A Lighter Shade of Black
Like a Book Upon a Shelf
Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
- Proverbs 27:6
Draco Malfoy was bored. Not that there wasn't anything he could do about it. He could have practiced Quidditch moves, but there was no need: he wasn't on a team. He could have visited his girlfriend, but he had the sneaking suspicion she that she hadn't told her family about them yet. He could have owled his friends, but they were working. He could have gone for a drink, but that would be rather despressing.
"I hate my life." Draco muttered to himself as he glanced at the large, hand-painted family portrait about the fireplace.
His father, if you wanted to call him that, was locked away in Azkaban for crimes to numerous and horrid to list. His mother, once so regal and strong, was now weakened in body and mind. After the mediwizard's at St. Mungo's had taken his father's Imperius curse off of her, the poor woman had snapped. She was so horrified by all that she had done to her son and so many other people that she had lost it.
And now, here he sat. Last of that Malfoy bloodlines... destined for misery and brooding... it wasn't like he wanted to live this life. He didn't ask to be the son of a Death Eater. He didn't ask to be proclaimed evil.
"Hell, I didn't even ask to be born." he said quietly.
Draco glanced once more around the den of Malfoy Manor. It was a beautiful house, no doubt about it, but it just held too many bad memories. He reached out and touched a photo of his mother and him out in the backyard on his seventh birthday. He remebered that toy broom Narcissa had given him... it was still somewhere around here...
Suddenly, a snapshot of that day came to mind. It was the very same that he held in his hand... but it was different...
"Look mummy!" he shouted, turning and gliding in the air as smoothly as water, "Look Lena! I can do it!"
A little girl with a thick, honey-blonde plait down her back stood next to Narcissa's knees, clapping and grinning joyfully.
Draco felt tears trying to surface and pushed them down. What was that all about? Who was that little blonde with big, blue eyes like the moons?
Ginevra Weasley jumped as she heard a thump on the window. She was just about to leave when it came. Hogwarts letter. she thought as she snatched it away from the indignant tawny owl. She opened it quickly and scanned the book list. Gin had always loved books, despite the little diary incident, they contained knowledge and wisdom and secrets of sorts.
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 7) by Bathilda Bagshot
Animals, Beasts and Creatures; The ABC Guide by Grucia Gallswick
Advanced History of the Magical World by Quentin Binns
Seeing Without by Cassandra Escalus
Taking N.E.W.T.s; the Quick Way to an Early Grave byZachariah Pessamyst
Cursed: Werewolves, Vampires and other Once-Humans by Arasmus Attlepot
The Elegant Universe by Marsha Minnow
Apprentice Masters' Potions by Severus Snape
Within the Mind, Beyond the Sight by Clarissa Cleptic
Gin furrowed her brow. "I didn't know Professor Snape wrote a book." she muttered curiously.
She shook it off and shoved the parchment into her cloak pocket and stepped into the fireplace quickly with floo powder in her right hand. She tossed it below her and disappeared with a bellow of, "Hogwarts, Gryffindor Tower!" The emerald flames swirled and flared around her and she closed her eyes tightly and held onto the trunk with all of her might. She screamed as the travel got more intense and it was harder hold onto her trunk.
Gin landed with a painful thunk and clatter upon the cobble-stone floor and groaned as a pain shot down her spine and ended in her butt cheeks. "Damn floo network... bloody worthless piece of—"
"Hey Ginny." came a casual voice from in front of her.
She brushed the soot from her eyes and looked up. "Hey Colin."
She had to admit, the seventh year Gryffindor had really grown up over the past years. He had started out as this skinny, mousy, hero-worshiping little boy, but had now become a rather attractive, muscled beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. His hair was short and colored like hay. His lovely eyes were the same blue-green oceanic color. He seemed to have lost that eagerness he used to have about him, now he was calm and cool... like the ocean.
He flashed her a charming smile and offered a hand to help her up. "You alright? That looked like a rough landing."
She stood before him on shaking legs and smiled weakly. "I don't do so good with floo."
"Obviously."
"So, what're you doing here?" she asked, grabbing her wand out of her pocket and flicking it at her trunk. It disappeared with a pop.
"Well, my parents... um... You-Know-Who... killed them." he said with a note of sadness, "So Dumbledore said Dennis and I could stay here until we can get in touch with Aunt Millie."
Gin cringed at her own stupidity. Why had she even asked? That was why everyone stayed at Hogwarts. "I'm sorry, Colin."
"It's okay."
"Hello poppets!" Ginevra called out gleefully as she entered the Great Hall where her friends sat.
T.J. was the first to jump to her feet. Katie soon followed with Laura right behind her. She let out a soft 'oof' as her friends bodies collided with her our and then glared at Cole and Colin's smirks of amusement at her situation.
"Um, ladies? Breathing... is... essential... " Gin said breathlessly.
It was amazing; these people hadn't seen each other in less than a month and they were acting like it had been centuries. She took in gasping breaths as her friends pulled back and Cole came forward.
"Good to have you back, Gin." she said with a smile.
"It's good to be back, Cole."
Gregory Goyle sat in his flat, mourning his own stupidity. I kissed Pansy, I kissed Pansy... Pug-faced, Banshee Pansy Parkinson, evil princess of Slytherin. he thought, swinging the bottle of amber liquid up to his lips once more, I lost Nicole... I lost her... Forever.
It wasn't as thoughhe had invited the action upon his person... it was because of that damnable mistletoe Dumbeldore insisted Hagrid put up everywhere! She had seen him walked under it and bend down to tie his shoelace and then just... kissed him.
"Damn it all."
He looked up at hearing a knock on the front door. He stood, already knowing who was there. Greg sighed and opened the oak door, straightening himself.
"Goyle."
There, in the doorway of Mr. Gregory Christian Goyle, stood Lucius Malfoy in all his hideous glory.
"Wilma! Charlie!" Nicole exclaimed, smiling widely at them, "I'd hug you, but... you know."
"Why do you still call me Charlie if you call him Wilma?" Charlie asked, ignoring the last comment.
"Because, face it doll, you've got a girl's name."
Bill snickered at the glare Charlie directed at Nicole.
"Who are you?" came a small voice from behind her.
Bill and Charlie exchanged a glance. Mum?
"Oh, Kay, these are Gin's older brothers. Bill and Charlie."
"Charlie? Girl's name."
"Well, what kind of name is Kay?"
"Not all of it."
"Oh." he muttered, "Well, who're you?"
Her pale hand shot out and she smiled shyly. "Kathleen Cordelia Lupin-Black-Malfoy. Katie Lupin-Black."
"William Weasley. Bill."
"Charles Weasley. Charlie."
"Cool ring." she said to Bill, pointing to his eyebrow before skipping away towards the library.
"I wish she'd tell that to Mum." Bill muttered.
"Uh, Cole, who are Katie's parents?"
The raven-haired ghost sighed and motioned them to follow her. "I'll tell you along the way."
"So, what've you got there, Bill?" Gin asked, refilling her brother's cup with black coffee.
"'Alla fine della luna nuova, il passato ritornerà dal luogo di riposo.' Roughly translated it means; 'To the end of the new moon, the past will return from the place of rest'." Bill said, nodding his thanks to her.
It was the eve of Monday, June 17th and every person residing in the ancient castle was frantic to find something before the ritual had to take place, exactly one month later. Even the Creevey brothers were helping the cause.
"So, what the bloody hell does that mean?" Laura asked.
"Not sure exactly."
"I don't care, it sounds interesting to me. It might be useful, mark it and gimme it." Dennis said.
No one was ready for the ritual, everything was taking so long to find and all the right books were in the least likely places to be found by them.
The woman sighed and placed herself upon the chair in front of her looking glass.This would not do. They had to find everything in less than a month's time.
"You know, you shouldn't look at that thing so much."
She nodded her head and tossed the white and blue scarves over the glass. "You're right, I suppose. I'm just worried about Weasley."
"I know, my love, but you can't be too worried. They'll figure it all out sooner or later."
Let's just hope it's not too late when they do. she thought.
Ginevra ran her index finger over the titles upon the top shelf in front of her. She was pulling an all-nighter by herself tonight, she did that sometimes. She raised a brow as she spotted a familiar symbol etched on the spine of a velvet covered book. It was a silver 'C' and a red 'E' entwined together.
"'Author: Escalus, Cassandra'." she read off of the card under the books.
'Seeing Without'? Isn't that one of the books for school? Gin thought, pulling it from it's place.
"Might as well have a peek." she muttered.
End Chapter