The Missing Marauder

[ 2 ]

Six pairs of eyes trailed from that hand filled with wands up the tattered sleeve of a shirt to the pale face of a woman. Her curly hair was in mats, yet reached the back of her knees. Her eyes were mismatched, one being the color of the brightest emeralds and the other the cleanest of sapphires. She was tall, yet frail, the yellowed white shirt hanging limply around her form, dirty brown pants torn at the ankles to show off bare feet that had been scraped so badly they wondered if she had run all the way here.

Her pale face was twisted in a cold, harsh look as those eyes flicked between every single person in the room, calculating. She didn't say a word as she took a step deeper into the room, the doors slamming shut behind her. Her feet were silent on the creaky floor, crossing very slowly to Ron. He tried to scramble away but she grabbed his ankle, letting out a quiet yet deep growl of warning, as if she didn't have the vocals of a human, but a wolf. She ran a hand down the length of the broken leg, oddly gentle until she grabbed his knee and abruptly snapped his leg straight.

Shouts and screams echoed all around but each found that they simply couldn't move. They had been petrified. She ran another hand down Ron's leg, the bruises fading with her touch until his ragged breathing slowed. He watched her stare at his healing leg with such focus that he wondered what was going through the mind of hers, though found himself not wanting to know as her eyes snapped up to look him in the eye. He leaned back as she slowly leaned forward over him, hand raising as if to slap him. That gentle hand turned rough as it yanked Scabbers out of Ron's hand, not struggling to keep the thrashing rat in her grip.

"Scabbers! NO!" Ron roared, but he, too, couldn't move.

She moved about the room again, stopping in front of Remus this time. She tilted her head at him, sniffing him a little before moving on to Snape. The man stared at her, leaning his head slightly as if to cower away from her as she leaned closer to his face. She lifted a hand, moving some of his hair out of the way with that same gentle touch, touching the line of blood on his forehead from being whipped slightly by the Whomping Willow. The cut healed as she pulled her hand away, turning her head back to the students, almost completely ignoring the third man in the room.

This time, she stopped in front of Hermione, who whimpered, trying to cower away from the feral-looking woman. She tilted her head at the squirming girl, very lightly touching the chain to her Time-Turner before pulling back. She looked almost like she shook her head, but she turned away to face Harry.

She stopped at the sight of him, that cold look almost seeming to soften a little. The softest, quietest, yet most scratchy voice came out of the woman, "J-James?"

Harry's eyes widened a little, "N-no, I'm Harry, Harry Potter."

She blinked at him before, like Snape, gently moving his hair out of the way to see his scar. Her face twisted into a snarl and she moved away, finally turning to the third man. Sirius Black watched her approach, watched her almost... hesitate to stop in front of him. There was a touch of familiarity to the woman, but he shook it off, watching as she lifted Sirius's hand and placed the now-still rat in his palm. She stepped away, twitching a little as the six felt that paralyzing feeling fade away.

"Who are you?" Snape spoke, the wariness creeping into his voice.

She flicked her eyes in his direction, the harshness of the look silencing him. She looked at Sirius again before her face twitched.

"Ca-den..." She cleared her throat, the painful sound making them cringe. "Cadenza."

The three students looked at one another, but the three adults stared at her with such shock that she twitched again. She looked hardly the same, except for the fiery, blood-red color of her hair.