The Sunrise of My Heart

When I woke up the next morning, Draco was gone. There was no trace of him, no sign to show that I hadn't been dreaming the whole thing up. I was half convinced that him holding my hand and sleeping by my side had all been in my head, a realistic vision induced by that sleeping tonic. It was a bit infuriating.
I didn't want to do much of anything; I just wanted to lay in bed for days, wallowing in my grief. Instead, I slowly pulled myself out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. What I saw not promising. I desperately needed a hairbrush and some foundation for the shadows under my eyes. I finger-combed my hair, splashed some water on my face, and called it a day. I stood there for a few more minutes, feeling like there should be more of a physical difference in my appearance, since I was so emotionally broken. I didn't leave the bathroom until there was a soft knock on the door.
"Miss Carson?" Professor McGonagall called through the closed door.
I slowly turned and opened it. "Yes?"
Her face was solemn, her eyes full of the understanding of great pain. "Come on, dear. Professor Dumbledore wants to see you in his office."
"Can't I just stay in this bathroom forever and avoid dealing with life?"
"No. You are far too strong for that." She put her hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture, which effectively gave her the ability to steer me out of the bathroom, through the hospital wing, and down the hallway.
I sighed, not resisting. "All right. But can I spend the rest of my life in that bathroom after Professor Dumbledore is finished talking to me?"
"We'll see."
We made it to the stone gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office, and after McGonagall gave the candy-related password, we were allowed access. She knocked politely on his door.
"Professor?" she asked.
"Come in," came his voice.
We opened the door and stepped inside. I was staring directly at Dumbledore, hoping he would have some magical way to make me feel better. I did not put much stock in that hope, however. I doubted even he could lessen the sting of death.
"Miss Carson," he said, giving me a deep look. "I am most terribly sorry." The way he said it made it seem like he wasn't just offering condolences, but he was truly sorry that I was suffering. It made me glad he was there. "Losing one's family is one of the worst pains we can go through."
I didn't have anything to add to that, so I just nodded.
"Will that be all, Professor?" McGonagall asked. "I should get back to my students."
"Yes, of course. Thank you for bringing her, Minerva."
McGonagall nodded and left, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze before she departed.
"Now, Riley. I've brought you here so you can meet someone." He beckoned his hand, and a woman with silver/gray hair pulled into a tight bun and a grave expression stepped forward. She was wearing a floor-length black gown that looked rather expensive, and had her eyes downcast in what appeared to be sorrow. I hadn't noticed her before because she had been standing in the back of Dumbledore's office, and I had been paying close attention to Dumbeldore. She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite place where I had seen her before.
"Riley, this is Iris Wing. She is your great-aunt, and your new legal guardian."
She extended her hand towards me, which I shook. "Oh," I said. "Hi." It was then that I was able to remember where I had seen her before. She had been at my father's funeral. It had been the first time I had ever seen her, and this was only the second time.
"I am deeply sorry about your mother. She was a good woman."
I nodded. "Thanks..." I wasn't sure what else to say. "So... You're my dad's aunt, then?"
"Yes. I was so sorry when he passed. He was very dear to me."
"Yeah, me too." I resisted the urge to ask her why she had never visited him if he had been so dear to her, or why she only visited his grave on the day of his funeral. Instead, I voiced what else was on my mind. "So what happens now?"
"You will come and live with me. I have a room all set up for you in my house, and if you don't like it, we can change it to match your preferences."
"Why didn't you just pull me out of Hogwarts?"
"What do you mean?"
"When the other kids' parents die, someone shows up and takes them to their new homes. And they usually don't come back here."
"I wanted to personally retrieve you."
"Oh."
"I have made arrangements with Professor Dumbledore and your other teachers to allow you a few weeks of home study while you get adjusted to your new house. And then you will be returning here to Hogwarts in late January. Professor Dumbledore has already prepared arrangements for your departure and your arrival back here on January the 27th."
"So I don't have to leave Hogwarts?"
"Child, you just lost your mother. Spending the next year and a half away from friends, with an old woman you don't know as your only companion, would be akin to torture. No, you don't have to leave Hogwarts."
"Well, thank you. That makes me feel a bit better. I was afraid I would have to leave everyone here behind."
The whole time we had been speaking, she had not looked my straight in the face, simply because etiquette she had been raised with suggested keeping your head respectfully bowed when a loved one died. But she finally looked up and met my eyes, giving me a small smile. "Don't worry," she said. "I would never make you go through more pain."
I hardly heard what she said. I was so shocked, gaping at her openly. "Your eyes," I said softly.
"Yes," she said. "I get them from my father, who inherited them from his father, who got them from his mother. The genes skipped a generation after me."
I didn't know what to say to that. How could these people possibly have eyes that looked like that? How could my great aunt have forget-me-not blue eyes with swirls of molten gold in them?