Being a Greengrass after all should sound pretty serene.
But being a part of "the Emeralds" should not, especially when hearts become entangled with the infamous Regulus Black.
Goodness, lawfulness, or evilness. Which path will they tread in the ti...
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August 25th, 1980
The rain whispered steadily against the windows, threading soft percussion through the quiet of the room. Avery sat curled up in an oversized chair near the fireplace, a thick green wool blanket draped around her shoulders and a book lying open in her lap — The Ethics of Magical Resistance. Her eyes skimmed the pages, but her mind wandered. The flame in the oil lamp beside her danced faintly, casting long shadows over the peeling spines of the books lining the shelves.
The hour was late. The kind of late that made silence feel heavier.
Then—the candle flickered once. The air shifted.
Through the cracked windowpane, a shimmer of silver-blue light began to swell and gather like fog catching moonlight. Avery sat up straighter as the light condensed, then streaked into the room in the form of a raven — sleek, elegant, glowing with a ghostly shimmer.
The Patronus flapped twice and landed on the edge of her desk, its bright eyes fixed on her.
And then, Regulus Black's voice echoed from it, soft but laced with urgency:
"Avery. I've found something. I can't send it by owl. May I come to your house — soon? If it's safe, I'll send the message to Dorcas and Pandora too."
The raven tilted its head once, then slowly dissolved into mist and vanished into the dim air. Avery sat still, staring at the spot where the Patronus had been, her hand frozen on the corner of her page. Her pulse beat a little faster. Regulus didn't usually send messages with his Patronus unless it mattered.
She stood, letting the book slide shut with a quiet thud. Then she moved to the center of the room. The lamplight glinted in her eyes as she drew her wand in one fluid motion.
She didn't hesitate. "Expecto Patronum."
Silver erupted from the tip of her wand — coiling and rising, shimmering like moonlight on a blade. It elongated, stretched, and then solidified into the form of a black mamba, lithe and alert. The snake rose, tongue flickering, as if waiting.
Avery leaned in close and whispered her message: "Yes. Come tonight. It's fine."
The mamba flicked its tongue again, then slithered toward the window, climbing the glass like it weighed nothing at all. Then it launched into the night sky, dissolving into a comet trail of silver.
✧˖°.☾
The rain had stopped. But the storm had left something behind — a tautness in the air, like the walls themselves were listening.
Inside the Greengrass Manor, the living room flickered with warm candlelight. Books and parchments covered half the table, magical maps curling at the edges, and old tea cups forgotten in corners. The fireplace glowed low and red, casting shifting light against the walls.
