Hello there! I'm writing this at about half 3 in the morning (UK time), so apologies if it's a bit short... Anyway, welcome to those of you from 'A New Year' and welcome to those completely new! After the success of the first book, I decided I just had to write a sequel!
If you haven't read the prelude story, it is almost necessary for at least half of this story - I've already figured out quite a few chapters, so I should be updating regularly.
Prologue:
"Hey dad." I said, standing in front of the tombstone. "You know, it's nearly been a year." I said to myself, stuffing my hands into my pockets. The rain fell limply onto the grass - no thunder, not flashes of lightning, just a regular overcast Tuesday afternoon. I crouched down to better address the engraving:
Here Lies Sean Michael Shanks
Lived as he died, with love by his side.
I looked towards the tombstone beside him, swallowing hard as I tried to figure out what to say.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked. "About Gryffindor? You had years to tell me." I spoke almost as if I expected a response, but nothing. Just the feel of my drenched hair sweeping down onto my nose. I pushed it back with a hand, scratching the back of my head as I did so. "I miss you mum." I said finally.
I stood up, zipping up my jacket to my neck and flicking the collar up against my neck. I placed my hands back in my pockets, and then felt a tugging at my arm. I looked to my right, to see Rinée linking her arm through mine.
Rinée's hair was no longer a tone of striking blue, but it was now a shade of cherry brown, let down and curling past her shoulders. She was dressed in a black skirt and a white blouse - no doubt, she had changed since we finished our sixth year at Hogwarts, and although I had only seen her a few times this summer, I could tell she thought herself more mature - which, I suppose, she was.
She held a red umbrella above our heads, and looked at the tombstones.
"You okay?" I nodded, running a hand across my mouth.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I said after a large inhalation. "Did you see..."
"Yeah, I saw her." Rinée nodded, her arm tightening around mine as she moved her head onto the side of my shoulder - but only for a moment. A moment passed as I found myself grounded in that moment - it was like I was allowed to be sad instead of maintaining the bravado. She gradually removed her head, looking up at me. "You're soaking wet..."
"Well, that's because you... absconded with the umbrella." She widened her eyes and raised her eyebrows.
"Absconded? Really?" She asked with a smile that I couldn't help but return. I immediately realized the wrong wording I had used. She began laughing and gently tugged on my arm. "Oh you're such a moron at times." She giggled to herself. I simply rolled my eyes and let her have this one, interlocking my fingers with hers as we walked under the scarlet umbrella through the graveyard. "You know, we don't have to see him." She reminded me quietly after I had been silent for a good few minutes.
"I know." I nodded, pushing my hair back out of my eyes once again.
"We could just go." I shook my head.
"I need to deal with it sometime..." I sighed.
Eventually we arrived at the most recently placed Tombstone, marble and engraved with a small lion. The grass was fresh in front of me - the funeral had only been three months ago.
"I'll give you a minute." She said, walking away a few feet and dawdling idly. I faced the tombstone fully.
"You'd be pretty smug if you could see now James." I smiled sadly. "You called it... I've got a thing for Rinée." I chuckled. I paused. I waited for a response. None came. "Not a day goes by that I don't think of you Jimmy." I said lowly, mainly to avoid my voice cracking. "I'm sorry it took me so long to come but..." I shrugged, unable to find words to sum up how I felt - I just... couldn't. "I promise I'll visit again soon." I pressed my fingertips against my lips, then pushed them on the top the tombstone, hovering there for a moment before turning and walking back to Rinée, who linked an arm through mine once again.
"Are you okay?" I nodded, allowing her to lean her head against my shoulder as I gently turned my face into her cherry curls.
"Thanks." I said lowly, planting a gentle kiss on her head before leaning back, only to feel her wrap her other arm around mine as well. We walked towards the entrance of Hemlocke Cemetery before disapperating.
We materialized in a large open room, a section of the walls just being glass windows that looked out amongst the entire city - one I quickly recognized to be London.
"Wow..." Was all I could muster as I turned around to face her. "You live here?" She nodded.
"Well, only sometimes. Most of the time I'm in Amsterdam."
"You have a house in Amsterdam?" I asked, amazed by the fact of it - I had no idea she was rich.
"Steady on Shanks, my dad's always there." She pointed out. I rolled my eyes - the entire summer, I had been warned about her father. From all I knew, he was an established auror. But, if he lived in a penthouse like this, he must've been doing pretty well for himself. "Don't roll your eyes-" She pushed my shoulder, "look, I'd love for my dad to like you-"
"He'd love me, are you kidding?" I said cavalierly, scoffed. "I'm the son of a Quidditch Prodigy."
"He's not that sort of dad-"
"Hey, I love parents." I reassured her, taking off my soaked leather jacket and placing it on the hat stand by the door. I paused. "Well... as long as I can give them back at the end of the day." I added the afterthought. Rinée chuckled lightly.
"Shanks, I'm serious-"
"So am I." I grinned in response. She sighed, so I moved closer, wrapping my arms around her waist. "Look, I'll be fine. If I can win you over, I'm sure I can handle your dad." She opened her mouth to protest how I didn't 'win' her over, but I took the opportunity to move in and plant a kiss; It was at least the hundredth time I had kissed her, but God knows it could've been the first - every time, I would get the same explosion of fireworks jettisoning through my system. Just as she began to grab a fistful of my hair, the door opened.
In the doorway stood a man around my height, who was at least half a decade older than me, with light oriental skin and an expensive and creaseless three-piece get-up. He immediately shot me a confused and amazed look before sendin Rinée an utterly shocked and questioning one.
"Well, ain't your friend a talker?" Rinée made no acknowledgement of my words.
"Aruto, he's my friend." She said comfortingly. "And I'd prefer us to be... alone." She hinted. Aruto nodded, giving me a disproving look while walking out of the room. I raised my eyebrow at Rinée.
"Friend, huh?" I asked teasingly.
"I'm not exactly going to say boyfriend am I?" She asked, like the answer was obvious... which it wasn't.
"Why not?" She scoffed.
"Seriously? So when I talked to Siobhan this morning..."
"That's completely different - I don't tell her anything." I began to walk around the living room. "So, this is pretty... vacuous." I stated.
"Vacuous?" I nodded in response, dawdling my way around my new environment.
I walked up to the end counted by the black leather sofa, picking up the picture frame, and staring at the three figures in the picture - a young man, a woman of similar age and a small infant, with the same cherry curls of Rinée. I looked over to her.
"This your mum?" I asked. She nodded, a melancholic look glancing across his eyes. I looked back at the picture, where the woman in the picture possessed the same waves and dress sense of Rinée. Placing the picture up beside her, I wouldn't have been able to tell the two apart. "You look like her." I stated. Rinée smiled - a look that I couldn't help but grin at.
I began to walk towards her, gently interlocking my fingers with hers. I glanced around for more pictures, seeing next to none, making me frown. Rinée simply placed a hand behind my neck, grabbing a fistful of my shaggy black hair and searching my eyes for a moment. She then let go, walking around her apartment.
"So, how come I've never seen any baby pictures of you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow playfully. I cocked my head - the answer was obvious.
"Well, there aren't any." She folded her arms, putting on her 'serious' face.
"None at all?" She asked, disbelieving me. I shook my head. Her skeptical smile soon faded into slight shock. "Seriously? Even I have a picture of my parents."
I shrugged in response, unsure of what to say. I guess that, even though I was close with my dad, after my mum - my biological mum - passed, we had never really talked about family stuff - whatever that was. Whenever we talked, it was just a bit... empty. It wasn't deep; it wasn't the important stuff. It usually revolved around broomsticks and Quidditch. I guess that was why there were no pictures - my mum was the one who was good with feelings...
"I guess we couldn't work a camera." I grinned, trying to hide my thoughts and emotions. Rinée shook her head with a grin before making her way to the kitchen area, which held a silver fridge, numerous appliances and island counters.
I, meanwhile, walked up to the window, looking out amongst the skyline. I remembered getting lost when I had first tried flying - ending up in Wales. I must've cried for about an hour when I thought I had lost my father.
My thoughts were interrupted by a towel - flying through the air and landing on the dripping array that fell onto my face. I looked around, confused momentarily, and saw a smirking Rinée, who came over, ruffling my hair with the towel in an attempt to dry it. Eventually, she removed the towel from my head, letting it hang around my neck.
I placed both hands on her waist, pulling her towards me and into a kiss, with my hands looping around the back of her. It amazed me that every time we had kissed, I just felt weightless...
I was, very soon after, brought crashing back down to reality.
"Who the bloody hell are you?" I looked to the doorway, to see a man in a grey woolen trench coat, with numerous engravings on his leather patches - he looked considerably young with a shadow of a tan, standing a good few inches taller than me. I quickly recognized him from the picture as Rinée's father. It took me a good couple of seconds to let go of Rinée.
"I'm Shanks." I grinned, holding out a hand. The man's enraged fiery eyes clued me in that he didn't want to shake my hand.
"Dad, this is Aiden. I told you about him?"
"Aiden?" He asked, looking at his daughter with momentary confusion. Afterwards, however, his expression quickly changed to one of darkness. "This is the one who took you to the Ministry?" I looked at Rinée - why would an Auror be angry about me fighting a pair of Dark Wizards?
"I'm also the son of the famous Irish Quidditch Captain-"
"I don't follow Quidditch." I paused - well that was my one topic of conversation gone. "I should go." I said finally.
"You think so?" He asked. I gave Rinée a small peck on the lips, then realised I had probably poked the dragon, and made a hasty exit, grabbing my coat and leaving.
Hope you guys liked this prologue - before everyone asks to send in a character, I'm going to ask you hold off until the 4th Chapter. Because, trust me, there will be something in that chapter that applies to your applications...
Just, hold off for a bit is what I'm saying. Here's a cast list of people already in the story from the last book:
Year 5:
Anouke Nasser - Gryffindor - Dame Rivere
Year 6:
Erica Crow - Slytherin - Chaser - Shinju the Juubi
Year 7:
Aiden Shanks - Gryffindor - Quidditch Captain - Seeker - Myself
Rinée Watson - Gryffindor - Chaser - Syao Blossoms
Leanne Bell - Gryffindor - Chaser - Myself
Daniel 'DP' Fulbright - Gryffindor - Boris Yeltsin
Lydia Stafford - Gryffindor - GirlGenius2
Lila Grace Mayll - Gryffindor - LilacWriter7112
Sadie Demoria - Gryffindor - Beater - HadesDaughter1
Dominic Gray - Gryffindor - Beater - HadesDaughter1
Amy Smith - Hufflepuff - Chaser - GirlGenius2
Alexandra Jackson - Hufflepuff - TheIceCreamNinja
Rose Bailey - Ravenclaw - Seeker - Myself
Kat Turner-Dennison - Slytherin - Chaser - Myself
Diedrich Vreyair - Slytherin - Seeker - Syao Blossoms
Hunter Jackson - Slytherin - Quidditch Captain - Keeper - TheIceCreamNinja
Anyway, I'm going to try and focus on keeping a high standard on these updates, so keep tuned, and as always, give me feedback!
