Chapter Nine: Opportune Occurrences
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
-Unknown
Throughout the life of those pure of blood, the status dwindles—in order for the continuation of one's line, it has been proven that we must interbreed with those not completely pure. It is said that within fifty years, all surviving witches and wizards will have tainted blood in their lines; however, this need not happen. In order to preserve the clean blood-lines—"
Lyn marked the page and set the book on her nightstand—reading the long book on life as a pureblood made her thankful that her parents take no interest in her life.
Being a pureblood didn't really affect Lyn's life: sure, her mother and father visited friends and went to galas, but she was never allowed. Her home, dark and old, had been in the family since the beginning; yet, through it all she never truly saw the difference between purebloods and muggle-borns.
The only difference that she is aware of is that one group is severely discriminated against—at least, that's what society tells the wizarding world. But no, in reality both groups are hated and misunderstood. Not all purebloods are in Slytherin—and not all Slytherins are purebloods. The students in Hogwarts have been cruel to each other for reasons they only think they understand; it needs to stop.
The students would be coming back tomorrow, tan from their holidays and smiling, even though they will be more stressed than ever in the final curve of the term. Lyn drew a breath and stood up from the bed. It felt nice to relax all day and read, though today she was scheduled to meet up with Regulus outside. She walked over to her trunk and pulled out warm clothes—more snow fell this morning and a fresh layer blanketed the grounds. Lyn knew not what he wished to do, but he told her to meet him in the Great Hall.
She took a breath, lifting her weapon of choice to shoulder height; throughout the trees and around the snow piles, the sunlight fell. As she walked around the tree, she prepared to—
"Regulus!" Lyn screeched as a pile of snow fell on her head, causing her to drop her own clump. She wiped some of the snow off her head and out of her face as she looked around for him. "That's it…"
She dug her wand out from her pocket and lifted more snow from the ground around her feet. Lyn heard him coming around the tree. and she smirked. The moment he came around the side, she sent the snow for him—he let out quite the unmanly noise before dropping to the ground.
"What happened to no wands?" He grumbled from under the pile. She walked over and kneeled down, helping him remove some of the snow.
"Well," Lyn let out a laugh at his expression, dripping with snow. "I felt I was at a disadvantage."
He rolled his eyes and sat up on his elbows, "You're ridiculous."
She smiled and he leaned in slightly, "How about we go to the kitchens and get some cocoa?"
She stood up and offered him her hand; he rolled his eyes and smirked. Once he had a tight hold of her hand, he gave a tug and she found herself buried in the snow. Lyn let out a shriek and he laughed deeply—bloody git.
As he stood up and offered her a hand, she took it and stood herself up. Unfortunately, Lyn wasn't able to pull him down and was forced to let him brush some snow off her shoulders as they walked up to the castle.
"The castle is so beautiful," Lyn mumbled through the melted snow dripping on her face. "I'm going to miss it so much."
He let out a laugh, "Remember, you've another year after this…it's not going to go anywhere."
"I know," she sighed, "But with everything going on—it's in the air, you know?"
They were silent as they walked through the doors and down to the dungeons. I hope I didn't offend him—it's not like I said his family is causing all this pain and fear. Oh, Merlin, they're not. He's a Black—they're not all bad, just look at his brother.
"What are you planning on doing over the summer?" He asked as they walked down the stairs. She ran her hand along the icy wall and thought a moment.
"I'm not sure," Lyn scrunched her eyebrows. "I'll probably stay at home and…waste away?"
He laughed lightly, "Same. But I'm coming of age so I'll have the opportunity to visit Diagon. Better than staying in with an old house elf and screaming mother."
Lyn winced, "I wish I could get out—my mother is frightened with everything and won't let me leave alone. Of course Mar travels, so I don't have much contact with anyone over the summers."
"Do you think your mum would let you out with me?" He blurted and cleared his throat. "We could, um, go to Diagon or something."
Lyn nodded with a large smile, "That'd be nice, to get out of the house and all."
They reached the portrait and she reached up to tickle the pear—the memory of her last time in the kitchens came back and she shuddered at the older Black's comment. Surely Regulus isn't going to hurt me; Lyn giggled as he went over to a house elf and politely asked for two warm drinks. He turned back to Lyn and smiled as his hair fell over his eyes—he would never hurt me.
They laughed, drank cocoa, and spoke of their lives; it was nice, real nice, the way their hands would almost touch on the countertop and how he didn't notice the whipped cream on his lip.
It saddened Lyn when he had to walk her back to the Ravenclaw rooms, but she knew it obviously wouldn't be the last time she saw him.
"Sorry, about the snow earlier," Lyn turned her head away from his. The hallway seemed to shrink and it suddenly felt as if she'd fall down the stairs in front of the Ravenclaw common room. "I'm not going to lie—it was pretty funny, but still. Um, the—"
She paused as he set a hand on her cheek. Lyn could feel her face heating up, and she was sure he could too; yet, when she looked up at him his own face seemed slightly flushed. Her eyes widened slightly and she bit her lip; he let out an aggravated noise and leaned in. Their lips touched and her eyes fluttered closed.
Realizing her arms could be doing something instead of hanging loosely at her sides, Lyn wrapped them around his neck to pull him closer. His warmth surrounded her as he pulled her closer still; she stood on her toes and somehow felt herself back into the wall. His arm wrapped itself around her waist.
She felt him smile against her lips and she pulled back gently; though his eyes were her favorite part about his face, she couldn't help but stare at his lips.
Lyn glanced up and met his gaze, "I should probably go inside now."
Wrong thing to say, judging by his expression—quick thinking on her part, Lyn leaned in again and initiated a searing kiss. When they pulled back she stepped toward the knocker, prepared to answer the question.
"The baby's right,
the lover's privilege,
the hypocrite's mask."
She was now sure that the knocker didn't pick out these riddles randomly. Lyn snuck a glimpse at Regulus to see him with a puzzled expression on his face. She blushed, smiled and looked back at the knocker.
"A kiss."
A/N: 3
