DISCLAIMER: VERY UNNECESSARY, CONSIDERING THAT I IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM AM EVEN CLOSE TO OWNING HARRY POTTER. OR WORLD DOMINATION, FOR THAT MATTER.
~Michi
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Obsessed could be called an understatement for what I felt for her. Infatuation would be a mere eleven letter word. No, I wasn't even close to obsessed or infatuated. I was in love, and that was perhaps the worst thing that could ever happen to a wizard.
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Twenty years ago, in a remote part of Little Whinging, Surrey...
Mother never really could take a joke. Of my ten– almost eleven– years, I had been kicked out of the house at least forty-five times, forced to fend for myself on the streets for days, maybe even weeks at a time.
My usual hide out tended to be Downs Park playground. It was strategically placed next to a hot dog stand with an unconventionally lazy owner, and past 5 o'clock in the evening, no one ever checked the mouth of the slide for a stray child lacking a parent. That slide was my home for almost seven collective months; the sanctuary that protected me from the harsh sun, frost-bite inducing winters, and Mother's wrath.
During my time in the slide, I would peek at unsuspecting children, children who were fortunate enough to have food and clothing and parents who cared about them. Children who never knew magic.
Magic, though considered by some a gift, was more of a curse. It induced pain and suffering, never allowing the possessor to be content with their own belongings, leaving them to always crave more. But magic was my one doorway from this pathetic life to a new world, filled with wonders and creations. Not everyone had magic; this I plainly understood. Those blessed with my gift were the true gods of this world; those blessed with sorcery could influence the lives of the ordinary and become the only genuine enforcers of laws.
The only other person I ever saw who possessed magic other than Mother and myself was a girl who came to the park almost everyday, who seemed to grow with me during my cold weeks as an abandoned soul. I relied upon her visits, for she never failed to come, perhaps a little too much. Sometimes, I believed that she knew of my existence and temporary residence in the play equipment, for whenever she left for the day, there was always a small offering of sweets assembled at the foot of the slide. Whether she thought I was real or not was something I could never acknowledge.
Her true name escaped my thoughts for the first months that I saw her in the playground, though I called her many epithets in my mind, consisting of Scarlett, Rosie, and Carmen; something to accentuate her vibrant, vermeil-toned hair. For some odd reason, none of these names seemed to fit her appearance truly: she was not exceptional looking to any other male of my age, of that I was sure, but she glowed with a feverish eagerness for life that seemed to exude from her very pores. Her hair, as aforementioned, was the most brilliant hue of cerise that seemed to illuminate her countenance and accentuate each mood that passed over her face, be it anger, sorrow, or laughter. The ivory skin beneath this hair seemed soft and beautiful, as if unmarred by sickness or deformity, and her lips were two round crescents of papaya concealing perfectly straight, ivory teeth.
But what was truly distinguishing about her face were her eyes, which were the most appealing shade of green. Whenever I gazed upon her from my hideaway, her eyes seemed to glow with passion: two twin rivers of emerald hues in an Indian summer reflecting a common desire to live life to the fullest.
So it was at this point that, lacking a name for my mysterious beauty, I christened her my rare, one of a kind Jade Rose that shone only for my enjoyment.
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(A/N): So, first chapter prologue thingy up! Thank you to my wonderful beta, Luna, who has once again saved my butt from the evils of grammar and spelling (we are mutual beta-buddies! Stick that in your juice box and suck on it!), and thank you to my readers and reviewers, who are the only thing keeping me from kicking my computer through a wall.
Happy Halloween, y'all!
~Michi