Disclaimer:
Not mine. The wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. Alas!
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Two days at home, and I had already slipped back into my niche in the Weasley family. That is, I faded into the background to observe the chaos of my family. It was a faultless transition into the cautious, sensible Roxanne Weasley, like putting on a favorite sweater after months of disuse. I had been that Roxie for so long, I could play the role without a second thought. However, for the first time, I was acutely aware that it was a role. Each time someone joked with me about being a Prefect, never breaking the rules, and keeping my other cousins in line, I felt some invisible border shift a bit more out of place, another centimeter closer to the earthquake erupting.
It was like standing in front of a sunny window. I felt as if I could clearly see my family, but the sun's glare only allowed them to see my darkened silhouette. I had changed, but the shadows prevented anyone from realizing it, which broadened the divide. In a way, I felt disconnected.
I breathed out a quiet sigh. Nana Weasley looked over at me.
"You alright dear? You don't have to keep me company here. If you want to go see what your cousins are up to, go on ahead." She smiled warmly at me, before flicking her wand in the direction of the green peppers, which began dicing themselves.
"That's alright, I like helping you." All of my cousins were huddled in the yard, wrapped in cheery colored scarves and focused entirely on James and Fred, who appeared to be demonstrating something. This meant that for the next week until break ends, the rest of the family would be subject to this newest prank multiple times. Last Christmas it was a new brand of Whizbangs. We were continuously bombarded with rocketing fireworks that rebounded off of walls, people, and anything else that came into their path. Whatever they touched, they turned a different color. It looked like a dozen rainbow paint cans had been poured over the Burrow. It was only stopped when Uncle Percy was turned neon purple for the fourth time. He blew up and confiscated anything that resembled a Whizbangs.
It had been years since I had joined the huddle outside. After being excluded from helping with the Marauder's pranks, it didn't feel right. Instead, I spent my time helping Nana Weasley in the kitchen. It was warm and comforting in there, and Nana Weasley always made me welcomed by telling me "cooking secrets" that she hadn't taught anyone else in the family. We both appreciated the company.
Most of my cousins and I were gathered at the Burrow for the first of many unofficial gatherings before Christmas. Ever since I was little, the Burrow had been our playground. I've never seen it empty or quiet, but apparently it is very disconcerting when we abandon it for Hogwarts. Nana Weasley has already been goading Teddy and Victoire to give her grandchildren to liven it up a bit.
I love Nana Weasley with all of my heart, but sometimes I can't help but pity her, as bad as it seems. She is normally so motherly and loving, but sometimes her eyes seem to sadden and she starts unconsciously wringing her hands. I've grown up watching the memories of the war reflecting in my family's eyes, but there is something particularly heart wrenching about Nana Weasley's. I think it is because no matter what we have said or how times have changed, she will always believe she failed her family. I think she felt that if she had acted sooner, tried harder to keep them safe, my Uncle Fred would never have died.
That is why, even if I feel isolated from my cousins while they are off on some rampage, I never have the heart to leave my Nana in the kitchen by herself. I tried once, a couple years ago, but I could see her continuously peeking out into the yard to watch over us, always smiling and waving, and I only lasted twenty minutes before racing inside to help her. I found her quietly mixing ingredients together, standing by the stove with empty eyes.
That was the first time I saw "the look." But after I noticed, I started to see it everywhere. My dad had it whenever he had a glass too many to drink, Uncle Percy got it when he had one of his rare bouts of silence, and I caught Uncle Harry with it the most, staring off into the distance with an aged solemnity, looking as if he had let the world slip through his fingers. Sometimes I saw a sliver of the look flash across Teddy's face as well.
When I was younger, I dreamed about becoming a hero who defeated Death Eaters, so I could banish the vacant look from their eyes. I would save them, like they had saved the Wizarding World. I would be hailed as a savior, and anyone who had ever underestimated me would finally see my worth. It wasn't until later that I realized they just wanted the killing to stop. I don't think I truly understood what they meant until I looked out of the window onto Platform of Nine and Three Quarters and stared down at Javier Alden.
I was standing in front of the window as the train rolled to a stop, looking for my parents when I saw him. I recognized him from magazines, but he had the certain air that would have immediately indicated who he was even if I hadn't of known. He sensed my gaze.
Black eyes collided with mine for a split second, freezing me in place. A spark of recognition lit his face, and he frowned slightly before turning away. I didn't move. For that singular instant, I had seen that same haunting look that crept into my parents' faces glare up at me.
I had lingered on the train, gesturing for James, Fred, and Frank to go on without me. I watched as he nodded to Nashira and briefly put a hand on her shoulder, before turning back to the crowd of families. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were a hundred times more tortured than I had ever seen Uncle Harry's. I suppose Uncle Harry at least had the consolation that he had been on the right side. Mr. Alden didn't even have that.
There was something heartbreaking about him too. Most of the crowd tried not to get too close to him and didn't meet his eyes. Even the muggle parents who didn't know who he was or what he had done shot him disconcerted looks and followed the stream parting around him as if he were a boulder in a river. But he stood tall and proud among the crowd who didn't want to acknowledge his existence, because it meant acknowledging the past and the pain that came with it. And it was then when I realized.
In the end, we had all suffered. The people who fought in the war on both sides were forced to live with the guilt and the hurt. Nobody was left unscathed by it because, in the end, whether we were halfbloods, muggles, or purebloods, we were all human. It was a realization that I can't really explain, but gave me a deep sense of sadness at the world's injustice. Although the feeling (and my ability to put it into words) faded soon after, a few wisps of the sadness still clung tenaciously in my heart.
That was part of the reason why I was having a hard time blending in with my family in the celebrations. For whatever reason, it didn't feel right. I stared unfocusedly at the potatoes I was supposed to be peeling by hand (I didn't turn seventeen until march).
"What are you two doing, sequestered away in here?" I jumped when my dad entered the room. He grinned. He had been watching me squirm for the last two days with pleasure. He would insert little pointed comments that everybody glazed over, except for me. I couldn't tell what he knew about my pranking involvement, and it was driving me crazy.
"Avoiding whatever new trick you've provided to James and Fred to distribute." Nana Weasley sent my dad a half-exasperated, half-amused smile. Despite her complaining, she never confiscated the pranks.
"Oh, it's harmless. Besides, they aren't the pransker you have to be worried about." His smile broadened. "Speaking of which…. I was wondering if I may borrow my darling daughter? I wanted some company for a walk." Nana Weasley waved me off towards my dad, who I was watching wearily.
He herded me into the hallway, where he started tugging on some boats and a knitted red, worn scarf. I followed him, feeling as if I was being led into a dungeon to be interrogated and tortured. As expected, the temperature difference between the kitchen and the outdoors was significant and unwelcome. I was immediately blasted with a cold breeze that trickled through my hair to my neck, making me shiver.
We stomped through the six inches of crystalline snow that coated the ground like a giant sugar bowl had been tipped over the Burrow. The huddle of giggling cousins broke for a minute to wave at me and my dad. My dad was pretty much the favorite uncle, as whenever the family dinners got a bit too boring and slow (*cough normal cough cough*) he would slip them little WWW products that would speed it right back up.
We were by the shed when the interrogation began.
"So Roxs, how's school been?" He posed the question innocently, but I knew he was fishing.
"Fine." My dad stared at me, waiting for me to elaborate on my ambiguous reply.
"Just fine? Nothing special going on?"
"No… not really."
"Are you sure about that? My sources say differently." He shot me a huge, over-exaggerated wink. He returned my blank stare with a look that clearly indicated he had a bag of bottomless patience stored up. I sighed in defeat.
"Ok, what do you want to know?" You don't try to keep secrets from a mastermind, and I didn't really feel like being toyed with. He would get it out eventually (my dad is scary like that). He beamed at me.
"Tell me about this whole Dark Shadow thing."
"The Dark Shadow is a terribly uncreative alias and a horribly cliché name for the perpetrator of Hogwarts latest pranks." Even thinking about the title made me indignant.
"But would I be correct in assuming it is your 'terribly uncreative alias and horribly cliché name?'" I sighed again.
"Well. Technically it belongs to Nashira too." My dad smiled widely at me.
"I knew you were related to me."
"Glad to have cleared that up then." I replied bemusedly.
"It's a brilliant ruse, really. Wished Fred and I would have planned that far ahead in our schooling. We could have faked being the perfect student for a couple of years, gained the teachers' trust, maybe picked up a Prefects badge along the way, and they never would have suspected a thing when the pranks began."
"You never would have had the patience. Ever." My dad laughed.
"Probably not. So what led you to becoming Hogwart's newest legend? Other than following in the illustrious footsteps of your father, that is."
"Well." I paused, considering. "It started with Fred being an idiot…" For the next hour I told him everything about the pranks Nashira and I had been doing. It was wonderful to get it off of my chest. My dad rotated between being impressed, amused, and proud. By the time I had finished, we had left a trail of footprints in a large circle around the property. My nose was red and runny and my feet felt numb, but I felt a lot calmer than I had all vacation. It was nice knowing one of my family members supported my pranking career. Even if it was my dad, who granted his approval to any mischief-making activity and whose job it was basically to support me.
My dad looked very satisfied when we finally went inside. I think he was expecting to have to do a lot more weaseling before I would break.
"I think you should invite this Nashira over some time. I'd like to meet her, and I expect she would make for some very interesting entertainment." I glanced over at James and Fred, who were now sitting by the fire with large mugs of hot chocolate.
"That's one word for it." He followed my gaze and smirked. I think he likes torturing his children.
Sometime in the afternoon, my family members dispersed. I went with Fred over to the Potters, where we had been invited to dinner. We spent most of the afternoon playing exploding snaps and wizarding chess with Lily, Al, and James.
At about dinnertime, Uncle Harry came home with, much to our surprise, Lily's friend Sophie in tow. Apparently her parents had to leave on an emergency trip for work, and had asked if she could stay the night. Dinner was, as always, an interesting affair. Most of the family was particularly rambunctious today, in a semi-successful attempt at making Sophie feel more at home. She was a bit subdued and seemed anxious about her parents.
Halfway through dinner, the topic changed to a censored version of one of the Marauders' pranks (censored for the parents' benefit. Although I don't think they were fooled in the slightest). It had even Sophie laughing. Lily glanced my way with glittering eyes, which immediately aroused my suspicions.
"How is your witch hunt for the Dark Shadow going?" Fred feigned disinterest at her question.
"What do I care about some amateur who won't even own up to his pranks?"
"What happened to war?" I couldn't resist prompting him. Lily glanced at me again, and I purposefully slide my gaze over to Fred. It's not like she could know….
"We all decided that it wasn't worth it. We've been pranking people for a lot longer, and our pranks are a lot better, so why bother?"
"If by better you mean by more idiotic, then probably." James swatted at his little sister, while Al snorted into his soup. Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny exchanged amused looks.
"Blasphemy!"
"I dunno." Al looked thoughtfully at James and Fred. "Not knowing who is doing it kinda makes it more fun. Not to mention some of candidates in the betting pool are just plain ridiculous…." Al trailed off at the scandalous look from his mother. "Not that I would partake in such activities." He hastily added. "I haven't betted away my entire savings, I promise." Lily interrupted.
"I like the set up of the pranks. It's interesting, because they always prank either by year or in a specific, nondescript place. They never do it according to house or single out a particular person." Uncle Harry sighed jokingly loud.
"Fabulous. A prankster with a political statement."
"You laugh, but I think they really are trying to make a point!" Fred looked skeptically at her.
"I think you are reading too much into it. It's just a prank."
"Well I think they're funny." Lily looked stubbornly at Sophie, who nodded a little in agreement. I felt a small burst of pride exploding in my chest at her support.
"I can't believe my own sister is a Shadow supporter. Shameful, shameful." James looked truly disappointed. He fixed his stare on Al, who shrugged pointedly.
"I'm not taking sides." James then fixed his stare on me.
"Leave me out of this. You drag me into enough of your problems already."
"I do not!"
"Oh yes you do, and thank heavens for that. Merlin knows you would be expelled if it weren't for Roxie here. " Aunt Ginny answered for me. I grinned at her.
We dispersed after dinner to separate rooms. Fred and James were off to plot with Frank over the floo network, and Lily and Sophie disappeared into Lily's room. After a couple of minutes, I followed them.
I knocked on the last door on the right, with Lily's name emblazoned on it with curly painted-on letters. The door opened slowly, with Lily and Sophie peeking their heads out. Lily was beaming at me.
"Ah, we were wondering if you would be stopping by. Come on in." The self-assured way she spoke immediately made me wary. I stepped into the bright pink room cautiously. Lily was a collision of two extremes. She loved sports and quidditch and all sorts of stereotypical "guy things," but she also was obsessed with pink, clothes, and boys (although that last one is a secret to her brothers). And right now, she looked a bit too much like a mischievous, red-headed James too put me at ease. She turned to Sophie.
"I told you I was right." The two exchanged meaningful looks. The suspicion burbled back again, and I guardedly took the bait.
"Right about what?"
"That you were the Dark Shadow." She sent me a look that clearly read "Duh."
"Oh. Really." I blinked. "What makes you say that?" Maybe not the most persuasive retort, but I was pressured.
"It was so obvious." A panic gripped me. Did everyone seriously know? I tried my best to keep my face blank and kept staring at Lily. She cracked after a second. "Fine, I happened to have the Marauder's map one day, and I saw you out in the corridors at night."
"Yeah. It's called Prefect's rounds."
"Perfect's rounds aren't at three in the morning, nor are they in the courtyard, which coincidentally was storming flavored snow the next day. By the way, I liked that one. Could you teach me the spell you used?" Before I could reply with another spectacularly witty response, the door slammed open. I froze for a moment, seeing James' mop of messed up hair in the doorway. For one heart stopping second, I thought he knew. I relaxed when I realized the hair was a couple shades darker and it was just Al.
"What have I said about knocking?" Lily placed her hands on her hips in a stunning impersonation of Aunt Ginny. Al didn't look daunted.
"Too much effort. Whatcha doing?"
"Aside from being interrupted by an annoying brother," she shot him a pointed look, "I am interrogating Roxie. If you wouldn't mind…." She gestured to the door. Al ignored her and looked at me curiously.
"What's she grilling you about? The fling with Davies or the Dark Shadow thing?" I stared at him in shock, while Lily and Sophie looked mildly impressed.
"You figured it out too? How?" Al shot her a superior look.
"It was so obvious." Lily's faced cleared.
"Ah. I should have guessed that Rose would put it together." Al looked a bit sheepish, while I sat there still lost in utter disbelief. Lily looked at me in surprise and a bit of sympathy.
"Did you honestly think we wouldn't figure it out?"
"Well, you are related to James…" I weakly managed to sputter out. Lily nodded decisively.
"Point taken." I sat down on her bed, and Lily bounced on it next to me, grinning widely.
"I can't believe you actually started a pranking war with them! You are quite possibly my new hero."
"Lily's been talking about it nonstop since she saw it on the map." Sophie smiled amusedly, and Al laughed.
"So has Rose."
"Well, it wasn't just me…."
"Yeah, Rose thought that Nashira Alden was in on it too." Al also looked impressed. "Are you ever going to tell them?"
"Of course! Eventually. Just not yet." Al winced.
"I'm not sure if I want front row tickets to that conversation or if I want to be on the other side of the world." I grimaced.
"I didn't intend for it to escalate so far, but once I started, I couldn't stop."
"Well I approve." Lily looked way more confident than I felt at the moment. "Someone needed to stand up to them and bring the ego down a bit. It was suffocating." Sophie sent me a small smile too, and I felt a little better. It was somewhat relieving to know that they didn't hate me for it.
After swearing them to secrecy (and being forced to promise to teach Lily the spell for flavored snow and bribing Al with Honeydukes candy), I spent a good couple of hours detailing Nashira's and my adventures over the past couple of months for the second time that day. Eventually it got late, and Fred and I flooed home.
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~Nashira's Point of View~
After two days home, the prospect of Hogwarts was looking more and more inviting. I even would have consent willingly to being within five feet of the Marauders if I could slip out of the tangle of barely concealed glares and loaded comments. My parents were doing a stunning impersonation of the Soviet Union and the United States during the cold war. Upon my arrival home, I had discovered that Simon was not coming home for Christmas. My mother blamed my father, who was of the opinion that that really was for the best. Not only did I not have Simon for comic relief, but I felt like the rope in a very subtle tug-a-war game.
Outwardly, I'm sure my parents were convinced they were portraying typical behavior of our family, but from the moment I saw them standing just a little too far away from each other on the platform, I knew they had understated their arguments in my letters. The whole ordeal with Simon was slowly sawing apart my parents' marriage with a dull and rusty pocket-knife.
Currently I was visiting my cousin, much to the hidden-but-totally-there annoyance of my father. He was not overjoyed with my choice of company these days. Anna wasn't a witch. Her mother, my Aunt Agatha, was a squib. My mother and Aunt were very close in the United States, but they basically severed contact when they moved to the United Kingdom at about the same time. It wasn't safe for either party, with Voldemort hunting out the "impure." However, they regained contact when I was a little girl. My father never would have allowed me to attend muggle primary school if it weren't for the fact that Anna was there with me.
He had grown to accept having non-magical family members over the past years and never had a problem with Anna previously, but nowadays, I think he and my mother were just looking for a reason to fight. Additionally, he was not pleased about the article.
It was one thing for me to be friends with Roxanne Weasley. It was quite another to have the entire Wizarding World thinking I am friends, possibly more, with James Potter. Someone had brought the newstory published in Witch Weekly after the Hogsemeade visit to his attention, and he was not happy. Apparently it was a very critical time for the werewolf rights, and any little thing could tip the scale and allow the bill to squeak through the ministry. This wasn't exactly a plausible reason for me not to deepen my relationship with James, but since I still held hope that my family could be spellotaped back together, so I didn't instigate a fight.
"So you've basically started a war with the most well-liked and famous guys in the school, corrupted their sister, and caused the entire Wizarding world to believe all three are in love with you."
"Sounds about right." Anna raised an eyebrow at me.
"Well you have been busy." She flopped back on her bed and looked at the magazine again. After I had finally been allowed to leave the house this morning to visit Anna (on the condition I am back strictly at 2:00 sharp), I had delivered a long rant about the drama in my life at the moment. Anna wasn't nearly as sympathetic as I was hoping. If anything, she was amused.
"I am so misunderstood. Nobody cares that I am wasting away under the stress." I stretched out from my position on her rug, wallowing in mock self-pity. It was always weird coming to Anna's house because there was literally no magic in it. Once my aunt embraced not having magic, she stopped trying to live in both worlds.
"Oh please. You have three gorgeous guys in love with you."
"Uh, that's just what the magazine says. Haven't you been listening to me?" I sighed. "Frank is in love with my best friend and convinced I am going to try and blackmail him, Fred may have grown on me a little but he is still oblivious and insensitive, and James is an obnoxious prick who thinks my goal in live is to convert Roxie to the Dark side. And they aren't gorgeous." Anna eyed me.
"Yes they are." She launched the magazine at my head. I rolled my eyes.
"Frank is cute, I'll give him that. And Fred could be considered attractive if you're into the whole I-am-five-hundred-miles-taller-than-you thing. I guess Potter isn't ugly per say, but his personality masks anything he might have had."
"At least admit he has a nice smile." Anna likes to annoy me. It gives her twisted heart pleasure, which is possibly why we get along so well (during the moments when I don't want to kill her).
"I will recognize that he has been a finalist in Witch Week's annual Best Smile contest more than once." I sourly thought back to the creepy poster one of my dormmates had hung on the wall from that event. I can't even sleep without seeing the result of his ego staring down at me. And they wonder why I have insomnia.
"Not quite there, but I'll take it."
"Good. That's all you're getting."
By the time I had to floo back to my house, I was in much better spirits. My parents, unsurprisingly, had an issue with security, so despite turning seventeen in October and passing my test, they preferred for me to floo over apparating because they had so many protective charms and spells on the house.
When I stumbled out of the fireplace (at 1:57, three minutes early), I was met with an unpleasant surprise.
Kevin Goyle and his parents were sitting in the living room, drinking tea with my parents. It wasn't exactly surprising that they were here: our families had been friends since their involvement in the war. It was just unfortunate. I was finally feeling in a good mood, and now I would be stuck listening to them drone on.
Thankfully, my mom was feeling sympathetic for me.
"We don't you and Kevin go down to the kitchens and get something to eat?" I think she understood the waves of gratefulness I was pouring out at her through my eyes, because she winked at me. Kevin stood up instantly and we were gone a second later, into the quiet of the hallway. It wasn't until that moment when the full awkwardness of the situation hit me. Kevin hadn't spoken to me since I had quit the quidditch team.
We walked in silence down to the kitchens, where a house elf named Muphy prepared hot chocolate for me and coffee for Kevin. Muphy had been with my father's family for ages and was reluctantly given a salary from my father (as Hermione Granger's law for House Elf rights decreed). I sipped my hot chocolate, pretending to be immersed with it so I wouldn't have to make awkward eye contact with Kevin and break out tacit agreement of silence.
Ya know, I'm really beginning to understand what they mean by "silence is deafening." My spoon clinking on the edge of my cup made me wince at the loudness. Muphy seemed ill at ease in the tension and soon came up with an excuse to leave.
The silence roared louder in my eyes. I toyed with my spoon.
"Nashira." When Kevin spoke, I nearly spilled my drink I was so surprised. I was even startled into making eye contact.
"What?"
"This is stupid. I shouldn't have tried to make you choose, but now you're just being ridiculous." It was just like Kevin to include a disparaging comment with his half-apology. At my pointed look, he sighed. "Ignoring each other isn't going to help anything."
"That's probably true. But I have no desire to speak with you if you can't accept that Roxie is my friend. She is one of the few people who hasn't judged me because of my house or my dad."
"I understand why that's appealing to you, but you have to realize that she comes from a completely different world than we do. You may be best friends now, but someday the differences are going to be too big to reconcile. We have seen and experienced things that she will never understand." He didn't quite mask the disgusted and annoyed tone in his voice, but he had gotten rid of the petulant child part, which was progress.
"You won't know until you try. Everyone says that they want to move on from the war, but they don't even try! We blame everyone else for isolating us from the rest of the Wizarding war, but we've never even tried to fit in. We just keep on consorting with our war buddies and convincing the rest of world we are snobbish pricks with our outdated discrimination. Someone has to make the first step to show we aren't who are parents were."
"That sounds great, but it doesn't work like that! Merlin, sometimes you can be so naïve. They'll keep hating us and finding reasons to make us out as the villains, no matter what we do. Imagine if you and Roxie had a fight and weren't speaking to you. No matter the circumstances, even if you didn't do anything wrong, the rest of the world is going to be on her side, and you will be back to being the evil death eater who abused her kindness and tried to infiltrate her family."
"Roxie isn't like that!"
"But everyone else is!" Kevin threw his hands up in frustration. "Look. We've been friends since we were born. I just don't want you to get hurt."
It always came back to that. After everything that had happened last summer, Kevin had been so overbearing and protective that it was smothering. I needed time and distance to get over it, and he wanted to be my guard dog. Everything we did irritated each other. I think the reason that we had lasted so long together afterwards was for our parents. They had been ecstatic when we started dating. By the end of the summer, we were the definition of "dysfunctional couple." I dreaded every minute I had to spend with him. Finally, when he dragged me to a party and we both ditched each other at the first chance, I realized it was stupid to keep on drawing it out.
Kevin's heart was in the right place: he genuinely thought he was helping me by keeping me tight on a leash. In the end, I think we just weren't compatible. Kevin was confrontation and I wasn't. Maybe if it never had happened, we still would have been together, but we might have broken up too. I will never get back together with him, but I genuinely wish him the best. He has a crappy past to deal with too, and once you get beyond the obstinate outside, he is a good person. I took a deep breath.
"I get what you are saying, but I have to take the chance. It may make it worse, but I won't get better if I don't try. However, I don't want this to turn into a mutually exclusive thing. I don't want to choose between you and Roxie. She is one of my closest friends, but you have been here through thick and thin. You probably understand my character and who I am better than anyone else in the world, and I don't want to lose you. Somewhere in this entire mess you've become something of brother to me."
"Considering I used to date you, that's creepy." Kevin's face remained expressionless.
"Shut up." Kevin was being a prick again, which in the strange code detailing our relationship meant that we were alright. Knowing he didn't hate me lifted the invisible weight from back, letting me breathe a bit easier.
We rejoined our parents shortly after our messed-up, emotion-venting rant, unsurprisingly interrupting a boring conversation about a boring topic. Even sitting with them for the next two hours was not enough to squash the relief at having made up with Kevin. At 4, they left for home. It got dark out early now, and tonight was the full moon, which meant putting up extra charms and spells. It was unlikely a werewolf was going to come waltzing in the front door, but neither of our families was going to risk it.
The afternoon was tense. I was tetchy because my scar hurt, my mum was anxious for Simon, and my dad was stressed. In our house, the full moon was synonymous with 'Full prison lock-down.' Nobody left the house or was allowed in. As the shadows elongated and the sun sank lower, my anxiety level skyrocketed. I hated the full moon. The only place I truly felt safe was at Hogwarts.
Every sound and moving shadow caused me to jump, and we all automatically spoke in soft whispers that made me feel like I was locked in a funeral house. I hated living in fear like some wounded animal waiting to be slaughtered. None of us slept that night. We stayed huddled in the living room for hours, finding excuses to stay by the fire and within the company of others. I dozed off a couple of times, dreaming of screaming voices and outstretched claws.
In the morning, after the sun was safely shining over the horizon, we retreated silently to our rooms, not acknowledging the previous night. My father would soon remove the extra spells blocking the house, erasing any evidence. If it weren't for the proof of the dark circles under my mother's eyes, it would be as if nothing happened.
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Well finally. I just started my life as a university student, so things have been a tad bit hectic lately. But now I am back!
Their lives apart aren't nearly as exciting as when they are together, are they? Alas, many tiny little things are being put into place right now (whether you know it or not. Dun dun dun), so it was necessary. I have decided that I'm going to stop apologizing for my chapters. I'm over thinking everything now, so I'm just going to write and hopefully you will like it :) Thanks for sticking with my story, and a huge, colossal thank you to all who reviewed.
On a side note: I write because I love writing, but reviews honestly make me write faster. I tend to get distracted and they remind me of it again. Just if you were wondering ;)
Thanks again!