「 ☆ 」 -- 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬

Little Dark Age by MGMT

"𝐈 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐨, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲
𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐝, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞
𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐠𝐞."

~

"Merlin, I still can't believe my mother would do something like that"

Alden looked exasperated at Laurel from where she laid on his shoulder as the Hogwarts express rattled along the track. Her voice was hush, as to not disturb their friends who were sleeping around them, Laurel had been waiting for an opportunity such as this to talk about what happened. He couldn't exactly work it in amongst the group's conversation about their N.E.W.T. classes and discussing rumors about Professor Slughorn and his little club, nor did the boy truly want to.

He was glad Alden was taking the lead on the conversation.

"The incident at Diagon Alley?"

"Yes."

Laurel had noticed something had changed about Alden and her mother, he noticed when they had arrived at the train station. Alden, who to Laurel had a warmth that could heat up the coldest of souls, had put up an icy barrier between herself and her mother, they didn't even say their traditional goodbyes at the train station. Even though the coldness wasn't directed towards him, it worried the boy. He wondered what had happened with the Noyer family left his sight, what conversation could have been had that left Alden so icy.

"I can't believe she would put them so shamelessly in danger."

Her voice wavered for a moment as her eyes sparkled with unshed tears, Laurel pulled her close as she begun to cry, he soaked in her warmth as he entangled his fingers into her braids, his fingers occasionally brushing against the vertical gold and red striped ribbon she wore in her hair that day.

"I just thought my mother was more open-minded than that, she may be from a pureblood family but she doesn't act like it. Most of the time. She married my father and he didn't have a fancy family like hers. She let me go to Hogwarts instead of Beauxbatons because she knew it would make me happy."

As Alden began to cry Laurel just held her, he didn't speak, he felt he didn't need to at that moment, he just had to be there for her.

"When we got home she was so hateful, so resentful, and you know what she said?"

"What did she say?"

"She said you know who may have the right idea after all."

Laurel stared at Alden's eyes, searching to see if she was joking or not, but when he noticed a stony face staring at him he lost the ability to talk. The boy began to rack his head for signs over the years that the woman he thought of as a second mother would agree with Voldermort's logic. He noticed Alden's chin begin to wobble as her eyes began to leak tears and he pulled her close to muffle her sobs and prevent the others from being disturbed in their sleep. He leaned back against the wall of the train cart as Alden rested her head on his shoulder, the boy wrapped his arms around the middle of her body. He leaned his head against her as he thought of what to say.

"I foresee another year of spending Christmas at Hogwarts I presume?"

Hearing the muffled laugh of the girl brought a small smile to the boy's face before it dropped as she began to sob. He kissed the top of her head as his mind kept searching for what could have led to this thinking on the part of Mrs. Noyer as Alden sobbed.

From the moment he had met the woman she seemed so good, just like her husband, just like her daughter, she was a beaming ray of sun. The whole family was, or perhaps the radiance of the husband and daughter hid Mrs. Noyer's darkness, the thought didn't sit well in Laurel's mind, not after the smiles he's shared with the woman, not after the sweet treats she had given him, not after the times she stood up for him in her subtle ways.