'Let the interrogation begin' the man thought.
"How did you know?" Sirius began, his question caused the girl to jump slightly, having come out harsher than it probably should have. James looked from his friend to the girl, waiting for the response she would provide. It was a very real question, and they needed an answer.
The shock at his question only lasted a moment, quickly replaced with an eye roll.
"Seriously?" Cynthia questioned the man's sanity. "How could I not know?" Sudden rage filled her frame causing her to shake slightly. How dare he use that tone! She'd just helped them out of trouble and this was her thanks? No real answers to her questions, just weird accusing looks? Who did he think he was? Oh, she was not having this.
The two men shared a look of confusion, neither expecting her outburst.
Cynthia continued, ignoring them, feeling slightly fired up by her own thoughts.
"Grown men in capes and masks, lighting off firecrackers in April?" She pushed off from the door giving the men an incredulous look. "I mean, little punky teenagers, sure." She shrugged, "But grown men? I know a gang when I see one. With all those firecrackers going off and gibberish being yelled! Anyone would have known something was wrong!"
Her response left the men slightly wide eyed, neither having thought she'd fire off at them like that. With one fail swoop the young muggle had derailed this 'interrogation', not even giving it a chance.
The Auror's couldn't argue with her reasons either. The way she assumed it was only muggle fireworks and a gang at play suggested she really hadn't seen anything she shouldn't have. The ability of muggles to 'reason' away anything they couldn't handle really was impressive in its own way.
Her response left Sirius to wonder if he had just jumped to conclusions. He had been known to do that on a few occasions. It was at that moment that he heard a familiar drawl of 'Constant Vigilance!' eco in his mind. The young marauder schooled his features. He didn't have enough information. She could very well just be pretending or worse, be placed under some enchantment.
No actually, that wouldn't fit. This young woman obviously had a fiery spirit and was not willing to be walked over, especially in her own home. He doubted she'd be able to react in such a way under the influence of magic. Not that Death Eaters were above using a muggle like that.
Regardless of the tactics those villains used, her answer was not enough to clear her just yet. She was still too suspicious. Too many things didn't add up, but they needed to be careful here.
It was just at that moment that his partner, James, made his attempt.
"Then why did you bring us with you?" James intentionally spoke much softer than his friend had. His words rolled off his tongue, sounding more like mild curiosity than a proper question. He tilted his head to the other side, looking very similar to a young fawn examining something new. "I mean, you could have just run. Why bother with the likes of us?"
Cynthia's eyebrows furrowed together, seeing where he was coming from. It was incredibly uncommon for a young woman to 'save' two grown men and bring them home. Perhaps they thought she intended to accuse them of something heinous or something.
Disgust at the very thought caused the fire in her blood to quell slightly. It would probably be best not to take offense to these questions, but it's not like she could answer them either.
"I'm not sure..." Cynthia began, seeing the two boys share a look.
There was no way she could tell them what she'd seen. What she'd felt. They'd never believe it, and if they did... well that might be even scarier. The young woman had to say something though. They'd answered her questions the best they could earlier, the least she could do was the same.
"I just remember... That feeling in the air..." She looked at the ceiling in thought, trying to find the words she could use. She knew they'd never believe her if she told them the truth.
No one would trust the random 'feelings' of a young woman they just met in this situation anyway.
A pleasant walk home in the nippy spring air. The snow was long gone, but the air tingled on Cynthia's skin with the sun long having set. She saw the two men in front of her. The shorter one with round glasses and untamable curls listened to his friend's words. His laughter soon rang through the park joined by the laughter of his taller dashing comrade.
Cynthia watched the two men casually as she came closer. They would no doubt pass by each other in a few moments. The glow around them was pleasant and brighter than most. See, not everyone had this glow. And she had to work really hard to see it most of the time. It took less work to 'feel' the energy coming off people and things, but that didn't give her as much information. 'Seeing is believing' as the saying goes.
It wasn't very often but sometimes she found things or people like these young men. She didn't have to try as hard to see the colors around them for some reason. The light just naturally wanted to be noticed, almost like it was alive in a sense.
Cynthia always tried to enjoy these moments, taking the time to memorize the colors. Years of practice aided her as she tried to guess the meaning behind the colors she saw today.
These boys in particular were quite a sight. Physical looks set aside, as only so much could be seen under the dim lamp posts in the park. The soft yellow hue emanating from the pair told her these men were happy and meant her no harm, while the blue swirls spoke of sorrow or worry buried beneath the surface.
'Ah, that's it.' Cynthia mused to herself.
The yellow glow grew ever brighter as they walked side by side, letting the blue sad streaks be swallowed. Cynthia supposed they were trying to distract themselves from something sad.
'Such good friends' she hummed to herself. She was only a few steps away from them, already a lovely smile blossomed on her face. How could she not be smiling when seeing these happy young men?
*red*
She felt the pulse of energy and stopped instantly, eyes going wide.
*Red*
It pulsed again. Cynthia's shoulders tensed. The girl had never felt anything as strong as that. She looked around the park trying to place the incredible danger she felt. The feeling of pure hatred for everything unnerved her.
*Red*
She stopped seeing a man standing a ways off in the tree line. Her heart skipped a beat, eyes going wide. She didn't have to try and see this. The raw emotion was left out on display for the world. A red so deep, so dark it was almost black at the center. Cynthia's body shook slightly seeing the red hued black hole with a shadow man at the core.
*RED* *RED* *RED*
Waves of rage washed across Cynthia causing her to wince from the sheer intensity. She stood frozen, the ocean of raw emotions from this man was crashing down on her. The two oblivious young men looked up from laughing, only just now noting her distracted presence and the worry on her face.
*CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK*
'Firecrackers?' Cynthia thought, finally turning away from the dangerous man. The sound startled her, bringing her back to the moment. She felt a number of sudden waves of red energy coming from others behind the strange man. Bile rose in her throat, she felt ill. It was too much.
Her head began to spin. She needed to go, now!
Cynthia, gathering every drop of strength she had, ran up to the clueless men in front of her.
Each was looking off in different directions for the unusual noise. Fear etched clearly on their faces even in the dim light.
"Come on!" Cynthia grabbed their coats and tugged them forward. They stumbled a little but soon followed. Cynthia didn't look back, she just ran pumping her arms. She could hear the two men's footsteps behind her. The sound of their feet slapping relentlessly against the cement echoed around them.
'Come on... Come on...' She pushed herself harder, she felt her heart thudding in her ears. She took a left. 'Almost...'
Cynthia could still feel the energy back at the park. The distance was helping, but it was not enough to stop the pain ebbing away at her mind.
*CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK*
Some people were suddenly behind them. They also sent off waves of danger. The sudden presence nearly caused Cynthia to trip, but one of the men she ran with grabbed her arm and stabilized her.
Eyes forward, she pushed harder, the park growing further and further away.
"Confringo!" An unfamiliar voice shouted towards them. A new feeling she didn't remember experiencing before followed those words. She could feel a new energy moving towards them faster than anything she'd sensed before.
"Protego!" She heard one of the men beside her shout back, a similar but different energy leaving him as he did so...
Cynthia was so confused. More gibberish was shouted out into the night as they ran, and each time she could feel the new sensation reverberate through her.
What was that? Why could she feel it? Why hadn't she felt it before? Why did it make the hairs on her arm stand on end? The girl wanted to look back, but common sense was not having that. She had so many questions. What did it do? How did they do it? Was this some kind of code or language? Could she learn it? Should she learn it? Her thoughts were cut short.
"BOMBARDA!"
Cynthia felt the large energy coming straight at her. She turned to look instinctually, only being blinded by a light.
"Look out!" One of the men with her shouted as he pulled her out of the way slamming them both into a small retaining wall. "Gah!" He cried out, having taken the full impact for her by holding her in his arms. She closed her eyes feeling the energy collide with something further away.
Something across the street exploded, setting off car alarms throughout the neighborhood.
She couldn't hear more than muffled static for a moment. She shook her head, clearing it. Slowly her hearing started coming back, but she still just heard more gibberish coming from behind her.
"Petrificus Totalus!" The other young man spouted off, not pausing there. "Incarcerous!"
Cynthia slowly blinked and looked over seeing a few men in cloaks and masks scattered across the ground. A trail of bins and rubbish littered the pavement behind them and several random things were now on fire.
The girl looked up, the man who was still standing was now in front of her. He hauled her up out of his friend's arms with ease. He was a man on a mission.
"You alright mate?" He called. Releasing Cynthia from his hold he reached out a hand to his friend on the ground, pulling him up as he spoke. He worked hard for his stature, and anyone could tell. Cynthia's appraisal of the young man's appearance stopped when she noticed what this man held in his hand.
A stick.
"I s'pose..." The shorter young man answered, clutching his right arm, his breath ragged from the sudden exercise.
The three people turned their heads when the crew littering the ground began to stir. Cynthia got the odd feeling that more would be coming after these people. Sirens could be heard in the distance.
*CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK*
'More firecrackers?' She cursed silently in exasperation. 'Was this not enough?' Cynthia was dumbfounded at the character of these people.
"Not good" The black-haired man spoke, cutting off the girl's thoughts. He quickly drew close to his friend, sticking an arm out to support him. His other hand, still holding that stick.
"Let's go!" Cynthia ignored the oddity, she cut him off before he could do anything more. Quickly trotting away she led them a few more blocks to her flat..
To her personal relief the Evil like presence she felt back at the park was gone before they made it to her flat. It vanished without warning, soon followed by the other less potent sources she felt in the neighborhood behind them. Cynthia knew that somehow they were gone, just as suddenly as they came.
She felt a bit numb from the intense presence those people had, almost like she'd just pushed through an intense workout on a muscle she hadn't exercised before. The thudding pain still lingering in her mind made her confident in saying what she'd felt was real.
Real, and dangerous.
Well... Tada! Chapter 2, done and dusted!
I hope you enjoyed it! Again, feel free to leave a review and I'd love your comments or suggestions. I appreciate ya, and see you in the next chapter!
((All rights to Harry Potter Belong to J. K. Rowling))