My Wings Are Black

Fred had lost her. He could see it every time she walked past him, her shoulder barely grazing her body, her sweet scent lingering in his nostrils. Her eyes were dark again, the emerald green irises covered with a canvas of a sweet and tender uncaring that Fred knew she had perfected since the moment she was old enough to understand the meaning and purpose of hiding herself from a world that submerged itself in evil.

He didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know how to tell her, or signal her attention with one look to say how much it killed him to see her like that. To see Odette walk, no strut, down the corridors of the school as if there was a red carpet laid before her, to ignore those around her not worthy of her attention. And most of all it hurt to see her eyes pass over him, as if he was no more than another face in the crowd. He was the boy she loved, but somehow…she had forgotten. Or did not want to acknowledge it.

As he had noticed, her eyes were dark again. Brimming with a mystery, an unspoken evil that had been present the day she had first entered the walls of Hogwarts. It broke Fred’s heart to see her so far away, yet he could still try and reach out to take her and claim her again.

But he couldn’t. Not until the moment she realised the path of evil she had been walking was wrong, until she repented, the day she stopped the deeds that would land her a lifetime sentence in Azkaban.

She would never truly be his, until Voldemort’s hold was broken.

~

It had been weeks since Odette had spoken to Fred, weeks since that night that changed everything. Changed what she had believed she had felt for him, for her to finally realise she actually, truly, loved someone. And weeks since she had realised it was not and nor would it ever be possible for them to be together. No matter what they did, or what happened in the future, he would always be a Weasley and she, a Death eater.

But that couldn’t stop Odette from a feeling a strange faint heartedness when she neared Fred, to need to resist the urge to kiss him in front of the whole school. She had needed to force herself closer to Draco’s side, to feel the Malfoy boy’s touch on her arm to tell her she could not be with Fred. She let the mask fall back into place as she looked at him, walked past him, allowing a brief moment for their bodies to touch. She pretended not to care when her heart beat his name at every moment of every day.

She smiled at Draco in the early morning as they lounged with the Slytherin gang on the house table at breakfast. It was Saturday, and though Odette knew she was falling behind at Potions, she wasn’t bothered to go to the Slytherin Common Room to gather her books. Professor Slughorn knew Odette was far from interested in the subject she found tedious and difficult. What he didn’t know was that Odette had no intention of coming back the next year so failing a year of potions didn’t bother her in the least, though it would bother her father.

Odette yawned, allowing her head to drop down onto Draco’s neck and for the purpose of looking for a comfort she didn’t need to hide and watching eyes, she nuzzled into his neck, placing kisses down the line of his jaw. She felt his mouth twitch in his signature smirk and his hand on her leg began to creep up her skirt until she felt his nimble fingers play with the fabric of her red panties. Odette couldn’t help a faint sigh escape her mouth as Blaise began to complain of having to watch the ‘dry humping’ session as he liked to call it and there was a noticeable clearing of a throat coming from Professor McGonagall’s seat at the professors table.

Odette pulled back from Draco, sending a polite but tight smile in McGonagall’s direction. God, she hated that woman, every flyaway grey hair on her bony head. Odette’s fingers twitched and she scolded herself in needing to reach for her wand in moments like that. Since Voldemort had welcomed her back, her urge to do something useful rather than sit around the school doing nothing was killing her. She was used to being out and free. Perhaps torturing a few people here and there, that’s what she needed. Not to be locked up in an enchanted castle with hundreds of hormonal teenagers.

Odette stretched and moved her legs from under the table to stretch across the top, her skirt falling down both creamy thighs to stop mere inches from the end of her panties and felt lingering eyes remain on her long, model like limbs. She smirked, basking in the glory and heard a very Hermione like sniff. She rolled her eyes, glaring over at the Gryffindor table, meeting the soft brown eyes of the muggle born. Hermione sniffed, and looked away and Odette sneered at her. She never had a real reason to hate Muggle borns until she met Hermione Granger.

Draco was twirling his wand around his fingers, and Odette watched the motion. He began to tap his foot against the stone floor as well, a sign of annoyance. Odette looked at the boy she was curled against, and batted her eyelashes, moving her hand up her leg until she felt a noticeable movement in the trouser department. She smirked, “What’s wrong Draco?”

“Weasley.”

Odette jerked, and calmed herself quickly. She looked across at the Gryffindor table, but Fred wasn’t doing anything in particular but doing something with the Skiving Snackboxes with George and Lee Jordan. Probably wondering what was still giving them boils. Odette almost smiled and then went back to the conversation.

“He’s not doing anything…”

Draco snorted, “He’s practically drooling all over his lap Odette, the way he’s staring at you. You’d swear he’s never seen a pair of female limbs before, though speaking of that, he probably hasn’t. You couldn’t call that mud blood female.”

Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle began to guffaw loudly and Odette moved her lips in what was her attempt at laughing. She sighed, closing her eyes, “Never mind him. I’m presuming you’re talking about Ronald?”

Draco rose his eyebrows, “Who else would I be talking about?”

Odette opened her eyes, her gaze slicing him, “Well there happen to be more than one Weasley Malfoy, idiot.”

Draco made a face at her snappy comment and then smiled evilly, “Let him stare, it’s not like he’ll ever get anyone half as good as you.”

Odette chuckled from where she was dozing, “That’s right.”

Draco played with his fork, a smile still on his lips, “I’d love to see the shock on his face of he ever actually happened to have you…”

Odette looked at Draco, suddenly interested. “What are you suggesting Draco?”

Draco laughed, “Why don’t we play a game on him?”

Odette rose her eyebrows, “I don’t play games…but I do like to…give them a taste of what they can never have.”

Draco began to laugh, and Odette shushed him as she got up and began to walk across the hall. The Slytherins all watched eagerly. Odette noticed how Ron’s eyes followed her, unaware her destination, was in fact him. She could see Fred stop in mid conversation to his twin, as she approached the red and gold clad table and walked over to his little brother.

She smirked down at Ron, who gulped, his ears going red, “Eh…hi?”, he managed to whisper in a croaky voice. He appeared to be having trouble to breathe.
Odette laughed, and flashed a fake smile that caused Fred, several places down to flinch away from, knowing how beautiful her real smile was.

“Ron, you’re a Keeper right?”

Ron nodded as Odette grabbed a fistful of his robes, guiding him up to stand. Hermione’s face was scowling at her, and she rose with them, “leave him alone Odette. You’re being cruel.”

Odette ignored Hermione, and instead slammed Ron into the wall behind him, travelling her hand up his thigh. He whimpered, looking at her like a deep in headlights, “Let me tell you how the Gryffindor Keeper scored the Slytherin Cheerleader,” she whispered into his ear and giving the finger to Harry Potter, brought her mouth to Ron’s.

Ron was tense against her body for a moment, but then relaxed and she smirked into the kiss as he became a little more dominant, his hand reaching around to rest on her upper thigh. She grabbed either side of his head, fistfuls of red hair in either hand, and moved her mouth fiercely on his. Ron groaned as she licked his lips and teased him with her tongue against his own. And then, as he started to get really into it, she pulled away, kissing him softly on his swollen lips, “that was nice.” And patting his cheeks, walked out of the hall.

She didn’t stop to look back at Fred, who was staring at her with a horrified expression on his face, his cheeks red with anger. Fred had never wanted to punch one of his brothers more than he wanted to punch Ron now. But how could he explain his jealously, “Oh Ron, you just kissed the girl I’ve been having a secret relationship with, but we couldn’t tell anyone or our lives are forfeit. Oh, and she’s Voldy’s favourite Death Eater by the way.” Yeah, he didn’t think so either.

He waited until that evening, asking Harry for the Marauder’s Map until he saw the footsteps of Odette Silver, heading towards the library. He sprinted from his perch against the statue of George the Grotesque and literally flew down a flight of steps to where he saw Odette walking. Luckily, the corridor was empty.

He ran behind her, grabbing her arm and pulling her with him in the direction of the Room of Requirement. He ignored her as she spat a spiel of curses at him for frightening her and her clawing nails at his painful grip around her wrist. He threw her into the room and locked the door after him.

Odette glared at him, “What the hell was that for Fred?”

“Why don’t you tell me what this morning was? You kissing my brother…my brother Odette?”

Odette rolled her eyes, “Lighten up Fred, it was a joke.”

Fred snorted, “yeah, not to Ron. You do realise he’ll be reliving that for several weeks.”

Odette smiled, and laughed. “Well then, something to be proud of, now can I go?”

She rose from the couch Fred had pushed her onto but Fred threw her back down, “No you can’t.”

Odette’s eyes flashed, scaring Fred, “That wasn’t really a question you know.”

Fred slumped and rubbed his eyes, “You haven’t talked to me in weeks Odette. Weeks…ever since our last visit here. Don’t I deserve a little more than the silent treatment.”

Odette didn’t look at him, “I’m beginning to not like this room.”

Fred grabbed her, forcing her eyes to meet his, “What happened? I thought, I thought that finally we could be together. That you’d accept what you feel.”

Odette shrugged him off, “Fred, stop doing this. You need to accept that we are never going to happen. We just can’t. I can’t do it anymore.”

She didn’t see Fred’s arm lash out to grab her neck, his palm reaching around to press down on her Mark that was burning hot and painful in her connection with the Dark Lord once again.

Fred backed away from her, shaking his head and finally fell to his knees, moaning, “No, Odette…no, you didn’t. He almost fucking killed you…and you’re back with him? No!”

Odette looked at Fred sadly, “It’s not something I have a choice in Fred. It was chosen for me the day I was born. I was always going to be a Death Eater. Evil flows in my veins, it’s all I know.”

Fred got up, wrapping his arms around her from behind as she turned to look into the fire, “It’s all you know Odette, but it’s not all you can be.”

Odette closed her eyes, “You don’t understand Fred.” It was impossible for her to listen o her mind with him holding her like that, reminding her of everything she was willing to lose.

“I do understand Odette. I understand you’re scared, you’re lost. You don’t know how to get out but I’m here. And I will help you!”

“I don’t need help Fred, I know who I am. Who I will always be…and I’m not going to change. You said that you loved me, even though I’m this, even though I’m evil. You said you loved me even if it meant you were evil. I’m not asking you to kill people, I’m not asking you to be branded with a skull and snake Fred…all I’m asking of you right now…is to love me. To hold me…because being with you, it’s the most real I’ve felt in a long time.”

Fred kissed her then and she grasped him as if he were about to disappear, and he held her as she asked him to, he loved her as she needed him to.

Odette allowed the hot tears to run down her face as she snuggled into Fred’s shoulder, the only boy she had ever loved. “I’ll never be able to be anyone else Fred. I will always be this, a death eater. I can’t walk away from this. But the only thing I can do, is make sure they never harm you.”

Fred kissed her, his own tears mixing with hers, “Keep me safe Odette.”

Odette snuggled closer, “I promise Fred,” she whispered, “I promise to keep you safe from everything. They’ll never hurt you.”