INVISIBLE
ONE-SHOT
In their first year, Sirius Black and Natalie O'Malley barely knew each other. Natalie was a Hufflepuff, aware of Sirius' presence, but, unlike most others in their year, not too worried about it. She was too busy with her own friends to pay attention to the Marauders. Sirius, meanwhile, didn't know of Natalie's existence, and relished his first year somewhere where he belonged.
In their second year, they were paired together in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Natalie surprised Siriuswith her duelling talents – she beat him nearly every time. They became good friends at this point, and Natalie also befriended James, Remus, and Peter, becoming almost a fifth Marauder, helping with all their pranks.
In their third year, Natalie tried out for the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team. She got in, snagging the Keeper spot. Most thought she wouldn't be a good Keeper – she was short and slight-framed. But that year was the first in 147 that Hufflepuff won the House Cup, against Gryffindor, by not letting a single goal in. Gryffindor caught the Snitch, but Huffepuff still had more points from all their Chasers' shots. Sirius supported her, and cheered along when she won. (Meanwhile, James became infatuated with Lily Evans.)
In their fourth year, the Marauders exposed the truth. They told Natalie about Remus' condition and bout them being Animagi. She insisted that she helps. She told them that she couldn't sit around every full moon, knowing what was going on in the Shrieking Shack. As much as they insisited she doesn't, by June, Natalie could turn completely into fox form and back.
In their fifth year, Professor Dumbledore spoke to Remus, Sirius, James,and Natalie in his office about the prospect of joining the Order of the Pheonix sometime in the future. They all decidied that it was their destined field of work, and all four of them agreed to join when they were done Auror training after seventh year. They had each learned to create a Patronus: James' a stag, Remus' a wolf, Sirius' a fox, and Natalie's a dog.
In their sixth year, they both discovered how they felt, but they kept it hidden. It became more and more awkward for all involved when they were together, stuttering and blushing everywhere. Sirius admitted his feelings to the Marauders after rigorous questioning.
In their seventh year, they fell in love. Natalie told Sirius how she felt, andhe told her. They kissed, he took her innocence, had dated and had gotten engaged until that horrible day when Sirius was sent to Azkaban on Peter's account. That horrible day was today.
And all along, I was there. Undetected. I hid under an Invisibility Cloak (James isn't the oly one to have one, you know). I, Regulus Arcturus Black, was in love with my brother's fiancée. As I was in school or supposed to be on some of the Dark Lord's missions, I watched them fall in love and felt my heart shatter.
Today, she was gone. Natalie Joanne O'Malley was forever gone. Sirius had been tried and found guilty of mass murder, and he was to spend the rest of his lifein Azkaban, with no happy memeories of Natalie or James or Remus to give him hope.
I'll miss her strawberry blonde hair, often smelling of lavender and tied in a loose braid draped over her shoulder. I'll miss her charming Irish accent. I'll miss the sound of her laughter, as if there was nothing wrong with the world. I'll miss her hazel eyes that you could easily get lost in. I'll miss the way she talked with her hands when she got especially excited. I'll miss the way when she thought hard, she would cock her head to the left and bite her lip.
Here I sat, in their flat, on their bed. There was a note.
Dear Regulus,
Before I start, I'd like to tell you that I know. You were sitting there, with me, always, under a Cloak. After the Hufflepuff/Gryffindor match in third year, I ran out of the Hufflepuff Common Room and saw you slip off the Cloak and cry. You were only in your first year then. I'm touched that you loved me so much, although I know you wouldn't if you saw all my flaws. I'm also sorry to have broken your heart. I'm writing to you, so there could be a record of this somewhere, and because now, you're the closest thing to Sirius left.
By the time you read this, I'll habe gathered the courage to do it. Why? I know that right now, Sirius is losing each memory about me, about Remus, about our life at Hogwarts and his days as a Marauder. Worst of all, about the now-gone James and Lily and little Harry, his godson. I can't bear it. So I've decided it's time. I'll wait for him up there. I may be a coward for escaping life like this, but I simply can't go on.
I'll see James and Lily again.
Goodbye.
Love always,
Natalie Joanne O'Malley
P.S. I was three and a half months along. I'll have a daughter in Heaven now.
I put the letter down, tears stinging at the back of my eyes. I broke down and sobbed, my head on her navel where the unborn, now dead, baby lay. My tears soaked through her clothes, and I shouted my pain to the world. Natalie's eyes were still screwed shut, as if she was trying to convince herself to do it in her last breath, and she still gripped her wand toward her head. Her lips were slightly parted from just having finished whispering, "Avada Kedavra."
That night, I escaped to the familiar cave by the rushing sea and stole my Master's locket.