A/N: w00t guys I was checkin out my stats and Light is on 3 C2 lists, kudos for those who made that possible and has now...let me check...15 lovely reviews...w00t. I love you all...it makes me very, very happy.
icklecassikins: Now whatever gave you that idea :)I dub this evil genius number 3. Maddevillechilde and I are the others...MOOHAHAHAHA...evil like the gateway cow. Thanks for checking out my little corner of fandom.
Kara: thankies for the review...I'll do my best to acquiese to your request. :)
Vi: hahhah. bother said Pooh as the brakes went out. Remus is my favorite too...what a coinkidink. Yeah he and Aims know each other, lets just say they definetly have a back story, which will come into the light, hahhah pun of my own thing, soon. Deatheaters- they would too (go after someone for marrying a Hugglepuff) I am typing up the one-shotish thing its called Flirting for the Socially Inept, look for it soon. I love Gavan if you hadn't noticed, isn't he adorable. He and Harry get along so well. well anyzwayz...off we go...
StrangersPearl: By the time you get this far, here it is...I love MCR! Yay! I wouldn't call Mrs. Norris friendly either but well...Harry is a bit out of sorts. Yay you love Gavan too.
thankies to all my reviewers...cheers MB
A/N: welcome to chappie number six...more for the lovely fodder mil. Its actually the longest chapter I've written a whole 6 pages on the computer or something like that.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Now kids, think about it. If I did own HP I be flithy stinkin rich...not tragically broke...le sigh.
Light
by
mingingbent
There are two kinds of light—
the glow that illuminates,
and the glare that obscures.
– James Thurber
Chapter Six: Shadow
A man travels the world over in search of what
he needs and returns home to find it.
- George Moore
The goal is always to make a nice tableau painting with the voice.
The more color I can find, the more shadow I can find –
the goal is always to make more nuance and colors.
- Cecilia Bartoli
Harry knelt down in the grass beside Gavan and let the small arms of the boy envelope him for one last time. He could hear the slight sniffle from the boy, as he buried himself into his shoulder.
"I'll be back." He said trying his best to imitate the robot from the Terminator, (one of Gavan's favorite movies.)
The boy laughed, as Harry stood up and ruffled his hair. Donovan stood, arms crossed a few feet away, he had never really warmed up to Harry, in the time he'd spent in the Carlisle house.
"Come on, Harry, we better get moving." Aimee was shifting from one foot to the other nervously.
Harry turned towards Aimee, before planting his feet and grabbing her hand.
God, I hate portkeys.
Somehow in the time it took them to pack and take the kids to Helen's, Aimee had acquired a portkey. He didn't know how, but she did and he was grateful; Harry didn't fancy splicing himself somewhere over the Atlantic in a rush to get back.
The world swam before his eyes, mostly a dark blur of color. When the spinning stopped, both Aimee and Harry stood in the middle of a dark street. The houses that lined the street looked perfectly muggle, but unkempt and grimy. Harry muttered something under his breath before infront of their eyes the makings of a dirty, dilapidated mansion evolved. Harry, with Aimee right behind him briskly made his way up the uneven walk to a battered, black door putting his hand on the silver knocker, shaped like a serpent he knocked twice.
There seemed to be some rustling inside before the large, heavy door was opened a crack.
A soft voice hastitly whispered, "Harry?", before letting the two travelers in.
Once inside the entrace hall, a very bewildered looking Tonks embraced Harry, before warily looking past him to Aimee.
"Nymphadora Tonks this is Aimee Carlisle."
"It's just Tonks, welcome." She whispered as Aimee nodded her head.
Carefully and quietly, they made their way out of the entrace hall towards the kitchen, trying their best not to wake Mrs. Black.
"DEFILER, FLITH, OUT OF MY HOUSE YOU MUDBLOOD SCUM!"
Tonks had managed to trip over the coatstand and the screams of Mrs. Black filled the stagnant air.
Harry and Aimee rushed toward the portriat each grabbing a side, trying to pull the curtains closed. Finally, breathing labored breaths they did.
"Well, she's rather annoying." Aimee breathed heavily, rubbing her temples. Harry snorted in response.
"Harry! Harry, you're home." Mrs. Weasley's voice called him back to the present, "We've been so worried about you."
Before he could reply, she captured him in a large hug. When she let go, he could see Tonks had appeared, a very guilty looked plastered to her face.
"Oh yes, Mrs. Weasley this is Aimee Carlisle, she'll be staying here."
Mrs. Weasley paused to take in their new guest, "Welcome dear, call my Molly."
"It's a pleasure."
Harry gestured toward the kitchen, "Let's go, before she starts up again."
The four quietly moved to the kitchen, where in Mrs. Weasley offered them some breakfast.
"What has happened?" Harry was very curious to find out what had happened to his friends since 'the portkey incident'
"Not much, though Harry dear, we thought you-you," for a moment Harry though Mrs. Weasley was going to cry, "we thought you died." She said the last word in a whisper, as if taboo.
"But Ronald, Hermione and Remus," He thought she saw Tonks grin slightly, "refused to believe that, and we've been looking for you ever since."
"Well, as you can see I'm intact and unharmed."
"Well I'll be off to bed then." Tonks made her tactful goodbye, before disapearing up the stairs. Harry absently wondered if she and Remus were still sharing a room.
Mrs. Weasley made them breakfast before sitting down with her cup of tea with them.
"Carlisle, I think I know that name..." she said softly.
"Any relation to Aiden Carlisle?"
"Yes, he was my husband." Aimee said with a shortness in her voice.
"Was..." when Mrs. Weasley saw Aimee's expression she ammended, "Oh, I am so sorry dear."
Aimee dipped her head in a nod, some of her long black hair making a curtain around the edges of her face.
"Harry!" a sleepy, but hopeful voice interupted the heavy silence and Harry turned to see Remus Lupin standing in the doorway. He looked more shaggy than he had when Harry had seen him last, and there was more grey in his hair and tidy beard. But there was a smile on his face that reached his sleepy, feverbright, golden eyes.
Harry immediately got up from his seat breakfast forgotten, and embraced him.
"When did you get back?" The elder wizard asked when they had parted.
"Just now, Mrs. Weasley was making us breakfast."
"Us..." the look of confusion that crossed Remus' face was almost comical.
Harry stepped to the side and was about to introduce Aimee, who looked like she would rather have been anywhere else when Remus interjected, "Aimee Carlisle?"
So they do know each other. Harry watched the exchange Aimee appeared to be trying to make herself as small as possible, while Remus just stood dumstruck. It was quite funny watching the two, but after a few moments when it seemed Mrs. Weasley wasn't going to help, Harry did.
"So, you two know each other?"
"Yes," Aimee answered slowly, "Remus was a few years ahead of me in school."
So his theory of the inscription had been right. Ooo, he was just iching to tell Hermione.
"Well it's time I got some rest, Mrs. Weasley thanks for breakfast, Aimee who can have the room next to mine, 3rd door on the second floor, it's empty and clean," he looked towards Mrs. Weasley for affirmation, she nodded.
He smiled at Aimee who gave him what most resembled a Death Stare before retreating towards his room.
Aimee wished to be anywhere but her current place. Even a Deatheater dungeon or her home estate would be perferable, she knew how to handle those. Staring into her tea she though maybe, just maybe if she didn't say anything he'd get her drift and leave her alone. But he just stood there silent. Molly Weasley apparently enjoying the show and the opportunity for gossip, go up slowly only to take Harry's dishes away. But she was still in earshot at the kitchen sink.
"Well...Remus it's nice to see you too. Now I think I crawl into a little black hole somewhere, thank you very much Molly." Aimee said curtly taking her dishes, too, to the sink.
"I...It...What?"
Aimee smirked to herself, that was perhaps the first time she had ever heard him stutter, ever.
"It's good to see you," he said slowly, "Where's Aiden?"
"Dead." She had no time for small talk, as soon as she could Aimee planned to run up to her new room and bolt it, vowing to never come out again.
"Oh Merlin, Aims." Remus by now had wilted into a chair, his face a masked calm. "I'm sorry." He ended softly.
"Well, thanks for your concern." Aimee brisked passed him and as swiftly and stealthily as she could bolted towards the stairs.
Oh merlin, she swore to herself, what in hell am I doing?
Once the sun had graced the sky, in swathes of umber Harry had called a meeting and after all the hugs and hello's he was ready to talk business. Just because he had been gone didn't mean Voldemort had stopped his rampaging path.
Aimee had quietly insinuated herself at the back of the kitchen, hidden in shadow. Everyone had been contacted: the Weasleys (minus Percy including Fleur), Moody, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, Hermione, Luna, Neville, Seamus, Dean, McGonagall, Pierce Monal, and Treiss Duris.
"I've got to stop running. Someday I'm going to stop and he'll catch up with me and I won't have enought energy to face him, I will have spent all it all in the running and the hiding."
Harry kept his eyes on the table not wanting to see the reactions. He had made up his mind but that didn't mean that their reactions would make him second guess or feel guilty.
"Harry..." Hermione was the first to speak up, "You don't have to face him just now...I mean we don't have to decide right now."
Harry looked up into her eyes full of sable concern, "When does it stop? When can I have more than running, and fighting, and killing, and dying? He's been after me for nineteen years, Hermione there is no chance that he'll ease up now, it will only get worse."
There was silence around the table, a heavy silence as if no one wanted to dispute him. Not even Mrs. Weasley or Moody had anything to say but he saw their pursed lips as an intrusion on his logic.
"Harry, but-" Hermione tried again, before he could cut her off Aimee did, her clear voice cutting through the tension in the room.
"It's funny, how you treat him like a child, like he has all the time in the world to decide what needs to be done and that he can't really make decisions because hell, he's only nineteen what does he know of the world, not much. Then you have this whole complex, The Boy Who Lived, The Savior of the Wizarding World, Defier of Voldemort," there were a few twitches around the table, "and you grasp at the paradox because you can't believe in yourselves, you have to believe in something exterior, some idea that you can pat on the head but you can't really get close to, not enough to understand that all the hype is overrated. Harry could no more defeat Voldemort alone than you or I. I know my vote here doesn't count and I know that the people who know me here would call me traitor's kin without even thinking about it. But you have to decide would you rather see what happens if Harry is right or would your rather sit on your asses waiting for the most opportune moment? It's a question you have to answer for yourself and no matter the concequences stand by it."
Aimee finished, promptly disapeared from sight, all the while Harry was half smiling.
"So?" He prompted.
"Thank you," Harry said as he walked into Aimee's room, she was laying on her back staring at the ceiling.
"Hey I just was telling them the truth." Aimee quipped.
"So, Hero-boy, what's up?"
Harry cracked a smile, "Uh, the ceiling..."
He and Aimee shared a look.
"No I mean, down there, they...uh...they don't like me much."
"I noticed, why?"
"Do you see any Slytherin's at that table. No."
"But as you said, house doesn't count."
"Point taken, but lets just say they have a warped image of things and leave it at that."
Harry knew when to let sleeping giants lie.
"But we came to a conclusion though, that we would try to draw them out at Saimhan."
"Voldemort won't like that."
Harry gave her his most wicked smile, "I know."
aren't I a evil genius :) cheers all.