I totally own all of these characters. Psych.
Chapter Ten: A Pinprick of Light
It was surprisingly easy to fall back into my old daily routine. Of course, it wasn't really the same...there was always that constant, nagging fear of another attack at the back of my mind. Although I knew that the school was on high-alert, I was easily startled and found it increasingly difficult to concentrate. Despite my uneasiness, nothing had happened.
On top of all of those worries, there was Rose. Countless times, she would begin to ask me something, then think better of it and change the subject. I knew she was full to bursting with questions about what I had learned, and the fact that she restrained herself made me feel even guiltier from keeping the truth from her. There was a part of me—quite a large part—that wanted to tell Rosie everything, to confide in my best friend. But just as I would open my mouth to tell her, my conscious reminded me that it was not my secret to tell. Thus, unspoken things hung in the air between Rose and me.
One Saturday afternoon, three weeks after the attack, I woke to find my dormitory empty. I swung my legs off of my bed, thinking I had overslept, but when I glanced at the clock, it only read eight thirty. I got ready quickly, then descended the stairs. The common room was nearly empty as well. Where were all of my cousins? They had to be somewhere on the grounds—the Hogsmede weekends had been postponed indefinitely since the attack. I shrugged on my coat and pushed the thoughts from my mind There was something I had to do, anyway. I slipped quietly out of the common room, down the main staircase and out the front door. Skirting the grounds as quickly as I could, I made it to the shelter of the outer fringe of the forest without being noticed. Artemis bounded over to meet me. I scratched her large forehead, wondering what to do next.
"Hello," said a voice from behind me. I jumped, whirling around. Firenze stepped from the brambles, his graying eyebrows raised.
"Oh...hello. You scared me." Truth be told, I had gone into the forest with the intent of talking to the centaur.
"You were looking for me." It was not a question.
"Yes. I...I have a question." The centaur looked at me with an unreadable expression.
"You always do." I gave a half-smile.
"Yeah...I guess I do." There was a pause.
"You are not going to ask the question?"
"Uh...right. You...you seem to know a lot about...my abilities. I mean, far more than I do..."
"Yes."
"And I was sort of wondering if...maybe, you could tell me more about...things. I mean, sort of...show me how to use this, uh...power." He raised his eyebrows.
"Teach you?" I nodded, a bit embarrassed for some reason.
"Only if you want to, I mean, don't feel obligated or anything..."
"Oh, I never feel obligated to do anything. But your request is...an interesting one."
"I just feel like...like something is going to happen, and that I need to be prepared for it, whatever it is. I need to learn what I can do." There was another pause. I studied my nailbeds with great interest.
"You are correct, of course. Something approaches." He blinked twice. "I will help you. As much as I can, which, granted, may be very little, but I will help you. Be here tomorrow night at dusk." And with that, he turned and was gone with barely a sound. I bit my lip. Speaking with the centaur unnerved me—perhaps it was the fact that he was so wise. I maneuvered myself through the trees and made my way across the grounds and to the Great Hall. I was just about to open the door, when Will came flying out, colliding with me.
"Sorry!" he cried as we toppled over onto the floor. "Then again, maybe not..." he murmured, his face centimeters from mine. He kissed me lightly.
"Where were you going in such a hurry?" I asked him as he helped me up. He shrugged.
"To find you." I frowned.
"You haven't happened to see any of my family, have you?" I was getting a little worried—I never went this long without at least seeing Rose.
"In my life or this morning?" I rolled my eyes.
"Will!"
"Sorry. You set yourself up for these things, you know? No, I haven't seen any of your family." I frowned.
"Me either." He shrugged again.
"Maybe they're out on the Quidditch field. Have you written that Herbology essay yet?" He asked. I shook my head sheepishly. "Good, neither have I. Do you want to go start them in the library?"
"Well, alright, but-"
"I have donuts." He said, patting the bag slung on his back. Oh, how he tempted...
"Oh, okay, let's go." I summoned my Herbology book, some parchment, and a quill through a mouthful of cruller.
And so I began my essay on the many delightful uses of Fire Snips—a strange, yellowish root resembling a common parsnip, with the exception of their tendency to burst into flame. We worked quietly for a while, but it was harder to do homework with Will than I had anticipated, mainly because I was doing homework with Will. Soon, after being scolded about nine times, we decided it would be in everyone's best interest to exit the library and to cram our essays in sometime later.
We meandered the halls aimlessly, our fingers loosely entwined. The gossip had peaked and finally, finally, died down in the past couple weeks. We were getting fewer and fewer odd looks when we walked the hallways together, which was refreshing, to say the least. I told him about my lesson with Firenze, and he seemed to think it was a good idea.
"The only thing is...I don't think you should be out alone so late..."
"Oh, what are you, my father? Besides, I won't be alone...Arty will surely be close by, and I'll be with Firenze." He didn't reply. "So," I said lightly, "What's on the agenda for the day?" He seemed glad for the subject change.
"Not much of anything, really. What about you? Anything exciting that you know of happening today?" I shook my head. My mind drifted through my many worries as we wandered on. How was this going to play out? What would end up happening to Will?
"Something wrong?" Will asked after a while. I snapped out of my thoughts.
"No...I'm bored, that's all," I complained.
"Me, too," Will seemed to have a realization. "I know something we can do!"
"What?" He grinned mischievously.
"I won't tell. Follow me!" He snatched my hand and led me down a few corridors, taking long strides. I nearly had to run to keep up with him.
"Will! Where are we going?"
"You'll see..." he laughed, and I couldn't help but join in as we raced down yet another hallway. I finally got my bearings as we skidded to a stop in front of a large oak door. I glanced around.
"We're here!" Will announced. He glanced up and down the hallway.
"Will, what are we doing at the Room of Require-mph" My question was stifled as he pressed his mouth to mine. My breath caught, and I closed my eyes. It was one of those moments that you wish you could freeze, because you know that soon, far too soon, it will end. Like a tiny pinprick of light in the middle of a very dark place—you wish you could hold onto it forever, because without it, you will be plunged into total blackness. Will pulled away, still grinning.
"Wow." He murmured. I felt a grin spread across my face.
"Wow," I agreed. We regarded each other curiously for a moment, then he seemed to snap out of a trance.
"Now," he said, opening the door. "Ladies first."
"Will, it's dark in he-"
"SURPRISE!" The lights flickered on, revealing—nearly everyone I knew. The Room of Requirement had been transformed to house an enormous party.
"Happy birthday, Evey!" Rose exclaimed, as Will came up behind me.
"But, my birthday isn't until the eighth!" I protested. Rose frowned.
"It is the eighth, Evey!" I shook my head in bewilderment. In all the turmoil of the past few weeks, I had completely forgotten about my own birthday. I looked around me. The Room of Requirement had been decorated with red and gold ribbons, and a large cake with color-changing frosting was the centerpiece of a long table. Platters of sandwiches and bowls of punch sat on either side of it. Another smaller table was off to the left, laden with gifts.
"Rose, I...I don't know what to say! Thank you!" I threw my arms around her.
"Don't thank me...it was all Will's idea." She said sheepishly. I turned to him in bewilderment.
"You...how? Were you distracting me this whole time?" He smiled.
"Did it work?" I pulled him down to my level and kissed him before I remembered who was watching. I froze, and I felt Will tense as well.
"Hey! Let off, will you?" I heard Fred call. I ducked my head, laughing.
"Sorry." I said, the familiar warmth spreading over my cheeks. "Will, where did you get all this food? And this cake, it's enormous!"
"Well, I owe a big part of this to Landzy," Will replied. I searched the crowd to find the little house elf.
"Landzy, you?!" The little elf bowed happily.
"Landzy has pleased Miss Evelyn?"
"Yes, very much! Thank you!"
"It was nothing, Miss Evelyn. Landzy's father would have wanted it. Mother said he was very fond of the Weasley family."
"Who was your father, Landzy?" I asked him.
"His name was Dobby, Miss Evelyn." Landzy declared.
"Dobby was your father?" Asked James. Landzy nodded vigorously. James shook the little elf's hand. They dissolved into the crowd, and I began to mingle with the guests. I hadn't had a birthday party in years. It dawned on me that I was seventeen...I was officially of age. The next few hours were a whirlwind of cake and gifts...books, sweets, quills, and various other small things piled up around me.
Eventually, everyone began to slowly filter out of the Room of Requirement. Landzy had disappeared with the empty cake and platters, despite all of the protesting and offers to help him. Finally, my cousins, Fred, Will, and I were the only ones left. Gathering up my things, I headed to the door.
"Evey?" Will said softly from behind me.
"Rose, go ahead, I'll be there in a few!" I called to Rose. She nodded and disappeared through the door, leaving Will and I alone.
"So? Were you surprised?" He asked, taking my hand in his. I set the bag of gifts down and let him pull me closer.
"Yes, I was. How did you find the time to do this all? The party, everything, it was so...amazing. I don't even think I even told you when my birthday is-"
"You didn't, I had to ask Rose."
"Oh." My face fell.
"What's wrong?"
"I...it's just, I don't know when your birthday is! It probably just passed by without me knowing! I'm so unthoughtful and scatterbrained, I just-"
"But you did give me something for my birthday," He said, grinning.
"What do you mean?"
"That first day back from Christmas holiday? That was my birthday."
"I still don't see-"
"You kissed me back, after I kissed you," he blurted. His face turned pink.
"...are you blushing?" I asked him. "Oh, how the tables have turned!" He laughed.
"I guess I am. Anyway, I have something-"
"Please, Will, keep it!"
"What?"
"You've given me too much already!"
"Let me finish. I have something to tell you." My heart thumped, and I searched his face for clues.
"What's wrong? What's happened?" I asked him.
"Nothing's wrong...well, plenty of things are wrong, but nothing...just, I...For the love of Merlin! What I mean is...I love you." You know, I live in a world where spoken words can do nearly anything. Words can end a life, levitate a house, or create a canary out of thin air instantly. But there is no spell in the entire world that could have done to me what those three simple words did.
"I..." My throat closed, and I was dizzy. Will turned bright red.
"You...I...Evey, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it, I mean, I know it's sudden, but..." I held my finger up to my lips. He was quiet, watching me anxiously. I fought to catch my breath before whispering.
"I love you, too. I have for so long, Will, I...I..." I was gasping for breath again. He fiercely pulled me close, his words coming in a rush.
"I...I always just accepted the fact that I wouldn't grow up. Ever since I remember, I was told I was put here for one purpose only, and that I would fulfill it when I was young. My life would end the day I left Hogwarts. Then, you came. Meeting you, seeing you, kissing you...it was like...like being told over and over that the sky was pitch black, and then looking up one day and seeing that the sky is really blue. What I mean is, I never thought of my future—never dreamed I would have one—and now, with you, that's all I can think about. It's selfish and horrible, I know, but...I couldn't let you go. I know that I would kill so many, and cause so many more grief if I did what they want me to do, but...the real reason I can't do it, is...you. I love you, Evey."
I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could, squeezing my eyes shut. I had never felt such an intense emotion before—I loved my family, of course— but this sort of love made me feel like my ribs were going to splinter...again. The only thing I could think to do was to pull his face to mine and kiss him. He kissed a trail along the line of my jaw, then found my mouth again. Breathing heavily, I put my hands on his chest and pushed him backward slowly, towards a chaise lounge. I heard the door click locked. Bless the Room of Requirement.