Chapter Fifteen-Maturity
The sun was about to set. He sat on the shore, watching the bright orange star dip lower and lower into the distant horizon. Oddly enough, he found himself nibbling on a candy cane.
Suddenly, he looked up, sensing that he was not alone.
"Good evening, Chosen."
Skye frowned. There was something about the woman that had just spoken to him that seemed awfully familiar. Coupled with the taste of the candy cane...it seemed to be stimulating some sort of long-forgotten memory...he felt it nagging in the back of his mind. Try as he might though, he could not bring the memory into focus.
"Who are you?" he blurted out rather rudely.
The woman sat beside him and gave him a gentle and seemingly amused smile, which troubled Skye even more. Who was this woman? The only person he met on the island while in a dream state was Shi-am, and he was certain that he would never catch Shi-am wearing what seemed to be one of his Grandmum's Christmas jumpers. Besides, as far as he knew, Shi-am was the only one with the ability to summon him.
"Skye," spoke the woman in her achingly familiar voice. "I'm afraid I don't have much time to speak with you. All I can say is this: your Protector is in danger."
Skye blinked. On Elementalis, nobody dared to call him by his given name-even Shi-am. He was always addressed by his title. Not that it mattered, really, but he just wasn't used to it. He shook off his surprise though, when he heard the words 'Protector' and 'danger' in the same sentence.
"Rain is in danger? But how can that be possible? She's at Hog-" he stopped speaking when she raised a hand for silence.
There was something about her brown eyes that sent Skye's confusion spiraling to higher level.
"The danger grows with each day that passes. What I beg of you to do now, Skye, is to find Rain's Partaker, and she will survive the ordeal."
"'Partaker?' What the hell is a Partaker?" Skye said, even though the island and the woman had already begun to fade.
But now, the fading mystery woman did not seem to hear him. Instead, the expression on her face changed...it seemed like she was pleading as she whispered something into the howling wind...
Skye Weasley sat up, having been jolted awake. He shook his head and noticed that the window beside his bed was open.
He got out of his bed and went to close the window. However, he paused. The wind was blowing into the room, and he was in time to hear a soft voice blended into the rush of air.
"Find her Partaker..."
"So, what are you planning?" asked Jon.
"Oh, just a small party," he replied.
Skye heard his best friend give a snort.
"Small? When a Weasley throws a party, it's never small, Skye," Jon said knowingly before walking away.
He shook his dark read head and went back to the letter he was writing. He had to send it as soon as possible; he needed to know what in the world a Partaker was. Of course, some part of his brain reasoned, he could always ask Rain if she had any idea...
No. This Partaker thing...person...was supposed to help her, and Rain never liked it much when she felt like she was being coddled.
Skye looked at the short sheet of parchment in front of him. It was more of a note than a letter, really, but he had to write fast just in case Rain suddenly entered the common room and decided to sit beside him and read what he was writing.
"What's this I hear about you throwing a party?" Rain's voice came suddenly.
Too late.
Hastily, Skye shoved the parchment he had been working on underneath a book, leaving a neat list in front of him.
"My birthday party. I'm turning seventeen in two days, if you recall," he said smoothly.
"Mm. Right. So, what are you planning to pull this year?" said Rain as she perched herself on the arm of his chair.
"Nothing, actually. A nice normal party."
The silence that came from Rain loudly proclaimed her surprise. She turned his head with a forefinger.
"A normal birthday party?" she echoed, sounding a little disappointed. "What, nobody's going to turn into canaries or anything?"
"Right in one."
"But WHY!"
Skye leaned back in his chair with a smile playing about his lips. He beckoned Rain closer.
"That's the beauty of it, isn't it? Everyone invited will be expecting a prank, perhaps the biggest one I've ever pulled in all my days in Hogwarts, but in reality, my dear, there will be no prank," he whispered in her ear.
Rain gave slight smile in return.
"I suppose that'll be fun enough to watch." She said hesitantly.
She then bade him farewell, going up the spiral staircase to her dormitory, where she presumably went to collect a book or something of the similar sort.
From his seat, Skye watched his younger cousin with interest. Rain's back was slightly hunched, almost as though she was perpetually tired. Her head was tilted downward, almost bowed. It was a huge difference from the straight-backed, head-held-high, confident stride he knew Rain to have.
She's gotten thin.
Although Rain's figure had never been what people would call plump, she'd always had this healthy roundness to her body. She wasn't exactly slim-she ate too much for that-but...
Something is dreadfully wrong with her, and I need to find out what it is. Soon.
He gave a smile in response to the wave she gave him as she ran back down and exited Gryffindor Tower.
Devon walked down the stone steps briskly.
"This practice is important. Nobody will skive it off," he muttered, loud enough so the others behind him could hear.
He had arranged for a practice of the Slytherin team this afternoon. Of course, some of the boys on the team, being the lazy arses they were, did not value the time he had set aside for Quiddicth as much as he did. It wasn't easy to book the field anymore; all the other team captains seem to have tried to get in as much time as they could, as well.
For the past half hour, he had been going around the castle, collecting his team, and he was not in a good mood. They needed this practice if any of them was going to make it onto the Hogwarts team.
"Devon," spoke Pontiard. "I hear Nott's voice."
True enough, Devon heard his Keeper's voice coming from around the corner. He headed in that direction, his team following him. When Barnabas Nott came into view, Devon opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly stopped when he saw who Nott was with.
"-report you. That'll be ten points from Slytherin, Nott, once a teacher finds out, and you'd better be grateful it isn't more," came a very familiar voice.
"You think so, Weasley?" sneered Nott, advancing on the red-haired Prefect in front of him.
Devon willed himself not to show any outward reaction. He stopped himself from clenching his fists. An odd kind of rage was starting to bubble inside him as he watched the little scene unfold. It was with a great effort that he held his ground, ignoring the little voice inside of him that was screaming for him to curse Nott senseless.
Nott was now very close to Rain, almost pinning her against the stone wall. Rain didn't look the least bit scared of the huge wizard advancing on her, but Devon's wasn't paying attention to her. His eyes were glued to Nott, who had his wand in hand.
"I don't think so, Nott," said Rain coolly. "I know so. Now, kindly get out of my face. I think I need to bathe again just to get the stench of your horrible breath out of my hair."
This proved to be too much of an insult to Nott. He reached out and grabbed Rain roughly around the arms. He pushed her to the wall and raised her several inches off the ground.
"Nott," Devon called, trying to control his anger.
How dare he lay his filthy hands on Rain! It took Devon the last ounce of control he had to refrain from tearing Nott to shreds with his bare hands.
The Slytherin Keeper stopped and looked at him, obviously not embarrassed at having been caught manhandling a Prefect younger than he was.
"Nott," Devon repeated in the same bored drawl he had perfected over the years. "Come away. We have practice."
The glare he received made Devon give an exasperated noise.
"Must I take care of all these things?" he said to no one in particular.
Devon approached Rain and Nott.
"Let go of her, Nott. Let the little weasel dream of taking points away. It's the only way Gryffindor can try and gain their points. There's no Quidditch Cup this year, after all. Not that it ever helped them any."
He allowed his gaze to travel from Nott, to Rain, hoping with every fiber of his being that she understood what he was trying to do. But she wasn't looking at him. She had an eyebrow raised at Nott, looking merely like he was irritating her immensely and not hurting her.
Finally, Nott let her go. He dropped the Prefect to the ground, where she almost stumbled. Devon knew Rain wanted to rub her arms; he knew what a death grip Nott had. But Rain's pride kept her from doing anything except glare more at every Slytherin that filled the small space of the stone corridor...everyone except for Devon, that is.
"Is there anything else that needs to be settled? None? Let's go then," Devin said with a hint of finality and impatience in his voice.
None of his team moved. Devon turned to them and raised a brow. Slowly, reluctantly, they began to file out of the narrow corridor-except for Nott, who stood stock still, his wand still in his hand.
The fucking bastard. I'll enjoy making him do drills until he gives out.
"Nott," Devon said sharply.
With a noise not unlike a snarl, Nott turned and left, Devon following him.
Calmly, coolly...no emotions, Devon. No emotions, unless you want everyone to see right through you.
Perhaps it was lucky that his father had taught him control. Perhaps it was coming in handy that he could outwardly pretend that everything was alright when he was just dying to throw a particularly nasty hex at the pathetic excuse for a human being walking beside him. Devon walked to the pitch, forming new drills in his head.
It was with a huge sigh that Skye Weasley entered his dormitory. Wood had just cancelled practice; Malfoy had already booked the field for the whole evening.
Great. Now what am I going to do?
Skye dropped his bag to the floor and lay down on his bed. With a slight movement of his hand, his hangings shut themselves and Skye stared up at the canopy.
He still hadn't figured out what in the world he was supposed to do about Rain. He suddenly realized that Rain hadn't been sharing anything with him lately...she hadn't told him anything really relevant to her personal life. Not that this was unusual; she was a girl after all, and he wasn't. But the interaction they'd been having was wanting.
In not so many words, the strange woman had told him that time was of the essence.
Who IS that woman, anyway? She looked so familiar...
An idea hit Skye. If this woman was so familiar, then she probably...yes, that was it. He stood and went to his trunk. He unlocked it, rummaged in it for a few seconds, and finally drew out a wooden box. Skye went back to his bed, shut his hangings once more and opened the box.
"The Treasure Box. Of course. Why didn't I think of it before?" he muttered to himself.
Skye had named the 'Treasure Box' when he was little. In reality, it was only an ordinary box of photographs that his mother had charmed so it could contain about a hundred times its capacity without showing on the outside. He had used it since he could remember.
He took several photos out, smiling at the images that greeted him. Some pictures were a bit faded, showing their age, while others were crisp and vivid. There were photos of his parents, himself, his cousins, his classmates...
"It's her!" he half-yelled, so surprised that he accidentally bumped his head on his headboard.
He had found a photograph of the mystery woman almost at the very bottom of the box. The woman was holding baby Skye, who was happily sucking on a candy cane, in front of a Christmas tree. Both of them were giggling. He stared at the brown hair, the brown eyes, and the young face, incredibly surprised. Skye rubbed his head.
The woman was Alexandra Weasley. Rain's mother.
Rain slipped a robe on. She looked around, making sure that all the girls in her dormitory were asleep, before she grabbed a book and stole down the staircase to the common room.
Skye's party had lasted longer than they had anticipated. It had taken a visit from Professor McGonagall before the Gryffindors finally went to bed. Of course, her ever-charming cousin tried to get their Head of House to join them, although the Professor declined. She was partly shocked, and partly amused that Skye even attempted to do it.
I'm sure Uncle Fred will laugh when he hears of it.
Before reaching the common room, Rain stopped. Voices floated up to where she was standing.
"...and that's just about it."
The voice belonged to Skye. There was a pause before another voice that Rain recognized as Celestia's replied, "I see."
Biting her lip, Rain sighed. If Skye and Cel were in the common room, she'd have to find somewhere else to stay.
For the past few weeks, Rain had not gotten much sleep. She refused to. She didn't want to close her eyes and dream...no, dreaming was the last possible thing she wanted to do at the moment. So, each night, after everybody else was sound asleep, she would sneak down to the common room. Sometimes, she would just read, but most of the time, she did her homework.
The whole thing was getting out of control. She was hardly getting any rest anymore, and though she managed to take some catnaps during her free moments, the fatigue was taking a toll on her.
Not knowing what else to do, Rain sat down on a step, trying to think of a way she could get past her cousin unnoticed. However, five minutes later, she realized that there was no way that she could get out of Gryffindor Tower without being seen by Skye.
Well, at least Skye and Cel seem to be hitting it off.
Rain leaned back on her elbows, her thoughts wandering back to something that happened two afternoons before...and she winced. Gently, she drew up the sleeves of her robe and gingerly poked at the bruises that were there.
One of these days, that bastard is going to get it.
Barnabas Nott's hands caused these new bruises on her arms. Her encounter with him did not come out very well, though she was incredibly thankful that Devon came along when he did. She didn't know what she might have been forced to do if he hadn't.
Rain shook her head. It was not the time to dwell on such things.
He saw her brown eyes grow wide when she saw what he had set up for her benefit. Suddenly, though, he raised a brow.
"Would you care to share with me what you find so amusing?" he said when she seemed to stifle a laugh.
"It's not that I don't find all of this terribly romantic, but...I really can't believe you're actually sitting on the ground," she replied, her voice muffled due to the hand she clapped over her mouth.
Devon fought the urge to roll his eyes.
"Yes, yes, I do sit on the ground on occasion."
He gave a smile and patted a space on the ground, inviting her to sit with him. Giving him a smile in return, Rain settled herself in between his legs, leaning back against his chest. She sighed softly when he wrapped his arms around her.
"Are you alright?" he asked her.
"Yes. Why are you ask-oh. Is this about the run-in with Nott?" she said, sounding a little irritated.
Her tone of voice told Devon he would have to tread carefully. So, he merely placed his chin on the top of her red head to give himself time to think.
"I worked the whole team until after dinner, you know. Well after dinner."
"Devon, you don't need to protect me. I've stood up to boys twice my size before. In case you've forgotten, I have quite a number of male cousins," Rain said coolly.
"Don't turn this into an argument, Airen. I was concerned about you. Let me make it clear that I have never been angrier in my life than at that moment when I found him looming over you like that. Call it fucking chivalry, go ahead, but don't brush it off like water off a duck's back."
His quiet, level voice made Rain look up at him. He carefully avoided her gaze, knowing well that if he met her eyes right now, she would see the vulnerability he was trying so desperately to hide.
For almost three days now, he had been planning this little lakeside meeting with Rain. Though the weather was not cooperating with him (it was a very dull, cloudy day), he was determined to make the best of it. At least it was not raining. He'd been wanting to speak with Rain privately, but their busy schedules, not to mention the need for absolute secrecy, did not make it easy for them to meet.
Devon was not accustomed to the side of him that had revealed itself that day. He never knew himself to be so strongly protective of someone aside from himself. It was unnerving, to say the least.
"Was I turning it into an argument?" Rain said after a short silence.
"Yes, you were."
Another short silence followed. During that moment, Devon allowed himself to wonder about this confusing change that was coming over him. It wasn't wholly unpleasant...just rather disquieting.
"Did it hurt?" he asked presently.
"Did what hurt?"
"When he grabbed you. Did it hurt?"
Surprisingly, Rain bowed her head at this. She seemed to curl in on herself, burrowing herself deeper into the confines of his arms. He barely made out the nod that she gave in reply.
The rage at Nott that he'd bottled up now came back. Devon narrowed his eyes.
"I'd hate to be the Quaffle when he catches it," she said softly, her voice deceptively light.
Devon moved one of his hands to her right sleeve. Gently, he rolled it up. He was surprised to see clear, unmarked skin.
Nott's grip is enough to leave bruises....
Then, Devon understood. Taking out his wand, he waved it over Rain's arm quickly.
Concealing Charms. Ingenious.
"Finite Incantatem," he muttered.
Without warning, Rain pushed herself away from him, looking horrified.
"What do you think you're doing!" she demanded angrily, pulling her sleeve down hastily in an effort to conceal what Devon had seen.
Devon's expression hardened. He watched Rain pull out her own wand, hurriedly muttering charms.
"Airen."
She took no notice of him.
"Airen," he repeated in a much firmer voice that made her stop moving, though she was now carefully avoiding his eyes.
When Devon spoke again, he enunciated every syllable carefully.
"Who beat you up?"
The chapter has now ended.