I Will Follow You Into the Dark

Awkward is the only word that can describe how Aurora felt as she sat in between the twins towards the back of the massive booth that they’d designated as their hangout spot. Her hands fidgeted nervously underneath the table but her face did not betray her emotions, it remained composed making all those around her believe that she was not the least bit nervous about meeting the older Weasley’s.

All those around her were busy doing one thing or another. The twins bickered amongst themselves, each certain that they would be the one that got to represent Hogwarts in the tournament. Svetlanna, along with the other girls, were discussing what had happened and Ron was busy trying to stuff eight chocolate frogs in his mouth because Harry had told him he wouldn’t be able to fit them all.

Her eyes flickered with amusement when she saw Ron force the eighth chocolate frog in his mouth, it was a tight fit, too tight and since there wasn’t enough room in his mouth the dark chocolate began squirting out from his mouth.

Aurora’s attention was taken from Ron when a voice called Svetlanna. Her brow furrowed slightly when she saw a young girl, no older than eight, standing in front of the introverted Gryffindor with a smile as wide as that of a beauty queen.

It was obvious that they were sisters for they bore a strong resemblance to one another but even though they physically looked so alike Aurora could tell that they were polar opposites; the younger being more outgoing while the elder was reserved.

One by one the Weasley’s and their friends began filing out of the booth so that they could properly greet the three individuals that they were meeting for lunch. Aurora lingered in the back, not wanting to interrupt the family reunion taking place.

Never before had Aurora seen the twins stare at people with such adoration. They looked like newborns staring up at their mother or small children marveling at older wizards/witches performing different spells in front of them.

It made her miss her brothers.

Almost two months has lapsed since she’d last seen them. It might now seem like to long a time but Aurora’s family has always been very close. In fact the longest amount of time that she’d gone without seeing Liam or her mom or Quinn was when Aurora ran off to Mexico for a week.

Perhaps it seems strange that she would miss her brother so much when she spent the last few months pushing him, along with the rest of her family, away so that she could be left alone with her thoughts but she did.
She felt like the rational part of her was missing.

Liam always busied himself telling her not to be so rash to control her temper and to think things through before she acted. Without him there to nag at her about being responsible, she was left to do a she wished and this almost always meant that she would act on impulse which was very rarely a good idea.

Aurora was taken out of her thoughts when the twins grabbed both her hands so that they could drag her towards their older brothers and properly present her to them. They were a bit ridiculous, but that was why she liked them.

“Now presenting the delightful Miss Aurora Domínguez to the honorable William Arthur Weasley and Charlie Weasley,” pronounced the twins as if they were in Queen Elizabeth’s court.

“Domínguez?” spoke the one they called Bill, “As in Javier Domínguez?”

“Yeah he’s my dad,” answered Aurora, shocked that he knew her father’s name. “I don’t want to sound rude or anything but how do you know my dad?”

Bill grinned. “About a year and a half ago I suffered some rather serious poisoning when I was trying to open a tomb in Egypt. I should’ve known better than to open my mouth when white powder was flying at my face but I don’t know I guess I thought that it was just dust. It was pretty bad and no one had the potion for it so my boss had to call your father in so that he could fix me up.” Bill rubbed the back of his neck while letting out a light laugh. “It was really hilarious because he just stormed into the room where I was puking my guts out and he starts speaking to me in Spanish. I really don’t know what he was saying but he kept mumbling something along the lines of . . . fuck let me remember how he said it.”

“Pinché baboso pelo rojo?” asked Aurora, struggling to stop the smile that was threatening to spread across her face when she remembered how her father had ranted about a ginger that had stupidly ingested highly toxic material.

He clapped his hands together, “That was exactly what he said! What does it mean anyway? I asked him and he told me that he was admiring my red hair but I think that’s bullocks because it sounded quite mean when he was saying it!”

Imaging her father ranting angrily in Spanish at the long haired ginger made Aurora break into a fit of laughter, shocking everyone around her for no had ever even seen her smile let alone laugh. Laughter intensified her beauty, entrancing every man so much so that the women looking upon her thought that she was part veela.

“Merlin’s beard,” whispered Svetlanna when Aurora’s long dark curls suddenly began changing not only color but length as well.

It was by far the most interesting thing that she had ever witnessed. Last year she had read a book on the subject of Metamorphmagi which are wizards or witches that have the ability to change their physical appearance at will. They don’t have to take potions or utter spells. All they have to do is think it and they can change their eyes, their noses, even their gender, race, or age. They are extremely rare and Svetlanna could not believe that Aurora Domínguez was one.

“Fuck,” muttered Aurora in disbelief.

It had been ages since she’d last laughed and truth be told she had come to the conclusion that she wasn’t ever going to laugh again but apparently she was wrong. There were still laughs to be had in her life and it took a memory of her father to remind her of that.

She wiped the tears that had fallen as a result of her laughter with the collar of her father’s faded Pink Floyd concert shirt. Her right brow rose slightly when she noticed the quizzical expressions on the faces of those around her.

“What’s wrong with you guys?” she asked, oblivious to the fact that her hair was currently a short blonde bob.

Fred shot her an incredulous look. “What’s wrong us?”

“Oh no poppet,” continued George, “It’s more along the lines of-”

“What’s wrong with you!” ended Fred, shooting his twin a triumphant smile.

“Nothing is wrong with her,” blurted Svetlanna, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink when everyone’s heads snapped in her direction. “Aurora is a Metamorphmagus.”

“What does that mean?” asked Ron.

“It means that I have the ability to change my appearance whenever I feel like it,” she stopped so that she could stare at the blonde strand of hair that she had pulled from her head. “It’s really fucking weird that I can do it again.”

Hermione was curious to find out what the older Gryffindor meant by that so she asked. “What do you mean?”

“I hadn’t been able to do it since,” Aurora trailed off when she realized that she’d almost told them that her ability hadn’t been working since her father’s death. “I need some fresh air. I’ll be right back. Excuse me.”

Aurora left the Three Broomsticks through the back exit. Once outside she pressed her back against the dingy brick wall while she rummaged through her bag, searching for a bit of marijuana to mellow her out for the rest of lunch.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” muttered Aurora to herself when she realized that there wasn’t a drop of weed in her bag.

Incredibly annoyed, she began to mumble incoherently while taking her frustrations out on the dirt by kicking it. Aurora had been fine remembering her father telling her about Bill being poisoned, she dug that memory but thinking about the day he died always brought her down, regardless of how happy she was before the thought entered her mind.

“Are you alright?” asked Bill as he closed the door.

Aurora nodded her head. “Just needed some fresh air, changing my appearance usually takes a lot out of me.”

“I bet it is rather draining but I must confess that I am a bit surprised that I did not find you smoking.” Bill stood a few feet away from her with his back pressed against the wall.

“Why’s that?” she asked, unsure of why he would say such a thing.

“You don’t remember me do you?” he asked, clearly amused.

Aurora shook her head, “No.”

“Understandable it was a very hectic night when we met.” Bill scratched his fiery red hair, his hand lifting his hair up enough for her to see the earring with a fang dangling from it.

“Fuck! That was you, wasn’t it?” blurted Aurora, realization dawning on her. “You were the guy that gave me the light.”

Bill grinned. “Yeah, that was me. I must say I thought you were a little older. I don’t know how I feel about having smoked with someone so young.”

“Young?” scoffed Aurora. “Sixteen is not young.”

“It is when you have two brothers that age.” Bill tilted his head in her direction. “Have you smoked with Fred and George?”

“Hell no!” she exclaimed. “Those two are crazy enough as it is, they don’t need any weed. No offense.”

“None taken, those two are a bit off but it suits them.” He cleared his throat. “So should I leave you to smoke or are you going to be joining us right now?”

“Joining you, I don’t have any on me so I kind of have to go back inside,” responded Aurora, clearly unhappy with the fact that she wouldn’t be able to satisfy her craving.

Bill stuck his hand into his tight jeans and pulled out a thick blunt. “Don’t smoke all of it. A few hits should be more than enough.”

“Aren’t you going to join me?” asked Aurora, taking the blunt from his hands.

Bill shook his head. “No. I told them I was going to the loo so I should be going back inside.”

“Alright then, thanks for the blunt and I’ll be in soon.”

Aurora lifted the blunt to her plump lips and turned it on with the tip of her wand. Smoke soon filled her lungs as she took a long hit, wanting to experience the mellowing as quickly as possible. Three more hits were taken by her before she put it out and stuffed it into her bag so that she could go join the group.

“Are you feeling better?” inquired Charlie from his seat between Ginny and Ron.

“A lot better,” she replied, “Thanks for asking.”

Fred stood up from the corner of the booth so that she could slide in beside George who immediately began bombarding with questions regarding her status as a Metamorphmagus. He asked the most random questions, a few them were a bit inappropriate and earned him a smack behind the head from Aurora.

“You have very fine taste in music Aurora,” complimented Charlie as he looked from her shirt to her face. “Do you have a favorite song?”

Aurora shook her head. “There’s no way I can just pick one song.”

“Well then which ones are at the top of your list?” he asked.

She pursed her lips together. “I'm going to have to say Echoes, Interstellar Overdrive, The Great Gig in the Sky and Wish You Were here. What about you?”

“Echoes is on my list as well along with Shine on You Crazy Diamond and Another Brick in the Wall.” Charlie took a sip of his drink. “It’s nice to know that someone appreciates good music. None of my siblings like Pink Floyd, they all say that they’re boring.

Aurora looked towards Bill. “You don’t dig Pink Floyd?”

“No,” answered Bill, amused by the look of shock on her face.

“How don’t you dig Pink Floyd? You dress like someone that would listen to them.”

“They’re not my particular brand of music. Personally, I prefer The Doors. Nothing beats Roadhouse Blues in my book. Are you a fan?”

Fred and George sat back so that they could enjoy the conversation that was flowing between Aurora and their two older brothers. They had feared that she would remain quiet during the entire lunch but she hadn’t in fact she’d even laughed! Things were going to be different from then on, they knew it.