A Lighter Shade of Black
Letters and Lovers
Dear Sarah,
What's up, oh sister mine? This is Nicole, by the by. Yes, I know, long time no see.
I could say the same for you, dearest. But, you know, I didn't write to pick a fight or
anything. As you know, Mother shipped me off to England for my sixth year in school. Well,
I met some lovely new friends: Laura Potter, Taylor "T.J." Greemhorn, and Ginevra Weasley.
It's Ginevra that I'm writing to you about…
You know how seers are usually a little less than human? Well, Gin (that's what we call
her, Gin) is a recently discovered seer and, well, she all human. And seeing as your not
being all-human was what made you run off… I thought maybe you'd help me.
Maybe I was wrong.
I don't know, write back a.s.a.p.
Sign,
Nicole R. Black
(I'll explain later)
"Hey, Nicole?"
The other girl looked up at T.J., folding her letter up. "Yeah, Teej?"
"Who are you writing?" she asked, lying back on the couch, pulling her blanket over her body.
Laura had already fallen asleep on the floor with a copy of the Quibbler on her face.
"My sister."
"Which one?" It was murmured; she was about to fall asleep.
"Sarah."
"Hmm. That's good... 'Night."
"Goodnight."
Cole smiled and crept up the stairway she had come down moments ago.
Taylor sighed in contentment as she stared sleepily into the flames as they burned up the log lying in the fireplace. As she stared, her eyes started to droop as she gave into sleep, at least for the moment...
T.J. opened her eyes again, still staring into the roaring flames. But things seemed… different somehow. The temperature had dropped somewhat, and the log in the fire that she had been watching was gone.
I couldn't have slept for that long, could I? she thought silently.
The midnight-haired girl sat up, looking around wildly. She soon realized that she was laying on a couch in the Slytherin common room, wearing her Slytherin robes with a Slytherin girl and a Slytherin boy standing in front of her, screaming at each other. She shrugged, turning around to listen to the fight.
"Why the bloody hell do you keep doing this, Horn?" the boy snapped, holding up a sheet of parchment, "Why do you like to piss me off so damn much?"
"Watch your mouth, Reg," the girl order, before her demeanor fell in light-hearted, "and it's because you're cute when you get all huffy."
T.J. had to admit; the way his dark hair curled around his handsome face was rather… Cute. It almost looked like hers had when she cut it so short. And the girl… She seemed familiar…
He glared at her, cobalt eyes burning.
"C'mon, Reggie!" the girl whispered, taking a step towards him and wrapping her arms around his middle, "It was just one question."
"And it was worth a plus on my A, Mel!" he snapped, pushing her away, "That could've saved my average!"
Taylor nodded, she knew how that was.
"Regulus," she murmured, "It's not that bad."
The boy, Regulus, could tell he had made her feel bad. His face softened and he stuffed the parchment into his pocket. Wrapping his arms around her, he tilted her chin up to look at him and a small smile warmed his features.
"I guess it's not."
"Mel" smiled widely and perched herself on her tiptoes to kiss his lips.
"I love you, Melissa Horn."
"I love you, too, Regulus Black."
T.J. gasped loudly as her eyes snapped open.
"Regulus Black?"
Draco silently opened the door to the 7th year girl's dorm, hoping that she hadn't gone to sleep, but not wanting to wake her if she had. He peered inside and sighed in frustration when he realized she was not in any one of the four-poster beds.
"Ginny?" he called, closing the door behind him, "Are you in here?"
Nothing.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped over to the bathroom door… He could feel something was wrong. Draco wasn't quite sure how he knew this, but he could just… feel it. She was in danger. And he had to save her.
"Alohamora." he murmured, pointing his wand to the door.
It didn't work; the locking spell was too strong. Sighing he went through numerous unlocking and opening spell before he gave up and went on to his second choice of entry.
The blonde wizard braced his foot against the door for moment, readying himself before he kicked the down in. With a grunt, Draco sent his foot into the wood of the door once, twice, three times before it finally caved in and fell onto the tiled floor of the bathroom.
The wizard took in the scene before him quickly: A broken mirror with slivers of blood on it; a pile of clothes; drops of blood leading from the mirror to the sink to the bathtub; a tub full of slightly pink-tinged water… and a mane of fiery and blood red hair floating on top of said pink-tinged water.
"Ginevra!"
Draco flung his house-shoes off and crouched down in the tub, scooping his unconscious lover up into his arms. As he lifted her nude form from the waters, he noticed a line of blood trailing down her palm. He quickly stepped out of the water and wrapped her up in a robe, laying her on the floor. Draco pulled out his wand and sat on the floor next to her, pulling her body into his lap gently.
"Guar le Ferite." he whispered, pointing to her palms with the piece of wood.
He watched as the long, multiple cuts came together and closed themselves up, as if being sewed together by an invisible force. When all was healed, Draco stared down into his girlfriend's face… She was so pale. She had lost so much blood… But she had to be all right.
"Ginevra," he murmured, pulling her up to rest her head on his shoulder, "Ginny, love, you can't leave me… Not now, not after everything we've been through to stay together."
The blonde man stroked her still-wet hair as his murmured these words in her ear.
"Please come back to me, love." he pleaded, desperate, "Please don't go…"
Draco closed his eyes and buried his face in her auburn mane.
A low moan was emitted from her mouth as she curled into his chest. They both froze as honey met ice.
"You saved me!" she exclaimed, pushing away from him.
But, Draco noticed, it was not a happy, joyful exclamation. It was more like she was accusing him of stealing or something. She was… mad? He was definitely confused.
"What?"
"Why?" she asked, "Can't you see that after what I did today, I don't feel like walking around labelled as 'murderer'?"
Draco stood up so he was looming over the petite redhead.
"Look here, Weasley," he began, grabbing her by the arm, "I won't let you die... ever. Voluntary or not, you aren't leaving me all alone in this world without you to make me whole."
Ginevra's eyes had flashed dangerously when he had referred to her as 'Weasley', but now looked into his with an awe and confused look.
"And as for 'what you did today'," he continued, ranting, "I don't care! Everyone knows that it wasn't your fault, Ginny. We know you didn't mean to... But it doesn't matter at any rate, because he was a Death Eater!"
He watched as her bottom lip trembled and her eyes watered up. She started crying, burying her face in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her shaking, sobbing body. His face softened and he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the dorm, laying her on her bed. The man turned and flicked his wand at the bathroom, setting everything right.
"Please don't go." she said as he turned to the door, "I need you."
He shut the door of the dorm and crawled into bed next to his lover. "I wasn't going to, luv."
Ginevra smiled in a small way and curled into his chest, forgetting that she was still naked. Draco, however, had not. A smirk spread over his face as he pressed his mouth over his Ginevra's. Sleep did not come for another hour for the loving pair.
It was something like ten o'clock the next morning when Laura was summoned to Albus Dumbledore's office. Laura wasn't nervous, though; she couldn't be in trouble. School had not even begun yet.
"Ah, Miss Potter, I wondered if you would be late or not today." Dumbledore greeted.
Laura smiled. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about, Professor?"
The wizard's smile lessened somewhat as he met her gaze.
"Laura, I wanted to tell you exactly what it is when you feel these things, like those migraines…" he took a slow breath, "You are aware of the way Harry's scar causes him pain when the Dark Lord is near?"
"Yes."
"This is, in a way, the same thing." He continued, "But you do not sense Voldemort, only danger. Right now, your feelings are clouded by all the magic floating around here."
Laura nodded, digesting the information calmly. "So what can I do to ignore the magic and feel what I'm supposed to?"
"Professor Snape is brewing a potion for you. It should work in only one dose."
"Oh good." she smiled, "Thank you, Headmaster."
"You are very welcome, Miss Potter." he replied, "Ah, and there is one more thing. I think it would be best if you and the others get away from the castle for a while… I think that it would be best. It would certainly take away most of this tension."
Laura nodded her head. She could see the logic in that. "I'll tell them, sir."
"Thank you, Laura, have a good day."
Laura quickly made her way back to the common room, where she knew T.J., Nicole and Katie were. A vacation from the castle? she thought as she ascended the stairs, Where would we go?
She hummed some odd tune that came to mind as she opened the portrait hole and entered.
"Hey you." T.J. greeted, looking up from her… yearbook?
"Hey yourself," she smiled, eyeing the text in her friends hands, "what's with the memoir?"
Taylor glanced down at the book and then motioned her over quickly. "I forgot Hogwarts had yearbooks." Laura murmured.
"You get them in the last year if you want them." T.J. replied absently, flipping pages before stop with a triumphant 'ah ha'.
The black-haired witch pointed to a picture on the Couples page. It was of a tall boy with curly black hair and deep, blue eyes. He had his arms wrapped around a petite girl with dark hair and dark eyes. Her cheek was resting over his heart and he stood rigid with a serious look about him, but the girl looked innocent and kind.
Laura read the caption under the picture a loud: "Regulus Black and Melissa Horn- Voted Most Wicked Slytherins."
T.J. smiled radiantly up at her best friend. "I've been up all morning looking for information on them."
"Uh-huh." Laura said, still clueless, "And they are?"
"My parents."
Draco stretched his arms above his head groggily, yawning. He turned his head and looked down to see his naked redheaded sweetheart lying there next to him. Her honey-brown orbs fluttered open and looked up at him.
"Hey there, naked boy." she smiled, looking him over a bit.
"Good morning, my topless temptress."
Ginevra laughed and pulled him down to her, pressing her mouth over his in a kiss. As she did so, Draco pulled her onto his lap and began to caress her back. That's when the door opened.
"Hey, Gin, do you ha-" Nicole stopped in the middle of her sentence as she realized what she had walked in on, "Oh, no, I… Here it is! Well, th-thanks, bye!"
The witch ran out of the room, one hand over her mouth with some weird scarf in the other. They exchanged a glance before erupting with laughter.
Nicole quickly descended the staircase that lead up to the girl's dormitory. Her eyes were wide with one hand covering her mouth and the other holding the scarf she hadn't been looking for. She said nothing as the other two girl's looked at her with questioning, worried glances.
"Cole?" Laura began, "You okay?"
Nicole shook her head left to right and slowly sat down in a chair at their table.
"I've been scarred for life." she said.
Laura and T.J. looked at the other girl and each other before they bolted up the stairs quickly. Cole sat there for a moment, still in shocked silence, before a small giggle erupted from her mouth. And by the time the other two returned, she was shaking in her chair with laughter. T.J. and Laura soon followed the suit.
Ginevra began down the stairs, her blush deepening with every step. She could hear her three friends rolling with laughter even at the top of the steps.
"It'll be okay, Red." he whispered in her ear from behind her, "They were just as embarrassed as us. You know they won't care."
Sighing, the redhead nodded. She knew that her friends had been embarrassed to see her and Draco… together. Especially Laura and T.J., who had seen the worst of the whole event. At the thought, Ginevra's cheeks flared bright red once again.
"What is it now?" her boyfriend inquired, eyes shining in mirth.
"I can't believe Laura and Taylor saw your bum…" she muttered, smile gracing her lips.
It was a later hour in the day when Colin and Dennis Creevey came down and announced themselves to be going to stay at there aunt's house in London.
"We need to get away from this castle for a while..." Colin said, smiling a little, "It's really stressful hanging out with you girls."
The two had visited all morning before going off to Hogsmeade to catch their train out.
"You know what I just remembered?"
Laura's words drifted along the long table to her best friends' ears just as an owl swooped in a dropped a small envelope onto Gin's toast. She eyed it for a moment before ripping it to shreds and examining the letter.
"What did you just remember?" Nicole asked, skewering a sausage link on her daughter's fork and handing it to her.
"That the Headmaster recommended we do the same as Colin and Dennis."
"Well here's the perfect opportunity." Ginevra interjected, waving the letter under her friends' noses.
Hey little sister,
Will you please come to the safe house, Gin? C'mon please!
There's this girl… She utterly brilliant! You and the ladies
would get along with her perfectly! And you really need to
come… Mum is really sorry about everything, she was just…
you know, surprised.
You know how she acted when Bill came home with long hair
and that bloody bolt in his eyebrow! Plus, I really want you to
meet Nymphadora Tonks. (Last name, preferred)
Just, you know, think about it, Gin.
Love you,
Charlie-boy
P.S.- If yes, Dumbledore should help you get here.
"Sounds like we're heading to 'the safe house' for the rest of a rather unsatisfactory summer." Taylor stated, before she rejoined the breadstick duel she was having with her honorary niece.
"So it would seem."
Sarah allowed her eyes to scan the words neatly jotted down upon the parchment in her hands. So her sister needed her once more… For a somewhat different reason this time. She looked over at her black pit-bull, Buttons.
"Looks like we're going on a trip." she stated, standing to go pack her bags.
Don't worry, sister dearest, she thought fondly, You and my lovely niece will see me soon.
End Chapter