Defiance (Harry Potter)

Chapter 5

    The car ride home is not fun. My parents obsess over James and his friends, and almost ignore me. I think I heard a "Hello Skylar." But I could be mistaken.
    When we get home, my mother says, "Skylar! There's lunch dishes in the sink for you to do." James jumps up. "I'll do it." He says. Mother rolls her eyes. "Nonsense Jamesey. Tell us all about Hogwarts." James gives me a pitiful look before diving back into his conversation with Mother and Father.
    I slink into the kitchen to do the dishes. While the water is running, I open the cabinet under the sink to get the dishwashing soap. When I pop back up, there's Remus. "Hey Skylar." He says. "Hi Remus." I answer. "Need some help? I'll rinse." He says. I think about it for a moment. Remus is pretty fun, and good to talk to. "Yeah, sure." I answer him.
    Remus and I end up playing twenty questions while doing the dishes. "Favorite movie?" He asks. "Wizard of Oz." I answer immediately. Then it's my turn. "Favorite book?" He thinks for a moment, I know he's read so many. "The Great Gatsby." He finally says. "I love that one!" I say.
    After we finish playing twenty questions, we do the dishes in a comfortable silence. I notice Remus glancing at me every so often, a hint of a smile on his face.
    The Marauders head up to James's room after dinner. (Made by me and the help of a tiny bit of mother's magic.) I was welcomed to join them, but I would rather get reacquainted with my room.
    My room has always been my escape. Sound proof and painted dark grey and navy blue. The first thing I do is plop onto my waterbed. Hey, belonging to a wealthy family has it's good sides. I sit up and grab my guitar, strumming random strings and humming.
    After a while, I get cold. My room is on the top floor, so the heater doesn't quite reach there. I guess it would take too much magic to fix it. I do downstairs and fix myself a cup of hot chocolate, complete with whipped cream. When I shut the refrigerator, Sev stands in front of me.
    "Sev! What are you doing here?" I ask excitedly. He shrugs and smiles. "I was in the neighborhood for a um, meeting, and I decided to come visit. I wince. "How bad is it Sev?" I ask, and he sighs. "Let's go upstairs and talk."
    When we get upstairs, Sev wastes no time. "Sky, new recruits every day. New death eaters." Sev should know, since he is one. Yes, my best friend is a death eater. He joined them six months ago. I don't know why. He just wanted power I guess. Lucy and Bellatrix are death eaters too. Bellatrix because she's insane and likes inflicting pain, and Lucy never told me his reason.
    I'm afraid Reggie is next. I don't want him to be a death eater, but I'd still stay with him if he was. Sev snaps me out of my thoughts when he continues.
    "I'm so confused Sky. When I first joined him I don't know what I wanted. I guess I wanted to feel like a belonged somewhere. All of our friends are death eaters, Sky. Even Regulus. But Sky, I'm not sure I made the right choice. Did I choose wrong Sky? Tell me, please." Looking up at me is a broken man. He was abused all of his life, and he just wanted to belong.
    "Sev." I sigh. "You made a bad choice, but that doesn't make you a bad person." I continue to reassure Sev until he has to leave. Sev hugs me. "Merry Christmas Sky." He says. "Merry Christmas Sev." I say.
    The next morning, James wakes me up by hitting me in the face with a snowball. I dress quickly, wearing the outfit shown above, and run outside. I immediately start building a fort, and I'm thankful I did when more snowballs come flying at me. I duck behind my fort and aim a snowball at James's face. When it hits him, I laugh.        So does he.
    Sirius aims a snowball at me, which I dodge easily. "Is that all you got Black?" I tease. He shakes his head and smirks. "No, this is." And then I'm hit with a ball of coldness.
    We all spend the day in the snow, enjoying the snow. When it starts to get dark , we go inside and drink hot chocolate. I go up to my room happy that night. I'm joining the boys later, but now I want to write Reggie. When I get upstairs, his owl is already there. I take the letter smiling, and open it. As I read though, my smile drops.
    My dearest Skylar,
I regret to say that I cannot be with you. My parents have arranged a marriage for me when I graduate. I don't want this, but I must do it. You know that Sirius is particularly... Rebellious, and I must be the one to carry the family name. You were the first girl I cared for, and I wish you could be the last. I hope to remain friends, but I am afraid of the awkwardness. I honestly hope that we can be friends. I am so sorry Sky. They would have used Imperious.
                     Love forever,
                               Regulus Black.
     What? Why does this happen to me? My first relationship, with a person I thought I could love, and this happens.
    I don't go to the James's room, so they come to mine. "Sky? Are you okay?" James asks, knocking on the door. I make something between a moan and a sob in reply. The door opens and I feel arms wrap around me. I open my eyes to reveal James. "What's wrong?" He asks, and I point to the letter on my desk.
    Sirius hands it to James, who reads it and then immediately hugs me tighter. "Shh, it's okay Sky." James says. I can tell that Sirius read the letter when he says, "Dang my family, hurting Sky."
    I laugh, though it's not real. "Thanks for that." Sirius gives me a crooked grin, looking oddly nervous. "Anytime." So James and his friends spend the night being girlfriends and comforting me. It's odd to think that just a few months ago, they all hated me, and now they care for me. I guess life is just odd.