Hello everyone, I am positively thrilled to welcome you all to the fourth installment of A Black and White Story. This book picks up exactly where we left off in the last book. I don't have much to say, seeing as this is the first chapter. The only thing is that anything you even remotely recognize from the books is property of JK Rowling.
Also, I would like to point out that the first chapter of this story is being publish on the same day as the first book was published, exactly one year later. This year has been amazing and I would just like to take a moment to thank every reader because I don't know if I would have made it to this point with this amount of inspiration without you guys. You keep me writing so thank you, from the very bottom of my heart, I thank you.
Now on with the story! Please enjoy!
Beginning in January, there was a subtle shift in the world. Nothing noticeable, nothing that people would fuss over. Simply put, it was a bad feeling. It was the skip of their heart every time they thought they saw something out of the corner of their eyes. It was the nervousness that would settle in their hearts when a loved one was out of sight. It was the fear when a friend or neighbor didn't pick up the phone by the second ring or answer the door within a few seconds. Some reasoned that they had reason to fear. Fear what? They didn't exactly know but they knew it was out there. The wizards and witches knew, oh they knew, but there wasn't much they could do. If they fought, they marked their family for death. If they stepped out of the way, they were somewhat responsible for the murder of innocent muggles. The decision that every single person made was another Dark Mark in the sky, no matter which option they chose.
There was death and dying everywhere across the United Kingdom. Wizards and otherwise magical beings were too scared to leave their homes. Unsuspecting muggles were dying daily in mysterious fires, bridge collapses, and about every week or so, some seemingly random victim was murdered in cold blood with no obvious sign of death. Muggles didn't know it, but the 'kind hearted, secretive, and honestly, a bit odd' neighbors were muggleborn witches and wizards, murdered because of the magic running through their veins. But since no one besides the magical community knew, the deaths remained unconnected by the local bobby's. Yet, the body count continued to rise and rise.
It was baffling to the muggle population. With the telly reporting every 'accident' it seemed like the United Kingdom, mainly England, was suffering of a year of terrible luck. With minor Earthquakes randomly springing up, six tornadoes impossibly forming on perfectly perfect days, hundreds of unexplainable fires across the whole country, it almost looked like a war with torn down buildings and scorch marks marring the cities. Yet, somehow, people outside the city or the country remained blissfully unaware.
They really didn't have a reason to be worried, Elyse supposed. Nothing had changed in the Podunk town of Kiltimagh. Every morning the baker set out his goods, the school teachers ushered kids towards the schools for summer classes, the parents let their kids out their house without a single warning, and everyone was content to start another normal day.
Everyone, that is, besides Elyse.
Ever since she got home, she felt the cloud looming over her shoulder. The war was unshakable. It haunted her thoughts in the day while terrorizing her dreams at night. All she saw was death and destruction and pain and loss and bitterness. It all flashed in her mind like a picture book.
She saw Marlene lying in a coffin.
She saw Ben's tombstone.
She saw Hogwarts on fire.
She saw Ursula's tombstone.
She saw Molly Weasley getting the news her brothers would never come home again.
She saw Sirius's tombstone.
She saw Ben being tortured.
She saw Peter's tombstone.
She saw James fighting Voldemort.
She saw Remus's tombstone.
She saw a lone red head defying the Dark Lord.
She saw James's tombstone.
She saw muggles burning alive.
She saw Lily's tombstone.
She saw dead bodies walking.
She saw Regulus's tombstone.
She saw the Bones family there one second before being blown to bits.
She saw her family's tombstones.
She saw Sirius and Peter standing face to face before a blinding explosion.
She saw her own…
"LYSSIE!"
Elyse awoke with a jolt, almost falling out of bed as her little five year old brother, Sean, jumped up and down. She grabbed his legs and pulled him down so he was laying down next to her, giggling hysterically.
"I got yeh Lyssie! I got yeh!" He laughed; proud of the fact he was able to scare his sister.
She laughed along with him, trying not to make it sound as forced as it truly was, "Yeh, did but it's eight 'n teh mornin', Sean."
"Pat's waitin' fer yeh downstairs. Mummy told meh ter come git yeh!" He exclaimed happily.
Elyse's eyes widened and she scrambled to get out of bed only for her feet to get tangled. She promptly fell in a heap on her floor in a tangled mess much to the amusement of her brother. As she fell, her foot caught a pile of books, knocking them to floor causing an even louder crash.
"Is everythin' alright oop 'ere?" Elyse's mother shouted up.
"Yeh. Just gimme a minute!' Elyse shouted back down. Once she untangled herself from her blanket, she grabbed Sean up and spun him around the room and safely deposited him outside of her room. Once she was back in the sanctuary of her own room, she grabbed her books from the floor. She was thankful that Pat hadn't decided to wake her up himself, she had spent the last night reading a book about charms.
Even more damning was a small booklet with a cover of purple paper that was handed out to every single student on the train on their way back home.
Issued on Behalf of the Ministry of Magic
1. Be back home or in a safe place once the sun goes down. Prevent trips that require travel at twilight or night. If it is unavoidable, travel in groups of at least four with at least two over age wizards or witches.
2. All wizards, underage or otherwise, should always carry their wands with them at all times. It is advisable to keep wands out of sight of muggles. If threatened by a Death Eater (see page 3) all wizards should defend themselves without worry of repercussions. Even if the attack is in front of muggles or the wizard or witch is underage, the Statute of Secrecy (see page 2) will be temporarily suspended to defend your life or the life of your family.
3. Be sure that family members know emergency procedures if under attack. Muggle families are included under this.
4. If neighbors or family members are behaving odd or different compared to their usual behavior, do not hesitate to contact the Ministry (on how to do this, see page 5). It is possible they might be under the imperious curse (see page 6) and will be unable to reason. Do not approach on your own.
5. There is a possibility that the Death Eaters are employing the service of other magical beings. Be certain to identify the beast/creature properly before attack. Be sure to use the proper counter attack when appropriate.
6. There have been reports of inferi (see page 4) being used by Dark Forces. If you live near a graveyard and see suspicious happenings, contact the Ministry immediately and stay indoors at all times. If possible, get other family and neighbors to do the same without attracting suspicion.
7. If the Dark Mark (see pages 8-9) appears over any house, building, or other area, it is almost certain that someone has died. Contact the Auror Department (see page 10) immediately. They will arrive and take care of the situation.
8. ABOVE ALL ELSE, VALUE YOUR LIFE AND SAFETY. DO NOT GO LOOKING FOR DANGER.
She threw at to the side and grabbed her visions journal and quickly tried to record the plethora of visions from her sleep. She quickly wrote down the snippets and tried to sketch the tombstones. She got their names but that was. The frustration grew as she tried to recall a single date, even a year would suffice. Yet it seemed as if her mind had purposely forgotten the dates. She bit the edge of her pencil, picking at her mind, trying to remember the exact detail. Nothing ever became clearer. Eventually she gave up and began getting ready for the day,
Once she was dressed, she went down the stairs and was greeted with the sight of her boyfriend waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her. Pat smiled at her and offered his hand to her to help her down the last few steps. Once she was on the landing, he pulled her forward and stole a quick kiss from her.
"Good mornin' love," he greeted.
"Good mornin', Patty."
He smiled at the old nickname. Elyse's heart skipped a beat. There were few things that could make her forget the war but his smile had to be the most effective of them all.
"So I was thinkin' we could go fer a walk 'n maybe later we could meet up wit some 'o mi mates from school later," Pat offered.
Elyse smiled, "Alright."
He smiled wider and grabbed her hand towards the kitchen where her mother was preparing breakfast. They just sat down at the table, getting ready to dig into the delicious food Mrs. O'Brian made when there was a tap at the window.
"Um, Love, there's 'n owl at yer window," Pat said. His eyes were wide, just like Elyse's were. She shared a panicked look with her mother before rushing over to get the bird and the letter.
"It's nothin'," she tried to explain. "One o' me friends' dads trains animals an' James likes ter send his mail wit 'em."
"James?" Pat raised his eyebrows. "How come I've neva met any o' yer friends? We've been datin' fer almost a year an' a half now! Do 'ey they even know aboot me?"
"Yeah, yeah," Elyse answered, slightly distracted as she ripped open James's letter.
Lucky,
I hope that this letter reaches you safely. I've been checking the news and I haven't heard anything about Kiltimagh so I assume that you are okay. If not, well, I guess you'll see in a little bit. I just wanted to keep you up to date about some recent developments.
So far, Muse and Padfoot are still at their parents' house. I keep on trying to convince them to come home but Muse's being bloody stubborn. Listen, I know this is asking a bit from you but you are the only person that she actually listens to. Please, write her or somehow get in contact with her and try to convince her to leave. If they stay any longer….you don't need me to finish that thought.
Time is of the essence because their Uncle Alphard is dying. He wants to see them one last time but his twisted sister isn't allowing him even on the same block as the house. He's really sick and every time I try to tell one of the twins this, they have to leave for some reason or another. Please, just try to write them.
And before you find out some other way, King got into a bit of trouble. No one knows what really happened but he got called on underage magic and rumor is that it was on a muggle our age. His dad is trying to cover it up but when the minister's son curses (allegedly) a muggle, it gets out. With the war going on, this is possibly the worst thing that could happen, especially for the Ministry. They think there will be an increase in attacks in the next few weeks because people aren't exactly fans of Jay White anymore with his son running around cursing muggles. Just be careful.
See you soon,
Prongs
Elyse's brow furrowed at the contents of the letter. Questions were flying through her mind a thousand miles a minute. Ursula and Sirius were still in trouble, their uncle was dying, Ben was cursing muggles, and now they think there's going to be more attacks?
Before she could sort through any of questions, the letter was snatched out of her hand.
"Woot's this?" Pat asked.
Elyse dove over the table and snatched the letter from Pat's hands, "It's nothing!" She exclaimed, shoving the letter in her pocket.
"Seriously?" Pat asked, sounding slightly angry. "I've been putting up wit a lot from yeh and yeh don't even offer me any bloody explanation! Woot teh hell's goin on!?" He demanded.
Thinking on her feet and trying to avoid a fight in her kitchen, she grabbed Pat's hand and practically dragged him out of the house. "Let's go fer a walk," she suggested before running off into the fields waiting for Pat to join her. Not one to disappoint, he joined her seconds later.
He grabbed her arm and yanked her back to face him. "No! Yer gonna listen ter me! Ever since yeh's been back from yer fancy boardin' school, yeh's been lookin' like teh bloody sky is gonna fall! Yeh don't smile anymore! Yeh's always lookin' fer those freakin' owls that're supposed ter be bloody NOCTURNAL! Yeh keep on getting' letters from yer friends I've neva met! 'and I'm pretty sure yeh's freaky newspaper bloody MOVES! WOOT TEH HELL'S GOIN' ON!?" he demanded slightly hysterically at the phenomenons that he could never comprehend.
Elyse was silent through his entire rant, knowing that every word was true. "Pat," she said calmly, "I can't tell you."
"Can't or won't?" He challenged.
"Both." She admitted honestly.
He let go of her arm and spun away from her. He ran his hand through his hair agitatedly before rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm tryin' 'ere, Elyse. But yeh've got ter gimme somethin'."
"It's too complicated," she offered as an excuse. It wasn't really an excuse though. It was just complicated in different ways than what would be complicated for him. The war was complex enough for her to understand, she couldn't explain that to a muggle.
He shook his head and walked back over to stand in front of her. He took her hands in his hands and his sky blue eyes looked into her green. "Yer eyes aren't teh same anymore. Please, let me help."
For almost a minute, she just stared at him trying to decide if she could tell him anything. Finally she nodded, resigned to the fact that while she couldn't tell him everything, she had to tell him something.
"I'll try ter explain everythin' but it's a really long story." She warned.
"We have time."
Elyse nodded and began to walk hand in hand with Pat down one of the dirt paths through the fields surrounding her house. After a minute of trying to figure out where to start, she began.
"Yeh know the school I go to?"
He nodded, "Hamlet School for Writers and Wonderers. It's a school fer writers and philosophical thinking, right?"
"Yeah. Well, 'ere's four houses all named for animals; Snakes, Badgers, Ravens, 'n Griffins. Each house has a set o' ideals. Sometimes, 'ose ideals clash. Notoriously, it's always been teh Snakes 'n teh Griffins. I'm part of the Griffin House."
"So yeh've got a house rivalry?" he scoffed.
"It's more than 'hat." She responded. "This rivalry goes back ter teh foundin' o' teh school. There've been blow ups between teh houses before, but neva like 'his. There's a headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, 'n he's from Griffind— so he's standin' against teh Snakes. And teh "Prime Minister" o' teh school is Jay White 'n he's from Griffin too. But tere's this bloke, he's graduated, 'n he wants control o' teh school."
"Woot's so important aboot 'his school?" Pat asked. "I've neva 'eard aboot it before."
"It's old 'n has a lot o' money." She tried to explain, mixing truth with lies. "They've got some political influence, mostly in London. But back ter me explanation. Me friends're all from old families from teh school. Since this feud's worse than teh past ones, their families've picked sides. Ursula 'n Sirius's parents are on the Snakes side even though tey's both Griffins. They're in danger."
"Why're tey in danger? It's just a feud."
Elyse shook her head sadly, "Remember me friend's sister dyin' in a car crash?"
Pat nodded, "Woot does—"
"We don't think it was an accident." She said bluntly.
He stopped midstep, a horrified look on his face. "Oh me God."
She nodded. "A few otha graduates've gone missin or died unda mysterious circumstances too. It's getting' dangerous. And me friends're right in the cross fire. I worry."
"I'm so sorry. If I'd've known…" Pat said, feeling guilty for pushing this.
"Yeh had no way o' knowin'." She assured him. "None o' us go 'round tellin' people. And yeh shouldn't tell anyone either."
"I won't. Promise." He sealed his promised with a quick kiss before tugging her gently back towards town. "Let's go see if anyone else's up. Casey said she's got somethin' fer all o' us."
Fifteen minutes later, they were all sitting in the jungle gym in the local park, all of them eating out of a large container of different flavored popcorn. Casey McGovern's aunt ran the local sweet shop and always liked to test out new treats on her niece's friends. Besides Pat and Elyse, Casey's friends Michael, Lauren, and Hannah were there.
Though they had all known each other since they were born, Elyse felt awkward trying to talk to the other girls. They seemed so focused on boys and other menial gossip about people Elyse hadn't seen in years. After a rant about the horrendous Mrs. McNamara, their literature teacher for the last two years, Casey focused her attention on Elyse.
"So how's yer fancy boardin' school?" She sneered slightly. "To be honest, I neva thought yeh was that special."
Trying to keep her temper in check, Elyse coolly responded, "I'm more special 'an yeh could eva imagine."
Lauren chortled, "Seriously? Yeh barely passed fourth grade, yeh kept on zonin' out. I heard teh teacher's talkin'. They thought yeh was dumb."
Elyse could barely contain her anger. Her hand flew to her pocket, touching the familiar silver lime wand. If she had been at Hogwarts, she would have hexed the girl, any of her friends already would have.
"I'll've yeh know, I'm at teh top o' me class," Elyse spat. "I'm sure teh only thin' yeh's passin' is –"
A hand was on her shoulder, cutting her off from finishing her sentence. "Love, just stop," Pat hissed in her ear.
"Why should I?" She hissed right back, infuriated that Pat seemed to be talking Casey's side.
He stood up and helped her stand before walking over to a slightly higher part of the jungle gym. "Listen, Elyse, I don't like Casey either, but she was datin' Seamus when he died. She's had a lot of problems dealin' wit it. Please, I know she's actin' like a bitch, but she's just dealin' with it her own way. Just like yer friend Ben 'n his sista."
"Don't yeh dare compare Ben ter that witch." Elyse said in a low voice. "Woot 'appened was not teh same at all."
"Dammit Elyse, why's it 'at yer friends get all teh breaks but me friends're judged?" He spat at her. "Woot make's yer friends so bloody special? I git they're in danger 'n all that, but they're not teh only ones dealing wit that stuff. I know yeh weren't here when it happened, but that train accident destroy us. Me best friend died! Yeh wasn't even here! Yeh neva seen yer friends die!"
Before Elyse could respond, she was violent tugged backwards over the edge of the railing. She screamed, tumbling down into someone's grasp. The person held her over their shoulder, spinning her around. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the black, unruly hair and instantly relaxed and laughed along with her captor.
Pat on the other hand, shouted her name and jumped over the railing, running towards Elyse. "Who teh hell do you think yeh are!" Pat asked, reaching for Elyse to pull her away from the stranger.
James smirked and held his hand out, "I think I'm the brilliant James Potter, best friend to Lucky here." He said, ruffling her hair with his free hand. She laughed, her bad mood completely gone. Pat warily shook James's hand.
"Pat Finnigan, Elyse's boyfriend."
Elyse hadn't noticed but Remus and Peter were also there. As they introduced themselves to her boyfriend, she discreetly turned to James.
"Where's—"
"Sirius and Ursula are still at Grimmauld Place." He said grimly. "Things are getting really bad. They should be coming to my house any day now, at least."
"Woot's really bad?" Elyse asked under her breath, fear evident in her voice.
James didn't look at her and instead looked at the group on the other side of the jungle gym staring at Remus's scars on his face. He clenched his hands, his eyes narrowing at them. He turned towards Elyse and muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "Their mother tried to use the Cruciatus Curse on them yesterday. They got out unscathed but it's only a matter of time before she succeeds."
He clapped her on the shoulder once before walking over to the still staring teens and said something to them that caused them all to turn a brilliant red and look away. When he walked back, he had a smug look on his face. "I love scaring muggles." He said gleefully, ignoring Elyse's horrified face.
Remus walked over with Pat and Peter. Remus rolled his eyes, "James, control yourself." He said as a warning, though he looked relieved now that he was no longer being stared at. The people at Hogwarts no longer stared at his scars but muggles were a completely different story.
Pat walked over and put his arm around Elyse, "So where's teh rest o' yer merry band o' friends? Ursula, Sirius, and Ben right? Elyse mentioned they might be in a bit o' trouble."
They all tensed at the mention of the three missing. Elyse knew that Pat was trying to show that he was interested in the well-being of her friends, but it was not something any of them liked discussing.
"Sirius and Ursula are stuck at their parents home, I'm sure Lucky explained their situation."
"Lucky?" Pat questioned.
James smirked a bit, "She is our Lucky charm."
Pat was not amused by the joke. Peter chuckled however at the blatant but believable lie. James shook Pat's shoulder, "Aw, com'mon Patty! Laugh a little!"
Just then, the church bells started ringing, signaling that it was noon. "Well, lads, me mam wanted me back at noon. I guess I'll see yeh later." He seemed slightly put off by James, instead choosing to speak to Remus. Remus nodded understandingly, "It was nice meeting you."
"Same." He nodded at him and Peter.
Elyse took Pat's hand, "I'll walk home wit yeh. Remus, don't let 'em git in too much trouble."
"Me? Trouble?" James questioned incredulously. "Never."
"I'll do my best," Remus answered, smiling reassuringly at Elyse. When he smiled, Elyse noticed that there was a new scar that went across his face, going from under his left eye to just above his upper lip. Not for the first time, Elyse wished that there was more they could do for their kind hearted friend. It frustrated her to no end that she wasn't able to transform yet to accompany him on his moonlit transformations. Though she was a bit uncertain what a little rabbit could do against a unreasonable werewolf, she still wanted to help.
When walking home with Pat, there was no talking. It seemed as though there was some tension still left over from their two fights that morning. Pat was the one to try to break the ice.
"So woot 'appened ter Remus's face? Run into a tree?" He joked.
Elyse ripped her hand from his and glared at him, "He was attacked by a dog when he was a kid. Teh scars'll neva fade."
"Sorry," Pat said. He at least had the decency to look sheepish. He stopped at the foot of the path to his front door. He took her hand. "Listen, Elyse, I'm sorry I've been actin' like a prat lately but yeh got ter understand. It just hit me last year, me best friend is dead. Seamus's neva comin' back. 'N then I see yer friends 'n I git jealous. It's not right, but it's teh truth."
"I giddit," Elyse said, remembering the flashes of all the deaths she had seen, ones that had already happened and ones that were yet to happen. "Yeh just've teh talk ter me, alright?"
He smiled and kissed her. "Woot did I eva do ter deserve yeh?"
She shrugged and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I ask me self teh same thing. Now get inside before yeh Mum comes out 'ere."
They shared one last kiss before he went back into his house and Elyse walked back to the park. She found her three friends sitting on the swings, chatting quietly among each other. She walked up behind Remus and rested her elbows on his shoulders. He didn't even jump at the touch, no doubt hearing her because of his sensitive hearing.
"So woot're yeh guys doin' here?"
Peter shrugged, "James just showed up with Remus and said that we were going to visit you."
With that, Elyse turned her attention to James who answered, "With everything going on, we just wanted to make sure that you were okay with your family. That and I found out more about what happened with King."
"Woot happened?" Elyse asked as she sat down on her own swing.
"We're not supposed to know this but I just happened to overhear—"
"By that he means he hid behind a door," Remus butted in, smirking slightly.
James glared at his friend and shoved his shoulder, causing him to swing into Peter, laughing.
"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I overheard a conversation between my dad and Minister White. Apparently Ben was on his way to visit his sister's grave. On his way there, he overheard some kids talking. When they saw him, they said something about Annabelle. Everyone in town knew she was pregnant and unmarried and one of those kids said something. Mr. White didn't say, but even he sounded furious. Next thing you know, King whips out his wand and BAM! Ben gets in a whole shit load of trouble."
Elyse shook her head, "I just can't believe it. Ben?"
Remus spoke up softly, "It's not Ben. The person we are friends with isn't there right now. Ben would never hurt someone who couldn't defend themselves."
"He would," James said. "For Annabelle…or Ursula." He added as an afterthought.
Peter snorted, "He's got a bloody brilliant way of showing it."
They all frowned slightly at the bitterness in Peter's tone. It sounded odd coming from him.
None of them had time to dwell on his remark when a loud yell came from James's pocket. "JAMES!"
His eyes widening, James grabbed the three way mirror out of his pocket, "Sirius?"
"James! Bloody hell, where are you?! The floo's blocked!" Sirius shouted through the mirror, other people shouting in the background, things crashing, soft swishes of magic, and suddenly, someone screaming bloody murder.
"I'll be there," James swore, his tone losing its joking quality as he became deadly serious, and jumped off the swing and ran to the nearest road with the rest of the group behind him, exchanging worried looks. James grabbed his wand and held it out. Seconds later, a large bus appeared. Before the driver could say anything, he jumped up.
Elyse asked him, "Woot're yeh doin?" She demanded of him, fear painfully squeezing her heart and worry settling in her stomach. She wasn't the only one, Remus and Peter looked the exact same way, the later even more so.
James turned around and smirked arrogantly, an overly zealous and slightly maniacal look in his eyes, "I'm going to do something incredibly brave or stupid depending on your point of view. NUMBER 12 GRIMMAULD PLACE!" he shouted to the driver. He barely had time to wave to his friends before disappearing from view on the night bus, leaving the three stunned teens behind.