Black Emeralds
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She watches him from the corner of her eye. She's known him for five years now. Five years of trying to ignore the way he never seems to be there, always just out of reach. He was that way when she first met him, when he hid behind a shield of innocence, when he tried not to remember where he came from. Or what had happened to him there. They hadn't gotten along at first, him behind his shield and her still trying to adjust. But then she had truly connected with him, and his flame-haired friend. They had filled the gap that most people didn't notice. Most people saw only the happy preteen who seemed to have everything. Everything but love.
Her eyes drift back to the lanky, red-haired boy she talks to. He, too, casts sidelong glances at him. But they say nothing while he listens. Later there may be whispered conversations, but now they are silent.
He's changed over the summer. He's taller, and he's let his hair grow long. It nearly reaches his shoulders, and dark red, not-quite-black highlights stand out. But his eyes have changed even more. She's surprised she didn't notices them before the summer break. The shocking green of his eyes has grown in intensity, and they seem to glow even in the well-lit room. But the brilliant emerald is marred by black. It wasn't there before, she would have remembered if it was. It's as if a black mist has spread from the pupils of his eyes into the irises, leaving only a thin band of emerald.
But the physical changes are nothing. The past years they would all be joking on the way back to school. This year he stares out the coach's window, lost in his own thoughts. She talks quietly to her other friend, talks about him. He doesn't notice. This year there are no interruptions, except for the cart witch, and he doesn't even notice her. When the train stops, they move into a carriage. They're silent as the castle comes into view. A new man welcomed the first years, and Hagrid's hut looks cold and empty. They watch as the old dragon corral, the lake, the Quidditch pitch, come into view. And he sighs.
She watches him. And she hopes things will miraculously become normal again.
But she knows they won't. Because whatever happened changed him too much. It changed their world too much. Because there is an empty chair reserved in honour at the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall. A chair that cannot be filled. Because there's so much hidden in those black emeralds. Because his shield of innocence has been replaced by a stone wall, a barricade of coldness between him and the world.
And because his eyes are so black.
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Disclaimer- I own none of this. Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Hagrid, and Hogwarts belong to JKR, along w/ anything other than- Harry's new hair. If anyone doesn't like that idea of Harry having long hair, too bad. I just watched MI2, and I can't help but see Tom Cruise playing an older Harry ^_^.
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She watches him from the corner of her eye. She's known him for five years now. Five years of trying to ignore the way he never seems to be there, always just out of reach. He was that way when she first met him, when he hid behind a shield of innocence, when he tried not to remember where he came from. Or what had happened to him there. They hadn't gotten along at first, him behind his shield and her still trying to adjust. But then she had truly connected with him, and his flame-haired friend. They had filled the gap that most people didn't notice. Most people saw only the happy preteen who seemed to have everything. Everything but love.
Her eyes drift back to the lanky, red-haired boy she talks to. He, too, casts sidelong glances at him. But they say nothing while he listens. Later there may be whispered conversations, but now they are silent.
He's changed over the summer. He's taller, and he's let his hair grow long. It nearly reaches his shoulders, and dark red, not-quite-black highlights stand out. But his eyes have changed even more. She's surprised she didn't notices them before the summer break. The shocking green of his eyes has grown in intensity, and they seem to glow even in the well-lit room. But the brilliant emerald is marred by black. It wasn't there before, she would have remembered if it was. It's as if a black mist has spread from the pupils of his eyes into the irises, leaving only a thin band of emerald.
But the physical changes are nothing. The past years they would all be joking on the way back to school. This year he stares out the coach's window, lost in his own thoughts. She talks quietly to her other friend, talks about him. He doesn't notice. This year there are no interruptions, except for the cart witch, and he doesn't even notice her. When the train stops, they move into a carriage. They're silent as the castle comes into view. A new man welcomed the first years, and Hagrid's hut looks cold and empty. They watch as the old dragon corral, the lake, the Quidditch pitch, come into view. And he sighs.
She watches him. And she hopes things will miraculously become normal again.
But she knows they won't. Because whatever happened changed him too much. It changed their world too much. Because there is an empty chair reserved in honour at the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall. A chair that cannot be filled. Because there's so much hidden in those black emeralds. Because his shield of innocence has been replaced by a stone wall, a barricade of coldness between him and the world.
And because his eyes are so black.
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Disclaimer- I own none of this. Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Hagrid, and Hogwarts belong to JKR, along w/ anything other than- Harry's new hair. If anyone doesn't like that idea of Harry having long hair, too bad. I just watched MI2, and I can't help but see Tom Cruise playing an older Harry ^_^.