The Girl in Blue

Professor Slughorn had called her up once their double Potions lesson had ended and the bell rung, signaling for them to continue to their next class. He sat behind his desk with the typical jolly expression on his face.

Aurora walked up to his desk and said,

"Yes, Professor?"

Slughorn handed her a folded piece of parchment, which Aurora took, with a questioning glance.

"From your father, Miss Jenkins."

Aurora stared at the parchment, feeling her heart drop. She looked back up at Slughorn, who shrugged and said, "He told me specifically to give it you - I don't know why he couldn't have sent it in owl post, but he didn't..."

"Because Jarlath is a friend of mine and he specifically told me that you must read it," Slughorn pointed just over her shoulder, and she looked back. "I have asked Mr. Riddle to oversee that you do."

Tom stood in the back of the classroom, in the doorway, leaning against it. His eyes locked on her figure and he didn't move - as if he were waiting for her reaction.

"Um," Aurora glanced back at the parchment. "Th - thank you, Professor."

Aurora brushed past Tom, clutching the letter in her hand, and she heard a, "Rose, wait."

"What?" She asked, putting the parchment in her pocket, continuing to walk to Care of Magical Creatures outside.

Tom caught up to her and said, "You should read it."

"I can't now." She rolled her eyes, trying to be a lot stronger than she was. "I'll do it later."

Aurora walked ahead of Tom as they made their way to Care of Magical Creatures, arriving right on the dot, when Professor Kettleburn started their lesson.

She spent the entire day, thinking about the letter. For the first time, it was her father who sent a letter. It had been a little over a month since Christmas and only a few weeks since her mother's letter, but she never expected to see a letter from her father.

Aurora's classes breezed by - after Care of Magical Creatures was Divination, and after Divination was Herbology, and then after Herbology, the last class of the day, was Astronomy, and after Astronomy, Aurora skipped going to dinner and went straight to the Slytherin common room.

Most of the time, she was avoiding Tom, who kept eyeing her. It was an itching in the back of her neck that she wanted to read the letter, but she couldn't - she wanted to, and every time her fingers just barely brushed the parchment paper when she reached into her pockets, she just couldn't do it.

Aurora sat down by the fireplace and took out the parchment, keeping it folded.

"Hey, Aurora," Silas came up to her. "Aren't you going down to dinner?"

She didn't look at him.

"I will...in a little bit."

"What's that? A letter or something?" Silas pointed.

Aurora nodded. "Uh huh."

Silas gave her a strange look and before he could say anything, Tom's voice appeared behind him and he said, "She needs space, Gavazzi."

Silas shot Tom an annoyed looked but he left anyway, leaving the two of them alone by the fireplace.

Tom sat down next to her and he leaned back.

"I can't disobey Slughorn," He said. "You have to read it."

Aurora looked at Tom and she said, "It's not as easy as it looks."

He rolled his eyes and took the paper from her and unfolded it. He barely got a glance at what it said when Aurora snatched it from him, giving him a glare.

Tom let her read, which she did, reluctantly.

Dear Aurora,

I am the last person you want to hear from, and that is fine, I understand. I hope you hear me out.

I spoke to Borgin just after you went back to Hogwarts and asked him specifically what he told you, so I can fill in the rest. Turns out, he didn't tell you much.

Aurora, I want to tell you the entire story, and I need for you to understand why I did what I did.

Thirteen years ago, as an Auror, I had been assigned a case of the Rose's. They were well-known Dark wizards who had been running loose since I became an Auror, which had been five years prior. I was thirty years old and I had just married Esmerelda, at the time, and you know better than me what love is like, with all of your muggle literature.

Charles and Asha Rose were very skilled at what they did. They were notorious - they had to be. So, I needed to devise a plan to capture them. They were killing innocent people and torturing them.

I was supposed to infiltrate them and pose as a fellow Dark wizard, which I had done, successfully. Charles, especially, had accepted me into their circle and I was initiated as apart of their group, which was unnamed.

I went on raiding with them for a few months, just enough to gain their trust. I got close to them, close enough to be invited into their house a couple times, and that was when I met you.

You were just a baby at the time and I couldn't keep my hands off of you. Charles used to joke that I was a better father to you than he was. Which was true, because he and Asha were gone most of the time.

Asha hated me. She knew something was off about me, but nobody except her suspected that I was apart of the Ministry, or that I would betray them soon enough.

Let me remind you and tell you that your mother, especially, was truly horrid. She had special torture tactics that could be the equivalent to a Dementor's Kiss. She has used them on such people like Spencer Dawson, John Cooling, and Aria Hastings. She was scary woman, and from what I could see, you were afraid of her, too. Even as just a baby, I could see it in your eyes.

Anyways, I was supposed to have continued this facade for a little while, but after I told your mother about you, we both fell in love with you. Esmerelda wanted to make sure that you were safe before I finished my job. We decided that if nothing could happen - we wanted to take you.

I was discovered. A concealed letter from the Minister of Magic himself was sent to me, but Asha found it and she exposed me to everybody.

It was a war. I had called for backup, but I was almost defeated. I don't want to go into too much detail about this, but I killed your mother first, and after your father had found out what I had done, he tried to kill me, but your uncle Milton saved me and killed Charles.

I was taken to St. Mungo's before I could ever know what happened to you. Your mother and I spent years trying to search for you, but we couldn't find you. You were somehow concealed from us.

Of course, we did, eventually. It was the happiest day of my life, to finally see you again.

I am sorry. I never told you about any of this, but you're still my daughter, Aurora. Every day I would come over to the Rose's and play with you endlessly. You were almost like my daughter back then, and now you still are.

Please, forgive me.



Aurora finished the letter, and she was in shock.

Tom watched her reaction and he said, "What?"

She looked at him, with the letter in her hand. Tears sprung up in her eyes as a whole new insight took over her mind. Even though she knew her real parents were Dark wizards, she felt as though she had a special place in her heart for them because of the fact that her adoptive father was the one who killed them.

"May I?" Tom asked, reaching for the letter.

Without thinking, Aurora handed it to him. She stared out, her mind running wild. Tom read the letter, even rereading some of it to make sure he read it correctly, and she glanced at him, when he finished.

He smirked and gave it back to her, "Impressive."

Aurora still didn't know what to think. She leaned into Tom, resting her head against his shoulder. She barely even realized that he stiffened, but it was comforting to her anyways.

His presence was easing her completely jumbled and confused mind.