Black and White

33

Christmas night comes quickly, and we're soon in our pajamas again, refusing to admit we're exhausted. Tonks and Lupin are leaving, as it's getting dark outside. The full moon starts tonight, and, as Tonks tells us, the first night is always the hardest.

I sit on the couch with Fred as he feeds me a small pastry. George sits on my other side, making faces at us. I try not to laugh as I chew the bite in my mouth.

That's when a bright, flickering light seems to burst into life outside. We look out the window to see a huge fire surrounding the Burrow. Harry and Ginny run past us as we head for the door, jumping through the flames. I can hear Bellatrix shouting taunts, but Fred holds me back as I try to follow.

"She's not alone," Lupin tells us, and I can hear the dread in his voice. "Fenrir Greyback is with her."

Fenrir Greyback. He's a werewolf. I've seen him at Death Eater meetings. He's just about as evil as they come. Back in the first war, he used to bite and maul the children of people who went against Voldemort, at the Dark Lord's wishes. Lupin was one of those children.

Lupin and Mr. Weasley chase after Harry and Ginny as everyone else exits the large house. A couple minutes later, a stream of black smoke materializes before us, transforming into Bellatrix.

"Little Lucida," she sings, smiling wickedly at me. "Little, little Lucida. You'll be happy to know I'm not allowed to kill you."

She's playing with her wand in a way I recognize. A way that means I'm about to be hurt. I take a small step back, trembling a little, and Fred takes my hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

"Oh, so the little mudblood of the Blacks has a blood traitor for a boyfriend?" Bellatrix asks, eyeing us maliciously. "I see my teachings have done little for you, dearie."

Suddenly, she sends a wordless curse at me, and my insides immediately seem to turn to ice. Fred winces in pain, jerking his hand away from mine as I fall to my knees. Bill and George draw their wands, but before they can do anything, Bellatrix turns back to smoke, laughing and flying straight through the Burrow, setting it on fire as she goes.

All anyone can do for a long moment is stare. Finally, seeming to snap back into reality, Mr. Weasley begins to put out the fire with his wand.

Fred kneels in front of me, gently placing a hand on my covered shoulder. The cold won't go away.

"I'm sorry," I say quickly. "I'm so sorry."

"Hey, it's alright," Fred answers softly, giving a sad smile. "I'm ok. We're all ok. We're safe."

I shake my head. "Fred, I've never been safe."

Fred's smile slips away. "What did she do to you? Your hand, it was so cold it almost burned me."

"I don't know," I reply, shivering. "But I'm freezing. It feels like I can't get warm."

"I've seen a curse like this only once before," Bill says, kneeling beside us. He takes my hand for the brief moment he can stand the skin contact. "It steals any heat it can find, from you and anyone you come in contact with. If anyone maintains skin contact for too long, they could freeze. You will survive the curse, but unless we can find a reversal, or a cure, you won't feel warmth again."

With that, Bill magically creates a blanket, wrapping it around me. It doesn't offer any warmth, which he surely knows, but it's still a comfort.

After the fire is completely out, we enter the Burrow. Some of the rooms look irreparable to me, but then, I've never claimed to know every spell there is. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, along with Bill and the twins, begin to put stuff back together. Finally, Mr. Weasley turns to us all.

"I should go report this to the Ministry," he tells us. "There's no more we can do ourselves, not tonight. I suggest you all get some sleep, if you can."

So that's how we all end up sleeping on the living room floor. Well, we lay silently. No one actually falls asleep.

By morning, my clothes and blanket are covered in a thin layer of frost, and Fred shakes some snowflakes out of my black hair. Even though it must be unbearably cold against his lips, he gives me a quick kiss.

"Just so you know, this doesn't change the way I feel about you, Luce," he tells me quietly.

I manage a small smile. Already, without even my own body heat, I feel like a part of me is missing.

In a few days, it's time for Harry, Ron, Ginny, and I to return to Hogwarts. Bill promises to look into the curse Bellatrix cast on me, to try and find the reversal.

We see Hermione on the train, but she won't sit with us, as her and Ron are still fighting. Instead, I go to her, telling her the ups and downs of Christmas at the Burrow.

"Does Draco know?" Hermione asks.

I shake my head. "I doubt it," I answer. "He stayed at Hogwarts over the holiday, and I doubt Bellatrix or Aunt Narcissa wrote to tell him."

As the next two months pass, I remain nearly frozen, my body becoming stiff with the cold. Frost has begun to take up permanent residence across my cheeks and arms. It forms along any hard surface I touch.

Draco won't even look at me, and Hermione and Ron still won't speak to each other. Harry seems lost in his thoughts most of the time, and Luna remains unconscious.

Fred and I write back and forth at least twice a week, talking about the state of Hogwarts, and his and George's latest pranks.

Then, I hear some shocking news. Ron has been given love potion, then poisoned that same night by a mead meant for Dumbledore. Also that same night, as I pretend to be asleep in the Common Room, Draco leaves again. When he returns, just before dawn, he sits beside the couch. He's crying. I keep my eyes shut, my breathing even, waiting for him to talk.

"They killed it," he sobs quietly, obviously trying not to wake me. "The bird, they killed it. It reminded me of you, and they killed it."

He takes a moment to calm himself down, gently pushing my hair back from my face.

"You have to stay away from me," he whispers. "I almost knocked you off the tower. I almost killed you. Please, just stay away from me."

I hear him walk away, and my tears freeze on my cheeks. Before this year, I had never heard my cousin sound so lost, so scared. So broken. I know then, that I can't stay away forever, no matter how much he wants me to.