Hidden Under Darkness

Chapter 6

**George’s POV**

                    

I will never understand girls. Never! I swear, they’re the most complicated things on Earth and out of them all, Fairlight Black is the most complicated. See, I’d thought we were getting on great. I thought she’d really started to open up and then BAM! Just as I’m leaning in to kiss her she freaks out about her hair and her scar. What scar?!

So, Lee, Fred, Velvet, Ana and I are sitting around the fireplace. The first task was yesterday, so it’s been like, two months since I even spoke to Fairlight. I want to ask her to the ball with me, but I have no idea how she feels about me. It’s driving me nuts!

“It’s driving me nuts!” I exclaim, “I have no idea what to do!”

Velvet glances up at me from the game of chess she and Fred are playing.

“Queen to D7,” she says. I watch as her queen takes Fred’s bishop. Fred swears quietly. Velvet sits back and looks at me again.

“Why didn’t you mention her scar?” she asks curiously.

“I didn’t notice it,” I tell her, “why is she so sensitive about it.”

“Well-”

“Vel, don’t!” Ana protests, “you know she hates people knowing!”

“He should know,” Velvet says. She turns and looks at me seriously.

“When we were little-”

“And still now,” Ana interjects. Velvet shoots her a look and continues.

“When we were little our step-dad used to beat us,” she tells me with a shiver, “he’d get drunk and angry and just lay into us. Especially Fairlight. He hates her more than anything.”

Ana makes a little whimpering noise.

“Something you have to know about us is,” Velvet glances at Ana, “Ana, Fairlight and I, we’re not triplets. Fair is actually two years older than us.”

“What?” Fred asks, leaning forward, “then why is she in our year?”

“Well, we’re… We’re actually thirteen,” Velvet confesses, looking guilty, “our mum begged Dumbledore to let us all go together so we’d be safe here. Fairlight used to tutor us lots to help us keep up. That’s why our marks have dropped so much.”

“Back to the scar,” I say, ignoring this astounding piece of information.

“When we were eight or nine, Fairlight was eleven and just about to start here, our step-dad fly into a rage about something Ana did,” Velvet continues, “she broke a vase or something and he over reacted. He was going to hit her, but Fairlight stepped in the way. She told him to leave her alone and shoved him away. He… He tied her…”

Velvet’s voice fails and she shakes her head.

“He tied her to the kitchen table,” Ana says, her face deathly pale, “and tortured her. When he was finished he let mum treat all of her wounds except the ones on the left side of her face. He said every time she looked in the mirror she’d see how worthless she is. Every time someone looked at her they’d see how ugly she is…”

Ana leans her face into Velvet. I sit and stare at them in wonder. That explains so much. Why she’s so protective. Why she doesn’t trust. Why she pushes everyone away.

“Please don’t tell her we told you,” Ana says, wiping her eyes.

“They don’t have to.”

I look around and see Fairlight standing there, her eyes blazing furiously. Velvet and Ana leap to their feet.

“Fair, I- ” they both begin. She holds up a hand to silence them.

“I don’t want to hear,” she scowls. She turns towards the portrait hole.

“Fair, we didn’t mean to-”

“Ana, for once, stop,” Fairlight snaps, turning around, “I don’t want anything to do with any of you.”

She stares at Ana and then at Velvet.

“You two are not my sisters,” she says. I watch, speechless as she storms out, slamming the portrait behind her. Ana falls back into her chair and starts crying. Velvet’s eyes are swimming with tears and her bottom lip is trembling.

“She’ll come around,” Fred says comfortingly, wrapping an arm around Ana. Velvet shakes her head silently.

“You don’t know Fair,” she says, “you only get one chance with her.”

As she speaks, a tear breaks free of her eyes and crawls down her nose.

“Vel, what will we do?” Ana cries. Velvet reaches over and touches her hand. They look at each other for a long moment, then Ana looks away.

“There’s nothing,” she whispers, “we’ve lost her.”