I Will Follow You Into the Dark

Poking was felt for the first two minutes; this progressed to tapping, which progressed to slapping, which was ended by Svetlanna being pushed off of her bed by Ginny. Waking up, but slightly cranky, Svetlanna looked up at her second sister and narrowed her eyes. She didn’t get much sleep the night before, for she was far too busy reading and trying to dissect the words like Aurora had told her. Svetlanna fell asleep a little after four, and by a slight glance at her watch she noticed she barely slept for five hours.

“N'est-il pas samedi? Pourquoi diable avez-vous me réveiller si tôt?” (Isn’t it Saturday? Why the Hell did you wake me up so early?) Svetlanna grumbled, picking herself up from the floor and looking around the room barely lit up by the sun outside the window. All of the other girls were sleeping peacefully, but Ginny had ruined Svetlanna’s precious moments of dreaming. She waited for Ginny to answer her question, but the look Ginny was giving her made Svetlanna realize that she had spoken in French. She shook her head and ran her covered arms through her hair; her scars were still there and a bit fresh, and she didn’t want anyone else to know what she did. “Why have you woken me up, Ginevra Molly Weasley?”

“It’d be rather lovely if you didn’t use that name,” Ginny snapped shortly, “now, Charlie and Bill owled us this morning and said we’ll have lunch during our Hogsmeade visit. I just wanted you to know since everyone is expecting you to come as well. Don’t think just because you don’t fancy the twin git that you can weasel your way out of everyone else’s life.”

Svetlanna shook her head, “Is that why you’re being so bloody moody with me? Because you think I don’t want anything to do with my second family? Ginny, you’re like the little sister I wanted before Nui was born; why would want to leave you behind when I change my mind on something?”

“You haven’t really been talking to anyone much.”

“I’ve had a lot on my mind, is all,” Svetlanna whispered, looking at the books that had fallen to the floor. She shook her head and smiled at Ginny, “Now, since you’re all pretty, I’ll be off so I’m not the one holding everyone up.”

After quickly showering, Svetlanna dressed in her typical muggle clothes and covered her newly washed hair in a grey beanie. When she walked from the bathroom, Svetlanna packed her leather messenger bag with the books Aurora gave her and a couple of other things she usually needed. When her blade spilled out from the pocket, Svetlanna debated with herself on whether or not she should take it and decided on bring the small item with her.

Just for comfort.

As she walked from the door, Svetlanna shoved her wand through a small loop in her jeans and rushed down the stairs that lead to the common room. Upon her arrival, she smiled brightly at everyone inhabiting it and walked over to Ron, “Good morning, meilleur ami!” She greeted, tackling him in a tight hug and inhaling the scent she hadn’t smelled ever since she drove herself away.

Ron was surprised when he felt Svetlanna’s arms wrap around his torso tightly. He looked at Harry and Hermione while awkwardly wrapping his own arms around her petite body, “Er, Lanna, have you been dr-“

“Drinking?” Svetlanna finished, pulling back from Ron and glaring cutely. Ron’s ears heated up when he noticed that Svetlanna was actually rather attractive. She was the perfect mixture of bother her parents; her mother’s nose, her father’s ears, but other than that it was the perfect blend on both. Her body was thin and short, but she had begun to develop curves and –Ron blushed- her chest was a bit bigger than most girls their age. The scent she carried with her was a little on the fruity side, but it wasn’t as heavy as the perfume Molly wore on special occasions. Svetlanna tapped Ron’s nose and tilted her head to the side, “You’re being a hypocrite for accusing me of drinking. I’ve been scolding you and I bet you didn’t hear a word I said.”

Ron shook his head quickly, his ears heated up even more, and he let go of Svetlanna, “Me a hypocrite? You were the one walking around looking queer and not talking.”

“Well, I have a right to not want to talk every so often, don’t I?” Svetlanna turned around and hugged both Harry and Hermione. When she pulled away, Svetlanna looked around the common room and met eyes with one of the twins. The smirk on her face drove her heart to a faster speed, but not as fast as it usually went.

“Where’s our hug then?” Fred asked, his smirk growing as each second passed, “I’m feeling a bit left out,” –he looked at George who was grinning as well- “don’cha think we deserve one?”

“Well because we are so devilishly good looking-“George started

“-and blatantly wicked-“Fred stated

“-it would be the only greeting that made sense.”

Svetlanna bit her lip, but made her way over to the twins. She grabbed Fred loosely, but he pulled her in tighter and she grinned when she was pressed against his chest. Since he was way taller than her, Svetlanna found a brotherly comfort and protection in his grip. She had hugged all the Weasleys before, but avoided hugging Fred in fear George would ask why he never got one. When the two pulled away, Svetlanna looked up at George and slowly wrapped her arms around him. Unlike Fred, George’s hug was a bit tighter and it caused Lanna’s heart to speed up.

Their hug was short and Svetlanna pulled away as soon as she was able to recollect her thoughts. She had told herself over and over that she was over George; she had to be over George. When she pulled away, she looked toward the ground and walked to sit next to Ginny who was talking to one of her fellow third years. “When are we leaving then?”

“As soon as Aurora gets back from her room,” Fred answered, barging into the conversation, “she went back up to grab her bag.”

“She’s coming?” Svetlanna asked, turning to look at Fred. When he nodded, Svetlanna couldn’t help but feel a little bit of comfort in that. She nodded and started talking to her friends about nothing in particular. After several minutes, Aurora came downstairs looking a slight bit irritated but showing nothing else. She locked eyes with Svetlanna.

“Morning, Svetlanna,” she greeted, coming to a halt next to Fred who was sitting on the chair’s arm, “did you get any reading done last night?”

Svetlanna nodded and smiled a bit, “A lot more than I thought I would.”

“What are you two talking about?” Fred asked like a curious child.

“Better yet, when did you two bird’s become acquainted?” George asked, looking from Svetlanna to Aurora multiple times.

“I don’t see how any of our personal business is meant for you two to know,” Aurora snapped lowly at the twins before shaking her head. Several seconds of silence was suddenly interrupted by Hermione clearing her throat and reminding everyone about Hogsmeade. The group slowly exited the portrait and made their way toward the path that lead to Hogsmeade. Laughs were exchanged between everyone -minus Aurora- and Fred and George just acted normal.

It wasn’t until they arrived at the gate that their ‘bonding’ moments were interrupted.

“Svetlanna!” A voice called from behind them. She turned and her smile widened as she watched Alik jog after them. He wore a tight black shirt that showed off his obvious 6-pack and it looked as if he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. Svetlanna blushed a bit and looked at her feet, but Aurora’s hand tugged her hair from behind and Svetlanna’s head was forced up, causing her to wince.

She would have shot an irritated look at her new friend, but Alik was too close so she decided to face him instead, “Alik, what are you doing here?”

“Well, we have the day off and I noticed you were walking to town,” he looked at everyone before his eyes locked with Svetlanna’s, “I was just wondering if you would like to spend a couple of hours with me?”

Her face heated, her heart raced, and it took all she had not to start shaking; however, Svetlanna shook her head slowly, “I’m meeting a couple of old friends for lunch, and I haven’t spent much time with anyone lately. Would it be alright if I got a rain check… until next time?”

Alik’s smile fell a bit but he nodded, and picked up her hand to kiss, “Until next time, then.”

She watched him walk slowly back to his group of friends that waited at the top of the path, her heart racing from having been asked out for the first time in front of her friends… all of her friends. Svetlanna turned around and kicked her foot against the ground, “Um, I t-think we should hurry or they’ll think we’re still sleeping.” She looked up and into everyone’s eyes, all of them shocked except for Aurora and Ginny. “Won’t we be off then?” she asked after a minute of people staring at her.

She looked around and into George's eyes. They were distant, not as lively as they usually were, and it made Svetlanna feel a little bad. She didn't know why she was feeling guilty, but she couldn't help but think the look George had was because of Alik.

As they walked, Hermione and Ron found their way to Svetlanna’s side and gave her a stampede of questions. The two ended up having a disagreement and started arguing, causing Svetlanna to speed up her pace a bit and end up next to Aurora. She remembered something and glared a bit at the older girl, “You pulled my hair.”

Aurora shrugged, “You looked down.”

When they arrived at the Three Broomsticks they were welcomed with warmth. Svetlanna smiled and rubbed her hands together while walking with everyone to a large booth in the back. They sat down and waited a while until a voice was heard.

“Svetlanna, tu m'as manqué!” (Svetlanna, I’ve missed you!)

Svetlanna turned around and watched her sister run over to the table. She tilted her head to the side as she hugged her sister and questioned, “How did you get here?”

Nui pointed behind her at the two grinning gingers walking toward them, “Bill and Charlie told dad and dad agreed to let me go after I told him I was bored enough to start a fire.”