Darkest Secret

I ended up at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. I sat down by an old oak tree and looked up at the skies above. Looked like snow, I thought as a snowflake came floating down onto my hand.

Bringing my knees up to my chest, I hugged myself. I was afraid. What if what Draco had said was true. Could it be? Possibly?

Humming from the enchanted forest echoed. It lured me out of my conflicting thoughts, and I instinctively stood up, and followed it.

Twigs snapped under my sneakers as I came upon a clearing. The hum was melodious and flowed like a river down a stream. It was truly peaceful and soothing. Strangely, it sounded familiar to me, but I could quite put my finger one where I had heard it from.

I found who I thought was the culprit of the humming, it was Luna Lovegood, and she was feeding those things that were charcoal black with that had bat wings, and had the body of a disfigured, fur-less and skinny horse.

“What are they?” I asked, the humming stopped abruptly. She turned from feeding one an apple, she smiled dreamy up at me when she notice it was I who had spoken. “They’re thestrals,” she stated, walking up to me.

There was a bag on Luna’s shoulder, which I assumed was holding the apples that she was producing. She pulled another out when a baby thestral approached tentatively away from it’s mother’s side. It was cute to be a thestral, I smiled, then asked, “Why can I and Harry see them?”

“Because, you’ve seen death,” Luna replied, sternly in her mystical voice.

“But, . . .no, that can’t be right. I’ve never seen anyone . . .die. . . before.”

“But, you have, Anissa. Some point in your life you have.”

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I asked, “Who did you see. . .die?”

“My mother,” she replied, not looking up from the baby thestral sizing up the fruit before it, nervously.

Blushing with embarrassment, I replied genuinely, “I’m sorry.”

She glanced up at me, smiled softly, but dreamy, then said, “It’s quite fine. You were just curious.” I was surprised at this, and said no more, just watched the creatures that stood around us.

One brushed up against me, gazed up at me with dark eyes, before I could catch myself, my hand with out to pat it’s scaly head. It looked up at me with those eyes, and galloped away into the thick the deep vegetated forest.

“I think they’re fine creatures. Don’t you?” Luna asked, I turned back to her, nodded and smiled softly. She returned it.

“What was that song you were humming awhile ago.”

“I wasn’t humming.” Luna frowned her brow in confusion.

“Well, I guess it was just my imagination.”

~*~

The stroll to Hogsmeade was chilly, but with Fred by myself the cold didn’t seem to faze me. When I was with him it seemed like the world faded away and there was only us and nobody else. I truly liked him a lot and I could tell me did too.

He asked me on a date, didn’t he?

“Where to, my lady?” Fred asked, with a goofy smile upon is lips. He looped his arm through mine and began to skip, but I tried to pull back, he just laughed and drug me along.

“Fred, stop it!” I exclaimed, with a laugh. He just ignored my plead, and continued to drag me along toward the threshold of the Three Brooms.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted him. Draco. He was standing alone near the entrance, looking down. He looked up, my pale blue eyes met with his gray ones. My heart skipped a beat, and I found it hard to breathe.

“Hey, Anissa, I lost you there, didn’t I?” asked a curious Fred, who was waving one hand in front of my face as we pasted by Draco.

“I’m sorry,” I replied, bringing my full attention back to the ginger in front of me. “Must have space out for awhile there.”

~*~

I was standing in front off the Three Brooms waiting for Crabbe and Goyle to get here. “Where are those blokes?” I mumbled, rubbing my palms together to perverse heat.

Looking up, I heard laughter. It sounded like music to my ears, and that’s when I noticed it was her laugh. Annisa.

I almost smiled until I noticed him with her. Fred Weasley had his arm looped with her’s and he was skipping along like a moron., with Anissa being drug along with him to the entrance of the Three Brooms.

This stirred something inside me that warmed up my cheeks. I had no idea what that feeling was. It felt strange to me.

Suddenly, I and Anissa’s eye met, which made my heart skip a beat and I didn’t even notice myself take a short intake of breath. We held the intense stare for a few more minutes, which seemed like hours to me. Then, all too soon he interrupted it by waving a hand in front of her face, all eye contact was severed. She looked up at him as they entered the threshold of the Three Brooms with not a look my way.

Did that just really happen?

What was this feeling, I thought frustrated as Crabbe and Goyle came walking up to me. “About time,” I mumured, then continued to say. “Let’s go somewhere else, guys.” I walked off with not a backward glance to see if they were following. I knew they were.

~*~

Fred ordered us butterbeer, which was warm, but not as warm as Fred’s smile. It warmed me inside and out like the butterbeer. I blushed and smiled at the cheesy thought when we began to converse and I got to know more about him then I ever thought possible. I was surprised we liked a lot of the same things.

It felt so easy to talk to him.

During the time, Fred put his hand on the table, my hand wasn’t too far away. If he would he could just bring his up to mine and place it on top of mine. I blushed at the thought.

Suddenly, like Fred knew what I was thinking, he brought his hand up to mine, then a thought struck me. Voldemort would kill anyone close to me. I couldn’t let that happen, especially to Fred. He didn’t deserve that fate. I didn’t want him getting hurt or worst killed. That would just tear me apart.

But, then I thought, Voldemort can’t get into Hogwarts. I was safe here wasn’t I? As long as he doesn’t know, I’m safe.

Blushing, and looking up at Fred, he completed making his move. His hand was on top of mine. He smiled shyly yo at me with a pink tint on his cheeks. I returned it and intertwined my fingers with his.

Dang, I hope this worked out.