Revised 22nd July 2004
This will probably be the last chapter until the holidays [about 3 weeks] as I can't be bothered to write as I've written all of the Christmas chapters and I've got no idea where to go from there. Towards the end I suppose. #sighs#. But I do love this story so . . .
Anyway, sorry to leave the last chapter the way I did, but it maybe gives you some of the general idea of where it's going, especially at Christmas. Actually most of the action happens at Yule, but that's not really the point.
I'm feeling slightly sick as I went to Cadbury World today and ate far too much chocolate. Ah well. Oh, and if you are in the UK, you can see me on the TV! Well, teletext. Channel 4 page 388. I'm from Nottingham, so you'll know which top ten mine is . . .
Dedication : Katie, who wonderfully typed this chapter up for me, and guessed the secret I've been hinting at for a while. [It's not really that big, but it's funny when people think that it is. Keep looking at descriptions. I don't actually think that it's in this chapter, but it's definitely in chapter 21. Not that any of you have read that . . . ] Also Rachel [Rje] as she asked for a dedication. Arwen, because I slightly pissed her off. And everyone else who I love and loves me.
There is going to be some swearing in the next few chapters. Shocking I know. Do you think I should put the rating up? It's only a PG at the mo – maybe up to a PG-13?
HALF BLOOD PRINCE! It will so be the final title.
I've been watching you from a distance
But distance sees through your disguise
All I want from you is your hurting
I want to heal you
I want to save you from the dark
Give unto me your troubles
I'll endure your suffering
Place unto me your burden
I'll drink your deadly poison
Why should I care if they hurt you?
Somehow it matters more to me
Than if I were hurting myself
Save you
I'll save you
Fear not the flame of my love's candle . . .
Give unto me your troubles
I'll endure your suffering
Place unto me your burden
I'll drink your deadly poison
Fear not the flame of my love's candle
I'll be the sun in your world of darkness . . .
# Give Unto Me – Evanescence #
The small child she was carrying buried her head further into Aurora's shoulder. "Sídh," she said in a soothing voice, but the child continued to bury her head and cry pitifully. [A/N: Shh]
Aurora looked up at the large double doors in front of her with apprehension before composing herself and stepping forwards to knock sharply on the right hand door. It opened, and a small voice said nervously, "Yes, Miss?"
"I believe I am expected. My name is Aurora Polgana."
"Yes, Miss," said the house elf, bowing slightly. "Master has ordered me to take you to your room."
Aurora adjusted the child on her hip and, dragging her trunk behind her, followed the house elf down a series of passages, all of which were ornately decorated with ancient paintings of the various ancestors of the Malfoy family.
They reached a corridor that looked slightly more modern than the rest of the house. The elf stopped outside a door about half way down the corridor.
"Your room, Miss," it squeaked, producing a key and handing it to her.
"Thanks," muttered Aurora, who did not really know how to address the creature. The little girl she had been carrying slipped out of her arms to stand beside Aurora.
"Are you alright?" Aurora asked gently.
"Mm," mumbled the girl, a look of wonder on her face.
Aurora put the key into the lock and turned it. When she heard a click, she turned the handle and pushed the door, but it did not open. A face appeared on the door which startled Aurora slightly.
"Password?" it asked.
"Password?" repeated Aurora. "What would he have changed my password to?" She thought for a moment. "Any ideas?" she asked the child, who shrugged her shoulders.
"OK then . . . Aurora?" she guessed. "No, maybe not. Polgana? Draco? Slytherin? Hogwarts? Mara?" She continued to guess random words for about ten minutes, but still the face refused to accept a password. "Tree? Animal? Rock?"
"Correct," said the face.
"Rock?" said Aurora incredulously.
"Music?" suggested the girl.
"Ah. That could be it." Aurora turned the handle of the door, and it swung open to reveal a large ornately decorated sitting room style area with a sofa, table, writing desk and even an open log fire.
"Not really my taste," commented Aurora. "But I'm sure we can rectify that."
There were two more doors leading off the main room. The first led into a bathroom containing a toilet, washbasin and a large bath.
"No shower?" remarked Aurora, apparently unimpressed.
"You going to do something about that too?" said the girl, who was sitting on the sofa swinging her legs.
"Probably."
The last door led into her bedroom, which had in it a large four-poster bed, a wardrobe and a . . .
"Balcony?" exclaimed Aurora, throwing open the French windows and stepping outside. "Wow!"
She looked around her to survey the view. The Malfoy's land stretched far and wide beyond her vision. Her room was situated at the end of the house, as she could see the long driveway that she had walked up winding through some lush fields. To the left of the Manor ran a small river, and she remembered there was a small wood behind it.
Aurora stood for a moment, lost in her thoughts, and was only brought back to the present by the slamming of the door to the main room.
"Bloody hell!" she muttered angrily to herself. "Where's she run off to now? Her mum is going to murder me if she finds out I've lost her again!" she ran quickly through the bedroom and the main room, wrenching open the door and leaping out just in time to see the corner of the girl's robe whip around the corner at the end of the passage.
"Dammit! I'm never going to find her. Unless . . ." She sniffed. "Of course!" She formed in her mind the image of a grey wolf and slowly slipped into it. When she felt adjusted to the newly sharpened senses, she bounded along the corridor, the key held in her mouth. She followed the girl's scent through the numerous passages of the Manor and up and down many flights of stairs. Occasionally she would catch sight of the child's back, or her hair, but she could never seem to get close enough to stop her.
Aurora reached the top of the main flight of stairs which led down into the great entrance hall. The little girl had stopped half way down, and it took aurora a few moments to realise why.
Standing in the hall was a large group of men and women. They were all staring up at the girl intensely, and from where Aurora was standing, she could see that the girl was crying, her face a mask of fear. About half of the group had their wands raised towards the child, ready to strike.
Aurora sprang down the stairs and sat next to the child. She watched their faces change from accusation to surprise, but she knew that only one of the group knew who she really was.
So you got here then? his voice spoke in her head.
Yes. she thought back.
Who is the girl?
Amy's daughter Miranda. She's only four, poor thing.
Shall I tell them?
No. Let them think about it first.
Aurora looked up and saw a lone figure walking up the stairs towards her, their wand raised. "Who are you?" the woman challenged.
Miranda let out a small sob. Aurora raised her wolf head and looked the woman straight in the eye, before changing slowly back into her human form. She heard a few muffled gasps from the crowd. The woman's expression changed from anger to surprise.
"I, Bellatrix Lestrange, am Aurora," she said confidently, before turning to the girl next to her and holding out her arms. The girl clambered into them and once again buried her head in Aurora's shoulder.
"Aurora?" sneered Bellatrix. "Aurora who?"
"Aurora Polgana."
"Polgana?"
"Yes."
Bellatrix's eyes widened. "As in Benjamin Polgana?"
"My father, yes."
"Your –" Bellatrix looked shocked. "But why are you here?" she accused.
"I was invited."
"Who invited you?"
"That would have been me." Draco spoke for the first time.
"My nephew inviting a Polgana into this house? It's a scandal!" exclaimed Bellatrix, turning to face the crowd behind her. Aurora saw this as an opportunity to disappear, so she translocated down the stairs to sit calmly on the bottom step.
Bellatrix turned back to face the place Aurora had been to find no one there. "Where did she go?" she stormed, stomping down the stairs straight past Aurora. Aurora grinned cheekily.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Everyone turned around simultaneously, and several of them raised their wands at once.
"Draco, you can open it," said Bellatrix forcefully, prodding him forwards with her wand.
Draco looked apprehensive, but stepped forwards to tug on the handle. The door flew open to reveal three figures.
"Aurora!" commanded the first person.
"Bugger," muttered Aurora. "Bugger, bugger, bugger!" she repeated, standing up, still carrying Miranda in her arms.
"Where is she?" demanded the first speaker.
"We . . ." stammered Bellatrix.
"Draco?" The figure turned to face him.
"I'm . . . sorry Amy, but I don't actually know."
"Yes you do." She began to search his brain.
"Stop that!" Draco said, trying to block her probing.
"No."
"Oh, by Artemis, Amy, I'm here!" Aurora called. "You shouldn't do that, you know. I've taught him a certain level of resistance, but . . ."
"Miri!" exclaimed Amy, quickly translocating over to where aurora was standing with the girl cradled in her arms. "Come on, darling." She held out her arms to the child, who simply buried her head even further into Aurora's shoulder.
"Don't want to," she mumbled obstinately.
"What?"
"Want to stay with Aurora."
"You know you can't do that, Miri," whispered Aurora gently. "You've got to go with your Amme."
"Don't want to," Miranda repeated.
"Why not?" asked Aurora. As she asked this, however, she noticed that about forty people were watching this performance like some kind of soap opera. She shrugged off the thought.
"She wants me to grow up. She wants me to make big-girl decisions. I don't want to grow up!" Miranda's voice rose to a wail.
"Then go and join Peter Pan!" Aurora couldn't help smiling.
"Don't like him. I'd rather be a pirate!"
"Then go and join Captain Hook! You're a bit young though. He'd probably slice your belly open and feed you to the fishes!" Aurora pretended to pull a hook across Miranda's stomach, making the little girl squeal.
"Will you go home now?" asked Aurora softly.
"Only if I can come and see you again soon. You tell wonderful stories."
"Yes. And thank you." Aurora handed Miranda over to her mother.
"Thanks," said Amy gratefully.
"It's OK. She can come again, right?"
"Sure," smiled Amy. "Like the hair, by the way."
Aurora laughed and pulled at a lock of her hair, which was now short, black and pink with a strip of white on the left side. "It's a bit mad, isn't it?" she said, grinning.
"Just like you then."
Aurora smiled again. "Why are they here?" she inquired, inclining her head towards the other two figures, who were standing in front of the now closed door.
"Clíodhna is here with yet more messages for you, and some Yule gifts, I believe. Liv is here to help remove any . . ." she cleared her throat, "bugs."
"Goddess, I nearly forgot!"
"We know. That is why I came." Olivia stepped forwards, pulling down her hood and removing her cloak, which vanished as she dropped it onto the floor. She moved over to Aurora and hugged her. "How is my daughter? Did she go home during the holidays?"
"Yup. I paid them all a little visit for a couple of days. Needless to say they all enjoyed that thoroughly. You should have seen their faces!" Aurora's eyes sparkled as she spoke. "Anyway, bugs."
"Bugs?" exclaimed Narcissa Malfoy, who was standing beside her unusually quiet husband in the middle of the group. "We have no bugs!"
"Not insects, Mrs Malfoy," Aurora explained. "A different kind. The kind that you cannot see or hear." She moved slowly up the stairs, touching the walls with her hands as she moved. She was about half way up the stairs when she stopped suddenly.
"Aha! Got one!" she said triumphantly, her hands stopping at a certain point in the wall. "I have a feeling there are only two in the whole house actually, and one of them is ours anyway. This would be the other one. Rana." She plunged her hands into the wall. "Oh no you don't!" she cried as she grabbed something in her hands and threw it over the banister.
Olivia caught it and threw it onto the floor. "A spider. Interesting."
"Was that the thing in the wall?" asked Narcissa in disgust.
"Yup," replied Aurora, who had translocated down the stairs and was now crouching to examine the spider. "Show yourself," she commanded. The spider began to grow, taking the form of a man. Aurora's eyes widened as he got larger until he was a fully-formed man. "G – g – go," she stuttered. "A – And d - don't come b – back." She glanced at Olivia, who was staring at the man, but whose face gave away no emotion. The man straightened up, then shimmered and disappeared.
"Are you alright?" Aurora asked Olivia anxiously, touching her lightly on the arm.
"I will be," replied Olivia a little shakily.
"Who was that?" asked Draco.
"Erm . . ." said Aurora, glancing at Olivia, who had turned deathly pale with delayed shock. "I'll tell you later."
"I'm - You're - He's -" whispered Olivia, her eyes wide and staring.
"Go home Liv. Get some rest," said Aurora gently but firmly.
"Mm," mumbled Olivia. Amy came up behind her with Miranda in her arms and touched Olivia's shoulder. They both shimmered and then disappeared.
Aurora looked back towards the doors, where Clíodhna was still standing, watching the events from a distance. Aurora nodded her head slightly, and Clíodhna began to weave her way through the crowd to where Aurora was standing.
"Am cuio an buio," Clíodhna said, dropping to one knee in front of Aurora. [A/N : I live to serve]
"Oro." Aurora took one of Clíodhna's hands and pulled her to her feet. (A/N: "Rise.") "Gwathel Clíodhna. Kuma le avo grea amin nuntion? Ta hon saveo nauch liteaor." [A/N: "Sister Clíodhna. Will you not become my messenger? It would save on such formalities.]
"Anwa, Gwathel Aurora. Ta hon na roon." [A/N: "Truly, sister Aurora. It would be easier.]
"The why not become it?" Aurora changed to English as she could sense the other people becoming agitated as they did not understand the conversation.
"If you wish me to be."
"It is done."
"Now, would you like your presents?"
"Presents?"
"Yes. I believe they are Yule presents."
"I do not think I shall be up to opening them then."
Clíodhna looked at her in puzzlement. Aurora shrugged unhappily. "Ten years," she said simply.
Clíodhna did not question the matter further, as a look of comprehension came over her face. She silently handed Aurora a small sack filled with parcels and letters, said goodbye and left quickly.
Aurora turned to the crowd, an expression of amusement on her face. "Always one for big entrances, aren't I?"
#
They looked at her with contempt. Though, Aurora mused, it could have been something to do with her hair and clothes. Plus the fact that she was Ben Polgana's daughter, as well as a sorceress. A few of them still had their wands ready to attack, but the majority had seen sense and lowered them slowly. She giggled quietly to herself.
What is so funny?" Bellatrix Lestrange was one of those who still had their wands raised. Her face showed no trace of emotion, not even contempt, but her eyes showed deep resentment and hatred.
"Oh, nothing," replied Aurora. "Well, lots of things. You do realise that you can't hurt me with those things, don't you?" She inclined her head to the wand in Bellatrix' hand.
"I can harm you." Bellatrix raised her voice.
"Really? I'd like to see you try."
Bellatrix levelled her wand at the centre of aurora's chest. "Crucio!" she screamed.
Aurora casually flicked away the magic with one hand, where it exploded in a shower of red sparks. "Ooh, I'm scared now," she said sarcastically.
Bellatrix shot various curses at Aurora, but she evaded them all with ease. "Do you give in?" she asked finally, in a bored tone.
"No!" Bellatrix seemed defiant. "But for now, I yield."
"Hmm, that seemed really old-fashioned. Oh well." She looked past Bellatrix to the small crowd still assembled. "In case you lot didn't already know, even though I already told you, I am Aurora Polgana, and yes, I am the daughter of Ben Polgana, who I'm sure most of you know already. I am sixteen, and if you want to know, my birthday is on the sixteenth of January, which happens to be a full moon this year. I was invited to this house by them," she indicated Draco's parents. "Don't blame them; they didn't know who I am. Well . . ." she thought for a moment. "Mr Malfoy did, but I erased his memories of me." She flashed him a sweet smile. "I'm five foot seven, but I don't know how much I weigh. Oh, and one last thing. I am a sorceress. So I am probably more powerful than all of you put together. So there."
A/N :
Oh don't you just love Bellatrix? I really think she's a great character, you know. Ends a bit crapply, I'm sorry. I really am.
I need help with a new story idea. 'After Thoughts' really isn't going anywhere in my mind, and I've had a really good idea for a new story. Peter Pan yes or no? It'll be Wendy really, and a return to the Neverland. I can't do ANOTHER Mary-Sue as I was going to, so I thought . . . Wendy! Anyway, it'll be to do with the fairies / pixies / faeries and Wendy. Yes or no people?
Katie Bloom : Don't carp faeries rock? Your theory about #hem hem# person was correct, congratulations! What is your theory about Pansy and Draco? Have you told me already, and I've forgotten? I haven't lost this chapter – go me! Pft physics. Pft.
Rje : I got a B in German. Yay! It was better than I expected. Still don't know how A, A, B, B can equal a B, but never thee mind, eh? Carp faeries = Carp because of TAF, and faeries because faeries rock! You can be part of the cult if you want. I am the original carp faerie, Bex / Addie is the pilfering one who stole my idea, and Hannah is the evil carp faerie. All others belong to the cult.
glitzydancingshoes : I can leave it there because it is my author's right. #boogles to odd dancy record on radio#
lupu : But multitude is a great word! I do tend to overuse it slightly though. Red is not really my colour either. I prefer black, purple or blue. You'll soon know what she means . . .
DLSnapeKurama18 : We're all crazy! Where exactly are you from luv? Oh course she cried. People cry a lot. She will continue to cry for many chapters to come, I do believe.
Arwen : If I was in America I would get People's magazine. I love Orlando! Gone off him a bit though recently. I love the little moments too – they are really sweet. Not so sweet soon though . . . I'M SORRY!
meenyrocks : Our message to TAF rocked. Can't really remember it. Was something like 'TELL US WHO THE SEXY HP DUDE IS OR WE WILL KILL YOU!' Though we didn't say we'd kill him. Because then he'd be dead. We were bored OK?
Clairie : Of course he wears eyeliner. No self-respecting male doesn't. Ville . . . Anyway, he is mine.
HALF BLOOD PRINCE! It will so be the final title.
