Splatters of Red and Gold

Halloween

Aravyn sat next to Alice in Transfiguration as McGonagall instructed the class on proper usage of transfiguring large object's features.
"Now turn to your partner, flick you wand, and change their hair color!" McGonagall instructed.
Alice turned to Aravyn. "Are you ready?" She asked nervously.
"Of course I am!" Aravyn smiled back.
Alice turned her shoulders sideways and held her wand hand in front of her body. With a sweeping motion, she wordlessly cast a spell, Aravyn stood motionless, and slightly confused.
"Did it work?" She asked, walking towards Alice, who had a proud smile, set in her jaw.
Aravyn picked up the mirror, McGonagall had given them at the beginning of class, and examined her head.
Where her deep black hair had been braided, was instead shockingly white.
"Whadya think, Sirius?" Aravyn asked across the room. Sirius turned and stared.
"You look rather like a Malfoy!" He said back, ducking just in time, to avoid a stinging jinx. "I'm kidding!" He yelled from behind his table shelter.
"I think you look quite fine!" Alice smiled at her.
"Thank you dear!" Aravyn smiled.

They continued to practice non-verbal spells in Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Agains the Dark Arts.
Halloween grew closer, and the Grounds Keeper, Hagrid, had been growing giant pumpkins.
Several of the regular gossips were in the Girl's Dormitory when Aravyn entered, picking up her broom. Just as she was about to leave she heard Violet Brown mutter, " you know Sirius has been admiring that fifth year Marley Chatton!"
"I hear she is part Veela!" agreed another girl.
Lily ,then, was there at Aravyn's shoulder.
"Don't listen to them," she advised, walking with her down through the castle and towards the lake. Several Ravenclaw boys sat under the usual tree, so they walked to the edge of the water and sat on a rock.
"Lily, James has been chasing you for years, you haven't given in... Do you fancy him?" Aravyn asked, trimming the stray twigs from the end of her broomstick.
"Well... Erm... He is very attractive, he can be charming and innocent at times, then other times he's a pompous idiot!" Lily said! Aravyn smiled widely. "What?" Lily asked alarmed. "No, I didn't say that I-"
"So you do fancy him!" Aravyn shouted.
"Hush hush! Well I may fancy him! Just a bit!" Lily smiled.
"Well you don't have to worry about him fancying someone else!" Aravyn sighed.
"Wait! Do you really fancy Padfoot?" Lily asked incredulously.
"Yes, I mean, he's incredibly daft! He's hopeless at best but he's a great guy! He has his eyes on the 'Carly' girl!" Aravyn said, her face going the color of her tie.
"Marley," Lily corrected.
"Come off it!" She rolled back to her back and looked into the canopy of the trees.
They sat for hours and talked. The sky's became dark with cloud cover and Aravyn closed her eyes sleepily.
"Hey Aravyn, I'm going back up to the castle, I have Charms homework to do," Lily said standing up.
"I'll be up in a bit!" Aravyn said, not opening her eyes.

Aravyn awoke, sopping wet, freezing cold, and completely alone.
"Dammit!" She muttered. She pushed herself to her feet and walked through the swampy grounds up towards the well lit castle.
She opened the portrait hole with a solemn mutter of "saxicolous" and was greeted with a giant hug.
"Where the hell have you been? You had is worried out of our skins!" Said the person hugging her tightly.
She replied into the thick leather jacket, " I fell asleep by the lake, got rained on... I'm freezing to death here..."
Sirius stepped away, leaving the warmth from his body around her.
"Well come on then!" He pulled her over to the fire, wrapping a towel firmly around her shoulders.
"Peter," he asked the round faced boy, who was standing behind him. "Will you get the house elf staff to send up some tea?" The boy scrambled away.
Lily, who had been fretting to James about Aravyn, rushed over to the black haired girl and embraced her.
"You gave me a right good scare you did!" She muttered into her friend's hair.
"Sorry, Lily!" She shivered.
Sirius was watching from next to them. He felt something inside of him he had never felt for a girl. Sure he'd been with plenty others but non of them were like her.

Aravyn awoke the next day, her head on a fluffy pillow on the floor, next to the fire. Snores came from a few feet away from her and she looked over to see Sirius Black, his hair in his face. She, as not to disturb him, she tip toed up to her dorm and pulled on fresh clothes. She came back down just as Sirius sat up.
"Morning," he yawned.
"Morning," she said stiffly.
Sirius got to his feet and hugged her, taking her by surprise.
"Uh, Sirius?" She started.
"Hmmm?" He asked.
"What are you doing?"
"Hugging you," he said, obviously.
"Yes, why?" She asked.
"Because you worried me yesterday, don't want to loose my best friend," he said stepping back.
"James is still upstairs!" She joked.
Sirius rolled his eyes and turned into a black dog, falling asleep again on the couch.

That night was the Halloween feast, pumpkins hovered in between the candles at the ceiling.
Orange and black banners and ribbons were hung all over the great hall. Younger children were dressed up in silly costumes, the older students looked at them with humor.
Aravyn sat in the common room staring into the crackling flames in the grate.
She pulled her red, flannel button up, around her body tighter and sighed.
She avoided Halloween at all cost, since she was young, her foster Dad had been very, how do you say, violent?
Her back tingled, the whispers of leather that her scarred skin had all but forgotten, her days at Hogwarts are comfortable, not terrifying.
She didn't truly know what to do, she was alone in the commons as the rest of the student body was celebrating the holiday below.
Her brother used to read her Stories of Heroes that deleted great wizards.
Her father had always said the same thing over and over again.

This world doesn't need a hero, this world needs a professional..
Before he threw the books into the fire.
She pulled a pillow onto her lap and closed her eyes.
When she awoke, the fire was just embers. A note was stuck to her pillow.
Aravyn
Please join me in the 'come and go room' at midnight, we have to talk,
Sirius