"Meet me by the lake," he says, thought Abby, picking her way through the wet marsh. It's a huge lake! Where on earth am I supposed to meet him? She clutched her cloak closer to her, since the breeze coming off the lake was much chillier than that of the lake. Inside the Gryffindor tower they were all probably playing Exploding Snap * stupid question, because it's been ages since I read the books-what exactly is Exploding Snap? * Or chess by the fire…but Elijah was here. Somewhere, hiding along the edge of the school lake, was her best friend. With this solitary thought in mind, she plodded on, occasionally casting his name into the wind.
Just as she had stepped into a particularly wet patch of grass, she was suddenly plunged into darkness. Startled, she froze right where she was and drew in a sharp breath. Her senses began to come back to her. Two young, warm hands had been clasped over her eyes, and a teasing voice brought the words "Guess who?" to her ear. She gave an exasperated sigh, prying the hands away from her face.
"Elijah!" she hissed, whipping around on the balls of her heels to face her attacker. "Don't do that! You scared the I-don't-know-what out of me!" Elijah stood in front of her, his hands behind his back and an impish grin across his face. Annoyed as she was, she was a bit relieved to know it had been him and not a complete stranger. After all, she didn't wander around by the lake very often, and wasn't sure exactly what sorts of creatures lived there. He laughed softly, mostly to himself.
"Well hello to you too," he said with a smile. Once a smile had broken out across her face, he gave her cheek a friendly kiss and offered out his hand. "Come on, let's go sit down. I want to give you your birthday present." Abby's cheeks flushed with red as she stammered out that he didn't have to get her anything, really. That didn't seem to matter much to him. He simply shook his head, continued to smile, and grasped hold of her hand. She didn't argue; she couldn't argue. She was too stricken with surprise and curiosity to say much of anything at all. He was being very devious, very mysterious, and this struck a strong chord of intrigue with her. He wouldn't tell her why he'd gotten her a birthday present (or how he'd remembered that today was even her birthday), he wanted to meet down by the lake, away from everybody…she couldn't help but wonder what was going on behind those two shimmering blue eyes of his. But he wouldn't say a word. All she could do was follow as he led her around the shore, farther from the school and closer to the Forbidden Forest. She bit her lip anxiously. This wasn't quite the romantic ("romantic" translating to "pretty, nice") atmosphere she'd expected. Exactly how close to the Forbidden Forest did he plan on taking her?
Finally he stopped, just a few yards from the Forest. He'd set up a very picnic-style area on the grass, a short distance from the shore, where they could work. An immensely tall oak tree threw a shadow over a blanket he had laid on the ground. This was covered with enough open books, rolls of parchment, ink wells, blotters and quills to make it look like they were really going to work. She smiled. He'd really gone all-out to cover up their reason for being together, which was really nothing more than just to be together. She gave his hand a squeeze as if to say "thank you" and walked on her own toward the little work area. He followed close behind.
"Elijah, I-this is really awesome," she exclaimed, allowing her legs to collapse neatly beneath her as she sat Indian-style on the old blanket. He nodded to say, "you're welcome" and knelt down next to her. She leaned back against the trunk of the tree and sighed with content. Even though it was the middle of November and the temperature was lower than she would have liked, it was still a beautiful day. It was Saturday, she had no classes, the sun was grinning and she was finally spending some much-needed time with a Slytherin with whom she had come to be close friends. Above all that, it was her birthday. She was now fully 12 years old, and not a single friend or family member had forgotten. Even Professor Dumbledore had winked and wished her well on her way outside. What wasn't there to be content about?
This bright and optimistic frame of mind, though unspoken, washed off on Elijah. He smiled broadly as he sat himself comfortably next to her, reaching behind him for something. He held it in front of Abby for her to see. * he's gonna propose! lol * It was a long, slender box, covered in gold paper and topped with a floppy red bow. The ribbon around it crossed both sides, one side in green, the other side in silver. Our House colors, Abby thought in surprise. Never thought I'd see them together on school grounds. He paused before handing it to her, like he wanted her to notice the particular colors. There was no not noticing.
She accepted the gift and lifted its lid, since the box had been wrapped in two separate parts. She gasped when she saw what lie inside. It was a chain, a beautiful, silver link chain that was long enough to be a necklace. It was extremely light and delicate, but comprised of the most brilliant shade of silver she'd ever seen. It could have very easily passed for white gold, and it was so bright it seemed to glow.
"It's for your locket," he explained as she lifted it gently out of the box. "Her locket" was a heart-shaped charm she wore every day, something she'd had since before she could remember. The locket itself was beautiful. It was roughly the size of a Sickle, with a vine design etched all around it. In the center was the symbol of a painstakingly detailed red rose. Inside the locket, unbeknownst to anybody but herself, she kept two pictures: one of her mom, the other of her dad. When she was much younger there had been photos of them inside as adults, because those had always been in there and they'd provided her a sense of safety. Now she had photos of them when they were her age to remind her that they had been her age once. However, it had never had a chain, so she'd always worn it on an old, chewed-up shoelace. This was definitely much better. She thanked him profusely for it, but he wasn't finished.
"I noticed you wearing it the first day I met you, but I never had much of a chance to compliment you on it. It's really quite beautiful, but I wonder…do you know what it is?" She gave him a bewildered look.
"A locket?" He chuckled softly, reaching behind her to untie the shoelace that held the delicate piece of jewelry.
"Well of course, but that symbol, the way it's carved…it's very old, of course, so only the oldest wizarding families know of it. My parents told me about it. I mean, my father…well, he-he was…Muggle-born…but my mother knew. She explained it. It all goes back to the days of the first wizards, even before Merlin. It's a very old tale, legend really. See, supposedly there was this wizard named Durkensede who began to discover the Dark Arts. Developed most of them himself, they say. Very evil, about as evil as Vol- I mean, You-Know-Who. Set about destroying witches and wizards left and right…until he met Astia. For some reason, maybe because he hadn't become evil enough to stop himself, he fell in love with her. He wouldn't dare harm a wizard that she was friendly with. Luckily Astia wasn't nearly as evil as he was. Evil, yes, but not so much as he. So to every wizard she liked she gave a rose, just one simple red rose, to tell Durkensede he couldn't kill them. She also carved a design-this design-into a piece of wood and laid it outside their home as a signal that they were untouchable. As time went on, years, decades, centuries passed, it came to be known as the Symbol of Pitié – the symbol of mercy. Anyone touched by it would be saved from harm. A bit of old superstition perhaps, but…goodness, I thought you would know. I mean, you're a Potter. I would think you'd have some of the purest blood there is."
Abby toyed with her locket thoughtfully as he told her the story, hardly noticing when he slid the shoestring off and slipped the silvery chain on. The symbol of mercy…why hadn't her parents told her that? They both came from wizarding families…granted, they'd lost their parents at very early ages, but there had to be other relatives they could have asked. Her mother grew up with wizards! But no, they had always been very evasive whenever she asked questions about her necklace.
"Maybe, but…sometimes it feels like I live with Muggles. My father's got a thing with 'overusing' magic for some reason I'll never understand. If there's a Muggle way of doing something, he'll go for it, even if it's harder. Besides, I'm not a Potter. Not really. I may have pure blood, but I'm just about the plainest witch you'll ever meet," she said with a sigh. * is anyone else annoyed with her whining? LOL! * Elijah looked at her for a moment, not speaking, only staring. Something about the airy way she said that, plus the fact that she wouldn't look at him when she spoke, suggested that this was not an issue to take lightly. He smoothed away the hair that had flown over her eyes in a vain attempt to comfort her. She replaced it just as quickly as he had moved it away. It was the only way she could think of covering the Phoenix mark on her forehead, and as of late it had become darker than ever.
"Not true. I hear you're pretty bloody good at Transfiguration. Your House has way more points than mine because Professor Granger's always giving them to you. Anyway, this has nothing to do with your magic skills. This has to do with a tradition dating back thousands of years. Not many know about it…it did all occur in France, after all. My family's from there-well, my mum's side, anyway. I only wondered if you knew. I've seen the symbol, but I've never seen a locket of Pitié. Very unusual…do you keep anything inside?"
He reached over for it to see, but she pressed it close to her chest so he couldn't get at it. Her cheeks flushed with a royal red color. What if he saw the photos that she kept in it? What would he say?
"Yeah, I…they're very personal," she defended quickly. To her surprise, he didn't argue. He withdrew his hand with an apologetic, "Ah, I understand," and went on to a different subject. She strongly appreciated this, and though she didn't say it, it showed in her eyes and he could see it.
~* hey guys, thanks for the fantastic reviews!! You're all awesome…*cries because no one's reading and responding to the A/Ns she puts in bold*, hahaha…umm…yeah, this story might take some time; you're more than welcome to read my others in the meantime. And as you've noticed, I'm in the process of changing Devon's name to Elijah, only because that's my new favorite name. J Sorry for the confusion, and thanks again! *~
~* Oh, and incidentally, a special thanks to my Ronniekins friend (would you get upset if I just started putting your name up here???), for the little mistakes I made – thanks for reading! *~