The Girl Who Vanished

Chapter 2: The Stolen Memory

"Draco! That's not how you play wizard's chess!" Aeron chuckled at the younger boy who stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, his porcelain skin crinkled between the brows.

"You make the next move than if you're so good at it! Go ahead, Wright."

Ana was sitting on one side of the chessboard, watching the two boys who sat opposite her who had been whispering tactics back and forth for the better portion of an hour. They had been playing for so long that Ana's eyes were growing heavy, but Draco insisted on learning once he saw the two of them playing.

It was the last few moments of Aeron's visit with her and to Ana's surprise, the weekend went off without any problems. Their parents and Aeron's uncle typically spent all their time in their father's library, which was off limits to them anyways, whereas the kids would hang out in the garden. Except for when they played chess.

At the start of the game, Draco kept his distance from Aeron which seemed unlike her brother. Besides a few disagreements, she had never seen the two of them never fight, so his wariness of the fellow Slytherin seem unwarranted. Aeron's glare on Draco was steady and solid, but that intensity dwindled down every time Draco grew more frustrated at the game he couldn't win. Ana was the reigning champion between the two, but when Aeron offered to teach Draco how to play, the animosity disappeared.

The board between them was covered in bits of broken stone players: bishops and knights were reduced to nothing more than memories as the boys were winning the round to Ana's chagrin. She wished she knew what they were whispering to each other so she could turn the game around in her favor. Aeron's hands were cupped around the soon-to-be second year's ear, which only made her roll her eyes dramatically.

The boys nodded at each other as Draco picked up his king and shuffled it higher up on the board. She could feel their prideful smirks as she focused solely on the board, looking for any way to redeem herself from the dismal display in front of her.

"Draco! I need you a moment!" their mother called from the base of the grand staircase. Her little brother huffed in annoyance as he rose from his spot beside Aeron and trudged out of her room. They both picked up on the sound of his yells as they faded out of earshot, small smirks painted both of their faces. However, Aeron stood up, too, and made his way to Ana's dresser that sat near her bed beside the window.

On top of the polished wooden piece was her bracelet from a few Christmases ago, a few silver hair clips and her diamond encrusted watch. But none of that caught his attention. Instead, the boy's hand reached for a bottle of emerald green nail polish and held it up next to his now bare fingernails. His smile reduced to a thin straight line and it made Ana's heart break.

"Keep it."

Aeron's head snapped back towards her, his eyes wide with surprise, "But, Ana this is y-"

"Yes, it's mine. Clearly, Aer-head," she giggled, "And now it's yours. Seriously, take it. I was growing bored of that shade anyways."

His face broke out in a wide grin making his eyes wrinkle at the corners from his joy. Ana offered him a sideways smirk, enjoying the way that her tiny offering made him so happy.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, he quickly pocketed the tiny bottle just in time. Without a knock or a simple act of decency, his uncle swung open the door of her room and walked in as if he owned the place.

"It's time Aeron."

"But, we didn't get to finish our game," Aeron insisted with a firm tone.