Kiara Malfoy (Fred Weasley Love Series)

Ch. 20: Talking To George

"Kiara Malfoy."

Chapter 20: Talking to George

"Clear your mind, Kiara. Clear your mind and try again," Dumbledore advised quietly. Kiara sighed heavily in frustration before concentrating once more.

At the moment, she was standing in Dumbledore's office, learning how to control her powers even further than before. Tonight, he was teaching her how to make fire appear around or before her, instead of resting in the palm of her hand.

It was proving more difficult than their first lesson, however. For over two hours now, she had tried to make a flame appear on the tip of the candle that sat on Dumbledore's desk. It was silently mocking her, jeering that it would never light at her hands. It was approximately two o'clock in the morning and her eyes were beginning to grow heavy from lack of sleep and sheer exhaustion. She was beyond the point of being frustrated with herself and she could hardly clear her mind from all the thoughts.

It had been a week since the Quidditch Match where Fred and her argued. It felt like forever ago when she thought about it, which was nearly always. Since then, she ignored Fred. They hadn't spoken to each other. Honestly, Kiara didn't know what to say to him or how to act around him. When she walked past or saw him in the distance, he always opened his mouth to say something but Harry, Ron and Hermione would tell him to back off. If she was alone however, she would quickly walk away before he could say a word. She presumed that he wanted to speak to her to apologise but she didn't know if she could put herself through that.

The truth was, she missed Fred more than anything. She wanted to talk to him, she wanted to hug him again. But, there was a part of her that couldn't shake the fear that he would hurt her again if she let her guard down.

Even worse than that, since the argument with Fred, she was having nightmares about that day on the Quidditch field but it wasn't the exact same reoccurrence of the events. It always changed with Fred saying hurtful words to her. There were times where he wished her dead or where he said he always knew she was evil and didn't deserve any happiness.

She always woke up crying, not realising that she was until she touched her face. The first time that she had the nightmare, she woke up the whole dormitory with loud sobs. Parvati and Lavender smiled weakly before falling asleep but Hermione stayed up and comforted her, acting as her supportive friend. After that night, she placed a silencing charm over her bed so she wouldn't bother anyone if she cried unknowingly once more. Every night, she did and ever since, her skin was much paler than normal. Under her eyes, dark bags were beginning to form.

She forced herself back to reality, remembering her task for the evening. She breathed deeply and began concentrating on making a flame appear at the tip of the candle. She tried to forget any reminders of Fred and her feelings over the past week. She imagined the warmth of the flame, the flicker of the red-orange flames as they danced together in perfect harmony and the many shades of red's and oranges with a light blue centre. Suddenly, a light flickered in front of her focused eyes. Her eyes widened at the sight of a flame crackling and flickering at the tip of the candle.

A small applause rung through the room as not only Dumbledore but the past headmasters and headmistresses, broke into applause. Smiling proudly, Kiara extinguished the fire and turned to the Headmaster.

"Excellent work, Kiara. That is all for tonight."

After departing the Headmasters' Office, she trailed up the Grand Staircase to the Gryffindor Common Room. Her eyes were tired and sore from sleep deprivation. The castle was silent, since it was very much after hours, so everyone was in bed. She didn't even expect to see Filch at this time, even the caretaker needed to sleep. As she took one of her usual shortcuts to the Gryffindor Tower, she heard the soft echo of footsteps behind her. Her body froze with fear, gripping the handle of her wand in her pocket. She turned slowly, facing the stranger. She inhaled sharply as someone rounded the corner.