The Sunrise of My Heart

The next morning, I got up early, getting ready quietly and going outside to watch the sun rise. As far as I knew, I was the only one awake. The silence gave me a chance to think. What should I do about Adrian? Should I tell my mother she might be in danger? Should I tell Remus what was going on? Just as I finished that thought, I heard a soft footstep behind me. Turning around, I saw Remus.
"You're up early," he said, coming to sit beside me.
"Habit, I suppose. All those years of waking up before the dawn."
"I never understood how you could do that. When you were coming in from an early morning run, I was just starting to wake up."
"And Sirius, Peter, and James would be asleep for another hour at least." I smiled.
We lapsed into silence for awhile, watching the sun as it climbed over the horizon.
"So what's been bothering you?" Remus eventually asked me.
"I could ask you the same thing," I answered. "All though, I think I already know what it is."
He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Really? And who says anything is bothering me?"
"Moony, this is me you're talking to. Of course I know when something's bothering you."
"And likewise. So why don't you tell me what's bothering you."
"Oh, I'd rather talk about the sunrise. Lovely shades of pink this morning, don't you agree? Very beautiful."
He cleared his throat and didn't look at me. "The sunrise isn't what we're talking about. What's been bothering you?"
I sighed and shook my head. "Fine, I'll drop it. For now. How to sum up what's been bothering me? I think Adrian's trying to kill me. Or someone close to me."
"What?" He looked at me in surprise. "But why? He doesn't know, does he?"
"He figured it out somehow."
"But what makes you think he's trying to kill you?"
"About a two or three weeks ago, I received a bunch of roses. More showed up gradually throughout the day. They were white roses with yellow tips. I wasn't sure who was sending them, but then I heard this guy talking about someone named Brendan Dove, and how his father was having him help exact revenge on a girl whose family insulted the Doves, or something like that."
"But that doesn't mean Adrian wants to kill you."
"Fourteen days before Roxanne and Sirius got married, fourteen yellow roses with white tips showed up, with no card. A few days before my father died, white roses with yellow tips showed up, with a card this time. Think about it. Sirius and I didn't tell very many people about our wedding, or where it would take place. But I told Adrian. It wouldn't have been very hard for him to figure out where Gabriel Carson lived. Plus, he's a Death Eater. His reason this time around is that I flaunted something that only one person should have. Think about it, Remus."
"You reincarnate. He thinks only the Dark Lord should be impossible to truly kill." He said it slowly, like he still wasn't sure if he believed me. "But how do you know for sure that he's a Death Eater?"
"I asked Snape. They probably would've joined the dark side around the same time, and you know how they were friends. He confirmed it for me."
"So Adrian wants to kill you?"
"I don't know. The more I think about it, the more I think maybe he won't kill me yet. I got forty roses, and if they're a countdown like they were before, I'll be safely back in Hogwarts by the time the days run out. But you won't be safe, or my mom, and I'm worried that you're all in danger." He opened his mouth to answer me, but before he could, Mrs. Weasley stepped into the kitchen.
"Oh, good, you're up," she said when she saw us sitting outside. "You can help me prepare lunch for everyone."
Remus gave my shoulder a light squeeze and looked intently into my eyes, silently promising me everything would be okay. I could only hope he was right.
"Absolutely, Molly," Remus said, standing up and smiling at her.
I stood up and wiped myself off, going inside after Remus to help her make lunch. Since I was still underage, I had to do everything by hand, so it took me longer than them to get things done. I didn't mind though. It gave me a chance to think about something other than Adrian and his psychotic wrath.
Once I had finished, I went back upstairs to open my presents. By that time, Ron and Harry were awake and had made their way through all of their presents.Smiling at them, I opened my presents eagerly. They ranged from sweets to clothing, with a few prank objects included. Totally wonderful. After that, we all went down for Christmas lunch.
For awhile, everything was more or less cheery. Fleur got on Mrs. Weasley's nerves, but she tried to stay positive. But then Percy showed up, with the Minister for Magic behind him. I frowned, knowing this couldn't be good. It might not be particularly bad, but it certainly wouldn't be good.
"You must forgive this intrusion," Scrimgeour said. "Percy and I were in the vicinity-working, you know-and he couldn't resist dropping in and seeing you all."
I glanced at Percy's cold expression and awkward stance and had to fight back a scoff. Percy's idea, my ass. This had Ministry meddling all over it. Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George, too, seemed to think this. They all had stony expressions on, making no move to welcome Percy.
Mrs. Weasley was too excited over Percy being there and flustered by the Minister showing up to really notice. She was inviting him in, offering him food, and mixing up her words in her excitement.
"No, no, my dear Molly," Scrimgeour said. I coughed lightly at that, knowing he only knew her name because he'd asked Percy moment before they came in the door. "I odn't want to intrude, wouldn't be here at all if Percy hadn't wanted to see you all so badly..."
Once again I coughed, covering up another scoff.
"...We've only looked in for five minutes, so I'll have a stroll around the yard while you catch up with Percy. No, no, I assure you I don't want to butt in! Well, if anybody cared to show me your charming garden... Ah, that young man's finished, why doesn't he take a stroll with me?" He indicated Harry.
At this, I snorted and rolled my eyes. I wasn't the only one who could tell this was why they had really come.
"Yeah, all right," Harry finally said into the silence. Remus and Mr. Weasley both looked like they were either about to protest or accompany him, but he told them it was fine as he walked past.
"Wonderful!" Scrimgeour said. "We'll just take a turn around the garden, and Percy and I'll be off. Carry on, everyone!"
"Shouldn't it be a requirement for the Minister of Magic to be a good liar? So that people will still support him?" Percy opened his mouth to protest, but I simply held up a hand. "Don't worry, I won't insult your precious Minister any further."
"You should be supporting him! He has been working hard to keep everyone safe!"
"So he has," I said, choosing not to fight with him for the sake of Mrs. Weasley's Christmas. "All the same, you can't expect me to enjoy the presence of a man who uses family relations to manipulate situations to his liking." I kept my tone even, and I even resisted the urge to throw food at his annoying face. Around the time that he left, however, Fred, George, and Ginny didn't seem able to resist that urge. He had mashed parsnip splattered all over his glasses. I was proud to call them my friends.