AN: Well here's a story I've had written for a long time and finally decided to share! Please read, follow, favorite, review, let me know what you think. Takes place in Half Blood Prince.
Dear Diary,
My name is Audrina Carona Black and I hate my parents. It sounds like something that every fifteen year old would say but I think the people that are so pretentious their daughter's name means 'nobility crowned' somewhat deserve for me to hate them. I know every teenager hates their parents but mine have kicked me out of my house and disowned me so I think mine tends to be a bit more justified than 'they grounded me from going to Hogsmeade'. And they didn't even acknowledge my birthday, which was this week. July 19, actually. Ginny, my best friend gave this diary to me as a birthday gift, to control my 'anger'. Or as she put it, to write down my thoughts and feelings. She means well, my Ginny, but sometimes I know her a little too well. I mean, we have been best friends and practically inseparable since our first year at Hogwarts. She is my age, with flaming red hair. She is as pretty as they come, although she doesn't believe it. I think if she hadn't had such a crush on Harry Potter, the Chosen One, since forever she might have had more than a few boyfriends by now. But lately, she seems to have gotten over him. She dated a little bit last year and is currently dating Dean Thomas. He's a right bloke mostly but she drives me mad the way that she keeps insisting that I find a boy as well. Double dates seem to be her new project and I want none of it. I'm shorter than she is, 5'4, almost 5'5. I'm pale which is only a problem when I burn to crisp in the summer. I have the dark hair that is trademark of the Black family. I have gold eyes that I got from my mother. That's the one of the only thing she gave to me, my eyes. And my French heritage, I guess. I've been speaking French since I was young because that's all she'd speak to me. It's a long and complicated story, my family tree. Full of arranged marriages and only children and cousins marrying cousins. The noble House of Black, too noble to love their children. And then there's me, the first Gryffindor since Sirius and biggest disappointment since him as well. Maybe more, because now he's gone and I'm alone. That's why I was disowned, because I didn't come home with a Slytherin badge. I live with Ginny now. Most people at school don't understand why we're so close. So if there's a reason why I love Ginny so much it's that she's been more of my sister than anyone else in my family.
-Audrina Carona Black
"Audrina, are you ready yet?" A flash of red hair let her know that Ginny had entered the room, her arms folded impatiently.
"I'm writing, like you told me!" She shot back, snapping her new diary shut and standing.
"Well, hurry up!" Ginny said shortly, turning on her heel and disappearing down the stairs.
"Coming, coming." Audrina got up and stuck her book under Ginny's bed. She bounded downstairs, and smiled at Tonks.
"Oh, hullo Audrina." Tonks said dully, forcing a small smile.
"Hi Tonks." She said with a smile. She sat down next to her and patted her hand. Audrina was related to Tonks and had grown up hearing of the terrible person her mother was, but she had since became one of the few people that understood what it was like to have your entire family cast you out. Her friendship was now something Audrina treasured.
It also meant they had lost the same person, a cousin they had both loved despite all his flaws. The loss of Sirius had hit everyone hard. Audrina knew she wasn't dealing with it in the healthiest of ways; she had a tendency to force herself into forgetting anything had happened and tried to get through the entire day without reminding herself he was really gone. She thanked Mrs. Weasley as she handed her a bowl. They had just started on the soup when Hermione and Ron stormed down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"For the last time Ronald, I didn't touch the picture of you and that stupid-" Hermione exclaimed, heated.
"IT'S NOT STUPID!" Ron roared. Hermione glared at him. Audrina looked at Ginny, alarmed. She shrugged.
"Hermione's only been here what, a day? And they're already fighting." Audrina commented. Ginny stifled a giggle, and took another spoonful. Both Hermione and Ron sat down with identical huffs.
"Wow. Even acting like each other. That's the first sign to a solid relationship." Ginny said casually.
"Shut up Ginny." Ron growled. Ginny shrugged.
"C'mon Rin." She said, getting up. Audrina shoveled more food into her mouth. Ginny had more energy than anyone she knew and was likely to forget about eating for several hours. Audrina got up and hugged Mrs. Weasley.
"Thank you, it was lovely." She thanked her, trying to express how glad she was that she had a mom to cook for her, even if she wasn't really hers.
"Oh, yes, anytime Audrina dear." She said offhandedly, and Audrina wondered if she was worried about Tonks.
"Quick, let's get out before Phlegm comes-" Ginny said, tugging on her arm. Audrina snickered; the nickname was for Ginny's oldest brother's fiancée Fleur. So far they had spent the entire summer dodging her and her demands that Ginny help plan the wedding, something Ginny was vehemently opposed to.
"Ginny! Don't call her that!" Mrs. Weasley interrupted sharply, but even Tonks has an amused look.
"-Back in the house." Ginny finished defiantly. Audrina stifled a few giggles, and set her bowl in the sink. "To the broom shed!" Ginny cried, thrusting an arm into the air dramatically.
"Bet I can beat you." Audrina called, subtly positioning herself in front of the door so she had the advantage.
"As if." Ginny scoffed, taking off. She followed her, pausing only once to catch her breath when they reached the broom shed. She unlocked it and tossed Audrina her broom. They both leapt on our brooms, and took off swiftly. They hit the air and Ginny barrel rolled, whooping in delight.
"Show off." Audrina chided, teasingly. Ginny stuck her tongue out at her, uncaringly. "So, how are you and Dean?" She asked. They had been writing letters practically every night. She blushed.
"Good." She admitted. Audrina chuckled.
"Fine, fine, I won't ask any questions." She said, hovering under the apple tree, gathering a handful. One by one, she pelted them at Ginny, as she caught them. After she had finished my round, they switched spots.
"What about you? Who do you like?" She demanded just to annoy her. Audrina shrugged.
"After this summer? With all the love, and the mushy blah, I think staying single is pretty nice." She said.
"You could date Seamus and then we could go on double dates!" She suggested and Audrina made a face at her. Seamus was a reoccurring suggestion in a long line of boys their age or thereabouts.
"Seamus, really?" She asked and Ginny shrugged. "What makes you think that's a good idea?"
"You like to annoy people. He likes to blow things up. I can't help it if you two go hand in hand in my head." She informed her.
"A man that blows things up is nice." Audrina said thoughtfully and Ginny lit up. "But do you really want me around a man that will only encourage my stupid pranking ideas and then adds a fire element to them?" She added hastily and Ginny paled, shaking her head. Adurina beamed then darted about to catch eight of the ten apples she threw.
"Nice." She admired. "Chaser or Seeker?"
"Chaser. I don't have a shot with Harry." She said, absent-mindedly. Ginny momentarily flinched, and Audrina reminded herself that Harry was still a sore subject around her, even if she did like Dean.
"Sorry." Ginny said, as they switched once more. Audrina gathered ten apples, and on a second thought, grabbed one more. She rapidly threw the first ten, then waited for a second. Just as Ginny grabbed the tenth one, she threw the eleventh high above her. She barely had time to look up. Audrina smirked.
"Imperfect round." She said smugly, knowing that meant she won money from a longstanding bet.
"Try again, Rin." Ginny said with a cocky grin. She opened her hand to show her the small green apple. She held out the basket, which clearly held ten apples. Audrina groaned.
"Seriously?" She said, slumping down as much as she could on her broom without slipping off the end.
"Pay up, single girl." Ginny said, smiling at the idea of what she was going to do with her new wealth. Audrina moaned and they flew back to the house. They trampled up the stairs, only to catch a glance of Hermione, hiding in a corner. Audrina backtracked, almost barreling over Ginny who had stopped as well.
"Hermione, what are you doing?" She asked, perplexed.
"Hiding. Fleur wants me to help with the dresses. Ginny, hide yourself. She wants more fittings." Hermione hissed then stuck her head out of her hiding area and checked the landing. When it was clear, she curled up once more. Ginny visibly paled at Hermione's warning.
"We're running!" She whispered, yanking on Audrina's arm. She flashed Hermione a thankful grin, because with the impending crisis, Ginny would likely forget that she owed her money. "But not till Rin pays me!" She added hastily. Audrina suppressed a groan.
"Pays you for what?" Hermione asked, sticking her head out from safety, interested.
"I beat her in Rounds." Ginny said, grinning.
"What's that?" Hermione asked, brow wrinkling in confusion. Ginny sighed. Hermione was a genius with books but also incredibly oblivious about anything involving a broom.
"Honestly, with Ron as your best friend, I would at least think you would understand Rounds." She said, exasperated. Hermione frowned.
"No, he's never mentioned it." She informed them, glancing between the two of them, bewildered. Ginny and Audrina shared a look.
"Well, it is more of a Fred and George thing." Audrina said thoughtfully, thinking of the many previous hot summer days when the twins had taken it upon themselves to train the next wave of Gryffindor Quidditch players, with varying degrees of success.
"Rounds. It's like practice for the whole team." Ginny explained. Hermione frowned, frustrated that she couldn't understand. Quidditch had always been a hard concept for her to grasp, and after second year, they'd all fallen into the habit of excluding her from any talks involving the World or House Cups, mostly to avoid explaining.
"How does that work?" She asked, uncurling from her hiding position fully, clearly more interested in this than she was worried about Fleur finding and recruiting her.
"You throw apples at the other person." Ginny described hastily, glancing around quickly with eyes of an animal trapped in a corner. It was amusing, what Ginny would do to avoid fittings.
"Chuck them, really." Audrina added, leaning against the wall. Hermione looked bewildered.
"For Keepers, it's perfect. Beaters take sticks and go to town. Seekers, you just have to throw in random spots, for their reflexes. And Chasers practice catching. Simple, really." Ginny explained hurriedly. Audrina nodded, trying not to laugh at Hermione's look of defeat. "Now c'mon Rin. You still have to pay." She said, bolting. She groaned and followed her upstairs.
"Have I told you I hate you?" She asked, digging in her bag and throwing Ginny three Sickles.
"Nope. But the rest of your family has." She said cheerfully, pocketing it. "Now c'mon. Let's go hide from-"
"Ginny? Fleur wants you down here to pick out colors." Mrs. Weasley called. Ginny groaned and flopped down on her bed.
"Please. Kill me. Save me the pain." She moaned, voice muffled, as she hugged a pillow over her ears and face. Audrina grinned broadly.
"You stole my money, I watch you squirm. I think the universe calls that karma my dear Gin." She reminded her, shooing her out of the room. Ginny glared and huffed out the door, pausing only to throw the pillow at her. Audrina batted it down and followed, amused.
"And for the record, I won, fair and square!" Ginny called. Audrina rolled her eyes and entered the kitchen. Fleur caught one look of her and frowned disapprovingly. She calmly ignored her and grabbed a slice of bread. Grabbing the butter and a knife, she sat down to watch the fireworks. Fleur had barely opened her mouth when Ron barreled in.
"I told her not to!" He announced.
"What-?" Mrs. Weasley asked in confusion, looking at Ron, bewildered. Then the door slammed shut again, less forceful this time. Hermione walked in, holding her bleeding hand.
"The gnome bit me!" She shrieked. Mrs. Weasley sighed and waved her wand. The cut was gone in an instant but Hermione's horror remained. Audrina watched, amused.
"Well, if they're getting so out of control, could you go de-gnome the garden, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked Ron, who was carelessly thumbing through the massive swatches of colors Fleur had accumulated before she could snatch them away. Ginny jumped up, ecstatic at the chance to leave. Fleur looked at her future mother-in-law, annoyed.
"No problem, Mum." Ron said, sighing and leaving. Hermione looked between Ron and Mrs. Weasley, wondering if she should follow. Audrina smiled and finished off her bread.
"I can teach Hermione, so she stops getting bitten." She offered, eager to escape the imminent fight between Ginny and Fleur. She'd been subjected to it several times already and had no wish to repeat the experience anymore times than was required of her.
"That would be lovely." Mrs. Weasley said, smiling at her. "Ginny, dear, where do you think you are going? Sit, we have things to do." She called, as Ginny opened the door in what was likely her first escape attempt of many.
Ginny moaned and collapsed back into the chair, from where she gave Audrina a murderous glare. She smirked back and opened the door for Hermione, sticking her tongue out at Ginny as they left. They started walking, the summer breeze making Hermione's hair appear even crazier. She looked at Ron's back then at Audrina.
"Will I make a fool of myself?" She asked lowly. Audrina frowned, thinking it over. She had de-gnomed the Weasley's garden enough times to know how it worked but she also knew Hermione's gentle nature when it came to magical creatures. Audrina still had a S.P.E.W. badge buried deep in her trunk somewhere.
"They aren't going to get hurt. Remember that." She said carefully. Hermione sighed and nodded. When they crested the hill, Ron was already throwing five or six into the air. They flew past the tree.
"Ha!" He cried. "Beat that!" Hermione timidly picked one up, swung, and let loose. It didn't even make it to the fence. Audrina shrugged.
"Not bad for your first try." She said, flinching as the angry gnome picked itself up and ran back.
"It was a wimpy girl throw." Ron called out, shrugging, picking up a few more. He threw them and smiled in satisfaction at the distance they went. Frowning, Hermione picked up another one. She swung it violently and when she let it go, she launched it. Audrina watched, mouth open in shock as it rocketed well over Ron's best and kept going.
"I think I can still see it!" She cried, squinting into the setting sun. Hermione whipped her hands off and smiled at Ron.
"Beat that." She said saucily to a stunned Ron. Audrina high-fived her as she smiled smugly while he stared at the horizon where her gnome had disappeared in disbelief.
"Can't resist a chance to deflate his ego, can you?" Audrina muttered. She just grinned, shaking her curls out of her face.
"I kind of like this." She admitted. Audrina laughed and grabbed a few gnomes as they toddled back.
"Good. Because we have a long night ahead of us." She said, sighing and observing the many gnomes we still had left to toss. Hermione made a face, rolling up her sleeves, and they got to work. After what felt like an hour, they staggered back into the kitchen, rubbing tired shoulders. Ginny was slumped on the table, defeated.
"When I get married," She said, still face down and not moving. "-It will be in the backyard. Rin and Hermione, you can hold my robes. Ron, you can stand next to whomever I marry. And Bill or Charlie can marry us. I refuse to invite anyone beyond our family. I swear." She vowed.
"So Harry's not invited?" Audrina asked, causally, unable to resist the chance to tease her about her longtime crush. Ron and Hermione didn't hear either of them; they were too busy squabbling over whether or not Fleur and Bill should be getting married so soon.
"Harry's family, you know that." Ginny muttered, twisting so the crook of her elbow shielded her eyes.
"Well, traditionally, grooms aren't invited to their wedding. They invite the people, ya know?" Audrina said, offhandedly. Ginny leapt at her. She swiftly ducked out of the way and sprinted up the stairs.
"AUDRINA CARONA, I WILL KILL YOU!" She screamed, chasing after her. Audrina stuck her head around the door.
"No you won't. Now stop being so dramatic, let's change and go for a broom ride." She said, careful to mind any blows Ginny might send her way. Ginny sighed, putting her hands up in defeat and she let her in. They changed into warmer clothes, grabbing their Quidditch gloves. She glanced at Ginny. She was staring, amused, at her reflection. "What?" Audrina asked, pausing.
"Fleur wasn't happy with me." She said, running her fingers through her hair, frowning.
"What did you do?" She asked, exasperated.
"I didn't do it. Mum and Dad did." Smirking, she turned to her. "We can't settle on a color for our dresses. She complains that nothing goes good with my hair." She explained. Audrina thought about it.
"She has a point." Audrina said helpfully. Ginny smacked her and laughing, they dashed downstairs.
"Going for a ride!" They both called, scooting out the door.
"Be careful!" Mrs. Weasley called, eyes worriedly following them as the bottom half of the door swung shut. "Wait, Audrina, dear!" She said quickly, patting her apron. She turned around as she bustled out the door and up to the two girls. "You have mail. It came while you were up in the garden." Smiling, she held out a thick letter on expensive parchment.
"Oh. It's not Hogwarts, is it?" Audrina asked, bemused, turning it over in her hand. Ginny pulled on her wrist.
"You can read it on your broom, now please! Come before she finds me." She pleaded; glancing around furtively for Fleur and her various color samples to fret over.
"Wait!" Hermione cried, dashing from the house. "I'm coming with!" Ginny and Audrina looked at each other.
"Hermione…." Audrina said slowly. "You're great at throwing gnomes, don't get me wrong…. But you aren't that great of a flyer." She said, trying to let her down as easily as she could. She scoffed.
"I know. But Fleur is in there, rambling about what color she wants the rose petals, and I can't take it anymore." She said, rubbing her temples and sighing. Her hair was frizzier than ever.
"Rose petals?" Ginny asked skeptically, warily eyeing the Burrow. Hermione nodded gravely.
"Well, I think the chickens need some attending." Mrs. Weasley said after a pause and bustled off.
"I admire her. Great excuse." Ginny said in amusement, watching her hurry off. "Anyways, Hermione, you can come." She said, turning back to them. Audrina stifled a groan. "And sit while Rin and I do one race lap." She amended, giving her a stern look.
"Anything other than rose petals." Hermione said, shivering. She grabbed a spare broom. Ginny and Audrina shared a look. She had unknowingly grabbed Ron's broom. Ginny cleared her throat and Audrina laughed.
"Let's go." Audrina said, than pushed off, and the rush of air washed away all her worries. She almost let the letter fly out of her hand.
"Are you going to open it?" Ginny asked, pulling up level to her. Hermione, slowly, and less steadily, mirrored her. Frowning, she slit the envelope. She unfolded the letter and slowly read aloud.
Dear Audrina,
I write to you with a request. When you return to Hogwarts, please be on your guard, for not everyone wants you there. Please look at Mr. Sirius Black. Any pure blood that is a traitor, such as a pureblood in Gryffindor, will be first to be sought out by Death Eaters. Please. Not even Hogwarts can keep you safe. I beg of you, pleas keep your head down and don't do anything to attract more attention to yourself than you already receive. Please take care this year and mind what you say. I'm afraid it is you who has to fear the Dark Lord.
She slowly looked up from the letter, shocked. Ginny's blue eyes were huge, wondering.
"I'm on the hit list." She said mutely. Hermione already had her wand pulled out. "It's a joke." She said slowly, holding the paper up between her thumbs. The paper was thick and smooth, the trademark of money. Hermione frowned, cocking her head to get a better angle.
"Then who's it from?" She asked.
"It's from him." Audrina realized. She had grown up reading at that handwriting in notes and letters, watched it go from a childish scrawl to thick, neat letters. She would know it anywhere.
"Who's him?" Ginny demanded, eyes blazing, looking ready to launch into battle and kill.
AN: Please, please, please review!