A/N: I'd just like to say that Selena and Darcy's friendship was inspired by a very recent friendship that I had. And I guess this is my way of venting it out. You can guess what half of the friendship I represent, eh? Oh, now that sounded like a mary-sue.
Oh, and the Christmas part of this may seem like a filler. I'm not saying if it is- I'll leave that up to you to decide.
Another thing- look, a Scarlet Letter word!! (inside joke)
The Scribe's Resurrection
Part One: Chapter Six
December 5, 1974
Selena wouldn't be staying for Christmas this year. Her father had asked for the whole month of December off, and Alastor Moody had allowed it. Therefore, Selena had to go home for Christmas. She hadn't been home for Christmas in three years and neither had her father. Moody was exceptionally proud of her father, though, which was the reason for his letting Raphael Riviera go home for the holidays.
"Your dad's brilliant," Remus said, reading the Daily Prophet. He plopped the paper on the table, and the headline read in bold letters, 'EMERSON ROSIER CAUGHT BY AUROR RAPHAEL RIVIERA.' Selena broke out into a smile.
"Isn't that Snape's mate's dad?"
"You mean Evan's dad?"
"Yeah."
"Ooh, not wanting to know how he feels right about now," Peter remarked.
"He shouldn't feel bad- 's not his fault his dad's a Death Eater," Remus said.
"Right. He'll end up the same."
"Selena, you're a girl," James, previously quiet, spoke up.
"Nice, James."
"You're abnormal, but you're still a girl. Tell me, is Professor Lake attractive?"
"Er, yes?" Selena looked at him weirdly.
"Why can't girls like guys their own age?" James was obviously frustrated. "You know, me."
"Because you're daft." James opened his mouth to protest, but Selena went on, "Notice that the only girls who like you, James, are eleven and twelve. They dunno better." James scowled while Remus and the others let out a hearty laugh.
"Great," the spectacled boy mumbled. He pushed his food around with his spoon.
"Don't worry, love, all you've got to do is grow up."
"I'm grown, thank you." James cleared his throat, mussed up his hair, and got up.
"Right." Selena stood up too, seeing that lunch was almost over. She left the others behind and left the Great Hall.
Her leg had improved immensely, as most of the initial stiffness had faded. But, the Healer had been right, Selena had to use her walking stick. Now, the raven-haired child was sluggish going everywhere, however it was certainly not a hindrance- at least, not most days.
In mid-step, the support from the cane vanished, and she fell in the middle of the first-floor corridor.
"Ouch!" Her voice echoed through the hall. An awful cackle sounded; she sat up and looked around. Evan Rosier had pulled the cane from her grip with a spell, and it was now spiraling in the air. His posse surrounded him, eyes filled with glee.
"Oops." He simpered, mocking a sympathetic expression, earning another titter from his group. Mouth pursed, Selena sat there, trying desperately not to cry.
It was one thing to trip her- people had done it all year, trying to see if she was faking- but it was another thing altogether to snatch her crutch from her.
"What shall I do with this?" Evan wondered aloud. Selena looked for some solace, looking down the hall both ways to see if anyone heard her fall. No one. Her eyes ran over Rosier's accomplices, and she found one who could help.
"Darcy," she breathed. But Darcy's eyes were not concerned. A violent wave of disappointment ran through Selena's heart.
"Break it." Darcy's face was smug.
"You know, I don't like your dad." Rosier began to pace the floor in front of Selena. "And I don't like you."
"Evan, can I please have it back?" Selena spoke for the first time. He took the cane in his left hand and spun it a few times.
"No." Evan turned to his friends. "What a stupid question." They laughed some more. Selena looked at Darcy once again, her face begging for help. Darcy didn't move.
"Accio walking stick," Selena mumbled. The cane wriggled out of Rosier's grip and found its way to its owner. Selena got up, dusting herself off. She directed her ash wand at the four Slytherins.
"So now you're going to jinx us? Petrificus Tot-"
"Protego!" Selena yelled. "Acervus manus!" Rosier dropped his wand, shrieking in horror that his hands were rendered useless. His outburst attracted those who were going to class and those who were already in it.
"Tarantallegra!"
"Protego! Incarcerous!" Regulus Black became engulfed in ropes. Darcy screeched while observing this and afterwards tried to rip them off. The last companion of Evan Rosier stepped forward.
"Locomotor mortis!" Severus Snape directed his wand at Selena, and her legs promptly went together. This did not stop her from falling, because her hand was firmly on her cane.
"OUT OF THE WAY, I AM A TEACHER!" Professor Lake pushed his way through his students. At this time, four troublemakers came hurrying up the stairs and down the hall, afraid they would be late to class. They stopped when they saw a duel.
"Falsus volneratus!" Snape howled in pain, then retaliated.
"Sparaviparum!" Selena fell to the ground, scratching and clutching her throat spastically. Snape too collapsed, screaming while trying to rip his hair out. Both duelers had bested the other and had rendered them helpless.
Professor Lake hovered over the figure of Snape and murmured something. Snape's cries reduced to whimpers. Then, the dashing man strode to Selena, whose neck was now bleeding from etches she had made.
"Anapneo." Selena inhaled deeply as the professor undid her legs. She looked over at Severus; he had succeeded in ripping out his hair, and crimson liquid dripped down from his head onto the floor. She stood up. Ten or fifteen people had gathered in the hall, not including the handful of ghosts that heard the commotion.
"Fifty points from Gryffindor!" Professor Lake bellowed. "Never in my life have I seen such disregard for rules!" Upset and furious, Selena flushed because this really wasn't her fault.
"And you four! Fifty points each from Slytherin."
"But I didn't do anything! It's this lot that dueled-!" Darcy's anger rose.
"You were here, weren't you?!" After fixing Regulus and Evan, Professor Lake rounded on Snape and Selena again. "Detention for each of you!"
"Yes, sir," Selena and Severus mumbled together. The exasperated professor got his bearings, then glanced around him.
"Get to class!" He pointed towards the classrooms, and the crowd dissipated. The four troublemakers eyed Selena suspiciously, but they were quite happy they wouldn't be late. Regulus and Evan left the scene, probably to skip class. Darcy, looking quite peeved, stuck to her spot near the wall.
"And as for you two," the professor added in a quiet voice, "twenty points to each of your houses."
"What?" Selena found this bizarre. Snape's mouth curled upwards in an unmistakable, surly smile.
"You made those spells up yourselves, didn't you? I've never heard them before."
"Er, yes." The dumbfounded girl nodded slowly, and so did the boy.
"I've made up a few good hexes, too, and I can appreciate a heated duel." Selena shook her head incredulously. "So, you all don't have detentions."
"But, you said-"
"I take what I said back." He rambled on, "you both are obviously the best duelers I've seen for your age. Although, I've been told Flitwick's a champ... And I bet the Headmaster packs a wallop. Anyway, go to the infirmary. You're bleeding." The handsome Lake walked away jovially, muttering something about duels.
"Well he's obviously one thestral short of a flock," Snape commented, going on to the infirmary. Darcy watched him go, then went to Selena. She didn't look happy at all.
"I don't need you anymore." Darcy handed Selena an object wrapped in a cloth, which was revealed to be her half of the two-way mirrors on closer inspection. Selena, puzzled, looked up to figure out what in the world this meant, but Darcy was gone.
After she left the infirmary, Selena took her place in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Immediately, James slapped a piece of paper down on her desk.
You made Snape bleed! A scrawl wrote.
He and his friends tried to curse me. Selena wrote back. She passed the sheet back to him. Sirius read it, and scribbled on it.
YOU MADE HIM BLEED.
... Really, I didn't notice. Selena felt a twinge of guilt for using that incantation on him.
You've got to teach us what you used, James wrote. Is your neck okay?
I guess so. It's sore-ish.
Did you make up that hex? Remus got the paper next.
Yeah.
How? Peter waited a few moments while Professor Lake passed by, then he wrote some more. That was so BRILLIANT.
Thanks. Selena wrote a smiley face, then went on. I have a book my dad gave me for my birthday on how to make them. It's really easy once you get the hang of it.
"Think we could make one that makes your ears capable of making you fly?" James whispered back.
"Probably."
"Yesss."
"Fine, I'll ask the question," Sirius hissed, annoyed that James wouldn't write down his thought. He turned around. "What happened?"
"They took my cane, and then when I took it back, they got mad. So, they pointed their wands at me. You know the rest."
"You just used that as an excuse to make Snape cringe with fear," Sirius whispered, mindful that Professor Lake was coming their way. Quickly, he contorted his face and said, "I would've just run by, given him a good jinx, and laughed."
James, Peter, Remus, and Selena guffawed at Sirius' physiognomy, causing the professor to round on them.
"Would you lot like to teach the class?" He appeared at their tables, face dark. He hated disruptions. Selena shook her head.
"Which one of us?" Peter asked sincerely. Others in the class began snickering.
"What d'you mean, Mr. Pettigrew?"
"Well, obviously, we can't all teach at one time- that'd be weird."
"Who do you suggest, then?" Professor Lake's face blackened further. Sirius and James, fists in mouth, watched the exchange, but Remus, with widened eyes, stared at his notes.
"Well, maybe James. He's read this chapter. Sirius is good too. And Remus has got his head together- could definitely teach this class. Yep, I put forth Remus. Remus for Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."
"Why not you?"
"Because, with all due respect, Professor, I don't know what in the world we're talking about."
"Oh, then maybe you should NOT TALK IN MY CLASS." James and Sirius were choking with repressed laughter by now, and Selena couldn't believe Peter was that naïve.
"Sorry," the round boy mumbled, hanging his head.
"Thank you. Five points from Gryffindor. Next will be detention."
"Yes, sir."
"Class is dismissed," Lake grumbled, going to his desk. Sirius and James let out their mirth.
"Remus for Defense Against the Dark Arts! Ahahaha!"
"W-we should make buttons!" At this, Sirius threw back his head and laughed harder. Remus scowled.
"Don't drag me into your mess," he said to Peter.
"I don't get it. He asked a question-"
"That was his way of telling us to be quiet," Selena said, following the laughing pair out of the classroom.
"Oh." He shuffled down the hall. "Why do I always lose points?"
"Ah, it shows character," James said, waving it away. "Person who loses the most wins."
"You four've got a hell of a lot of 'character.'"
"Don't we, though?"
Selena hadn't been herself since the incident with the four Slytherins. Her friends noticed this, extracted information from her, and concluded that it was some 'girl thing' that they knew nothing about. They parted to go home for the holidays in wonderful spirits, assuring themselves that Selena would be back to her old self when she came back in January.
The Belladonna Estate was exceptionally beautiful, covered in snow. Looking out one of the windows everything in sight was white and shades of grey; it was cold, too. The trees seemed to shudder in the blustery day. Though the landscape was lovely, Selena preferred the inside- the feel of warmth and smell of gingersnaps. Selena's gaze moved from the window to her mother.
"Mum," Selena voiced suddenly, "have you ever lost a friend?"
"Well, I've never really experienced someone dying-"
"No, Mum. I mean, have you ever had a friendship that's fallen apart and you dunno why?"
"Ah." Mrs. Riviera, sitting at her vanity, glanced at her daughter. She put down her brush. "Well, no, baby. We always just had family- well, I did, before I met your father." Marring Raphael Riviera caused a giant rift in the Srivastava family, and now Komali and her parents did not talk.
Selena frowned.
"But, there is something I can tell you. Even though I lost my family- er, figuratively- even though I lost them, being with your father gave me you." Selena sighed and looked in the mirror at her mother's young, unblemished face. She looked so serene. Selena wanted to look just like her.
"Why do you ask?"
"Darcy and I aren't- I mean- I don't think we're friends anymore."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, my mother sends me her old jewelry on my birthdays. And I send her pictures of you. She writes all the time." Selena's mother sighed and stood up; she placed a warm hand on her daughter's cheek. "Friends are forever. Just like family is forever. Darcy knows that, and she'll always love you and need you. ... C'mon, I want to see your dad in his French costume."
"'Kay."
Selena and her parents were going to the library for a holiday party. The attire was supposed to show one's ancestry. Selena didn't know much about either side of her family: Her father was an illegitimate child whose sickly mother died before he became an Auror, and her mother and her family were tragically estranged.
"Wow, you look better than on our wedding day!" Komali's husband rushed to her and picked her up, swinging her around. Selena's mother laughed childishly and was put down. Mr. Riviera kissed her.
"And you! You look dashing." Raphael Stephane Riviera did look nonsensically handsome. He was captured in this way when thinking about times when life was not so hard. Stress lines eased themselves off his face as he smiled, and, to Komali, he looked like the man she'd fallen in love with.
"Thank you. The mirror says I look like a king."
"You do, Daddy."
"Ahaha, and you're my princess!" He bent down and placed a light kiss on Selena's forehead. He pulled out suddenly and held out both his hands. "Shall we proceed?"
"We shall."
---
On Christmas eve, Selena sat on the landing of the stairs wrapping Christmas presents with Twinkles by her side. Twinkles just wanted to spread holiday cheer, and it did so by sticking bows and glitter on the presents. The Garland Fuzzie now flew around the great room.
Selena could see the great room, even though she was upstairs on the step landing. This was her favorite place. The entire back wall of her house was thick glass; when she looked out the banister slots, a picturesque beauty awaited her, no matter what the season, and she felt like she was outside.
"Just James and Sirius left," Selena sighed, picking up their gifts. She looked into the two-way mirrors. She'd decided to give them away, simply because she had no need for them. She wrapped them carefully.
"Okay, Twink, you can make them shiny now."
Twinkles cooed and flew over the presents, putting ribbon around them. Selena put her whistle into her mouth and blew; a soft hoot reverberated from it, and Artemis swung in with two parcels. He put them by the Christmas tree, then fluttered over to Selena.
"Did Peter get his?" Artemis narrowed his dark orbs for eyes. "Okay, yeah, I trust you to deliver them. I was just asking- no need to be offended. Two more?"
The owl let her tie the two boxes to him, and he was off again.
"Done. Candy cane?" Selena passed a bon-bon to her tiny, shiny animal. She sat back in her seat, waiting for her owl to come back. She then heard yelling.
"She's not a baby anymore, Raphael! And if you were here, you'd know that!" Komali Riviera was screaming at the top of her lungs. Selena inched over to the banister and looked down.
"I'm sorry I work so much." Raphael never, ever lost his temper, preferring to sit and let the aggressor vent. And he always apologized.
"No, you're not! You like being around that, that deranged Alastor Moody! You think he's a saint!"
"Well, Komali, he's the best of the best. I just like learning from him." He watched his wife pace the great room, passing the Christmas tree over and over.
"Right, just like you like skiving off your duties as a member of this family!"
"Komi, I love you and Selena."
"No! You adore the rush you get when you're tracking those stupid Death Eaters! I read the Daily Prophet, you know."
"I know."
"And- and you like being an Auror!"
"Of course I do."
"Even though it means making me and your daughter unhappy!" Komali thrust her index finger towards the stairs.
"Baby, if you were unhappy, why didn't you-"
"Because! YOU WOULD'NT HAVE QUIT. I SAW THE PICTURE OF YOU IN THE DAMN NEWSPAPER!" Komali paused, gathering herself. "You looked so happy."
"I'm sorry-"
"QUIT APOLOGIZING!" Mrs. Riviera's voice became rough and sandpaper-like. Selena knew this would be the breaking point. Her dad would hold her soon, she'd stop, and all would be mended. She was used to their spats.
But Mr. Riviera made no move- Raphael Riviera sat in his leather armchair, hands in his lap, listening intently.
"JUST QUIT APOLOGIZING. You can't make everything better with those words, Raphael. 'I'm sorry' or 'It's okay' or 'I'm fine.' You almost died catching Rosier. You were in the bloody hospital for two months! You were just mad you lost him! You didn't think about me, did you? And what did you do when you were discharged, Raphael? WHAT DID YOU DO?"
"I went back to the chase," he answered. Selena gasped; she didn't know he had been admitted into St. Mungo's.
"I can't live like this, I just can't." Komali took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "I loved you, Raphael. And I fell in love with you- not because you were a wizard- but because of you. And if I can't have you-"
"Will you leave me?" Selena shook her head 'no' vigorously, her face becoming sombre.
"We're already separated, don't you see that?" Komali gestured desperately and went on, "I've seen you maybe four times this entire year. That is not what I signed up for." She sank into the adjacent armchair. A few seconds passed, and Raphael spoke.
"You know, Komali, why I wanted to be an Auror?"
"Why?" His wife snapped, her fingers to her temples.
"I wanted to help people."
"That's all very well and good-" Raphael held up his hand, indicating his speech was not finished.
"I wanted to help, yes. In the beginning, when we were young, I had nothing to worry about. You were all I had. Then I got my first real fight, Komi, a little after we had Selena. Do you remember the day I came back?" Komali grudgingly replied that she did.
"You changed," she said simply. Raphael closed his eyes, remembering the day.
"I'm not, not at liberty to tell you what happened, but then I realized that fighting and protecting people was what I was born to do. And some things are more important than being with the ones you love. Some things are more-" He felt a sharp sting, and Selena heard her mother's palm connect with his cheek. Selena clasped her hands to her mouth. Her mother had reached the breaking point.
"Don't you dare say that," Mrs. Riviera said in a low voice, retracting her hand. "I gave up everything for you. Everything! My friends, my family, a life! I gave it up because I wanted to be with you. Don't you dare tell me that you didn't want that too. And don't you dare tell me that I did what I did in vain." As she said this, her husband stood up.
"You were foolish." He began to walk away, but Selena's mother did not let him go. She shoved him, and shoved him hard. He stumbled and fell. His wife stood over him, vicious and heartbroken.
"Don't you walk away from me! STOP WALKING AWAY. I'M SCARED FOR YOU, RAPHAEL. I'M SO SCARED THAT YOU'LL NEVER COME HOME! I'M SCARED SELENA WON'T HAVE A FATHER! THAT YOU'LL DIE, AND I WON'T HAVE YOU ANYMORE!" Komali slid to the floor in tears. "I love you, and I keep thinking, oh, maybe this'll be the last time I kiss him. Or maybe this'll be the last time we touch. Or maybe this'll be the last time I see your face." She bent down, putting her forehead to the carpet and crying into it.
"Komi..." Raphael leaned and put his hand on her hair. She slapped him away.
"Don't you touch me! I don't want to remember you when you die! I don't want you- let me go!"
"No." He lifted his bawling wife into his arms and carried her up the stairs. She thrashed, still hitting to make him release her form, but he didn't.
Raphael's eyes met his daughter's when he finally made his way up the circular staircase. He didn't say anything. He took his wife into their room and set her on the bed. She immediately got up, ready to retaliate against anything he did, and Komali was surprised when he quietly retreated from the room and closed the door.
"Daddy?" Selena choked out. Her father did not speak but opened his arms. Selena extended her own, and he lifted her too. They walked down the hall into Selena's room. He set his daughter down in her bed, tucking her in.
Selena's father pulled up a chair and sat in it before he talked.
"I'm sorry if it feels like I don't love you," he began, "but I do."
"I know, Daddy. I know what you meant."
"I'm sorry I haven't been around."
"Daddy, it's okay."
"And I'm sorry I can't remember that you're almost all grown up."
"Daddy?"
"Mm?"
"It's okay. I know you're sorry. You don't have to say it ever again. Mum's just sad. Maybe you could take January off, too?"
"No, my princess, the damage is done."
"Stop being an Auror, then. Mum'll love you and take you back." He smiled and petted his daughter's hair.
"How'd you figure that?"
"Well, all I know is... When you come home, and Mum sees you laugh, she feels better. And at the Christmas party, when you wore your prince stuff, Mum felt like she was twenty again." Selena yawned. "But I guess you can't help doing what your heart says."
"You are very wise, my leprechaun."
"I've got to be." Her father sighed.
"I'm sorry if I treat you like a baby."
"But I'm your little girl- I like being someone's person, Daddy." Raphael seemed to find this funny.
"And why's that?" Selena yawned once again, on the verge of falling asleep.
"Because then I know I belong. Then I know that I'll always be loved. And I know-" wide yawn- "I know that I'll have the strength to do what I'm meant to, even when I can't get out of bed. That's why you married Mum... So that you can see paradise in the... in the... in the face of hardship... and loss." Selena closed her eyes and soon began to snore lightly.
Raphael watched his daughter, tears strolling down his cheeks.
"Is that true?" A soft voice asked. Raphael nodded. The woman in the doorway flitted over to her husband and sat in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, and they both watched their living treasure.
"I knew you were unhappy. I just didn't know how to say what she just said so plainly. From the mouths of babes."
"She's like you."
"I know." A few minutes passed.
"I'm sorry I hit you. Did it hurt?" She touched his cheek.
"You're rather perilous, Komali." He glanced up at her and said devilishly, "Maybe if you kiss it, the sting'll go away."
"Mwah!" She gave his cheek an overdramatic kiss. "Let's go to bed."
"Oh?"
Komali Riviera danced out of the room with her husband in her wake. And Twinkles drifted around the room, gracefully making circles of sweet, glittery dust in the air.
---
And time passed.
Raphael Riviera ventured out into the world, and his loving wife waved goodbye; he never promised he would be back because they both knew one day that pledge might not be fulfilled.
Selena went back to Hogwarts, but her friends found her still changed. They couldn't understand why she withdrew, but the four boys could see her aches.
"She went to bed?"
"Yup," Peter answered, dragging his feet across the floor. He fell headfirst onto his bed.
"She's awfully quiet."
"When's she not been?" Remus commented, shaking crumbs out his comforter.
"True. But she's weirder, if that's possible."
"At least she's talking to someone," Sirius mused, laying down. He closed his eyes.
"Hum?"
"She talks to Lily and Alice a lot."
"Huh." James stopped mid-undressing and cocked his head.
"Please stop calculating how you can make that work for you," Sirius said.
"Eh." James looked at Remus. "And this comes from the notorious pursuer of the fairer sex."
"You're just mad I get all the girls. Don't be jealous, James."
"I could have multiple girls- I just don't want them. I want Evans."
"Yes, yes, we know," Peter groaned.
"Have you noticed how her hair glints when it-"
"We don't ca-are," Remus sang. "You've been raving about her for the past week."
"Is it just me, or has she gotten more... more... attractive?"
"Don't know, don't care," Remus and Sirius said in unison. Remus scrambled under his blankets.
"No, he's right," Peter said, looking at the three of them. "All the girls are getting more attractive."
"Lily is not like other gi-"
"That's true," Sirius said, interrupting James. "Have you seen Charlotte Ackermann lately? She used to be a troll! Now, she's- Merlin, I just want to-" Sirius shivered, cutting off his sentence.
"And Myra Heaton," Remus pointed out. "She used to be a stick."
"She's like this now." Peter held his hands up, moving them like an hourglass' shape. Remus, Sirius, and Peter sighed. James fumed, muttering to himself that Lily was, of course, so much better than Myra and Charlotte.
"Put her on my list of girls to shag before I leave Hogwarts."
"Don't I know it."
"Ew, mate, we can't have the same list. Taking turns is good manners." Sirius made a face at Remus.
"Sharing is caring," Remus said.
"True. We'll divide them into three groups. Since James obviously wants Lily Evans, we don't have to share anyone with him. And then we can swap when we're done." Remus knew this definitely was not going to happen, but indulged anyway.
"Conquering Hogwarts one girl at a time, eh?"
"Since we're all such dashing blokes, shouldn't be a problem. I've already crossed off two."
"WHAT?" James turned to his best friend. "When?"
"Erm, April and last Saturday."
"Thaaat's where you were." James crawled into bed after putting his glasses on the nightstand.
"Yep."