born in the dark

She kept her hands up on either side of her head, vaguely motioning at the wand still pointed at her. “Yeah, it’s just me, Ave, now could you put that down?” Atalia watched her blinking and deemed it safe to take a few steps forward. “I know what you thought. Believe me, I’ve been there before. I probably shouldn’t have followed you, but I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

        It took her a moment to realise what Atalia meant. Her wand was still raised, pointed directly at the other girl. ‘ Sorry - I didn’t meant to - , ‘ she said, quickly lowering it. As much of a relief as it was to know that Atalia understood, it didn’t make her feel any less pathetic. Here she was, jumping at shadows, scared of places she’d been a thousand times. They’d gotten inside her head, and it made her feel weak. ‘ I’m being stupid, I know, ‘ she sighed. ‘ But I think I’m fine. ‘ Paranoid, but there was nothing physically wrong with her, which had to count for something. 

“I-You-” Serena mocked, making her voice sound pathetic and whiny. It was nice to be able to see the effect she had on Avery. It would make dealing with her all that much easier. “Nothing? Interesting. You certainly aren’t acting like it’s nothing.” She pulled her wand from her pocket as she stepped closer to the other girl, rolling the wood between her fingers. “I’m surprised you came here alone. Knockturn is dangerous, you know. All sort of unsavory folk.”

          Her words sounded like a child’s, repeated in Serena’s mocking voice. Everything about the other girl made her uncomfortable - scared, though she couldn’t quite admit that. The sight of her wand out made that a little harder to deny, though. ‘ I said nothing’s wrong, ‘ she repeated, trying to sound confident and falling somewhat short even to her own ears. ‘ And I was...just leaving, ‘ Avery added. She needed to leave - for all the dangers that Knockturn might hold, the worst one for her was already right in front of her. ‘ My mother is waiting for me, ‘ she continued - a lie, but Serena didn’t have to know that. Anything if it got her out of this.

The way he had caught her by surprise did not surpass Daniel in the slightest. He wondered what had Avery so on-edge. Yet then again, with all of the attacks as of late, it was perfectly understandable as to why. Even with their differences, he still only wished that she would be safe. “You okay?” he asked softly.

          Was she okay. Everyone wanted to know the answer to that seemingly-simple question, but she didn’t have one. Even now, when nothing was really wrong with her, okay wasn’t a word she’d have used. Explaining that would probably just make people look at her like she’d lost it, though. ‘ I guess. I just..., ‘ she shrugged, looking down at the ground. It was embarrassing to admit she was scared. ‘ It’s fine. I’m fine. ‘ Her words didn’t sound very convincing, but it was better than the truth.

Rhea could hardly believe her luck when she found the youngest Pucey crossing her path in Knockturn Alley of all places. With just a flick of her wand, Rhea could be on er way to exacting the revenge she’d been dreaming of for months. She was in the process of deciding whether the younger Pucey was worth the risk of getting thrown back into Azkaban when she heard Avery’s shout. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, Avery.” Rhea drawled, stepping into the light. “It’s just me.”

           Nothing to be afraid of - was that meant of be some kind of joke? because avery wasn’t laughing. ‘ Rhea? ‘ She blinked at the other girl, surprised and somewhat confused. What was Rhea Scabior doing here? She hadn’t seen the other girl since - it had been such a long time. Before Xander had been arrested - it felt like a lifetime. Avery could barely remember the person she’d been then. That girl was dead and gone. ’ What are you - I mean - , ‘ Avery stumbled over the words, nervous . Rhea’s appearance was the last thing she’d expected.

“Well, someone’s jumpy.” Serena stepped out of the shadows, a smirk crossing her lips. Her hands were tucked into her pockets, fingers playing with the handle of her wand as she looked at the younger girl. “What’s wrong Avery? You seem to be scared of something. Bad memories?” 

       The sight of Serena LaCroix was enough to make Avery’s blood run cold. Nothing good could possibly come from her presence; it never had before, and Avery could only assume this would be the same. ‘ I - you - ‘ Her mind felt frozen, and she seemed to have forgotten how to speak. Not that there was anything to be said. She wanted to run and for once in her life, her instincts were probably right. ‘ Nothing’s wrong, ‘ Avery said quickly, eyes darting around as she looked for an escape.

For some reason or another, Daniel had turned up in Knockturn Alley. On accident or purpose, he wasn’t certain. All he knew was that he was trying to get more information about what had been progressing in the world while he had been off on Quidditch season. Perhaps this could have been one place he had hoped to find such pieces. However, what had turned up was Avery. Daniel wasn’t sure how to approach the situation, but quickly cleared his throat as she said the threat aloud, “Whoa…” he put his hands up, coming over to her, “Just me, Avery.”

           Daniel’s familiar voice surprised her - but it was almost comforting. At least it wasn’t a threat, which was about all she could really ask for. Though these things had a way of catching her by surprised. ‘ Oh, um....hi, ‘ she murmured, lowering her wand. He probably thought she was crazy right now, but she doubted he was the only one. The way people looked at her sometimes, she had a feeling that people thought she’d lost her mind. Some days she wasn’t entirely sure they were wrong.

Atalia hadn’t planned on following Avery. She hadn’t planned on doing anything other than getting out of the house for a bit. Her father was in town for a few days and she found every excuse to avoid him. Seeing Avery, alone and slightly uneasy, seemed like the perfect excuse. Follow the younger girl and make sure she was okay. Kicking a rock straight into a metal bin hadn’t been part of the plan, but she didn’t want to startle Avery any more so she raised her hands and stepped out of the shadows. “Easy, Ave, it’s just me.”

     Her heartbeat was racing, adrenaline flooding her veins. Even her body was preparing for a fight, as useless as that was. When had fighting ever gone well for her? ‘ Atalia? ‘ she asked, blinking the shadowy figure of her imagination away. ‘ I - I thought - ‘ She paused, taking a slow, deep breath. It was obvious what she’d thought ; Atalia didn’t need an explanation. She felt like a pathetic, frightened child, jumping at shadows. Avery just hoped she wouldn’t judge her for a moment of panic. 

“What do you mean know her like you do?” Abigail wracked her brain for anything that Mariela could have done to Avery, but nothing sprung to mind. Sure the other girl could be a bit short tempered, but Abigail or whoever the recipient was had always provoked her. Perhaps that was what happened with Avery too. Memories of Mariela pushing Abigail to act against Charlotte flashed through her mind but Abigail pushed them away. That was different. Charlotte deserved it.

      ‘ Abigail, I’ve known her my whole life, ‘ Avery pointed out. She’d known Mariela since they were infants, practically - so long that she couldn’t remember ever meeting the other girl. Mariela was a part of half her childhood memories; Mariela and Faye, Morena, Zelus and Xander had been thrown together by their parents constantly. ‘ Not to mention I’ve lived with her. Which I wouldn't recommend to anyone. ‘ It was possible she was being overly harsh, but the truth was, Avery believed it. Mariela was, well, Mariela - bitchy and cruel and heartless, and most importantly, loyal to a cause that Avery no longer believed in.

Levi chuckled with a shake of his head. He couldn’t picture either Atalia or Avery as a “proper pureblood wife”. But if he wanted someone “proper” he wouldn’t be marrying Atalia. “I would support either of you hexing people who give you that speech. Especially if that person is my mother.” Levi shrugged, raising his glass to take a sip. He wasn’t ashamed of his blood traitor status and neither was Atalia. “Besides, things will be so much more entertaining this way. Imagine people’s faces.”

    Avery laughed softly. ‘ I don’t think hexing your mother in the middle of a party would look very good for me, ‘ she pointed out. Especially not at this party, where every pureblood worth knowing was in attendance. Not when she was meant to be playing the part of a good, loyal pureblood. Even if she didn’t believe in all of that much, any more, it didn’t mean she wanted to betray her family like that. They’d be furious with her, and that wasn't something she was willing to risk. ‘ See, that’s why you need a party, though. To see everyone’s faces all at the same time. Make it a surprise, even - now that would be fun. ‘

“You’re completely right.” Avery had better things to worry about, or at least to focus on. She was still young, but the time would come for her to become more involved in the cause, surely. And from what Audelia could tell, the girl was loyal to her family, which practically meant loyalty to them all. It was a wonderful thing seeing Avery’s face light up, even if the smile was small; she was happy that Avery would get this evening with Xander. “Doesn’t he just? A true gentleman. Those who know him well must be very lucky.” 

       Did Audelia’s agreement mean she’d said the right thing? It was hard to tell sometimes, if she was playing her part well enough. The difference between what she was meant to believe in and what was in her heart was both worlds apart and a little too close for comfort all at once. It was far easier to talk about happier topics - her brother being here was easily the highlight of the otherwise dull party. ‘ Yes, I hope he’s around a lot more now. Though maybe I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. ‘ Avery knew better than to get her hopes up - not that telling herself that ever seemed to really work. ‘ I should probably just appreciate whatever time I have, shouldn’t I. ‘

Jake’s smile stalled at her jab, and he scratched his head nervously. “Oh, she’s not so bad. This is really hard on her, too.” He wanted to jump to her defense more, but he knew that would give too much away. He had already been too obvious with Faye; it seemed impossible that he could lie about so many things, but on this he struggled. “I mean, you know, besides— could be worse. She could be…a centaur or something.”

    Avery rolled her eyes. She understood that Jake was marrying her - that maybe he felt obligated to defend her - but there were some things that were too hard to believe. ‘ Is it? Because I’ve always thought Mariela didn’t have feelings like a normal human being. ‘ She hadn’t even been sad when Zelus had died. She laughed, a touch sarcastic. ‘ I don’t know. At least a centaur might not be a complete bitch. ‘

“One day. Not any time soon. When my time comes, I’ll be the one organising it.” Audelia was well aware there were two sides to this. While she - and her mother - had once wished she’d been eligible to be arranged into a marriage with someone of a powerful name, it was different now. Now she knew she was slowly becoming more desirable and she would be the one to pick her husband when she decided it was time. “Well that is good, I can imagine that would have made the night rather unbearable.” The older girl offered Avery a smile before a thought came to mind. “Have you met Mr. Rookwood?”

          ‘ It doesn’t really feel like the right time to be worrying about marriage, ‘ Avery agreed, nodding slowly. A rather oversimplification of her feelings on the whole subject, but easier than explaining. Audelia might be a friend, but that didn’t mean she was the sort Avery trusted with secrets. She was loyal, after all - and that loyalty meant Avery couldn’t trust her at all. ‘ Mr Rook - oh. ‘ It took her a moment to recognise the fake name that Xander was using, and still even the mention of his name was enough to bring a small smile to her face. ‘ Yes, I have. He seems like a...very nice person. ‘ 

Levi chuckled at the thought. “Well that would not take long. Especially if people started lecturing Atalia on being a proper pureblood wife. Which by my estimate would take about fifteen minutes…if I’m being generous.” A small part of him hoped that his mother was the first one hexed in the hypothetical scenario. “Everyone here has plenty of excuses to wear nice clothes and drink a lot. They don’t need us to give them one. Besides, I doubt many people here would be pleased. And the ones who were would just be hoping Atalia would make me toe the party line.”

          Avery could picture it. ‘ I can’t really blame her for that. I want to hex people who give me that speech too. ‘ She just wasn’t as brave - or was it short-tempered? It was nice, though, to be able to joke about something for a change. ‘ Still. Ruining my fun, ‘ Avery sighed, a pout full on her lips. He had a point, though - there would be plenty here that weren’t happy about their engagement. ‘ Maybe I can see your point, ‘ she admitted. It wasn’t nice to think about, but she had to be honest. People called Levi a blood traitor, they said he was a disgrace, and no one would be happy about Atalia marrying someone like him. 

She frowned. Sure Mariela could be short tempered, even mean at times, she’d always been there for Abigail. “Mariela’s not that bad.” She didn’t know exactly what Mariela and Avery’s relationship was like, but Avery didn’t seem to be the type for Mariela to go after. “I feel bad for both of them.”

      Avery almost laughed ; managing to keep it to a small, sarcastic smile. ‘ You don’t know her like I do. ‘ She knew that Mariela had befriended the girl, for whatever reason, but Avery suspected that it wasn’t just to be nice. ‘ Trust me, she can be awful. You just haven’t seen it yet. ‘ Avery shrugged. It was inevitable that she’d get on the wrong side of Mariela eventually. 

He glanced around at her words and sure enough he caught his father looking at him—Jake waved a bit cheekily and after a moment of awkward eye contact John turned and greeted a nearby couple. “I know what you mean.” he said with a bit of a sad smile. “Look on the bright side, though. At least it’s not you that’s saddled with me for life.” he joked. “I mean, I snore and I have awful table manners. Mariela really has the worst luck.”

        It didn’t surprise her, that her assumption was the truth. Especially for Jake - his family likely would do anything to ensure he didn’t embarass them. At least her own were more interested in mingling, or whatever it was they were doing. At least Jake had a sense of humour about it all. Avery laughed. ‘ I mean, I definitely already was glad for that, ‘ she teased. ‘ Though I’m not sure it’s Mariela who has the bad luck in this situation. You’re forgetting I was her roommate for five years - I already know how bad she is to live with, and you can’t possibly be worse. ‘ 

Abigail paused for a moment. She wasn’t sure what she would do in Mariela’s position. “I don’t think I would have. But I’m not sure what I would do.” With a smile she reached out to nudge Avery. “At least we’re not in that position, yeah?”

         Even as a joke, Avery wondered if her words had been too much. Joking about running away from this life was entirely too close to honesty for comfort, and she was quick to change the subject. ‘ Exactly. Mariela is the one who has to end up married. I almost feel bad for her. Or I would, if it was anyone else. ‘ Mariela didn’t really deserve her sympathy. ‘ Actually, I feel bad for Jake. He’s the one who has to live with her forever - and I know from experience how bad that is. ‘