Ivory

[Chapter 4]

I twirled my silver ring on my pointer finger, a stupid habit of mine. If anyone looked really closely at the ring, you could see the symbol of the Deathly Hallows etched on it along with ancient runes. The runes spelled out the word "Pitch". 

Pitch was my nickname in the group we called "The Veiled". My second year Lycanthropy professor, Remus Lupin, told Lewis, Alex and I that we reminded him of a group he called "The Marauders". 

Pitch, as in pitch black, is my nickname because I resembled darkness and shadows. All three of us had a part in the group. Lewis was called Beam because he resembled light, the exact opposite of me. Alex was called Scale, as in a balance scale, as he was the voice of balance and reason in our group. He had a little bit of darkness and a little bit of light. You'd think that'd make him stronger than Lewis and I but I still schooled him. Lewis was actually the weakest in our group. 

Funny thing is, we only know this because when we all were 11, we woke up in a field in London. We were soaked in blood. We had no recollection of who our parents were or anything. The only thing we knew were our names, each other, that we were Ivories, and that we symbolized a role in The Veiled.

"Kylan Orval!" Luna said sternly. "You zoned out again." I snapped myself back into reality.

"Yes, sorry Luna," I replied sheepishly. The Ivory Tower sessions started on Monday and it was currently Saturday. Luna was wearing her glistening silver Ivory cloak, as soon as she was accepted she got the uniform and put it on. We were just at the edge of the Forbidden Forest where Luna was trying to learn how to become an Animagus.

"How long did you say I had to hold the mandrake leaf in my mouth for?" she asked.

"From full moon to full moon," I replied. We approached the greenhouse where we were supposed to get the mandrake leaf. Luna pushed the door open to find that the building was completely empty.

"Get the leaf," I told her. She walked over to the mandrake with tweezers and carefully snipped a leaf off. 

I heard someone approach the greenhouse. "What are you doing in there? You better not be snogging!" I heard Professor Sprout say. I pulled Luna close to myself and clamped a hand on her mouth.

"Tenebris,"  I muttered. A cloak of darkness enveloped us as we were pulled into the ground. On the outside, it looked like a wolf shaped shadow was dragging prey out of the greenhouse. But on the inside, we were simply walking out of the greenhouse. It was hard to explain the sensation. Have you ever swam, completely submerged, with your chest pointing upwards? That's what it felt like. 

When we were back in the Forbidden Forest I pulled Luna and I out of the shadows. She was quite calm for someone who just shadow walked. Usually people would freak out and say that it felt like it was pulling them apart. If I'm being honest, it's really painful but eventually you get used to being flattened into the ground.

I looked up at the dark sky. Luckily for Luna, it was a full moon. "I suggest putting the mandrake leaf in your mouth now," I told her. When she put in her mouth she was again blissfully calm. I remember when I put the leaf in my mouth I gagged from how minty it tasted. I told her a spell that would put the leaf on the side of her mouth so that she could speak and eat without it falling out.

We both made our way back to the castle for dinner in the Great Hall. All of the Ivories, newly admitted or scouts, sat at a separate table. I took a seat next to Alex while being across from Lewis. I looked around me at the newly accepted Ivories.

Hermione Granger sat on my left with her face buried in a new charms book. She looked up from her book at me. Her eyes widened a little as she put a strand of hair behind her ear. I smirked. "You better keep studying those charms, Granger," I told her. "The Ivory Towers aren't as blissful and easy as Hogwarts." A faint smile appeared on her face.

"Yeah," she replied. I raised my eyebrows realizing that she didn't stutter. She just rolled her eyes and went back to her book.

"First that Luna girl, now her?" Lewis scoffed from across the table. I saw Hermione blush out of the corner of my eye.

"Seriously, Harry, how you can be one of them?" I heard Weasley say as he and Harry walked up to the table. Hermione and Harry were accepted leaving Ron at Hogwarts alone.

"Ron, I'll come back on weekends," Harry replied. Harry nodded at me as he sat next to Hermione. Across the table Lewis sat next to Luna who was sitting next to Neville. Draco was fuming over the fact that Hermione and Harry were accepted. He said, and I quote, "My father will hear about this!"

I turned to Hermione and Harry. "I should probably redo your wands," I said. Harry pee ked around Hermione.

"What! No!" he exclaimed. I rolled my eyes I opened my mouth to say something but Hermione cut me off.

"Oh please, Harry," she said, taking out her wand and giving it to me, "I've read about it. It simply changes the wood into ivory, which is the strongest wand material." 

I took out my wand and put Hermione's on the table. "Eburneae!" I commanded. The wand seemed to almost freeze as the black wood turned white. I handed the wand back to Hermione. She thanked me while Harry gave me his wand. I mimicked the process and handed it back.

Hermione looked down at my hand. "What does the runes mean on your ring, Kylan?" She reached for my hand to examine in further but I jerked away so violently I partially shook the table.

"N-no it's fine Hermione," I replied. She raised her eyebrows at my stutter.

"What are you hiding, Kylan?"