lumos/ h.p.

24.5

harry potter sat quietly, reading the letter aloud to his friends. "she can't bloody talk to you anymore? merlin, harry, she must really be in trouble." ron spoke with concern dripping from his voice. from the short month they had known saige black, the trio had already become bonded to the girl. harry especially, with the constant wonder of why she started to talk to him. hermione was stunned. saige black had been in her dormitory since first year. and now, all of a sudden, the girl couldn't even talk to them anymore? she was furious, but knew there must be a reason. the three friends sat, defeated, not even able to touch their plates of breakfast. "i'll talk to her after classes. surely she's just worried about her safety. did you see the previous letters? it physically hurts her to write about it. dumbledore would know-" she was cut off by a silencing glare from harry. "we can't ask dumbledore. he knows, but saige would never forgive us if we found out through him. we need to get info through her." his voice trembled. somehow, the young boy felt extremely attached. like saige black was a beacon of light, hope, and a residual sense of familiarity. he stood up anxiously, grabbing his plate and a goblet of spiced pumpkin juice (he knew she hated the regular stuff) before walking out of the great hall, ignoring the frantic calls from ron and hermione. "you two stay, i'll bring her some breakfast." he muttered, catching the eye of an amused albus dumbledore. the man seemed intrigued. harry ignored any urge to speak to him as he ran up the stairs to the gryffindor common room, the fat lady awaiting him as he spoke the password. he dove into the red and gold abyss as soon as the portrait swung open, glancing around to try and find the ivory-skinned girl, but to no avail. he hesitated before pushing open the door to the girls' dormitories, with an uneasy feeling of treachery seeping into his stomach. there she was. hunched over a leather-bound book of drawing parchment on her bed in the corner, tear-stained cheeks glistening in the faint light of her wand, saige black was hastily writing a note. harry watched in silence as the words disappeared, a new set appearing without her quill even touching the paper. he felt extremely worried for the girl; surely voldemort or another dark force hadn't created another diary? he cleared his throat. her neck snapped up to look at him, eyes wide as she snapped the book shut. "potter. why have you decided to not listen to me, as always?" she sounded eerily like severus snape. harry noticed that she realized, as well, as she had wasted no time in correcting herself. "sorry. what do you want?" her tone was almost bitter. his mouth was agape. "you do realize what happened last year with a journal like that, don't you, saige?" he spoke hastily. harry couldn't help himself, it was like seeing ginny over tom's diary the previous year. sickening. she glared at him, standing up and walking over to the boy with an air of secrecy. "didn't i tell you? i can't talk to you. and, for your information, i was given that book as a gift by a trusted individual, harry. i am not ginny weasley, and i do not need you to protect me." she was trying to deflect, and harry knew that. "who, then?" he asked, his voice raising. "i told you. i trust him dearly." saige was raising hers louder. his face was flushed as he set the food and drink down on what looked like hermione's side table; the bed was covered in muggle stories as well as spell books for well beyond her age. "well, i want to know-" harry was met with a sharp slap across the cheek, it took him by surprise, leaving the thirteen-year old stunned into submission. "like hell, potter. you think you can protect me, with all your skills and all!" she shrieked. "let me tell you something: all those letters? heartfelt? adoring? they. were. fake. now get the hell out, you git, before i hex you into next year." a tear had begun to stream down his face, and it pained the girl to see it. but she knew. she had to do it to keep him safe. to keep him from asking. he hiccuped. harry had never felt so devoted to anybody before, and the ties that bound the two together had been severed in an instant. "well, black, maybe if you weren't such an insufferable prat maybe this wouldn't have happened!" he retorted. she gritted her teeth together, her wand now drawn from her robes pocket. "avis," the spell rolled off her tongue, causing a triad of birds with blue plumage to spurt from the tip of her wand. "oppugno!" her voice had become hoarse. the spell didn't cast; her wand must have known that she didn't truly want the boy to be harmed. "oppugno," she tried again, the birds merely flying dazedly over to harry and pecking him lightly on the shoulder. she sunk to the ground. her body felt drained from the confrontation. he tried to help her up as the birds fizzled away, but she feebly pushed him away. "go away." she muttered, pushing herself up and retreating into the common rooms. before harry could get downstairs, the mysterious girl had already disappeared, leaving harry alone, helpless, and direly regretting his decisions.