The Sunrise of My Heart

Later that afternoon, I wandered out of the Slytherin common room to walk about the castle. As I was aimlessly walking, I overheard some people talking in Professor McGonagall's office. I knew it was wrong to snoop, but curiosity got the better of me, so I stepped close to the door, pressing my ear against it to listen in.
"...Anything you have to say about this horrible business can be said to me, I'm sure!" McGonagall was saying.
"I think Draco Malfoy gave Katie that necklace, Professor." That was Harry's voice, I was sure of it. But what was he talking about? Draco, give someone a necklace? Why would he, and why did it seem like such a big deal?
"That is a very serious accusation, Potter," McGonagall said. "Do you have any proof?"
"No," Harry answered, "but..." He went on to talk about how he, Ron, and Hermione had followed Draco into Borgin and Burkes, and how Draco had seemed to threaten Borgin to keep something there safe. Apparently, he needed to know how to repair something, and there was something else in the shop that he had wanted. So Harry was accusing Draco of giving an undoubtedly cursed necklace to someone. Katie... Katie Bell, then? I focused back on the conversation in McGonagall's office, hearing Ron and Hermione add their input on how they doubted Draco had had anything to do with it.
"Potter, I appreciate you telling me this, but we cannot point the finger of blame at Mr. Malfoy purely because he visited the shop where this necklace might have been purchased. The same is probably true of hundreds of people. And in any case, we have put stringent security measures in place this year. I do not believe that necklace can possibly have entered this school without our knowledge--"
"But--" Harry started.
"And what is more, Mr. Malfoy was not in Hogsmeade today."
"How do you know, Professor?"
"Because he was doing detention with me. He has now failed to complete his Transfiguration homework twice in a row. So, thank you for telling me your suspicions, Potter, but I need to go up to the hospital wing now to check on Katie Bell. Good day to you all."
I scrambled quickly away form the door, looking like I was only just walking past it as it opened. They didn't seem to notice me, so I followed behind them, still snooping.
"So who do you reckon Katie was supposed to give the necklace to?" asked Ron.
"Goodness only knows," Hermione answered. "But whoever it was has had a narrow escape. No one could have opened that package without touching the necklace."
"It could've been meant for loads of people," Harry added. "Dumbledore--the Death Eaters would love to get rid of him, he must be one of their top targets. Or Slughorn--Dumbledore reckons Voldemort really wanted him and they can't be pleased that he's sided with Dumbledore. Or--"
"Or you," Hermione said.
"Couldn't have been, or Katie would've just turned around in the lane and given it to me, wouldn't she? I was behind her all the way out of the Three Broomsticks. It would have made much more sense to deliver the parcel outside Hogwarts, what with Filch searching everyone who goes in and out. I wonder why Malfoy told her to take it into the castle?"
"Harry, Malfoy wasn't in Hogsmeade!" Hermione said, sounding exasperated.
They still hadn't noticed me, which gave me the chance to piece together everyhting that they were saying. Judging by the sound of it, Harry thought Draco had become an early Death Eater, and that he had cursed Katie Bell, using the Imperius curse to make her deliver the necklace to someone. Poor Katie, she had gotten cursed twice in one day, and she hadn't even done anything to deserve it. Evidently, neither Ron nor Hermione thought Draco was a Death Eater. It did seem highly unlikely, especially considering his young age, but still, I supposed it was worth considering.
"Don't be so quick to rule it out," I said to Ron and Hermione. The three of them jumped, looking at me in shock.
"Riley! How long have you been there?" Ron asked me.
"Since you guys left McGonagall's office. It's given me the chance to figure out what you're all talking about." I turned to look at Harry. "So you think Draco's a Death Eater?" He nodded, his eyes practically begging me to believe him. "Well, it's definitely not likely. He's too young, his family's in dishonor, and quite frankly, he doesn't have the stomach to be a murderer. But still, nothing's impossible these days. Back when Voldy first rose to power, the most unlikely of people joined him. I mean, no one would have ever expected Pettigrew to betray his friends to the Dark Lord."
"So you think I'm right?" Harry asked eagerly. Ron and Hermione rolled their eyes.
"I don't know. I'll have to do some snooping, see if I can find anything out."
"But like you said, he's too young, and his family is in dishonor," Hermione said. "There's no reason for him to be a Death Eater."
"That's not entirely true. Those are actually reasons in themselves. Normally, they would be proof that a person isn't, but sometimes, Voldemort likes to use children to get his point across. Lucius failed to get the Prophecy like he was supposed to, the whole world knows that Voldemort is back now, and Harry Potter is just as alive and well as he has ever been. Draco could be the filler for Lucius's place while he's in Azkaban, a new toy to toss around carelessly."
"So you think Voldemort's just using Draco to punish his father?" Harry asked.
"It's possible. Or he could have joined to try and bring his family back into Voldemort's good graces. Or we could be wrong, and he's not a Death Eater at all. I know that you're convinced he is, Harry, but you must always consider that possibility."
He muttered a not-very-convincing "Fine" which I accepted with a shrug. I knew better than to try and force him to see things differently. He was his father's son, that was for sure. Thinking about James made me smile, and I couldn't help but to look at Harry and grin at the way his hair was the same black, messy mop.
"What?" he asked, looking a bit apprehensive.
"Nothing," I said, shaking my head and still smiling. "You just remind me of your dad. He was set in his ways too. He could convince you that the sky was silver with rainbow polka-dots if he really wanted to."
"Really?" Harry was smiling too now, looking at me eagerly. Obviously, this meant I would have to tell him about James. I grinned at the opportunity.
"Oh, definitely. In our third year, he started a rumor that Dumbledore was a great dragon slayer. Everyone was terrified of Dumbledore for the longest time. He seemed even more intimidating once everyone thought he had fought some of the mightiest magical beasts alive."
"How did he convince everyone he was telling the truth?" Ron asked
"Well, he played it out very well. He had to talk to Dumbledore because of a prank he had done involving making all the statues of armor yell cuss words at passersby. Honestly, I think Dumbledore was impressed. That's advanced stuff coming from a third year. Anyway, when he got back, everyone was asking him what Dumbledore had said, but he would only talk to Remus, Sirius, Peter, and me about it. He let slip that Dumbledore had told him of his crazy youthful days, and about dragon slaying, pretending like he thought we were the only ones listening. Of course, he knew everyone was eavesdropping, but since they thought he wasn't trying to make a big show, they believed him. Within the hour, the entire school was buzzing with the news. Even some of the teachers believed it."
"Wow. My dad did all that, in his third year?"
"Oh, yeah. Of course, we all encouraged the rumor, but he had created it." I grinned again. "Actually, we weren't the only ones who encouraged it. Some students were brave enough to ask Dumbledore if the rumors were true, and he would simply say that every man had a past, and that his was simply more fiery than others."
"That man," Ron said, shaking his head in admiration.
"Who were you before you were Roxanne?" Harry asked.
"I was a girl named Amanda, a Ravenclaw who preferred to spend her time with books rather than with people." I glanced at Hermione, who gave me a deep look. I wondered if she knew who Amanda was. "I died in my fourth year."
"How?" Ron asked bluntly.
"Poisonous snakebite. I was dead long before anyone found me."
"What's the worst way you've ever died?"
"Ron," Hermione hissed.
I chuckled softly. "No, it's fine. Talking about my deaths doesn't actually bother me. Hmm... That depends on what you mean by 'worst'. I've had emotionally horrible deaths, and physically horrible ones."
"Physical," Ron said, looking eager.
"I've been drawn and quartered. That really sucked. Um... The snakebite was pretty awful. It felt like my veins were burning in acid."
"What about emotional ones?" Ron persisted.
"Ronald," Hermione said, giving him a hard look.
"What? She said she doesn't mind!"
"I really don't. It's nice to talk about it sometimes. Well, obviously my first death was pretty damn emotional. Back in the seventeenth century, my Muggle parents convicted me of being a witch and had me killed. That sucked, because I really loved them, and I thought they loved me too. It was my own father who tied me to some heavy rocks and pushed me into a pond. And my last one. It was really bad. God, I can only imagine how awful it was for everyone else."
"What happened?" Hermione asked despite herself.
"It was my wedding day, but we were ambushed. A Death Eater crept up on me from behind and stabbed me. I died in Sirius's arms."
Silence met my words, making me sighs softly. Every time I told people about something like that, they got all awkward and quiet. After a moment, Hermione leaned forward and grabbed my hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "Well, you had some great memories and wonderful times before that happened, right?"
I smiled thankfully at her. "Absolutely. Roxanne was my favorite reincarnation, hands down. I had a lot of ups and downs as her, but in the end the good outweighed the bad by far."
"What about this life?"
"Oh, it's a close tie with Roxanne. After all, I gained three incredible friends in replacement of the three I had before. And I got a good boyfriend out of it, even if we aren't together anymore." And awkward pause greeted my words, causing me to roll my eyes. "I'm talking about George." After that statement, everyone relaxed, smiling and nodding at me to agree that George and I had made a good couple.
I chuckled fondly at them, seeing a bit of each Marauder in all of them. I could even see some of James and Sirius in Hermione, and some of Remus in Harry and Ron. But they were also so very much their own people, which made them all the better.