realized what she had to do to make him calm down. She had to go along with whatever he wanted. She realized once she stopped confronting him and letting how scared she was show, he was much calmer.

"You're right," Elizabeth placed her arms over his shoulders and clasped her hands together. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that she was touching the one who killed Klaus. However, it was what she had to do to keep her and her friends safe.

"I knew you would come around," Tom whispered, the beads of sweat from his forehead glimmering on his skin. "I thought that the boy had completely warped your mind," he admitted to her.

Elizabeth nervously laughed, "He has. I don't know why I listened to him, you've been right all along."

"I've been right, but you haven't believed me. Do you know the tragic thing, though?" Tom asked her.

"What?"

"I know you're lying to me," Tom grabbed her shoulders and slammed her against the wall, her head hitting it again.

Her vision had gone blurry and she stumbled away from the wall, trying her hardest to make it to the door. She lost her balance and fell to the flooded ground, landing with a small splash. The water almost submerged her completely, her face and small portion of her body above the surface.

Before her vision disappeared completely, she saw Tom's figure leaving the lavatory. Her eyes closed and she laid there unconscious, blood flowing out from her head and around her in the pool of water.

She thought she was going to die, but a small part of her hoped she would.