Title: Bleeding Black and Yellow
Prompt: one of my entries for the 'Your Favorite Hogwarts House Boot Camp challenge' – Stars and 'HedwigBlack's Wee…er…MONTHLY Challenge' on the HPFC
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is a trademarked brand owned by J.K Rowling and Warner Brothers. Any material used belongs to the aforementioned parties. This material is only used in recreational purposes and I receive no monetary or material rewards from using it. Please don't sue me.
When Susan Bones finds out that her Aunt Amelia's been murdered, she spends the following night sitting in front of her open bedroom window, crying her eyes out.
Though Susan is certainly no stranger to the concept of death in the family, this one is different. Uncle Edgar died when she was a baby, and though she wishes he was still around, Susan never really got the chance to know him. Aunt Amelia on the other hand was someone Susan grew up with, someone she's spent Christmas and Easter with, someone she loved and respected, someone whose death will greatly impact Susan's life.
(Someone that, despite her high profile, dangerous job andthe upcoming war, Susan thought would just always be around.)
Shivering slightly despite the warm summer night breeze, the redhead wraps her quilted blanket tighter around her shoulders. This action doesn't help much, not that Susan really expected it to.
(It's her insides that are icy and cold, not her outsides.)
She stares up at the endless sky, inky black except for the twinkling white pinpricks scattered sparsely throughout. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Susan knows that Aunt Amelia is only the beginning; that more and more of the people she cares about will end up dead, and in this moment, she can't think of a time when the future has seemed more hopeless.
(The Bones family isn't exactly known for their survival rates, after all.)
"I miss you," she whispers as she blinks back her tears, voice hoarse from crying. "I'm lost and I'm scared Auntie, and- and I miss you."
A gust of wind rustles her curtains, revealing the Big Dipper for the first time that night. Automatically she follows it northward to where Polaris shines brightly.
(Be strong, Susan. Be strong and have faith.)
AN: I recently changed this story's summary to feature a quote from JK Rowling. Unfortunately, due to restrictions on character count, I had to leave out some parts of it. The complete quote is listed below:
"This may surprise people, but it is the truth...In many, many ways, Hufflepuff is my favourite House. Here's my reasoning, bear with me. (Again, I don't want to spoil things too much for people who haven't read the whole series, so I'm going to say what I'm about to say quite carefully). There comes a point in the final book where each House has the choice whether or not to rise to a certain challenge, and that's everyone in the House. The Slytherins, for reasons that are understandable, decide they'd rather not play. The Ravenclaws, some decide they will, and some decide they won't. The Hufflepuffs, virtually to a person, stay, as do the Gryffindors. Now, the Gryffindors comprise a lot of foolhardy and show-offy people, that's just the way it is, I'm a Gryffindor, I'm allowed to say it. You know, there's bravery, and there's also showboating, and sometimes the two go together. The Hufflepuffs stayed for a different reason; they weren't trying to show off, they weren't being reckless, that's the essence of Hufflepuff House. Now my oldest child (my daughter, Jessica) said something very profound to me, not very many days ago, actually, she said to me -and she, by the way, was not sorted into Hufflepuff House- but, she said to me, 'I think we should all want to be Hufflepuffs.' I can only say to you, that I would not be at alldisappointed to be sorted into Hufflepuff House." - JK Rowling, Harry Potter: Beyond the Page
