AN: Hello, readers. I would love constructive criticism, and to hear your thoughts on this one-shot. So please, feel free to review, and I hope you like it.
~Peanutbuttercup
Disclaimer: I definitely don't own Harry Potter.
~*~A Fireworks Finale~*~
A woman stood outside. An observer would have noticed her odd attire—long black robes that etched the woman's outline against the blazing sunset, as if she was a shadow against a backdrop of liquid gold. Next to her was an extremely unusual creature—fluffy and black, with flat front paws, its long snout nosed through the moist earth at the woman's feet, uprooting several flowers as it searched for treasure.
Dorcas Meadowes sighed. She knew someone was following her. It had only been a matter of time. She hadn't been able to attend the last Order meeting, as it was too risky.
At least, that's what Sirius Black had said.
Dorcas sighed again. Sirius Black. The handsome man whose dark hair always fell across his eyes, who always made her laugh. The man that had given her a pet niffler.
Dorcas knelt, hugging the niffler close. He pushed his snout against her cheek, smearing it with dirt, giving her a "niffler kiss."
Picking a bedraggled begonia out of her niffler's mouth and brushing soil off his fur, Dorcas lost herself in memories.
It was April 23, 1977, and Dorcas Meadowes was going to remember the day forever. It was her seventeenth birthday, after all.
As this was the case, Dorcas could be seen glowing with happiness as she summoned her school bag, practically racing out of Ravenclaw Tower, ready to start out on what was sure to be a brilliant birthday.
By the time breakfast was over, Dorcas had already received quite an assortment of presents from various friends: a pack of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and two boxes of Chocolate Frogs. As Dorcas walked to Potions, shoulder-length brown curls gently bobbing, munching on a peppermint-flavored bean, she wondered what else her friends might give her today.
The Ravenclaws and Gryffindors had Potions together, and Dorcas was paired with Lily Evans. After being paired for nearly a year, the two were close friends. Dorcas didn't expect anything from Lily; she could memorize complicated Charms wand maneuvers or intricate Potions recipes, but she just couldn't remember birthdays.
Which is why Dorcas was pleasantly surprised when Lily walked in and handed her a small, rectangular box, wrapped in a purple paper that crinkled, begging her to open the gift.
"It's from James and I," Lily said as Dorcas lifted the lid. "Happy seventeenth Dorcas."
Twinkling up at Dorcas from a nest of red velvet was a golden watch, stars and planets replacing the numbers on the face.
"I know it's usually tradition for a wizard to receive a watch, not a witch, but Lily and I figured you'd need to keep track of time when you're on top of the Astronomy Tower, looking at the stars."
Dorcas glanced up from her gift to see James next to Lily, both smiling at her. She smiled back, happy. "Thanks so much! You're right; I definitely need a watch." Dorcas glanced around the classroom, searching for a friend she hadn't seen all morning. "Do you know where—" Before she could finish however, Professor Slughorn entered, bidding the class a good morning and telling them all to start brewing the Draught of Living Death.
Dorcas sat in the Ravenclaw common room, finishing an essay due the next day for History of Magic. It was late, and the common room was empty. The table she sat at was located near the bust of Rowena Ravenclaw, and wedged between two bookcases.
She jumped when she heard a knock on the door, and the musical tones of the bronze knocker calling out its question:
"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
There isn't one, Dorcas thought. They are the same plant. The wooden door remained shut, though Dorcas could hear voices on the other side discussing it—most were male, though she thought she heard a girl's voice occasionally.
Finally, the girl's voice answered: "Monkshood and wolsbane are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite."
"Well answered," said the voice, as the door swung open. And there stood Lily and James, hand in hand; as well as Peter, Remus, and Sirius, all carrying presents whose paper shimmered and glistened in the firelight.
Dorcas got up from her table, eyes widened in surprise. "What are you all doing here? What if you get caught?"
"If we do, who cares? It's just detention," Sirius said, grinning.
"Relax, Dorcas. It's your seventeenth birthday," said Remus.
She sighed. "Alright. Who's present am I opening first then?" Peter handed his over, and the party began.
Dorcas received some new Honeydukes candy from Peter, called Licorice Snaps. From Remus she had a bronze bracelet, with a charm in the shape of an eagle. And finally Sirius, who had insisted on going last, handed her his gold-wrapped present, grinning a little too slyly for her liking. "Happy seventeenth Dorcas," he said, "Hope you like it."
Dorcas was blushing, and hoping the dark room hid it. She unwrapped the gift to find—"A niffler!" The niffler leapt out of the box, landing on Dorcas' lap and promptly snuffling her new bracelet. "Hey!" she cried, pulling back her wrist. Dorcas looked at the rest of her friends, sitting on the common room floor with her, only to see them shaking with laughter. "What is it?" she asked, frowning. Lily, laughing hysterically, pointed.
Dorcas looked behind her, confused. Ravenclaw Prefect Robert Davies stood at the foot of the staircase, wondering at the commotion and ready to tell off students for being out of bed. But Dorcas' new niffler had seen him, and was now eagerly trying to climb Robert Davies' leg in order to see what a Prefect badge tasted like.
Dorcas couldn't help it. She burst out laughing too.
The sun was till setting as Dorcas stood, smiling at the memory. She still believed that had been the best birthday of her life. She stiffened. Someone was there. Someone…someone had gotten past her barriers. And she knew who.
Dorcas spun around, the sun's last rays illuminating her face. She pointed her wand at the intruder.
His face was pale, resembling that of a snake. "Dorcas Meadowes. You were always a talented witch. Come, join my followers. You would be powerful. Even more so than you are now." His voice almost seemed to slither, and Dorcas suppressed a shudder.
"No. I will not."
"Very well. I see I have little choice now… Avada Kedavra!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
A normal observer might have thought a fireworks display was in progress. Flashes of red, gold, green, puffs of smoke, cluttered the air.
One last time, the fireworks finale. Flashes of green, in rapid succession. Dorcas knew she couldn't avoid them all, not when so rapidly fired. So as she stood, for one last attempt, time seemed to slow.
She saw the sunset, the glorious golden backdrop, melting into the ground. She saw the stars peeking out into the rapidly darkening sky. Dorcas smiled, wistfully. The sky, velvety blue above the setting sun, looked just like the domed ceiling in Ravenclaw Tower.
Time sped back up. A flash of green, and her niffler fell, still as a stuffed toy. Dorcas took a deep breath. One last attempt.
"Protego!"
The flashes of green, the pseudo-fireworks, did not stop. Dorcas' invisible shield splintered; previously unseen fragments now caught the light of the sun's last light. Sparkles of gold fell about her, identical to the drop of liquid gold slowly tracing it's way down her cheek, clearing a path through the smudged soil of her niffler's last kiss. The gold mingled, intertwined, with the green.
A fireworks display.
The outline, the cutout of black against gold, fell. The rays of light vanished.
A cold voice.
"Pity. You always were talented, Dorcas."
The sound of a cloak, rustling, slithering against the grass, reached ears that couldn't hear it. Above, the stars twinkled against a field of blue, so alike to a ceiling that contained as many memories as the sky.
AN: The question to enter Ravenclaw Tower is found in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It's one of the questions Professor Snape asks Harry during their first class. I also had a little trouble writing Sirius and Volemort's characters; it's my first time writing either, so I'd love to know what you thought.