𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 ; 𝒹.𝒽

twenty-five

A month passed until Kreacher showed back up. A month of just waiting. September brushed through the home as the leaves outside began to turn colors. 

Aurora played the piano as everyone sat in the living room in silence. Harry gazed at the snitch Dumbledore gave him while Zoya sat upside down on the couch, her head dangling off the end of it. 

"What is that you're playing?" Ron asked. 

"Clair de Lune." Aurora replied, "Claude Debussy."

"Where did you learn to play?" Hermione questioned.

"Narcissa." Aurora answered as she continued to play, "We would often hold balls, which now I recognize they were gatherings to bring followers for Voldemort. But they would always have me play for everyone."

Aurora switched to Moonlight Sonata, "Ludwig van Beethoven was secretly a magic user, coming from a line of pure bloods." She said, "But that isn't common knowledge."

"How do you know?"

She glanced at Zoya, "I was raised by a family of pure bloods."

"Do you speak another language like Sirius did? He said he grew up speaking French." Hermione said. 

Aurora nodded, "I speak a few languages. Narcissa taught me French growing up, I then learned German for my first year of school in Germany, Spanish for my second year in Spain, Hungarian for my third year in Hungary, Italian for my fourth year in Italy... and I attended two schools for my fifth year. I went to France for the first half and Russia for the second half. So, I have picked up many languages."

"Woah." Ron said, "I just realized I know nothing about you."

"What do you want to know?" Aurora asked, continuing to play mindless tunes. 

"What parts of magic are your favorite to learn about?" Hermione asked. 

"Dark Arts, but in the past year and a half I've taken a liking to caring for magical plants."

Zoya lifted her head to look at her straightforward, "D-Dark Arts?"

"Mhm."

"That's... evil, Aurora." Hermione quietly said. 

"The Dark Arts are only evil if you make it. And besides, I only used it sparingly. I read about it more than I practiced it. If it brings you comfort, I was equally interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts. I think it's rather good to have knowledge on both ends of magic."

"Voldemort uses Dark Magic. Bellatrix, Lavinia– Dark Arts killed Cedric and Sirius and Augustus–"

Aurora cut Hermione off, "Your perception on magic is narrow."

"It's not! I know–"

"You know a lot, yes. But magic is not black and white. There is much gray area to it, magic is as evil as you make it. You're the scholar here, Hermione, did you ever read in a textbook that the Dark Arts were evil?" Aurora questioned, no longer playing and body turned towards her. 

She slowly shook her head, "No."

"But I will say that the Dark Arts can turn evil quickly, which is why I don't practice it. All I'm saying to you is not to look at it from the perspective of it just being a bad thing. Look at it as someone who cares only of the knowledge, and not how it's perceived."

"No good person would practice Dark Arts." Ron spoke up.

Aurora smiled softly, "Don't trust anyone who says they're a good person."