The Needle in the Haystack
By Lucy Deveraux
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except for the obvious. Credit to several of the characters and all of the setting goes to JK Rowling. Thank you.
A/N: I haven't written in forever so I apologize in advance for any grammar mistakes and short chapters! I'm a bit rusty so you'll have to give me some time! Thanks for the patience and feel free to give me a review!
**FLASHBACK**
"DAILY PROPHET! COME AND GET YOUR DAILY PROPHET RIGHT HERE!" screamed the boy who seemed to be younger than twelve. He waved the large wad of paper in the air. The pages ruffled loudly in the wind causing people to divert their attention to the boy. "DAILY PROPHET!" he called again.
A hooded figure emerged from the dark. It advanced towards the boy, placing a weary hand onto the shoulder of the newsie's suede vest. "Excuse me Lad?" The shadowy face was invisible in the darkness that surrounded the entire town that day. Something evil had happened, and someone evil was among everyone, everything… The skies were gray with thunder storm clouds. The rain beat down on the roofs. Pitter Patter. The boy strode over to the figure. He raised his head to look at the tall figure from under his cap. "Ah Yes Sir!" The accent was harsh and almost untranslatable. "What's it you need Sir?"
The figure looked to the boy, his face still hidden from view. "One daily prophet" asked the man. The stranger removed two Knuts from inside his long back cloak. His hair was graying. It hung down to his ankles as he leaned over the boy.
"That'll be one knut, Sir." The child's voice grew quieter. He leaned over a bit, trying to peak under the hood of the strange man who stood beside him. Who was this stranger?
"Ah yes. I believe so." The figure took the paper and gave the child two Knuts: one for the paper and one for a tip. He sat onto the bench closest to the vender. "So," he said, "What's the news on you-know-who?" The man opened the paper and leaned back on the bench. He shuffled the papers a few times. His eyes then caught a headline in the smallest print. He quickly sat up. It read:
CHILD FOUND: NEEDING FOSTER FAMILY
Baby girl found: RED hair, PALE WHITE skin, BROWN eyes. The girl seems to be a few months old. It is unsure how long she was in the broom cupboard of the old Riddle Family House. The house keeper found her late in the afternoon. A letter was found with her. It said that the girl's name was Lucy. IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON THIS CHILD, PLEASE CONTACT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC.
The man folded the paper up and slid it into his cloak. "Sad, isn't it? This baby girl was abandoned."
"Aye, Sir! Very sad indeed!" the boy responded. The stranger knew something the boy didn't. The girl was found in the childhood home of the darkest of all wizards. The rain continued to pour for the rest of the night.
CHAPTER ONE
"Everything comes down to this. The game is tied. The Slytherins flying alongside Ravenclaw number twenty-two have made a plan. One flies around to the other side AND… OH! THEY NAIL IT! THE QUAFFLE IS THROWN AND THE SLYTHERIN CHASER CATCHES IT! 5, 4, 3! AND THE CROWD ROARS AS THE SLYTHERIN THROWS THE QUAFFLE THROUGH THE RING! 10 POINTS TO SLYTHERIN AND THEY WIN THE GAME!" screams the announcer, most excitedly. I just looked around for a moment, noticing everyone was standing and clapping and cheering, and of course, most of the Ravenclaws booed. I just stood there, clapping along with everyone else. My face was blank. I had no interest in this sport at all. I'm more of a book person. Ever since I got to know Draco, he's been buying me a ticket to watch. As much as I didn't want to be there, I had to go. I'd go only for Draco.
Once everyone had begun to pack up and head back to the castle, I stood and stormed off, bored. The stairs were never ending. Step after step after step, I trudged down to the cobble path that led back. The rain fell upon my copper red hair. It turned a darker auburn color by the time I had arrived. Puddles began to form from the water I was wringing from by hair. I put it in a loose pony tail as I continued on down stairs to the dungeons. It slowly got darker going down the stairs. It seemed like someone had blown all the lanterns and candelabras out. What a horrible prank! I could fall down the stairs and break my skull open! Pulling out my wand, I spoke in a clear voice.
"Lumos." Light flew from the tip of my wand. It blinded me for a second when I realized what my surroundings look like: spiders and cobwebs all over the ceiling. I was shocked. The 11 inches of wood slipped from my hand, cluttering to the ground. The light went out and I was left to search for it blindly. My hands searched the hard stone stairs. Suddenly, a light brightened the staircase once more. I saw my wand and grabbed it. I looked up to see the source of the light, squinting. It was another Slytherin student. His hair was a dark brown that fit perfectly with his lightly tanned skin. His face was flawless. My hands flew up to my eyes, rubbing them before looking back up to the boy. He was inhumanly beautiful.
"What are you doing down there?" A hint of ignorance and annoyance filled his voice.
"Oh, um." I was at a loss for words. I didn't even know this boy, yet he used that voice on me? It's as if I'm a first year. I finally found the words I was searching for. "I'm sorry, I was just looking for my…" I found my wand quickly, picking it up into my grasp. I waved it a little, directing him to come to the conclusion that it was what I was looking for.
"Hm…" the boy narrowed his eyes at me for a second.
"Yea" I responded. It was getting awkward now. We were just looking away from each other, trying not to make eye contact as I sat on the ground. He mumbled something. I'm not sure what exactly. He ughed at me and placed his hand down to help me up. I generously accepted it and he tugged me back onto my feet. Being the clumsy person I am, I stumbled forward into him. My apology came out quickly. I was stumbling over my words. I never stumble over my words. This was strange. Every time I looked at him, I grew nervous and my palms began to sweat. Lazily, I moved out of his grasp. Clearing my throat, I looked around awkwardly.
"I, uhh, better go…" he stated towards me. I swear he was blushing; however, I could tell he felt as awkward as I had. He quickly rushed off in the opposite direct I was headed. I'm not sure if that was on purpose.
Lighting my wand up, the common room came into view. The painting's eyes met with mine. I whispered the password to the canvas and it opened widely. 'Dragon heartstring'. That was the password. I still remember my first day at Hogwarts when I learned that very password. On that day, I met Draco. What a flirt. He charmed me. He had just broken up with Pansy Parkinson. Well, she broke up with him technically. He was a mess. That's the day we talked a lot. He told me about his father and how he was the only person he could rely on and that his mother was always off somewhere. "What a pea-brain" he said. "Never liked that woman."
Draco and I were dating. The happiest couple in Slytherin House… for now it seemed that way. I loved Draco. He loved me. I love his sensitive side. He loves my shy side. Fact: My shy side is my only side. I never was that social, even as a child growing up. My father, Professor Severus Snape, was very protective for some reason. I never learned why he didn't let me get close to anyone. He only allowed me to hang out with Draco and other friends of his. Everyone I knew wore black. It was too dark for my taste but my father wanted to hide me. He didn't want me to be noticed. I blended in with everyone, or at least tried to. My clumsy and awkward behavior always made me stand out. I was also the most studious of my fellow Slytherins. I could almost pass for a Ravenclaw.
The painting swung open, allowing me to enter into my common room. No one had arrived back from the game yet. I'm guessing everyone was out celebrating the win. However, I knew that Draco would be looking for me. I plopped down onto the black leather couch that sat in the center of the room. My eyes fluttered closed and a sigh escaped my pink lips. My arms rested across my stomach. The silence was peaceful. I very much enjoyed sitting there; listening to the only noises I could hear: the cracking of wood in the fireplace as it burned and the swishing of water outside the common room window as creatures swam by. Thoughts raced my mind of the stranger I met on the staircase down here. I didn't recognize him. Then again, I'm not the social type.
There was a loud smack on the leather and my eyes flew open. The startling noise caused me to gasp for breath as if I just woke from death. My vision jetted around the room before I noticed who it was.
"Oh, it's just you" I said, glancing at the stranger. It was strange that he arrived right as I was thinking of him. He flicked his head to the right, removing the brown hair from his vision.
"Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you were alive" he stated awkwardly. I looked up into his eyes by accident. Our glance connected and we froze in time, just staring at each other. Sparks. I snapped out of the trance as I heard the wood in the fire crack loudly.
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine… thank you." Why were we so awkward? Why was I staring at him? I have Draco. What's going on? Am I blushing?! My mind raced as I tried to grasp the situation. He moved to sit down where my feet were resting. I hastily slid them towards myself to make room for him. I placed my feet on the ground and folded my hands in my lap. I looked around awkwardly, trying not to look at him. His gaze burned into me. I could tell he was looking right at me. I wasn't sure if he was checking me out or just wondering if I needed to go to the hospital wing for losing my sanity.
"What are you looking at?" I cleared my throat. My body shifted a bit to face him. The smirk on his face gave me chills, goosebumps (the good kind). Slowly, his lips adjusted back to their normal, "no-emotion" look that "manly men" have plastered on their face. We sat in silence until I disturbed it a few moments later.
"Who are you?" I questioned him. His eyes flew upward. Before he could answer, the painting swung open. The loud screeching noise of it made me jump. My body shifted once more, this time to look at the student entering. A large grin flew onto my face as I saw blonde hair. Draco swiftly hopped over the back of the couch like a ninja, landing in between me and the boy I had yet to meet properly. His arm wrapped around my back and he placed his hand around onto my waist. I noticed an apple in Draco's other hand. His hand lifted the fruit to his mouth. His teeth crunched down onto it, removing a chunk. He chewed and swallowed before turning to the stranger. He raised an eyebrow to the boy and the stranger turned away from looking at him and nodded once. The stranger smiled down at his own hands and then rose from the couch. He peeked back at me and started out of the common room. He left without a word, but Draco's eyes, filled with disgust, didn't leave him until he couldn't see him anymore.
Once the stranger left, Draco threw the apple into the fireplace and turned to me. I felt a light vibration in his chest as he pressed himself closer to me. He grabbed one of my ankles and tugged it onto the couch until I was lying flat on my back. Draco lay by my side and smiled down at me. I smiled up at him. He leaned down to me, entwining his lips with mine. He tasted like apple and his lips were soft. I giggled into our laugh which caused him to pull away
"What?" he asked down to me. His striking blonde hair softly flicked downward. His hair wasn't very long but it definitely wasn't a buzz cut. It looks so smooth and it felt like silk as I slid my fingers through it. I heard him hum as I did this, enjoying the reaction I had on him.
"You taste like apple." I tried to say while I was laughing. His electric blue eyes looked at me in confusion. I gave him a reassuring smile which mentally told him that it was a good thing. His arms wrapped around me. I was encased in a large hug. It wasn't released however. He moved on top of me and applied his weight to me. He rested his head down on my chest and sighed deeply. After a while, I broke the silence before it became an awkward, uncomfortable one.
"It was a nice game today. You were amazing." My words were a lie. I didn't even watch the game. BUT it's the thought that counts, right?
He turned his head up towards me. My brown eyes met his blue ones and I leaned down, giving him a small kiss on the forehead. I gave him another reassuring smile and he rested his head back down onto my chest. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding and relaxed into the couch. My eyes fluttered closed as we were engulfed in silence.