Bulla Aurea Puerorum

Part II: Malleus Maleficarum

The Beginning

The week after went by quickly. I finally got a response from Eddie, the day before we returned to Hogwarts.

I had been packing, with Ginny trying to persuade me into taking with me the Christmas present my parents had sent. It was a newly revised copy of Heinrich Kramer's "Malleus Maleficarum". Essentially, it was a book about the extermination of witches written in the 15th century by some Catholic clergyman, something Ginny found wildly entertaining. Personally, I was quite happy to burn it before we returned to Hogwarts.

It was just as Ginny had magically glued it to the inside of my trunk that the small owl had flown through the window to perch on my nightstand. I had immediately recognized the Black family owl, and that was where I was now, staring as this owl looked me over.

Ginny nudged me and I stepped forward to untie the letter from the birds foot. With shaking hands, I opened the seal on the envelope and pulled out the letter.

Ophelia,

I just wanted to write in response to your many letters. Orion here was getting tired of the constant work.
I'm doing better, I know you were worried about everything that happened before break. Lucy's been here since Boxing day, and it's been great. Her family came for dinner last night and she's gone home with them to get ready for the return to Hogwarts.
I wanted to clear things up with you, and let you know that those feelings are gone. It took a long time to get over, but I know things are better this way. I wanted to apologize for any pain I may have caused you, and for taking so long to come to the conclusion that I could be your friend. It's enough for me, if it's alright with you.
I just don't want things to be awkward at school, and I hope that you can try and forget all the things I told you. I truly am over all those feelings, and I hope that our friendship can go back to normal. I miss you.

P.s. Tell Ginny I think she has great taste in girls.

All my love,

Edwardimum.

I couldn't help but laugh at the last bit, in whatever shaky way I could. I was glad that whatever it was appeared to be behind us, and we could move on from all this teenaged drama. The new term seemed much brighter with the letter, the way he looped his E's bringing around a hope that it was all in the past.

I read it aloud to Ginny, and after I had finished and let the emotion wash away, she hugged me. She knew more then even I did about how much it had bothered me, seen it in the way my face changed at his name, seen it in my reluctance to be happy with her.
She was just as relieved as I was that it would end.

We lay that evening in front of the fire, like that first night of after. For the first time all holiday I let myself relax. Let myself sink into her soft touch along my jaw and lips. We lay there, her arms around me as I rested my head on her chest, until the light outside faded from inky black to deep pastel blue as the sun rose. My eyes burned from the flickering of the fire, from the overwhelming tiredness. And I let myself fall asleep there in Ginny's arms, the world around me disappearing as I felt her warmth beneath me.

* *
*
It was early morning, and a light breeze floated in through the slightly open kitchen window. Ginny and I were still curled together, for one last night of not having to sneak across a castle in order to spend the night together. The cool air chilled me in my sleep, the snow covered landscape magnifying the brightness of the young sun.

I shivered unconsciously, the air tickling my uncovered arm. Something felt wrong in the way the air curled through the room, in the way the wind hissed and whispered like someone was breathing.

All around me the air curdled and a paroxysm of panic rose in my throat, shocking me awake from the weightless dream I'd been incased in.

"Who's there?" I gasped into the room, as the wind swirled about in a malicious laugh. The hair on the back of my neck was on end, my shoulders tense. The sudden movement had woken Ginny, and she said my name as a question.

When I did not answer, still overwhelmed with whatever heebie jeebies the breeze had caused, she said it again.

"'Phelia?"

My heart was still racing, pounding through my veins uncomfortably. Whatever voice had floated in sounded extremely familiar, like I'd heard it before but couldn't remember when.

Still jumpy, I didn't believe the silence that filled the room. Wind like that doesn't just stop, and I quickly jumped up to close the kitchen window. To my surprise, it was shut and locked. The panic still glowing in my eyes I turned back to where Ginny sat, still half covered in blanket, meeting her eyes in fear.

"What was that?" I gasped.

"What was what?"

"That laugh- or, wind."

"I didn't hear anything. And I shut the window last night so there couldn't have been wind. Is everything okay?" She asked, concern ringing through her voice.

"Fine." I said, turning back to the window. A semi-invisible hairline fracture lined the glass beside the handle, a slight crack that could never have let that amount of wind, or whatever it was, in.

As I often did when I was anxious, I reached my pointer finger up to play with the locket around my throat.

It was absolutely freezing.

Like I'd left it outside all night.

Whatever this fever dream was, it scared me to death and no amount of soothing words from Ginny's mouth could fix that.