Hello :D chapter eight now. Yay! Hope you like! Sorry I've been a while aha
Chapter eight: Castor's POV
I had this dream as I flicked through the pages, the pages that were lined on each crease with every tear that I'd shed. Every tear that had fallen because of my parents. It was strange, imaging my mother a young happy carefree child, dancing in the grass with her two sisters that she adored. Playing Quidditch with her cousins. Then, there were some photos of Bellatrix and Rodolphus together, enjoying each other's company, her entwined in his arms. Bright joyful smiles adoring their faces. Seventeen, they hadn't even left Hogwarts yet. Who would believe that during this they were being influenced by… him… the one who stole my parents away from me. By Lord Voldermort.
The notion sickened me, he was no lord, just a coward who stood behind his followers and watched as they took the fall for his dreams. He barely ever carried out plans himself, he was just an egotistical madman with a persuasive way about him. He was charismatic, charming… I often wondered if it was maybe Tom Riddle's smile that brought my mother in. Or was it his cold yet all knowing eyes?
My fingers, somewhat shaking, trembled over each picture. She looked so innocent. I wondered if she showed signs of being evil even when she was young.
I liked to hope that it was just my imagination, that throughout the years her smile didn't grow more smirk like. That her violet eyes didn't incorporate an edge of darkness into them.
That the element of anger didn't weave its way into her eyes as the years went by.
I looked up somewhat dazed from my reading to find Colin giving me a weak smile from his place positioned by the door frame.
"Do you want to come get some food?"
I didn't really hear him. I just looked somewhat blankly ahead of me, not even nodding my head. He sighed and sat on the end of my bed.
"Castor… please just answer me," his voice was tired and I could tell that he was growing sick of my half state of mind.
"Hi Colin. No I don't want to get food, thank you," I replied, rather curtly. I didn't want to be offhand with him but the thought of my parents had put me in this dismal state and I just couldn't break out of it.
A slow trickle of sunlight dripped in through the tiny window of the fourth year Gryffindor boy's dormitory. It illuminated a rouge stain of butter beer which I had so far neglected to clean up after spilling it the earlier evening. The red and gold banners that my roommates had put up throughout the dorm somewhat added a brightness to the place. My bed sheets lay crumpled at the bottom of my bed. No amount of spells could seem to rid the room of the pungent teenage boy smell and various games of 'how far can you spit?' remained plastered on the walls. I was rather glad to find I hadn't pissed the bed, it had happened on numerous occasions since the world cup, when the nightmares were incredibly vivid and violent. When they truly plagued me with emotional turmoil. I'd usually wake up a while later though, finding myself soaking, I'd be able to clean the bed and myself up with a few spells before anyone noticed the smell or sight.
That factor only helped to add to the deteriorating hours of sleep I was getting, I'd find myself often in detentions for falling asleep in potions, although I did credit that somewhat to Snape's boring lessons. Then again, I was even worse in history of magic, still, everyone fell asleep in that class. Binns was a death sentence.
"You have to eat Castor," Colin sighed.
With much effort I managed to get myself out of the crumpled sheets. Colin stood up with me, letting out a ragged breath, seeing the dark rings which had festered in a dark demonic way beneath my vile violet eyes. With little care I ran my hand quickly through the untameable mess that was my jet black hair and the proceeded to splash water on my face. It was late in the day, after classes so it wasn't as though I was washing my face to start the day. No, it was more to do with the fact that I needed waking up. I needed reality. I wondered if my mum even knew what reality was anymore, cooped up in her cell, screaming and shouting. I wondered if the dark rings round her eyes were just as big. If her eyes were as sunken in. If her face was gaunt and pale, her cheeks concaved and her spirit broken. I wondered if my dad loved her, if he loved me. I wondered if they ever thought about me, if through the madness they were forced to deal with in Azkaban I wondered if they remembered me. If they knew who I was.
I had to stop myself from being drifted away in those thoughts as I followed Colin spiralling staircases. I noticed Zacharias Smith glare at me from the Hufflepuff table as I entered the hall for dinner.
I managed to bring myself to not look at his sneers as I headed over to the Gryffindor table.
"Neville's found us a meeting place," Ron nodded, taking a break from stuffing his mouth full of bred. I didn't miss the snort of disgust Hermione granted him, despite my mood I graced her reaction with a slight stifled chuckle. This caused Colin and Fabian to give each other a little grin, apparently me showing any signs of life made them happy.
"What?" I managed to utter somewhat half-heartedly. Everything felt overwhelming, like sand slipping through my fingers, time felt wasted and as it sped by I knew there was nothing I could do to stop it going.
"The room of requirement. Neville thinks we can use it to train for Dumbledore's army," Hermione answered me.
I nodded my head, despite my somewhat dazed complexion this did seem like a good idea. I offered a weak smile to Neville.
Only when I saw a flash of blonde hair heading towards me did I look up with the vaguest interest.
"Hello Castor, you certainly took your time getting out of bed, after lessons you've been cooped up in the common room for hours," Luna smiled at me, I moved up to allow her room on the bench.
"Yeah… I was feeling… sentimental or something," I replied, staring deep into her blue eyes.
"I searched all over the astronomy tower and the school grounds. I know how you like looking at the stars," she was right. It was a big passion of mine, because most of my family members could be spotted in the stars. Andromeda. Bellatrix. Sirius. Regulus. The list went on and on.
I pushed my food around on my plate, not really paying much attention to what I was doing. Not caring.
"Snape said he wanted to see you," Luna smiled sweetly, my eyebrows furrowed somewhat at this. What could Snape want with me?
Still, I followed Luna to where the strict potions master was waiting at the edge of the hall.
"To my office," he said in his long drawl.
Like many Severus Snape had always managed to install fear into me, whether through his never ending hatred of Gryffindors or the fact that the man was known to have a history with the dark arts. Or the fact that he used to associate with the likes of my parents and their ilk, for that he did install a seed of curiosity though. So, I found myself following him through winding dismal corridors with a slight ounce of awe.
He closed the door in one quick movement and proceeded to motion for us to sit down.
"Mr Black… as I'm sure you know you are one of the best defence against the dark arts students we've ever had," Snape drawled on, showing obvious distain for this idea, still I didn't take much notice: it was Snape after all, "I thought that it might be somewhat… beneficial for you to have a duelling partner to spar with. I would offer myself but as I am a teacher and am of a higher standard than you it would not do. Therefore I propose that you and Miss Lovegood duel together and improve your skills. It would benefit each of you. As I know you two are friends and Miss Lovegood is also rather good at defence I thought it would make you two more likely to put your full effort into the spar without fear of upsetting someone who you don't know every well if you injure or beat them. You can teach Miss Lovegood fifth year spells which you might have learned," I couldn't help laugh at this, Umbridge actually teach us spells? What a joke, "and you can both practice these spells and others you both might know." I had to wonder why he didn't pick Fabian or Colin, or Harry, Ron or Hermione for that matter. They were all about the same level as Luna with Harry, Ron and Hermione probably being better as they were older and more experienced. Still, I wasn't complaining, getting to spend more time with Luna was a good thing.
"That sounds good," I nodded. I didn't really understand why Snape thought it was important. Maybe he knew of Voldermorts return and Umbridge's lack of teaching skills. Maybe he was trying to prepare Luna and I? Why just me and Luna though?
Luna smiled also and so we were dismissed. What was Snape planning? He'd never done this before this year?
Whatever was happening I was sure it was darker then I would like to think.
So, what are Snape's motives for telling the pair to duel? Does he know more about the Dark Lord's plans then he is letting on? Why did he pick Castor and Luna? All shall be answered in time :D